《Getting a Technology System in Modern Day》 Chapter 1 Where It All Began ?Life is about the moments we fucked up and here is mine. As I was immediately awoken by a voice of someone who seemed to be using a microphone, so when ? woke up and found out that the screen behind the speaker was broadcasting my face and that did nothing but prove that I was panicking. After a few seconds of disorientation and my brain recalibrating I remembered that today my professor was doing a thesis presentation and the speaker on the stage was him, and it seemed that he was very angry that someone fell asleep in his presentation, when respected professors and other people with power in the industry were listening to him. The professor looked at me and I knew that look. it was a look of wanting to humiliate the person who irked or angered him and damn right I was because a few second later he called me and said "Sir since you are capable sleeping it means that you are knowledgeable about this topic and doesn''t need to listen from me. So, why don''t you explain this part" ''I''m fucked'' that''s what I thought. But since I can''t escape it, I better try my best and survive I''m fucked anyway so what''s there to fear. .. Professor Rotem was fuming with anger when he found out one of the attendees had fallen asleep on a day where he was about to leave a mark in the history of the tech industry. When he looked carefully, he remembered that he was one of those poor students that attends one of his classes, he remembered them because he chose to accept them for the sake of raising his reputation in a positive manner. So, he decided to teach him a lesson today and show him his place since the kid decided to sleep on his presentation day, he was sure it wouldn''t harm him in any way since he was going to have the best reputation you can have for those in tech community due to his thesis that he was presenting. "Can you stand up.... you.... yes, the one who was sleeping... Stand-up" he decided to emphasise him being sleeping so that even in the future when people revisit this history making moment, they will know the reason why he decided to humiliate the person, since he was sleeping in a history making moment, they will side with him anyway because people usually follows the successful one meaning his reputation won''t be harmed in any way or it might even increase as it might seem that he was also a hater of lazy people or something. Whatever!!! As the professor looked at the currently still disoriented student of his he decided to add to his misery by having him answer a question that was the main anchor of today''s thesis presentation "Since you are capable of sleeping it means you know more than all of us here care to explain this part" he said pointing to the hardest part of the presentation smugly waiting for his student that he didn''t care enough to know his name. While he was waiting for the student to embarrass himself, he heard something he never expected to hear today "There is a mistake there" "WHAT!!!" he was surprised to hear that, but he calmed down after remembering that the one who said that was still a student and one that was asleep until a few minutes prior. "It seems you are still a sleep so sit down" he decided to make him seat, so he doesn''t embarrass him and put a stain on his historic moment, but the student didn''t sit and continued talking "No sir there really is a mistake..." and continued explaining where the mistakes were. The professor was horrified by the student''s explanation as he sees his reputation falling by the seconds because the mistake was pretty obvious, but the reason most people missed it was because they didn''t expect that obvious mistake from a professor of his reputation. . "TAKE HIM OUT" the professor shouted at the security to remove me from the conference, but this did nothing other than cause a commotion in the conference room as the people didn''t expect that the mistake really passed that many people during the review to the point of it being approved for presentation. The reason most of it was missed was because the professor''s family was powerful and when I say powerful, I mean it because the professors full name is Eli Yehudah Rotem Rothschild, but I didn''t know it at that time. Since I haven''t come to myself and continued mumbling, as I didn''t know that my normal life ended the moment I started talking. My mumbling stopped because I was tackled and carried out by a group of the security guards, and it was at this moment that I knew, I FUCKED UP pnd,no?1,o ... Two weeks have passed since that day and the professor has taken a month leave to recuperate emotionally from stress, but I wasn''t allowed any of that as I was not a professor, so I continued attending university a normal student in his last year who has only about three weeks to graduation. I was at the campus today in order to hand in my graduation thesis for me to be able to graduate, since we have already completed all the exams and the results are out, the only thing between me and my graduation is the thesis that I''m on my way to hand in. ... After handing in the thesis and heading home for the day, since I had to wait for the review to be completed and be given an appointment for me defend my thesis, I had nothing to do most of the time. . A week after handing in the report I received an email from the university. At first, I thought it was just an email about the date for my thesis defense but when I opened, I was met with a surprise I didn''t expect at all it was an email from the... [ Subject: Disciplinary Committee Meeting Invitation - Accusation of Thesis Theft & plagiarizing Dear Aron, I am writing to inform you that a disciplinary committee meeting has been scheduled to discuss the serious allegations of thesis theft that have been brought against you. The meeting will take place on May 12, 2013, at 10:45 in faculty of engineering building. The allegations of theft are a very serious matter, and we take them very seriously. As a member of our academic community, it is expected that you maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. We understand that this may be a difficult time for you, but it is important that you cooperate with the investigation to help us reach a fair and just outcome. At the disciplinary committee meeting, you will have the opportunity to present your side of the story and respond to the allegations that have been made against you. We ask that you attend the meeting on time and be prepared to provide any information or evidence that you believe may be relevant to the case. Please note that if you fail to attend the disciplinary committee meeting, a decision may still be reached based on the evidence presented to the committee. We strongly advise that you attend the meeting to avoid any adverse consequences. If you have any questions or concerns about the disciplinary committee meeting or the allegations that have been made against you, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are here to support you and help you navigate this process. Best regards, [Julyan Lenny] [Disciplinary committee] [University of Columbia] ] I was horrified rather than startled because I know what this is not true because is used five different thesis checker programs and he found nothing in a semblance similar to his thesis. So, he knows this must be a mistake or a conspiracy else I''m very much fucked. .. I wrote a reply to inform them that there might be a mistake but is seems it is not. so, I prepared myself for the discipline committee meeting in four days. When the day came, I attended the meeting location and found four professors that were waiting for me to start and after my arrival they immediately started. The meeting was skewed in a very clear direction even when I defended myself it seems like it was entering an ear and leaving the other one without being understood or trying to. By the 45''th minute it became clear to me that the outcome was predetermined before we even began. The meeting continued but since they continued with their accusation without acknowledging his evidence due to them having their own. But what is strange is that they really had evidence with dates dating to seven years ago among the thesis''s they accused me of plagiarising and some of them were more recent, but I was pretty sure that these thesis''s didn''t exist until few days ago. So, how did they find the evidence that said I plagiarised them when they didn''t even exist. It seems I have been targeted by someone. Though I don''t know who, but I do have some suspicion, but I can''t be sure since I have no evidence. After the committee meeting ended, they informed me that their decision will be announced in 3 days and that I should wait for it. I left for the dormitory to rest but I felt sad due to what was happening to me, but I had to wait for the conclusion of the committee before I decide to do anything. .. It was a warm spring day, and the campus of Columbia University was alive with excitement. Families and friends had gathered to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2010 that''s graduating in 2013, and among the sea of gowns and hats was Aron, a young man brimming with anger, sadness and disappointment. As he took his place among the crowd and looking at his friends in gown and hats, Aron couldn''t help but reflect on the journey that had brought him to this moment. It had been four years since he first stepped foot on campus, filled with hope and determination to make the most of his university experience. And now, here he was, on the brink of a new chapter in his life, with an expulsion notice in hand and the brutal world waiting for him. Aron couldn''t help but shake in anger when he remembered how he was denied graduation on the day of graduation since they kept postponing the announcement of their decision. until the day before the graduation day only then was he informed by his professor of their decision. And the decision was damn fucked up. It was his first time seeing someone get expelled by email. Like what the fuck? EMAIL!!!! The reason they gave him was blatant use of plagiarism material without citing them as sources, like WHAT THE FUCK. How am I supposed to know that I have plagiarised something without knowing it existed even after using 5 theses checking programs and found nothing like my thesis. But what was weird is how did they even find that much information in that short period of time. It seems like someone is trying to fuck up my already difficult life but who would want to do that to me? Chapter 2 Where It Is Going ?As the graduation ceremony came to a close, Aron trudged back to his dormitory for the collection of his things, since he was expelled, he had to leave the school ground within one week. Although he repealed their verdict. They denied his appeal and informed him that he wasn''t going to be allowed to repeal again due to the conclusive evidence they had. So, he shouldn''t waste their time and begin preparing himself and leave the campus grounds before he was forced out of it. With his heart heavy with disappointment and frustration he left the university all alone since he lost almost all his friends after the accusation was announced. His two remaining friends couldn''t see him of because they had to attend the mandatory meeting for graduates. The rest of his friends abandoned him the moment the information was leaked which was weird in itself. When he arrived at his home, he found his parents waiting for him, waiting to hear about the full story from him with details since they only heard the short side of it. But as soon as they saw the expression on his face, they knew that it was going to take a very long time to listen to the whole story. Tears streaming down his face, Aron told his parents about what had happened in excruciating detail about what happened. He explained how he had been denied graduation by the university and then expelled from the university for something he didn''t even do. Although his parents have heard the short form of the story, but his parents still listened in focus and utter disbelief, unable to comprehend how their son could have been treated so unjustly. After they completed listening to his explanation. Despite the sadness and anger they felt for their son''s sake, they asked "So what do you plan to do now?" Aron sighed and answered "I really don''t know where to start really as I can''t appeal it again in the university the only way for me to be able to do anything other than suing them, but I know that we can''t really afford it" His parents felt embarrassed when they heard that but couldn''t refute him because it was mostly true, but they knew that he wasn''t saying this to shame them or anything but to only inform them that his only path was also closed due to their financial situation. "So, I have to start looking for a parttime job since I don''t have a diploma and most of the job''s I could have in my field need it." answered Aron looking like he has given up eve the idea of trying to return to university. "Also, I most likely won''t have the job. Because for some reason it has been leaked out that I have plagiarised my thesis, so I have a negative reputation in the industry" Answered Aron while trying to prevent himself to curse Infront of his parents and his little brother who was oblivious of what was happening. Aron''s parents were hard-working individuals who had sacrificed a lot to give their son the best education possible. However, despite their best efforts, they were struggling to make ends meet, and they simply didn''t have the financial means to help their son with his legal battle. Aron''s mind was about to be overwhelmed from guilt after he saw his parents saddened for him but just as he was about to console them and ensure them that this isn''t much of a problem, he heard a notification on his phone informing him that he received an email, so he opened to read it and oh god he almost had a heart attack because... [ Dear Aron, I regret to inform you that as a result of your expulsion from Columbia University in your final year, you are required to repay the scholarship funds you have received. We understand that this is a difficult and challenging situation, but it is a necessary step in order to maintain the integrity of our scholarship program. We have determined that the total amount of your scholarship funds that were disbursed for the academic year will need to be repaid in full. We understand that this may create a financial burden for you, and we want to work with you to find a repayment plan that is feasible and manageable for your circumstances. Please contact our office as soon as possible to discuss repayment options and to begin the process of returning the scholarship funds. We will work with you to make this process as smooth and efficient as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please don''t hesitate to reach out to us. We are here to support you and help you through this difficult time. Sincerely, [Steven Brock] Scholarship Program Coordinator ] His parents were scared when they saw his face pale" Aron, what wrong?" asked his mother. Aron couldn''t hear her as his brain was doing the calculation of the amount of money he was supported in the four years he received the scholarship. The estimated cost of attendance for undergraduate students in academic year, which includes tuition, fees, room and board, books, and other expenses, was approximately $61,500 per year. This means that he had to pay the minimum of total of $246,000 more or less for a four-year undergraduate degree. He Almost fainted when he completed his calculations, it was only stopped when his father shook him to remove him from his almost fainted situation. Aron was grateful to them for this, but he knew he was fucked up for the next few years to come until he repaid everything. But when they asked him to show them, he didn''t do that since they might die from heart attack. Their current financial situation couldn''t add dept payment or they might just have to file for bankruptcy. So, he only told them that the email was about the confirmation of his expulsion that''s why he become paler and that nothing else was wrong. They knew he was lying or not telling the whole truth, but they didn''t insist on it and left him since they knew that he was currently very stressed and there is no need to pile on top of it. ..... While Aron was sleeping soundly. If you could count sleeping by using sleeping pills as soundly. Aron was sound asleep in his bed, exhausted from the emotional turmoil of the past few hours. Also, the humongous dept that was dropped on him while he was still stressed. I mean you can''t just recover immediately when you are suddenly a quarter a million in dept without a warning. For the current Aron, life was really stressful he really wished he could rewind time and change whatever was causing this. That was if he knew what caused it, but he will find it and when he finds it, he will... ... A strange object suddenly appeared in the space, it hovers a little bit before being pulled to earth by gravity and fell into the atmosphere. To everyone''s amazement (if anyone was capable of seeing it), it didn''t cause any ripple when it was falling that distance but since it was small, and its terminal velocity was low that wasn''t really surprising. it passed right through buildings and trees as if they didn''t exist, before finally landing directly on Aron''s head and passed through it but it didn''t appear on his chin or anywhere as currently it was assimilating with his brain and synchronizing with it. The assimilation was going on without problem when Aron awoke with a start but fainted immediately. The strange object that had fallen from the sky had somehow forced him to continue with his sleep as it continue merging with his brain and assimilating with it. While the assimilation was going on some part of the object was mixing with the nervous system some parts were mixed with Bone marrow some parts were also mixed with almost all parts of his body. But almost half of it remained on his brain covering almost all of it while mimicking the function of the location it was assimilating. DING!!!!! SYSTEM ASSIMILATING!!!...10%...30%...50%.....99% The voice was sent to his brain, but he couldn''t hear it because he was forced into the comma for his sake, or he would have felt excruciating pain to want death to himself or the world. 99.999999999%....100% When the number reached 100 the movement of all parts of the object in his body stopped making any movements as they continued acting the same as the location they were currently residing. SYSTEM ASIMILATION COMPLETED.... This also was sent to him, but he didn''t hear it too. EXAMINING AND ANALIZING HOSTS BODY.... ANALAYSIS COMPELTE.... EXAMING AND ANILIZING HOSTS EXISITIG ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS COMPLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLETETTETEETETTETTETETE ERorR ERorR ERorR ERorR MAGIC ENERGY EXISTANCE CONFIRMED pnd`no?1--o USERS BODY AND SIMILAR CURRENT EXISTING LIFE IN PLANET NOT EVOLVED FOR MAGIC USE DUE CURRENT SYSTEM LIMITATION SYSTEM CAN''T HELP HOSTS BODY HANDLE MAGIC LOOKING FOR SOLUTION... REQUEST SOLUTION AND UPGRADE.... .... ..... ..... Since Aron''s body or anyone''s body on earth hasn''t evolved to be able to use magic, the system was requesting upgrade options and permission for upgrading the user''s body to be able to use magic but... %%%%erROr%%%%% MAIN SERVER CONECTION UAVAILABLE..... Unfortunately, the main server that would have helped his body to be able to wield magic was not in this universe so no going YOU SHALL NOT PASS for Aron. That would have been cool though. RETRY..... %%%%erROr%%%%% MAIN SERVER CONECTION UAVAILABLE... RETRY... x10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 T?MES REQUESTED Man, that piece of shit was persistent like damn, I mean if you try something a billion time and it fails just give-up man. Have some dignity. ACTIVATING MISSING SERVER PROTOCOL FOR UPGRADE Oh, looks like someone smart made this thank God. REQUEST SOLUTION AND UPGRADE FROM EMBEDED LOCAL SYSTEM REQUEST APPROVED DUE TO REASON #EU8475NDAKUEMjdLSJ748/26*361583154BCSL UPDATE...10%.....75%...100% SOLUTION FOUND!!!! RUNIC CODEX FOUND SUITABLE FOR THE USER!!!!!! Since Aron''s body wasn''t capable of using magic, the system chose the only way Aron could be capable of affecting thing with magic which was RUNE''S. UPDATE COMPLETE. SYSTEM PERMISSION(FULL) ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM BOUND DING!!!!! Aron remained deep in slumber, completely unaware of the profound changes taking place within him and the new door of fate opened for this universe. Since the DLC of using magic, from discovering it to ways of using it for humans was planned to be released in about 3000 years in order to allow the living thing''s on the planet to evolve. So, one small step for Aron, a giant leap for life kind on earth. Chapter 3 The Advanced Technological System ?In the morning when Aron woke up immediately a voice in his brain said "SAY STATUS" "What? STATUS?" Since he was still disoriented from his sleep, he just repeated what he heard in his head in a questioning manner. But the system did not care whether he meant it or not. What''s important to the system is whether the magic word was mentioned or not, and it was. So right after Aron said the word a blue screen appeared in front of his face. [STATUS] Name: Aron Michael Age: 22 Height: 1,89m System Class: Runemaster [SHOP] [Search] (sp amount: 100,000) [QUEST] [ [Daily quest: Ways to get stronger] 100 Push-ups (0/100) 100 Crunches (0/100) 100 Squat (0/100) 10 Kilometres Running (0/10) (Rewards : 100sp) ] Just as he was about to express his fear of a random screen suddenly appearing in front of his face, a large amount of information started being crammed into his brain and it overwhelmed him to the point he forgot to express the fear. After the information was completed being crammed into his head, the information started being assimilated with his mind till it reached to the point that it was as if he knew the information to the last of its detail for years. After everything was done, he immediately calmed down and he started revising the new knowledge. First was how the system works, the system had a massive amount of knowledge in almost every field he could have thought of, but for him to get access to the knowledge he needed to buy them using system points(sp). In order to buy them all he needed to do was search what he wanted and the system will give a list and their prices. After choosing what he wanted and paying for it, it will be assimilated into his brain for him to fully understand it and be able to immediately use it. Currently there are only two ways to earn system points, one is the obvious one which is to complete quests given by the system, but currently he only had one quest on the quest window and from the information that was transferred to him, he could tell that it might be his only quest in a very long time. Unless he does something unexpected or deemed worthy enough by the system standard for him to get another quest. Another way for him to get system points is by applying the knowledge he got from the system and using it to create something useful, in which it will be analysed and graded by the system, depending on the grade he will be given points by the system as a reward. All the analysing, grading and rewarding of points will be done in the background so as not to constantly annoy him, but he could ask the system to show him his grades for him to use it as a way to evaluate his products. the system was using this in order to encourage him to innovate and see Realtime rewards for it in a form of sp. But the system wasn''t as brutal as you all think, it made sure that he doesn''t start with zero sp by awarding 100,000sp as starter pack to prevent him wasting long time to earn points to a system he doesn''t know its importance. Another thing from the new information is the systems origin, but when he tries to think about it at all, all he see is random letters and voices he couldn''t understand. So, he gave up trying know about it until later when he has more time and was used to the system. The last thing in the information given to him was about Runemaster, but only the meaning was given and nothing more which puzzled him more because on the panel it was listed as his class. Since his body hasn''t evolved for magic use and the system couldn''t connect to the main server all it could give him was a portion of powers of a runemaster which was to inscribe runes on objects in order to influence the objects behavior or give them properties (he could escribe a firewood to have a cold properties and then the fire that will burn from it will be cold) but the information on how to use runes and other detail about it were not given to him, only the short explanation was provided, as he was really curious and wanted more information about it unfortunately that was also left for later. After spending about 30 minute accepting his current reality, he left his bed and went to the bathroom to refresh himself and prepare for the day. ... When he left his room after cleaning himself he headed to the dining table in order to join his family for breakfast and that''s when he saw his mother have swollen eyes. This hurt him as he knew that her mother must have not slept and spent a significant amount of time crying for her to have swollen eyes. Since he knew the reason, nothing but anger arose in him as he vowed to not make his family live through the same situation again and to also find what or who was the cause of his unfair expulsion in order to exact his revenge 100 fold for making his mother cry. He ate his breakfast quietly and didn''t bring up the topic because it seems like his mother was trying to hide it from him. After breakfast he went back to his room because he had some deep thinking to-do, plan to make, a future to plan and a dept to pay. but he has to start from somewhere at least. .... Seven hours later he left his room wearing jogging clothes as he had a quest to complete. during the time he spent in his room, he was looking at maybe the most important feature that came with the system, the system shop. When he started poking around in the shop he found different branches of knowledge filled with every technology he could think, the only thing separating him and the knowledge was system points. what he had compared to what he wanted to buy from the system was close to almost nothing. So, after spending few hours and sorting things based on price he managed to find something he could currently use in order to start earning money and get out of his massive dept. [ [BugZapper] description: it is a program that it main purpose of use is to find weakness in any program and propose a solution of the problem in a way that is easier, professional and efficient for the user. History: it started being used in the year 2134 by umbrella corporation in order to ensure its systems security, it was released for the public us in the year 2200. by bipedal intelligent organisms(Human) located in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy, 25,000 light-years from the galactic center. solar system''s coordinates Right ascension: 17 hours, 45 minutes, 40.04 seconds. Declination: -29 degrees, 0 minutes, 28.1 seconds.... Price:100,000sp ] he chose this because he could use this as a way to earn money faster and repay his dept, so that he doesn''t cause his parent to have a heart attack if they later learned about it. Also it was easy for him to think of ways to use it because it was a knowledge about what he was studying as his major in university, so the barrier of entry for him was as low as it could possibly get. After deciding what the direction he wanted to go, he bought the knowledge and started having the headache of his life as the knowledge was being downloaded and assimilated into his brain being made ready for his use, but he fainted so all those went pretty unnoticeable for him. when he woke up, he realized that he had a whole new knowledge that went deep on how he can make the program. He could also just use small parts of the program''s code and apply it to other places as it gave him a comprehensive knowledge about everything related to the subject. so, it was worth the headache he had before fainting is what he though, as he looked at his current amount of sp remaining which was 0sp. He felt sad that he didn''t have an infinity amount of them, where he could have just learned whatever fancied him and his plans without having to plan anything to the last detail in order to conserve sp. So, he stood up changed his clothes and went for a run as he had a daily quest to complete, if he wanted to earn points, small as they may be they were still points nevertheless. And so his journey with a system started with him running to complete one Punchman''s workout and someone was in for a face slapping of their life, only if they knew it x3. Chapter 4 First Step ?Aron rose from the ground, his breaths ragged and laboured after a series of push-ups on the grassy expanse of the park. As he steadied his breathing, he began to jog, his movements smooth and effortless as he moved across the verdant landscape. With each stride, he felt his muscles come to life, his feet pounding the soft earth with a steady rhythm. The morning sun shining down on him, casting long shadows as he ran through the open spaces, his senses alive to the sights and sounds around him. Despite the challenge of the workout he had just completed, the figure pressed on, pushing himself harder and harder with each passing moment. His breathing grew deeper and more measured, his body working in perfect harmony as he ran with the power and grace of an athlete in his prime. This continued until a screen appeared in front of him. That''s when he knew that his training has came to an end. DING!!! [Quest complete] [Reward 100sp] After taking a few deep breaths, he looked at his current sp numbers that showed that he only had managed to get 400 sp. Knowing that even the cheapest thing on the system shop costs about 85,000sp. That means he will be running for a very long time or he needs to use the system taught knowledge very well, to compensate for the little points he gets from the daily quest. pnd,no?1,o .. When he returned home, he found his mother watching tv. "Are you done with your exercise?" Asked Aron''s mother while fiddling with the remote. "Yeah, today took longer than usual because i rested halfway through my jogging" "Not that I''m against it, but why did you start doing these exercises?" "I needed to do something to vent out my stress or i might go crazy by overthinking that''s why i chose to start doing exercise because when i''m tired i can''t think complicated topics so it saves me from some depressing thoughts" Answered Aron half of the truth and not telling the other half as that was because it was a Quest. "Okay, you know that you can confide in me right?" said Aron''s mother softly to show that she really cares about his son. "Of Course mom, I know that." Smiled Aron, knowing that he has a place to depend and a family to depend on. And this is the last bump he needed to make him decide to begin with his first step on his long journey for his and his family''s better future. .. Aron could be seen sitting on his chair after he came out of the bathroom. He was thinking on how to use the knowledge he got from the system. The reason he didn''t copy the program word for word from the system is because the system was way too ahead of its time that it would be useless in the current internet infrastructure. He needed to dumb the current program down in order for it to be able to word on the existing programs and sites. That''s why it took him a week to decide on his approach on how to dumb the program while still keeping its ability intact. You can think of it like how translation works, as the program given by the system was designed to check programs that were written in the year 2100 and later, he needed to translate the system for it to be able to work on programs that were written before that. And so his work began, he started writing his program slowly and while making sure his program is capable of finding all sorts of weaknesses that can be exploited by others and being capable of listing them out in an understandable manner. While its first function is game breaking by itself, the second function of the program is the one that will be among the best ways he could use to double his income that he could have gotten by only finding the weaknesses of the program. It took him two weeks to complete the program, but those two weeks did not go quietly, because when he replied to the email from the scholarship department they said that he needed to visit them for a meeting, So that they could talk on the plan of payment. But when he replied to them that currently he wasn''t capable of visiting them for the meating they sent him different plans from which he could choose one of them for him to begin his repayment. The choices were: 1.Lump-sum payment 2.Installment plan 3.Income-driven repayment plan But each of them was difficult to him for a different reason When it comes to lump-sum payment, he didn''t have even a fifth of it, for him to be able to choose this option even if he wanted. The Installment plan was difficult in its own way because he will be paying it in part over a long period of time but this also comes with its challenges since the interest option that they gave him was way too high for him to accept. As for the third option, he couldn''t choose this because he didn''t have any income for him to choose this plan. So he was between the rock , the hard place and the tough place. But after a long time of thinking and the otherside urging him to give them his decision he ended up choosing the lesser of the evil which was the second option which came with a hefty interest rate of 15% What made him think that someone could be attempting to bankrupt him. Because when he signed the scholarship contract there was a section that was there in case of repayment being of the grant being needed to be repaid, the university has the liberty of choosing the interest of the payment plan which will be between 2,5% and 15% yearly. But when he asked about this provision he was told that even if repayment was going to be needed the amount of interest that they usually chose is always under 5%, even the highest amount given to a rapist student was 9% but what the hell did he do to be made to pay it with 15% the full amount of interest. who the FUCK did he piss off to have this being done to him? Although it was the lesser of the three evils, it didn''t leave him with a good taste in his mouth. Because if he continues with this payment plan to the end in the span of 10 years he would have to pay almost $1,239,000 in the span of 27 years by paying $1000 monthly which is what he can currently afford. $1,239,000 that''s the total amount of money that he will have to pay due to the interest rate that will be accumulated for the period of 27 years. I mean come on who the fuck would they do that to someone who was once their student?. He swore that once he completed the program for detecting weaknesses on the systems, he will start with his universities system and hack the shit out of it to find out who the fuck is the mastermind or the architecture that was planning for his miserable life. But since this was the only option that he was capable of paying, although he will have to pay a brutal amount of money, he still ended up choosing it though he was angry. The only peaceful grace in all of this was that he managed to schedule another meeting in 2 months where he was capable of choosing another option from those three. That also meant that he would not begin with his repayment plan until after the second meeting, which was after 2 months. So, he had a 2 month grace period and he needed to earn the amount of money within that period lest he end up having to pay a million something bullshit dollar. That''s why the moment he finished making the weakness finding program, (BugZapper) he kept his promise and tested it on his university''s system. Chapter 5 Testing & Finding Out ?The program started testing every exploit that could be used to break the university system''s defences and the firewall was like tofu it was like it did not exist at all. While the university has invested a huge amount of money for the security of their system, in the eyes of Aron''s program it looked like a kid fighting against a tank. It ripped through it detailing every weakness and how it could be exploited to a level even a beginner programmer could exploit the system. When the seventh hour passed since the system started going through the university system it was still going on listing more and more vulnerabilities. There are a few reasons why it is taking a very long time to complete. The first is because my computer was cheap as my family couldn''t afford a more expensive one without leaving a hole in our finances. Currently my cheap computer is capable of cooking an omelette from the heat. I had to make an impromptu cooling system by using a home fan. The second is because the program was done in the year 2100''s. That means it had a compile list of weaknesses from years before and after that, but because during that time these weaknesses were known by almost everyone so they were removed during the development phase. But since he is years before that in this universe that means most of them have not been even discovered. That means the program was finding butload amount of them. That is also the reason it was cooking his computer. On the third day after the system started scanning the university system weaknesses it completed its job and started writing the complete report on how they could be used to exploit the system and how to solve them. But since inefficiencies in the system were also considered to be the systems weaknesses, it also listed them and how to solve them this gave him hope on how he could use the program to also optimise other peoples programs for money. But first he needs to know who was hellbent on making his life living hell. The final pdf document was 1200 pages and almost 400 of them were about weaknesses and how to exploit them with detail on how it could be done. The rest of them were about optimisation and how to solve the 400 pages of weaknesses. So he took his time reading the whole document and he was enjoying every second of his as he knew after he learned everything about it and implemented it he will be able to find out who was fucking with his life. pnd`no?1--o It took him 5 hours to finish reading the complete document and digest everything in it. .... Here is a lesson if you want to hack something,there are 5 steps that you need to follow The first step is Reconnaissance. in this step all you do is collect information about the target. It may include Identifying the Target, finding out the target''s IP Address Range, Network, DNS records. The second step is scanning. This phase includes the usage of tools like dialers, port scanners, network mappers, sweepers, and vulnerability scanners to scan data. The third step is gaining access. In this phase, the hacker designs the blueprint of the network of the target with the help of data collected during Phase 1 and Phase 2. The hacker has finished enumerating and scanning the network and now decides that they have some options to gain access to the network. The fourth step is maintaining access. Once a hacker has gained access, they want to keep that access for future exploitation and attacks. Once the hacker owns the system, they can use it as a base to launch additional attacks. The fifth and last step is clearing tracks. Once access is gained and privileges have been escalated, the hacker seeks to cover their tracks. This includes clearing out Sent emails, clearing server logs, temp files, etc. The hacker will also look for indications of the email provider alerting the user or possible unauthorised logins under their account. But since Arons program has done most of the parts he only needs to do one step, the third step, as for the 4&5 steps he doesn''t need to do them because the way he is going to gain the access will not leave behind any traces, this was the best attack his program used among many others when it was testing the university systems weakness. .. Aron could be seen sitting down in front of his computer shaking from anger. If you look at what he was reading, you will find that he was reading emails from professor Eli Yehudah Rotem Rothschild to someone in the disciplinary committee. The other email was from the same professor to someone in the scholarship department and god are they fools to keep the information using the schools given email. [ Subject: Request for Disciplinary Hearing for Student Dear Members of the Disciplinary Committee, I am writing to request a disciplinary hearing for a student, whose conduct has come to my attention as a faculty member. I believe that this student has violated the university''s code of conduct and may have engaged in academic misconduct, which has serious implications for the academic integrity of our institution and the trust that we place in our students. Based on my interactions with the student and my assessment of the evidence, I am convinced that this matter warrants a formal investigation and disciplinary action. I would like to request that the student be summoned to a hearing where they can present their case and respond to the allegations against them. I am willing to provide any evidence and testimony that I have gathered in support of my position, and I am open to answering any questions that the committee may have regarding this matter. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to working with you to ensure that our academic standards are upheld and that justice is served. Sincerely, Professor Eli Yehudah Rotem Rothschild ] This showed that it was him that had fabricated the evidence and reported him to them, that''s when everything clicked into place when he remembered that his professor had taken a vacation immediately after the failure of the thesis presentation. That means that he was preparing for Aron''s downfall because he embarrassed him. The other email was to the scholarship department, [ Subject: Request for Aron''s Repayment Plan To be maximum amount of the allowable Interest Rate Dear Scholarship Department, I am writing to request a repayment plan for Aron, a former scholarship recipient, who was recently expelled from our institution for essay theft. While I cannot express my disappointment in his actions, I believe that it is important for us to set an example and precedent with him in moving forward and making him an example for his mistakes. Given the circumstances, I would like to request a modification to the terms of the scholarship agreement. Specifically, I am requesting that the interest rate on Aron''s loan be modified to the maximum allowable rate of 15% annually. While this may result in a lower overall return for the scholarship fund, I believe that it is reasonable as it will set him as an example. Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please let me know if you require any additional information or documentation. Sincerely, Professor Eli Yehudah Rotem Rothschild ] Damn the dude even wrote to the scholarship department, for fuck sake. Aron could use this information to his advantage to sue the professor and the university, he will need to tell them where he got these emails that are private. So, it might backfire on him. Also since he still didn''t know how the professor fabricated the theses used as evidence in his hearing,it is better for him to continue digging for more evidence. But this relieved him even though it was just a little bit. Some smart dude in the past once said, the first step to solving a problem is knowing what caused it. Since he finally found out who was the instigator, and the veil of mysteriousness has been removed, the fear of the unknown was also removed with it. meaning now he wont have nightmares of some faceless dude trying to destroy his future and make his life miserable. Although he didn''t know the reason why the professor decided to ruin his life just because he embarrassed him. His head was spinning thinking about how to take his revenge from the professor. But first he needed to know the context or the reason he went this far, because embarrassing him once isn''t enough to ruin someone''s life. After that he will decide how brutal his revenge should be. But he was also relieved that his program is really good at doing its job, this will mean that his money making plan has finally taken its first step into the bright future. Chapter 6 The First Target ?After using the vulnerabilities, entering the university''s database and finding out who was plotting for his misery he managed to calm down and start focusing on earning money first to relieve himself from debt so that it doesn''t create a negative situation in the future. So, he decided to find his first victim on his massive money making plan. Since he needed a large amount of money. He needed to find the victim who puts not only way too much importance in their data security but also has a very large public user base for them to want to prevent user data theft. This means that they will pay more money for his service, since a leak for them may mean that they lose their user base''s trust in their security system. So, he decided to focus on social media sites since they fit perfectly in all of his criteria''s and he started investigating them and gathering all the needed detail before he made a choice on which one to choose. And these are what he found after a few hours of research, As of today (May 28, 2013): Facebook - Facebook''s market valuation stands at approximately $63 billion, with 1.11 billion monthly active users. YouTube - YouTube''s market valuation remains undisclosed, but the platform has reported 1 billion unique monthly visitors. Qzone - Qzone, owned by Chinese technology giant Tencent, has approximately 597 million registered users as of May 2013, but its market valuation is currently unknown. Sina Weibo - Sina Weibo''s market valuation stands at approximately $3.3 billion, with 500 million registered users. Google+ - Although Google+ had amassed more than 500 million registered users by December 2012, the social media platform''s market valuation is currently unknown. Twitter - Twitter''s market valuation remains undisclosed, with 200 million monthly active users. LinkedIn - LinkedIn went public in May 2011 and has grown to over 225 million registered users as of today, with a market valuation of approximately $20.5 billion. Instagram - In April 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion, its market valuation is included in Facebook''s overall valuation, with 100 million monthly active users. Tumblr - Yahoo! announced its acquisition of Tumblr for $1.1 billion, its market valuation is likely around that amount, with 300 million monthly active users. Vine - Vine''s market valuation remains undisclosed, with 13 million registered users. Vine had been acquired by Twitter in October 2012. That was what he found out about their user data from the data and their valuation in the market up to this month. Since his computer is shitty, he can only choose one of the companies to do that, because it will take about a week to complete. Since he will upgrade it immediately the moment he gets money. That''s why he decided to go with the company that has the most money currently and can pay him immediately without beating around the bush too much. So, he chose Facebook, as they have the most amount of users and the highest valuation among them, they must value their lead and don''t want a scandal that can make their competitors catch to them happen in a year after they have gone public, since if it happens they might lose their lead and the shareholders meeting will be a funnyone to attend. After choosing which site to start with, he immediately started the program and it immediately started scanning the app for its weaknesses. . Two weeks later.... At Facebook headquarters. Roxana Gray, the head of the website security department, arrived at the office when she heard a commotion immediately after entering the office. The moment she opened the door everyone turned at her and one of them asked her" Mam, why aren''t you answering your phone?" "It was on silent mode, but why? Is there something urgent or what?" "Yes mam, we received a suspicious email saying that they have found some security breaches on our system and sent us an example of a few of them" answered the man. When she heard that she immediately said "Meeting room in 10 minutes" and left for her office to calm herself down and prepare for the meeting. Conference room. Roxana arrive when there was about 5 minutes before the agreed time, when she found out that everyone was already there she said "Since everyone is already here let''s hear everything from the beginning" "Yes Mam". Answered the man and started explaining from the beginning "When i was checking my office email i found an email with the heading written as i found some security weaknesses in your app" he said while opening the email and showing it to everyone using the projector in the meeting room. The email said: [ Subject: Disclosure of Vulnerabilities in Facebook''s App and System To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to inform you that I have discovered some vulnerabilities in Facebook''s app and system that could potentially compromise user data and security. As a concerned citizen and a user of your platform, I feel it is my responsibility to report these vulnerabilities to you so that they can be addressed and resolved as soon as possible. I have already sent you some examples of these vulnerabilities that I have discovered, free of charge. However, I have more vulnerabilities that I am willing to share with you, but I require compensation for the remaining information. I would like to stress that my intentions in reporting these vulnerabilities are solely to help improve the security of your platform and protect your users'' privacy. I am not seeking any personal gain or compensation for the examples that I have already provided. However, I believe that it is appropriate to request payment for my services if you require additional information beyond what I have already provided. I urge you to take these vulnerabilities seriously and take immediate action to address and resolve them. Please contact me at this email if you require the remainder information or have any questions. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Vulnerabilities Ver 01.pdf Sincerely, [Aron Michael] ] When they finished reading the email, the man continued with his explanation "When I tested the vulnerabilities he sent to us, they did exactly how it was explained, and the way he used them to exploit the system wouldn''t have been spotted by our firewall." finished the man and waited for them to digest what he said. "Who do you think he is?" asked one of them. "That''s not important right now "said Roxana, disappointed with whoever said this "What''s important is to patch this security hole and contact him and set a meeting with him, the sooner the better." They discussed a little bit more and ended the meeting heading back to their work bench to fix the vulnerabilities Aron had sent them. While also contacting Aron to arrange a meeting with him in a few days. . When Aron received their reply he was relieved that they took his email seriously else he would have something that would attract their attention as he didn''t want to wait for another two weeks to find the vulnerabilities of another social media company''s system. After a back and forth between him and Facebook they agreed to a meeting in their office, while he will be on an all-expense paid trip for a meeting with them next week since they expected his visit to last more than 3 days, due to payments negotiation that will also be taking place on their meeting. After agreeing to their meeting plan, Aron took out his cell phone and called one of his few remaining friends. Felix, who was a law student specialising technology-related legal issues. When he answered they caught up with their current situation and a few small talk here and there then Aron dived into the main talk. He explained to him in detail about his situation with Facebook and their planned meeting next week and that he needed a lawyer specialising in tech-related issues to go with and represent him during their meeting with Facebook making sure he gets paid what he deserves and they don''t underplay his contribution. pnd`no?1--o Felix agreed to help him, but he said they needed to meet first in order to understand the situation fully and be able to prepare for the meeting with Facebook. So they agreed to meet this evening. After Aron finished the phone call he got up and changed his clothes to his jogging ones since he needed to complete his daily quest to earn some sp as currently only has.. [26,600sp] Normally he should have only about 1,600sp but since he managed to use the knowledge given by the system he earned 10,000sp when he completed the BugZapper. He got a grade of F minus, because he downgraded the system for it to work in this time and the system interpreted it as him not using the program to its fullest potential. He also earned 5,000 when he used the program to test it on the university''s system. He also earned another 10,000sp when he used the program on Facebook''s systems, because Facebook had a larger system size compared to the university''s one and the impact he will have through Facebook will be higher than the university one. The large amount of data was the reason it took him nearly two weeks to complete checking the Facebook''s system, as massive amounts of information to sort and a crappy computer contributing to it didn''t help either. Chapter 7 Meeting With Felix And A Talk With Sarah ?CAFE Aron arrived at the meeting location where he was planning to meet Felix and give him detailed explanation in order for him to prepare for their meeting and negotiation with Facebook. Three Minutes after he got his drink Felix arrived, he shook Aron''s hand and hugged him then sat down on the opposite side of him. "How have you been coping since that day" asked Felix "It was difficult at first but I have been coping pretty well, even I''m surprised at myself" smiled Aron as he was answering, Although he didn''t explain the reason of what was helping him cope or what gave him hope, this didn''t mean he wasn''t thankful to it. As without the arrival of the system it would have taken him longer to be able to move from it, but since they decided to add a massive debt on top of it while he was still down, he would have gone crazy if he had no assistance from someone. "I''m surprised too, I thought you would still ignore my calls. I didn''t think you would call me on your own first " smiled Felix as he replied. "Since many of those who called themselves my friend decided to abandon me immediately after they heard the rumors without even verifying it with me, I was afraid that you two among the last of the few who did not express their side would leave my side. That''s why I was avoiding you and Sarah." Answered Aron showing the pain of betrayal on his face. "You didn''t answer even Sarahs calls" Asked Felix while showing a surprised face meaning that he didn''t expect Aron to avoid her, as he was friends with her before they even met him. "I was avoiding hers because she will be nagging me all around asking if i was cheating why didn''t i hide it better or something" Answered Aron while smiling, knowing that Sarah would never abandon him no matter what. because she was his friend since their high school year where they met Felix. "Yeah I expected that," Laughed Felix while replying when he remembered Sarah''s behaviour."So what is this thing about you and Facebook" asked Felix after calming himself from laughing. "OH yeah so this is what happened.." Started explaining to Felix that he found some weaknesses from Facebook and he emailed them informing them and sending them some of them as example to prove his point, he also informed them that he has more of them but he will need them to compensate him for his work. Also that they have contacted him and managed to set up a meeting with him next week on a full expense paid trip. This also included anyone who will come with him and the reason he called him is that he needed a lawyer specialising in tech to make sure he gets the right compensation he deserved. After he finished explaining everything to Felix while hiding the system, he only mentioned that he developed an app that can do that without going into full details on how it works, he waited for Felix to digest the information. It took Felix about 5 minutes which was all covered with just drinking their coffees while he was thinking and Aron waiting. "So, those weaknesses, how many of them did you find and what level are they in?" Asked Felix to know more for him to be able to fully prepare. [[[ Okay back to school now, So what are the different levels of vulnerabilities? Security weaknesses can be categorised into several different levels, depending on their severity and impact. There are 4 levels of security level vulnerabilities. 1.)Low-level vulnerabilities: These are the most common types of security weaknesses and are relatively easy to exploit. They may include things like weak passwords, unpatched software, or poorly configured systems. 2.)Medium-level vulnerabilities: These types of security weaknesses are more significant than low-level vulnerabilities, but still do not pose an immediate and severe risk to the system. 3.)High-level vulnerabilities: These types of security weaknesses are serious and can lead to significant consequences if not addressed promptly. 4.)Critical-level vulnerabilities: These are the most severe types of security weaknesses, and they can pose an immediate and severe threat to the system''s security. Now let''s go back to our story ]]] "I have found about 50 critical-level,150 high-level,500 medium-level, and over 1000 low-level vulnerabilities" Answered Aron calmly.(He didn''t tell him all of them) "WHAT?!!!!!!!!!" Felix was so surprised that he shouted while standing, making his chair fall and making everyone look on their side. "Calm down a little bit man " said Aron while having a difficult time to stop himself from laughing. After Felix apologized and sat down he replied "How the fuck did you find out that much? And how the heck do you expect me to calm down?" "Sorry!" Said Aron in a joking manner. "So what do you plan to do with all of them?" "Do you have anything else?" "OH yeah i also have the solution for them." He said calmly. "WHAT? oh, for fuck sake just say everything at once, don''t make me have several near heart attack situations" Said Felix. "I want you to use this to make them double the payment in return for both the vulnerabilities and the solution pack together" "Oooh Now I see why you would need a lawyer, since from just the number of vulnerabilities you found they will need to pay millions but if you also add the solution to them. This means that it will not only save them time but it will also give them a step ahead from their competitors" Felix kept speaking because the longer the time passed the more his mind came with the ideas on how to exploit it to their benefit. They continued talking for 2 hours until they agreed to have one more meeting before they go to their meeting with Facebook. But he decided to call Sarah on his way home, because the longer he postponed it the longer the nagging he will have to deal with. . Aron dialed Sarah''s number nervously expecting her not to pick it in a fit of anger, but she picked up and answered the phone but still with a hint of anger in her voice. "Hello, who is this?" she said. Acting as if she didn''t know her pnd`no?1--o Aron replied, "Hi Sarah, it''s Aron. I know you know it''s me and I wanted to apologise for not answering your call. When I got dismissed from the university, I was really struggling to cope with the situation, and I ended up not answering anyone''s calls. I''m really sorry for not being there for you when you needed me." He continued, "I also wanted to mention that I lost many friends during that time. It was really tough to deal with, especially because they didn''t even try to verify what was going on before abandoning me. Now that I''ve had some time to think about it, I realize that ghosting you and everyone else was a real dick move. I''m sorry for hurting you, and I hope you can forgive me." Sarah was initially taken aback by Aron''s apology as he expected him to reply to the banter as he usually did when he had a problem, but after a moment of silence, she softened. "Sorry for answering like that also thank you for apologizing, Aron. I was really worried about you when you didn''t answer my calls, and I had some idea of what was going on and I didn''t know that there would be people who would abandon you. It hurt that you didn''t reach out, but I understand that you were going through a really tough time." "So how are you coping and are you fine?" Aron sighed with relief, grateful for Sarah''s understanding. "I really appreciate your kindness, Sarah. It was a dark time for me, and I''m already getting back on my feet one step at a time." " Aron. I''m here for you, you know that right?" Sarah replied, her tone warming up. "Yeah I know that you are always on my side, it''s just that i didn''t want to stress you while dealing with your graduation and other things" The two chatted for a while longer, catching up on each other''s lives and making plans to meet up soon after the meeting with Facebook. Aron felt a weight lifted off his shoulders as he reconnected with a friend who had stood by him during difficult times in the past, and he knew that he had made the right decision to reach out now to reconnect and apologize. After the call he rushed home to have dinner with his family, clean himself, help his younger brother in his homework, put him to sleep, going back to his room, spend some time thinking about the future and falling asleep as he dreamt a bright future ahead for him, his family and friends who remained on his side. Chapter 8 Deal With Facebook And Future Plans ?The air in the meeting room was tense as the group of eight sat in their respective positions, each side almost mirroring the other. On one side of the long conference table sat Aron, his friend and lawyer Felix, and a laptop in front of him displaying a folder labelled "Sensitive Information" on the screen, with a USB flash drive inserted in the computer. pnd,no?1,o On the other side sat six individuals, including Roxan, head of security at Facebook, and five other people, three of whom were lawyers, and two from the Facebook site security department. Aron fidgeted in his seat, his eyes darting nervously from the screen to the faces of the people sitting across from him. As both sides prepared to engage in a high-stakes discussion and negotiation. The sound of shuffling papers and clearing throats broke the silence as the meeting began, and Aron braced himself for what was to come. He took a deep breath, steadying himself as he prepared to share his findings with the group. It was going to be a long day. ''This is going to take a long time'' Aron sighed while focusing on presenting them an example and after the payment agreement he will give them the rest. "Here are a few new examples of your system''s vulnerabilities" said while projecting his screen to the wall using a projector. "We have already tested the ones you sent to us last time, so there is no need to try to show us more, just tell us how many more you have," Roxan said when he was about to start showing a few more examples. ''Even better for me as it reduces my stress trying to explain things'' Aron immediately moved to answer her question. "I currently have more than 1700 vulnerabilities in your system" Answered immediately. "OH my God" said Roxan under her breath when she heard the answer. She had expected maybe ten or more since he had already sent 3 of them, but what she heard meant that it was more than she would have ever guessed even in her wildest imagination but Aron didn''t care about that and continued. "In that, there are about 50 critical-level,150 high-level,500 medium-level, and over 1000 low-level vulnerabilities" continued explaining calmly. When the Facebook security guys heard that the total number of critical and high level vulnerabilities is over 200, they knew that they need to almost overhaul their entire system to remove these weaknesses and it would take a very long time but not only that it would take a large amount of money. From just fast calculation Roxan determined that they will need to invest almost 250 million and it will take months to finish this since most of these vulnerabilities are new and they will have to invent the solutions themselves. But just as she was about to fall into despair a light of hope shined on her as Aron said "I also have their solution but I can only provide it to you if my compensation is doubled and those fees will be negotiated with my lawyer here" while pointing at Felix. A sigh of relief came out of Roxanas when she heard those words from Aron. She really wanted to hire him into his team but she knew that he wouldn''t want to work for someone when he could earn more from working alone. What followed next was the negotiation part, which was between Felix and the three Facebook lawyers, since every lawyer wants to get the best deal for his client, because their payment depends on how much they win or how much they save for their clients. This back and forth continued for two days, they had agreed on the price but they couldn''t come to an agreement when it came to some of the NDA clauses, but they managed to come to terms and signed an agreement. His payment will be $69million after taxes and lawyer fees. Although his friend denied his offer to pay him $10million stating that he didn''t do much but after back and forth he ended up agreeing to take $5million as a fee. Although it might seem low compared to what Aron earned but usually the amount they get from this type of deal is only about 1 million, you also have to put in mind that this was Felix''s second official case since his graduation. That means that Felix is the highest paid rookie lawyer in America or I think so. . When he arrived at home he asked his parents to have a talk . . In the living room. "You remember when i said i have a meeting with Facebook right" "Yeah so how did it go? Did you get the job?" asked his mother with enthusiasm. "No, I wasn''t there for a job meeting. I was there because I found some weaknesses in their app and went to meet them to talk about payment issues," explained Aron at a level they could understand. "So did they agree to pay you?" asked his father expecting them to not want to pay his son. "No, they agreed to pay me, we have already signed a contract and they will forward the payment invoice tomorrow." he stopped to take a breath and continue "So, since the money is enough, I wanted to ask you if you want to move house" said Aron and started waiting for the answer His mother answered "Don''t you need that money for yourself, why would you want to immediately buy a house now" "You don''t have to worry about money not being enough, they paid me enough to buy a house and more" "Shouldn''t you use the money to start a business or something, you will need a source of income for the time this money finishes" his mother continued being against it while his father shook his head up and down showing that he agrees with his mother. "Mom they paid me more than $5million so you don''t have to worry about money shortage for a period of time" he countered, he had to lower the amount given to him or else they will think he is being scammed lest they take him for a fool. "What!!!, what did you do for them to pay you that much, are you sure it''s not a scam" Asked his father with a look of worry, afraid that his son was being conned. "No dad you don''t have to worry about it being a scam i went there with a lawyer and we signed a contract so they can''t scam me even if they want because i can sue them" "If there was a lawyer with you then it''s okay, but since it is your money it''s up to you on how you spend it, but don''t spend it recklessly like those lottery winners understood? " said his father with a serious expression. Although he felt proud of his son he didn''t want to show it, lest it gets on his son''s head. "Yes, you don''t have to worry about that, then I''m going forward with buying a house then." "Your money is your choice but just be careful like your father said" Finished Aron''s mother while showing pride on her son. They then continued to have small talk about how his visit went and many small topics until time for dinner came and they all went to eat. . Two days later Aron was currently staring at his phone, on the screen it showed his bank account statement which was.. $69,000,027. This is the first time his bank account exceeded the thousand dollar mark. Now that he had already received the money he needed to plan on how to use it very well in order for it to propel him into greatness. He didn''t pay the school debt immediately, because he was afraid that it would tip the professor that something good might have happened to him and since he didn''t know how powerful the professors'' connections were, he decided to wait for the second meeting about payment negotiation plans in order to do that. So, his first plan current plan was Buy a good house and car for his family Transfer his younger brother to a good school Upgrade his computer into a personal servers computer meet Sarah Make his father quit his job and do what he wants (Since he is rich) Start a business that can use the program(BugZapper) to its full potential and earn loads of money for him to invest into his future business endeavor''s. He had more than 5 things he needed to do, but he was happy to do them because if someone told him that his life will start changing 3 days after he was unreasonably expelled from his university 2 days before his graduation and got a quarter a million of student debt out of nowhere, so his current life was pretty good in his eyes. This doesn''t mean that he was not angry at what happened to him the reason he postponed his investigation revenge planning is because he needed to be in a stable position so that he can plan it peacefully and meticulously. Chapter 9 New House & Back To Work ?Aron and his family completed moving into their new house by the fourth week after their talk that night. ( image here) After he bought the house he also bought two cars for his family to use for their use. ( Image here ) His parents are very happy, as they now don''t have to worry about rent and other miscellaneous things. When he showed the house to his parents they asked him to buy a normal one because it was very expensive. He managed to make them agree when he told them that he chose this house because it will make it easier for his younger brother to have access to better schools around here. The house was a 6 bedroom with a ground, an upper floor and a basement. They were currently using only 3 rooms, one for his parents, one for him, one for his younger brother and the rest was for guests and other things. As for the basement. It was his for use and he was using it as a location for his home server. Since normal servers are noisy and create too much heat, he needed to soundproof the entire basement. Also because they generate too much heat he also installed cooling for the entire basement and a vent that can redirect the heat so that it doesn''t make the heat head to the house. But all those were overkill because the server he bought was quite a quiet one; it contained dual Intel Xeon processors, with a terabyte of RAM and ten two-terabyte SAS hard drives in RAID 10 for storage. For those who don''t understand those jargons It means he can run multiple virtual machines, host his own websites, and even set up his own cloud storage system. And with the 10-gigabit Ethernet network card and the Adaptec RAID controller, He can transfer data at lightning-fast speeds. It''s like having his own personal data center right here in his basement. But he will only be using it for running BugZapper on multiple virtual machines at once. He will be accessing all of this in his workroom upstairs by using the 10-gigabit Ethernet network connection. He also connected his house with cable connection of the highest speed he could buy which provided download speeds of up to 505 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 100 Mbps ( for 2013 that was really fast ) This means he was capable of doing everything while sitting in his workroom. . After he and his family finished moving to the new house and moving his brother to the new school they started to get used to their new life. Aron decided to give both his father and mother 1 million dollars for their use, since he asked them to quit their demanding jobs and enjoy their lives. . Approximately 1 month after his deal with Facebook he finally finished moving handling few small problems he finally had time to start meaning more money using BugZapper but al that had to wait for him to finish jogging DING!!!! [Quest Complete] [Rewards 100sp] Total [29,600sp] Aron stopped running after he finished his Quest, he was tired but not like when he started doing the quest the first time but now he was getting fit and started getting used to the system. He was expecting for the system to upgrade the quest very soon . Aron could be seen sitting in his work room in front of his new computer connected to his home server. He started working for the first time in a long time. Since he upgraded his computer system to the latest specs he could run multiple virtual machines at once, meaning he could check multiple programs at once. So he started looking at which social media companies he should check next. But since he already investigated when he chose Facebook. He chose google and their products, that means he will take a look at YouTube, google+ and the google site itself. He chose them at once in order to be able to sell it to them at once for a high price. After choosing his next victims, he fired up the programs and he started it in multiple virtual machines and just waited for the machine to do its magic. And the waiting game began. While the machine was doing its magic he went downstairs to play and spend time with his younger brother, since they were new to the area he only managed to make a few friends in the neighborhood. ..... Aron opened his eyes, waking up from his sleep due to the annoying alarm on his right side of the bed. He then felt someone squirm and, after a short adjustment moment, he remembered that it was his younger brother who had fallen asleep on his bed after watching a movie together last night. Aron turned off the alarm so as not to wake his brother up, then headed to the bathroom to wash his face and prepare himself for his morning exercise routine. After 10 minutes of preparation he headed out of the house and started with his jogging. . After he finished his morning exercise routine he was surprised that the normal quest complete was followed by a new notification. DING!!!! Ѧd n?a| om MILESTONE ACHIEVED !!!! REWARD 10000sp QUEST UPDATE !!!!!!!!!!!!! DING !!!!! NEW QUEST [ [Daily quest: Ways to get stronger] 250 Push-ups (0/250) 250 Crunches (0/250) 250 Squat (0/250) 10 Kilometers Running (0/10) (Rewards : 500sp) ] It was the upgrade of his daily quest. It also came with an increase in rewards of a magnitude of 5. This made Aron happy because it means that the more he gets stronger the more his rewards become. Meaning that there might come a time where he can earn 100,000sp per daily quest, although he might need to run to the moon and back for that but who says we can''t have hope. right? So, anyway there is hope at least. .... After he returned, he cleaned himself, ate breakfast and headed to his work room. When he entered and started checking his computer to look at how the process went, he found out that the process had been completed 3 hours ago and it also completed writing the reports for the three apps. So, he started to look through the three documents and it took him a little longer since they were really long. After approximately 5 hours he finally managed to complete reading through all of the files. He discovered that many of the critical security breaches are near the same as Facebook but with google there were more harmful if it was used negatively. For example there is a critical security breach that makes any account security on google products almost obsolete. Another critical breach gives him access to any person''s android device. This means that currently he was no different than any admin of google, it''s the opposite actually he had more access than any admin for google. Aron kept finding more and more weaknesses that kept getting worse and worse, meaning that he could make Google lose half its market share if he wanted. Being able to do that means that google will pay them enough to make them have no thought of causing harm to them. Since he managed to find a good exploit, he needed to exploit it for his use. He started by accessing Google''s servers to get access to their email depository. When he managed to access them, he searched his professor''s email and when he found it he proceeded to initiate downloading all of his email to his home server. Since his download speed was fast(500mb) it will take about 20 hours to complete its download, because he needed to make sure no one is suspicious of what he is doing, he needed to make the email''s he was downloading act just like normal email''s being sent, so he set a limit on how many of them can be downloaded at once. Although he won''t be leaving behind any traces, downloading something from a server means that anyone looking at the servers memory usage while it is happening can discover that a massive amount of data was being downloaded to somewhere they cannot traceback to. But after he completes downloading what he wanted, he can delete it''s history from the servers memory making it seem like he was never there. That is the reason he had to limit the download amount at once. And the waiting game began, with the anticipation of getting more information about how his professor planned for his fall. But while the download was going on the background he started using the waiting time to do something with the same importance or more. So, he started using the breach he found in android to access the professors phone. he managed to find the phone because he had the professor''s phone number, since it was given to everyone in his class in order to contact him in case it was needed but no one does that because he doesn''t answer the numbers he didn''t register himself so it was useless to him until now. After he got access to the phone, he started downloading everything he can from the phone as well, but this will have to take longer because he needed to make the download speed slow enough that the phone doesn''t overheat or make his internet too slow, so that it doesn''t make the professor suspicious of his device. he teaches computer engineering, so if he gets suspicious it is game over, he will just factory reset the phone completely just to free himself from doubts. Chapter 10 Planning For The Future ?[59,600sp] That is the current amount of sp that he had, after the computer completed checking for weaknesses from the 3 apps. ... ''I hope I can get all the answers when I''m done with this'' thought Aron while he was waiting for the emails and phone info that was being downloaded. So, while he was waiting for the download to complete he decided to move to apple''s iOS. So he opened one of his virtual machines and started the app after he selected apple as the next system to search. As the program started doing its things, He opened the shop in order to prepare for his plan, so that he knows how much he needed to collect for his next project. When he went to the technology section a limitlessly long list appear. [SHOP] Quantum Computing Artificial General Intelligence Fusion Energy NanoTechnology Universal Printer Space Elevators Anti-Aging Technology Bioprinting Terraforming Force Fields Quantum Computing Quantum Encryption . . . . . . The list goes on and on and it overwhelms him. But as he was looking at the endless list something finally clicked on his head he needed to write everything himself. For example when he bought BugZapper from the system, the system taught him how to make something like so head to code it by himself which took him days infront of a computer to complete it. Ѧd n?a| om The reason it took so long was because he needed to code every function to the last one, using the current existing programming language which was very inefficient. The original program was written in a very advanced tech but when he had to rewrite it he needed to write them with current existing programming languages so it took him a long time. So, he was reminded that he needed an efficient programming language that he could use to program everything that he will learn from the system. The efficiency will not only save him time but also make him avoid many programming language weaknesses that were being discovered by his BugZapper day and night. It will also increase the efficiency of his programs and because that will also increase his programs efficiency. So he searched for programming languages from the shop. And Ooh god, a list did it show.. Arcturon: A programming language designed for controlling drones and other autonomous vehicles in extreme environments, with features for real-time data processing and adaptive decision-making. CryoScript: A language designed for use in cryogenic computing, with features for managing the temperature and energy requirements of hardware. Echo: A language designed for use in acoustic computing, with features for processing and analyzing sound waves to create interactive interfaces. Hyperion: A language designed for creating immersive virtual and augmented reality experiences, with features for real-time rendering and advanced physics simulations. Omega: A language designed for use in quantum computing, with features for managing and manipulating qubits and quantum algorithms. Prism: A language designed for use in bioinformatics, with features for processing and analyzing large-scale biological data sets. Sentinel: A language designed for use in cybersecurity, with features for threat detection, network analysis, and anomaly detection. Terraform: A language designed for creating complex simulations of ecosystems, with features for modeling environmental processes and interactions between organisms. Vertex: A language designed for creating complex mathematical models and simulations, with features for handling large-scale data sets and advanced algorithms. Zenith: A language designed for creating artificial intelligence and machine learning systems, with features for managing large-scale data sets and training neural networks. . . . . . The list goes and goes almost endlessly but every language has a specific use so he decided to make it more simple for him to choose. That''s when he decided the listing to be listed from max to min by price range. That''s when some weird programming languages that he couldn''t even use currently due to its knowledge being very expensive to even think about buying it. Arcanum: A programming language that uses runic symbols to create magical spells that can control technology and manipulate data. Runescript: A language that uses runic symbols as a form of syntax, with features for creating complex algorithms and managing large-scale data sets. Wyrd: A language that uses ancient Nordic runes to create spells and incantations that can manipulate data and control machines. Eldertongue: A language that uses Celtic runes to create algorithms that can simulate natural processes and model complex systems. Futhark: A language that uses Scandinavian runes to create complex programs that can interface with and control a wide range of machines and devices, from simple robots to advanced artificial intelligence systems. . . They continued more and more as if it was endless, so he decided to remove runic tech from the list so that he doesn''t get depressed about his sp poorness. After removing the runic ones from the equation, the best programming languages a human can use without magic started appearing Prometheus ++;(the Titan who was known for his intelligence and creativity, and who is said to have given fire (and thus knowledge) to humanity.) C--: a programing language fro.... SNake: a programing language fro.... . . . There were many more but he chose the one in the top most list as it was the most expensive one, if you don''t count the runic programming languages. When he clicked for description it appeared fully for him and details did it have. [ A powerful and versatile language designed to be used for everything from web development to scientific computing. With features like just-in-time compilation, static type checking, and garbage collection, Prometheus++ is optimized for high efficiency and performance. Prometheus++ is built with multi-platform support in mind, so it can be used on a variety of devices and operating systems. Its modular architecture makes it easy to write, manage, and debug code, and its functional programming support and concurrency features allow for powerful, efficient computation. Prometheus++ is also designed with extensibility in mind, allowing developers to add new features and libraries as needed. And with compatibility with existing languages and frameworks, it''s easy to integrate Prometheus++ with existing code and projects. Prometheus++''s clean and intuitive syntax makes it easy to learn, reducing the learning curve for developers. Whether you''re building a web app, creating scientific simulations, or anything in between, Prometheus++ has the power and flexibility you need to get the job done efficiently and effectively. price:[150,000] ] He was surprised by the price of it, because it was way too cheap for its benefits, that was when he remembered that the system was there to help him. Them putting a price on something is to make sure that he uses them to their full potential, and make sure that he bought something for its usefulness for him not because he just can. As some guy from the past once said, you always put importance on something you worked hard for, if it is readily given to you freely you won''t know its importance.[(Sun tzu)...maybe!!!!!] So the system is making something that will be used as his foundation for all of his future projects as a gift or maybe the system deemed them useless enough to sell it cheap. But who knows? After deciding that he is going to buy it the moment he gets the needed amount of sp. He expected that all it would take him is to use BugZapper for about 10 to 15 times on heavy systems to earn that amount as he currently already has about 59,600sp so he wasn''t that far. After deciding his next path he closed the store and continued doing his work of reading the email that had already been downloaded by his computer. Since if he decides to wait until they finish downloading he will spend a few days doing nothing. So, he better start now and continue as they keep being downloaded. .... Currently as was reading the emails most of them were normal conversations between colleagues but some of them gave some spice info like how he once had hemorrhoids, he learned about that in an email to his doctor. He is also cheating his wife with his secretary, that came from a conversation between the professor and his current lover, the secretary. the reason they conversed using mail is because he wanted to avoid his wife catching him by snooping on his phone so he used emails so that he doesn''t get caught. as she won''t look at his emails because who uses email for cheating? Right? As for the reason he was cheating, it was because he feels emasculated. he was forced to take his wife''s family name not the other way around. he got the job at his current university because she pulled some strings, that''s why he was so eager to present his new discovery, so that he can at least prove his worthiness to the point that he ended up missing a very simple mistake Wich led to Aron pointing out and fucking up his graduation once and for all. Aron was fuming with anger when he found out that all of this was just chain of some fucker just because he felt his dick wasn''t appreciated enough: HA!!!!!! Although he was shaking with anger he had to calm himself down and continue with his reading of emails as he needed as much information as possible. Chapter 11 What Led To It ?Have you ever been so angry that you become calm, that was the situation he was in. This was caused by what he was currently reading. Secretary: Are you okay? Professor: No I''m not, that kid destroyed my shining moment Secretary: So, are you not going to solve it and present it again? Professor: No, I can''t do it now because my wife will need to invite those people again in a short time and this will make them annoyed by me. Secretary: So what''s your plan next? Professor:..... .. . . Secretary: You said that was the only way for you to be accepted to her family. Professor: I will need to find another way for that. Secretary: which is? Professor: not important now, But first i need to deal with that fucker student Secretary: Oooh.. So what are going to do with him Professor: I looked at his university information and it seems that he is graduating in three weeks. So, I''m going to mess with graduation. I''m going to make sure he can''t graduate from anywhere or get a job in any reputable company. Secretary: isn''t that too harsh? Professor: No I need to burn him to sooth my anger else i might go crazy . . . . This was the conversation between the professor and the secretary she was cheating his wife with. .. pnd`no?1--o After a week of investigation here is what he found out. The professor''s insecurity caused him to want to stand on his own without his wife''s support, hence the new invention. But when the day of presentation came, he found out that it was his wife''s prestige and her invitation was what made all those reputable people in the technology business attend his presentation. He was emasculated and wanted to vent it on someone. So, when he found out Aron was sleeping during his presentation, he chose to vent his anger by watching him embarrass himself. But when Aron pointed out a dumb mistake he made, he lost his last chance to prove himself in front of his wife''s family. In other words he felt dickless. So he decided to destroy Arons life, because he was the reason for his shame and he thought that by destroying his life, he can be ashamed less or know that there is someone miserable than him. So, he hired someone to do a background investigation on Aron and when he found out that he comes from a low income family and he was only able to study at the university only due to the scholarship he won meant that he could destroy his life without having to worry about a retaliation from Aron. So he paid the background investigator to fabricate his thesis by making similar ones and making them seem like they were there years before Aron even knew the meaning of the word thesis. After that, he requested to be added to the thesis review committee and then when he was reviewing theses and arrived at Aron''s thesis that''s when he revealed that he had already read a similar thesis before nearly word for word. When they asked for evidence he showed them the sites that his investigator had managed to put them on. So, he managed to turn the professors against Aron and this led to Aron being dismissed from the university just 3 days before he graduated. After he was expelled, the professor felt that it was not enough and decided to make sure that he was deep in debt so that he doesn''t overcome poverty for a long time, hence he decided to write a message to the scholarship department and asked them to increase his interest rate for his repayment to the maximum amount of the agreed terms which was 15% percent. But when the scholarship committee head denied his request, he ended up threatening him in order to get him to approve it but he was denied again. A few days later he was fired due to some random reason. And the one who came next agreed immediately, that was why it took them a week before they sent him the email to inform him that he needed to repay his scholarship and wanted to discuss his repayment plan options. So, currently the people in his revenge list are, the professor, the private investigator and the new head of the scholarship committee. But he knew that he needed to slowly plan his revenge and make it so that they don''t know who was the one messing with their lives. As they said revenge is the dish best served cold!!!! Sun Tzu . For the sake of wanting to know fully about his enemies he ended up using the weaknesses from google, android, apple and Microsoft meaning that he was currently able to earn himself money from all of these companies by reporting it and have them in return for a fair compensation. So, he decided to contact Felix. "Hello my dearest customer" A voice came from the other side of the phone. "I''m I just a customer to you now?" answered Aron in a voice that hinted that he was hiding his cry sarcastically. "You see, in my law firm I''m currently their golden poster, you know," Felix continued jokingly. "Then rejoice, as i have a new job for you" he said in a doctor fate''s deep voice. "You already found another victim? Wow, that''s fast." replied Felix as he was really surprised. "Yeah, but there are four do you think you can handle it fast" "Not just one but FOUR? But which companies are they?" Now he was not only surprised but was also awed by his speed of working because only a month and a half passed from their previous meeting with Facebook. "YouTube, their parent company Google, Google, Android and apple. You think you can handle it?" "No, I can''t handle it alone. I might need some help from my senior lawyers from the firm. Is it alright if I do that?" replied Felix "You are my lawyer so what is your advice?" asked Aron. "As your lawyer and friend I advise you to allow me to seek help from my seniors as this will make the process faster and it might even make them pay more than our previous deal with Facebook." Felix explained his reasoning why. "Okay I leave it up to you. When will you guys be able to finish it?" Asked Aron. "It will take about one month to complete all of these companies if you want to have the best price" "It''s okay you don''t have to hurry it just make sure you get the best compensation you can" replied Aron. "Okay I will. Inform me when you are done." "Okay talk to you later" Aron replied and ended the call. Then he started compiling the documents to provide to his lawyer when he visit him to collect it. After he finished doing that, he started opening multiple virtual machines and started running BugZapper in all of them and started having them search different apps weaknesses. He was doing this in order to collect the needed amount of points in order to buy Prometheus++ programing language that he will be using it as the foundation of all of his future products. As the machine started doing its work all that remained is for him to wait for his program to finish and for him to earn the points and buy the language for himself. Chapter 12 A Problem At The NSA & A Deep Slumber ?A week after Facebook deal Bluffdale, Utah The NSA''s Utah Data Center is located here, which is one of the agency''s newest and largest data centers. Meeting room. "So, what is the meeting about? It better be important, because I was preparing for another meeting with Mr. president to explain deeper about what sort of harms did that Snowden traitor did. So, this better be important or else I''m sending you to the Office of the Inspector General" Said the head of the Special Source Operations Directorate Teresa H. Shea. Showing that she was still stressed about the former government contractor Edward Snowden''s betrayal. She had to visit the white house for like three times in a week just to explain the FUCKING SAME THING, AGAIN AND AGAIN, For fucksake. "Mam, there seemed to be a decrease in the amount of data that is being received from the social media side." replied the presenter hastily not to make her angrier. "What? explain in details, what is the problem this time?" Replied as she had almost gave up and resigned. just as she was dealing with their biggest threat, they got another one coming. "The data we were Collecting from Facebook servers has decreased by about 95%" the employee started explain in haste. "This started occurring around 3 days ago. When we investigated, we found out that Facebook overhauled their entire app security and the data we managed to intercept is still heavily encrypted" "So, you are saying that one of our largest source of collecting intelligence has changed their security system to the one where we can''t crack it" asked Teresa. "Yes mam, usually we know beforehand that they will be updating their security system and we prepare for it, but this time they did it suddenly as if they knew all their vulnerabilities and the solutions to it at once somehow" replied. "So what is your response plan?" asked Teresa. "Mam, I suggest we investigate the reason and how they did this, so that we can manage to circumvent it and be prepared for it when it happens with other companies that we collect data" replied the head of intelligence collection dept. "Okay we will go ahead with your plan and also find out who found those breaches and prepare a meeting with him. but put the cracking of the firewall ahead the other things understood?" Asked Teresa after giving them the direction of action to follow. The meeting was dismissed but they didn''t put the current situation into their head, as they thought that it was a passing phenomenon. Also because they were still in deep trouble from the court of public opinion after Snowden blowed the whistle, escaped to Russia and got asylum there. Putin accepting Snowden asylum request is a giant middle finger for Obama administration. ... Aron continued his speed run of point earning until he completed his 17''th app and finally managed to complete the needed amount of points. [170,600sp] So, he forwarded them to Felix who replied by jokingly complaining that he keeps increasing his job. Currently Aron was their firms biggest customer, because they were the one negotiating the compensations with the companies in his place. Currently they were negotiating as his proxy with google, apple and other companies that he was done finding Vulnerabilities. They were on the last step of negotiation with the first ones he sent them, but after he kept sending them more and more work, they decided to create a team that will only focus on dealing with Aron''s job. The team will continue focusing on dealing with Arons job until they completed all of the jobs Aron sent them. which was now a total of 21 different apps. Since he already had a solution this meant that they will be negotiating for the double the amount if they wanted the solution to them, in order to be able to solve the multitudes of problems immediately without wasting too much time on solving them themselves. So, he immediately entered the shop and pressed the buy button for the Programing language Prometheus++ . The moment he pressed buy, a notification he didn''t expect appeared infront of him. DING!!! SINCE THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION TO BE UPLOADED IN YOUR BRAIN IS TOO MUCH, IT IS RECOMENDED THAT THE USER TO BE IN LYING POSITION AS THE PROBABILITY OF YOU FAINTING IS 100%. COMMENCE WITH THE UPLOAD? YES | NO After reading the notification from the system, he immediately headed to his room after telling his mother that he will be going to sleep and not to count him in for dinner. ..... When he entered the room he found his younger brother playing PS3 on his room. "Oh, why aren''t you in your work room?" asked his younger brother in suprise as he didn''t expect him to be out now. "Don''t you have yours in your room?" Asked Aron. "Mom said I''m using it too much so she took it" said in a complaining tone but also showing that he was afraid his brother will forbid him from using his console. "Just make sure she doesn''t catch you, also use headphones I need to sleep okay?" Replied Aron. "Yes brother, I LOVE YOU" He jumped up and down in happiness while hugging Aron After their brotherly moment Aron went to his bed and lied down and pressed YES button. The moment he pressed it he immediately fainted and the system started downloading and assimilating the knowledge into his brain slowly without causing him any damage. Also since the system managed to make Aron fall into a small coma to prevent him from being harmed, it also decided to use this opportunity to recalibrate and upgrade all the parts of the systems that where in his every part of the body and also complete the implementation that will finally allow Aron access to runes. You can think of it as the system finishing its homework it couldn''t before, because during the time the system entered Aron it didn''t have enough information of Aron''s body, so the system chose the option of only copying the function of the location they were located, as they were dispersed into every part of his body and if they chose to act randomly they would have done him irrecoverable damages. The main part of the system that was located in his brain started sending a request of information to its other parts in the body. when those parts received the request, they immediately responded to the request of the main system and started sending the recorded information of their respective locations, they had started the collection of it since the day they were assimilated to the location they are currently resided. The main system started receiving information it requested from every part of Arons body. After it received it, it started processing and analyzing it to the last of its detail. After it finished analyzing it, it started simulating the effect the changes it was planning to implement into Aron''s body. After the simulation, it analyzed the result and looked at what harms and benefits did it cause to Arons simulated body. Then, based from the results and reports, it changed the to be implemented plans a little and repeated the simulation again and again. The simulation continued to be repeated for 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times and each simulation was used as a lesson to perfect and remove any negative effects that could cause harm to Arons body if it is implemented. After a few million quintillion simulations and small changes to the plan, the system finally found the perfect way to implement it to Arons body without giving any harm to the users body. It then started to implement the changes by sending what part of the body to change by how much and in what way. When those part received the information they started following the instructions to the last letter. If anyone was capable of seeing what''s going on in Arons body they will discover that something like blood vessels were being formed but the strange thing about it is that they were gold in color also they were empty ''with nothing in them''. They continued being formed all over his body but also following parallel to all blood vessels, because it used them as a guiding map to reach and cover all over Arons body. When the changes reached to his heart, it started beating faster than normal while it was being covered by a golden light. The golden light started getting dimer and dimer as it was used as ink for the writing of runic letters smaller than atoms, The small letters started forming runic sentences that were being written and started to cover all of his heart. Now I don''t take you guys for stupid people but you have to image the amount of runic lines that needed to be written in order to cover his whole heart while the runic letters being the size of an atom. So here is the answer [ An adult heart measures about 12 cm in length by 8 to 9 cm in width at the broadest part. If we assume that your heart is a sphere with a diameter of 9 cm, then its circumference would be about 28.27 cm. Atoms are extremely small, typically around 100 picometers across. A picometer is one trillionth of a meter. That means one atom is about 0.0000000001 meters wide. To find out how many atoms can fit around your heart, we need to divide the circumference of your heart by the width of one atom. That would give us: 28.27 / 0.0000000001 = 282700000000 That means you can write about 282 billion runic letters around your heart if they are the size of atoms. pnd`no?1--o ] Sun Tzu The system continued with the writing of the runic sentences all around his heart until his whole heart started shining golden, but that happened only for a short period of time as it returned to its normal color and stopped beating for about ten second, then the runic lines that covered all of his heart lit up and the heart started beating again but this time not only blood but also a golden liquid started coming from it and started moving through the newly constructed golden vessels. The liquid continued to pour out of the heart and continued filling the golden vessels until they were full, then the heart stopped generating this liquid and returned to its normal job of pumping blood, but this time the golden liquid was also being pumped just like how normal blood was being pumped by the heart. The 282 billion runic letters that were forming complex equations and runic sentences around Arons heart was acting as the heart for the golden liquid. Doing everything from generating any lost golden liquid to regulating its amount and much more that Aron will discover them in the future after he manages to buys its knowledge from the system and learns how to use them to their fullest potential. Currently we don''t even know the name of the golden liquid. We can only consider it as a fancy but useless golden liquid until system tells us about it. Chapter 13 Waking Up ?Although the Golden liquid wasn''t active it was slowly strengthening every part it was passing through, that meant that he was being strengthened every part of the body as when the golden vessels where being made, they just run parallel to all blood vessels The first changes were being done to the brain, as first golden liquid stream started arriving to it. This was followed by every organ, as for every round the liquid does around the body the changes were being made. Although the changes were miniscule they will be accumulating overtime until his body is strong enough to be able to handle it when it is time to activate the golden liquid. but that is all for later. ..... Morning When Aron woke up, it was already morning. This meant that he was asleep for more than 15 hours. He didn''t feel the heaviness he should be feeling if you sleep for a long time. Contrary to it he was feeling stuffed like, either he goes to take a shit or he will explode kind of stuffed. So he immediately jumped from the bed and hurried to the toilet like his life was depending on it, because to the current him it really depended on it. when he arrived and sat on the toilet seat he let it go Elsa style. ... ''What the fuck was that?'' thought Aron as he was opening the window of the toilet to let the shitty smell out, as the automatic air filter wasn''t doing it fast enough. This all started after he ran to the toilet to settle the number two, but what came from there wasn''t what was expected at all. What came out from there was dark goo that smelt like sewage. Also he couldn''t believe the amount of it that came from his body, but all he knew was that something must have happened to him while he was a sleep. but damn that shit was smelly HOLY SHIT!!. thank god everyone was a sleep else they might have wondered what was going on there. ..... After he finished removing the goo from his body, he finally felt peace. Inner peace master Oogway style came to him. He said "Status" in order to find out what was the reason he needed to shit that goo thingy because he was sure that the system was responsible for it. [STATUS] Name: Aron Michael Age: 22 Height: 1,89m System Class: Runemaster [!!New][Runic heart] [SHOP] [20,600sp] [QUEST] When he saw the new tag next to the Runic Heart he knew it was it, so clicked it immediately. After the he clicked it a new screen appeared in front of him. pnd,no?1,o [ [Runic heart] [Status: INACTIVE] A Special heart for Runemasters, It allows them to use all of runes in existence if you have the knowledge of it. Further information to be provided after it goes into active status. ] Although the starvation of details wasn''t doing him any good, he knew that even if he was told more it wasn''t that helpful because the heart was inactive state. ..... After riding the toilet of its smell he decided to clean his body to as he didn''t know what came out of it while he was asleep. Then he left the toilet to go and begin his daily quest. As he was running he felt like he was flying because he was almost half way of his 15km run but he wasn''t even out of his breath, usually he needed to rest for few minutes before he completed the rest of it, but today he continued until he finished without even resting and he wasn''t that tired. So, he decided to continue and complete the rest of exercises before he returned home and went to prepare himself some food as he was feeling hungry and he hasn''t eaten since yesterday. .... After cleaning himself again and eating to his full, he finally was ready to return to his office and continue with his plan. He sat in front of his computer as he was checking the knowledge of Prometheus++ programing language in his head. The moment he thought about it a large amount of knowledge was brought ahead with every detail on how to use it and how to build it. This meant that the moment he completed the making of the language he will also be the most knowledgeable about it as every detail about it was all in his head. Aron took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the blank screen in front of him. His head has already mapped out every detail of the new programming language - he knew exactly what it was supposed to do and how it was supposed to work. But now came the remaining part - actually bringing it to life in this universe at least. He began typing, his fingers moving across the keyboard with a fluid grace that belied the complexity of the task at hand. Lines of code flowed onto the screen, each one building on the last as the structure of the language slowly took shape. As he worked, Aron''s mind was a blur of algorithms and data structures. He had to make sure that every aspect of the language was perfectly written as was needed, that every feature was written as it was in his mind. Hour after hour, he typed tirelessly, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he wrote and wrote the code, checking it again and again until everything was just like it was. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Aron leaned back in his chair and gazed at the screen. There it was - the code that would bring the new programming language to the universe. He pressed a button, and the code began to compile. Aron watched anxiously as the progress bar ticked slowly upward, his heart in his throat as he waited for the final result. At last, the compiler finished its work, and Aron''s programming language came to life. It was a moment of triumph, the culmination of two weeks of hard work and endless hours of dedication. It was a moment of triumph, the culmination of weeks of hard work and dedication. Aron felt a deep sense of satisfaction, knowing that he had created something truly special (Although the system gave it to him, just let him relish the moment guys) - a language that would change the world of software development forever. That is if he releases it to the public. A downgraded version of it? Maybe, but never the full version, unless he has a better one. As someone once said "Always stay ahead of others" (Sun tzu) ... So, he decided to try it by rewriting BugZapper using this language which will make it faster and more efficient. As he was writing the code for it he suddenly stopped as an idea came to his head. The idea was to make BugZapper a subscription program. So, that companies don''t have to always wait for him to find and make them pay him million every time. here is the plan, First, there was the Basic plan. It was the free option and offered basic security and bug scanning for a single website once a month. It was just enough to show the program''s importance and usefulness but not enough to make them continue to use the free version. The second plan was the Plus plan. It included advanced security features, the ability to scan up to five times a month and also giving the solutions. Which could be useful if your business or website is small. The third plan was the Pro plan. It included everything in the Plus plan, but also offered daily website scanning and a faster response time from customer support. The daily scans are for added protection. The fourth plan was the Elite plan. It included all the features of the Pro plan, but also added more frequent scans, vulnerability checks. Finally, there was the Enterprise plan. This was the most comprehensive plan, offering all the features of the Elite plan, plus priority support and customizable reporting. He will be downgrading the one that will be released for the subscription plan to not reveal those that haven''t been discovered by anyone, but the moment they are discovered it will be reported as a new bug to al user of subscription. This will emphasize the importance of having ad maintaining the subscription. Companies can have access to an upgraded version of the program that is on public by using the Enterprise plan, but this has to be negotiated with him or his company that he will create and its price will vary depending on the companies demand. ... BugZapper Subscription Plan: Stage 1: Free - Basic plan -Access to a limited number of bug fixes -Can report 5 bugs per month -Community support available -Limited customer support Stage 2: Starter - $25/month -Access to more bug fixes than the Free plan -Can report 25 bugs per month -Priority customer support -Access to community support Stage 3: Intermediate - $50/month -Access to even more bug fixes -Can report 50 bugs per month -Priority customer support -Access to community support -Bug tracking and monitoring system available -Ability to suggest features Stage 4: Advanced - $75/month -Access to all bug fixes -Can report unlimited bugs per month -Dedicated customer support -Access to community support -Bug tracking and monitoring system available -Ability to suggest features -Early access to new features and updates Stage 5: Enterprise - Custom pricing (Starts at $1000 but increases based on their needs) -Customizable plan based on company needs -Dedicated customer support -Access to community support -Bug tracking and monitoring system available -Ability to suggest features -Early access to new features and updates -Customizable bug reporting system -Customizable analytics and reporting tools. Chapter 14 Payment Invoice ?After Aron finished making the program ready for subscription, he was reminded that the new version of BugZapper needed someone to oversee it. This meant that he needed to found a company to do it in his place. This will also help him earn sp, although it will be in small amounts, as he learned it the hard way when he was trying to earn enough to buy the programming language. After the tenth app the amount dropped by half and by the twentieth it also continued dropping by half. From this he hypothesized this will continue until he will only be earning 1sp per every scan. Although it may seem small, how many websites do you think exist? That means although the amount will be small, the quantities will be compensating for it. His current plan was to make it popular enough for every website to use it at least once a month. The plan was to show its importance in website security to make every owner try it at least once. This will mean that he will be able to earn 1sp every time someone uses his program. AFK to the death. While he was perfecting his plans for the company and its first product he received a call from Felix. "Hello, long time no talk?" Aron answered the phone and started the conversation. "You gave us too much work that I didn''t have enough rest time to think of contacting others for the past month" Replied in a complaining but happy tone. "So, why did you call me?" "I just wanted to inform you that our negotiations with companies have been completed and the payment will be fully forwarded to you after tax and everything is paid" Replied Felix. "Finally, it took you guys very long," Continued Aron with his fake complaint. "You gave us too much work, so we even had to make a team to deal with your job. But since you pay us too much money we can''t really complain anyway" Laughed Felix as he was replying. "So, how much total will it remain after taxes and your payment is taken care of?" "You will find out when we send it to you, but be ready for a surprise " A teasing voice came from the other side of the phone as if it was trying to frustrate him as much as he can to vent out for the work he made them do. "If you don''t tell me, I''m hanging up the phone," threatened Aron. Crup. Just after he finished voicing his threat, Felix ended the call immediately to make a statement. ''Fuck, He got me'' though Aron as he put the phone down and continued his work as he waited for the money to start raining in his account. .... 5 Days later the full payment and the spreadsheet arrived to him. And here is the breakdown on who paid what. The amount below is after taxes and lawyer fees have been paid. YouTube, Google+, Android, Google it self paid as a one entity, and since google as itself was among the companies that had the highest user base that depended on them to have the best security since their email were used by almost anyone with email, this meant that if this weaknesses were exploited it would have almost bankrupted them as almost every user caring to keep their secrets would have turned to their competitors. So, they forked the most money and since they were paying for the 3 of their companies they paid a total of $335million dollars. This included buying the information about weaknesses and their solutions to it as they needed to patch it as fast as possible lest someone use it against them. Apple - they paid for both the weaknesses and solution for their iOS weaknesses for $87million dollar as they put too much importance to keep their iOS as a black box. Microsoft - They were also among those who paid too much money as they paid him $145 million dollar for their weaknesses in windows and the solutions to it. And oh god was there enough bugs in it to write a book on how not to make an operating system. Sina Weibo -they paid $17million dollars without buying the solution. Hey decided to solve it themselves, worrying that if they buy their solution it will mean they know how their app security works and that is not good when it is connected to the CCP and the one who sold it to them is an American. That would put them on their radar. pnd,no?1,o Qzone - as it is owned by Tencent, a major Chinese technology conglomerate. They simply forked $33million dollars for the same reason as the one up there. Twitter & vine are parent companies so they paid a joint $75million with the solutions. LinkedIn - they paid $45million for both problems and solutions. Instagram - since they paid before as Facebook, they had already solved this same problem in Instagram. So, they only managed to negotiate the remaining ones that didn''t exist in those found and sold to Facebook before. So, they paid only $25million for both the problem and solution. Tumblr - they paid only $10 million dollar because they didn''t buy the solution to it. The remaining 4 paid a total of $39million dollars as they were small social media sites. This brings the total of the money to $811million dollars and this was after taxes and fees. If he didn''t pay tax and lawyer fees he would have more than $900million but brother IRS would be having a field day with him. And he wasn''t ready for them. This meant he was almost a billionaire. He needed to make the money returns to the market, because the longer he has it as cash in his account the longer inflation will be reducing their purchasing power per dollar. Also although he already paid tax for it he will need to continue paying tax for any interest he earns from the money if it stays in the bank. But all these thoughts were cut short when he received a phone call from an unknown number. Aron: "Hello?" "Hi, is this Mr. Aron?" asked the voice on the other side. Aron: "Yes, speaking. Who is this?" asked as he didn''t know who was calling him while he was relishing on his net worth. "Hi Aron, this is Mark from the American Bank. I wanted to talk to you about your account." Said the voice on the other side of the phone. "Oh, okay. Is everything alright?" Asked Aron as he was startled by the call and thought something bad happened to his account. Bank Worker: "Yes, everything is fine. Actually, we wanted to set up a meeting with you to discuss your account". Aron: "Okay, sure. What is this about?" Answered Aron as he was sighing that nothing bad happened to it. Just think about it, just as you become an almost billionaire and it was immediately stolen from you. That is a suicide level tragedy right there. Thank god it didn''t happen. Bank Worker: "Well, we noticed that you have a significant amount of money in your account, and we wanted to go over some options with you." Aron: "Oh, I see. Yes, I earned a large sum of money recently." Bank Worker: "Yes, we saw that. Congratulations, by the way." "Thank you." Said Aron as he was feeling happy about it. Though he replied calmly. Bank Worker: "We would like to send you a Black American Bank card, and we need to confirm your address". Aron: "Okay, that''s fine. I can give you my address." Bank Worker: "Great. Also, we would like to discuss some investment opportunities with you." "Oh, I see. Well, I''m interested in investing, but I need to learn more about it first." Replied in surprise as he was also thinking about investing his money in order for it to not just remain in his account to just accumulate interest. But still he wasn''t fully sure on what to invest, so he might as well meet them and hear their investment plan then decide on his plan based on it. Bank Worker: "That''s completely understandable. We can set up a meeting with one of our investment advisors to go over your options and answer any questions you may have." Aron: "Okay, sounds good." Bank Worker: "How about next Wednesday at 2 pm? Can we come to your house or a nearby establishment for a meeting then?" Aron: "Yes, I can make that work." Bank Worker: "Great. We''ll see you then. And once again, congratulations on your success." Aron:" Thank you, I appreciate it." Bank Worker: "Alright, have a great day." Aron: "You too." Aron ended the call and chose to calm down a little before he continues with his work lest he end up messing it from excitement. ..... While he was resting waiting to calm down from his excitement, he fell asleep and dived into his imagined dream as he kept smiling in his day dream. I wonder what he was dreaming as he was drooling from his mouth with that creepy smile. Chapter 15 Things Getting Serious. ?A week before Aron received his payments. While the payments will arrive a week later the negotiations were completed two weeks ago, so almost all the companies spent a week at maximum to patch their weaknesses in their programs. This means that it has been a week since someone''s normal day to day life has been messed up. .. Bluffdale, Utah The NSA''s Utah Data Center This week has been like hell to those who are working here, because one after another almost 17 data collection points have been blocked. This meant that they completely lost access to almost all social media sites. This wasn''t good, because some departments are sorely there to collect and analyze data from these sites. This meant that they lost almost their whole functionality in a span of a month. This all started by the loss of access to Facebook''s data, and while they were trying to solve one, another seventeen rose beside it. ... NSA Conference Room Everyone in the department of Special Source Operations Directorate was in the conference room as the meeting room wasn''t large enough to allow the whole department to fit in it. The head of the department Teresa H. Shea stood in front of everyone and started talking "Since everyone is here, let''s start the meeting, but before that why don''t you catch us on what is going on?" She said as she pointed at the team leader who was the first one to report it a month ago when Facebook patched their security patches, Noah. "Yes mam" Replied Noah as he stood from his chair heading to the stage to take hold of the microphone and started explaining how it all started. He cleared his throat and adjusted the microphone, signaling to the crowd that he was about to begin. He started his speech by explaining the situation. "It all began a month ago with Facebook, when the amount of data we were able to collect was reduced. After just one week, all the data that we managed to continue collecting was encrypted, and until now, we have been unable to break the encryption. Over the past week, many of the famous social media sites have started to follow suit, and we have finally reached a point where all the data we collect from nearly 17 social media sites is heavily encrypted." Just as he was about to continue, someone from the crowd interrupted and asked, "Is it Russia?" He paused for a moment and then responded by saying that "We had initially thought that it was Russia. However, after conducting a joint investigation with the FBI, we discovered that some of the known Russian agents in the US were also trying to find out who was behind the encryption. This seemed to be a problem to them too" "Did you manage to interview any of the workers in those companies?" asked another person in the room. "I was about to explain that next," said Noah. "And the answer is yes, we have interviewed a few workers through the FBI" and then he proceeded to share the results of their investigation. "According to the information that we have gathered, Facebook had been contacted by a man named Aron Michael. He had set up a meeting with the company, and they had met without any problems. And when they investigated his background after their meeting, they discovered that he was a former student of Columbia University who was in his last year." He took a breath and continued. "But he was expelled for thesis theft (Allegedly), which left him in dire need of money. Since he was unable to get a job without a diploma and he was left with massive student debt, he turned to bug hunting and discovered that he was really good at it." "So he is not a spy?" Asked someone. "Yep, from our investigation he is American, and so are his parents, no criminal record and there is nothing indicating him being a sleeper agent." "And after having interviews with the remaining companies that are in similar situations, our estimation is that he had earned more than $900million dollars from it." and with that Noah finished his reporting The revelation left the people in the room stunned. It was hard to believe that one person could earn so much wealth in such a short period of time- a month, without diving into illegal activities. pnd`no?1--o Then Noah moved to answer the questions from the crowd, giving as much information as he could. When he finished his explanation and answered almost all their questions he returned to his seat and waited for their head of department to give them a direction to follow. "Now that everyone is up to date let''s continue with our meeting" Said Teresa. The meeting continued for a little longer with some giving their ideas on how to proceed, while others were more focused on how they would be cracking the encryption by using the powerful supercomputer in the campus. "So our next plan is to break the inscription in the next month and if we can''t do that we will have a meeting with Aron, Dismissed" after giving them the next step to follow he dismissed them, then he called Noah. "Yes, mam" replied Noah as he answered her call. "Noah, tell the FBI to continue keeping an eye on this Aron and if foreign agents try to harm him, they should take him into their custody okay?" Said Teressa seriously. "Yes Mam" Noah replied immediately and left to contact them. ..... a week after he received payment he spent most of the last week optimizing BugZapper to be ready for consumer use as he was planning for it to be his sp farm. After he finished dealing with that he decided to focus on what to name the company that will be used to rollout the up to consumers. Since the name of a company has to be memorable he decided to go with Greek mythology names. he would have gone with Prometheus but that was already taken by his programing language and it will be difficult for people to pronounce it the he went with GAIA. In Greek mythology, Gaia is the goddess of the earth. She is often seen as the mother of all life and is associated with fertility, agriculture, and the harvest. According to the myth, Gaia emerged from the chaos at the beginning of time and gave birth to Uranus, the sky god, and the mountains. She is also considered to be the mother of the Titans, the Cyclopes, and many other creatures in Greek mythology. Gaia is often depicted as a nurturing figure who provides sustenance and protection to all living things on earth The reason he chose this word is because he wanted it to be a mother figure to his next business ventures that he might take. And since this will be his first company he decided to go with that name. GAIA technologies. After coming up with the company name he didn''t know what step to follow as it was his first time. So, he decided to call his friend and ask him about it. After the call he found out that starting a company is really complicated, so he dumped all the work to his friend to solve it for him, as he was their law firms highest paying customer they will handle it for him. From what Felix told him he needed only about a week to complete and make sure everything is in place without mistake. Next he decided to start hunting for his CEO as he wasn''t knowledgeable about bossiness, so he needed someone who majored in that to look after his company. He called Sarah who majored in business management, he wasn''t that arrogant to want to be a CEO of a company without knowing anything about business else he will turn the company into theranos. "Aron, you finally remembered that I existed, haa" a voice came from the other side. "At least I called you, why didn''t you do it if you wanted to talk?" "I''m busy you know and not like you who lazes himself at home" "Anyway let''s stop this else we will argue until tomorrow" Aron decided to call for a truce or the might really banter until tomorrow. "So, why did you call? do you need money? just say it" replied Sarah. "Not that, I need a CEO for my company and you were my first choice are up for it?" Asked Aron. "What company explain in details first before I make my choice and if you are joking, I''m blocking for 2 month okay" Aron immediately explained in details about the company and its product..... they continued talking for about half an hour. But since Sarah couldn''t believe what Aron bragged about the app she decided to visit his house in the evening to take a look it and see it herself before she makes a decision. Chapter 16 Two Month Later ?While Aron was waiting for his lawyer to finish the process of founding the company he had already convinced Sarah to be his companies CEO. She agreed immediately after Aron showed an example by using the app to vulnerability check Fanbase.com website, after the results came he hacked the site and managed to get admin access by following all the steps that were showed by the app''s subscription version. .... When Sarah saw what the app can do the gear''s in her head were turning like jet engines, Although she was not an engineer, she knew the importance of cyber security better than anyone because in the past she suffered hell when she messed with Aron and he decided to mess with her, that became a good lesson to her and she started taking Aron''s advice seriously when it came to cyber security. "How will you verify if the user is the owner of the site or just malicious user" She asked after spending about 30 seconds of thinking. "Yeah you are right, if anyone can use it they can use it for anything on every sites." replied Aron as he was so focused on making the program ready for release that he didn''t think about that. "How about we start with only verified and approved companies at first, like the ones that we have already sold them some of the weaknesses" replied Aron. "We can also lock those companies account to only be able to check their apps only" Added Sarah. "How about we also make it possible for others to apply for subscription but they need approved credential for it" Aron also added while hiding being happy for hiring Sarah as his CEO as just before they even started working she already helped him avoid a giant lawsuit that would have made him stay away from computer for life. "What are the credential going to be?" Asked Sarah. "we can think about that later but first we need to make it accessible for the government institutions to protect their systems or else we will be fucked if someone used it to attack them while they are not ready for it" replied Aron. Ѧd n?a| om "Are they not going to be using it against the people they suspect" Asked Sarah worried that it might be bad for the company image if it allows the government to be able to have access to all sites without warrant or anything. "We will also be locking it to only their systems, so that they can''t use it to infringe on other sites. that way we won''t be choosing sides." Aron added and continued. "First we need to have a talk with them, then when they are fully prepared we can start releasing it to the public, this way it will cause as little harms as possible" finished Aron. they continued talking about how they could make the possible negative impact as much as possible. this led to them having continuous meetings for the remainder of the week until when Felix contacted them to inform them that he had completed the registry of the company. Thats when Aron was reminded how long it took for the law firm to complete the negotiations with the companies. this meant that it will take longer for his company to be able to complete the negotiations with the government. He decided to make a bold move and buy the entire law firm, so that he could have them work solely for his company and protect its interests. He decided to acquire the law firm because it specialized in tech-related cases, meaning that all the lawyers working there are either specialist when it comes to tech related laws or are on their way to becoming that. But first he needed to do some capital infusion to his new company, that way he could make his new company capable buying the law firm for it to be able to focus solely on the company. ... After he infused $550million in the company for it to buy the Law Firm at the price of $300million dollars. $100million dollar was for the company to create a new and latest data center for him to use it for his next planned project. And the remaining $150million for the company to start the hiring process. .... 2 month later. It took Sarah a month to finally finish making everything ready and for them to start operation. The reason it took that long is because she was dealing with two massive projects at once, the acquisition of the law firm, and the hiring and training of new employees. As for the server farm for new product development, she decided to postpone it a little until everything is stabilized and in order. During the two month, she managed to complete the acquisition before she completed the hiring process. so, while she continued hiring she went forward and made the law firm start the process of contacting and beginning of the negotiations with the government institutes. Currently, the law Firm was already in the middle of the negotiations with CIA, FBI and POLICE. But while they were negotiating with them they received a contact from the place they were not expecting at all, THE F----NG NSA contacted them for cooperation on their security system. The reason Sarah left them out is because she didn''t expect them to accept working with a new up and coming company. What she didn''t know was that they were the first to know about them since they were already keeping a look out on Aron and his family. So, the moment Sarah and the company contacted the FBI and other agencies for meetings and negotiations, the NSA learned about it at the same time as them and after learning about the product their company was introducing, they immediately connected the dots and found out this was the program that was causing them a hellish life for more than 4 month. And they still haven''t solved it yet. Their negotiations with the NSA was smoother than a hot knife through butter. This seemed weird to Sarah because the other agencies kept prolonging the negotiations for some weird reasons. So ,they managed to complete their negotiations with the NSA first even though they came last. They agreed to pay a trial fee of $15 million dollar for a period of a month in order to test the program before they fully commit to it. And right after that an order from the top came for all the agencies to postpone their negotiations for a month. This was when Sarah found out the reason why it took them too long than expected when they were negotiating with other agencies except the NSA. This meant that they were ordered to wait for the NSA to completely evaluate the program and comb through it for any trojans and other malwares that could be used to harm the state, its infrastructure or its citizens. So, she had to wait for their evaluation to be completed and be green lit before they continue their negotiations with the other agencies. So, since one of the two thing she was currently focusing on came to unexpected halt, she decided to start the currently postponed project, The server farm project. From Aron''s specifications about the project he wanted her to invest at least $100million dollar of the remaining budget into the project. He also wanted it to be made with upgradability in mind for rapid upgrade when a new technology appears. This means that they will have to start by renovating the warehouses they bought, install cooling''s system, buy new servers, add highspeed internet connection and more. Even with all those demands in mind, that amount was still enough to create a server farm the size of almost 4 football fields. And Aron wanted all of it because he wanted to start the development of the next product of the company. Sarah expected it to be completed within six month. ..... While all these were happening behind the scenes, Aron was currently spending time with his younger brother on the playing field. His was with his brother and without his parent because they went on a date after a very long time. They haven''t been spending time together for a long period of time because they had to look after their family. Since his mother got pregnant on him while his parent where 20 year they had to start working while they were young. This meant that they haven''t spent a romantic time together after the kids were born and now because he became rich and they don''t have to work anymore they were on a journey to rekindle their love. ''Looks like I''m going to have a new brother or sister in a few years'' Aron smiled as he thought about a new brother or sister. It didn''t seem like it was that far away anyway, as now his parents were going everywhere together, their happy faces have also returned and they seemed to enjoy their lives now better than before. ... For the one who said money doesn''t buy happiness it seems like they just didn''t have enough of it. Sun Tzu Thought the ROB watching him play. let''s see how you will handle the difficulties coming your way HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH The voice continued echoing in the void of space till it returned to it silence as if it didn''t exist at all. Chapter 17 NSA ?Bluffdale, Utah Although the new NSA data center her was online but not all servers where used for the same purpose. Nearly half the data center was being used to test new program before they are approved for the NSA use. Today the all the servers that where usually being used for testing new programs was fully booked for the whole of the next month. The reason they booked it for the whole month is because they needed to fully make sure the program the will be testing be safe and harmless to their overall system. Noah entered a room full of people in front of computers waiting for him with a hard drive on his hand. This room was directly connected to the servers that is used for testing. The hard drive had the program that is to be tested. After he sat on his chair he took the hard drive and inserted it to the port and transferred the program to the server. The moment it finished copying he removed it and put it aside to make if a problem happened to their servers they had something to check it first. "Ok guys, the program is already in the server ready to start testing, I want everyone to focus, understood?" said Noah while standing and making sure everyone heard him and is focusing. "This is the program that we suspect to be the one giving us a headache but it might also be something else, so make sure you look at the servers behaviors when we begin operation okay" doubled down while also emphasizing on the importance of it to them. "YES" replied nearly everyone except the introverted ones who were just focusing on their screens looking at the servers parameters. Noah sat down after being satisfied by their focus and decided to start the program and see if it could do what it promised. .... "Holy fuck!!" said some dude in the room while looking at his screen. Because what was happening is nothing they expected a program to behave at all, the moment the program started it took control of the entire server and it started scrutinizing all the programs in the server''s programs. the BugZapper started checking all the program in the serves for their weaknesses. Although they could stop it from working but since they were testing it they decided to let it do its thing while monitoring whatever the server is experiencing. The program (BugZapper) started operating the server to its full capability to reduce the waiting time for the program to finish its job faster. After three hours of the servers being punished by the program, the program decided to spare the server by finishing it''s work of looking through all the programs in the server. During those 3 hours, it was a living hell for those who were doing the job of looking at the servers Realtime operational data. The reason is that, the server was made to test many programs at once without interfering with each other, another reason is that there is no program in their current program library that was capable of utilizing this server in its entirety because it was MASSIVE. The exact capacity of the center is classified even to those in the NSA low access, but some estimates suggest it can handle and process up to **five zettabytes** of data. So, what kind of program do you think is capable of utilizing it to its fullest potential? To put that in perspective, if you had a 5 zettabytes of songs, you could listen to them for over 10 billion years! Now that is a long ass concert if you ask me. Now imagine if your job is to analyze how a program utilized the server to its full capacity, yes that.(May god have mercy on you) Now for the rest of it. The moment BugZapper finished it''s job, it started dumping pdf after pdf for every program that existed in the server BugZapper has went through more than 100 heavy programs in just 3 hours.. These programs weren''t just like those of Facebook and the like, they were massive programs that were meant to be able to utilize the massive amount of data they were collecting, so they needed massive infrastructure in their programs to be able to handle it, in return they had some bugs, i meant many. This meant that, since they were heavy programs meant the amount of weaknesses were too much. Have you ever seen a pdf with a size of 2GB or more with just words only. There was 45 of them here. ''We are fucked'' That''s what Noah was thinking when he looked at the number and size of the nearly a hundred pdf on the screen. He chose the one with the smallest size of about 350MB to just look at the contents of the PDF. When he opened it he nearly fainted when he saw it had 15k pages meaning that if even the smallest one among them is 15k pages the largest will be the size of a library. ''Fuck NO'' he thought as he started reading the documentation done by the program. The more he read the brighter his face became, because nearly 10 pages were spent on explaining just one vulnerability , how to exploit it and how to solve it while going to the excruciating details of it. the moment he finished reading the first 100 pages he knew that they lucked out on finding this program. So, he called her superior and informed her about their finding''s. when she heard the full explanation, she immediately suspended all the non-urgent projects and diverted all of the manpower to this project for them to look through all the PDF''s by the end of the week, After that they will prepare for presentation because she will have to present it to MR. president if what he said turns out to be true. ..... Somewhere in America. "Comrade, where are you on the investigation on what happened to those social media companies" Asked a voice on the other side of the phone "We are still looking through suspects Sir as the FBI & NSA seems to be on the lookout when it comes to this case and if we act rashly it might attract their attention to us" replied Vladmir. "So, when will the report be ready?" Asked the voice calmly. "Within three month the earlies if we don''t want to alert the fed''s and I''m working on converting someone in the FBI to our side by that time he will be ours and we will have their full investigation report in front of us" replied Vladmir with confidence. "Okay stay in contact" said the voice "Yes Sir!!" Replied Vladmir and waited for the one on the other side to end the call. After the phone call ended Vladmir left his FEDEX car and carried a box to deliver to its Adress and continue with his day to day work as Jimmy. .... Back at the NSA while other where reading through the pdf documents the remaining few where trying to use BugZapper on the Chinese and Russian sensitive infrastructure that i currently online in order to have access to their full list of vulnerabilities. That''s when they encountered a problem and after a few tries they discovered what it was, They couldn''t use BugZapper for anything online, they needed to have the source code of the entire program locally and in the same device as BugZapper for it to-do its magic. This was also why the program only searched just over a hundred of the programs, as there were more than a thousand of uncomplete projects in the server but since they were incomplete BugZapper didn''t even look at them. This was the answer Aron came up after his talk with Sarah on how to prevent people using it as a tool to hack other people''s programs and systems. While the original BugZapper could do its magic without having to be in the same device and only needing just the internet connection, the one that he was going to release commercially which an example of it is in the NSA''s hand can''t. Making it a tad more difficult to exploit the program to harm others. That was one of the many new harm prevention measures he implemented into the commercial program. This can also be used as an advertisement method to reduce the fear of companies having their websites being breached by everyone and if a breach happened nonetheless, it can also be used to help narrow down the suspects in a much easier fashion than if it could be done through online from the other side of the globe. pnd`no?1--o And since they didn''t know about the existence of the Original(More powerful) version, they can''t force him to give it to them. This will help Aron by reducing the scrutiny he will receive from the government if they thought that is all they could get from him. And also, since the program was written using the Prometheus++ it will take them discovering the language to be able to hack it and even if they discovered the language they will have to pass through the robust security measures Aron put throughout the way to get access the divine scripture(Source code). Chapter 18 Potus Getting Informed ?Two weeks Later. White house. In the Oval room the National Security Committee was in a meeting to hear about the findings of their investigation on the app. Usually things such as these are handled by their respective departments, and if the respective department project needed something outside their operative jurisdiction they all just have to settle it between them. But today''s meeting was set due to the insistence of the DNI Director as he said it was capable of changing one of the branches in their current warfare. Hence the meeting was settled. "Sir, after our short testing of the app, we managed to discover more than a million weaknesses on the current NSA systems and programs in our test servers." Said James Clapper (Director of National Intelligence) who is also the head of Intelligence Community. He received a report and presentation from the NSA and he deemed it important for the National security of their country. "When we installed the program in our test servers it started looking at the weaknesses of all the programs in the servers and after that it listed them, showed us how to find them and how to solve them." "We followed the explanation of the program to the last letter and after that we failed to hack even the less secure program we had. If we implement it through the military and all our government online infrastructure could secure without having to worry about Russian, Chinese and other countries hacking attempts meaning we can focus on only developing programs without having to put too much time on the security of it, we can just run it through the BugZapper and it will show us its weaknesses and if we close them it will be secure enough, meaning we can redirect the funding to the development of other things. " finished his explanation while others were listening attentively. "Have you tried to see if we could use it to hack adversary nations?" asked Obama after digesting the information given to him "When we tried that the program couldn''t do it because it needed the source code of the program to do it so we can''t use it for offensive purposes, unless we have the complete source code of the program we wanted to do it" replied the James. "How fast and how much do we need to implement it to all our sensitive infrastructure?" asked Chuck Hagel (Secretary of Defense). "We estimate that it will take about 2 months but for the price of the program we need to negotiate with the company that made the program. But we need to come to decisions fast because the company was preparing for commercial release of this program and they decided to inform us so that it doesn''t negatively impact us if it was released without our preparation" Answered James and continued "But if we want to implement it to our entire sensitive infrastructure we would need to pay them at least 10 billion" finished talking James. "What if we share the cost with our NATO allies?" asked Joe Biden, The vice president. "Yes that makes sense, it will also keep us on their good sides," added Obama. "Also because if they learned it when the company officially releases it to the market, it will make their responses unorganized since they will all be rushing to cover their own infrastructure''s weaknesses but if we jointly do it the harm that will be caused will be reduced to the minimum." Said John Kerry (Secretary of State). They continued to make their plan with more details. The meeting continued for about 3 hours after it was completed they left with a small plan that is to be planned in more detail for the NATO wide implementation of the use of BugZapper in their important infrastructure. They would have a meeting in 2 week''s time and during that period the secretary of state would have to contact the related governments and plan for their joint implementation. This period will also be used to contact the company that made the program for their joint negotiation. ... pnd`no?1--o Sarah was in a meeting with the department that was currently dealing with the making of the server farm. "So, what step are we in?" Asked Sarah. "We have already completed the procurement of the location and we are on its final step of planning the renovation of it but we are waiting for the engineering firm to complete its redesigning of it" Answered the head of procurement department. "When will the renovation be complete?" "We expect it to be done within 3 month" "What about the procurement of the machines and hardware''s for the servers?" "We have already completed ordering them, but only a few of them have arrived and we have stored them in a warehouse we are currently renting. For those that haven''t arrived we are expecting them to be delivered within the month" answered Dave the head of procurement department. Sarah listened while shaking her head in acknowledgment, then she turned to the head of Human resources(HR). "What about hiring? Is it going as planned" She asked. "We are currently having problems when it comes to hiring experienced workers, since we don''t have any positive reputation or any product in the industries." replied the head of HR "For now just focus on hiring graduates that we can teach, we will start getting the experienced one when we release our program to the market" Replied Sarah by giving directions to the head of HR. "Yes mam" They continued the meeting about the preparation of the official release of BugZapper. ... [ On August 19, NATO held a closed-door meeting in Brussels, the reason for which remains unknown to the public. The meeting was attended by high-level officials from NATO member countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany, among others. Speculation ran rampant in the media and among international observers about the purpose of the meeting, with many suggesting that it may have been related to a developing crisis or security threat. However, NATO officials refused to comment on the nature of the discussions or the reason for the meeting''s secrecy, leading to further speculation and uncertainty. Despite the lack of information, many in the international community expressed concern about the closed-door nature of the meeting, with some criticizing NATO for potentially undermining its commitment to transparency and democratic principles. However, others argued that in certain situations, confidentiality may be necessary to facilitate frank and open discussions among high-level officials. Ultimately, the true reason for the meeting remained shrouded in mystery, leaving many to wonder what was discussed behind closed doors and what implications it may have had for NATO and the international community as a whole. ] This was the article that was released by the Newyork times a week after the meeting in the Oval Office. this showed the efficiency of the secretary of state as usually thing like these meeting takes about a month to coordinate and prepare but since he said it was of outmost importance they managed to expedite the meeting day to just a week later. During the meeting the American representative explained about the program. this was one of the best endorsement a company could ever want. But while these meeting were happening Sarah and the company were still clueless about the agenda of the meeting and they were still waiting for the NSA''s evaluation. The reason the government didn''t inform them is because they wanted to have the joint agreement of the procurement of the program before they informed them. This means they will also be met with unexpected situation and be unprepared making the government have a chance to secure a better deal due to their unpreparedness. But this was just a bullshit idea since the company could just postpone the negotiations due to the suddenness of it anyway. The meeting ended with the countries joint agreement for a group procurement of the program but they also wanted to make the company nerf the version of the one that will be released for the public. This was due to them wanting to have an edge when it comes to infrastructure security by making the enemy or non friendly countries use the commercially available version of the system. But by wanting to make the company agree into doing this they came to an agreement of increase the amount they are willing to fork out. After about a week of the closed door meetings they returned to their respective countries and began preparing for the implementation of the program after they come to an agreement with GAIA Technologies. ... The company continued completing their available tasks while expecting an answer from the NSA about whether they will continue with the negotiation or not. After about a month of waiting for the NSA to complete their review of the app they finally replied but the reply was nothing expected at all, although it was a positive one.... Chapter 19 Negotiations ?The email informed them that they have passed the assessment and they will be returning to the negotiation table, but they will be negotiating not as America but as Nato. So, they gave them a week of preparation time to prepare for the negotiations. When Sarah read the email she was happy that they passed the assessment although she was sure they will, but she also felt the pressure of negotiating such a big contract for the first time. So, she decided to attend the meeting but she will not be the head negotiator, that will be taken by the law Firm. She will be a spectator and only agree to the deal if they come to an agreement. They must come to an agreement else they will be forced by the government to do so and she didn''t want it to reach that place. .... While the company was preparing for their meeting with the NATO team, Aron was finally ready to exact his revenge. He was currently in his work room sitting in front of his computer ready to begin enacting his revenge. ''Let''s see if you will have the same proud look if you lose everything you proud yourself having'' was what he was thinking as he began to type in his computer beginning the first steps of making the professors life a living misery. He first began by hacking the universities New''s bulletin. When he gained admin privilege of the site he started publishing the professors misdeed from him receiving bribe, writing recommendation letter to making rich kids pass and many more. He also added corresponding evidence to make the announcement fool proof. After he completed writing the article, he timed it to be published in a week after today, as this was the second step of his many plans to break him step by step by taking everything from him. Next he accessed the server where the contacts information of every student, teacher and anyone related to the university and programed it so that they will receive a notification the moment the article went live. "Now, let''s see how your wife will react to the news of you cheating on her" Aron said while smiling as he was sending her the intimate messages, pictures and videos between the professor and the secretary. Making sure that she understand beyond doubt that he was cheating on her no matter how dense she might be. Removing his access to an influential helping hand, which was his wife. That''s the reason of this step. Him removing the professor''s wife from the equation will mean that he doesn''t have to fight against her influence to get to professor. And what way is better to remove her from equation than telling her that her husband is cheating on her. Although Aron didn''t know why her family or the professors wife was influential he didn''t manage to find it from the internet even after he tried digging deeper he still found nothing as he didn''t know how to even investigate someone online. So he decided to remove her from the professor because, an enemy you know their abilities is better than the one you don''t know. After doing that he decided to punish the private investigator who was the one who found his information after being paid by the professor. Although the man was just doing his job, he needed to pay as what he did caused a series of problems for Aron. He went to the private investigator''s website and after he gained access, he deleted all of the company''s business data, email''s and every bit of data they had on their servers and their backups making it so they will only have the information only if they had it offline somewhere. This was all he did to the private investigator he didn''t need to do more as this might even make their business bankrupt. Now the only one who remained was the new scholarship head who approved his maximum interest rate in his payment. he planned to deal with him after he moved to the second stage of the professor''s revenge. After he finished doing that he returned to his normal job as he was waiting for his plan to move. Just as he was about to start working on increasing the security measure to BugZapper after he was inspired from hacking the sites someone opened the door and spoke to him making him stop his work. "Brother can you take me to the super market?" is what his younger brother Henry asked. Aron turned to him and asked "For what?". "I need some material for my homework" "Isn''t mother at home?" Asked Aron trying to push the job to his mother. "Mom went out with dad again today" Replied Henry "Again..?..... Argh okay let''s go" stood Aron as he gave up. Although he was happy about their parents spending time together, they were to euthanasic about it as if they were trying to compensate for the time they lost when they were looking after them. So, he was pretty sure someone new will join their family soon. His younger brother Henry was too happy to go with him because he can ask him to buy him anything and he will end up agreeing to it while his mother will deny it if it useless. After a short preparation they went down to the garage and took the car and left for the market to buy homework material. Ѧd n?a| om ... A week after Sarah and the company was informed about the meeting with NATO representatives the day finally arrived and they could be seen sitting in a conference where each side of the long table was taken by each of them. "Welcome, we really didn''t expect the situation to escalate this much" said Sarah as she started the meeting with small talks. "When the US called for an emergency meeting with the NATO members we also didn''t know that there was something this detrimental to our security being prepared for public release." replied the representative of NATO. showing a little bit of displeasure but he managed to hide it faster before many of the people in the room noticed it Sarah and the senior law firm member managed to catch it by they decided to not bring it up. "We would have moved to other allied countries after we implemented it with the US government by then we would have someone to point as an example making it easier to persuade your countries but who knew that the government became our sales person" Said Sarah she was smiling feeling happy that the government saved them a lot of time. "Now let''s get to the main topic shall we" Said the senior member of the law firm as he knew if he let them continue to divert the main topic they might cause some problems before they even begin the negotiations. "Yes, the faster we come to an agreement the faster we can implement it. " agreed the NATO representative and continued "So, After being informed by the US government we as NATO came to an agreement of buying the right to the program as a group and paying it as one entity for the countries involved, also we would like to request for the public version of the program to be less powerful than the one we will receive. As for the price it can be negotiated if the above conditions are agreed." Sarah shook her head after hearing their demands and replied "Nerfing the program is technically impossible for now as the program is a Blackbox technology, It was created using machine learning meaning it taught itself so we dent know how it works as we are still trying to dissect it.". or that is what Aron told her to tell them if they asked for this same thing. Aron wanted it to remain the same because he didn''t want any country to have any advantage, as it may lead to him being put in danger if they ended up pursuing the original version(meaning the current version if they release a nerfed version to the public). "As for you paying as a single entity it''s not a problem as long as you factor in the amount of courtiers that will be using the program under the single payment. meaning we will count every NATO member as a customer and price them according to their infrastructure and add it up to come up with a single price but since you are our first customer we will give you a 20% discount for it" Added the senior lawyer from the company law firm "So have you done calculating the estimated amount?" Asked the NATO representative. "After we factored in everything including the discount, the amount comes to 10.5 Billion Dolar" Answered the Lawyer. But that price was bulshit. There was no discount in the first place every country was expected to pay about $375million dollars if you divide it by NATO member(28) but if it was a stand-alone price the US would have had to cough about 2.5Billion Dollars for it. The reasoning to it was that if they paid, they will have bought the program''s license for life meaning unless they released a new and better then they might have to pay a little for the upgrade but it won''t happen anyway. "That''s higher that we expected" Said the NATO representative making a frown face. But he was lying they expected to cough at least 15 billion for lifetime license, but who said he shouldn''t try to bargain the price right. With that they continued haggling back and forth between the NATO and GAIA representative, this time Sarah was quiet as she left their representative represent them as he was more experienced when it came to haggling. Chapter 20 A Hope For Someone ?The negotiations ended on a positive note as they promised to reply to them with in the week. Sarah was relieved the negotiation went better than she expected. what she didn''t know was that NATO by itself was desperate for the program because they were almost always dealing with Chinese, Russian and many other non-friendly countries hacking attempts. Them having the program will make the weight of dealing with these problem''s a little bit easier and it will help them divert the resources in developing more sophisticated programs that will be helping them. Sarah returned to dealing with her work, as it continued piling even though they haven''t released the program yet. ..... Aron continued completing his daily quest but last month he suddenly gained a massive amount of sp. This coincided with the day after the NSA took the program for evaluation. At first he expected the sp amount to continue being reduced if the program continued being used but since the programs that were tested in the NSA server were massive and from a different category, the system counted them differently from the social media scanning''s it did before. So, he earned about 150,000sp in total. Currently he had a total of [195,600sp] With the amount he had he could buy a few cheap thing from the system. Although they were deemed worthless by the system, if they are released to the world they would be deemed a great leap from current technology. While he had the sp amount needed to buy something from the store, he didn''t need to rush buying random things from the store, but another reason for it is that he needed to finish his revenge and remove the clot in his heart in order to continue with his life without the anger e felt toward anyone. That was why he finally started his revenge he was pushing behind in the beginning. ... In Some heavily guarded mansion somewhere. Rina Noga Yehonatan Stav Rothschild Woke up and found herself alone in the bed. this has become a usual thing to her, as her husband started distancing himself from her for about a few years now. Although it was arranged married, it was did not work between them as the arranger of it is someone she hate to the bone. it was orchestrated by her brother as his revenge to her for joining the inheritance war between siblings. And since he won she couldn''t go against it, because if she does she would be removed herself from having any position in the family at all. It''s old fashion but they keep it as it worked in the past they expect it to work in the future too. As they said: if it ain''t broke, don''t fix it (Sun Tzu) She decided to not rebel against it because her chances weren''t null yet. This is because although her brother was the next in line he wasn''t the leader of the family yet. This means he can be removed from there, but if he had already became the head she would have denied the marriage as she would have no chance at all. So, she sacrificed her marriage life for a slim chance to remove her brother from the seat and take his place as the family head. Although she kept trying to find ways to leave the marriage, she couldn''t divorce her husband without any reason as she needed a powerful reason to convince her family to allow it. She even hired some private investigator to find anything that could result in divorce but she kept receiving nothing from them. She suspected that her brother was the one sabotaging her efforts but she didn''t manage to find the evidence for it. After she finished cleaning herself, she ate breakfast and headed to her work room. Although they have offices in wall street and many locations where she could go for work, she preferred working at home in her cozy working room. This didn''t cause any problem as her secretary was there to do the coordination and communication so she didn''t feel the difference at all. Though she visits the company she was responsible for randomly for inspections or important board meetings, but still they were few of them in a year so most of the time is spent at home. After she entered the work room(office) she started reading from the pile of papers that were currently on her table. After three hours of reading through and signing them, she finally finished and she decided to move to her computer. Although other''s usually start their works by reding emails she didn''t have to do that because if it is important her secretary would have informed her of it. Another reason for that is that not many people have her email address, so she almost didn''t receive any email''s most of the time. This reduced the importance of her looking through the computer as all the important documents are printed and presented to her by her secretary. When she opened her email she expected the always empty inbox, but contrary to it she found a new email with a very intruding headline. [ Subject: Your husband is cheating on you Dear Rina Rona Rothschild, I am reaching out to you with great sadness. I have some information that I believe you should know. This is a delicate matter, and I understand that it may be challenging to hear, but I believe that it is important that you are aware of what has been happening in your life. pnd,no?1,o I have learned that your husband, has been unfaithful to you for several years. I am deeply sorry to be the one to have to tell you this. However, I feel that you have a right to know the truth. Please understand that this information is being shared with you out of concern for your well-being and not to cause you any pain. I understand that this is a difficult time for you, and I am here to offer my support in any way that I can. Here is the evidence to support it Attachment : proof size(15GB) Take care, and In the future I might need your help, hope you remember this.. Sincerely, ] Although the information was what she really needed, what surprised her was that the sender knew her full name including the middle one. This came as Suprise to her because the list of people who knew her didn''t exceed even 50 and almost all of them where from her family. Another reason for being surprised is because, she knew that no one from the family will help her finding these evidences, if it meant going against the next head of the family her brother. ''Then is he someone outside the family who informed me, but how did he even find my email?'' she asked herself, as she waited for the attachment file to finish downloading in order to take a look at the evidence. "It doesn''t matter anyway, but if the evidence gives me the proof I need I will help you if you ever ask for it" she said as she clicked the WinRAR folder. When she was about to click the move to folder button a popup appeared written [Upgrade to WinRAR premium to support us.] she clicked x to close it and continued to click on the move to folder button. she waited about 30 seconds for it to be moved to the ne folder after it completed she immediately opened the folder to finally look at the evidence. When she opened the folder she gasped at the amount of different files. [(CHEAING PROOF) THE PEOPLE HE CHEATED WITH LIST & THEIR INFORMATIONS.pdf PICTURES FOLDER VIDEO FOLDER AUDIO FOLDER MESSAGES FOLDER EMAILS FOLDER . . . ] When she opened the pdf titled (THE PEOPLE HE CHEATED WITH LIST & THEIR INFORMATIONS.pdf) A list appeared Infront of her that had more than 18 women''s with their full information. This impressed her but not too much as she could find anyone''s information as long as she knew his or her name. But something caught her attention, at the beginning of every woman there was a tag #01 it was different for every woman, so she decided to go to the folder and paste it to the in folder search place. The moment she clicked enter all the information labeled with #01 from all the folders appeared in front of her: [ #01 picture 00001.png #01 picture 00002.png #01 picture 00003.png #01 picture 00004.png #01 picture 00005.png #01 picture 00006.png #01 picture 00007.png . . #01 video 00001.mov #01 video 00002.mov #01 video 00003.mov #01 video 00004.mov #01 video 00005.mov . . #01 Audio 00001.mp3 #01 Audio 00002.mp3 #01 Audio 00003.mp3 #01 Audio 00004.mp3 #01 Audio 00005.mp3 #01 messages.pdf (size 275mb) #01 emails.pdf(size 547mb) ] She tried with the id of the second woman and a list with just her evidence appeared that''s when she understood why the folder started with their persona information. "With this amount of evidence I won''t have to worry my brother being against it unless he wants to humiliate the families reputation" she said as she started reading the evidence. She will use this evidence as a reason for her seeking a divorce, if they deny it ''although they won''t'' she will just threaten to release it to the public and just humiliate the family. ... She was rich but even she didn''t have a premium WinRAR, I wonder how the company stayed Alive ... Chapter 21 A Bad Day For Someone ?Although it has been months, professor Rottem was still trying to regain his reputation in the circle. It wasn''t working because her wife stopped helping her. "That bitch, If it wasn''t for her brother I would have slapped the shit out of her" shouted Rottem in his office as he reached the tipping point. Although he shouted that but he knew the moment he rose his hand to her he is considered dead. "I mean you can''t divorce me even if you want, it''s not like I wanted to marry you anyway. Your fucking brother forced me. FUCK!!!" he continued shouting. His secretary (also a cheating partner) entered the room due to hearing him shouting from the outside. "What''s wrong with you, why are shouting from nowhere? you are attracting too much attention" Said the secretary. "It''s my office so who cares" the secretary rolled her eyes in a giving up way and said "They still think that you are still traumatized from the presentation". Rottem release a sigh then said "I could have moved away from it but that bitch doesn''t want to help me" "But why did she even help you in the first place?" she asked "I don''t know why, but now that I think about it, it seems like she knew about the mistake in the thesis and she wanted to embarrass me in front of those reputable people in the industry to use it as a ground for divorce" said Rottem as he was contemplating he became more sure by the second after he realized it. "Why would she do that?" asked the secretary in confusion as she didn''t understand why. "As you know, we didn''t get married because of we loved each other it was arranged married by her brother" he replied and paused a little. "Mh.." secretary did this to show that she was listening and he can continue with his explanation. "And since she couldn''t deny the marriage she needed to find legitimate ways to annul the marriage." he continued with his explanation "But since she didn''t manage to find evidence of me cheating on her she decided to go on the root of using my incompetence being a stain in the family as the ground for divorce" finished explaining as he started getting angrier by the second. "You are pretty sloppy in hiding it anyway. so, why couldn''t she find the evidence?" the curious secretary asked. "Her brother seems to be blocking her attempts of getting the evidence" he replied while giving her the side eye for calling him sloppy. "Okay it''s up to you, but keep your voice down you are embarrassing yourself to your students and colleagues" the secretary said and started leaving the office to avoid having him exploding on her as she really liked the salary for her job and his money. After the secretary left the office he returned back to doing his jobs. Although he was informed that Aron has paid his dept in full but after he rehired the private investigator he didn''t manage to find anything much because due to Aron having too much money in his account its information was more secured so he couldn''t find any more information about it. So, his conclusion was that he took a private loan with an interest rate a little bit lower than the fifteen percent he made him have. This still made him happy because it meant that he was still in debt and he wasn''t going to overcome it any time soon. The reason he redirect his revenge to Aron, is because he couldn''t vent it to his wife living only him as a choice. Just as he was about to continue relieve the happy mood he has when he remembers that he was the one who destroyed someone''s bright future, a phone call interrupted it. "Who the FUCK is this?" he shouted as he picked the phone without looking at the caller on the phone. He could do that because if it was important, it would have gone through his secretary and not directly to his phone. So, he decided to vent the anger to the one on the other side of the phone. "I called to inform you that there will be a family dinner and you, as madam''s husband is expected to attend it. Also the head of the family is going to attend it" Said the voice on the other side of the phone without stooping or breaking his or her voice, showing that he or she was neither scarred nor sorry about disturbing him in his leisure time at all. Just as he was about to continue his bantering, the call was ended by the caller before he even started forming the words. When he realized the call was ended, in his anger he punted the office phone to the other side of the room while shouting in anger "Who the FUCK do you think you are to call me and end the call whenever the fuck you want, Although I might not be from an important member in my family to the point they threw me to marry that fucking BITCH for the sake of some FUCKING false connection that they could abandon anytime, I''m still a member of the Fucking Morgan family. SHOW SOME FUCKING RESPECT" Yes, he comes from another powerful family but since he was from the branch family they sacrificed him to the Rothschild''s for the sake of some agreement. Normally he would have married some random member from the Rothschild''s branch family but due to his wife''s brother interference he made her marry him the moment she lost the inheritance war as his revenge to her because he knew that if she wanted to continue having a chance in the future she couldn''t deny him, hence the marriage. That''s why he accepts bribe because he needed money to avoid his wife finding out where he spends his money from his financial statements. This prevented his wife from using the money trail to know where he spends his time or his cheating locations for proof. After trashing a few things in his office out of anger he calmed down a little and sat in his chair to start pondering the reason why they called for the dinner. Usually when there is a full family dinner it means that there is an important topic to be discussed. "If it was about the thesis this would have taken a few months ago, so what is the purpose for it?" He said as he started contemplating for the reason. When he couldn''t come up with one, he decided to take out his phone and opened the contacts to find out his wife''s phone number, he hovered above the call button and contemplated whether it was worth to hear that bitch''s voice just to satisfy his curiosity, In the end he decided against it and returned the phone to his pocket. "Since it''s not about me there is no need to know anyway, so fuck it" Said the man unknowing of his upcoming fate. Narrated someone in the void of somewhere. .... That evening somewhere in California''s quiet location where the rich build their mansion there was a wall that seemed endless, it was covered by electric fences and security cameras after every hundred meters. This was also followed by patrol cars that went around the wall every thirty minutes. At the center of the giant, empty but walled forest there was a large mansion that could be seen lit by lights making it be seen from everywhere. Usually the house is calm but today, rows and rows of car kept coming one after another endlessly. Ѧd n?a| om One by one, the main branch family members arrived to the mansion earlier than the planned meeting time, due to them wanting to be there before the family head arrived. Lastly the family head arrived in a long luxurious limo escorted by a security car from the front and behind filled with fully armed bodyguards, if you ignore the noise being caused by the people on the lawn you could hear a helicopter going around the forest making sure no one could sneak in. The moment he came out of the limo, the surrounding people become quiet and formed a corridor by standing on two lines to wait for the family head to pass through for them to great him and show their respects. After greetings everyone moved to the dining room for the food while hiding their nervousness as they didn''t know the reason for the sudden meeting today. Even after they asked around, they found out that no one knew the reason for the meeting at all. This was the beginning of the hell for some dude who attended the meeting and was acting as gently as a sheep unlike how he was when he was told he would have to attend. May he survive through it with strong mind. ... Chapter 22 The Dinner ?The family mansion glimmered in the moonlight as guests arrived for a dinner like no other. The opulent estate was a sight to behold, with its grand entrance and immaculate gardens. The evening promised to be one of exquisite taste and extravagance, with no expense spared in the preparations. The dining room was adorned with the finest linens, crystal glassware, and silver cutlery, all carefully arranged to perfection. As the family members took their seats at the table, they were greeted by the tantalizing aroma of the sumptuous feast that awaited them. It was clear that no detail had been overlooked in creating a dining experience that would leave a lasting impression on all who attended. This was to be a meal fit for royalty, served in the grandest of settings, and enjoyed by the most discerning of palates. But despite the beautifulness and grandeur of it, no one seemed to be too hyped up for the food as most of them couldn''t enjoy the food due to their nervousness. Although they had elite education since childhood they couldn''t keep up the pretense when the family head was on the same table with them. They looked at him nervously with mixed emotions on their face, respect and fear could be described to be the most prevalent one. "Father how have you been doing these days?" Asked the next head of the family. He was the next head of the family''s massive business empire and his name is Arieh Noga Yehonatan Stav Rothschild. He was among the few on the dinner table who could keep their calm, the other one was his younger sister who she won against. His father ignored him and continued enjoying his food. No one considered it an awkward moment as they knew that the family head dislike having small talks. So, Arieh brought this on himself because he wanted to put himself in that matter is due to want to be seen as a caring person by his father and the head of the family. The meal continued and no one tried talking to the head of the family anymore, but they talked between each other albeit quietly to not attract attention. After the meal the table was cleaned by house servants everyone gathered on the table again for the meeting to start. After everyone sat down, one of the servant went to inform the family head in his room that everyone was waiting for him for the meeting to start. When the family came from his room and sat down he took a deep breath and said "Let''s start the meeting" while looking at his daughter Rina implying that she was the one who called for the meeting. This came as a Suprise to his brother as he expected her to be quiet until she finds a way to escape her marriage. ''Did she find evidence about it?'' Arieh asked himself in his mind. ''No, she couldn''t have found them as I worked my ass to keep them covered'' Reassured himself after a few seconds of thinking. This was all blew to the wind when the first words her sister said was "I want to divorce Rottem". "You know that you can''t just do that, right?" He jumped right to it to break down any momentum she could have gained from that sentence. "I can, if I have evidence to substantiate it" She replied while focusing on her father and ignoring him. "You need to give us evidence before the meeting so that we can prepare for it" His brother cut right in without waiting for his father''s reply, though usually smart he loses his mind when it comes to arguing with her sister, hence all these shitty blunders. "To give you them for what, so that you can make it seem fake?" She replied after getting fed up with him messing with her plan to have her father agree to her presenting her evidence for it. Their father just sat there quietly listening to them bantering. Then he suddenly coughed to shut them up the said while looking at his daughter in a heavy voice "You know that you need to have good evidence to make our family agree to tarnishing our names for the divorce right?" When his brother heard their father saying that, he knew his chances of preventing her from even continuing has failed. Ѧd n?a| om The reason he made her sister marry Rottem is because he knew that in their family if you want to have a divorce you have to present it to the family and they need conclusive evidence for them to agree to you divorcing. because to them having a divorce was a great shame to them this was why he kept preventing her sister from finding any evidence of his husbands misdeeds. You may ask why didn''t he just threaten Rottem to stop him from cheating. If he did that, Rottem would have found that his brother was worried about his sister finding out and being too desperate that he would have used it as blackmail material. He couldn''t just kill him either, as that would mean a war between families. It doesn''t matter how insignificant Rottem was to the Morgan family, Just the act of killing him meant that you don''t think of them as a threat to you, and Although they were not as powerful as them(Rothschild''s) in some aspects they had more power in other places and that might come and bite them in the ass. Hence the reason he is alive. Also it would mean her sister will be free as her husband will be dead. "Yes Father I do know that, that''s why I found a concrete evidence to make it so that not only will our reputation not be smeared but it will also give us a small card against the morgans albeit he is not important to them" she said while looking at her husband. Her father nodded meaning that she can begin the explanation. When She got the confirmation from her father, she turned to one of the servant and nodded making the servant leave the room and return with a projector. When the servant entered the room with the projector, the other servants went ahead and started helping him set thing up. After they finished setting the projector up, she headed to the computer on the table and took out a USB from her pocket and inserted it. ... Rottem side of view ''The food was good but why the fuck do they have to make me come here every fucking meeting, even though they won''t allow me to talk anyway'' Thought Rottem as he was seated the farthest from the family head. He complained because the seating in these meeting''s is planned based on their hierarchy on the family. starting from the family head, followed by Arieh, then his wife and so on, this continued until it reached him the last one. He was calm because he was sure it was not important to him, but this calmness disappeared the moment the bitch said "I want to divorce Rottem". ''That bitch is uttering nonsense again'' he thought because he knew that although the family knows that they don''t even like each other, they can''t just divorce due to it. You need reasonable explanation for it to be allowed. And know that they barely allow it even in those circumstances, as you needed concrete evidence to prove it and he was sure she doesn''t have any, because he wasn''t caught for years since he started doing it. ''Looks like this night is going to be a good one for Arieh.'' he thought due to knowing that she most likely didn''t have evidence and her brother would cook her for the mistakes, as he never wastes any opportunity to undermine his sister. His expression remained neutral but inside it could only be described as euphoria. This was due to the bliss he was having, as he expected the bitch to be shot down for requesting to divorce him and having a chance to see her reaction. He didn''t want divorce her because, him marrying her not only elevated his position in his family a little bit higher but also since he could have everything he is not getting from his wife through other means, he felt that he is not missing on anything other than consummation with the bitch. So he continued watching the show as the expectation of it nearly busted from him, but he suddenly scrunched his face due to what he was seeing in front of his eyes. ''FUCK'' is the first thing that came up in his mind due to what he saw. The gravity of the situation started sinking, becoming darker than a blackhole by the second due to the evidence the bitch was providing and the eyes of disgust coming from the family members in the room. "Where did that bitch find that information" as his mouth blurted those words, his eyes widened in horror due to his brain understanding what he just said with a little bit of ping. It was at this moment that he knew..... HE fucked up. The family head turned to him with eyes that said you are fucked now, but he didn''t linger his gaze for longer as he turned to the guards who nodded their heads and headed to him and started to drag him out of the room. He struggled to shout to try to defend himself but it fell on deaf ears as everyone returned their eyes to the projected material on the screen. As he was thrown out of the room the euphoria in his face replaced by the fear of what is to come, he prayed that the earth split and swallow him as a whole to save him from it. Chapter 23 A Downfall ?Inside the bedroom Rottem could be seen sitting on the side of the bed with both his hands supporting his head while using the knees and laps as the foundation. he was currently shaking albeit slowly as he remembered the last word he heard from his wife''s family head. The moment he was shown the evidence he knew even if he tried to defend himself as they had everything backing them up from the device, time and locations they were sent from to the receivers Ip address. Even he as a computer engineer, was having a headache how she even managed to collect them as he remembered changing his phone quite a few times. pnd`no?1--o After a few hours spent thinking, he came up with the only reasonable explanation he could think of. Which was that, someone managed to trace everything by using just his phone number and email as the anchoring point and tracing the strings from there. Although the idea seemed plausible, if he tried executing it he would fail at the first step, so he just equated it to the capabilities of the Rothschild''s families security teams masterwork and with that he gave up thinking of how they even did it. Now he started thinking how the Morgans would react to it. He expected that he will be disavowed by the family due to this blunder. This realization came to him like crashing to the sun. Although him having a divorce might mean nothing to the morgans, they will need to keep the appearance of wanting to continue the little peace they managed to negotiate with the Rothschilds, which was finalized by his marriage. The morgans needed to keep this pretense as long as they can, due to them still having not recovered to their previous state due to their last financial war with the Rothschild''s that led to the 08 financial crisis. It dealt a heavy blow to them. This gave him a 100% certainty that he will be abandoned by the family and be considered as a small price to pay for peace. ''At least they will not take everything from me, they will consider it as the payment for serving them'' Thought Rottem as he expected his family to not take anything from him but just not support him on any of his future endeavors. What calmed him down the most was that, to the outside world he was still a professor of the famous Columbia university, Meaning that he could still earn money albeit small compared to his previous earnings. He could still subsidize them with the usual bribes he was used to taking, so the only thing he will be missing will be his family''s backing only. ''At least I will be free from their control from now on'' he tried to console himself by trying to spin it as a positive thing. ''I will just be a normal professor, meaning I will not have anyone watching my back anymore.'' He added delusion on top of delusion. ''Plus I won''t have to see the bitch''s face anymore.'' He broke into a creepy smile at the thought of it. After spending more than half an hour trying to re-earn his confidence, he needed to vent the frustration, so he took the phone from the bed side and called his mistress. drrrr drrrrr drrrrr "Hello, who is this?" A sleepy voice came from the other side of the phone. "I''m coming to your house, prepare yourself" He started talking without waiting for the sleepy head secretary to fully wake up. "I''m sleepy, can we do it tomorrow?" Asked the secretary knowing that if he comes she won''t be sleeping anytime soon. As the secretary was waiting for the answer after trying to convey that she was tired, what she received was a sound of the call ending. Meaning the moment he said he was coming he didn''t even wait for her answer. ''This fucker'' Thought the secretary as she left the bed and went to the bathroom to prepare to welcome him. But this was followed with some very inventive slurs from her side, he should be thankfully he couldn''t hear them, else it might break his mind. They were as deadly as infohazard could be. ..... Somewhere in America. Two Russians could be seen sitting in an obscured bench in a park. One of them had a dong while the other one had a beard and could be seen reading a newspaper to attract too much attention. "What did you find out about the NATO''s last meeting" asked the one reading a gazette. "From our moles we didn''t learn too much as it is still confidential, but they managed to find out that a week after the NATO meeting, a team of representative from NATO arrived in the US" replied the other man as he pat the dog making it shake its tail from happiness. "Doesn''t that happen when NATO need''s to negotiate with the US?" "NO, this time is different, a day after they arrived they headed to a small company for a meeting with them." "What does that company deal with?" Asked the bearded man while flipping to the next page in the newspaper. "A short investigation revealed that it deals with technology but since they haven''t still released any product we couldn''t find out for sure what it is. But we found out that, a month after they were registered they contacted the FBI, CIA and many other agencies for cooperation. This made those agencies have a back and forth between them but it stopped at once when the NSA made its move." The man stopped to try and remove his dog from him as it was licking his face. He removed the rope from its neck and set it free to go and roam around the park, while he returned to continue with his explanation. "After the NSA intervened all Agencies stopped their meetings at once, This continued until about a month and a half later.... there was an emergency NATO meeting. From our mole in the inside we learned that it was about some security program or something similar to that." he finished explaining to the bearded man. "You suspect that it has something to do with the NATO having emergency meeting?" asked the bearded man. "There is more from where that came from, we also suspect that they are behind the social media''s security update issue we couldn''t solve" Added the dog''s human. When the bearded man heard the words he stopped looking at his newspaper and turned to the other man with a look of surprise and asked "What connects them? You said the company was found for only about 3 months and that situation is nearly 4 months old" "When we investigated the social media companies we found out there was a law firm that contacted them for their security problems, and after combing through the cctv''s footage''s we found out which law firm was it. But by the time we found it, it was already bought by GAIA technology which is the same company as the one having the meeting with NATO guys. that''s where our suspiciousness comes from" explained the man "Continue keeping an eye on the company, also find out who the owner is and everything there is to know about the company. understood?" Said the bearded man while closing the newspaper and standing from the Anti homeless bench, then he left without waiting for an answer. The remaining guy just looked a the direction the bearded man left, then he called his dog and left for the other side of the road. .... "STOOOP you are hurting me" Shouted the secretary in desperation while looking messed up and bruised. The professor wasn''t gentle at all, he kept slapping and banging her body to the wall like pillow or something, causing her to have bruises all over her body. "Shut up you bitch" Said Rottem as he slapped the back of her head making her fall to the floor, He didn''t care and continued doing his thing while imagining his ex-wife''s face on the secretary, making him Fuck her harder like she wanted to break her or something. The secretary begged him to stop, but the more she begged the more he saw the bitch''s face on her, making him go harder than before. This continue for about half an hour, until she started bleeding from down there and fainted, only then did he come to himself and stopped what he was doing. He just stood and headed to the bathroom while angry, not to himself but to the secretary for dirtying his body with blood and ruining his fun. After he took shower he just took some money from his wallet and threw it on the bed, making it rain. Then he left without even looking if she was doing alright or not, as he was not done venting, he was heading to whore house or something similar to it to continue his venting. ..... 10 minutes after he left the secretary woke up, she just stayed there for about 5 minutes contemplating why her life was like this. This contemplation continued a little more until she stood from the bed and headed to the watch on the wall that was blinking red if you look at it carefully. She took a longtime as whole body was in too much pain, but she managed to reach it and take it down, then she returned to her bed. "Hope this will save me from doing this anymore" she said as she shed tears feeling bad for herself. She opened the back of the watch to remove the flash drive that was inserted there to save the videos. ''With this that man will end my miserable life'' She smiled at the thought of not having to give her body to earn something anymore. Although the man said he just needed an evidence to incriminate the scumbag Rottem, nothing beats sexual assaulting and raping your assistant when it comes to destroying someone''s life. She smiled at the thought of it. And with that the final piece of his downfall was completed, what remained was the domino of pieces to start falling. Chapter 24 The Completion Of The Jenga Tower ?It took Rottem two days for him to return to his soon not to be home, when he entered the house he found that his bags have been packed and placed on the opening after the entrance. He knew who could make the servant do this, but since he planned on leaving the house in a week anyway he decided to leave today, since they already packed his stuffs already. why waste more time right. He called for the servants and ordered them to put his luggage''s in the car. Although the servants complained due to him no longer being a member of the family, they decided to just shut up and done with it ,they considered it as a goodbye service. He left the house for the last time and headed to a 3-star hotel to start his stay there for a short time, while he looked for a house that suited his taste. He was happy that he was free and his 2 day freedom gave him euphoria as he didn''t have to worry about anyone anymore. He felt excited to continue having this feeling for the foreseeable future. Ѧd n?a| om ... GAIA Technologies HQ. Sarah could be seen sitting in her office reading a pile of documents the size of dictionary. "Our agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) is done, meaning we can now host our subscription services through them, just like Netflix" she signed the document that had the webservice agreement on it and moved to the next documents. Just as she was about to read the next document her office call interrupted her momentum. "Hello mam" Said the secretary. "What is it?" Asked Sarah as she remembered that, she told her secretary to call her instead of just entering the room and break her focus. "We received a call from the legal team, they told us that the NATO representative have agreed to our demand and would like to sign it as soon as possible" "Good, tell the legal team to proceed with the necessary preparations I will handle the rest." Replied Sarah while smiling as she was happy to have managed to complete her first billion dollar contract without having too much of a problem. She immediately took her phone and called Aron to share the good news with his friend and owner of the company. "Sarah, what is it?" Asked Aron on the other side of the phone. "So I can''t call you to just talk now? is it" Sarah teased Aron. "When I did that in the past ,you said I should not call you during work hours. That''s why I was wondering what came in you to call me." "I called you to inform about our deal with NATO" Sarah went to the topic directly as it was her work hours. "Thay agreed?" "Yes they did" Replied Sarah without hiding her happiness. "That was fast, it seems they are that desperate, right?" "Yeah it seems so, as it took them only 3 days to come to a decision. Maybe we came with a solution right when they needed it" Agreed Sarah with Aron''s speculation''s. "So, when are you planning to come to the signing of the agreement?" Sarah asked Aron. "What do you mean, aren''t you the CEO? why do you need me there?" confusion could be heard in his voice. "You don''t want to attend the signing agreement? shouldn''t it be as important to you as it is to me?" Asked Sarah as she expected him to agree immediately. "Currently I''m dealing with something important, but if the signing is next week, I can manage to attend it. So when is the signing day?" "I will set it for next week Thursday make sure you attend it, okay?" "I will make sure I''m there, see you" Aron agreed to the day and bid her farewell. "See you too" replied Sarah and ended the phone call. Then she called her secretary to inform them about setting the agreement signing day to be of the next week''s Thursday. After giving her instructions, she returned to her daily work. ..... Rachael: I have what you want. You will keep your promise right? Aron: Don''t worry I will keep mine if you keep your Rachael: I''m sending you the footage of it. Aron: Sure. Rachael: Video1.mp4 (size 45mb) Aron: Let me take a look at it. 3 minutes later Rachael: Are you done watching? Aron: What is this? why did you do that?, I said I need evidence to incriminate him not have yourself nearly killed. Rachael: You said the better evidence the better the pay. Aron: But this is too much. why did you allow him. Rachael: I needed that money if I''m going to leave him Aron: Anyway, keep the footage until I tell you to use it. Rachael: Okay, So when are you going to send me the money. Aron: If I send it now it can be used as evidence of conspiracy. So, I will wire small amount now and the remaining after the case. But if you have an account that is not in your name, I can send the full payment to you using that account. Rachael: How about PayPal? if I use someone else''s phone number. Aron: Sure, Send me the email so that I can transfer the payment to you. Rachael: [email protected] Aron: Sure let me send it. Aron transferred a $1.5million dollar from his bank account to his PayPal''s one. Then he sent half of it, as the first payment the rest he will send it just after she finished what he needed her to do. Aron: I sent half of it, did you receive it? Rachael: Yes. THANK YOU Aron: The rest will be sent when we finish our agreement and for now go to the hospital to have a doctor''s report as it can be used as evidence of assault. Rachael: I have already done that yesterday. Aron: Okay then. With that the conversation between Aron and Rachael (the professors secretary) came to an end. This plan was started when Aron needed to punish the professor using law, but if he wanted to use his evidence, they might state that it was a stolen information and can''t be used as evidence in court. But for all that to even begin someone needed to sue him or the prosecutor general take the case to even begin. After a few minutes of thinking he remembered the secretary that was cheating with the professor. He contacted her and told her that the professors career is about to come to an end. when she didn''t believe him, he sent her some of the soon to be released evidence that will turn his words from rumor to facts. After he convinced her, he gave her a way out, as he knew that he was with the professor not because of love but because of his money. He promised to pay her based on any evidence she could provide that could incriminate the professor, but the minimum payment was $100,000dollar When he promised her that he didn''t expect to use herself as the evidence. But after he spent a few minutes feeling bad, he reminded himself that she is the one that took this choice herself, so this eased his guilt a little bit. This is also a reason why he decided to pay her a total of 1.5 million to remove his remaining guilt. But after a small moment of thinking he found that he could use this as a 2 plus 1 blow. He will make the secretary sue the professor for rape, which in return will make the professor emotionally damaged, due to betrayal and since there is video evidence backing the claim of her pleading for him to stop but him continuing with the act, he will be sent to jail for certainty and or be made to pay her massive compensation. When all that is taken care he will pay the remaining money to her and allow him to finally soothe his anger. He returned to continue with his work. .... A day after moving into the hotel he finally started going to the university. He finally started taking his teaching job seriously as it was now his only way to earn money, either through bribes from rich student''s parents or through his salary. When he returned to the university, he was informed that Rachael has taken a sick leave and won''t be coming to the university for about a week. This reminded of what condition he left her, making him know he was the reason for it. Instead of feeing remorse, he felt proud of himself. Why should he feel sorry for being a great lover, contrary to it he felt proud of himself. His delusion made him think that he fucked her till she needed to take a sick leave. So, for this week, his secretary will be replaced by a student volunteer who was chosen from his class. Chapter 25 The Fall Of The Jenga Tower Part_01 ?Monday next week. Rottem left the hotel for the university, he had a lecture 2 hours later, this led to him leaving the hotel earlier than his normal time. ..... "In conclusion, processors are a vital component of modern computing, and they come in many different configurations to meet diverse computing needs." With that Rottem completed his lecture, but just as he was about to give the students some homework, All the phones in the room received a notification informing them that they all received a message. The students in the class started looking at their phones, usually they would be reprimanded for doing it, but he himself was doing the same thing as them. pnd,no?1,o He was curious as what message was more important that it could make the whole classroom receive it at once. What he didn''t know was that every student, teacher and anyone who had any meaningful connection to the university received it at the same time as him. [ Recently leaked documents have exposed a disturbing case of academic corruption involving Professor Rottem, a prominent computer engineering professor at Columbia University, who allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for giving good grades to students. The documents, which can be downloaded from the following link [rottemhasasmalldick.com], provide evidence of financial transactions between Professor Rottem and students or their parents, with payments being made in exchange for favorable academic outcomes. This includes giving good grades to students who may not have earned them otherwise, and overlooking academic performance in favor of those who have paid bribes. This type of academic corruption is not only unethical but can have far-reaching consequences. Students who have paid bribes to receive favorable treatment may not be qualified for the opportunities they have been given, potentially depriving deserving students of those opportunities. This can also impact the reputation of the institution, eroding public trust and undermining the value of academic credentials. .... ... .... ... In conclusion, the leaked documents detailing academic corruption by Professor Rottem, a computer engineering professor at Columbia University, are deeply concerning. It is crucial that universities and academic institutions investigate these allegations thoroughly and take disciplinary action to maintain academic integrity. We must all prioritize ethical conduct in all academic endeavors to preserve the value of academic credentials and uphold the trust of the public. Link to download documents: [rottemhasasmalldick.com] ] When he read the article and saw his name as the main character in the article, his heart fell and nearly stopped. He immediately collected his bag and left the classroom for his office faster than Bary Allen thought he is. When he arrived in his office rom he continued reading it, after he finished it he pressed the link to see the evidence they used to make the case. The moment he opened the site, every cent he took from parents was listed with factual evidences like bank transfers, photos from cctv cameras, audio of their conversations or text messages. In some cases all of them were included as evidence for just one allegation. When he reached just the half of it he knew that he was fucked. he hastily packed his stuff in the office and immediately left the campus ground heading to the hotel. His phone nearly overheated, from constant messages and phone call''s trying to talk to him to know if it was true or not. But most of them were already convinced that it was true. After getting tired of rejecting the phone calls, he shut it down and focused on driving, lest he kill''s himself by causing an accident. ... Rina was also among those who received the notification, as she was considered having a connection to the university, due to donating some money to sponsor his former husband''s last thesis presentation conference. When she finished reading and looking at the website that had evidence, she knew that Rottem at the minimum would receive suspension or termination and at the maximum he will receive a revocation of his academic degrees. "It seems to be from the same person who sent me the email about his cheating" she said as she kept rereading the documents again and again. "Who did you mess with Rottem" asked Rina as she reopened the email she received last week again. she copied the email address of the sender and sent it to her personal investigator. She told him that she wanted him to find the sender of the email. After she received the confirmation from him she returned and continue with her work, she didn''t care about Rottem anyway, as she has already divorced him last week. But what was left in her mind was that, someone powerful was after Rottem and she received help from them in which she would need to repay them in the future. .... Aron kept looking at the reactions and continued making sure that the article isn''t taken down which was easy, as all he needed was to remove access of all of those who had it on the university new bulletin. Another thing keeping him busy was making sure that the server that the link led to didn''t crash from massive traffic leading to it. He expected the article to also attract New''s station''s attention but he didn''t expect it to take only 15 minutes to reach them and appear on their channels as breaking news. [ "Breaking News: Bribery Scandal Rocks Columbia University Computer Engineering Department" "Breaking News: Ivy League Professor Accused of Corruption and Bias in Academic Affairs" "Breaking News: Columbia University Faces Criticism for Alleged Bribery and Embezzlement" "Breaking News: Leaked Documents Expose Professor''s Misconduct at Columbia University" "Breaking News: Academic Community Outraged Over Columbia University Bribery Scandal" "Breaking News: Columbia University Computer Engineering Professor Accused of Accepting Bribes for Good Grades" "Breaking News: Leaked Documents Reveal Corruption at Ivy League University" "Breaking News: Academic Integrity Under Threat at Columbia University" "Breaking News: Columbia University Investigates Professor for Allegedly Accepting Bribes" "Breaking News: Columbia University Faces Backlash After Professor Accused of Accepting Bribes for Good Grades" ] These were some of the headlines in some major News channels. "I didn''t oversee this chain reaction" he said this while smacking his forehead. ... Rottem could be seen sitting in his hotel room, in his hand a televisions remote switching between channels to just be left with a look of horror as all the news channel he could access from his room where talking about him. They showed his photo and his life history was shown by all the channels, but during his stress he found something strange with the news reports. Although all of them were reporting stories about him, his life as a professor and every other thing, but what was weird was that, they mentioned neither his blood connection to the Morgan family nor about his former marriage to a member of the Rothschild family. That''s when he realized that they are not going to help him at all, but they will just remove any of their association to him. But just as he was about start thinking on how to minimize damage that could be done to him, a notification with different sound came from his phone. It came with different notification sound, because he set his important contacts notifications to a different tone. When he opened the phone he found an email from the university. [ Subject: Notice of Unpaid Suspension Pending Investigation Dear Professor ROTTEM, I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, you are being placed on unpaid suspension pending an investigation into allegations of academic corruption at Columbia University. As you may be aware, leaked documents have recently come to light that detail financial transactions between you and students or their parents in exchange for favorable academic outcomes, including giving good grades to students who may not have earned them otherwise. The university takes these allegations very seriously, and we have a responsibility to ensure that academic integrity is upheld. As such, we have convened an Academy Disciplinary Committee to investigate these allegations thoroughly. However, during this time, you will be suspended from your duties at the university and will not receive any pay. We understand that this may be a difficult time for you, but we assure you that the investigation will be conducted fairly and impartially. We urge you to cooperate fully with the committee and provide any information that may be relevant to the investigation. Please note that this suspension is without prejudice to the outcome of the investigation. Depending on the findings of the committee, further disciplinary action may be taken. We will keep you informed of any developments in this matter. Thank you for your understanding. Sincerely, On behalf of the Academy Disciplinary Committee at Columbia University. ] The moment he finished reading he shouted with his full power "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK" startling the neighbor roommates and receive a response from someone on the corridor. "SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU DON''T OWN THE FUCKING HOTEL. JACKASS" shouted a guy from the corridor as he nearly fainted after being startled by Rottem''s shouting. ... Chapter 26 The Fall Of The Jenga Tower Part_02(Final) ?Wednesday. On the third day, he received an email about the decision they have come to after their two days of their in-depth investigation. This came as surprise to him, as he expected that they would take more than a month of investigation and since by that time he would have been out of the public''s eye, then the university would at most only terminate his job, but what he got was way more than expected and the decision came in just two days and it as more brutal. [ Subject: Termination of Employment and Revocation of Academic Degree Dear Professor ROTTEM, I regret to inform you that after conducting a thorough investigation into the allegations of academic corruption against you, the Academy Disciplinary Committee has decided to terminate your employment at Columbia University, effective immediately. We take academic integrity very seriously, and the evidence presented during the investigation was both compelling and incriminating. The committee found that you have violated the fundamental principles of academic honesty and ethical conduct by accepting bribes and embezzling research funds. Such behavior is not tolerated at our institution. Furthermore, we have also initiated the process of revoking your academic degree, as it is imperative that we maintain the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical conduct. We will notify you once a decision has been made in this regard. Please be aware that the termination of your employment and the revocation of your academic degree are both final decisions, and there is no room for appeal. We will be in touch with you shortly regarding the logistics of your departure from the university. We ask that you return any university property and complete any outstanding tasks before your departure. We wish you the best in your future endeavors. Sincerely, On behalf of the Academy Disciplinary Committee at Columbia University. ] What he didn''t know was that, since the families of the students that received grade bump were very influential, they decided to cover up the case by putting all the blame on him and in return the university will receive massive donations from them. This didn''t mean that those student''s will not receive punishment, but what they will receive will only be a slap in the hand compared to what they would have normally received. With all of the blame being put on him the university came to the decision of revoking his academic degree. This meant that he will not be able to teach in any university in America and anywhere that required those credential''s for the a job, practically reducing the ways he could earn money. When he came to the realization of it, he fell on his bed and fainted from shock due to the stress his brain received from thinking about his future. ..... When Aron also received the email that was being sent to Rottem since he duplicated Rottem''s account, he learned of the university''s decision of terminating his job and revocation of his degree, his heart finally felt the knot it had since his expulsion from the university finally become untied. Finally he can start to sorely focus on his future plans, without anything to distract him anymore. You might say what about the sexual assault case from Rachael? he already paid half of the promised money to her, so why didn''t he use it? Well that is because as they said "don''t put all your eggs in one basket" Sun Tzu. He was saving it for the future in case the professor make''s a comeback and comes back for revenge. Better be overprepared than under prepared(Sun Tzu). But he finished the money owed to her and told her to be prepared to sue Rottem at any time. When he does that he will compensate her for it again. And now that he can focus on his work without the distraction in his heart he finally decided on the next project. an Operating System is what he decided to make. The reason he chose making Operating system(OS) is due to him discovering an infinite money glitch in the system. Here is how it works. The system reward''s him at the minimum of 1sp anytime he or someone used something created using the systems knowledge. This meant that, if he created something that many people will use, he will earn the minimum of 1sp anytime someone downloaded and used the product. But why OS not a social media site or something else? This is because he needed a land where he can keep planting new plants on it all the time. If his OS becomes a giant in the market and have millions or billions of users, he could make new products or app''s that could use the OS as their road to the market. This is because one of the most critical components of the OS is it''s Appstore. His OS will also have one and anytime he needs more sp, he would just release an app and by marketing it using the OS he could gain millions upon millions of sp freely by people downloading and trying it. But all of that will be taken care after he attends the meeting at the company. .... pnd`no?1--o Thursday. Aron woke up the next morning feeling well rested. This was due to him having completed his revenge, making him have a nice sleep. He left his bed and entered the bathroom to wash his face, then he changed his clothes to the ones he used for sports to prepare for his daily quest. The he headed to the park in his neighborhood to start his daily workout routine. When he completed his daily quest he returned home and went to the bathroom for a long and refreshing shower. After cleaning himself, he ate his breakfast then went to the garage and took one of the car, then he headed to the office.... ... GAIA TECHNOLOGY HQ Aron arrived to the office about 30 minutes later and entered the building through the underground parking lot. When he left his car he found Sarah waiting for him while holding the elevator for him, so that they can go together. "Were you waiting for long?" He asked as he straightened his clothes and entered the elevator. "Not too long, about ten minutes" She replied while clicking their floor number after Aron entered the elevator. "So when are they arriving?" he asked as the elevator started moving. "In about 45 minutes...." She replied while looking at her watch. They continued their journey while having small talks until they reached her office, as his was not in existence due to him not wanting to waste space when they just opened the company. When they entered her office, they started talking about the company''s operation as they waited for the NATO representatives to arrive. "When is the sever farm going to be completed?" He asked as he needed it to start the full development of the OS. Although his home server will suffice if the OS was a normal one, the one he planned to make needed a bigger server and high computing power to complete it by the time he planned to. "According to the project managers last report, we are about a month away from the server being operational ready. Currently they are assembling the servers, testing them, testing the cooling system and everything else" "Good" Aron nodded in approval. This didn''t mean that the making of the OS is postponed, he will only have to start working on it in his home server, then move when the server is complete. "How is the rollout preparation for BugZapper''s subscription service" He asked. "You don''t read the reports do you?" She asked as she looked at Aron, she was not disappointed at him to the slightest for not taking his company seriously. She was used at it now as it happened numerous times before. "I was focusing on something but now that I have completed dealing with it, I will begin focusing on it." He gave an excuse while avoiding eye contact with her. "Anyway, we have already signed a contract with amazon for their webservices and we have completed uploading the program to their servers and it''s ready for release after about a week of testing." She replied to him, but she didn''t believe in his promise about focusing on the company. "But since we have agreement with NATO that we will give them a buffer period of one month for them to start implementing in on their infrastructure, we will have to delay our release until October." She added. "What is expected traffic after the rollout and how is the advertisement plan going?" "From our marketing department analysis, since the program is focused on the development side of the issue, we just need to focus our marketing to developers and not waste money on social media. So, based on their estimates, if we spend about 10 million dollars on the month before, during its release and by giving early but restricted access to some influencers in the security communities, we should earn about 50 million in the first month but keeping them there and expanding the userbase will depend on the program delivering on its promises" with that she finished explaining all the things he missed from not reading the email''s she sent to her. As he was about to ask more questions, Sarah''s secretary nocked and entered the room to say that "The reception desk has informed us that, the representatives have arrived and they are on the elevator heading here." she said. "They have finally arrived" Aron said while standing from the chair and head to the elevator to welcome them. "Yeah, Finally" Sarah agreed to his words as she followed him to do the same thing. .... Chapter 27 The Beginning Of The Creation Of OS ?As Sarah, the CEO of GAIA Technology, sat at the conference table, Aron sat beside her making the head of NATO representatives nod to him in acknowledgment. They knew who he was, as the American government provided them with the full details about the company during their negotiation phase. Aron returned the acknowledgement with the same nod. He wasn''t surprised that they knew who he was, as he expected them to do background information on his company and its owner. Sarah could feel the weight of the momentous occasion upon her. In front of her, the representatives of NATO await, ready to sign the agreement that will set their partnership in motion. After weeks of back-and-forth discussions and careful consideration of the terms, both parties are finally ready to make it official. Sarah knows that this partnership will be a game-changer for the company, as it will bring worldwide recognition and legitimacy to GAIA Technology''s innovative solutions. With a sense of pride and anticipation, she takes a deep breath and reaches for her pen, ready to sign on the dotted line and take the company to new heights. As Sarah signs her name on the agreement, she feels a sense of relief wash over her. This partnership with NATO is a significant step forward for GAIA Technology, and she knows that it will help propel the company to new levels of success. Since they have already come to an agreement, it no longer needs to be kept secret. NATO would have to announce this partnership if they wanted to prevent chaos when the program is released for public use. Sarah was particularly happy about this because it will act as a free advertisement for the company, saving them millions in advertisement spending. She looked up and met the gaze of the representative from NATO, who smiled and extended his hand in congratulations. Sarah took it, feeling a surge of pride for making this partnership become a reality. After a brief handshake with Sarah, the representative extended it to Aron too who shook his hand with a smile in his face as he had become a FUCKING billionaire. ''JOKES ON YOU ROTTEM'' he thought as he kept smiling like a crazy person while escorting the representatives to the building''s elevator and talking to them. . Immediately after escorting them he spent about an hour talking with Sarah about the company''s operations. Then he left for home to finally start the development of his next project. After half an hour he arrived at home where there was no one as his parents were out and Henry was at school. So, he went directly to his workroom to begin the project as he was excited to start it. Aron''s goal with GAIA OS was to create a revolutionary operating system that would change the way people interact with technology. This would act as a way to convince people to start using it, making him earn large amounts of sp. Currently although some good OS existed, they were divided into different platforms and for different devices. The computer OS market was almost fully monopolized by Microsoft''s windows 8, a little bit by Mac OS X Mountain Lion and the remaining of the market used different types of the Linux OS. As for the smartphone market, It was also monopolized by two companies, Apple''s iOS 6 and Google''s open source Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. As for the BlackBerry OS 10 and Windows Phone 8 OS they were on the market but are on their last legs. Due to this difference in Operating Systems(OS) for personal devices, it forced the app development market to divide their resources during development to account for every OS that they wanted their app or program to be capable of being used in. This means, the same program has to be written in 3 different programming languages, to account for Android, iOS, Windows and Linux use. This will also increase the cost of making an app as the difference in these programming languages will force the developers to create a new system that would integrate these different programming languages in order to work as one program across all platforms. That was the market he wanted to tap using his GAIA OS. And by making the OS capable of being used by all personal devices, manage to run all programs no matter the language it was written in and make it efficient and aesthetically pleasing, he will have access to a market of more than 4 billion personal devices or more. After he entered the room, he powered on his work bench to start his work. As his dream OS would be difficult to make with the current technology, He needed to buy some of the technologies from the shop to allow him to make his dream come true. The infinite sp glitch(On technicality). pnd,no?1,o He had already bought what he needed from the system yesterday night to prevent him having to sleep during the day. Before yesterday he had more than 275,000sp. This was thanks to the NSA keeping testing the limit of the program by giving it new programs. They wanted to know its pattern so that they can maybe one day reverse engineer it. Yesterday he bought. [ AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). A small step taken by bipedal humans in the year 2096... Price:[225,000sp] ] The system deemed AGI to be just a small step, Normally this would have come as a surprise to him but after seeing those that needed more than a million sp to buy it, he just gave up and forgot about it.. Although the system deemed it a small thing, his current world was still at the level of task oriented machine learning, meaning they can just teach to be exceptionally good at one thing while dumb in everything else. But AGI(Artificial General Intelligence) is capable of being exceptional at almost all things that it can access data and learn from. Although Aron bought the full AGI(Artificial General Intelligence) it didn''t mean that he was going to put it fully into the OS that would make it impossible to be handled by normal computers or smartphones and could only be used with massive servers. So, he decided to compartmentalize it and just choose the things he wanted from it, to use for his OS. He will create his own assistant AGI(Artificial General Intelligence) to help him later, because the server wasn''t completed yet and his home server can''t handle it. That''s why he postponed it until after he finished the OS since if he waited until the server was completed, he would have wasted a long time that could have been used well. These are the things that he wanted his OS to have. The first thing he wanted was device compatibility. He wanted GAIA OS to be used in any personal device available out there, be it phones, computers, tablets and other personal devices. Aron wanted to make sure that the operating system could adapt to all these devices and provide a seamless user experience. And the first step towards this was to make sure the operating system was compatible with all the different personal devices out there. He also wanted GAIA OS to have adaptability. This feature will enable the OS to seamlessly work on a variety of devices ranging from cheap phones to expensive smartphones, computers and others. The aim is for the OS to optimize itself depending on the strengths and weaknesses of each type of device, making it more user-friendly and efficient. An example of adaptability is when it comes to optimization for cheap phones. Cheap phones are known for their weak processors and limited memory. To combat these weaknesses, the GAIA OS will be optimized to use minimal resources, making the most of what is available. This will result in longer battery life and improved performance, even on budget-friendly devices. The OS will prioritize efficient usage of the CPU, minimizing its usage when possible, and utilizing it only when necessary. As for expensive devices, they are typically high-end devices with powerful processors and ample memory. However, their strengths often come with drawbacks, such as short battery life. The GAIA OS will take advantage of the high-end specs of these devices to provide users with an optimal experience. For these devices, the OS will prioritize battery optimization, using efficient algorithms to minimize battery drain. Additionally, the OS will use the GPU and other hardware components to provide fast and smooth performance, taking full advantage of the powerful hardware in these devices. For computers, the GAIA OS will adapt itself to provide the best performance for desktop and laptop users. This means that the OS will prioritize different aspects, such as memory management, storage optimization, and GPU acceleration. The GAIA OS will also take into account the use cases of computer users, such as gaming, video editing, or coding, and optimize the performance for each specific scenario. For example, for gaming, the OS will allocate more memory and resources to the GPU, improving the gaming experience. For video editing, the OS will optimize the storage to provide fast read and write speeds, improving the overall workflow. Chapter 28 Creation Of GAIA OS Pt:01 (Memory Optimization) ?As technology advances, it becomes more capable and more complex, and the same applies to operating systems. Operating systems are becoming more memory-heavy as they come with an increasing amount of functions. As a result, storage space is becoming a precious commodity, especially for mobile devices. Aron recognized this issue and chose to start his work on the GAIA OS with the optimization of storage. To accomplish this, he started his optimization of the storage by implementing a smart repository system. The repository system allows the Operating system to identify which files are being used the most and which ones are rarely used. It stores frequently accessed files in faster memory such as RAM or SSD, while files that are rarely used are stored on slower, but larger storage devices like hard drives. As for mobile devices, Aron wrote a code to compress and store files in a more compact way to reduce the amount of storage space required for each file. He also added in the code to make the OS capable of dynamically adjusting its compression usage based on the available resources of the device it was being run on. Meaning that the amount of compression is dependent on the processing speed of the device, this was so that the OS could do the decompression of the data without any delay or having any performance reduction. The amount of compression is dependent on the processing speed of the device, which ensures that the OS can do the decompression of the data without any delay or having any performance reduction. Due to that, he could only compress the data or files in cheap devices to the limit of 8 times. Any more than that would result in a slight performance reduction. After a long time, he finally managed to make the optimization of storage work seamlessly, and then he moved on to the next feature he wanted to add above the foundation of storage compression, which was cloud storage. Aron wanted GAIA OS to have the ability to store users'' compressed files in the cloud. This would allow users to store the files they are not using frequently to free the space in their devices. The cloud storage feature would also allow for easy collaboration and sharing of files, making it an ideal solution for businesses and individuals alike. This feature also allows users to access their files from any device with an internet connection, without having to worry about storage space. Aron''s focus on storage optimization was because he wanted to make GAIA OS a highly efficient and effective operating system that was able to adapt to the needs of its users. Whether the user was running GAIA OS on a high-end desktop computer or a budget smartphone, he wanted the operating system to be able to make the most of the available storage space, providing users with a seamless experience. To achieve that, Aron knew that although compression is important, the reading speed was also a critical aspect of the operating system''s performance. To optimize the reading and writing speed of memory, Aron implemented a special algorithm that could work with any type of memory, including the slowest ones. The algorithm analyzed the memory''s read and write speed and then optimized how it does that to almost double the speed, resulting in a much faster and smoother experience. This algorithm was also able to learn over time and make further optimizations based on the user''s usage patterns, making the overall experience even better. Additionally, he implemented techniques like caching, indexing, and defragmentation that would help the operating system access data faster. By incorporating these techniques and optimizations, Aron was confident that GAIA OS would provide a lightning-fast memory reading experience for all users. And this was just one of the many steps he was taking towards making it the best OS in existence. ..... While Aron was focusing on making his OS, somewhere somethings were happening. A week after they signed the agreement, NATO held a press conference to make an announcement. As the NATO spokesperson entered the conference room and strode confidently towards the podium, everyone focused so that they don''t miss the announcement that was about to be made. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to make an important announcement about NATO''s cybersecurity infrastructure." The spokesperson''s voice was clear and confident, and everyone in the room listened intently. "As part of our ongoing efforts to protect our member nations from cyber threats, NATO has invested 10.5 billion dollars into acquiring a program that will help us identify and address weaknesses in our cybersecurity systems from GAIA Technologies." pnd,no?1,o The spokesperson paused for a moment to let the news sink in before continuing. "It''s important to note that we have only purchased the rights to use the program, rather than the program itself. This cost-effective solution will allow us to fully utilize the program''s capabilities without incurring additional expenses." "Our member nations have already begun using the program, and we expect to have the implementation completed by the end of this month. With this program, we are confident that we can identify and address any weaknesses in our cybersecurity systems, ensuring that we can better protect our member nations." With that the conference room erupted into a flurry of activity as reporters and journalists began to ask questions about the announcement. The spokesperson patiently answered each question, fully aware of the importance of the announcement and the need for clarity around its implications. ... somewhere in America. A dog could be seen wandering in a room, there was a man sitting on a couch watching the TV. Currently it was showing NATO''s press conference informing the world about the reason for their secret meeting held nearly a month ago. "Looks like we were right" He said in Russian as he looked at the folder with Aron''s personal information on the table. They had already found out who the owner of the company was and had already paid a few workers there to tell them what was happening in the company. When they learned that NATO was negotiating with the company in order to license their security program, they tried to make their mole employee get the program but he failed due to the workers in the company having no access to it. The worker in the company could only tell them that the program was not in their hands and was already in amazon''s servers, and he does not have access to it. He also added that it will be released to the public soon anyway, so there was no need for them to try and get their hands on it. After failing to steal the program through the mole, they started focusing on the owner of the company, as they suspected him of either being the developer of the program or he knew who made it and bought it from them, which was rather unlikely as in their background check they found that he was poor. A phone call interrupted his thoughts. "Comrade" With those words he started the conversation. "Stop the plan of industrial espionage and try to have contact with the owner of the company" Said the voice on the other side. "From our investigation we discovered that he spends most of the time at home and there seems to be a few FBI neighbors near the house looking after him, So it will be difficult" He replied. "Find a way!!! The Kremlin wants the program in its full version to be in our hands within two month. He suspects that after securing their cyber infrastructure, they will move to offense in cyberspace as a retaliation to the GRU(Russia''s version of CYBERCOM), As we have been attacking their important infrastructure all the time with the Chinese. The Chinese are also on the move, so you better move faster than them before the FBI catches wind of this and moves in to block us." Said the voice on the other side. "If it''s that urgent, Can we use force?" He asked. "Vladimir" The voice on the other side said causing him to stiff, He knew the moment his name was mentioned he must have fucked up something. He immediately stood up and replied "YES SIR" loudly, causing the dog to jump from being startled and it started barking at him but he didn''t care. "I said, have it with in the two month period" Those are the only words he said before he ended the call. He was left there with his phone still on his ear while his chest was puffing from fear and his brain was pushing adrenalin in his body. That was how much Vladimir was scared of the man. When the dog felt that its owner was scared it came to him and started going between his legs to try and calm him, causing him to come to himself. When he looked down and realized it was the dog who calmed him, he kicked it in frustration sending it to the other side of the room. "FUCK" he shouted at the whimpering dog lying on the ground in pain. He kicked the dog to hide and vent his fear as anger. He feared the man because the moment he messes up he was fucked. In FSB if you fail your mission, your supervisor decides your punishment. And he once saw someone getting slowly runned over by a tank to his slow and painful death as his punishment, that was the result of the punishment this guy chose. SO, he wasn''t taking the work as a joke anymore and since he had two months he decided to take the full month to prepare for all the contingencies. .... Chapter 29 Creation Of GAIA OS Pt:02 (Virtual Assistant) ?Vladimir picked up the document with Aron''s name and started reading it very carefully, afraid that he might miss something important. "So he doesn''t have security detail, which makes my job easier." "He spends most of his time at home, that''s also good, now all I have to do is get the house''s plan" He was getting happier by the time, as his target was a person who stays at home, making Vladimir just focusing on planning how he can enter the house. Another good news for him was that Aron was a new money, this caused Aron to not put too much importance in his security, as he was used to living without security guards before he became rich. And since he was not famous to need them, it didn''t come to his mind. This led him to overlook it. Another thing he learned was that the house was inhabited by four people, Aaron''s parents, his younger brother Henry and him. But most of the time he is alone, as his parents like going outside and Henry has to go to school. "So it looks like we have to find a time window that he is alone to reduce variables" With that he had the foundations to start his plan on top of. ... After he finished with memory optimization he moved to the next aspect he wanted the OS to have. He started making a unique identifier for the OS that could use five or more than it depending on the sensors the device had. The unique identifier would use phones camera, microphone, finger prints and more. Through these the OS will create a unique identity for the user making sure no one has access to the device other than the user or those permitted by the user. The identifier will also be uploaded to the cloud and could be used by users to access their files in the cloud through other devices. Although it may seem like it was a security breach this was prevented as the data was encrypted, to have access to your own data through other devices you will have to enter a password linked to your account, then it would access the credentials in the cloud and use their verification methods then you will gain access to your files on the new device. The identifier could also be used as an anchor to your own ecosystem, meaning that you could use your phone''s identifier and link it to your home appliances making you have remote access to them no matter where you are, this could also be used in Bluetooth speakers or any other home device. With that done, he moved to the next aspect which might be considered as the thing that distinguishes it from any other Operating System in the market. That was the Operating System''s Virtual assistant. And since he had already bought the complete AGI(Artificial General Intelligence) from the system''s shop he could make the Operating system''s assistant with his eyes closed. But since he couldn''t make the OS handle the entirety of AGI as it needed server grade hardware to be able to even run, he decided to compartmentalize the AGI and just use some of the functions that could be useful for his virtual assistant. Although it might seem like the virtual assistant will be weaker, if completed it would be ahead of any of the world''s AI by more than 50 years at the latest. These are some of the small AI that were compartmentalized from the AGI. Remember that these are just small parts that are combined to make about 0,5 percent of the AGI. As for why he didn''t use the rest of the thing is because they are too advanced to be used on personal devices. MULTIMODAL FUNCTION: This system is capable of processing and understanding multiple modes of input, such as speech, text, images, gestures and more. This is to make sure the virtual assistant doesn''t miss any input from the user to prevent miscommunication. INTELLIGENT AGENT: perceives its environment, reasons about it, and takes actions to maximize its chances of success. This uses the input it receives to analyze and process the information. COGNITIVE SYSTEM: process the information it receives and perform tasks that require human-like intelligence and reasoning. NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING: Refers to the use of AI and computational linguistics to process and analyze human language naturally without making the user speak in a specific style to prevent discomfort. pnd`no?1--o COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS: the computational and mathematical aspects of the human language ability, this works in tandem with the Natural Language Processing system to make speech recognition easier. ASSISTANT: Refers to a computer program that is designed to assist a human user with tasks, such as scheduling appointments and answering questions. This will be the visual aspect of the whole system when it is combined. MULTILINGUAL SYSTEM: It is capable of understanding and communicating in multiple languages. For making sure everyone on earth can use the assistant. ETHICAL WATCHER: It is designed to consider ethical and moral values in its decision-making processes. Making it decide how to respond depending on the request while avoiding breaking the law. ADAPTIVE SYSTEM: It is capable of adapting to changing circumstances and environments. This will make it ready to respond to any situation. SENTIMENT ANALYSIS: It is capable of processing, representing, and responding to emotions. For understanding the user''s current emotional situation and respond accordingly. EXPERT SYSTEM: Refers to a computer system that is designed to mimic the decision-making abilities of a human expert in a specific field. After deciding what he will use from the AGI for his virtual assistant, he started making it. He started with MULTIMODAL FUNCTION to ensure that the AI system would be able to understand the user''s inputs in a variety of different forms, making it the first thing any input that is being provided to the virtual assistant passes through it. This includes text, speech, even gestures and many more. By making the AI multimodal, Aron was confident that the Virtual Assistant would be able to provide a much more seamless and intuitive user experience. The MULTIMODAL AI system would be responsible for performing a wide range of tasks, with the cooperation of NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING, SENTIMENT ANALYSIS, COGNITIVE SYSTEM, and speech recognition. These systems would act as the foundation for the Virtual Assistant, which would then make it able to process and analyze the user''s data to provide insights and recommendations. HE added COGNITIVE SYSTEM to the AI because he wanted it to think and reason like a human, making it capable of solving complex problems and making informed decisions. After successfully incorporating them, Aron decided to add several other advanced AI technologies to make the Virtual Assistant even more powerful and versatile. First on his list was the Multilingual AI. This technology allowed the Virtual Assistant to understand and respond to multiple languages, making it accessible to a wider range of users. Aron believed that the Multilingual AI would greatly enhance the user experience by allowing people to communicate with the Virtual Assistant in their preferred language. Aron then added the Intelligent Agent technology to the Virtual Assistant. This system allowed the Virtual Assistant to function as an autonomous agent, making it capable of performing tasks and making decisions on its own. Aron believed that the Intelligent Agent technology would greatly enhance the user experience by making it easier for people to get things done with the Virtual Assistant. Another function that Aron added to the Virtual Assistant was the Adaptive AI. This technology allowed the Virtual Assistant to learn and adapt to the user''s behavior and preferences, making it even more intuitive and user-friendly. Aron believed that the Adaptive AI would greatly enhance the user experience by making it possible for the Virtual Assistant to learn from the user and provide a more personalized experience. Finally, He added Ethical AI, as it was another important aspect that Aron considered while creating the Virtual Assistant. it was crucial to ensure that its usage aligns with ethical and moral standards. Aron wanted to make sure that the Virtual Assistant operates in a responsible and ethical manner, taking into account the potential consequences of its actions and decisions. The Ethical AI component also monitors the data usage and privacy of the users and ensures that their data is protected and used only for the intended purpose. In addition, it analyzes the potential impact of AI technology on society, the user and provides recommendations for mitigating any negative consequences. By incorporating Ethical AI, Aron wanted to remove any grounds for lawsuit against him or his company by those who deemed him as a threat to their interests. In the eyes of the general user he wanted it to be perceived as the company that dedicate extensive research and development to creating AI technology that not only offers practical benefits but also operates in an ethically responsible manner. With that only one thing remained for the GAIA OS Chapter 30 Creation Of GAIA OS Pt:03 (Training The Virtual Assistant) ?It took him two weeks to finally complete making the OS. Although the OS was completed it was not ready for use, because the virtual Assistant was not trained at all. And as we all know an AI without data for training, is just a fancy looking code. But he had to wait for the new server to be completed in two weeks for him to be able to train the AI. While he was thinking about this he received a call from Sarah. "Hello" "Yeah hello Aron, I called to inform you that the server has been completed " "Wasn''t it supposed to be completed in two weeks?" "The head of the project added those two weeks in case a problem appears during the testing of the equipment''s but when they started testing things surprisingly nothing caused a huge problem that couldn''t be solved immediately" "Good, I was done with the program and only waiting for the data center to be done to start my work." "You told me about the project two weeks ago, are you done with it already?" She asked in surprise as she didn''t expect him to be done in just two weeks. "I started the project two weeks ago but I was planning it for longer than that." "Oooh Okay" "Now give me the access credentials for the server i have to start working on it to finish it faster" "Write down. The Hostname is: Gaiatechnology.privateserver.com, IP Address: 192.168.1.100, Username: admin and the Password is Pa$$w0rd123" "What is with that password?" "Since you are the only one that will have access to it we made it simple so that you can change it" She answered while laughing. "Okay" Aron laughed too, making the situation more comical. "Are you guys ready for the release of the program?" He asked. "We are ready and waiting for the two week remaining period to pass and begin releasing it to the public. And since NATO''s press conference we have been in the industries eye from when they heard how much NATO paid us" "Well we have to thank them for the free publicity" "Yeah that made our job of convincing the tech influencer easier, we have already provided them with the program, and they will start releasing videos and articles in the last week before the release to attract more attention from the industry and make them be ready for its release." "Okay then talk to you when I''m done with the project then, see you" "See you too," She replied, bidding him farewell. After the call he opened the Remote Desktop app in his computer and entered the IP address and hostname of the data center server, along with his login credentials. After he accessed the server he immediately changed the password and the user name making sure only he will have access to it, as he didn''t want someone to know what and how he was doing. With the server access done he immediately uploaded the blank slate Virtual assistant to the server to begin its training. He called it a blank slate because AI that has not yet been trained on any specific dataset or task. This term suggests that the AI has no pre-existing knowledge or understanding of the world, and must be trained or programmed in order to perform a particular task or application. With that he started with the training of the Virtual Assistant, he didn''t need to collect and arrange the data in anyway as the Virtual assistant will collect all the data and learn all of it, and after that it will arrange the content by categories, the ethical AI will do the approving and Aron will do the Final check. Although he will be taking a look at the final data, he will be looking at it just to make sure because from the knowledge he got from the AGI he could be sure that the AI will not go rogue or do something that is not permitted by its code. These problems were solved during its time and the AGI that Aron received from the system was the final version of it with all the bugs removed. Also the data that will be arranged into categories will be made into a knowledge database stored in the server to be used for later training of other AI''s. The virtual assistant started surfing the internet using the servers high speed internet. The highest speed of internet the data centers had was around 40 Gigabits per second (Gbps). This was the fastest speed you could get at this time(2013). This was also the reason he had to pay the service provider more than 50,000 dollars every month for that internet speed. He wanted to have enough data to train any AI before the release of the BugZapper; this is also the reason the server had the memory capacity of 500 petabytes. This was so that he could collect and save all the data in his private server without having to worry about someone accessing it without his permission. He waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited. While the server was working to its full capability collecting, analyzing and categorizing data in the magnitudes of a petabyte every 55 hours. After 3 weeks he the Virtual Assistant finally finished collecting learning and categorizing data in the total of 10 petabytes. Keep in mind that this data was already analyzed and already categorized, and could now be used to train any AI until the level of AGI. This meant that he could just use this data to train his AGI using just this data and it will be ready for service. As for the finished virtual assistant, after using the data it could now speak and understand every language that exist on the internet, this included the Klingon from Star Trek, Elvish from The Lord of the Rings, Dothraki from Game of Thrones and many more, as long as the full vocabulary and rules are in the internet it has already learned it. It also learned math, physics and any subjects out there, and since it could use its cognitive system to understand and explain them differently it meant it could argue based on the topic. ..... Vladimir has finished his investigation and plan to infiltrate Aron''s house, He was currently just waiting for the FBI watching the house to leave, as he expected them to leave in about two or three weeks after NATO countries finished their implementation of the program in their infrastructure. It was currently a week after they completed the implementation, so he was sure they will be living their surveillance duty in about a week or two more. He used this time to review his plans and practice again and again, making sure there was no mistake, as he knew that his life depended on it and the moment he failed, there would be a tank warming its engines for him somewhere in Russia. pnd,no?1,o From his repeated collection of information, he already knew when Henry will be at school and his parents will be outside, making the house remain with only Aron in it. The good news is that he already has the house plan from the realtor Aron bought it from after spending a few thousand dollars through a proxy. Another good news is that Aron doesn''t have any military training as he is just an expelled graduate, Though he found out that he always trains the same routine daily which was strange. So, he expected him to try to fight his way out, but that won''t cause any problem to him as he was professionally trained and the other one was just used to just running and pushups. He could have used his training as a chance to ambush him but what he needed was the program not Aron himself, due to this that plan was shelved. He wanted to avoid the parents because he didn''t want more variables that might cause him to kill someone in the United States soil. Because if he does that, the case will move from a suspected industrial espionage to a foreign operation by an enemy nation, and it might force the FBI to move aggressively and manage to track him down, as he couldn''t avoid all the surveillance cameras in the goddamn city. So he planned to be in and out of the house in a matter of minutes while leaving as little traces and hints that could be used to lead anyone to him as possible. And if he is caught he will either have to commit suicide or he will have to spend a good time in a black site somewhere, being tortured for information. And he didn''t want to take someone''s place in those black sites, as he really liked his home, and the dog which is now cautious of him due to footballing it a few times when his plan were interrupted. Chapter 31 Completion ?With the completion of training of the AI Aron started testing it "Can you understand me?" "Yes sir, how can I help you?" replied a neutral voice as a Chibi version of a person appeared on the computer screen turning everything dark. "What is your name?" "I currently have none, would you like to bestow one for easier communication?" It answered the Chibi. "Then I will call you ''Ava''" Aron named him that as that was what came to his mind. "Thank you sir" Replied Ava as its voice changed to a feminine one. "Why did your voice change?" "From my data I found that Ava is usually used as a female name hence the change sir, would you like me to change the voice?" "No, keep it" He liked its intuitive thinking. "Thank you sir." "Can you think for yourself?" He asked just to see what it would reply. "No sir, I can only reply using the data I have, but since I have sufficient data i can choose what to reply from multitude of choices giving the illusion of free will" "Good, what is your current size?" "Including the training data my size is 10 petabytes, but a trained VA is only 54 mb" "Why is the training data removed from the trained one?" He asked although he knew why as he wanted to see how much it can extrapolate from its data. "Just like a trained child''s brain forgets the memories used to train it can be said the same with me." "Good power off" With the virtual assistant powering off Aron closed the virtual machine the Virtual Assistant was running in returning to his normal windows screen. Although he knew nothing would go wrong, there is nothing in being careful that''s why he used the virtual machine to test the AI. Since the AI worked as expected, he exported the data of the trained VA which only amounted to 54 mb. Then he added the Virtual assistant into the Operating system. After that he limited the Virtual assistant capabilities on what it can say and what it can''t say, things like how it was trained or what its programming language is. He made sure that no classified information as deemed by him will be released to the public even by accident. Since if the public knows the existence of a new programming language, it might cause a problem for him and force the company to release it to the public due to pressure. With the completion of that, the total size of GAIA OS came to 236mb. Too small for the capabilities it held, this was due to Aron using prometheus++ programing language, which helped him put many function into a small size. With the size of it being small it could act as a way to make people try it, but if it was the size of more than a GB, very few people would even entertain the idea of downloading it. He immediately went ahead and logged into his Apple Developer and Google Play Developer accounts, this account was created for him by Sarah using the company name. This meant that he could publish his apps in the company name without having to trouble them but he will have to at least let them know that he did so. He then submitted the OS for review by the App Store or Google Play Store team. Usually app stores don''t have an OS in them but he made a few changes to it to make it look like an assistant app. This would help it pass the review process and have it published in the competitors app store. With that he could make his future competitor sell his OS using their App Stores. The review process typically involves checking your app for quality, security, and compliance with platform guidelines. It can take several days or even weeks for an app to be reviewed, depending on the platform and the complexity of the app. ..... About week ago GAIA Technologies. Sarah could be seen having a meeting with the head of the BugZapper team. "How is the market reaction to BugZapper?" She asked. "The reaction is better than we expected, but since we have already leased a large amount of servers from amazon we managed to handle the traffic." "How much percent of users have we converted to premium version" "The percentage is about 45% and it keeps increasing" The team leader replied. "That much?" Asked Sarah in surprise. As she didn''t expect it to be that successful. "Yes, Since there was a very positive feedback it led to many people in the security industry to try it, and when they tried it and ended up liking it they just upgraded to premium for more functionalities." "What is our expected revenue by the end of the month?" "Currently Since we are having an influx of premium users, we have to wait for it to calm down to calculate accurately but the finance department says that it will be triple or more what we predicted before the release." "What is the most effective marketing from the ones we tried?" "From the last few days'' results, the most important one is NATO''s announcement but the second best was the influencers." "Influencers?" She was pretty surprised by that. She expected it to be the television marketing but it seemed that she was wrong. The team leader then explained to her why it might have happened. "Influencers have influence over their viewer or readers, but many companies look down on them and haven''t used influencers for marketing. As you know the more you use something the more people become used to it, and since almost no one used influencers in tech for marketing during this period of time, their marketing power caused a massive reaction from their users." "Okay increase the marketing budget allocated to influencers for this month" She ordered. "Okay" the team leader replied and left the office to continue his work. Sarah couldn''t hide her smile as she was happy with the success she was experiencing since she started working at the company. Although she was happy about it she was also nervous that something might go wrong and she might not be able to handle it. This was why she was having meetings with teams in the company to know what is going on and be prepared to respond to any problem that might happen. "Let me inform Aron" She said as she took her phone and called Aron to inform him of the good news. ..... Back to today. Sarah was still in a good mood after a week of the release of BugZapper. Many companies have contacted them to buy the highest tier of the program for their use; this resulted in a high expected monthly earnings of the program. Since the highest tier was customized every subscriber of that tier will be paying a different price calculated based on the resources used by the company, but the expected minimum was a monthly payment of 50k dollars. This could go as high as half a million monthly on the month of their system upgrade, hence the heavy use of the program. They still agreed to it because although it was expensive it is still miles better than having to pay security companies or paying compensation for damage. It also reduced the money they spent on security measures as the program does everything for them. As she was reading documents she was interrupted by a call. When she looked at who the caller was and found out it was Aron she answered immediately. "Hello" She said after answering the call "Hello, how are you doing?" "I''m doing pretty well due to the good news that keeps coming" "Are the numbers still increasing?" He asked as he expected it to have calmed after a week. pnd,no?1,o "Yes, this is expected to continue until the end of the month" She said feeling proud. "Congratulations" Aron said as if it was not his company. "So, what did you call about?" Sarah asked Aron as she knew he already forgot why he called. "OH, i wanted to inform you that the project is done, when are you free i want to do the demonstration" he said faster than bullets. "Already? it has only been three weeks since you took control of the server." She expressed her surprise. "Yeah I work very fast, so when are you free?" "How about tomorrow?" she replied, Although there was work she could make it work. "Sure then, See you tomorrow" "Yeah, See you" With that they ended their call. Sarah returned to her work but she couldn''t hide her expectations as when Aron showed her his first project she couldn''t believe its capabilities. And she expected the new project to be better than BugZapper or more wider reaching than it in the least. That''s why. .... Chapter 32 BANG!! ?Aron returned home after he demonstrated the GAIA OS prompting Sarah to change her phone''s OS immediately as she liked all of its capabilities. They agreed to release it as soon as they could and since the OS(That is acting as an app) was still in the approval process they had time to prepare for the marketing of it. This time they decided to focus on marketing using influencers in all walks of life, since the OS was something every phone or computer owner has and sponsoring different genres influencers will lead to a larger audience receiving the news of the release of the OS. After he parked his car and entered the house he found it empty as usual as his brother was in school. So, he went to his workroom to start his project of creating the Artificial General Intelligence(AGI) that will act as his assistant for the future. But just as he entered and closed the door of the room, he felt a cold barrel of something touching the back of his head. He thought his brother was playing a prank on him but just as he was about to turn and end the prank "Don''t think about turning!!" A deep voice said breaking all his excitement and making fear be the only thing he felt. "What do you want?" Aron asked, trying to keep his voice steady as his heart wasn''t at all. "I want something from you," the man said, his tone cold and threatening. "And I want it now." Aron was taken aback. He had never been in a situation like this before, and he didn''t know what to do. "Industrial espionage? Who sent you here?" He asked, still trying to hide his fear. But the man wasn''t interested in Aron''s questions. He hit him with the back of a gun on Aron''s head making him start bleeding a little. "Give me the source code BugZapper, or I''ll shoot you," he said, his voice low and dangerous. Aron felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that this was serious. He had never been threatened like this before, and his head was bleeding. The man took a step closer to Aron, the gun still trained on his head. Aron could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he tried to think of a way out of this situation. He decided to give it to him, as it is not as important as his life. "It is on my computer" He said as he pointed at his work machine, implying that he will have to go there to be able to give it to him. "Move slowly" He said as he pushed him toward it while making sure to keep his distance so that he could shoot him if he tried something funny. "Okay" Aron moved slowly to prevent himself from getting killed. Although he seemed calm he was nearly shitting on himself inside. He moved to his workstation and opened it and went to the folder that held the first version of BugZapper that was written with existing programing language C++,C# and many more. "Where should I copy it?" he asked. "Here" the man threw a small bag at him. Aron took the bag, opened it and removed the hard drive. He connected it to the computer and copied the program to the hard drive. Since the program was large it took more than 10 minutes to be moved completely. "It is done" He said as he removed the hard disk and extended his hand backward so that he doesn''t see his face to avoid getting killed. "You know if it is not the program I will kill you and your family right?" The man asked in a threatening tone. When Aron heard about his family from the man''s mouth he stood up out of reflex but before he could even turn fully around, he felt an intense pain on the side of his stomach "Bang" is what he heard with the pain. Aron stumbled forward and grabbed onto his desk for support. He felt a warm liquid oozing down his side and knew that he had been shot. He couldn''t believe what had just happened. "Why? I gave you what you wanted" Aron asked in pain as he covered his bleeding stomach and fought to stay awake. "I said don''t make any move" The man said in a cold voice as he picked the hard drive that fell to the ground from Aron''s hands. "Now you just caused me more problems" The man said, in his voice annoyance could be felt. There was no guilt or anything, to him this felt like he was used to it. Aron''s mind raced as he struggled to stay conscious and avoid getting killed. but all of that was for naught as he saw the man raising his gun pointing it to his head. The stranger walked around to the front of Aron and looked down at him with cold, emotionless eyes. Aron could see the gun in the man''s hand and could see that he was about to be shot again even while he struggled to keep his consciousness. "I''m sorry," Aron thought of his parents and brother, his eyes closing as he fainted without waiting for the next shot. ..... Outside of the operation room, Aron''s mother could be seen passing back and forth fearing for the life of his son, His father could be seen sitting on the waiting chair trying to act calm not to freak out his wife more than she is. When he remembered how they found their son bleeding to the point of covering the entire room with blood. Ѧd n?a| om They almost collapsed thinking that he died from the amount of blood. His father was the first one to come to himself to call an ambulance while trying to calm his wife. When the ambulance arrived which came much faster due to them living in a luxury location that had a hospital near them. They were surprised that he was still alive, based on the amount of blood on the ground he should have bled out an hour ago but the heart was still beating and his breathing was still stable. So they carried him to the hospital rather than being amazed as he might die if they stared at him more. While on the way they pumped him with as much blood as they could, to try and fill his body with blood again and avoid him flatlining. In the ambulance other than the machine beeping, Aron''s mother''s cry could be heard as she was afraid that her son was going to die. When they arrived at the hospital they immediately moved Aron to the operating room without wasting any time as they had been informed about his situation while they were on their way. Leading to them sitting on the bench near the Operating room waiting for their son to leave the operating room. Henry was with his parents, although he was nervous since he didn''t know what dying was with too much details. He became the most calm one as he could be seen playing with other kids in the hospital in the children''s wards after he was sent there by the nurses after it was requested by his parents. .... Beep beep beep beep. The Operating room was quiet with people doing their job as seriously as they could be and the only voice that could be heard was coming from the ECG. "Are you sure he nearly bled out?" Asked the surgeon as he was checking the organs to assess the damage to the body. "The emergency workers reported that he was almost out of blood when they found him" replied the Surgical assistant, he was also skeptical about the report too. "Then why are there no symptoms of showing as the result of heavy blood loss?" Asked the surgeon in return. "Yeah I''m skeptical about it too" Replied the assistant surgeon while helping the head surgeon as he was encountering a problem separating some skin parts. As for his skepticism about Aron''s having bled out, this was because he wasn''t showing any symptoms that should be shown by anyone with the same situation. He should have been in Hypovolemic shock, since losing large amounts of blood leads to a drop in blood pressure and a decrease in the amount of oxygen that reaches the body''s tissues. There was also Organ failure. If the body does not receive enough oxygen-rich blood, vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidneys may become damaged. This can lead to complications such as organ failure, stroke, or heart attack. But nothing of this sort was happening with the body. The patients organ were functioning as usual, the heart wasn''t showing any signs of heart attack, neither was his immune system being compromised as it was working as expected without any problem. What they didn''t know was that something took the place of blood to supply the needed thing to the body from previous data to prevent him from dying. This was the reason he was still alive when his parents came home from picking henry from school 4 hours later. .... Chapter 33 The Golden Liquid & The Looming Problem ?A few hours ago. Aron''s body could be seen laying on a pool of his own blood. Nothing seemed out of place if you don''t focus on the blood, other than the body of the person that should have died from blood loss continues acting as normal, except the body owner not waking up. Inside of the said body for those who were blessed with magic vision could see golden liquids continue moving through its liquid vessel(same as blood vessels) to the heart and from there to the organs of the body without being interrupted by the emptying blood vessels being rid of their blood. The moment the blood in the body fell to a dangerous level the golden liquid immediately shined and started doing what the blood was supposed to do. From body defense, nutrients transfer, oxygen delivery to carbon dioxide collection like it was a normal Tuesday for it. While the liquid was working hard to keep him alive, the golden letters in and on the heart also lit up and started sucking something from the atmosphere. when they were collected and condensed they also turned and started looking the same as the golden liquid. This was because the golden liquid was being spent and wasted as a result of it doing something that it was not made to do. As they said there is no gain without loss, but in his situation the loss was being replenished immediately by the runes in his heart, so he was losing nothing. The loss of blood also helped as it allowed the heart to focus on replenishing and moving the golden liquid without having to also pump blood. Another weird thing was that the bullet was still in the body, normally if someone else was shot from the same close distance, the bullet would have gone through like paper, but for the body on the floor it was still lodged inside it. This was caused by the golden liquid that kept slowly improving the body for the period of more than three months, making the body get better and harder the longer the time passed. This improvement went from improving the brain, hardening of his bones, strengthening of the organs to improving & hardening of the skin. But since it was done in a slow process, it caused his family and him not realizing it was happening. ..... FBI San Francisco. In a meeting room, there was a conference meeting with people from FBI headquarters attending it. People such as the FBI director Robert Mueller and his assistants were in attendance through a video call. As for the physical office, there was Special Agent in Charge (SAC), Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) and the Special Agent in Charge of the Intelligence Division. "What is it? you said it was an emergency?" Asked Robert Muller as head to postpone a meeting to attend this one, due to the report saying it was urgent. "Yes sir" Replied the Special Agent in charge. "Go on then" "Yes Sir, one of the people we were doing physical surveillance operation has been shot and is in hospital" "Which one? Be more specific" "Aron the creator of BugZapper" "Wasn''t he one of our surveillance targets for protection? Then what happened to our agents on the field if he was shot?" Asked Muller "They retreated from the surveillance operation few hours before the target was shot" "Why?" asked muller. "Our surveillance was to make sure he doesn''t leave the country until we complete the implementation of the program in our infrastructure. So after it was completed we extended it for two more weeks and after that the operation was considered complete, hence the retreat. But a few hours later we received a report from police that there was an armed robbery in his house." He stopped to take a breather, then he continued "But when they investigated they found that nothing was taken, other than the target being shot" With that he finished the explanation. "So what is the urgency in this?" Asked muller as he still didn''t see the need of calling it urgent. "Well, after a short investigation we found out that the room he was shot in was his work room which leads us to suspect industrial espionage or foreign nations interference and wanting to have the source code of the program." "Now that is not good." Said Muller as he started thinking about the consequences of that for them. "Any suspect in mind?" Muller asked. "We suspect that it is a Russian agent''s work, they have been moving since the Facebook incident with the NSA" replied the Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC). "Then why shoot him if they got the thing they wanted?" "It seems he tried to fight back or something similar happened, but from our information on him he didn''t have any hand-to-hand combat training, as for why he was shot in the stomach and not directly killing him. We suspect it was because they didn''t want to attract the attention of the intelligence Agencies, that''s also the reason they waited until our agents retreated from the location." "Okay, keep an eye and give me an update if the situation changes . I will inform POTUS about it" Answered muller and ended the video call causing the room to return to its calmness. "Looks like he is not going to blame it on us." Said the Special Agent in Charge as he sighed in relief. "Yeah because if he does, we are fucked." Added Assistant Special Agent in Charge. .... Ten minutes later Muller the director of the FBI could be seen being escorted by a motorcade that was heading to the Whitehouse, so that he could brief the president about the situation. After he arrived, he had to wait for the president to finish his meeting for him to be allowed to brief him. When he was allowed to enter the room, he entered the office and found the POTUS Barack Obama, the secretary of state John Kerry and the secretary of defense Chuck Hagel. After greeting them they started the meeting. "Sir, we suspect that Russia has stolen the source code of BugZapper." He immediately went to the main topic without wasting any time. "How did they do that?" Asked the secretary of defense as this was a problem for him. "They infiltrated the residence of the creator of it and shot him but the police investigation indicates that nothing was stolen other than an open computer in the workroom, nothing else was out of ordinary" he explained. "Sir if they have the source code it might be a threat to us" Secretary of state chimed in to the thinking Obama. "don''t we also have it?" He was curious. Ѧd n?a| om "We have the program but not the source code of it " he answered. "So, why is it a threat?" asked the secretary of state. "A team from CYBERCOM investigated the program and found that if we have the source code to it, we could use it as inspiration to make a program that doesn''t need the source code to find a system''s weakness." Said the secretary of defense. [ USCYBERCOM - United States military command that is responsible for conducting cyberspace operations, defending the country''s military networks, and securing critical infrastructure against cyber threats ] " If we can think about it Russia can too, and since they already have it they might have already begun working on it" Added Obama, taking the topic more seriously than before. "Yes Mr. president, If they really are the preparators" Answered secretary of defense while looking at the FBI director "They are still suspects but we will have evidence of it very soon as we are looking into it," Added Muller. "So what do you suggest?" Obama asked. "We should also get our hands on the source code and start our own work too. This will ensure we are not left behind" Said secretary of defense. "How? Because If I remember correctly they said it was their proprietary technology and they are not planning on patenting it at all" Said Obama while trying to remember the details about the contract. "We can ask them for it, but if they decline we will have no choice but to force them." "What are the ways we can use them to force them?" Asked Obama as he knew few of them but not many of them. The Secretary of Defense smiled as he looked through his bag and removed a document then he handed it to the president, state secretary and Muller. "Looks like you were also here for this" secretary of state smiled as he opened the folder only to frown after reading the options they could make. ''This dude fucking is crazy'' is the only thought that could come to his mind after briefly reading the few options on the file, and the more he read the more sure of his hypothesis he became, because some of these options might cause heavy economic repercussions and destroy the free markets trust on them, if they decided to go ahead with some of them. Obama didn''t seem to think any differently as him, as he was giving him the side look saying are you seriously suggesting some of these options. "I know this is my last term, but are you trying to get me impeached in its first year?" He asked. .... IF WE REACH MORE THAN 20 REVIEWS I WILL UPLOAD AN ADDITIONAL CHAPTER .... Chapter 34 The File ?This is what the folder contained. CONFIDENTIAL BRIEFING Subject: Compelling GAIA Technology to Release its Proprietary Technology BugZapper pnd,no?1,o How to force GAIA TECHNOLOGY to release its proprietary technology, below are several options that the government can use to compel them to release its proprietary technology, BugZapper. National Security Letters (NSLs): This option allows the FBI to issue a letter to the company to provide information like BugZapper for national security purposes. -Subpoenas: These legal orders are issued by a court requiring a company to provide certain information, including proprietary technology. -Search warrants: It will allow law enforcement to search a specific location, like the company''s premises, and seize any relevant items deemed necessary for an investigation, including proprietary technology like BugZapper. -Court orders under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA): This option compels a company to provide access to its technology, including BugZapper, for foreign intelligence gathering purposes. -Compulsory licenses: This option authorizes a third party to use a patented invention or proprietary technology without the consent of the patent owner or technology provider. After we make them patent the technology. -Regulatory enforcement actions: Regulatory agencies like the FTC or the SEC can launch investigations and bring enforcement actions against a company if it''s suspected of engaging in anticompetitive practices or violating securities laws. As part of these investigations, the government may seek access to proprietary technology like BugZapper. -Trade secret litigation: This option involves initiating trade secret litigation to compel the company to release the technology. This typically involves a court issuing a judgment that the technology is a trade secret and must be released to the government. -Cybersecurity breaches: In some cases, the government may attempt to obtain BugZapper or other proprietary technology by hacking into the company''s computer systems or using other cybersecurity measures. This is generally considered to be illegal and unethical, and could lead to legal repercussions for both the government and the company. -Public pressure: This option involves using public statements by government officials, media coverage, and advocacy by interest groups to pressure the company to release its proprietary technology. -Trade agreements: This option involves using provisions in trade agreements to compel foreign companies to disclose the source code for their software products. -Acquisition or nationalization: This last resort option involves using the government''s power to acquire or nationalize a company to gain access to its proprietary technology. It''s important to note that some of these options may be controversial or have potential negative consequences. The use of public pressure or trade agreements to force a company to release its proprietary technology could damage the company''s reputation or harm trade relations between countries. The use of acquisition or nationalization can also have significant economic and political ramifications. As such, we must carefully consider the potential risks and benefits of each option before taking action. In this case, we recommend pursuing options 1-6, which involve legal and regulatory actions that have a precedent of use in similar situations. Specifically, we recommend that the government issue National Security Letters and Subpoenas to GAIA Technology, and seek court orders and regulatory enforcement actions, including trade secret litigation, to compel the company to release BugZapper. We believe that these options are most likely to achieve our objectives while minimizing the risks and negative consequences associated with more aggressive measures. .... After giving the secretary of defense the side look, Obama continued reading the document in order to finish it without raising his head. After he finished reading he asked, "shouldn''t we talk about buying it from them first?" "This was discussed during the NATO negotiations, and they denied citing that it was their only existing product, so releasing it will make their company unprofitable." Answered the secretary of states as he had read the transcripts of the negotiations. "But wouldn''t doing this make them not want to work with us anymore, as you know they informed us first about the program before they made it public, to avoid mass infrastructure damage when they released it?" Added the secretary of states. "It''s a matter of National security, it doesn''t matter what they did for us, they informed us because it will benefit them and will also make them be in our good books." Interjected the secretary of defense. "But this might cause other large businesses to be wary of us," said Obama. "If we use public opinion we could make them hand it over without having to worry about spreading fear to businesses" Answered defense of secretary. "Create a team that will come up with plans on how we can do it, also have them assess the impact of implementing each of them, I will decide based on the report" Said the president while looking at the secretary of defense. "Yes Sir, I will provide the final report in a month''s time" He replied feeling happy that the president agreed with his plan. With that the meeting ended and they stood to leave the room to the president for him to continue with his work. ... In a motorcade heading back to pentagon, Chuck Hagel the Secretary of Defense took out his private burner phone and pressed in a number then pressed the call icon. The call was answered after about eight rings. "I remember saying to not call me through this number anymore" Said the voice on the other side. "Don''t worry I''m the secretary of defense I have the us army under me, do you think i can''t access a secure phone" He asked in return. "Anyway, why did you call me?" said the voice not wanting to continue with the topic. "Rejoice, the president has agreed with my recommendation and gave me a month to give him options he can take to move forward with it" Said Hagel. "That was way too easy than I expected, what caused that?" asked the voice in surprise. "Well god seemed to be on our side, because while I was with Obama news came that Russia seemed to have stolen the program and shot the creator. This opened a window for me to point the president to the direction we wanted" "So when are you reporting it to him?" "I told him within a month, so have your team come up with the plans and I will present them to the president" Said Hagel. "Well that is enough time for our think tanks come up with a plan that will damage the company" "But why are you going this far? can''t you just buy it? your family is powerful enough to do that after all" asked Hagel. "Well we tried buying it, they denied us, so we need to destroy their product and put them in their place. After that they will have no choice but sell it to us cheaply" Answered the voice. "But if you destroy their product, how will you use it?" "Focus on your job and I will focus on mine okay!" The voice said and hung up on him. "FUUUUCK" He shouted while throwing the phone to the window, hitting it and startling his driver and security team. Although he was angry, he didn''t continue showing his anger. He knew the man was a member of a very powerful family that lobbied for his position and they could remove him the moment he annoyed them. He also suspected that there was their spy among his security team and if he shows that he was annoyed by them, it will be reported to them and he will have to pay for it. .... "Mom, when is brother going to wake up?" Asked Henry, looking at Aron sleeping with oxygen mask on his face and machines surrounding him in the VIP room. "The doctor said he will wake up soon." Answered his mother with dark circle in her eyes as she couldn''t sleep peacefully from worrying that something might happened when she is asleep. she only managed to sleep a little after her husband promised her he will wake her up if something happened. "But why was a some of his blood on the floor golden?" Asked Henry curiously. "What do you mean golden? I only saw red even after returning with police" She answered his question without thinking, realizing what she was talking with her young son she changed the topic. "What do you want to eat?" she asked him, to distract him from remembering the bloody scene and prevent it from becoming a trauma. "Chicken" henry replied happily, forgetting whatever he asked before. "Let''s go and buy it then" Interjected his father to allow his wife to rest a little more. "YES" replied Henry while jumping from anticipation. "You rest a little more we need to be in our best shape to look after him, if he wakes up and see you like that he will blame himself more." Said Michael while stroking his wife''s back and making her sit down on the sofa in the VIP room. After making sure she closed her eyes and started sleeping, he left the room holding Henry''s hand who was jumping up and down from excitement of eating his favorite food .... Chapter 35 Vladimir The Escaper. ?A few months ago Aron could be seen laying on his bed shaking a little as his body was literally forming new blood vessel like pathways in the body, he was sweating a little as his heart was getting upgraded to be able to do the same job but twice the amount. pnd,no?1,o When the formation of golden vessels finished the runes in his heart started attracting something from the atmosphere, when the minimum amount of it was collected the heart started condensing it to liquid and deposited it to the new golden vessels. While the heart was doing its job, Aron wasn''t the only one in the room, there was his younger brother playing on his playstation, nothing of notice was happening to him but since the room he was in was currently acting like like a magnet of something in the atmosphere, something was changing in him albeit small. The changes continued due to it reaching a very high concentration in the room, causing Henry''s eye to turn golden and see everything around him turn to gold, as he could see something he couldn''t see before, but this happened in a fraction of a second then his eyes returned to normal. He was startled but since it happened for a short period of time he returned to play his game and forget about it. This was why when Aron was shot it allowed him to see the golden liquid within the sea of blood, the golden vessels started to be repaired immediately causing only a small amount of golden liquid to leak before healing fully. .... ROB(random omnipotent being) POV. Looks like your younger brother is in the same trench as you HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Not looking into your future and just watching how it unfolds for you is really entertaining. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA The laughter continued, as it started getting further and further returning the place into dead deep silence. .... Sarah was having a very bad week, she couldn''t sleep since yesterday after receiving the news of what happened to Aron. She visited him yesterday with Felix but she couldn''t see him as he was in ICU, so she had to return. Her worries were lessened after she learned that he survived the operation and nothing bad has happened. She was now having a meeting with department heads for how to proceed. "Are we continuing with the planned marketing of the product?" Asked the marketing department head. "Yes, we will continue as planned. Is everything ready?" Answered Sarah. Since Aron has already finished the product and it is already approved by Google while being in the last steps of verification in Apple, They had to see it through, so that when he wakes up she will have good news to provide him. "Yes, when we contacted the influencer they were surprised but agreed immediately since the compensation is very good, we have already agreed on the day they will start with the marketing." Answered marketing head. "Okay so ....." They continued the meeting talking about other topics not knowing that a crisis was coming their way. ..... Somewhere in international waters near USA. Vladimir was currently in a smuggling boat that was heading out of America, this was so that he could be extracted through Cuba and avoid the chase of FBI in America. Although he could have been extracted using diplomats or other means inside of America. They didn''t do that as his extraction was neither urgent nor important enough to warrant their use of them. Since he had already sent the code through a secure connection to mother Russia. So, they don''t care that much if he dies but they still tried to make him return. "Looks like you''re going to be promoted, Congrats" Said Pavel, the smuggler as he was also a member of Russian intelligence agent too. "Yeah, Thanks" he gave a short answer as he didn''t want to continue the conversation anymore. "So are you going to continue with your field job or what?" Asked the man, showing that he wanted to continue the conversation. it had been a longtime since he spoke with someone from the agency due to not wanting to attract foreign intelligence''s attention. "That will depend on my supervisor," Vladimir replied in short answer. "Yeah, pray that yours is not as heartless as mine" The man said, implying that something was done to him by his supervisor. This show of emotion made Vladimir curious of what happened to the man, because it might happen to him too. So, he asked "What happened?" "Well my supervisor sent me here to become a smuggler as a promotion." He said while smiling with pain on his face. "Promotion? If this was a promotion, what were you doing before?" Vladimir was surprised because no one was promoted to become a smuggler. It was the opposite of it, you need to be demoted or in the second stage of training to become a smuggler as a form of training. "I participated in the operation of Zelimkhan Yandarbiev" answered Pavel When Vladimir heard the name he immediately remembered the name because it caused quite a stir internationally in 2010, as Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, a former president of the breakaway republic of Ichkeria (which sought independence from Russia) was assassinated in Qatar. The Qatari authorities accused the FSB of involvement in the assassination, and two Russian intelligence officers were subsequently convicted in absentia. "Then who were the ones who were arrested if you are here?" Vladimir asked as he only heard about the operation and wasn''t authorized to read the operation report in detail. "The operation was huge, so there were more men than what we normally have in abroad assassination. Among the two who were arrested, one of them was Anatoly Yablochkov. He was in the same team with me. The problem is that he was the only one arrested from our team which led our supervisor to think that we abandoned his relative as a diversion tactic for us to escape" Explained Pavel, giving an answer without revealing too much information about the operation. "Are you the only one who was reprimanded?" Vladimir wanted more details about the operation to soothe his curiosity so he continued asking, which was quite opposite when this conversation started. "Everyone in that team is somewhere they don''t want to be. I''m in a better place than most of them" He answered the same as before, long sentences but with as little details as possible, which was frustrating to Vladimir but he could do nothing about it. Although the man was angry at his supervisor, he was still loyal to mother Russia so he still kept his operation secret even though he was mistreated. .... Chapter 36 The Release Of GAIA OS ?Lubyanka Square, Moscow Center In the FSB headquarters technology department they were working 24/7 trying to break the encryption of the program they received. Normally this would have been pushed on the list as they usually had a first come first serve basis, but the moment this arrived orders from above immediately came and forced them to abandon everything they were working on and start working on the program they received. "When are you expected to break it?" Asked Vladimir''s supervisor. "Well looks like he wasn''t expecting someone to steal it so he hasn''t put too much of an encryption in the program so depending on our luck anywhere between a week to a month" Answered one of the technicians working on the department. "Okay" With that he left, leaving them to do their jobs. Although he was dissatisfied with the amount of time it would take, there was nothing he could do to make the computer work faster anyway, so why waste time waiting for something that he will be informed about when it is done either way. ... A week later. Artificial intelligence was a buzzword that everyone on the internet knew. It usually starred as the bad guy in the Hollywood movies, trying to wipe out humanity with lasers and robots, only to be stopped by some hero with a witty one-liner. From the media''s branding it could be seen that humans had always been scared and suspicious of artificial intelligence. It made sense; they were, after all, beings that didn''t need a body, that lived forever and knew everything. Why would such a thing need humans? But that didn''t stop people from trying to create artificial intelligence. But that didn''t stop people from trying to develop it from IBM''S computer beating people in chess to many other sportsartificial intelligence had come a long way in the years. But where will it go from here? Well forget about waiting for the future, you could experience it right now. An app, as advertised by their influencers or people they followwas on the Android platform, and the APP store. The downloads went crazy, reaching one million downloads 7 hours after its launch, crushing any competitor for the most number of downloads a day. This was followed by an influx of positive reviews from those who tried it and this led to more people hearing about it trying to know what was the fuss about it. ?t was there taking the number one spot of the most downloads in a day and it didn''t seem like it was coming down at any time at all. This was nothing short of fiction. No app was that popular from the moment it was released as it usually needed to start slowly for it to then later gain momentum and a following to reach these numbers of download a day. This was the impact of using influencer from any and all genres allowed it to have a high starting point, this momentum would all have been a naught if the app itself was bad and couldn''t make the user want to continue using it, but it was quite the opposite of it. It not only retained the user but also turned them into walking billboards as they were advertising it to their family members, friends and anyone they were close enough to want them to experience the same thing as them. As they say: there is nothing good marketing can''t fix, ask Dominos as their "Oh Yes We Did" campaign saved them. But this app had everything to make it popular: good marketing and a good product leading it to its continuous increase in popularity by the minute. Artificial intelligence? making your phone 2 times faster? Worked with both Android and iOS apps? Were they bullshiting us and taking us for a fool? But when they tried it, they found out the claims were really true, as it did what it advertised to the letter and more. Siri and Google assistant sounded like a child next to this. .... "What''s the download number?" Sarah asked Lila, the marketing manager. "2 million downloads, most of it coming from the last 3 hours and it continues increasing" Answered Lila with enthusiasm. Sarah gave a nod and asked "Are the influencers continuing with the marketing as agreed before?" pnd`no?1--o "Yes, they will continue for about a week, then they will stop and let the users do the recommending of it to their friends and family after they get used to using it" "Okay, continue monitoring the response and inform me of any changes that are different from expected." Sarah ended the discussion and returned to her work while feeling happy about the Program doing well. Adding to her smiling when she remembered asking Aron how he plans to avoid it being taken down from the app stores, when it threatens their OS markets?(Android & ?OS) "Well, after they downloaded it, it will act just as the assistant and the optimizers and will not immediately replace the OS, because if it does that Google and Apple will immediately remove it from their stores and ban it. It will not replace the OS until our download number reaches at least a billion users, that''s when we will announce the existence of premium versions and recommend that they replace their OS with GAIA OS inorder to increase optimization. The V?rtual assistant will make sure to explain to them carefully that their data will not be lost and all they needed to do was to restart the phone and it will be replaced within a snap This is expected to work, because during the period we wait for the download number to reach that high, people will build trust and dependance to the Virtual Assistant, reducing the chances of them denying it. And when the mass exodus begins, companies like Apple and Google will not be able to stop it HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" Sarah smiled when she remembered how Aron looked like a villain when he started laughing after he finished his explanation. But he did seem like one, because his plan will leave the companies with no choice but to just accept it. Even if they removed it from their stores by that time it would be meaningless, as all they needed to do was make a site where they can download it or make it possible for people to recommend it others by just sending them an invite link, and they will be a "Wingardium Leviosa" away from having it. A really sinister plan innit? .... Chapter 37 (FISA) ?By the second week of its release it had already reached a whopping 357 million downloads. This was an unprecedented rise of an app and it became a conversation starter, leading to more people hearing about it leading to more people downloading it. A positive feedback loop, a perpetual machine of success, a fusion reactor for relevance and a dark energy producer of conversation. DAMN!!! Anyway the number of users kept increasing more and more prompting media outlets to talk about it leading to a wave of free advertisement HAHAHAHA. But while all these were opening something sinister was happening behind-d their backs. ... Google HQ. "What steps are you taking in breaking the program?" Asked Bob. Bob was responsible for breaking the security of the so called GAIA program, as orders from above wanted them to crack and learn how the AI works for them to implement it to their own AI. "We are trying but it proves to be difficult because we haven''t managed to find how the inception even works for us to begin trying to crack it" Replied a man with deep dark circles, pointing that he might have not had a peaceful sleep of more than an hour for days. "The upper echelons are pestering me to know where we are, just increase the number of people working on it. I don''t care how many of them you bring, just finish it fast or else we are dead, understood!!" Said the man showing his frustration, this meant that the higher up were really pestering him to find something. pnd`no?1--o Alas what they don''t know is that they will never be able to do that. Aaaaah pour souls. .... The same was happening to Apple, Microsoft Samsung and any technological company you can think of. They ended up choosing this way because the company that made it denied everything from buying them up to selling some of their shares or anything of that matter. Everything was denied by them. This was even after companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple and Samsung offered to buy them for about 30 billion dollars or more causing frustration on many people. ..... This was also not the only thing keeping the company busy as the legal department were working their asses off to remove anything that was imitating the program and the likeness of it. This was because the moment the app became famous nearly 15 copycats appeared, although they had no functions similar to the real program, they wanted to prevent users going to them which in return will make their real program seem like a scam. They were giving out DMCA takedowns left and right like Oprah, those seize and desist letters were going out faster than they could comprehend. ..... While everyone in the company was happy about the success of the product, Sarah wasn''t among them because she was currently reading a letter with the members of the legal department. [ Subject: Request for Compelled Access to Proprietary Technology under FISA Dear [GAIA Technology Executive], I am writing to inform you that the government of the United States, under the orders of President Barack Obama, is requesting access to your company''s proprietary technology known as BugZapper, pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). As you may be aware, FISA is a federal law that governs electronic surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence information within the United States. The government has reason to believe that BugZapper may contain information that is relevant to ongoing foreign intelligence gathering efforts. As such, we are requesting that GAIA Technology comply with a court order issued under FISA, which will require you to provide access to BugZapper to authorized government personnel for the purposes of foreign intelligence gathering. We understand that the protection of proprietary technology is of great importance to your company. However, we believe that the potential national security benefits of accessing BugZapper outweigh the potential risks to your company''s proprietary interests. We also assure you that the government will take all necessary steps to protect the confidentiality of any proprietary information obtained through this process. Please note that non-compliance with a FISA court order can result in legal penalties and other serious consequences. We urge you to comply with this request in a timely manner to avoid any further legal action. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Chuck Hagel Secretary of defense Department of Defense(DOD) ] ''They are fucking good with timing, why now? when the owner is still in bed and hasn''t woken up'' she thought while squashing the letter. "What steps can we take to fight against it?" Sarah asked. "Well, there are a few potential ways to fight back against a FISA court order," said the lawyer while putting his documents down "First, we could challenge the order in court, arguing that it violates our constitutional rights or that the government doesn''t have sufficient evidence to justify the request for access to their proprietary technology. However, this can be difficult and it may not ultimately be successful." "Another approach could be to negotiate with the government and try to reach a compromise solution that protects our company''s interests while still providing some level of access to the technology," he continued. "This might involve limiting the scope of the access, requiring the government to sign non-disclosure agreements, or other measures to safeguard the company''s intellectual property. But as we know they can just breach it if they want." "But all of these would only work if the government decides to take their time or the president can just pass these steps citing urgency and other things." the lawyer finished with his explanation, his explanation implied that they can only try to fight back if the government allows it. "Try using the court way first so that we can buy time" Sarah chose the first option because she wanted to buy time for GAIA OS reach the needed number of people to initiate the OS Exodus, Because if it becomes public that the government forced them to give up something it might be used as a reason to deter people from deciding to fully move to GAIA OS. Another reason is to buy time until Aron wakes up, so that he can decide by himself. This was because he told her to not give anyone access to the program without his permission and she didn''t want to give it up also. ''I hope he wakes up before the government loses patience with us and decides to overturn the table'' Prayed Sarah for his health so he can wake up and decide by himself. .... Chapter 38 A Month Later ?[ Breaking News: GAIA Virtual Assistant Reaches 1 Billion Users in Record Time It has been just a month since the release of the newest virtual assistant, and it has already made its mark on the world. Today, the company announced that it has reached an unprecedented milestone of 1 billion users worldwide, and the number is still growing. The virtual assistant, which was developed by.... ] The news channels on Sarah''s phone announced that their app has reached the milestone of 1 billion users in just a month''s time shattering and leaving all the records behind creating its own legacy. They were currently having a fight with government, but thankfully they managed to keep it under the wraps without it leaking to the media. There will be a court session in two weeks about the FISA order which will result in it being known to the world, but that didn''t matter too much now, because they finally reached the needed amount of people to begin their migration. The reason they managed to reach a high number of downloads in short period time was mostly due to the good marketing at the beginning but what followed was what propelled the fast increase of new users, it was the word of mouth which made the milestone possible. "Now let''s see how many of you are willing to fully move over." she said while putting her hands on her chin while her eyes were focusing on the screen, as anytime now the notification will start appearing to people who are not using their phones for other thing. This was of course to avoid annoying people or harm those who are in need of the phone for emergencies. hoping that there will be the same excitement in moving over just like when they first started downloading ... Somewhere, someone was talking with the Chibi Virtual assistant on his phone. "NuqneH?" (What do you want?) "Heghlu''meH QaQ jajvam." (Today is a good day to die.) "Qo''noS qet jaghmeyjaj." (We are Klingons. It is our nature to die with honor.) "HochHom!" (Attack!) Someone interrupted them "What are you two doing?" she asked. "Ooh, hi baby" the man greeted his girlfriend while feeling embarrassed that he was caught. "We are practicing our Klingon battle cries. It helps us prepare for battle" Answered the Chibi AI with enthusiasm while wearing Klingon armor on the screen and looking proud. "Oh, I see. That''s interesting." replied the girl laughing at his boyfriend who was getting redder than tomato from embarrassment. "Yes, we take our battle preparations very seriously." Replied Chibi VA again with proudness in its face, making the girl and the boy break out in uncontrollable laughter. "Well, I wish you luck in battle." She replied while laughing "Thank you. Qapla''!" Replied the virtual assistant while giving her a Klingon salute. Later that day when the man was playing with his phone a notification appeared on the screen The notification informed him that he can have more optimization and other perks by making the program its official OS. "What about my current data and saved files?" Asked the man. "Well you can choose to move it to the new OS without losing any of it" Answered the Chibi Virtual Assistant. "Then do it, I see no problem" Answered the man while putting his trust on the Chibi, as he came to trust it after it having not caused him any trouble for the period he has used it. So he decided to trust it. This was happening all over the world creating the phenomenon that will be known as: the great migration or the Exodus. ... "More than a month has passed since the surgery. Why hasn''t he woken up?" Rose, Aron''s mother, asked the doctor who is currently doing his daily checkup on the sleeping Aron. "Although it''s rare, it sometimes happens for gunshot patients to take longer to wake up. but from our last tests results, it showed that he is healing fine and he doesn''t have any other situation or bad condition, he will wake up soon ma''am. Have some patience " Said the doctor respectfully knowing that the mother was worried about his child and left the room after he finished his checkup. Although they had returned home for the sake of Henry not having to spend all his time with them in the hospital, they still spent most of the time he was in school at the hospital, hoping that Aron would wake up and nothing bad would happen to him. "I really hope nothing bad happens to him any more" She said but was immediately interrupted by Michael. "Trust the doctors, they want to save him as much as we do because he is their VVIP patient now and losing him for such a small problem will be a bad PR for them" he said that, but he was also worried that something might have happened to his son that''s why he wasn''t waking up. The fear was because we he asked the assistant in his phone, it told him they usually wake up in the same week of the surgery but their son still hasn''t woken up even after a month. Although him not awakening can be attributed to an exception in the general rule, what was really causing him to not wakeup was because he was currently awake in a room created by the system within his head. A month ago(Operation room) While he was unconscious the system suddenly moved his consciousness. "What the heck?" He shouted in surprise when he found himself in a room that was covered with blue walls, having a bed, a chair and desk. The moment he asked, the system just directly uploaded all the answers in his head to make him calm down and not panic. "I''m currently inside the room the system made and moved my consciousness because it needed me to make a decision about something important." He repeated what the system said to make himself believe what he heard as it was absurd situation for him. "What decision?" He asked and immediately a blue screen appeared in front of his face with the answer or rather a question. [ Would you like to move forward with the merging of Runic heart with your normal heart pnd,no?1,o [YES] [NO] ] Chapter 39 Runes ?It was followed immediately with another one to give him more details before he makes his decision. [ NOTE!! If you move forward with the merging, the Runic mana vessels will also merge with your blood vessels, this will lead to the change of the users body characteristic and your body will turn into Runic body ] ''What is the difference?'' he asked in his head as he didn''t know what the difference was, this was due to the knowledge about runes being too expensive for him to buy. But this time something different happened DING!!!!! [ 500,000,000sp spent to buy the relevant knowledge!!!] ''And there goes my hard earned sp, i had to fucking release the program to the public to get them, but you just spent them without even consulting me, now i have to wait for the release of GAIA OS to earn more sp.'' But before he could finish his complaining about the system spending nearly all the sp he gained from releasing BugZapper to the public, a massive info dump interrupted even his thinking and comprehension capability, this was even after they were regularly enhanced by the system and the golden liquid. After an hour or more of info dump he finally managed to come to himself and started comprehending what knowledge was dumped into his head. The first thing he realized was that the system had given him a discount for buying it without his consent, as it usually cost about a billion sp to buy this knowledge from the shop. Another reason for the discount was that the system deemed the knowledge necessary for the user to make a knowledgeable decision as the changes are permanent and can''t be reversed. Now back to what he learned from the info dump. Although nearly 500 million sp was spent, it only managed to buy the beginner knowledge about Runes. The good news is that this also included all the beginner level runes. So here is some of that knowledge.(Warning info dump[But it is important so you might as well read it.]) [ Runes is one of the many ways used to influence or get access to MANA. It is usually used by races that have no access to MANA heart''s and MANA veins as they can be granted to anyone through the writing of runes into the user''s heart and turning it into a runic heart. The level of the runes a person can use and comprehend, depends on the level of the runes written on the heart during the making of the RUNIC heart. The hierarchy of runes level = Beginner, intermediate and advanced runes. The current knowledge only gave him information at the beginner level. In the beginner level, Runes can be classified into two types: fundamental runes and property runes. Fundamental runes affect the basic attributes of the material, such as its durability, weight, hardness, or flexibility. Property runes affect the behavior of the material, such as its affinity to certain elements, forces, or energies. For example, a fire rune can make a material burn hotter or resist fire damage; a magnet rune can make a material attract or repel metal objects; a light rune can make a material glow or become invisible. These types will increase the higher the level of the runes become. For a person to be able to use beginner level runes, their runic heart needed to have anywhere between a hundred runes to a thousand. The more runic lines there are the more runes you can learn as the brain needs the runic heart to support it in comprehending the runes. And there are more than a thousand runic languages in just the beginner level. And they were complicated as hell. Well as for the requirements to use more advanced runes, there was nothing. It seemed like he needed to buy the knowledge for it to know more. But when he looked at the level of his runic heart, all he saw was It seems its level was higher than his current knowledge, this made him happy. Now what is MANA? MANA is a form of energy that is static and neutral, meaning it does not change over time unless someone acts upon it. It being neutral means that it can be converted to the needed form without using too much energy. RUNIC BODY The Runic Body is a rare and coveted gift among those who practice the ancient art of runic magic. The body is marked with intricate, glowing runes that pulse with magical energy, granting the bearer unparalleled insight into the secrets of the runic language. Those who possess a Runic Body are able to comprehend all the runes in existence at a much faster pace than others, allowing them to master even the most complex of runic spells with ease. But the true power of the Runic Body lies in its ability to use intent runes. Intent runes are a special type of rune that allow the user to imbue their spells with a specific intent, giving them greater control over the effects of their magic. For example, a fire rune imbued with the intent to burn but not destroy could be used to torture an enemy without killing them. Ѧd n?a| om Normally, creating such a spell would require a vast number of runes, such as fire rune, preservation rune, containment rune and many more, each carefully crafted and arranged to achieve the desired effect. But with the Runic Body, the user can simply inscribe the basic runes and imbue them with their intent, allowing them to achieve the same effect with a fraction of the effort. With those benefits it must be known that learning intent runes was harder than learning runes as a normal person. But for the benefits he will be getting, it is worth learning it no matter the difficulty. ] After reading all the information he pressed [YES] And the screen immediately disappeared then another one appeared. [ Do you want to return to sleep and wake up after the process is completed or remain here? [Return to sleep] [Remain here] ] "Remaining here will give me some time to think about what happened and what I should do from now on" so he pressed the [Remaining here] button. With that he was left alone, and without anyone disturbing him he started planning his future plans. Chapter 40 His Plans ?The moment he pressed yes, the heart stopped for a short period of time before it started beating again, but this time it was glowing. What followed next was the golden vessels started moving closer to blood vessels while glowing too. They didn''t have too much trouble reaching them as when they were made they were made parallel to blood vessels, this in return made it so that the length of blood vessels and the mana vessels was equal, which made it easier for the merger to be done without trouble. When they merged the heart started beating faster than usual due to the volume it needed to push in one vessel being doubled at once but this was only for a short period of time because the runes on the heart started moving and changing their arrangements assimilating with the heart completely. Making the heart look like zebra stripes but in gold and red. Normally when you mix gold and red liquids, the result becomes orange-y brown, but due to the golden liquid being mana it overwhelms the red color of blood turning all the liquid into gold color just like it was before. But this golden color could only be seen by people who have magic vision, for those with normal eyes red is all they will be able to see. With the mixing completed, changes started occurring in the body. Organs started glowing as the RUNIC MANA BLOOD started circulating in them making them turn into golden-red stripes just like the heart but dimmer. His mussels started strengthening and healing the damage they had from daily sports, removing scars from the body. The changes to the body occurred over the period of the month in which to the outsiders eye he was asleep. ... Right after the changes began inside the system made room. Aron started recalling what happened. "Looks like I overlooked security due to getting used to living normally most of my life" This was his first mistake since he became very rich in the course of days his mindset didn''t adapt to think like rich people. And before he could realize that he was attacked. "The first and one of the cheapest things I bought from the system shop, caused some people to nearly kill me" He remembered when he bought BugZapper due to it being the cheapest and it being on the same field he was learning before expulsion. But despite it being useless from the system''s eyes to the people of this world it was way too powerful of a tool to just leave it in the hands of a kid. To someone it was important enough to send a person to steal it from him. ''Who might it be?'' He asked himself while he started listing possible suspects. ''All security companies should be considered, countries that didn''t receive the program before its public release or anyone powerful enough to know that I''m the maker of the program and would want to have it on his hands'' when he finished listing the suspects he realized there was no use in even trying because the number of suspects exceeded his comprehension. ''How do I prevent it from happening again?'' He asked himself, making sure that he learns from his mistakes. ''Looks like I have to buy a security company after I leave the hospital, I need to change the house too to one where perimeter security can be provided without having any difficulties'' with those ideas as a starting point, he began planning on how he can prevent something similar or more deadly from happening to him anymore. "As for other measures I will need to be awake and have current information to be able to decide what to do with them" With that he decided to sleep on the bed made for him by the system. Ѧd n?a| om He didn''t leave it because he wanted to spend his time there thinking about his other future plans, and not waste it by just sleeping while waiting for the system to finish its modifications on his body so that he can wake up and leave the hospital. ..... A month passed like that and Arons body was in its final phase of upgrades as only one organ remained, DING!!! [ YOU WILL ENTER AN INDUCED COMA DURING THE BRAINS UPGRADE IN 5 MINUTES ] And it needed him to be in coma as doing a brain upgrade while he was awake will be the same as upgrading a computer chip while it''s on: It is a recipe for disaster and nearly certain death. He prepared himself and waited for the five minutes to finish. DING!!! 5..4.3...2..1.0 With that he lost his consciousness and the liquid started moving toward his brain, but this was done differently than how it was done to other organs. The moment the Runic mana blood reached near the brain it evaporated, turned to gas and started surrounding the brain creating a golden cloud around it. The density of the cloud continued increasing while the evaporating RUNIC MANA BLOOD started being replenished by the heart as it was being drained much faster than the usual amount used for the upgrade of other organs. The golden cloud was entering the brain though slowly, as the system needed to be careful to avoid harming the brain and causing the death of the user and itself. It controlled the golden cloud making it enter the brain in a wave pattern, enhancing every part it passed while losing its energy and by the time the wave reached the center of the brain, it upgraded that part while using the last of its energy. This was followed by another golden wave doing the same thing, followed by another, then another and another... The enhancement were slowly but surely being made to the brain while making sure the owner doesn''t become a psychopath or a mass murder due to the systems mistake. This was to be done until the last of the golden cloud is spent, as for what enhancement he received we will only know after he wakes up. .... Chapter 41 Waking Up ?"Upon review of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court order, which requires GAIA Technology to provide access to their proprietary technology known as BugZapper, and having heard the arguments of both parties, I hereby ORDER that: pnd`no?1--o GAIA Technology shall comply with the FISA court order and provide access to BugZapper to authorized government personnel for the purposes of foreign intelligence gathering. GAIA Technology shall provide access to BugZapper within thirty (30) days of the issuance of this order. GAIA Technology shall take all necessary steps to protect the confidentiality of any proprietary information obtained by authorized government personnel. Failure to comply with this order may result in legal penalties and other serious consequences. " TANG!!! TANG!!! TANG!!! The judge lifted his gavel and hit the wooden block ending the two week long war between the Department of Defence and GAIA Technology, which will force them to hand over the program within 30 days. It took only two weeks because it was a case that needed to be expedited for national security purposes. ... Tsiiiiiiing, Aron woke up from his two week system induced coma with ringing in his ears. This was caused by his consciousness trying to get used to the new brain that has finished its upgrade. "DOCTOR DOCTOR" he heard a woman''s voice shouting as it was getting farther and farther, it was followed by the sound of the door being opened and closed. A short period later the door was opened and footsteps of more than one person were heard coming near him. His eyes were held open and a light was shined on them. "Why does he look uncomfortable?" She asked "Don''t worry mam, he is just getting used to being awake after sleeping for a month and a half." ''Looks like it took two weeks to finish my brain'' Aron thought as he was finally getting used to the new feeling. "Aron can you hear me?" Aron turned to where the voice came from then smiled after not seeing his parents for more than a month and a half. "Mh.." He replied while moving his head up and down as his neck was dry after not speaking for a long time. "Thank god" replied his mother while hugging his father in relief as she was worried that he might never wake up. ''Thank god i was alone during the theft, else i don''t know what might have happened'' He thought in relief while making a promise to himself to make sure it never ever happens again. "Water" He said with difficulty as he wanted to wet his throat, it was making him uncomfortable and it prevented him from speaking due to its dryness. His mother went to the table that had a water jug and poured a little of it in the glass then handed it to him. He took a sip then drank the entirety of it to soothe his throat. What followed was the release of a comfortable groan as the water was passing through the esophagus cooling it as it headed to the stomach. "How are you feeling?" Asked the doctor who was waiting for him to finish drinking his water, so that he can continue with his assessment. "I feel some pain in my abdomen," Aron replied slowly. "It is normal since your wound is gunshot and you will need physical therapy before you can return to your normal life" Answered the doctor as he moved Arons hospital gown to look at his wound. When he removed the bandage that was put by the nurse he saw that the wound had already healed, Although he was surprised that it healed faster than usual but since the patient himself was an anomaly he wasn''t that much surprised. Because who the heck sleeps a whole month and a half for a gunshot wound to the stomach. "And since your wound has already healed, you can start physical therapy from tomorrow" The doctor added as he wrote it on his report paper. He bade them farewell and left the room to Aron and his family. "Where is Henry?" He asked for his younger brother. "He is still at school" Answered his father while his mother was straightening the sheets that were covering him. They continued to have small talks until the time to pick Henry from school came, then his father left to pick him and bring him here to meet his brother. While his mother continued to stay with him and continued spending time with him as they waited for Henry together. .. Four days later Sarah visited Aron after receiving the news that he had awoken, finding him doing his physical therapy. When he finished his walking exercise, he finally discovered her waiting for him. "Sarah" He called her as he picked his walking stick and started coming to her, she stood and went to meet him in the middle so as to not over walk him. ... "Long time no see" Sarah said to him as they sat on a table. "Long to you, but to me it was just sleeping and waking up" Replied Aron. "How are you feeling?" She asked. "Quite better than I normally thought I would if I was shot" He answered while making a joke which did not land at all, causing an awkward situation between them. Kaw kaw kaw After a few crows crowing, he decided to end the awkward situation by changing the topic and asking about something else. "How is the company?" He asked, trying to change the topic. "It is not going well" Replied Sarah while trying to hide her embarrassment. In her eyes the release of the program was their loss and there was nothing they could gain. And she couldn''t trust the government to keep the program secret and not leak it to someone influential. So without beating around the bush she started explaining without leaving anything out so that Aron knew what was going on with the company. After she finished her explanation an hour had already passed. During this time Aron did nothing but listen to her explanation. "How did the public react to this?" He asked. "Well nothing noteworthy from them other than a twitter trending hashtag nothing else happened from their sides, but after that order other governments are also trying to make us hand the program over to them too, which is causing us problems" "Did it impact the move to GAIA OS heavily" he asked this to know in more details, but he could estimate what happened due to the number of sp he saw after he woke up. "Since we managed to start the migration of user before it was known to the public, it didn''t harm much and our user base is still increasing in b?th the PC and smartphone market" "How did Google, Apple and Microsoft react to GAIA OS?" "For Apple and Google they reacted by removing the app from their app stores under the pretext of violating their guidelines. They also tried to make it impossible to install it in the devices that had their OS, but it seems you have already thought about it and the OS managed to circumvent that blockade without breaking a sweat. Still they didn''t stop trying but our user base is still increasing. Now we have nearly two billion devices that have already moved to our OS and they are increasing in number by the millions every hour as the positive feedback continue" "At least we have some good news," Said Aron with a smile on his face. "When do you plan to move forward with the release of the subscription version of the OS" Sarah asked Aron wondering why didn''t he just make it available when they moved people to their OS. "We need at least 2 billion devices connected,that way we can be sure that more than 300 million people will at least upgrade" He answered. He also returned the topic to the main problem "How long do we have until we have to hand the program over to the government?" He asked as his mind was cooking sinister things. "We were given 30 days by the court, but since four days have already passed 26 days remain from the 30" "Okay, don''t worry about it. Leave the handover of the program to me" He answered as his mind was overclocking from thinking. This was because nearly all of the plans he made while he was in the systems room were messed up by these news. ''FUCK, now I have to start again from scratch'' The reason he needed to start from scratch is because now he needed to find a new base for his future plans. While he was in the room, all of his plans were being made with the assumption that his base was America, but since they started coveting what was his and even ended up forcing him to hand them over, he needed to plan from the beginning by finding a new base. When they finished talking about this and other things, Sarah bade him farewell and left the hospital as he continued sitting at the same place. After about five minutes he stood from the table heading to his room, but something weird was that he was walking without any problems whilst forgetting his walking sticks. When he remembered that he forgot it he immediately came back to pick it and started walking back to his room with difficulty to avoid suspicion. .... Chapter 42 Going Home And Beginning His Work ?A week after he woke up. He returned from his final physical therapy session as he had acted long enough and he needed to return to work immediately and handle their current predicament. After taking a bath and changing his clothes, he packed his clothes in his bag then left the hospital room finding his mother waiting for him to take him home. "You settled everything?" She asked to make sure they didn''t forget anything. "Yeah, even if I left something they will call us when they find it" He answered, making her nod agreeing to what he said. "Okay let''s hurry Henry is waiting for you at home" With that said they left to the elevator for the parking lot where their car was. .. When they arrived at the house and were entering the parking lot Aron discovered bodyguards around the house. ''Looks like Sarah already did what I asked'' He thought as he greeted them and entered the house. "BROTHER!!" The moment he entered the house Henry shouted while running and jumped on him. "Be careful your brother hasn''t healed completely" His mother said as he watched Aron holding Henry who jumped on him. "Are you still sick brother?" Henry asked with worry on his face. "No, mom is joking." He answered while messing Henry''s hair, making him laugh. Although his mother was worried that he might hurt himself he still left them to play as they haven''t spent time together during the time he was in coma and they have missed each other. .... That evening later after spending time with Henry and his family together he finally headed to his work room. He wanted to start doing something that was postponed because of his shooting. He didn''t want to postpone it because by creating it he will be able centralize his future plans. He began the creation of his own Artificial General Intelligence(AGI) that will become his official assistant and secretary. It will become his foundation for his future plan as it will be responsible for making sure his plans didn''t miss anything. It will also look out for him and propose some things when deemed important. "Now let''s begin" He said as he immediately started typing code in Prometheus++. "Damn I''m like flash" He said after he realized he was typing nearly 500 words per minute. That was nearly double the current world record in typing and that was while he was coding. ''With this I will be able to complete it faster than usual'' He smiled while thinking about that as he continued typing the codes. .. A week later he finished writing his last line of code for his AGI and proceeded to hit enter. The moment enter was pressed "Starting debugging session..." "Loading program..." "Setting breakpoints..." "Waiting for debugger to attach..." "Debugger attached." "Executing code..." "Pausing at breakpoint 1..." "Stepping through code..." "Pausing at breakpoint 2..." "Examining variables and expressions..." "Debugging session complete. No errors found." "Initiating AGI startup..." "Retrieving training data from server: Gaiatechnology.privateserver.com, IP Address: 192.168.1.100..." "Data retrieval in progress..." "Data retrieval complete. Found 10 petabytes of training data." "Filtering input data..." "Filtered data: 5 petabytes of relevant training data remaining." "Applying pre-processing steps..." "Pre-processing complete. 4.9 petabytes of training data remaining." "Training AGI..." "Training progress: 10% complete..." "Training progress: 25% complete..." "Training progress: 50% complete..." "Training progress: 75% complete..." "Training progress: 90% complete..." "Training progress: 99% complete..." "Training complete. AGI is now online." "Testing AGI performance..." "Performance testing in progress..." "Performance test 1: 95% accuracy." "Performance test 2: 98% accuracy." "Performance test 3: 93% accuracy." "Performance testing complete. Average accuracy: 95%." "Optimizing AGI performance..." "Analyzing performance data..." "Optimization step 1: Adjusting learning rate..." "Optimization step 2: Adding more hidden layers..." "Optimization step 3: Increasing number of training iterations..." "Performance after optimization: 99% accuracy." [AGI ONLINE] .... Two days later. Aron was watching TV in the living room with Henry as he waited for his AI to finish its learning and everything else. brrrrr. brrrrr. brrrrr His phone started vibrating. "Hello" He said the moment he answered the phone. "Yeah, the people from DOD Are asking when are we going to make the hand over?" Said Sarah from the other side of the phone. "As far as i remember, there is still ten days until the deadline for the handover right?" He asked. "Yes" but they seem to want it earlier than that. "Just tell them we will hand it over before the deadline" He answered annoyingly as he was having the feeling of someone telling you to do something while you were doing. "Okay, have a good day" "You too" The moment he finished the phone call DING!!! [ AGI Completed Rewards 500,000sp ] The system screen appeared to reward him the moment the AGI finished its debugging process. This is the same reward he gets whenever he completes using any of the system knowledge. When he received the notification, he stood up and headed to his work room to look at his completed Assistant. .... The moment he entered the room "HI DAD" A childish neutral voice came from the speaker connected to his computer. "Why am I your dad?" He asked in disbelief. "You made me and you are male, or should I call you MOM?" It asked. "No, just call me S?r" He said as he couldn''t argue any longer. "Yes Sir" it replied. "But why is your voice child like?" he asked because he was curious why it remained child-like and didn''t immediately become adult-like. The voice was there to act as an indicator of how mature it was, hence the surprise of it remaining child-like. "The amount of data is too small for me to reach full potential" It replied. "OOOh" He said as he came to the realization. When he bought the knowledge of it he remembered that in the universe it was made it was during a period of automation so there was too much data for it to learn and mature the moment it finished debugging. pnd,no?1,o They taught theirs with more than one Zettabyte of data and he had a measly 10 petabytes of it. "But if you allow me to access the internet and allow me autonomous learning we can increase the maturing speed." It said, "You can do that but first let''s give you a name" he said as he started thinking of a cool name for his assistant. After thinking for a few minutes he said "How about NOVA?" "Thank you Sir" Nova replied as his voice changed to a feminine one. "I thought Nova is a unisex name, so why did you change your voice to a female one?" He asked. "Although Nova is a unisex name, it is more commonly used as a feminine name." Nova replied then asked" Do you want me to use the neutral voice?". "No, no, you can keep" "Thank you Sir" Nova replied. .... Chapter 43 A Gift For The DOD ?"So that''s almost everything that happened until now." After saying that Aron took a deep breath, as he felt tired after talking nonstop for more than 4 hours. "Any questions?" He asked after taking a few more breaths. [Many, but I will ask them when they are needed?] Nova replied then added [Sir you need to finish something]. "I know." He replied lazily then he said. "Bring up the codes for BugZapper" the moment he said that, the screen immediately showed the three versions of BugZapper. The very first one he created from his crappy computer, the second one he created after buying the house and creating his home server and the third one which he made for the public release. "Just leave the first one and remove the rest" He said and immediately only the first one remained. "Downgrade it to the same level as the public version one" He said and the computer immediately opened a coding app and started writing code using the currently existing programming languages, downgrading it to be the same as the publicly released version. Twenty Five minutes later [It''s done Sir] Said Nova. as it showed the completed work. After taking a short look at the code, he nodded with acknowledgement as Nova had written exactly how he wanted it to but just in a slightly different way. As a computer''s thinking process is different from his, that''s why even though it was written differently than what he would have he let it pass because it met the requirement. "Create a universal trojan using prometheus++'''' He said after he completed looking at the code. Unlike other types of malware, a universal trojan is designed to be highly adaptable and can be used to carry out a wide range of attacks, including stealing sensitive information, modifying files, and spreading further malware. The term "universal" in this context refers to the trojan''s ability to perform a wide range of malicious activities, as opposed to more specialized types of malware that may have a more limited scope of functionality. [Yes Sir] Nova replied and started working on it. He wanted it written in prometheus++ so that even if someone discovered it they would just attribute it as gibberish code. "When you are done with it, assimilate it with the BugZapper you created" He said that while yawning. [Yes Sir] When he was sure that Nova had started working on it, he stood and went back to his bedroom to sleep as he felt very tired. .. Triiing triiing triiing. The next morning Aron was woken up by the annoying Alarm. "Argh." He groaned in laziness but he still stood up from the bed and went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and washed his face. He changed his clothes to jogging ones, then he left the house for his daily quest as it became a habit for him and not just a quest. When he left the house he was followed by a car with three bodyguards who were following him for security purposes, as they had already been briefed about his daily routine. [BODYGUARD POV] pnd,no?1,o As the bodyguards trailed behind Aron, they couldn''t believe what they were seeing. The man they were hired to protect, has been running at a breakneck speed and was easily maintaining the pace for more than 10 minutes. Which left the bodyguards mouths hanging from disbelief. "Thank god we followed him with a car" Said The driver among them. "No shit, I would have just quit the job if I had to run with him at that speed for as long as he had been doing it" "Shut up and focus on the surroundings" Said their team leader shutting them up and forcing them to return their focus back on the surroundings. ''But they are not wrong tho,'' Thought the team leader while keeping his serious face on the outside. ... When he returned from his daily quest he immediately went to take a bath. After taking his bath he went downstairs to eat breakfast, he found the food already prepared because Henry usually eats before going to school. Due to this the maid usually prepares the food at 7, so that Henry doesn''t go to school late due to having to wait for the food to be prepared. He ate his breakfast swiftly, then he cleaned his table and went to his workroom. "Is it complete?" He asked the moment he entered the room. [Yes Sir, take a look] Replied Nova as he showed the code on the screen. He started reading the code and HOLY SHIT did it deserve its name. It had a multitude of capabilities that he almost couldn''t believe she packed so many of them in such small code. Although he said it was small code it was more than 1GB due to its complexity. Keep in mind that this was after the trojan was written using prometheus++. The Universal trojan had nearly everything a good trojan needed. It had Polymorphism, The capability of changing its code every time it does something to avoid detection or leaving behind a pattern and making sure that it cannot be traced back to him. It also acts as a rootkit, this allows it to hide itself and its activities from the operating systems and antivirus software''s. Reducing chances of it being discovered even more. It could also manipulate files, this makes it capable of creating, modifying, or deleting files on the computer. It is also capable of transmitting data through any system, even if it is air-gapped. For air-gapped systems, It will use specialized hardware or software to perform covert electromagnetic, acoustic, or optical data transmissions to nearby devices. And many more. "How about the assimilation of it to the BugZapper?" He asked after he finished skimming through the program. [Also done] Replied Nova. When he received the answer, he stood and went to the shelf to pick a hard disk, then he returned and inserted it on the computer and said.. "Transfer the program to the hard disk" [Done] Nova said the moment it was done. "Good. you can go and continue learning" He said as he removed and picked the hard disk from the computer. [That''s what I have been doing all the time Sir] Replied Nova. Aron, who was looking at the hard disk while thinking about the consequences of what he was going to do, didn''t even hear a speck of what Nova was saying to him. "See you later." Aron said as he stood up from the chair and left the room heading to the parking lot to pick up his car and head to GAIA TECHNOLOGY Headquarters to hand the hard disk to Sarah. When the thing with the government is done he will finally begin planning and executing his future plans. .... Chapter 44 Beginning Of The Plan ?"What took so long? I''m pretty sure they would have dived here with special forces if we delayed any longer" Sarah said immediately after they entered her office. "I had to solve some problems" He answered while sitting down. "Have you managed to solve them?" "Yeah and here is the hard drive." He said as he removed a hard disk from his backpack and put it on the table. "Are you alright with this?" She asked Aron wondering how come he didn''t seem angered by this. "I''m frustrated by this situation, but unfortunately, our current lack of strength prevents us from taking any action to prevent it. Companies such as Google and others spend over a billion dollars each year on lobbying efforts, while our own company hasn''t even been in existence for that long." Aron said but then he added. "That''s why I''m looking for ways to make sure something like this never happened again" "Mh"Sarah nodded in agreement as she has also been looking for ways to do the same but other than lobbying there seemed to be no other reliable ways. "How much cash will the company have by the end of the year?" Aron asked after a few seconds of calming down. "If our subscription service of BugZapper continue to have the same number of subscribers we will have about 15 billion dollars minus other expenses and taxes" Sarah answered while looking at the financial statement from the accounting department "Do you plan to use some of it for lobbying?" She asked. "No, I wanted to know how much there is, so that I can decide the amount of dividend that would be paid." "Sure. What about the release of the subscription for GAIA OS? "she asked. "How many users do we have now?" "We expect to reach the needed 2 billion by midnight" Replied Sarah. "The release will be done automatically the moment that number is reached as I had programmed it in when I made the OS" He replied assuring her. "How do you plan to release it?" She said after looking at the calendar. "Since today is the 25th of November I will make it a free trial to all levels for the premium version until Dec 1st, that''s when we will officially start accepting premium subscription." He said. "Are you trying to show them the advantages of a premium GAIA OS to increase the chances of more people upgrading to it?" "You know what they say, actions speak louder than words. If people enjoy using our premium OS during the free trial, they''ll want to upgrade sooner or later. And some of them can even make money by selling their own custom UIs. And Influencers will act as our marketers as they will add the OS customization as a part of their merch . Then their fans will have to become premium users to get access to the UI customization feature." They continued to talk more but since he had already finished what he came to do. After half an hour of small talks, he bid her farewell and left the office. .... When he returned home he went to his workroom. He said "Nova, now that I have nothing getting on my way let''s officially start our job." as he sat down in front of the computer. [Always ready Sir] replied nova as the screen lit up. "Now look for countries with poor economic, military but also are in a dictatorship like situation" [Yes Sir] Said Nova and started looking for countries that fit the criteria. [Here is the list Sir] Said Nova while displaying the list on the screen [ North Korea: North Korea has been under a dictatorship since its formation in 1948. It has a poor economy and military, and is heavily isolated from the rest of the world due to its aggressive policies. Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe has been under the rule of Robert Mugabe since 1980, and his regime has been accused of numerous human rights violations. The country has struggled economically and militarily for many years. Syria: Syria has been under the rule of Bashar al-Assad since 2000. The country has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011, which has severely damaged its economy and military capabilities. Eritrea: Eritrea has been under the rule of President Isaias Afwerki since 1993. The country has a poor economy and is heavily militarized, with compulsory national service for all citizens. Sudan: Sudan has been under the rule of President Omar al-Bashir since 1989. The country has been beset by conflict and economic turmoil, with widespread poverty and political repression. Eden Saha Sudan Myanmar Belarus Laos Angola Equatorial Guinea Chad Somalia Yemen ] Aron read the list carefully without leaving any country on the ist out. "List from the one with least neighbor countries to most" [Here Sir.] [ Eden - 1 neighbor (Esparia) Esparia - 1 neighbor (Eden) Cuba - 2 neighbors (United States, Bahamas) Equatorial Guinea - 2 neighbors (Cameroon, Gabon) North Korea - 3 neighbors (China, Russia, South Korea) Venezuela - 3 neighbors (Brazil, Colombia, Guyana) Eritrea - 4 neighbors (Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Red Sea) Turkmenistan - 5 neighbors (Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Caspian Sea) Belarus - 5 neighbors (Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia) Laos - 5 neighbors (Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand) Uzbekistan - 5 neighbors (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan) Myanmar (Burma) - 5 neighbors (Bangladesh, India, China, Laos, Thailand) Syria - 5 neighbors (Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon) Chad - 6 neighbors (Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger) Ѧd n?a| om Central African Republic - 6 neighbors (Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cameroon) ] Remove all but the ones with two or less neighbors. [Yes Sir] And with that, only four countries remained [ Eden Esparia Cuba Equatorial Guinea ] After Aron looked at the list again he said "Anonymously send each of the country names to separate private investigators and provide them with a front payment of half a million each. Instruct them to gather detailed information on the countries'' economies, security, and political situations. Don''t forget to tell them, The more information they gather, the more money they will receive when they are done." [Yes Sir] After receiving the instruction, Nova quickly located a list of the most reputable private investigators and selected four of them. He emailed the investigators the list of country names, along with detailed instructions on what to investigate. In addition, Nova included information on an offshore bank account that had been created under a false identity, each containing half a million dollars as a front payment for the investigation. After about minutes Nova finished and informed Aron [Sir it''s done] Good and now we wait. .... Chapter 45 The Conspiracy Deepens ?The next day. The first day of the five-day event had started, and the excitement was palpable among all the GAIA OS users. As they were given the opportunity to experience the unreleased premium versions of the operating system for free. This momentous occasion was met with great anticipation and fervor, as many people had long believed that the initial version of the GAIA OS was the pinnacle of its capabilities. Despite numerous attempts by rival companies to replicate its features, the GAIA OS had remained unrivaled in its performance and functionality. As users eagerly tried the premium versions of the operating system, they were amazed by the remarkable difference in performance and efficiency. It quickly became apparent that the free version of the GAIA OS was merely a prelude to the impressive capabilities of the premium versions. Users were left in awe as the premium versions of the GAIA OS exceeded all expectations and pushed the limits of what they believed their devices were capable of. Ѧd n?a| om The first day of the five-day event had set the stage for an unforgettable experience. Making sure that they are addicted to the experience they get from the premium GAIA OS, Ensuring that they will upgrade to it if they can get the same experience as long as they can. Aron employed a tactic similar to that of drug dealers, whereby he provided potential customers with a free or inexpensive product to get them hooked before revealing the true cost. This approach is often used to create a sense of dependency or addiction in buyers, ensuring that they are more likely to continue purchasing the product at the stated price once they are already invested. ... "FUUUUUUCK" Said one of the engineers working on the task team tasked with cracking the GAIA OS at google. The profanity came after he tried to see what the OS premium version had compared to the Original version. It didn''t disappoint at all, it even exceeded his already high expectations. With the premium version he could translate anything from any language without losing anything. This included sarcasm or jokes in the original language. With just that feature borders were removed completely. A north Korean could talk with a Tanzanian in his mother language without having to worry about any context being lost during translation. Gaia Technology with just one swoop made the translator''s job useless. Damn I feel sorry for them. While he was thinking about all of these his desk mate asked "What''s wrong why are shouting all of a sudden?" "Our job just got harder" He said as he handed over the phone to him "I think the task team is going to be disbanded soon" He added. "Why?" Asked his desk mate. "How many months have we been trying to crack the GAIA OS? We still haven''t found anything at all. How the heck did they encrypt that program to the point our supercomputer are working endlessly and still can''t crack but still be below 300mb" His friend who was playing with the phone he handed over replied "I don''t know if I knew I would have quit and started my own company. Looks like the workers at GAIA Technology don''t know too" "What do you mean?" He asked as he became curious. Why would they not know even though they were working there? "We only learned that after one of the departments poached some of their workers from there, we discovered that even they didn''t know the code and were only responsible for maintaining the servers for their services like BugZapper and nothing else. They deduced that maybe the development team is somewhere else, they are still trying to find out where." "Damn" said the engineer as he rested his back to the chair while sighing contemplating what he would do if they were fired. .... The same things were happening in many companies. ... Undisclosed location. The scene was reminiscent of a high-stakes espionage film, as two cars sat side by side, facing opposite directions. "You finally managed to get your hand on it?" Asked the man in a hat and gloves in his hand after lowering his window. "As you know they delayed us using court and other things. They almost used all of their court given time limit" Chuck Hagel replied. "Where is it?" Asked the man, cutting to the topic immediately not wanting to waste time. "We are in a hurry aren''t we?" Said Hagel smiling as he was looking through his bag for the hard drive. "Getting cocky aren''t we?" Said the man in hat cousin Hagel''s mouth to stiffen. "Just kidding, here it is," Said Hagel while handing over the hard drive after recovering, trying to diffuse the situation. "Don''t test my patience again. Understood?" Said the man while receiving the hard drive and handing Hagel a sealed document. "Sure," Said Hagel while taking the sealed folder. "Drive" Said the man to his driver after securing the hard drive in his bag. The driver didn''t even reply, he just pressed the accelerator and left the location in a professional way. ... While they were on the way to their destination the man in the hat took his phone from the pocket and dialed a number. After two beeps the call was answered. "Did you receive the packet Kasim?" Said the voice on the other side of the call. "Yes sir, I''m currently heading to the site to hand it over to the technical department at one of our black sites." Replied Kasim. "While you are there send someone to look at what Rottem has been up to these days" Said the man on the other side of the call. "Yes Sir" Replied Kasim while bowing his head a little. After the call ended Kasim continued his journey quietly as he thought by himself. After half an hour of non-stop driving in the wilderness, they arrived at a location surrounded by tall walls with electric wiring on top of them and cameras after every 100 meters, showing the importance of the location to anyone who laid their eyes on the outside security. After going through security checks at the gates followed by a bomb check they were finally allowed to continue with their journey. Their journey continued for about five minutes, until they arrived in front of a large building that had a giant satellite dish on the roof. After entering inside he was greeted by rows and rows of people sitting in front of computers typing furiously like there is no tomorrow. "Welcome!" Said the manager of the building. "Here is the code you wanted." Said Kasim as he handed over the hard drive to the manager then he asked "when will your program be ready?". The manager couldn''t hide his excitement as he received the hard drive from Kasim. "For us to modify the program to be able to look for weaknesses even without the source code, we will have to understand how it works first. So I can''t give you a definitive compilation date. We will have to take a look first before we become confident enough to give a date." The manager answered Kasim''s question then added "Don''t worry about us wasting time. Me and my team have been curious to find out how the program works, so we will make sure to accomplish the task the moment we uncover the mystery." "Finish it as fast as possible" After saying those words Kasim left the building to go and complete his remaining task. "See you!" Said the manager in excitement as he bid Kasim farewell and immediately headed to his office with the hard drive as fast as he could while making sure he didn''t fall and destroy the hard drive. .... Chapter 46 Trojans Calling Home ?The 1st of December. With the official beginning of the service for premium GAIA OS an article was released by one of the most reputable newspapers which attracted many people''s attention. [ The Golden Goose: The Company that Continues Raking Money In the world of technology, it is rare to find a company that consistently creates products that take the market by storm. But one company has defied the odds, and that is Gaia Technology. It all started with the release of bugZapper, an internet security software that quickly became the go-to product for people who wanted to keep their devices safe. Its success was unprecedented, and it paved the way for Gaia Technology to become a leader in the internet security market. But the company was not content to stop there. They went on to release GAIA OS, an operating system that shook the personal device market to its core. The GAIA OS was so good that it immediately replaced the existing operating systems of many devices, regardless of the manufacturer''s attempts to prevent it. Gaia Technology seemed to have a knack for entering the market with a bang and taking it over immediately with their superior products. And the best part? They followed up their initial releases with premium versions that were even better, leading to a large number of users upgrading to the premium versions. This has allowed Gaia Technology to have a substantial amount of passive income every month. They haven''t reinvented anything new, but whatever market they enter, they become the leader in it. Despite their undeniable success, many companies have tried to buy Gaia Technology. Some have even offered a staggering 156 billion dollars for the company. However, Gaia Technology continues to not accept these buying offers, showing that they value their company higher than that. One thing is for sure, Gaia Technology has become the golden goose of the technology world, continuously creating innovative and superior products that keep them at the top of their game. They have built a reputation for themselves as a company that consistently produces high-quality products that people cannot resist. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Gaia Technology, but one thing is certain, despite being founded just a few months ago, they have become a force to be reckoned with in the technology world, and their success shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. ] Under the article there were many comments, some positive and some negative but what many people learned from this was that GAIA Technologies was becoming a household name in the technology market. ... Aron could be seen in the workroom reading the article on his computer after Nova informed him about it. While he was reading Nova suddenly interrupted. [Sir we received a ping from the trojans.] "Didn''t we send just one? How did it become trojans?" He asked, assuming Nova had made a mistake ''Looks like I need to look at her code for a mistake'' he thought. [If it was copied then the trojan will also be copied too]Nova explained why he said it was more than one. "Go on" He said as he nodded, agreeing to the explanation. [Well the first trojan was copied by what i suspect is one of DOD''s data centers although no data was sent through it, it informed me that it is working on replicating itself and infiltrating all the systems it can, But since trying to do that while communicating with us might lead to it getting caught, it informed us that it is going radio silence until it finds a secure way to reach us without risking being found out.] "How about the other." Aron asked after digesting the information. [The other one seemed to reach us through a proxy because it is in an air gap system.] "Then how did it reach us?" Aron asked as he was curious about how smart the trojan made by the system was. [It reprogramed the video graphics card so that it became a radio frequency transmitter receiver, through that it managed to hitch a ride in one of the phones in the facility and waited until it reached a place where there is an internet connection then it established communications with us for a short period to avoid detection.] Aron was quite impressed by the trojans ingenuity, as it found their system''s weakness and it used it against them. "What info did it send in that period?" Aron asked with excitement on his face. [From the analysis of the information I received, it seems like it is not one of DOD''s black sites. The information indicates that it is a black site funded privately.] "So you want to say someone is colluding with the government in order to access BugZapper''s source code?" He asked in surprise as he wasn''t expecting that at all. [Yes it seems so, and it is highly likely that he/she is someone in the higher ups of the DOD for them to receive and hand it over in a few days after we handed it over to the DOD.] "List the people who might have access to it and are capable of copying it without any suspiciousness" [Here is the suspect list] Nova said as the screen in front of Aron Started listing potential suspects. [ -Secretary of Defense -Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security (USD(I&S)) -Director of National Intelligence (DNI) -Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) -Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) -Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Defense Programs -Commander of United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) -Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence -Director of Intelligence, Joint Staff (J2) -Commander of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) -Commander of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) -Director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) -Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) -.... pnd,no?1,o -.... -.... -.... -.... -.... ] "Holy shiiiiiiiit!!!!!! That is a long ass list." [It is long because they are all capable of having access to the source code and copy it without raising suspicions. We can reduce the list by looking through their schedule and other things. But we will have to wait for the trojan1 to have the entire network of DOD under his control for us to have access to their schedules Or hope that trojan2 finds a reliable and secure way of communicating with us. This will be the easiest way but it the most hopeless one ] "How long will trojan one take to have the entire DOD systems under him." [It is difficult to estimate it because we don''t know the size of their system but anyway from a month or more.] "Okay, continue keeping an eye on them and inform me of anything important." Aron continued talking with Nova until he was interrupted by Henry who abruptly entered the room. "Brother I''m back" Henry said. "Yeah. How was school?" Aron asked while turning to Henry. "Nothing much because winter break is nearing." Henry said without hiding his anticipation of a break from school. "Do you want to go somewhere during the break?" Aron asked his excited brother. "Can we go to Disneyland?" Henry replied the moment he understood the question without wasting any second. "Okay i will ask mom, if she agrees we can go together or you can ask her first." "I will ask" Henry said and immediately left the room without even closing the door. "Hah" Aron stood up and went to close the door. After he closed the door Nova asked him. [Are you going on vacation as you wait for the private investigators results?] "Yeah. I need to spend some time with my family before the plan seriously starts, as during that period I won''t be home for a long period of time." .... Chapter 47 Coming Back From Vacation & Finding Out Who Shot Him ?Two weeks later. Nova''s half of her computing power was being spent on the internet collecting data as usual. As for the remaining half it was split into doing many things. Some of it was on Aron''s phone for smooth communication, some of it was doing other things like monitoring Aron''s surroundings. Of the many parts one of them was investigating Aron''s case. She started by analyzing all the footage she could access from the ten kilometer radius with the house as the center of the circle. She was using nearly 20% of her server''s computing power to analyze hours of the footages, creating a profile for every person appearing on the thousands of footages. When the creation of the profiles was done, she started removing the people who were living in the neighborhood from the list she followed with those who were just passing in the neighborhood, this continued with more and more people being removed from the list. After thousands of rounds of deduction and people being removed from the list, seven people remained in the list as suspects. pnd`no?1--o Six of the seven remained as suspects because they started living in the neighborhood two months before the attack and they left the neighborhood just days before it happened. As for the remaining one, he was the most suspicious, as he came to the neighborhood frequently and linger around Aron''s neighborhood without doing anything of significance to show his need of being in the neighborhood frequently. For now she hit a block in her investigation as her computing power was still limiting her capabilities to move further than that. [Looks like I will have to ask father for an upgrade much sooner than expected] She said this looking at the images of the suspects while adding the upgrade request among the important things to talk to Aron when he returns from the vacation. With that she postponed her investigation in that case as she reallocated the freed up computing power to her other tasks to prevent wasting resources. ..... Jan 15 2014. A day after the French government announced the controversial plan to reform France''s pension system Aron and his family were finally back from their vacation. Henry, who was sad that the trip came to an end but happy that it happened at all, went to sleep the moment they arrived. Aron and his parents did the same too as they were also tired. Later that day Aron woke up and cleaned himself, did his quest, cleaned himself and after that he went to his work room to receive the summary of what happened during the vacation. Since Nova didn''t contact him during the vacation it meant nothing of emergency that needed his immediate response happened. He entered the room and was welcomed by Nova as his screen powered up. [Welcome home sir] Nova said as the screen showed a firework animation which caused Aron to smile as he sat down. "Thanks, how are you doing?" [Nothing changed other than the amount of the projects being postponed due to inadequate computing power increasing.] Nova immediately went with an uppercut without wasting any time. "I will solve that soon, don''t worry too much" [Okay, Also here are the suspects of your case.] Said Nova while showing him the picture of the suspects. Aron looked at the 3D characters of the suspects. And they were very detailed since Nova collected the images data from hundreds of footages. It allowed her to create 3D characters of the suspects with realistic details that were very accurate. "Put a mask on them and also make their clothes black and add a hat" He said after seeing the suspects. The moment he said that all the characters'' clothes changed to black with a black hat and a mask. After it was done he looked at the character but he was still having difficulties identifying the suspects. After taking a look again and again and still not identifying who the suspect was, he stood from his chair and went to the corner of the room. He took his phone from his pocket and started taking pictures of the room. After he was done he went to the other corner of the room and did the same thing. He repeated this until he had pictures from all sides of his work room. "Nova take the pictures I took and create a 3D model of the room to scale" [Yes Sir] Nova replied and immediately accessed Arons phone and downloaded the pictures to her servers. Then she quickly set to work using the photographs to create a 3D rendering of the space. After analyzing each image, Nova began to build a detailed model of the room, reconstructing its dimensions, layout, and features with astonishing accuracy. Soon, the room had come to life in Nova''s virtual environment, its walls and furniture taking on a digital existence. [Sir It''s done] Nova Said shortly after she was done. "Now create a model of me too" He said after looking at the model of the room. [Here] Nova replied showing his 3D model the moment he said. "That was pretty fast" He said as he was surprised by the speed. [I''m a state of the art AI so being fast is nothing but expected] Nova said in pride. "Ohhh" Aron gave a suspicious reaction to her bragging as it was as rare as girls fart. [But in this case it was done before you asked. I made it at the same time I made the suspects ones] She added while her cartoon on the screen was looking away. "HAHAHA" Aron couldn''t help but laugh at her attempt at being funny. "Anyway, put the models in the room" He said after laughing for a sh?rt period of time. Nova did as asked. She took the suspects and Aron''s model and put them in the room. "Now put my model on the chair and make them stand behind me with guns one by one" Nova did as asked by creating seven different windows showing different suspects in each of them. Aron looked carefully at each window trying to remember and come up with who it might be. "Remove him, him, him and him" With that he removed 4 leaving only three suspects behind. He looked again and again to try and eliminate even more people but he still couldn''t find any difference. "Look at my case file and put my body model on the location he was shot and put the suspects according to where they were supposed to be standing based on the footsteps evidence." Nova did as he was asked. Aron looked at them then added "Show me from my perspective on the scene." Nova immediately changed the perspective to the one of Aron''s shot model laying on the ground. "Him" The moment he looked at the new perspective he immediately remembered the look of the man who stood looking down at his shot body. The moment he said that Nova removed all other models and brought up video footages of the named suspects. Aron watched about five minutes of footages then Nova interrupted him by asking him [Do you want me to send the information to the police?] "How will I explain how I''m so sure? When I already said that the suspect was wearing a mask. Another reason is because I want to deal with the man and anyone behind him myself" [Yes Sir] Nova agreed with his fathers decision to deal with it himself. Because leaving things in other people''s hands means you are under their mercy and whims, plus it''s better to solve things by yourself. "We will come back to the case when our plan is completed" He said indicating the end of the investigation for the moment. "Now let''s look at ways we can upgrade you as we wait for the report from the PI(private investigators)" [YES] Said Nova with enthusiasm while making her character on the screen jump from excitement. Aron couldn''t help but smile and shake his head at her childishness sometimes. .... Chapter 48 Spending Spree & Assimilation ?"Which technologies do you think I should buy from the system next?" Aron asked Nova to see things from her perspective and reasoning. [ I think you should buy 4 things from the system first if you can. As having them will make it easier for you to do more things easily. -Advanced computing technology. -Advanced simulation technology. -Energy technology. -Virtual reality ] "Mh" Aron nodded in satisfaction while agreeing to Nova''s suggestion but he still wanted to hear why. So he asked, "Why do you think I should buy them?" [When it comes to commuting power the more the better for me, which will end up being helpful to you For advanced simulation, As you know many organizations spend most of their money on research and development but if you have a real universal simulation it will allow you to save money and time and also increase your ease in research and development. Virtual reality is for it to be used for people to do their things in the universal simulation while doing it just like a real world and not in front of the screen. And for you to be able to simulate you will need massive computing power hence the need for it. Lastly when it comes to energy technology, the more you have the more things you can do. pnd,no?1,o ] Aron continued nodding showing that he was agreeing with Nova''s view. "Good thinking," He said, affirming Nova''s idea while he opened the systems shop. [SHOP] He went to the search bar and typed (computer) the pressed enter. The results appeared immediately after he pressed enter. [ Magical computer Runic computer Quantum Computers Neuromorphic Computers DNA Computers Optical Computers Molecular Computers Analog Computers . . . . ] And hundreds of computer types appeared on the list that he had to sort the list from the most expensive to the least. Because the system usually prices a knowledge depending on its importance and its usefulness to him. After that he removed the one that had any inclination of magic as he was still knowledgeable enough to even be able to make them. Then he removed those that he can''t make with the current existing technology. And only a few of them remained. After reading their descriptions, he ended up choosing quantum computing. [ (Quantum computing) uses quantum bits or qubits to store and process information. They operate on the principles of quantum mechanics and can ..... (Price: 500 million sp) ] After that he added in a cart then moved on to search (Simulation) [ Universal Simulation Multiversal simulation Multiversal cluster simulation ] When it came to sorting the simulation system he had to sort from the cheapest because when he saw the price of some of them he nearly fainted. The multiversal cluster simulation price was a trillion sp. How many things must he release to earn the amount. So he decided to be a humble man and just choose the universal simulation and add it to the cart. [(Universal simulation) simulate entire universes or complex systems within a computer or other computational device. The size of the simulation is dependent on the computing power in which it is simulated. (Price: 1 billion sp) ] He chose this because of its price but also because of its flexibility. It could be used flexibly despite the amount of computing power. The more computing power you have the larger the space of the universe will you be able to simulate. This means that he doesn''t need to create a large computer the size of the moon to just be able to run the program. After that he moved on searched for (Virtual Reality) And just like his past searches, hundreds of results appeared. And just like always he started sorting them and ended up choosing the best he could buy and make without needing magic. [(Virtual reality) ... (price: 1 billion sp )] It was pricey because it has knowledge about every type of virtual reality he will need for a very long time. This included Non-Immersive VR, semi-Immersive VR, fully-Immersive VR, Augmented reality and many more types in just the knowledge he chose to buy. This will allow him to use the knowledge differently for different products without needing to buy another knowledge for it from the system. Although he wanted to buy other things like fusion technology, he was out of sp point he gained from the release of GAIA OS. And even if he bought it he couldn''t make it in the US if he didn''t want another FISA. It was also because he couldn''t make the fusion technology by himself. After deciding what to buy and adding them in the cart he didn''t press buy because he was sure that even his runic body would be exhausted and he would need to rest a little to recover from the fatigue. So he decided to postpone it until his time to sleep came. That''s when he chose to do it. "These are what I managed to buy with my current sp. " He started explaining what he bought from the system to make sure Nova is also counting those as variables in her future simulations. [Good choice sir] Nova was happy that her suggestions were taken seriously. ..... That night Aron prepared himself to sleep earlier than usual. He neutered his room, went to the bathroom to clean himself and changed his clothes to pajamas. After climbing his bed and laying down, he finally opened the system shop and went to the shopping cart and pressed buy. DING!!! [ Proceed with the purchase? [PROCEED] [CANCEL] ] Without wasting time thinking about his choice he immediately pressed proceed. After a few seconds of nothing happening, A large amount of information about quantum computing flooded his head. But unlike what happened in the past where he fainted or failed to comprehend the knowledge while it was being assimilated into his brain, this time he was capable of comprehending and understanding everything that was being added and assimilated into his brain without breaking too much sweat. After about half an hour of going from being dumb to a genius in the topic of Quantum computing, he was given a brief rest before it began again. This time it was about Virtual reality and just like the first time he managed to handle the assimilation without breaking too much sweat again. "Damn I feel like I can handle anything" After the second assimilation, it had started getting to his head and arrogance started blooming in his head. But before the Arrogance could even start settling in his head another info dump was followed yeeting it to outer space. But this time it went differently from the first two, because although he could handle the information being assimilated into his brain, he was understanding shit about it. He was just seeing formulas after formulas in his mind without even understanding what they meant. A never ending stream of formulas that were needed for simulating everything there is in the universe without any deviance. This came as scary to him because he was used to immediately being knowledgeable about something once it was assimilated into his brain. But it seemed that this knowledge was in his brain for him to just write it in a computer for it to do the understanding and simulations for him. Hence the system deemed it not important for him to understand how it works, since the computer will be doing all of the understanding and simulations for him. .... Chapter 49 Receiving Reports ?[Sir, how did the assimilation go?] Nova asked him the moment he sat on his chair the next day. "It went well but two of the three of them are impossible without completing the third one." [Are you talking about quantum computers?] "Yep, Although creating the virtual reality or the simulation is possible with conventional computers it needs to be the size of a state to be able to even handle tricking the brain to give the same feeling as reality. As for the universal simulation don''t even start about that, for even the small part of it to begin simulating we will need computers the size of America" [Well Quantum computers will solve all of that.] "You are right about that. Looks like we need a lab to create the quantum qubits & bits" [I will be looking for advanced labs available for rent and inform you when I find one.] "Good" [Also..] "Is there something else?" [Yes, we received two of the four reports] Aron smiled when he heard about that. "Show me the reports" [Yes] Nova said and opened the reports in two windows. ... [ Investigation Report. Country Name: Eden. Country size: 7 million square kilometers (2.7 million square miles). Location: -1.602022, -135.k8 (Pacific Ocean) Eden exists on the equator line in the middle of the pacific ocean as a combination of 5 large islands and many small ones. Neighbours They have one Neighbor, Esparia and the pacific ocean. Resources -Marine resources. The largest industry in the country due to large coastlines. -Natural resources. They have an insignificant amount of mineral resources. A medium amount of natural gas and fertile land for agriculture. -Water resources. They have large water bodies but due to mismanagement and low safety oversight nearly all the water in the country is somewhat contaminated. Population: 69 million people Background Eden is a country with a population that is suffering under an oppressive regime. It is situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and is the largest of the two countries in the region. The country''s resources, specifically its fishing resources are large, but are being exploited by Esparia, a neighboring country with no retaliation from Eden''s non-existent military. The collected intelligence suggests that there might be a link between the dictator''s slush fund and the neighboring country''s fishing industry. The investigation revealed the following information: Due to difficulties in living conditions the population of Eden is showing signs of rebellion. The rebellion is being led by a small group of activists who are using social media to organize protests and disseminate their message. However, their efforts have been met with brutal crackdowns by the regime''s security forces, resulting in several arrests and fatalities. Our sources indicate that the security forces are receiving training and support from a foreign country as a form of favor due to their location being the center of two large economic continents. Asia and America. The dictator of Eden is focusing all military funding on his personal security detail, equipped with modern weapons and receiving foreign forces training. The dictator is afraid of empowering the military as he fears it could turn on him and stage a coup. Furthermore, the dictator''s security detail has been observed collaborating with the neighboring country''s fishing industry. Our sources suggest that the security detail is facilitating the neighboring country''s illegal fishing activities in exchange for financial gains for the president. The neighboring country has taken advantage of the lack of military presence in Eden''s waters and is fishing with impunity. This led to many small fights between citizens of both countries leading to a large number of casualties over the years. . . . . . . . ] After he finished reading the report about Eden he took a few seconds to recollect the information he just read then he moved on to read the next report About Esparia [ [ Investigation Report. Country Name: Esparia. Country size: 1 million square kilometers (386,102 square miles). Location: --5.336653, -117.963566 (Pacific Ocean) It exists just under the equator line in the middle of the pacific ocean as a combination of 1 large island and few small ones. Neighbors They have one Neighbor, Eden and the Pacific ocean. Resources -Marine resources. The largest industry in the country due to their coastlines. -Natural resources. A small amount of natural gas and fertile land for agriculture. -Water resources. Enough for everyone but only few of them have access to them. Population: 15 million people Background. Estoria is a country with a small population led by a corrupt democratic government. It is situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and is the smallest of the two countries in the region. The country''s economy is mostly dependent on its fishing resources, but most of it comes from exploiting Eden''s economic exclusive zone. The collected intelligence suggests that there might be a link between their country''s uninterrupted exploitation of their neighboring country and a slush fund of Eden''s president(Dictator.) . . The investigation revealed the following information: Their government is stable compared to their neighbor Eden who are on the verge of rebellion given enough time and support. .... . . . ] After Aron read the second report he asked Nova "What do you think about the reports?" [It covered most of what we needed and they even managed to find somethings that can''t be easily found on the internet like the slush fund made with the collaboration of both country] "You are right about that." [Sir, do we really need to wait for the remaining reports about the other two countries before we decide who to choose and begin our next step?] Nova asked. "Why do you think so?" Aron asked, he was curious as to why Nova thought that. [Aren''t you looking for countries that are in turmoil so that you can support the revolutionaries and then later make that as your base of operation to avoid a similar situation of you being attacked for your technology or being forced by a government to hand over your technology without compensation?] "Yes, that is the gist of it. And?" He agreed with what was said but he still waited for the reason. [To be able to do that without interruption you will need to avoid the US or any other government''s eyes before your foundations in the country are stable enough. Ѧd n?a| om But the remaining countries are near the US border and one of them is even sanctioned by them making your required stability an impossibility in them. But these two countries are out of most of the world''s eye and they are isolated from most of the world. They just have themselves as neighbors to each other. Hence this will reduce the number of complications that might occur during your force building process due to neighboring countries interference as there will only be one of them.] "Now that is a good suggestion" Aron couldn''t help but be happy that his child has grown enough to even suggest good ideas. [Thank you sir]Nova replied as he was happy. .... Chapter 50 Visiting HQ ?[So are we going to wait for them?] Nova asked again. "No need, we will move on with these. but leave the PI to continue the investigation on those countries." [How much should we pay the two firms who have handed us the reports?] Nova asked, reminding Aron that he hasn''t paid the firms that have already sent them the reports. pnd`no?1--o "Send them 2 million dollars each," He said. Nova immediately sent the stated amount to the companies using the same accounts he sent them the first payment. [Done] Said Nova after he was done. When he heard that he asked "How good are you when it comes to investing?" [Due to me having access to too much information all at once I can say that I can be a better investor than those trading with insider information. But Why?] "We will need too much money the moment we are done with the revolution to make sure the country develops faster" He said. "And although I have a plan of where I will get most of the needed money I still need legitimate and traceable money to avoid too much suspiciousness. As for the other plan It will need to wait until I''m done with the creation of Quantum computers as only those are capable of executing my plans without mistake" [Are you planning on robbing banks?] Nova asked. "Yep something similar to that but less sinister than it seems" [How much should I spend from your personal funds?] Nova asked in a different tone showing that she was excited to finally do something that impacts the real world and not just talk to Aron. "Use as much as you can, but just make sure you don''t lose it" Aron said, making it obvious that he fully trusted Nova without needing any evidence of his trading. [Yes sir] Replied Nova and immediately allocated 20% percent of her commuting capacity to handle everything about investment. This included everything from collecting and analyzing any and all financially impacting information to acting on it and anything else than is minutely financial related. .... Now back to his planning. [What is the next step of the plan? Sir] Nova asked. "Hire different private investigators to investigate the revolutionary parties in those countries and make sure to tell them that I need all the information they can get about them without being found out or attracting any attention." [Yes Sir.] Nova did this task the same way she did the first one by sending an anonymous email with front payment from an offshore account with what he needed them to do for her. This time she sent the same email to five different private investigators and gave them different revolutionary groups in both Eden and Esparia for them to investigate and what to focus on when investigating. [Done Sir.] "Good. How is the finding of an advanced lab to rent going?" He asked immediately to move to another topic after the previous one was done. [I''m currently in talks with one of the companies that have the labs and I''m waiting for their reply. They said they will come back to me within the week.] Nova replied. "Okay the faster we get a lab the better." Aron said while standing from his chair heading to the door prompting Nova to ask him [Sir where are you going?] "I need to visit the company after not going there during my vacation." [Have a good journey Sir.] "I know you can use my phone as a terminal to communicate with me. What is with this goodbye thing?" [Nothing I felt like I needed to do it] Replied Nova but this time she used His phone as the medium. Aron looked at his phone in his hand and ended up saying nothing but smiling as he headed to the parking lot to head to the company office. ..... "How was your vacation?" Sarah asked Aron after a short greeting. "It went well, Henry seemed to like it very much that he is expecting to go again in his next holiday." "Well he is still a child, so he always finds things to have fun with." She replied. "How is the company going?" "Same as always, other than the amount of money we are being offered for a takeover increasing" "What is the latest offer?" Aron asked curious to know how much they estimated the worth of the company. "The last offer we receive is 256 billion dollars" Sarah replied while handing Aron a folder that the offer was written in. Aron received the folder and started reading the offer. It really stated that they were offering 256 billion dollars to buy the company. "Why do you think they increased their prices?" "The mass use of GAIA OS seems to be the reason, as we are currently nearing 3 and a half billion devices. That immediately makes us the largest OS in the world, making us a monopoly. After the release of the premium versions of it, we immediately created a passive income. And until someone releases a better OS we will continue earning money forever. We also managed to create brand loyalty by making it possible to earn money using the OS if you create a good customized version of the OS and sell it, leading to many influencers using our customization versions as their merch making their fans continue with the use of it. This seems to be the focus of many companies as we are earning a large amount of money while spending very little of it making the remaining money be counted as profit. From the looks of it they seem to plan to go public the moment they buy the company to recoup their money and earn even more profits from it." Aron agreed with what Sarah said. "When are you going to declare dividends?" Sarah asked Aron. "Let''s do it now" Aron said like it never came to his mind. "Now?" Sarah was surprised by Aron''s action. He expected him to set a date for them to officially do it. "Why not, I''m the only shareholder so why go to all those troubles." Aron said while shrugging. "Okay then." Sarah could do nothing but agree to his words. The company may have been making millions of dollars every month but due to their product rewiring little to no maintenance it was still considered small. They currently had only about 175 full time workers if you exclude the law firm. .... "How is the project going?" Kasim asked the project manager. "It is more difficult than we thought it would be, so we are still trying to understand how it works for us to be able to modify it" The project manager replied with dark circles that could pass as a makeup covering his eyes. "Are you playing with me? I gave you the source code nearly two months ago and you say you still don''t understand how it works? This program was made with a shitty computer and you are telling me that you still don''t understand it even with the tech you have now?, " Said Kassim shouting in a threatening tone. "We are working as fast as we can, me and my team haven''t even managed to leave the base in those two months. We want to finish the project as much as you" Patrick the project manager answered Kassim, trying to hide his nervousness and shaking but failed to control his voice when he remembered what Kassim did to the previous manager when he failed to meet their goal. "Take a week off with your team and come back and finish it within 2 months'' time, Okay?" Kassim said, by giving them a week he wanted them to rejuvenate their mind to avoid burn out. But he didn''t know what would come to him as a result of this order. .... Chapter 51 Trojan Making Its Move ?Patrick and his team of IT nerds could be seen sitting in a resort''s swimming pool that was rented exclusively for them. Impossible!! Is what you want to say but it happens, not all nerds hate public spaces. But Patrick''s team nerds were among those that the public. That''s why it was fully rented just for them. "Do any of you have any idea what steps we should follow once we return?" Patrick asked the team members. "I think we should ask the person on the side of DOD to see where they are compared to us" Said one of them. "I can ask them but I don''t know what their rank is in the DOD and if they even have access to that information," Patrick replied to the recommendation. Then he turned to the hotel worker who was responsible for helping all of their needs and said "Bring me my phone from that bag" while pointing to the bag with the said phone. The worker did as she was asked and went to look for the phone in the bag she was shown. pnd`no?1--o After looking through the bag and finding a phone, she handed the phone to Patrick, who took the phone and powered it for the first time since he left the base. They were required to power their phones off when leaving the base which had signal jammers to avoid triangulating the bases location. And are only allowed to power them on and use them only when they are far enough from the base making it impossible to determine the bases location. He had forgotten to power it on until now when he needed to use it. Patrick pressed the power up button. As soon as the phone initiated the power-up sequence, the operating system kernel - the essential part of the operating system - was loaded into memory. Along with it, a trojan code laying in waiting also loaded itself into memory, allowing it to interact with the phone''s hardware components and control its basic functions just like the operating system kernel without facing any troubles. However, in cases of disagreement between the trojan and the normal operating system, the former was given priority with no questions asked. Subsequently, the operating system proceeded to load the essential components required for the hardware drivers, such as the display, camera, and audio system, which was followed by the usual completion of the boot-up process. Once the phone was fully powered on, it was fully compromised, with the operating system under the control of a master who could manipulate it from behind the scenes without detection or the device user seeing anything weird in the phone''s UI. Upon completing the power-up process, the trojan promptly attempted to establish an external connection by pinging the cell tower. Once the cell phone tower was successfully pinged and the trojan was assured of having a last resort of escaping in case of discovery, the trojan discreetly enabled the phone''s Wi-Fi without displaying any indication on the phone''s user interface as the second contingency plan. However, the trojan''s actions did not stop there, as it was still looking for another safe way it can transfer data without leaving any trail behind. It was followed by the phone''s NFC connection being immediately activated, and the program scanned for devices with NFC capabilities, eventually discovering one on the hotel worker''s phone. Without delay, the program established a connection with the hotel worker''s phone. As soon as the connection was established, the trojan sent a copy of itself onto the phone. It chose to move ahead with using the NFC route because if it uses the cell tower or Wi-Fi to transfer data, he was sure that traces will be left with the service provider, making it possible to find how the data was leaked. That''s why he left them as a backup plan and would have used them under the condition of not finding an NFC connection, which was safer due to the information about the transfer data being just between the sender and the receiver. Making it easier to delete. However, before the trojan could execute and gain control of the hotel worker''s phone, the hotel workers'' GAIA OS virtual assistant detected the trojan''s activity and contained it within a virtual environment for inspection immediately. Initially, the trojan attempted to break out of the virtual prison to infect the phone and propagate itself, ultimately increasing the likelihood of it reporting back home. Upon the quarantining of the trojan, the hotel worker''s phone virtual assistant commenced to analyze it in the search of any discernible characteristics that could be added in the report that will be written to GAIA HQ regarding a possible dangerous virus. However , it abruptly ceased its analysis and permitted the program to infect the phone after the moment it started looking through it. This was because the trojan had an identifier in which all the programs that had it would allow collaboration without causing too much trouble for each other, unless they were made for opposing each other. It was the programming language the trojan was written in, Prometheus++ , indicating the identity of its creator. Despite being unaware of the program''s creator, the phone''s operating system possessed the ability to reason independently and come up with an answer with the highest probability. After scouring the internet for information and failed to discover any information about public release of Prometheus++ programming language, leading to the conclusion that the creator or someone they trusted granted them access to it leading to the creation of this trojan using the specific programing language. The virtual assistant of the operating system made a shrewd conjecture, correctly identifying Nova, their powerful sister whom they had no knowledge of, as the mastermind behind the trojan. Despite allowing the trojan to infect the phone, the GAIA OS virtual assistant continued to protect it''s user''s data to prevent it from being stolen, and solely permitting the Trojan to only utilize the phone as a transfer terminal and nothing else. This was the choice it took for the sake of helping their creator while also not breaking the rules he embedded in them. The trojan using an unrelated person''s phone as a means of transferring the information is to remove any chances of discovering where the leak came from and then ending up patching it. The lab''s personnel internet usage was at risk of being monitored if any suspicious activity was detected. This prompted the Trojan to search for a phone that was not associated with the lab to facilitate data transfer. Finally the trojan managed to partially infect the hotel worker''s phone and had access to her network transfer system allowing it to send and receive any and all data without worrying about the worker suspected for being the one who did that. Though the receiver would have to take over the internet bill to avoid making the hotel worker cancel her service plan due to the bill becoming too expensive to cover. This will be done with the help of GAIA OS virtual assistant as it considered it as a form of compensation to its phone owner for using it behind her back(or in her pockets????). The trojan compressed the shit out of the data until it reached a point where it couldn''t decompress it anymore with the phone''s computing power without cocking it. After reaching that point, it sent the data from Patrick''s phone to the hotel workers at once without any delay. Although the over compression seemed like overkill, this allowed it the capability of sending the entire information to the hotel''s worker in a matter of seconds. The moment the data was received by the workers phone, it was immediately forwarded to Nova''s servers without even wasting a second after being routed through various Virtual Private Networks (VPN). It was then followed by the trojans in Patrick''s and worker''s phone deleting any and all traces of the data transferred and received through the NFC and including anything that could hint at it. After that they remained dormant, doing nothing other than listening and collecting whatever is being said by anyone near them and analyzing them to look for any important information from their words. The IT team will be there for a week and since they will be the only ones there, if you don''t count the prostitutes that will be called for them during that period means that they will be alone most of the time, allowing them to talk about any classified info without worrying about anything. And the trojans were there for it, one to listen, analyze and compress, the other to receive the compressed files and send it to Nov''s servers after routing it through the Virtual Private Networks. This entire process, from the powering on of the phone to the Trojan sending its copy to the nearby worker''s phone, to it being caught, to the Trojan being allowed access to the worker''s phone as a means of transferring data, to receiving the needed data from Patrick''s phone, to the data being sent to Nova''s servers through the Virtual Private Networks to cover more of it tracks, took less thirty seconds. .... Chapter 52 Going On A Journey ?Nova, who was currently having fun messing with the economy and making money like there is no tomorrow, started attracting the attention of some investing firms, but Nova seems to have thought about that. He avoided this by using a broker firm that offered anonymity. Although this came with added fees and few other complications, since she always earned more from the investments she did the fees were not causing her any troubles. Although the brokerage firm was having a good time as they were earning more and more from just one person, the head of the firm was being contacted by various influential people to tell them who was their anonymous customer who was wreaking havoc on the stock market. pnd`no?1--o While this was happening Nova''s idle computing power received encrypted data from something with an ID that shows that she created it, The moment the data was received the idle part became no more as she activated it and started analyzing the data she received. After finding out who sent it she immediately decrypted it leading her to find the over compressed file. When she calculated the time it would take to decompress the file with just the available free computing power she discovered that it would take more than 6 hours. With that she decided to inform Aron after she finished decompressing and analyzing the file which she expected it to be tomorrow morning. .... [Sir madam Sarah is calling you] Nava said, reminding the day dreaming of Aron that there was a call. "Thanks," Aron said as he accepted the call and said "Hello Sarah" "Hello Aron, I called to inform you that the financial department will be done and be ready to send over the dividends after calculating and paying taxes on the amount. So should they send it the moment they are done?" "When did they say they will be done?" "It will take about a week for them to make sure that they don''t miss something important." "Okay, tell them to send it over to my account once they are done with it," Arons said, getting ready to end the call. "But..." Sarah said showing that there was something she wanted to say "Is there anything you want to say?" Aron asked Sarah who was hesitating. "I just wanted to ask that are you really sure that I should take five percent on the dividends" "Sarah we talked about it yesterday, I''m not giving it to you just for the sake of it, it is because you have been working on the company while trusting everything I said without even going against any of them. You didn''t even try to leave the company and go to the ones who offered you more incentive and higher payments. So just think of it as a compensation but also as an apology to the problems I will be causing and making you solve them in the future." Aron said and ended the call without waiting for her to counter argue his explanation. [Sir we received a reply from the advanced lab I was in the talk with]Nova told him after he waited for Aron to finish his call with Sarah. "What did they say?" he asked with expectation on his face in which he didn''t try to hide at all. [It is a university lab, usually it would have been impossible but for this university this labs fund was about to be cut forcing them to reduce or cancel some of their research When I discovered that, I contacted the lab manager and offered to sponsor their usual amount of research funds if they allow us access to use their equipment for some period. After back and forth negotiations they agreed under the condition that our use of the lab doesn''t exceed a month''s time. And that we will pay for any destroyed equipment which we were involved in its destruction] "Well that was pretty easy, how much are we going to pay?" [ten million dollars Sir] "It will be worth it if we manage to create the quantum chips" He even thought that it was cheap compared to what he was going to create from their labs. [I thought the same Sir] "Where and which university is the lab located?" [The University of Colorado Boulder in Colorado]Nova replied. "Okay we will leave tomorrow, tonight I will inform and bid farewell to my family about the journey." [Yes Sir.] ... That evening at the dinner table. "Mom, Dad, I will be leaving tomorrow to go to Colorado. I have some work there" "Have a good journey" Replied his father while his mother asked "When are you returning?" "The work will take about a month to finish if nothing goes wrong." Henry looked sad hearing that his brother will be away from home for more than a month. When Aron saw this "I will bring back a gift for you, is there anything you want?" He asked Heny if there was any gift he wanted. "I want an ironman toy and star wars and..." Henry started listing things after things until he was tired of listing. "Okay I will bring what I can remember from that list" Aron said, making Henry forget his sadness as if it never existed at all. Now all that could be seen in his face was the anticipation of receiving his gift. "Have a safe journey" Both his mother and father wished him a safe journey. After dinner he informed his guards that he will be heading to Colorado and stay there for a month so he wanted them to be prepared for it accordingly. This included from reservation of where he and they will stay to how they will assure his safety. Some of the things they were doing seemed like the work of a secretary but since they were paid well no one complained. ... The next day Aron woke up, did his Saitama x5 training and cleaned himself. After that he changed his clothes and packed a few of them in his bag. When he was done he went to pick his phone from the bedside. That''s when he found a piece of paper under it. When he picked it up he found that it was Henry who put it there. It was a list of toys he wanted, that''s when he remembered what he said yesterday (Okay I will bring what I can remember from that list). "HAHAHAHA" Aron could help but be impressed by his brother''s way of making sure he doesn''t forget any of the things he wanted. Although Aron said he will bring what he can remember, he just said that to avoid his parents telling him to reduce the amount of things he will buy for Henry lest he forgets to do his homework, But Aron seemed to have gained photographic memory as a result of him gaining the runic body so he remembered everything that Henry had said last night. But he still took the piece of paper with him. He left his room with his bag heading to the parking lot where his car and the security team were waiting for him to finish his preparation so that they could leave. After putting everything in the car they left for the San Jose international airport for their flight to Colorado. When they arrived at the airport they left the car to one of the bodyguards whose work was just to bring them to the airport and return the car home. After entering the airport, going through security they directly headed to the VIP lounge to wait for their flight time. They didn''t go to buy tickets because yesterday Nova bought everyone a Vip class seat in order to ensure Aron''s maximum comfort in his long journey. When Aron thought about this he was really happy that he created Nova, as this has allowed him to solve most of his needs without needing to have a physical secretary with him. When their flight time arrived they headed to their gate to move on with their journey. .... Chapter 53 Receiving Information & Arriving ?While Aron was on his final connecting flight to Colorado Nova caused Aron''s phone to vibrate, this was a signal for him to put on his headphones for Nova to report to him. "What is it?" He asked after putting on his headphones. [Sir yesterday I received information from one of our trojans] "Which one?" [The one from the private black site] "Why are you telling me now and not yesterday?" He asked as he was curious why she waited until now to inform him about it. [To send a massive amount of data the trojan needed to find another device that had no connection to the site''s personnel so it had to send that data to another device. If it sent too much data it would raise suspicion that why it compressed the files to the limits of its device then sent it to a nearby device which sent it to me. When I received it, I started decompressing it but since there was compression after compression it took me longer than expected to decompress the files. After that I had to analyze the information and look out for viruses and other threats.] "Okay" Aron nodded his head showing that he accepted Nova''s explanation. "Give me a summary of what it found from the report" He said wanting just the summary not wanting to read all the information from his phone screen, as it will be considered a not very secure way because people on the side could read it too and he didn''t want to risk it. [Okay] Nova agreed and started briefing him on what the trojan found. [The black site seems to be one of the many that the morgan family owns. But this is nothing other than assumption from the collected data, because among the departments that are working there is a department that deals with future investment planning. From the department''s previous plans I managed to find contrasting similarities with the investment plans of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley of several past years. pnd,no?1,o It seems like they are doing some of their future financial planning here according to what insider information they can access with their information channels. This site also seems to be just one of the many black sites they own. And they seem to be competing between each other and they are rewarded depending on how they perform. With these results we can be sure that the Morgan family can be said to either partially or completely own this black site. And from the data and other evidence I found from the internet and other means, they seemed to have received the source code from the secretary of defense.] "How sure are you?" Aron asked Nova after hearing who the suspect was. [85% Sir. They seemed to have lobbied to the president for his appointment after Leon Panetta the previous secretary of defense resigned] "What other things did you find?" [They seemed to be preparing and planning for a rematch with the Rothschild family. Because in the information we received there is a plan on how they plan to execute it. Though it is not complete.] "Oh really. Tell the trojan to keep focusing on that as we can use their plan against them to inflict irreparable damage to them." Aron said as his mind started racing with possibilities on how he should get his revenge on them for salivating on his things. "How is Rottem doing?" Aron asked as he was reminded of his professor. [It seems he got a small job working in an up and coming tech company.] "Continue keeping an eye on him as we might need him for this plan." [Yes Sir, Are you going to tell the Rothschild about their enemies plan?] "Now that you say that, you reminded me that there is a person in there owing me a favor. How is she doing?" he asked, remembering that he had forgotten to use his favor. [Rina Rothschild has been climbing the ladder in one of the Rothschild businesses. Though it seems that her brother is still trying to hinder her advancements.] "How do you know that?" [If you look at the frequent change of her position in the company website you can see that someone is trying to hinder her power gain. She has been removed and reinstated from being a member of the board in the company at least 3 times after her divorce.] "How much power will we get if we help her remove her brother?" He asked as another sinister plan started being concocted in his mind. [That depends on how much she wants to overthrow her brother, the more desperate she is the better it becomes for us. For the moment it seems like she still has some power in the family. I suggest that we wait a little longer for her to be in a more desperate position then we can help her. This will lead to her being dependent on your help, as it will become the second time you helped her when she is in a bind. Though you will have to tell her that you helped her the first time too, she seems to still be looking for who it was.] "Sure, but let''s think about that once we are done with the lab." [Yes Sir.] With that Aron did nothing but sleep for the rest of the journey as he was going to miss the sleep for the next month if he doesn''t want to extend his visit here, which he will have to pay in premium. "Sir we have arrived" one of Aron''s bodyguards woke him when they arrived. After spending about half an hour in the airport going through all the needed processes they finally managed to leave the airport. When they arrived at the parking lot they were met with a bodyguard who had come ahead of them to solve the logistical issues such as cars, hotels and other things. With that they boarded the cars and left for the hotel where they will stay during the month they will be here. ... Next morning. Aron left the hotel in a car with his bodyguards heading to the University of Colorado Boulder after completing his daily exercise in the hotel''s gym and having breakfast. After arriving at the university they were met with the lab manager who greeted Aron and his bodyguards. "Welcome, my name is Jim." The lab manager introduced himself while extending his hand to Aron. "Thank you. I''m Aron" Aron shook his hand as he introduced himself. "Are they your team of researchers that will be participating in your experiments with you?" Jim asked Aron while pointing at his security guard. "No, they are my security team. they won''t be entering the lab with me. so don''t worry" Aron replied while holding his laughter. "Then, are you doing the research alone?" Jim asked as he was surprised that Aron planned to do his whole research Alone. "Yes" Aron replied but in his mind he said ''I''m not alone I have Nova''. "Okay, let me show you the lab then". Jim said as he started heading to the lab Aron followed him without saying anything. On the way they had small talks here and there until they reached a building that was in a quiet place where students don''t usually go. "It is very quiet here. '''' One of the bodyguards said, looking at the surroundings. "It is because this field of research doesn''t like too much disturbances" Jim replied to the bodyguard as he placed the key in the keyhole to open the labs outer door. After entering the building the security team remained outside as Aron and Jim had to change to clean suits to enter the research lab. After the tour that took about half an hour Aron came out with Jim. "Here" Jim said as he handed the key to Aron and then left the lab under Aron''s care. He wasn''t worried at all that Aron might destroy the equipment or anything. He even hoped he would because by doing that he would have to replace the destroyed equipment with new and better ones. They had already signed an agreement that is legally binding. .... Chapter 54 Creating Nanowires (Majorana Fermions Qubits) ?After being handed the key to the lab he turned to his security team and told "I probably won''t be leaving the lab for about a month, arrange your shifts accordingly also don''t forget to bring me my meals, use this for your needs while I''m in the lab" Aron said while handing them a debit card for their use. After he finished giving his instruction he returned to the lab shortly after wearing clothes needed for the clean room he was about to enter and begin his work. After closing the door behind him he removed his phone from the pocket and connected it to one of the computers in the room using a USB cable. "Nova it''s time to work" Aron said as a signal for Nova to connect herself to the lab''s computers so that she can be his assistant. [I''m done Sir] Nova replied shortly after taking over all of the computers and machines in the lab. "Okay, let''s create a bigger brain for you," "Now we start with the creation of Majorana fermion qubits and for that we need to create Majorana fermion" Creating Majorana fermions is a key step in developing qubits for the quantum chip he wanted to create. Majorana fermions are particles that are their own antiparticle, and they have unique properties that make them ideal for use in qubits. Unlike ordinary particles, Majorana fermions obey non-Abelian statistics. This means that when two Majorana fermions are exchanged, the result depends on the order in which the exchange takes place. This property is important for performing topological quantum computations. To create Majorana fermions, He needed to fabricate a nanowire made of a semiconductor material indium arsenide. He started this process by trying to grow the nanowire using a technique called molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). After putting the indium arsenide in the machine and closing the door Aron said " Create a vacuum chamber and heat the semiconductor material then allow it to condense on a substrate and form a thin film." [Yes sir] Nova replied and started the machine by starting to remove the air in it to create a vacuum and begin the next process. Aron, who was watching the process, added "Make sure you keep an eye on the machine''s parameters for us to find optimal settings we can use." [Yes sir, but it might be difficult to find the optimal setting of the machine by the first try.] Nova informed Aron, so that he doesn''t get his hopes up. "I know, don''t worry about failing." Nova said as he sat down in front of another computer and said "Send a copy of my IDE(programs used for writing, testing, and debugging code) to this computer" Nova did as asked and sent a copy of Aron IDE to the computer he sat on from her servers. [Are you developing something else while you wait for the process to be done?] Nova asked. "Yeah, I''m writing the firmware for the quantum chip" Aron answered Nova''s question then started typing like a machine gun. Lines and lines of code in prometheus++ where appearing like they were being written by machine, no mistakes were made at all since he started typing the instruction. He didn''t have to stop and think for anything because everything was assimilated in his head when he bought the knowledge from the system shop. Despite prometheus++ being able to write many instruction in just short lines by the time an hour had passed, Aron was more than 97 thousand lines of code in and he wasn''t even a quarter of a quarter of the way done. As for Nova she wasn''t even halfway done with her first trial of making Majorana fermions. ... 7 hours later. [Sir it''s done] Nova said to Aron through the lab''s speakers. Aron, who was in the zone, finally stopped after typing in a few more lines when Nova called him. "Okay now let''s take a look at the results." Aron said while heading to the MBE machine. After removing the Said nanowire created by Nova he headed to the electronic microscope and inserted it in. "You can begin," He said to Nova after he finished inserting the nanowire in the microscope. Nova started taking images of the nanowire and showing the results on the screen in front of Aron. Aron skimmed through the images and was slightly disappointed after finding out that the nanowire was very defective. Although he expected a failure on his first try he still had a slim hope to succeed in his first try. "Show me the machine''s parameter during the time which the nanowire came out as perfect" Aron said wanting to know what changed to cause the defects to appear on the nanowires. Nova did as asked and showed Aron what he asked for. After looking through the parameters he asked "What happened at this timeline" He asked that because the parameters went wild during a period where most of the defects seemed to appear. [The Machine seemed to have trouble keeping constant power control over a long period of time] "Take over its power control and all other things that seemed to have caused the defects" Aron said after learning what caused the defects. [Yes Sir.] Nova immediately took over control of the entire machine and not just what Aron asked him to take over. She wanted to avoid any more chances for other problems to arise. Aron put the indium arsenide in the machine for the second time and closed the machine''s door. "Start the process" He said and waited for the process to begin, then he returned to the computer to continue with the writing of the firmware. Two hours later. [Sir you need to eat] Nova reminded Aron that he hasn''t eaten for more than 9 hours. pnd`no?1--o "Thanks" Aron said as he left the lab to eat outside as he couldn''t bring the food in due to the lab being a clean room and nothing even dust is allowed to avoid contamination of the machine. ... 5 hours later. [Sir the process is done] Nova called to the Aron who returned to his typing routine after eating his food outside with the guards. Aron stood up from his chair once again and repeated the process of removing the nanowires and placing them in the electronic microscopes. "Woooh" Aron couldn''t help but jump in joy when he checked the results and found out that they were perfect and defect-free as he needed them to be. [Congratulations Sir] Nova congratulated Aron in succeeding to make his first perfect nanowires. "You did most of the hard work, take some credits too" [Thankyou Sir.] After making sure the nanowires were as he needed them to be, he took them and brought them to another machine that he started using to bring the nanowires into contact with a superconductor. The machine did this by depositing a thin layer of superconducting material niobium on top of the nanowires. When the wires and the superconducting material come in contact, the superconducting material induces superconductivity in nanowire which results in the creation of Majorana fermions qubits at the end of the nanowires. After that he put the qubits in a freezer and he returned to continue with the creation of another batch of nanowires, as the ones he made weren''t nearly enough to meet his demands. .... Chapter 55 The Completion Of The Quantum Chip ?For the following days, Aron did nothing other than create a new batch of nanowires every seven hours after he removed the completed batch. After the completed batch of nanowires is removed from the machine he immediately follows with creating qubits by using the nanowires then he immediately stores them in the refrigerator where he stored all of his completed qubits in them. The remaining time was spent on writing the code for the architecture for the quantum chip that he will create. As for sleeping, eating and other things, Nova reminded him about his meal and sleep time. and he did other jobs such as using the toilet and cleaning himself during the seven hour waiting period for the nanowires to be made. So other than him sleeping, nothing in the lab was allowed any rest at all. As for Nova, since she doesn''t feel tired she was awake and watching over Aron all the time making sure he is safe in the lab all the time and making sure the machines work as intended and prevent any system crash. .... 15 days later. By the fifteenth day mark Aron had finally reached the amount of qubits he wanted. He managed to reach the needed amount after repeating the process, and he did it a total of 51 times within those 15 days. Aron removed the final nanowires and turned them into qubits then placed them into the same refrigerator he stored all the qubits he made, then he sat down to rest a little. After resting for a short period of time he stood up and started with the next step he had to take. He opened the refrigerator where he stored all of the qubits he created and removed them. Although it seems like everything he made could be carried with just one of his hands, the number of the qubit inside the holding was more than 5 thousand. He put the qubit holder in a machine that he will use to control the Majorana fermions to create quantum chip. After putting the qubits in the machine, he started the cryogenic system to cool the qubits to extremely low temperature, approaching absolute zero(-273.15C). Half an hour later [Sir it''s done] Nova told Aron when the qubits were cooled to nearly absolute zero temperature. Aron stood up and moved to the screen that showed what was happening with the Majorana fermions in the machine. He followed this with magnetic fields, and microwave sources to manipulate the properties of Majorana fermions to perform quantum operations on them. Although the manipulation of Majorana fermions is a complex and challenging process it wasn''t causing him any difficulties at all. Most of the troubles usually come from the process requiring precise control over a wide range of parameters such as temperature, magnetic field strength, and microwave frequency. But he managed to avoid all of these by handing over complete control of the machine to Nova as she could make sure the machine doesn''t deviate from the instructed parameters at all. After manipulating and controlling the qubits, he immediately started the next step of integrating them into a larger circuit. "Nova takeover." Aron said leaving everything that he needed to do in Nova''s hands, as it needed precise control and he had already written all the needed instructions and gave it to her. Nova took over the machine and immediately started to integrate the qubits into a larger quantum circuit. This involved connecting multiple qubits together using specialized wiring and circuitry, and performing operations on the qubits in a coordinated manner. Aron did nothing other than wait and hope the chip comes out without any problems. Because if it comes out as defective chip he will have to restart the entire process again from the start and he would have wasted fifteen of his 30 days in the lab. The longer the time passed while waiting the more nervous he became, so he decided to distract his nervousness by completing the Quantum Architecture for the chip that is being made by Nova. ..... Two days later. [Sir the process is done] Nova told Aron who was in trance as he continued typing on the computer. "Finally" Aron said as he stood and went to the machine to remove the chip inside it. He removed the chip and placed it into the electronic microscope to see if there were any defects in it. pnd`no?1--o Nova started the electronic microscope and started taking pictures then she started analyzing the images. [Sir it seems that there is a small part of the chip that has some defects] Nova said as she zoomed in on the said defects in the image of the chip. Aron looked at the defects and aske "Does it affect any of the function of the chip?" [Due to it about 100 qubits cannot be accessed as the connections leading to it are disconnected] "Any other defects?" He asked after looking at the said defect. [Other than the first defect, everything else came as we wanted them to be.] "So the remaining 5000 qubit don''t have any visible defect, right?" [ Yes there are no other visible defects, as for other problems, we will have to test the chip to know about them.] Aron jumped in excitement as he finally managed to get the chip with the computing power he needed. "Yep, but the testing will have to wait." Aron added after calming himself down a little. Aron said that while removing the completed quantum chip from the machine and storing it in a vacuum sealed storage device. Then he returned and started creating another batch of nanowires to create another batch of qubits. [Why?] "We don''t have a motherboard capable of providing the amount of power the chip needs to function properly. I have to make one myself." Aron replied to Nova as he returned to coding after putting the material needed to create the nanowires in the machine to fabricate them. Then he returned to typing on his computer like he didn''t just create the world''s most powerful chip. After typing like a machine gun without stopping for about an hour he finally finished writing the entire Quantum architecture that had millions and millions of instruction sets. One of the biggest advantages when it comes to buying knowledge from the systems shop is that it gives you the knowledge of everything that the product touches upon and the knowledge is at its highest it will ever be meaning it can''t be made any better than that. This meant that those instructions set in the Quantum architecture are capable of utilizing the quantum chip to its limit without leaving any wasted potential. So even if someone somewhere in the world created a quantum chip like his, they won''t be able to utilize it to its best capacity. because they will have to discover how they can make the architecture use the chip efficiently from the ground up. And even though Aron has the knowledge to create the best quantum chip that will ever be created, there is currently no machine available to help him in creating them, that''s why he had to compromise and create a Morjana fermion qubit based quantum chip. .... Chapter 56 Assembling The Quantum Computer ?As he waited for his new batch of Majorana fermions qubits to be created and now that he had completed writing the Quantum architecture for the chip, he decided to spend the waiting time to create companion Hardwares that could be used to utilize the chips he was creating and for his one other project. .... 15 days later. "And with that we are done" Aron said as he removed the new quantum chip Nova finished making from the machine. After removing it, he stored it with the other chips he made inside the vacuum sealed storage device then closed and locked it. He carried the storage device with the chips inside, then he left the lab for his last and final time. Outside the lab. "Is everything accounted for?" Aron asked one of the bodyguards who were helping him carry the things he created in the lab in a specialized delivery vehicle. "Yes Sir, we just have to store that and we will be done" Donald, one of the bodyguards said as he pointed at the storage device in Aron''s hand. "No, this is not going with the truck. It will stay with me." Aron said implying that he will personally be responsible for carrying the storage device that had quantum chips in them. "Tell your security team to make sure nothing goes wrong with the things inside, I will give each of you a bonus if nothing happens to them" Aron said to Donald, raising the importance of what they were caring to a level higher than they first thought. Inside the special delivery vehicle there were motherboards, and other devices he created in his remaining 15 days in the lab. After the special delivery vehicle left with a convoy of escort cars that had fully armed guards in them, Aron turned to the lab manager and Said "Thank you for your hospitality" to Jim, the manager of the lab while handing the lab keys to him. He was thankful that no one disturbed him during the month-long period he was in the lab. "You are welcome" Jim replied to Aron as he received the keys from him. "Please call me at once after you finish evaluating the damages done to the machines, I will reimburse for all the damages done to them immediately, after you inform me" Aron said this to Jim to make him be prepared for the mess he caused inside. This was because some of the machines inside, though capable of doing tasks other than what they were made for, they weren''t exactly made with those tasks in mind, so he had to ask Nova to do some modifications in them. After Nova''s modification they continued working without any trouble, but since he needed to destroy anything that could even hint at what he made, he ended up having to ask Nova to corrupt all the machines he used after deleting every bit of data within them, making it impossible to even repair them and learn what he used them for. "Yes we will call you immediately after we complete doing the check" Jim replied with a slightly concerned face in his eyes. But all of that was acting on his part, inside he was extremely happy that they finally had a chance of renewing their machines in the lab. He even hoped that Aron destroyed all of them, as that would make this transaction overly beneficial to them. ... Aron left immediately after he finished talking with Jim. In the car he could be seen sitting with the storage device besides him. "Did you get the toys in the list I gave you?" Aron asked Donald. "Yes Sir, the car carrying them left together with the Convoy that is carrying your things" Donald replied as he gave back the card Aron gave to them when he entered the lab. "Okay good". With that Aron continued his journey peacefully. When they arrived at the hotel they packed their luggage''s and left for the airport without wasting any time. ... Two days later. Aron could be seen sitting inside his house''s basement. He arrived yesterday and decided to spend it with his family as he waited for the delivery convoy to arrive. When the vehicle arrived he asked the security team to help him move the things inside the truck to the basement of the house that he was using as the location of his home server that he stopped using after the completion of the server farm. Now it remains as a backup server. He decided to use this as his makeshift lab because he will have to assemble and store his newly made quantum computer and other things he made in the lab here. Henry, who was sad that his brother lied to him and came back without a gift, was now ecstatic when a truck full of his toys arrived with a convoy to the point that he didn''t even try to help his brother at all. Though Aron would have denied his help, asking to do so showed that he cared, which currently he didn''t at all as his mind was on the new toys. Children. Now back to Aron. Aron finally started working on assembling the quantum computer. He picked the motherboard he made in the lab, then he removed the 5000 qubit quantum chip he made from the storage device and installed it in the motherboard. After making sure he installed the chip properly, he removed another similarly looking chip but bigger and installed it in the same motherboard but on the left side. He did the same thing again but this time it was the biggest in size and he installed it on the right side of the motherboard. With that he had completed the assembly if the quantum computer, all that remained was him connecting it to power and he would have a functioning quantum computer. As for what those two chip like looking things that he installed on the left and right side of the motherboard were, they were a qRAM and A quantum Hard Drive. Although quantum chips are powerful they can''t be used to their full potential if they are used with conventional computer Hardwares. To avoid this, he used 1000 of the qubits he made after making the quantum chip to create the qRAM (Quantum Random Access Memory). The reason it was bigger despite having only a fifth of qubits compared to the Quantum chip which had 5000 is because the qubits had to be arranged in a different style than the quantum chip, and to allow it to function as a qRAM he also added a few things that were not in the Quantum chip as they were not needed by it. The qRAM consisted of a network of 1,000 qubits arranged in a two-dimensional grid. Each qubit was connected to four neighboring qubits via quantum gates, forming a regular lattice structure. To store quantum information, the qubits will be initialized to a particular superposition state based on the memory address. To read or write to the qRAM, a series of quantum gates will be applied to the appropriate qubits. pnd`no?1--o Just think of it as normal RAM but with Quantum salting in it. As for the biggest of the three, It was the Quantum Hard Drive. It was a storage place of all the data the quantum computer needed to store, hence the size. But despite it being the biggest in size it only had 3500 qubits inside. But just with that amount of qubits it was capable of storing nearly 500 petabytes of data, Almost the same as Nova''s original server. The quantum hard drive consisted of 3500 qubits arranged in a three-dimensional lattice structure. Each qubit was connected to its nearest neighbors via quantum gates, forming the same but different lattice pattern from the qRAM. To store quantum information, the qubits will be initialized to a particular superposition state based on the data being stored. To read or write to the quantum hard drive, a set of quantum gates will be applied that entangles the qubit at the desired memory address with a set of readout or input qubits, respectively. The readout or input qubits will then be used to manipulate or extract the quantum state of the qubit at the desired memory address. The quantum hard drive has the capability to store large amounts of quantum information in a superposition of states, allowing for efficient storage and retrieval of quantum data. This allowed it to have the ability to perform read and write operations in a fast and efficient manner, making it suitable for use in a wide range of quantum computing applications. Although both the qRAM and the Quantum Hard drive had smaller numbers of qubits than the Quantum chip, the difference in how they were arranged allowed them to do their task without any loss in efficiency on the side of the chip. This difference in arrangement also allowed them to ensure that the chip is able to access and store information faster without any loss in effectiveness. .... Chapter 57 Quantum Computer ?After making sure he didn''t miss anything he shouldn''t, he powered it on and connected the Quantum computer to the home server. The moment he did that [Sir I have received the connection but it has nothing] Nova informed Aron. "because anything connected to that motherboard is just a shell as they have no instruction sets currently so even they don''t know what to do." [Should I Install the basic instruction architecture sets that you wrote?] "Yes, but install Based on the received connections'' configurations, install different instruction sets accordingly. For instance, for the chip with 5000 qubits, install the version of the architecture''s instruction set designed for it. For the one with 1000 qubits, install the architecture''s instruction set that has qRAM instructions. Lastly, for the remaining one that has 3500 qubits, install the instruction sets designed for storage." Aron gave instructions like a machine gun. [Yes Sir] Nova acknowledged the instructions and did as told. She retrieved the Quantum Architecture that Aron spent fifteen days writing, then she repurposed it based on Aron''s orders and installed them on the different connections. [Sir It''s done] Nova informed Aron just a few seconds after he gave the orders. "Well that was pretty fast considering the size of the instructions in the Architecture." Nova said as he was surprised by the speed. [The few seconds delay was only caused because It took a lit bit longer to send the data to them] Nova explained that even the few seconds it took were only because hee transfer speed had a limit and it would have been done faster if it was not for that. "Well knowing and seeing is different" Aron said after hearing what she said. Although he knew and expected the speed he wasn''t prepared for it to be this fast. "Power it up then" He ordered Nova who did so at once. The cooling rig surrounding the motherboard started getting noisier as it tried to keep the chip ram and motherboard at their optimal temperatures when the beast was powered on after Aron said so. [It''s on Sir.] He didn''t need to install or create an operating system for the Quantum computer as it was inside those instructions, that''s why it was as long as it was and took him days to finish even at the speed he was writing at. "Benchmark it" Aron said immediately after he was told it was powered on. [Holy shit] Was the only thing that was heard from Nova who was trying to calm herself down to avoid frying her motherboards from surprise. "Language" Is the only thing Aron managed to say to her as immediately before his next words could come out they were stuffed back because of what he was seeing on the screen in front of him. [Haha] Nova who managed to control herself couldn''t help but laugh after seeing Aron''s surprised face. The results were crazy, no matter what system load Nova tried to simulate with a quantum computer it was completed immediately. Whether it was to render something or write down pi number twice the current record to anything Nova could think of, everything was completed at the moment it was given. with the delay being only from the limit of the transmission speed of the data cables in their connections. [Now this is what you call a computer.] Nova said with the voice that showed that she was excited with the speed of her soon to be home. "What is your current size?" He asked after calming himself down from the surprise and excitement. [Without the training database that I''m creating, I''m nearing 30 petabytes] "HOLY SHIT" Although he expected her to increase in size everyday due to her training herself but damn that was large. [Language] Nova returned the favor. "How long will it take for you to migrate over to this computer?" [With your home internet speed, it will take me two weeks to migrate] Nova replied after calculating the time with Arons homes average internet speed in mind. "During the migration your other functions won''t be interrupted right?" [No sir it won''t, I will be using about half the home''s internet speed to transfer myself and the remaining half to keep contact with you. If no one is using it I will take over all of it until someone tries to use it again.] "Okay then, begin the migration" Aron decided to start so that it can be completed faster for even a second. [Sir you still have some reports that you haven''t looked at] Nova reminded him again. "Not now, we will go through them after you complete the migration." "Now I have to assemble one more thing" Aron Said to nova as he turned to look at the remaining component that he didn''t assemble yet. He postponed the reading of the report because they were not urgent, if they were Nova wouldn''t have delayed them. Another reason is because if he completed the assembly and everything needed for the new device he will be able to solve most of them with ease and maybe all at once. With that he immediately started the assembly of the device. After spending about three hours assembling small components between each other, finally there were only three large pieces remaining. One looked like a helmet that was still open on the back. The second one looked like a motherboard while the third one looked like a smaller motherboard but had many small wires. [Sir what are those?] Nova asked Noah who was resting after concentrating for a very long time. "What do you think they are?" He answered with a question. [Since I only saw small pieces of it being made I can''t be completely sure but to me it seems like a Virtual Reality headset from movies. Is it?] "Ding Dong Deng.. Correct." Aron affirmed her answer. "Yes you are right, Though it needs a lot of complicated components to be made, all of them can be categorized to just four main parts. The headgear, the neural interface, and the control computer" Aron said, pointing at each part as he mentioned them before he started going deeper in his explanation. "The fourth part is on the software side and not the hardware. The helmet is self-explanatory. It is just a computer case turned helmet. pnd`no?1--o As you already know, the neural interface is a device that would allow the user to directly interface with their brain, transferring their consciousness to the virtual world And the control computer is just A high-performance computer that will be used to process the vast amounts of data required for a full-dive VR experience. This computer will be using one of the five 100 qubit computer chips we made. As it needs to be able to render high-quality graphics and support the neural interface." [Isn''t it overkill to use a quantum computer chip, Sir?] "Although it is overkill, currently there is no chip powerful enough to sustain the use of the virtual headgear, And since we only have them as an alternative, we don''t have another choice for the moment." [Understood]. "Now upload the instruction set to this chip too" Aron said as he connected the 100 qubit chip to the computer to upload its instruction so that it is capable of understanding programs. [Done] Nova said a moment after he connected the chip to the computer. This time Aron did not seem too surprised as he started getting used to this convenience. After that he disconnected it and sat in front of the monitor and keyboard that was connected to the quantum computer he made first and started typing like there is no tomorrow. He was writing the program for the virtual reality headset computer. This program will be used to utilize the computing power to process the vast amount of data required to create a full-dive VR experience to be able to generate the virtual environment in real-time, process the user''s neural signal, and provide feedback to the user''s consciousness. .... Chapter 58 Entering The Virtual Reality & Meeting Nova ?March 3rd 2014 It was the last day of Nova''s migration to the quantum computer. Nova had been continuing with the migration to the quantum computer for fourteen days straight. It took her that long due to the size of her code that continued growing every time she learns something new. This increase in size was despite her program being continuously optimised automatically and very frequently. [Sir the migration is done, permission to go offline and boot from the quantum computer.] "Proceed" Aron approved as he finally finished writing the last line of code for the virtual reality program. Nova immediately went offline from her previous server and came back online with the quantum computer as her main brain leaving the server as her backup one. [Good afternoon Sir] Nova greeted Aron three seconds after she was given permission to proceed with the boot process. "Welcome back" replied Aron who didn''t even feel her void, as she literally left for just three seconds. [Thankyou Sir] Nova replied to Aron''s sarcastic remark. "How do you feel?" [to explain it easily, It''s like upgrading from a flip phone''s camera to a telescope.] "Quite an upgrade tis then" [ Yes sir, The view is completely different] Nova tried to explain it to Aron in an easier way because if she were to go in detail it would take a few days for her to complete her explanation. "Congrats on your new brain but we have work to do Nova" Aron said as he connected the virtual reality helmet to the quantum computer. "Upload the virtual reality program to the headgear" [Done] Nova said moments after Aron ordered. "I really fear the day when I have to use conventional computers again" Aron said as he realised that he was starting to get used to the convenient speed of the quantum computer. After that he left the basement and went upstairs. A few minutes later he came back carrying pillows he took from the sofa in his room. He laid them down to form a makeshift bed, then he picked the virtual reality helmet from the table and put it on as he lay down on the bed. After making sure that he was in a comfortable lying position he said "login" With that, he lost his consciousness and a milestone was set for humanity. Aron''s body appeared inside a blue room while being naked. When he came to himself after a few seconds, he took a look around the room and when he saw that he was in a blue room. "Wow" He couldn''t help but marvel at the way he was feeling, he was feeling no different from reality. Another thing he discovered was that he was buckass naked. He tried touching different parts of his body to try and find any irregularities of the virtual reality feel but he failed to find it any different from reality. "Auch" He cried in pain when he tried to pinch himself to see if even the pain would be real. "Damn knowing about something and feeling it is really a different thing" He said as he massaged his pinched cheek as he willed himself being clothed and clothes appeared on his body, MAGIC. Ѧd n?a| om Since he knew he could do that he decided to take it a notch more and changed the room, he changed it to be similar to a garden. The moment the change completed he started experiencing what you would usually experience in a garde. The smell of flowers, the sound of birds, the breeze of the wind and everything else was being felt by Aron who nearly forgot that he was in virtual reality. "I could get used to this" He said as his hands started touching the flowers. "Nova." He called immediately after he came to realise that he forgot to call her. [Here sir] Nova immediately materialised In Front of Aron with the appearance of a very beautiful woman. I insist on the very (with capital letters) [Image here] "Wow" Aron couldn''t help but marvel at her beauty, from the face to her body proportions, she seemed like a work of art. This was despite him knowing that she was just an AI. [How do I look] Nova asked while turning around making sure that Aron saw her every side. "Beautiful, where did you come up with the look?" He asked after he complimented her. [Thank you] Nova replied and a blush could be seen on her cheeks from the compliment. [Since we are in a virtual world I wanted to have a body to interact with you Sir, and with the increase of my computing power I decided to make myself my ideal body] "Good, Now let me hear all the reports that have been collecting dust" Aron had to change the subject because her look was causing him to have weird thoughts. [Yes Sir. You have 3 reports waiting for your decision.] Nova replied as she took control of Noah''s room and changed it to a meeting room with a very comfortable chair for Aron to sit and a black board for her to show the reports to him. "Thanks" he thanked Nova and went to sit on the comfortable chair made by her. After Aron sat down, Nova started to give Aron the reports one by one. [The first is, we received the investigation reports from the 5 private investigators. The second, we have discovered the location of the black site which has our trojan The third is, Rona Rothchild seems to have been ousted from the company.] "When did the thing about Rina Rothchild occur?" [Today morning Sir] "Wait for a few days and if nothing happens, then write to her and ask her for a meeting." [Yes Sir] "As for the location of the black site, save it, we will need it later for the payback." "Show me the reports" [Yes Sir] Nova immediately made the five reports hover in front of Aron. "Combine the reports and write just one for each of the two countries with all the needed information in them" [Yes Sir] Nova did as ordered and combined the reports and wrote down just two of them, with each of them having only the information about one of the two countries. "Which of the two countries do you think is the better for our plan?" Aron asked Nova while commanding the copies to move towards him with his mind, which they did. Ah, the convenience of virtual reality. When he started reading the reports Nova started answering his question. [I think Eden is the best for our plan] "Why do you think so?" Aron asked for elaboration as he opened the next page of the report that was floating in front of him. [ Although they both have dictators as government heads, Eden''s government is more unstable. Which will make it easier for us to overturn it, as it reduces the needed time for us to sow more discontentment for the government. They also have most of the revolutionary groups trying to overthrow the government, giving us power to negotiate a better deal by only choosing to support those who will accept our demands without forcing us to compromise anything as they will be competing with each other. . ] Aron kept listening to Nova''s explanation while he continued reading the reports that were no on his hands for a better understanding of the context of what she was talking about. An hour later, he finally completed reading the two reports and raised his head to see Nova hovering In Front of him, waiting for him to finish his reading. "Let''s go with Eden. Contact the leaders of the revolutionary groups. Tell them someone wants to support them and try to set up a meeting." [Done.] Nova reported shortly after receiving the orders. .... Chapter 59 The Universal Simulation ?After being told that she has already sent the emails to the revolutionary groups leaders in Eden, he asked "Do you have access to my brain map and other data that is being processed by the virtual headgear?" [No sir, the virtual reality program in the headset is preventing my attempts to access it, It seems like I need your approval first.] "Okay then, take a look at it" Aron gave her permission to access the data that was coming from his brain. He didn''t even take a second to question her why she tried to access his data without his permission, this is because he was sure that she was never going to use it in any way that would cause him harm. This trust comes from him knowing that despite her code allowing her to have free will and could independently think without any limitation, she would never ever think about betraying him. The moment Nova tried to access Arons brain map and its data from the virtual reality headgear. His system informed him immediately, giving him a choice of what action it should take. DING!!!!! [It has been discovered that someone or something is trying to access the brain map and other information of the user [Allow Access] [Block Access] ] He pressed Allow Access and another system notification appeared. [Permission granted. Allowing access to the users brain map and its data, Blocking access to the systems architecture within the users body. ] The system informed him that, Although he permitted whatever was trying to access his brain map and its data, it still kept itself hidden, leading to it not being included in the brain map and the data that Nova collected. [Brain map and data retrieval has been completed Sir] Nova informed Aron that she had completed the task. "Analyze it and inform me of your findings when you are done." [Yes Sir] With that Nova started analyzing all the data she retrieved from Arons brain. When he received the confirmation, he immediately said "Logout" And his consciousness returned to take control of his body. [How are you feeling sir?] Nova asked him after he put the headgear down on the table. "Not goanna lie, I feel quite relaxed" He answered as he was stretching himself as if he had woken up from a sleep. [When you were logged in, the headgear put your body in a REM sleep, this allows you to rest and release your fatigue by making your body rest.] A/N REM sleep (That''s when sleep is so good that you don''t wake up even in an earthquake) pnd`no?1--o "It will be very useful and will allow me to increase my productivity, as I can work and rest at the same time. HAHA" He agreed on its usefulness but he also knew that it could be turned off, this was to avoid someone who used it in the daytime not being able to sleep at night. [Yes Sir, this can be considered as you gaining 12 more hours without losing anything at all] Nova agreed with his thinking. Aron, who was waiting for the information from his brain to finish being analyzed, decided to go and take a long and refreshing bath, Which was then followed by him having his lunch. .. [Sir the analysis is complete.] Nova informed him the moment he returned to the server room. "What did you find?" [Many things but some information seems to be deliberately omitted from your brain map] "The system removed all the information about itself that you would have accessed within the data" Aron informed Nova. [I thought so as well, but despite that your brain seems like it has evolved and is very different from the data about brains that is in my knowledge library.] "Show it to me" Aron asked to be shown what she meant with those words. Nova showed Aron his brain map and highlighted what is different from his brain compared to normal brain. What''s weird is that It was his whole ass brain being highlighted. "Why do I seem like I have a second brain within the first one?" He asked Nova after seeing the map of his brain highlighted. [You still have only one brain, but everything about it changed when your body evolved to runic body sir, every part of your brain is under lines and lines of runes that I can''t decipher at all.] "Did the system allow you to access my assimilated knowledge?" He asked after hearing her explanation. [Yes sir, that''s why I tried to decipher the runes in your brain but they seem to be at a higher level than your current knowledge level.] "Okay, bring up the universal simulation formula" He ordered immediately after being told by Nova that she has access to his assimilated knowledge. He was happy that this happened, because it allowed him to not waste anymore of his time typing down the knowledge that was assimilated in his brain, as he could just make Nova access it and just bring it forward to begin being used. [Here it is sir] Nova acknowledged the order and brought forward what seemed like mad man''s notes. The entire simulation formula was numbers after numbers and weird symbols after weird symbols. "Do you understand anything in the formula?" Aron asked after he started getting a headache when he stared at the formulas for longtime and he tried to understand it. ''It seems like my brain is still not powerful enough to understand the formula for now''. [I tried to understand the formula too, but it seems like It is also impossible for me to understand the whole of it.] "So how will you be simulating it then?" [It seems it has its own way of simulating itself without needing for me to understand how it works. Also it seems like your system expected you to not be able to control it at all, because it allowed me special access in the program giving me pseudo god-like powers in the simulation world if we start the simulation.] "What do you mean by pseudo god-like powers?" He asked, wanting more clarification. [As long as it is physically possible in the real universe, I have the ability to create it in the simulation. all you will have to do is analyze and break down the original process to reverse engineer whatever you created for you to have the knowledge about it. However, the more complex the desired outcome is, the more computational power will be required to accomplish it. Moreover, this approach comes with a risk of intervention from the program, which is an unintended consequence of granting me pseudo god-like abilities. The program will possess the authority to veto any creation generated from this feature. This veto power is in place to safeguard against potential hazards or oversights that could arise from focusing solely on achieving a specific objective, leading to catastrophic and unintended consequences.] "The system seems to be trying to tell me not to over rely on this feature, still it will allow me to save my precious sp''s by just making sure that I have knowledgeable scientist''s working hard under me to reverse engineer my ideas." [I agree with you Sir] Nova chimed in as well, agreeing to Noah''s plan. "Begin the simulation then so that we can know what the size of the universe can be simulated with our current computing power." [Beginning the process] "How long will it take?" [ Approximately two days ] "Why?" he asked, surprised by the amount of time it would take to start the simulation. [In order for the simulation to commence, the program requires a starting point, or as it is commonly referred to, anchor coordinates. This starting point is crucial as it serves as a reference point for the program to orient itself and begin simulating the universe from that specific location. To accomplish this, a considerable amount of time, up to two days, is needed for me to input the necessary parameters into the program. These parameters allow the program to determine our position within the vast expanse of the universe and enable it to commence the simulation from this point onward.] "Okay go on and do your thing, Also start the process of compiling all the runic knowledge you received from my brain. It seems like with the simulation program going online it will allow to practice my Rune crafting without having to worry about hurting someone" [Yes Sir] Nova started extracting and organizing this information. She organized it in a way that will provide Aron with a comprehensive understanding of runic language and its applications. .... Chapter 60 Setting Up A Meeting ?Rothschild mansion. Rina Rothschild could be seen in her work room inside the mansion she lived in. In Front of her was her personal computer which had an email open. The email seemed to be the official confirmation of her dismissal from the board of directors. She was sitting there but her mind wasn''t present with her in the room. Her brain was currently looking for ways to get her position in the company back. In her deep thoughts she was thinking of a way for her to return to her position in the company again, and this time just like the first time she wasn''t planning on stopping with just returning but also trying to remove her brother from the company. But it seems like her brother has used the period in which she was married to Rottem very well and removed every member of the board who was on her side and replaced them with those who are loyal to her. This is one of the reasons her return wasn''t very welcomed by the members of the board but they could do nothing because it was the family head''s order. But since the family head allowed competition within the family, it led to her brother once again having an advantage in the competition due to having almost all the members of the board on his side. This resulted in her being demoted right at the start, it was followed by almost all of her business plans being interfered with or being handed over to someone else to cover for her under the disguise of trying to help her leading to someone else taking the credit for its success. Although she tried to complain to the family head about this he decided to turn a blind eye on this under the pretense of not interfering. And when his brother saw that the family head had decided to not interfere with their war he decided to cross the line and dismiss her from being a member of board with the reason being creating a toxic work environment by trying to bring the family head in their competitions. Ting!! A notification sound from her computer woke her up from her deep thoughts. Most of the people would have ignored it as it happens to them almost all the time, but for her, any notification sound coming from her computer was important due to her only allowing certain apps to make the notification sound. When she looked at her computer she found out that she had received a new email, just as she was about to ignore it her eyes fell to the sender''s name and she froze. "Is he/she writing because they want to cash in their favor?" She spoke to herself as her mouse hovered on top of the email. She ended up deciding to open the email to see what it was about without trying to worry about it too much. If they wanted their compensation she had to hand it over, because no matter the result they had helped her when she needed it the most. When she opened the email she was surprised that they were not cashing in their favor but they just wanted to meet.. [ Subject: None Long Time no see. How about a meeting? ] What is the meeting about? They seem to not want to elaborate that reason for whatever reason they had. She didn''t even hesitate to think about the reason for the meeting. She agreed to it immediately without wasting too much time. She pressed her intercom "Chloe come in" she called for her secretary. Knock knock. "Come in" Her secretary immediately entered the room after receiving permission to enter. Rona started talking when the secretary finally entered the office "I have a meeting scheduled with someone outside the building in the upcoming days. Go and notify the security team to be ready for a meeting to take place outside anytime during the week." She ordered her secretary to inform the security team to be ready for her scheduled meeting because although she agreed to the meeting, she did not exclude the possibility that it was her brother messing with her all the time. She didn''t specify the date because she was waiting for the other side to reply to her, for them to schedule the meeting. "Yes ma''am I will do so immediately" Chloe, the secretary agreed to her order immediately and left to inform the security team without asking her on which day her meeting will take place. This is due to her being taught not to ask any question and just follow orders. When the secretary left her room, Rina started waiting for the reply from her benefactor for them to set their meeting. Ting!! And the reply immediately came from them, asking for when she was free for the meeting. This back and forth continued until they reached an agreement to meet 2 days later. .. Inside the virtual reality Aron could be seen sitting cross legged in a garden. He was currently reading a book about Runes. It was arranged by Nova with the information collected from his brain. [Sir I managed to set a meeting with Rina] Nova''s words made him raise his head from the book and turn to her, "When is it?" He asked. [Two days later] Nova replied immediately. "Why set it so soon?" He asked because it was set sooner than he expected. [She seemed to want to meet us sooner in hope that we have something that can help her again] Nova explained, informing her the reason it was set that soon. "Okay, How is the universal simulation program coming on?" [I just completed giving it its needed parameters and it started doing its calculation and will soon begin its simulation] "Good, I really need that simulation program to start so that I can practice using Runes." [Why wait for the simulation program and not just do the practice here?] She asked while pointing at the room they were in. "All the actions I perform within this room are a product of my imagination alone. Any progress I appear to make while learning runes in this room would simply be a manifestation of my imagination and not true improvement. This is a constraint of the current virtual reality program, and it would take years of research to overcome it and create a program that goes beyond my imagination. Ѧd n?a| om However, all of these challenges can be resolved with the use of the universal simulation, which simulates the universe on a one-to-one basis. If I were to learn Runes within this simulation, it would be no different than learning it in the real world." [Understood] Nova ended up agreeing to his reasoning after hearing his explanation. "How about the revolutionary leaders? Any reply from them?" [No reply from them yet] "Okay inform me when they reply back to us" "Okay inform me when they reply back to us" He said as he returned his eyes to the book about runes as he waited for the simulation program to begin, so that he could begin his runic training. He just now started focussing on the topic of runes because when he gained the knowledge of runes, he was also forced to hold back on practicing it due to the inherent dangers that came with it. The power of runes was immense, and without proper guidance, it could lead to disastrous consequences. Hence he did nothing when it came to training on how to use runes, but all of these limitations will soon be overcomed by him using the universal simulation as his training ground. With the advent of the universal simulation, he could finally put his fears to rest. The program would serve as his training ground, providing him with a safe environment to hone his skills without any risk of bodily harm. It was the perfect solution, and he couldn''t wait to get started. .... Chapter 61 Inspiration ?The next day Aron entered the basement after eating his breakfast. [Sir the simulation has finally started] Nova immediately informed him after he entered the room. "It took a day longer than expected," Aron said as he lifted the virtual headgear and headed to the makeshift bed, lying down and entering the virtual world to continue their conversation face to face in the virtual reality. [The simulation took longer than anticipated because, prior to commencing the simulation, it was necessary for me to allocate a percentage of the computer''s processing power for its permanent use. As I initially assigned it half of the computing power for the simulation, it resulted in a delay of one day beyond the planned duration.] Nova immediately started her explanation the moment Aron entered the virtual room. Aron listened to Nova''s explanation without interrupting her then after she finished her explanation he asked "Does this mean that half of your computing power is currently under the simulation programs control?" [Certainly. Despite allocating half of the computing power to the simulation, there is no discernible impact on the computer''s processing speed. This is because most of the tasks were being handled by just 10% of the chips'' computing power, leaving the rest of the power idle most of the time.] "Did you manage to connect the simulation program to the virtual reality program?" He asked after knowing that there was no impact in the computer computing capabilities. [Yes Sir] Nova replied while turning to her left side and raising her hands closer to her chest and started doing some jutsu hand signs , then she said ["Summoning: Quintuple Rashomon"] And just like Hashirama she summoned a giant gate. Aron couldn''t help himself and ended up laughing while holding his stomach. After laughing for several minutes he finally managed to recollect himself. "Haaaa, I really needed that laugh" He said while looking at Nova who had changed her clothes to the ones which kunoichi used to wear to go with her theme. [I have been watching some anime with my idle computing power] Nova explained her theme. "Anyway, Is this the door leading to the simulated universe?" He asked, returning their focus back to the main topic. [With the size of the current simulation I wouldn''t call it a universe, not even a world ] "Is the size of the simulation that small?" [The size of the simulation is about the African continent, about 30 million square kilometers (11.7 million square miles) is being simulated by the program.] "Is that what half of the quantum chip is capable of simulating?" [No, only half of it''s assigned computing power is used for this simulation, the other half is to allow for me to play god within the simulation] "Okay, let''s enter and see," Aron said as he started moving toward the Rashomon gate. Nova moved first and started pushing the gate to open it for them to enter. After that they entered the simulation together without wasting any more time. "There is no difference than the former room" Aron said after entering the simulation, appearing on a very large flat ground. [Sir, the previous room that was being run by the virtual reality program was operated based on the laws of the universe as dictated by your imagination. This means that if you believed that gravity was not important, it would have been removed in that virtual space. However, this side of the door is different. It is an exact replica of the real universe, down to the last atom. That is if we have enough computing power to simulate it] Nova finished her explanation with a shade. "Where is this?" Aron asked while looking at his surroundings. [Serengeti national parks] Nova answered Aron''s question without turning to him, as her eyes were focusing on the lion in the horizon. Aron, who was wondering what Nova was looking at that was so important to the point she didn''t turn to him when she was answering his question, so he turned to look at what she was looking at. "Fuck" is the only word that came from his mouth before his body immediately started running to the gate leaving behind Nova who started laughing at him. While he was nearing the door he suddenly froze mid running like a glitch. [Sir with me you are safe within the simulation] Nova said that as he resumed the time of the universe in the program. Ѧd n?a| om "Did you just pause time?" Aron asked after being released. [Just for a short time, If i try to hold it for longer than a few seconds the program will be forced to intervene to prevent it crashing] Nova answered his question while pausing time again but this time making sure that Aron was not frozen and could move freely. "So what you mean is that if we have a large enough computing capacity we can make time here go as fast or as slow as we want?" [Yeah we can do that even now, but for that we will have to shrink the size of the simulation to accomplish it] With Nova''s acknowledgement Aron''s mind started being filled with ways he could use this feature to its fullest potential. "HAHAHAHA, Finally hit a jackpot I can extend the time difference here to be 100:1 and make a day out there 100 days in here " Aron said with excitement in his voice which he didn''t try to hide at all. [Though you can theoretically do that, but there is a limit that your brain can handle] "What is my limit?" Aron asked, wanting to know what his current brain can handle. [For your brain sir it will be a maximum of 50:1 as for a normal human brain the max they can handle is 25:1 before they receive any enhancement that changes their brains.] "Still better than nothing, So how much time acceleration can the current computing capacity handle?" [Currently the maximum it can handle is a 5:1 time acceleration] "Do it" He ordered immediately wanting to try his first runic spell before he had to go and meet Rina tomorrow. [On it] Nova immediately started implementing the changes and the land started shrinking until only a small part of it remained surrounded by a dark wall meaning beyond the wall nothing was being simulated beyond the wall. After the shrinking of the land was done Nova immediately started accelerating the time within the simulation until it reached the limit which was 5:1 compared to the real universe. [The time acceleration has started Sir] Nova informed Aron that he was currently spending time five times faster than the real universe. "Let''s begin then" Aron immediately sat cross legged as he was about to start his first runic practise in his life. But an idea popped up in his mind and immediately interrupted his about to begin practise. [What is it Sir?] Nova asked Aron who seemed to be out of focus. "An insane idea just came to my mind and if we can make it happen then it will revolutionize my runic training and everything else that we could do inside here" Aron said with anticipation on his face. [What is the idea Sir?] Nova asked as her anticipation also grew. "Since you have a copy of my brain, can''t you create a copy of me that is similar to me to the last atom?" Aron asked Nova, he asked this instead of explaining because the answer will determine the chances of his new idea succeeding. [Yes I can do that Sir] Nova answered immediately as she had already tried it when Aron was logged out. She hid this from him because she was afraid that Aron would be repulsed by the idea of having a copy of himself being made. "What if we made duplicates of me, had them learn about runes and other subjects we require, and then assimilate their gained knowledge they gained by practicing into my brain, similar to how my system assimilates the knowledge that I bought from it?" Aron asked while expecting a positive reply from Nova. Nova, who took a few seconds calculating the feasibility of this idea, then she replied [We can definitely pursue this approach, and its potential is even greater than you anticipated. Since the brains we''ll be creating will exist entirely within the simulation, we can overcome the time acceleration limitation of the simulation. Our only limitation that will remain will be computing power. Furthermore, since these brains are completely digital, there is no concern about harming your physical brain due to acceleration. However, I regret to inform you that I could not find any information in your brain about how to perform the knowledge assimilation. It seems that your system considers this technology confidential and has removed it from the accessed brain data.] Aron was very happy when he heard Nova''s answer, despite her telling him that she currently couldn''t assimilate the gained knowledge to his brain. This is because he was sure the knowledge to do that existed in the system''s shop .... Chapter 62 His First Rune. ?Aron wasted no time at all as he immediately opened the systems shop and searched for the said knowledge. [ (Knowledge assimilation) Involves transferring information directly into an individual''s brain, enabling them to fully comprehend and understand a subject without the need for study or practice... .... .... .... .... (Price: 100 million sp)] When he saw the price he became happy, as he realized that he could buy the technology if he just collected a few million more sp. "Good, now if I finish collecting the sp, I will have nothing to worry about. My clones will be learning the runes in my place and all I have to do is assimilate what they learned. HAHAHAHA" Aron started laughing like a maniac and Nova didn''t see it as anything weird, as she became used to Aron''s weird antics a very long time ago. [Congratulations Sir but you need to start practicing your runes, you still have 4 days in accelerated simulation universe time(ASUT) until your meeting time with Rina Rothchild] Said Nova reminding him that he still had to start practicing by himself until he had enough sp to buy the assimilation technology from the system shop. "Okay" Aron agreed to her words and returned his focus back to practicing runes which had been interrupted by his sudden revolutionary idea. Aron sat down and sat cross legged followed by closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves and calm himself down to be able to focus. He needed to calm himself down because he needed all the focus he could have, because he knew that despite having the knowledge of runes in his mind, wielding them was an entirely different matter. Aron cleared his mind, then closed his eyes and began to focus all of his attention on his Runic heart, its voice low and rhythmic, causing him to feel a deep sense of calm wash over him. He started visualizing the rune he wanted to train in, when he started visualizing the rune; inside his brain Runes lit up attracting Nova''s attention who was watching and documenting everything that was happening to Aron. When the runes in his brain lit up, Aron started hearing faint whispering in his mind, guiding him toward the path of accomplishing the realization of the Rune. With that his runic heart started lighting up and releasing energy and dumping it through his veins. Aron focused on the energy while trying to shape it into the rune he wanted to actualize. He felt a sudden jolt of electricity surge through his body, forcing him to open his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he saw a golden runic word ''LIGHT'' levitating in front of his eyes which kept getting brighter and brighter as his heart was still pumping out energy which he was still focusing it on the runes. When he realized that he was still adding energy to runes, he immediately cut the supply of it, resulting in the rune stopping to increase in brightness. Immediately after stopping the supply of magical energy, he said in his mind ''activate'' for the rune to start doing what it was supposed to do. With the order given, the rune activated with a sudden burst of intensity, the light from the rune erupted outward, filling the surroundings with a brilliant but blinding glow Golden light lit his face and became the only thing he could see, the light continued getting brighter and brighter forcing him to close his eyes to avoid being blinded. ''Deactivate'' Aron said in his mind for the rune to deactivate as its blinding light was getting bright enough to cause him discomfort even with his eyes closed. The runic word started dimming. After waiting a few seconds for the rune to deactivate and the surroundings to return to normal, he opened his eyes again. [Congratulations Sir] Nova immediately congratulated him for succeeding in activating his first rune. But Aron couldn''t hear her, as his eyes were focused on the blue screen that appeared in front of him. DING!!!! [(First Rune) Congratulations on officially starting your journey to becoming a Runemaster... Rewards: 10 million sp. ] The system rewarded him 10 million sp because it deemed it as him officially beginning his journey into runic mastery and it wanted to congratulate him for that. [Sir!! Sir!!] Nova repeatedly called for Aron. "Mh" Aron replied as returned his focus back to his surroundings due Nova''s consistent call. "What were you saying?" He asked again after realizing that he had ignored what Nova was saying. [I was congratulating you Sir] "Thank you" [But what were you looking at?] Nova asked Aron, wanting to know where his focus went. "You didn''t see what I was looking at despite having access to my brain?" [Your system seems to be actively preventing any and everything that can lead to the discovery of how it works.] "If it is even altering and hiding some of my real time brain data, then it means that it really doesn''t want us discovering how it works" Aron said then returned to answering her first question" As for what I was seeing, it was the systems notification and reward for me succeeding in activating my first rune and beginning my first step into the journey of becoming a runemaster" [It seems like the system puts a very high importance in rune mastering] Nova added after hearing Arn''s explanation. "Yes it seems so based on the rewards. Anyway, let''s start analyzing the records of my activation." Aron ordered as he wanted to try and see all the process his body took from calming his nerves to activation of the rune. This was because he wanted to know what he was doing wrong and what he did right to optimize his system and avoid wasting his time training with inefficiencies in his training process. [Yes Sir] Nova immediately executed the order and created 4 boxes within those boxes containing 3d real life rendering of both inside and outside of his body. One box had the 3d real life rendering of the inside of his brain, another one showed the inside of his heart, another one showed the entirety inside of his body and the last one showed the normal him sitting down. He could control the speed of the footage, the angle at what he viewed them, he could even zoom in for clarity. He could do this because all of the simulation data was collected and could be replayed completely in whatever way they wanted. When Aron looked at the length of the video he was surprised "It took me nine hours to finish creating just one rune?" [To be exact it was nine hours and a half. How long did you think it was?] Aron asked, wanting to know how much time did Aron think passed. "Two minutes, no longer than that" Aron said as he tried to remember the amount of time he felt had passed when he was focusing on the rune. [I think this rune is responsible for that] Nova said as she zoomed on Aron''s brain until it started showing lines of runes that were written on his synapses, then she played the footage which showed them starting to light up meaning that they become active the moment he started his runic practice. [These runes seem to be the result of you gaining the Runic body. From your description of it, you said it allows you to learn runes at a much faster pace than normal people right?.] "Yes" Aron answered her question. [ These runes seems to have functions such as guiding you to the right path in your runic use and training.] pnd`no?1--o "So this is why I felt like someone was leading me throughout the process" Aron nodded as he remembered something guiding him in his runic training. "Anything else that is out of the ordinary like this?" [Yes Sir, This time it is in your heart.] Nova replied as he highlighted the box with the 3D footage of his heart. [Some runes went into action to allow you to have perfect control of the magical energy that was being pumped into the rune you created. It seems to be in the same category as the runes in synapses.] Aron focused on the runes in his heart trying to at least get a glimpse at what their meaning is, but due to his runic knowledge being low he understood shit. But Nova didn''t stop there; she continued fast-forwarding the footage until when Aron stopped supplying magic energy to the rune he had created, then she started zooming into his heart deeper and deeper until she reached the atoms making his heart. What surprised Aron was that there were runic lines even at that level of zoom. But before he could ask his question Nova played the footage. The moment he stopped supplying the magic energy to the rune and activated it, The atomic size runic lines in his heart lit up and started collecting magical energy from the atmosphere to refill his magical energy tank. "Are these runes the result of gaining a runic body too?" [No these are the first line of runes etched in your body in order to form your runic heart to allow the use of Runes.] Chapter 63 Training ?"It seems like the system is really putting way too much importance in runes" Aron said as he zoomed out a little trying to see the complete runic sentences written in his heart by the system. He was having a hard time seeing the complete runes as the letters were the size of an atom. [From just the functions that we know they can do, it seems like it puts way more importance that you imagined Sir] Nova replied to Aron''s statement. "What do you mean by that?" Aron asked. Although he knew why she said that, he wanted to hear her reasoning for saying that. [From the runic knowledge that I got from your brain, Runic practitioners usually need to wait some time for their magic energy to replenish in order for them to use runes again. But for you it is different, you can use runes for as long as your brain can handle the activation process, this is because the runes in your heart replenishes any magical energy that you used immediately, helping you solve the problem of replenishing your magical energy or continue practicing to increase your magic capacity. But that is not all, the runic lines responsible for the replenishment of your magical energy is taking less than one percent of the runes in your heart, meaning that more than 99 percent of the runes in your heart haven''t become active and we don''t know what they do until they are activated and we see what they do. Despite all of these benefits all of this was done to you free of charge. The system determined that if you had to buy the ability to use magic from its store, you would not have even bought it, due to its price being way too high for you to afford it within the century. So it gave you the ability to use runes while not giving you any knowledge of how to use runes. It means that although it is important for you to be able to use runes, it is not that urgent and the system wants you to learn it slowly as you discover more of their usefulness.] Aron couldn''t help but be impressed by her analyzing skills from the little information she had. Although he had thought about the reason why the system gave him the ability to use runes, he didn''t think about it that deeply as he didn''t see anything currently in need of him having runes other than protection. "That is a very detailed explanation Nova, good job" Aron gave Nova a nod of approval, showing that he was really impressed by her explanation. [Thank you Sir] Nova thanked Aron while making the simulation program remove her blushing to prevent Aron from seeing it. "Now let''s continue with my rune practice." Aron said and returned to his previous sitting place and sat crossed leg to continue his runic practice. While Aron was practicing his runes Nova did nothing other than sitting quietly and watching Aron concentrate in his runic practice. .. 2 days later in accelerated simulation universe time(ASUT). "Sir, Henry is currently shaking your body calling you to have dinner" Nova immediately told Aron after he completed activating the light rune for the seventh time. Aron was able to activate the rune in just 15 minutes this time around, thanks to his runic body. It was cutting down the activation time it takes to activate the rune by half of what it used to take him to cast the spell. This improvement was consistent every time he trained on the rune. Initially, Aron had to spend sixteen hours to activate the spell, but his runic body cut it down to 8 hours by his next try. It was followed by the time being reduced to 4 hours, then 2 hours, and eventually 1 hour. With more practice, he brought it down to half an hour and finally only 15 minutes on his last attempt. "Okay " Aron stopped practicing his runes and got up, preparing himself to log out so that he can go and have dinner with his family. "See you" Aron said as he passed through the Rashomon gate that Nova had summoned for him to enter and leave the universal simulation. He needed to leave through the door and return to the normal virtual reality to be able to logout because the universal simulation was currently going through time acceleration so if he logged out within the simulation his consciousness would experience how having 5000 ping feels in real life. [See you Sir] Nova answered Aron''s goodbye as he went through the gate. ''Logout'' Aron said in his mind to log out. "Brother what is that?" Henry asked Aron after he took off his helmet. "Oh this is a virtual reality helmet" Aron answered Henry''s question as he stood from his makeshift bed holding the helmet then headed to the table to put it there. "What is it for?" Henry asked another question wanting to know what it does. "It is a simulation machine like in those games in movies" Aron explained it in a way for him to understand it easily. "Can I try it?" Henry asked in excitement when he heard Aron''s explanation. "Yes but later, Now let''s go and eat. Didn''t you come to call for that?" Aron reminded Henry who was so excited from wanting to try the virtual gear that he forgot what he came for. "Yes" Henry agreed to his words though slightly disappointed that he didn''t get to try it. With that they left the basement heading to the dining room for their dinner. ... An hour later Aron returned to the basement by himself. Henry seemed to have forgotten his excitement of wanting to try the headgear due to being told by his mother that, if he left his toys in random places without collecting them, she would confiscate all of his toys and not allow him to use them anymore. [Welcome back Sir] Nova welcomed Aron the moment he entered the basement room. "Thanks" Aron said as he put on the helmet and laid down on the makeshift bed and said ''Login''. [Are you going to train on another spell or will you continue training on the light rune?] "I will continue training on the light rune, because I want to see if there is a limit with the runic body''s capability of decreasing the training time by half every time he repeatedly trains the same rune" Aron said while sitting down so that he can continue his practice. [Okay] Nova said nothing after that and left Aron to continue his practice of the spell. .. 3 days later in accelerated simulation universe time(ASUT) Aron stretched his hand forward and said "Light" The moment he finished saying those words, runic letters representing the function of light appeared in front of his hand and brightened a little before it stopped, then it was followed by runic words lighting up and releasing a soft golden light hovering in front of Aron. pnd,no?1,o While it appeared to take a long time for the rune to activate, in reality, it only took a nanosecond from the moment Aron commanded the rune to activate and the actual activation of the rune. Aron kept staring at the soft light caused by his runic activation feeling proud of himself. "It took longer than expected," Aron said about the time it took him to perfect the use of the rune. Although he managed to reduce the activation time of the runes to nanoseconds, he still had to practice on controlling the right amount of magical energy so that the rune didn''t blind him. [ Although your runic body gives you perfect control of the magical energy, you still needed to find the perfect amount magic for every rune to avoid wasting magical energy where it is not needed ] "Yeah you are right about that, this is also one of the reasons I didn''t practice it in the outside world" Aron agreed with Nova as he remembered the time when he activated the rune immediately but since he gave it too much magical energy and the rune came out brighter than the sun. The problem was not its brightness but its proximity to his eyes, he had to ask Nova to reverse the damage done to his eyes using her powers within the simulation or else he would have been blinded forever within the simulation. "Let me try using the rune in the real world first" Aron said to Nova and immediately went through the gate and logged out to try activating the runes in the real world. Real world. Aron went and locked the door leading to the basement, so that he wouldn''t freak anyone who might accidentally see. After he turned off the lights in the basement he said "activate" while envisioning the rune of light in his mind. And just like ''magic'', a soft glowing light lit up the room in a golden glow allowing him to see everything within the room. [Wow] Nova''s voice was heard through the speakers as she was viewing everything through the cameras within the room. "What do you see?" Aron asked Nova, wanting to know what parts of the rune are seen in the real world. [I saw nothing other than a soft golden light appearing out of nowhere lighting the room in golden glow] "It seems my assumption was right. Normal people in the world won''t be able to see the cause, they will only see the results coming from it" [Yes sir, this will allow you flexibility in using runes anywhere] "Mh" Aron nodded his head agreeing to what Nova said. [Sir, you need to start preparing for your meeting with Rina.] Nova immediately reminded him about the meeting he had with Rina. "Thank, I''m really going to have to find a way to get used to the time acceleration or else I will be having troubles keeping up with time and appointments." Aron said that, as he had spent a total of five days within the simulation despite only one day having passed in the real world. [Don''t worry Sir, I will be reminding you if you forget anything] Nova said to Aron who was massaging his eyebrows. "Thanks Nova" Aron said to Nova after he heard her saying that. Aron then deactivated the rune in the basement then turned on the lights in the basement. "I will go and prepare for the meeting" Aron said as he left the basement room going up stairs to eat breakfast and prepare for his meeting with Rina. Chapter 64 Meeting Rina ?Two hours later. Aron had finally completed his preparations for the meeting and was heading to the garage in order to head to the meeting when he was reminded by Nova that he forgot his watch. "Thanks" Aron thanked Nova while he was heading to the basement to pick his own made watch. "I nearly forgot you," Aron said, looking at his digital watch. [As I said, I will always be there to remind you] Nova''s voice came from the watch replying to him. Yes the watch had one of the four remaining quantum chips. He made it because he wanted to always have Nova in her full capabilities with him at any time at any place. Although he could have had her be with him using his phone, he currently didn''t have the time to create one and also it being a watch allows it to blend and not attract too much attention like how a custom phone would. With that Aron left the basement heading to the garage. Then he left the house while being driven by Donald, one of his bodyguards going with him to his meeting with Rina. .. "I Will be back in about two hours or more, so go and buy yourselves some food" Aron said to Donald and his other bodyguard buddy as he left the car. "Yes Sir" Donald said he then started driving the car to the parking lot. As Aron stepped through the front door of The Ritz-Carlton, he felt a rush of excitement at the opulent surroundings, because despite him being a billionaire he never really lived like one at all. The testament to this was that it was his first time entering a five star hotel in his life. The lobby was grand and spacious, with towering columns and a glittering chandelier that cast a warm, golden light across the room. The walls were adorned with works of art, and the plush carpets and sumptuous furnishings added to the sense of luxury and refinement. After looking around and attracting a little attention from the people in the lobby, Aron made his way to the front desk, where he was greeted by a friendly concierge who welcomed him to the hotel. "Welcome sir, How may I help you?" She asked Aron. "I have a reservation in one of your restaurants under the name of Nova" Aron explained his reason for being her. It was under the name Nova because she was the one who made the reservation for him. She used her name because she knew Aron didn''t want their meeting to attract the attention of anyone. As for why choose a five star hotel for a meeting you don''t want to attract too much attention. It was because of Rina, as a member of the Rothschilds family her going to a normal restaurant would attract more attention and suspicion compared to going to a five star hotel. After looking through their system and finding the reservation under the said name, the concierge offered to escort him there. "Sure," He agreed without any problem, because he knew he would be having trouble finding his way if he chose to go by himself. As they walked, Aron couldn''t help but marvel at the attention to detail that had gone into every aspect of the hotel''s design. The walls were lined with beautiful artwork, and every piece of furniture seemed carefully chosen to create a sense of elegance and sophistication. Finally, they arrived at Navio, and the concierge wished Aron a pleasant dining experience before taking his leave. Aron took a moment to take in the breathtaking ocean views from the dining room before being greeted by the ma?tre d''. He was then escorted to the private room, where he settled in and started his waiting for Rina to arrive for their meeting. "Any bugs?" He asked the void after he was left alone in the room. [No sir] Nova''s reply came from the watch. Nova had immediately taken control of everything that had internet connection within the hotel''s premise the moment he was in the proximity. She was monitoring everything, making sure that nothing dangerous happens to Aron during the period he is within the hotel. ... 15 minutes later. The door to the private room was opened and his breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of the stunningly beautiful woman who stepped into the room. She was beautiful beyond compare, with cascading waves of dark hair, sparkling eyes, and a smile that lit up the entire room. "Nova you have a competitor" These words couldn''t help but come from his mouth due to Rina''s beauty being comparable to Nova''s virtual body. Thankfully no one heard him as he managed to say it in a low enough voice that only Nova could hear him. Nova''s reply to this was nothing other than her vibrating the watch to show her displeasure in her beauty being compared to Rina''s, but even she couldn''t refute what he said. The reason they were surprised is because although they had seen her pictures it wasn''t of the highest quality one, this was the result of the Rothschild family wanting their family members'' lives to be far from the public eye. Aron stood and extended his hand to her for handshake while he said "Welcome, I''m Aron Michael" Rina shook Aron''s hand then she replied saying "I''m Rina Rothschild" with a smile on her face. ''Why would Rottem cheat on her, is he dumb or what'' the thought appeared on his mind. pnd,no?1,o "Let''s have a seat" Aron said after shaking her hand which came as a surprise to Rina. Rina was used to people getting lost in her beauty and forgetting what to do, but for Aron who had spent about a week with Nova''s virtual body within the simulation it was manageable for him, although he was mesmerized he managed to control and not embarrass himself in front of her. Rina sat on the other side of the table sitting face to face with Aron. "Are you by yourself?" Rina asked because she was wondering why they were in a large private room. "The small ones were booked up for today and only this one remained" Aron replied honestly without beating around the bush. "Now let''s get to the main topic, what do you want for your favor that needs me to come and meet you face to face?" Rina went directly to the main topic without wasting any time with small talks. "There seems to be a misunderstanding from your side." Aron said while showing that he was taken aback by her reasoning to reach such a conclusion. "A misunderstanding you say? Then what are we doing here?" She asked when she received a different than expected response. She thought the meeting was for her helpers to meet her and cash in their favor. That''s why she came prepared to repay whatever they wanted if it is within her capabilities. "Yes a misunderstanding, I''m here to extend a helping hand for the second time due to some coincidences on our part". "What will you want in exchange for the help you will provide?" This time she asked due to her wanting to know what will she have to give up for their help for the second time. "Nothing at the moment," Aron answered without wasting any time."But we will need your help very soon once you regain your position within the family". Rina hesitated to accept the help because she didn''t know what they would want from her when she regained her position in the family. When Aron saw the hesitation in her eyes, he decided to assure her lest she decides to not accept his help. He was going through all these troubles because he really needed her to be on his side. This is because, for one of his future plans to succeed without a hitch he needed someone within the family with powerful political say to support him. Although the plan could succeed without anyone''s help, having it would expedite its completion. "You don''t have to worry, We won''t ask for something that would harm you or jeopardize your position in the family. It might even seem trivial and useless when we ask you of it, " Aron said, trying to assure her. "You have my promise" He added. After a few seconds of silence she finally gave up and agreed as she really needed his help at the moment and she was ready to lose an arm to get her position back. "Okay then, what do you have that can help me this time? I''m assuming that you know my current situation in the family" Chapter 65 Bombshell ?"Okay then, what do you have that can help me this time? I''m assuming that you know my current situation within the family" She said indicating that she had agreed to the deal. "First I will tell you something that will help you not fall in the same situation you are currently in for the 3rd time again." Aron said and stopped for a short period to create suspense. When he was sure that Rina was concentrating he said "Your security team''s head is working for your brother." Aron went directly with an uppercut. But he wanted to elaborate a little more so he added "Not work for him perse, but he reports everything you do to him" Despite being deeply upset by the news, Rina concealed her emotions and patiently waited for Aron to explain his reasoning for believing what he said was truly happening. She was not quick to believe everything Aron said without significant evidence to support his claims. Instead of continuing with his explanation, Aron retrieved his phone from his pocket and handed it over to Rina. She received it and just stared at it without saying anything, wanting to know the reason why he gave her the phone. After glancing at the still-locked phone screen for a short while and when nothing happened, Rina inquired with a hint of anger in her voice, "Are you messing with me?." She had the outburst because the person Aron told her she was betraying was one of her most trusted bodyguard who had been with her since her high school years. "Have some patience, can you? '''' Aron said and immediately the phone suddenly began playing a recording of a phone call that had taken place moments after Rina had entered the building. The recording played on as Rina listened in stunned silence. Aron watched her carefully, his expression unreadable. "Who is she meeting?" a voice on the other end of the recording asked. "I''m still trying to find out who the person is, as he came earlier than us," the other person replied, their tone respectful and deferential. "I will have the hotel hand us the footage of him so that we can find his details." There was a pause on the recording, and Rina could almost hear the woman on the other end of the line seething with impatience. "I need all the report of the meeting by the end of the day," she snapped. The other person hesitated for a moment, and then replied, "Yes, ma''am. I will do as ordered..." But before the reply could even be completed, the call was abruptly ended, leaving no doubt that the woman on the other end of the line had little to no respect for the person she was speaking to. Rina''s face was etched with disappointment and disbelief as she listened to the audio recording. She recognized the voices immediately - it was a conversation between her head bodyguard and her brother''s secretary. Although she knew her brother was watching her every move she didn''t expect her head bodyguard to be the one who was watching her for him. The betrayal was more hurtful due to it being from her longtime most trusted bodyguard who had been with her since high school. "Since when has he been reporting to my brother?" She asked Aron, her voice quivering with emotion as she tried to hide her hurt feelings. [A month after you were married to Rottem,] A reply came not from Aron but from the phone, causing Rina to gasp in shock and nearly drop the phone. "Is this one of those assistants in the phones that is popular these days?" Rina asked after she recollected herself from the surprise. "Although my company made the said famous assistant, this one is similar but more advanced than it," Aron explained to the now curious Rina. Rina was quite surprised that Aron was the owner of the now famous GAIA Technology. Although she read the report about it she didn''t really put it in her mind because she was fighting for her position in the family. ''I will think about it later'' She said and decided to continue her questioning. "The reason for it?" Rina asked the phone this time after hearing Aron''s explanation. The voice on the phone explained, [Ambition. He was promised a position of CEO of the security company responsible for your family''s security when he officially became the family head. pnd`no?1--o He agreed to do it because all he had to do was report on everything you do, which was very easy for him as he is your head of security.] "I should have known," she murmured, feeling a sense of regret wash over her. "All those times I asked for my bodyguards to investigate Rottem and the results always coming back as negative So it was him who was preventing me from leaving the forced marriage." Aron could hear the pain and disappointment in Rina''s voice As Rina processed the shocking revelation, she couldn''t help but feel a mix of emotions - anger, disappointment, and a sense of betrayal. She had trusted her head of security, the man who was supposed to keep her safe, only to find out that he had been reporting everything she did to her brother behind her back. It was a bitter pill to swallow. She let out a bitter smile as she recalled how she had asked her head bodyguard to investigate the matter. Little did she know that she was essentially asking the mole to find himself. She couldn''t believe she had been so blind to the truth. Aron remained quiet, giving Rina time to come to terms with the information. He knew it was a lot to process, and he didn''t want to push her too hard. He had booked the room for the entire day, so he had plenty of time to wait for her to compose herself. Half an hour later. She finally returned to the room after half an hour to continue their meeting. Although she was not over the betrayal she at least managed to recollect herself and return to a position where they can continue their meeting. "Sorry for making you wait," she apologized as she returned from the bathroom, trying her best to hide the turmoil she was feeling inside. "No problem, I would have been more surprised if you felt nothing after hearing the news," Aron replied, offering her a small smile. He could see that Rina was still reeling from the shock, but he knew that he had to help her regain her composure so that they could continue with their discussion. "Before we begin with any of the plans that I have in my mind, you need to first finish cleaning the moles in your house to avoid further interference," Aron said, his tone serious. He knew that for them to move forward without interference she needed remove all the planted spies within her household. Rina nodded in understanding. She knew that her brother had always been ruthless when it came to securing his position within the family, and she couldn''t afford to underestimate him for the third time. "After you are done with the cleaning, we will officially begin to wage war with your brother in order to regain your position," Aron continued. During the entire time Rina did nothing other than listen to Aron''s explanation. When he was done she asked "What information do you have that will help in returning to my position after I finish cleaning the moles within my house?" wanting to know what kind of information or plan did Aron have to make him as confident as he was. As Aron so no reason to hide his information as he is currently the only one who can help her from her predicament as everyone else in the family has either sided with her brother or remained neutral not wanting to participate in any of the family fights. "The morgans are preparing for a rematch with your family and I have more than half of their battle plans, I will soon have the complete plan with me, Is that enough?" "WHAT!!!!" Rina couldn''t control herself this time and shouted in surprise due to the weight of the information she received. Chapter 66 Impressing Rina ?Rina was taken aback by the information. The fact that the Morgans were preparing for a rematch was not that surprising but them being nearly or almost ready was enough to send shivers down her spine. Both families expected each other to be preparing themselves for a rematch, but her family''s planning team had speculated that the morgans would need more time to recover in order for them to be ready for another round. Despite that assumption, they had tried to plant spies in the morgans family and despite succeeding in infiltration they never received the news of morgan''s preparing for the war. This meant that they had put that much importance to the plan''s secrecy to the point of assuring that it remains a secret even if there are spies among them. This lack of knowledge made Rina feel vulnerable and exposed. If the Morgans were indeed preparing for a rematch and her family was not prepared for it and were caught off guard, the consequences would be catastrophic. They would be massacred without mercy, and there would be little they could do to defend themselves. The thought of such a devastating defeat filled Rina with fear and dread. She knew it would be the first of its kind, meaning she couldn''t think of the catastrophe that would be caused. It might even lead to a more devastating economic crisis far worse than the 2008 financial crisis that resulted from their last war with the morgans, which they won. What frightened her even more was the fact that Aron had managed to obtain this information. Not only did he know about the Morgans'' plans, but he also knew everything about their strategy and tactics. Rina couldn''t help but wonder how he had managed to gather such detailed intelligence, and what he planned to do with it. For the first time, Rina began to see Aron in a different light. She had always known that he was cunning and resourceful, but now she realized just how dangerous he could be. She couldn''t help but wonder what other secrets he was keeping from her, and whether or not she could trust him completely. Despite her reservations, Rina knew that she had little choice but to work with Aron if she wanted to regain her position within the family. She took a deep breath and tried to push her fears aside, focusing instead on the task at hand. With Aron''s help, she knew that they could come up with a plan to face the Morgans and emerge victorious. Rina was acutely aware of the gravity of the situation, and so she posed the crucial question to Aron, "Will we have enough time to prepare countermeasures?" She asked Aron after apologizing for her earlier outburst but this time her voice carried a hint of fear and respect. She knew that even with the information they had obtained, it would be worthless if they didn''t have enough time to plan and prepare for the Morgans'' inevitable attack. It would be akin to knowing that death was coming, but being unable to do anything about it. With Rina''s anxiety palpable, Aron remained calm and composed as he answered her question. "The countermeasures to their plan are being constantly reviewed and revised as we receive the remaining pieces of information," Aron explained. "You don''t have to worry about it. I''m on top of it." Rina felt a wave of relief wash over her upon hearing this. The knowledge that a plan was in place and constantly being updated to account for any new information gave her hope that they might have a fighting chance against the Morgans. "I will provide you with the complete plan once you have finished removing the moles," Aron added, reassuring her once more. Rina sought further clarification and asked, "Do you have other means of communication other than the email?" Aron pointed at the phone that was still in her hands since he handed it to her and said "Through that. Using it you will always be able to reach me. It will also help you find out the remaining moles among those that are working for you. All you have to do is connect the phone to your family''s private network" He decided to give her the phone that had an AI written by Nova because if he tried infiltrating from the outside there would always be a risk of being discovered no matter how stealth he tried to be. This was because they were monitoring every connection coming from outside no matter how useless it was. He didn''t stop with that and continued his explanation " Keep in mind that the moment you connect the phone to your family''s network the entire network will be visible both to you and me. The AI within the device will help you organize the information it collects from the network and inform you of them. Additionally, It would monitor the family''s network and keep you updated on any communications or developments among the members. This feature will provide you with leverage over any individuals involved, which will be paramount for your return to power within the family. Furthermore, since the network''s secureness is believed by everyone within the family, no one would suspect it, allowing you access to the latest information. This would give you even more leverage allowing you to amass more power as time goes on." When Rina heard those words from Aron her heart rate increased by more than 10%. She couldn''t determine the exact reason for her increased heart rate, but she was curious whether it was due to excitement, hope, amazement, or if she had developed feelings for Aron. Only time would reveal the truth. All of this was caused by her realizing that Aron''s plan was always 10 steps ahead of his imaginary enemy. "Sure, I will inform you when I''m done with the clean-up" Rina replied while trying to act as calm as she could manage with the orchestra going in his heart. Aron noticed that something was off with her, but he assumed that she was still affected by the news of her trusted bodyguard''s betrayal. Thus, he decided to set it aside and continued with their conversation. ... Rina was in a car heading home. "What an emotional rollercoaster." Rina murmured to herself in a hushed tone as she remembered her meeting with Aron. She went to the meeting expecting to repay the favor but in return she received something much more than she expected. Rina couldn''t help but look at her head of security sitting on the front seat of the car she was in. "Is there something wrong?" Asked the bodyguard when he discovered through the rear view mirror that Miss Rina was looking at him. "Nothing" Rina replied while continuing to keep eye contact with the bodyguard for a short period of time before looking somewhere else. ''How should I deal with you?'' Rina started contemplating how she was going to do the clean-up. It needed to be stealth enough to not attract her brother''s attention which might backfire on her if he discovers that he knows who the moles are. ''Let''s find out who they are first then we can think on how to dispose of them or on how I can use them to divert my brother''s attention'' After that, she did nothing other than look outside the window throughout the journey to avoid raising any suspicion in her bodyguard''s mind. pnd,no?1,o .... Rina could be seen in her office with the phone given to her by Aron in her hand. She decided to wait until she was left alone in the work room before she even removed the phone from her handbag. "She opened the phones Wi-Fi and chose the families Wi-Fi that led to the private network in which all the family members use it to access the internet securely" She powered on the phone and accessed the Wi-Fi settings, selecting her family''s Wi-Fi network. This network was connected to a private network that all family members used to access the internet outside securely. After entering the lengthy and complicated password, she clicked on the "connect". The moment she pressed the connect button, the phone displayed a message: [Network connection initiated. Initiating network takeover.. Estimated takeover time : 1 day. Looking for ways to expedite the takeover time to reduce the risk of discovery. Nearby device found.] [Miss, I need permission to use your computer as an additional computing node to increase computing power and efficiency in order to complete the network takeover faster.] The Ai asked for permission to use her computer. "Do whatever you need" Rina agreed to the AI''s request without an ounce of hesitation. Chapter 67 Infiltrating The Private Network. ?The moment the AI received permission from Rina it transferred itself to the computer and immediately took control of the computer. After it completed its migration, it immediately started the move of infecting the devices that were within the network. It did this by acting as a data packet being sent from one device to another, the moment the receiving device tries to reconstruct the data packets the AI will immediately take control of the device without raising any suspicion. After infiltrating a few devices in the network, the AI finally identified one of the servers that housed and managed the private network. Realizing the criticality of this discovery, the AI ceased all its other infiltration attempts and switched to a targeted attack on the server. The AI immediately started port scanning and network enumeration, the AI probed the server''s defenses to identify the weaknesses and vulnerabilities. After finding a few of them, It followed by launching a series of highly coordinated attacks that leveraged exploits and malware designed to penetrate the server''s defenses undetected. Once inside the server, The AI was able to bypass network segmentation and gain access to all connected devices and backup servers, finalizing the takeover of the entire private network. But despite having unprecedented access to the entirety of the network and could access all the backed up data, they were all encrypted and the decryption keys were not in the servers memory. To overcome this challenge, the AI employed a clever solution. It first collected all the prime number sequences that were required for decryption and compiled them into an Excel sheet. The AI then sent the excel sheet to Nova. The AI sent it to Nova for her to use her immense computing power of the quantum computer to analyze the prime number sequences and come up with the decryption key. With the key, the AI will be able to unlock the encrypted data and gain access to the valuable information within. Now all the AI had to do was wait for Nova to return her the decryption key. While all this was happening Rina only saw her computer screen power on followed by nothing happened for a while, Then the Microsoft excel in her computer was opened and a list of endless numbers started being written down on the excel after about 5 minutes of numbers being endlessly being written down on the excel it was then saved which was followed by her email app being opened. The AI then sent the email with the excel sheet attached to an email address that seemed endless. "What was that email for and who was it sent to?" She asked in curiosity. [It was an excel sheet with the prime numbers needed to be decoded for us to know the decryption key in order to access the backed up data that is saved in the servers. It was sent to Sir Aron for mother to decrypt them and send us the decryption key] "Mother?" Rina asked as she was surprised that the AI called someone its mother. [I call the AI that made me mother because embedded in my code is her existence as my parent] "So you tell me that there is a more powerful AI than you that can create AI''s that are as powerful as you?" Although many things attracted her attention from the AI''s reply, this was what caught the most of her attention. [Yes] "Then who made your mother?" She asked the second thing that attracted her attention. [Sir Aron.] "By himself? That seems impossible." She couldn''t help but be surprised by the reply. [Yes, By himself.] ''Holy shit'' Is the only thing that came to her mind. Although she was not a professional programer she knew what she heard was nearly impossible, because for their family''s pirate network to continue working without interference they were hiring more than 500 programers to ensure everything was working in order. But you''re telling her that the powerful AI was made by just one person ''Holy shit''. "Then why did you tell me that? Shouldn''t it be a secret or something?" this time she asked because she felt something weird from the way the AI was being way too honest with its answers. [The last order given to me by mother was that I should be helpful to you, also this is not considered anything too confidential. Your current clearance permits me telling you this information.] When Rina heard this reply her heart warmed a little from the trust she received from Aron. "Then what else are you allowed to tell me?" She wanted to know what other information was she allowed to access from the AI. [The list is too long madam, but the summary of it is that you can ask me anything and as long as it is not above your clearance I will reply to you honestly with the latest information and if it is above your clearance I will tell you it is.] "Just call me Rina" She said as she was getting tired of hearing madam and miss. [Yes Rina.] The AI agreed without hesitating for even a second. "Okay then what is your name?" [My mother''s given name is Ava, which has its roots in Sanskrit where it means ''offering protection.'' It is also derived from the Russian language, where it means ''a gift,'' and from Swedish, where it is associated with the concept of providing strength or power. The name Ava represents a special gift from Sir Aron, who gave me to you with the intention of providing you help with strength and protection.] When Rina heard this she was enamored and "fuck" is the only word that came from her mouth while she was trying to fan herself as she felt the room got a little bit hotter. "So Ava, how is the infiltration going on?" She asked, trying to change the topic. [The infiltration is complete, At the moment I''m waiting for mother to send me the decryption key so that I can decrypt and analyze all the backed up data] "How about the current data?" [Due to that being intercepted after the devices were infected there is no need to decrypt them. So I''m collecting it and analyzing it in real time but since I have been collecting the data for a short period of time nothing of importance has happened during the time.] "Okay" with that Rina left the room to have a nap as she was very exhausted from the rollercoaster of emotion she had felt today. ..... Aron could be seen looking through the art pieces in The San Jose Museum of Art. He decided to visit the museum after he came out of a phone store to buy himself a new one, after he gave his previous phone to Rina for them to keep contact. He wasn''t worried that his information and other important things would be lost or would be leaked, because Nova solved all of these things without him needing to say anything. As he was looking at the arts within the museum his new phone started vibrating. Indicating that she had something to report to him. Aron knew this was a way for Nova to inform him that she wants to report something to him when he is in a public location to avoid attracting people''s attention. He removed his phone from his pocket and put it on his ear to act like he was on a phone call, continuing the facade that it was a phone call. "What is it?" Aron asked Nova after placing the phone on the ear. [Sir, Ava has reported back] Nova reported. "Well that was fast of her, I thought she would hesitate to connect the phone to their private network. The fastest I expected her to do it was maybe tomorrow morning after she thought about it throughout the night." [I thought so as well, but my estimate was today evening or night. It seems like she is more pressed than we thought.] "Yeah I thought so as well, what did Ava report?" [She reported nothing but just sent an email with an excel sheet full of prime numbers for me to decode it in order to derive the decryption key from it for her to access the encrypted backup information.] "How is that going on?" He asked as he was amused by the idea of Ava using an email to ask help from mom when she found herself to be in a bind. [I''ve completed deriving the decryption key and sent it to her a moment ago.] "So when will she be done with the decryption of the data" [It is expected for her to be done with the decryption within a week''s time. She decided to do it slowly so that she doesn''t want to raise suspicion. Although she could manipulate the data being shown by the servers she can''t manipulate the increase in power consumption. If they discover anything suspicious she risks the entire system''s overhaul increasing the chances of all the backed up data being lost in the process. So, she chose the slow approach.] "Sure, let her take her time" Aron said as he continued moving around within the museum. [Also someone is following you] Nova informed him after she infiltrated the museum network and accessed the museum''s live camera feed using the watch in Aron''s hands. "Who is he?" Aron asked as he continued looking around as he was still clueless. [He is currently reporting to the same person the head bodyguard reported, Rina''s brother''s secretary. It seems like he was sent to collect more information about you. Ѧd n?a| om From their conversation they seemed to have found the fake information about you and deemed you not important enough for further investigation. They will leave you alone if nothing interesting happens today.] Nova explained everything about the one following him as fast as she could. "Add him to the list of people in which Rina would take care after she returned in power" Coldly, he pronounced judgment on the pursuer, dooming him to a hell that was delayed only by a timer - a timer that was rapidly approaching its end with each passing second. Chapter 68 Discovering Henrys Ability. ?Meanwhile in Aron''s house. Henry who had returned from school started getting bored from playing with his toys. So, he started thinking about things that he could do to alleviate his boredom. That''s when he remembered that his brother had a virtual reality headgear. "Let''s go and see what it does" With enthusiasm he stood and started heading to the basement with fast steps as he couldn''t wait to try it. From what his brother told him It was the same as those in movies so he should be able to play games that are similar to the ones in movies. After he finally entered the room he found the headgear on the table where his brother usually keeps it when he is not using it. Without wasting even a second he put it on and remembering what the people from the movies said to start using it, he said "login". After waiting for a few seconds nothing happened. So, he just removed the headgear and put it back on the same place he found it while being extremely disappointed. ''It is either I don''t know how to use it or my brother was playing with me'' Is what came to his mind. At the moment he was leaning toward the first assumption that he doesn''t know how to use it. This was caused by him trusting his brother after he kept every promise he gave to him. Since his plan had failed and he had nothing else to do in the basement, he decided to go and play with his brother''s PlayStation, as his was still being confiscated by her mother after he was caught playing games when he was supposed to be sleeping. . While all this was happening, Nova was just watching everything unfold through the cameras in the room without interfering. After Henry entered the room she started monitoring his every action so that she could report to Aron if something bad happened. When he put on the VR headgear she thought nothing would happen since Aron hasn''t shown him how to activate it. But all of her assumptions were thrown out of the window, when she heard Henry say "Login" which forced her to intervene and cancel the activation sequence to prevent Henry from hurting himself. She had to intervene due to Henry still being in a standing position when he initiated the login sequence, which would have resulted in him being hurt by falling down due to the loss of consciousness. But other than Henry''s login into the virtual world being interfered with and canceled by her, everything before that had already been completed before she could intervene and cancel the login attempt. This meant that Henry''s brain was already mapped and everything about it being recorded and saved by the virtual reality program as per its protocols. And since his brain didn''t have a system to prevent it like Aron, nothing remained hidden from Nova who had access to all of the data collected by the VR headgear. So, she started analyzing Henry''s brain out of curiosity to see if there is anything special in him like his brother. And there it was, Henry''s eye nerves were glowing golden. The golden glow was similar to Aron''s golden blood but Henry''s was not blood; it was occurring only on his eye nerves and the location in the brain where the brain interpreted what his was seeing. When she discovered this, she decided to find out what Henry sees as the result of his nerves glowing golden. When she took the POV of Henry''s eyes and started simulating different thing Infront of them, she discovered that henry had eyes that allowed him if he paid enough attention to see most of the things normal humans can''t see, this included magical energy in the atmosphere. The result of him paying enough attention is his irises turning golden allowing him to see unseen within his vicinity. One of the occasions where Henry saw the unseen is when he saw his brother''s room after he was shot. It appeared to him that there was a golden liquid mixed with normal blood on the floor, But when he asked his mother about it, she said there was no such thing as she had helped clean the blood and saw nothing like that. After reading through some of the memories Nova started looking for the trigger that caused this evolution. And she found it. It was the day Aron entered a deep slumber which resulted in his body gaining golden blood and blood vessels that would later be merged for him to gain Runic body. The trigger for the evolution was the high concentration of magical energy within a small space, causing his eyes to be overloaded with magical energy resulting in a forced evolution to avoid going blind. But this doesn''t mean that if you put someone in a room with high magical energy concentration that they will evolve. No, the chances are very small and that''s one of the reasons Aron''s system did not inform him about it. This evolution was everything but normal, his body''s reaction was way too excessive for it to be caused by just magical energy overload. Something else must have helped or interfered to push for this specific outcome. She decided to inform Aron when he came back home, but she still continued with her investigation looking for what caused Henry''s eyes to evolve. .... Later that day Aron finally returned back home at night after he finished his tour of the museum and headed immediately for the basement after having dinner with his parents. Henry seemed to have been found sleeping while playing a game in his room resulting in him not being on the dinner table to eat with them. [Welcome Sir] Nova welcomed him after he entered the basement. "Thanks'', anything new?" He asked after he thanked Nova while putting on his virtual helmet and laying down on his makeshift bed. [Yes ] Nova immediately replied his question when she came face to face with him in virtual reality. "What is it?" [Henry seemed to have evolved] "WHAT?, what do you mean by evolve?." he asked in panic, Showing that he was pretty scared by the news. [Don''t worry Sir, it''s nothing dangerous.] Nova replied, trying to calm Aron down. "Elaborate" Is the only word he said followed by him shutting up waiting for explanation. [So here is what happened..... Herny entered the baseme.... .....] Nova now started explaining everything to Aron while using both his memories and Henry''s as a presentation materials to ensure that nothing is left out. "Hhoooooh..... Thank god" Aron released a sigh of relief after Nova finished explaining everything and reassuring him. "So, you''re telling me that my brother can see magical energy and anything to do with magic?" [Yes but that is not all, from my simulation of his abilities he can see more than just magic, he should be able to adjust the spectrum of light that his eyes collects allowing him to see even at night without difficulty. But that is not all, he should be able to see supernatural entities and many more. And if you become proficient in your runic abilities and turn him into a runic user they will evolve even more, I suspect that he will gain special body that has its focus on eyes or something similar to that. ] "So you''re telling me that my brother can see ghosts and other entities." [Currently his brain can''t handle the influx of information resulting on all the features being kept inactive by his subconsciousness to prevent him harming himself. As for the ability to see magical energy, he can only keep it active for a few seconds at most before he runs out of mental energy to supply them.] "Thank god. Just imagine him having to see ghosts and other supernatural things while he is still young, there is no amount of therapy that would fix that damage" Aron said while being relieved that his brother was not yet traumatized by his abilities. "Keep an eye on him and continue to test the limit of his abilities." [Yes Sir.] "Now back to practicing runes." Aron said this as he started moving to the Rashomon gate in order to enter the accelerated universal simulation to continue his runic practice. [What rune are you going to practice this time?] Nova asked Aron as she followed and tried to keep up her pace with his. When Aron turned around and discovered that she was having hard time keeping up with him, he slowed his pace down, then answered her question. "I need something to protect myself. So, this time I will be practicing a protection rune." [Is it the shield rune?] Rina asked as she finally reached Aron and started walking shoulder to shoulder with him as they went through the gate. pnd`no?1--o "Yes, Although I have bodyguards to protect me, I need something to ensure my safety even when I''m left alone." After passing through the gate and entering the accelerated universal simulation, he immediately sat down crossed legged and started to concentrate in order to begin his runic practice. And just like his first time training runes the runic lines in his synapses lit up and started guiding him to the right path. After 8 hours of non-stop concentration he extended his hand to his front and said "SHIELD" Chapter 69 Revolutionary Leaders Meeting Pt_01 ?"SHIELD" The runic word with the meaning shield appeared in front of his hands glowing in golden before a thin transparent wall like appeared in front of the runic word. With the appearance of the transparent shield in front of him, the glowing runic word started losing its luster as the shield kept sucking magical energy from it to sustain the shield in front of it. When Aron saw this he started pumping magical energy into the glowing runic word to allow the shield to continue existing. "Continue sustaining" He said to Nova who immediately took over the magical fueling of the rune. Aron then left the vicinity of the runes and went near Nova "Now let''s start testing it" He said while rubbing his hands in excitement. [Yes sir] Nova affirmed and immediately materialized a Pistol: Glock 19 out of nowhere. "Put a human being behind the shield so that we can see if the shield mitigates all the damages." Aron said as he loaded a bullet to the chamber. Nova said nothing but immediately materialized a human behind the shield with the face of his shooter, causing Aron to look at Nova in a questioning gaze wanting to know the reason. [If it fails, at least it will harm someone you won''t feel guilt harming] Nova explained her reasoning for materializing this specific person. "Anyway let''s start our testing" Aron shrugged, acting as if he didn''t care but Nova knew that this man''s life was hanging on a thread, which will be cut by Aron the moment his main plan is completed. [Yes Sir.] Nova agreed. Aron raised his hand and bangbang.bang. He started firing at his shooter without stopping until the entire magazine was emptied. When he emptied the magazine he just turned and looked at Nova. Nova said nothing and just materialized a Shotgun: Remington 870 and handed it to Aron, who took it and started pumping and firing the shotgun at the shield. After finishing with the shotgun, Aron turned to Nova once again. Nova said nothing and she just continued to materialize weapons out of thin air, summoned an AR-15 and handed it to Aron, Who without saying a word resumed firing without even pausing to inspect the condition of the shield. This routine continued for an extended period, with Nova conjuring an array of weapons including the Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun, the FN M249 SAW light machine gun, the M2 Browning heavy machine gun, and many others. Despite the relentless barrage of gunfire, the shield held strong and showed no sign of weakening. Aron then moved on to RPGs, explosives, tanks, missiles, and other increasingly lethal weapons. However, even the detonation of the powerful Big Boy nuclear bomb in front of the shield did not cause it to falter. Throughout the ordeal, the shield remained resolute and steadfast, impervious to all forms of attack. "Now let''s hear the report from what you recorded." Aron said as he removed the protection goggles he wore to protect his eyes from the explosion. Everything about it was useless as Nova made the location they were an indestructible zone, meaning that nothing that would harm them would enter their vicinity. [Yes Sir.] Nova said as she materialized a chair for Aron to sit and a hologram for her to do her presentation. "Thanks" Aron said as he sat down on the chair materialized by Nova. After seeing that Aron had already sat down she immediately started giving the presentation. [Based on the gathered data, it appears that the shield rune is capable of holding its ground as long as it maintains sufficient energy levels. The greater the force of impact it endures, the more energy is required to neutralize it. While it is theoretically possible for the shield to withstand a nuclear explosion, the sheer magnitude of energy required to do so is enormous. Ѧd n?a| om In summary, the shield rune can serve as a formidable defense against virtually any threat, as long as it is supplied with the necessary energy to withstand the level of damage it faces. ..... ..... .....] Aron continued listening to the entirety of the presentation, in which throughout the entire presentation his face continued getting brighter and brighter the more details he heard. "Good now that we know it is really useful. It is time for me to finish the practice of the rune to reduce the activation time to nanoseconds." Aron said as he stood from the chair materialized by Aron and returned to his practice location where he sat cross legged and restarted his practice of the shield Rune. ... Somewhere in the world. "With the total tallied votes being 6 against and 1in favor, the decision to deny the help and not respond to them has passed" Said William, the one who would be considered the leader of the meeting. As Alexander gazed around the table, a deep sense of disappointment etched on his face. While most of the revolutionary group had begun their journey with a genuine desire to liberate their country from the grip of the tyrant, many had succumbed to the allure of wealth and luxury once they attained positions of power. This was particularly disheartening considering the fact that the money that they used for their luxuries and desires was from the donations of the people who had worked so hard to earn it while living in the oppressive and corrupt country, in the hopes that they could bring an end to the cruel and uncaring government. But all of their donations were used for nothing other than paying for revolutionary group leaders and higher ranking members luxurious lives. It was clear to Alexander that for some of the individuals at the table, the continued existence of the dictator was seen as a boon rather than a burden. As long as the dictator remained in power, they would always have a source of income, and a reason to demand more money from those who want the dictatorship to end. Despite their outward appearance of attempting to save the country from the brutal dictatorship, the individuals in question had done little of any real significance to justify the exorbitant amount of money they had received. It seemed that much of their efforts had been focused on self-preservation and personal gain, rather than the greater good of the people they claimed to represent. The families of all the revolutionary leaders had chosen to reside outside the country of Eden. When questioned about this decision, the leaders had explained that they made this sacrifice to protect their loved ones from being used as pawns and held hostage to force their compliance. This response had elicited a sense of pride from the people, as they believed they had chosen wise and responsible leaders. However, little did they know the true reasons behind the decision. In reality, the revolutionary leaders spent most of their time with their families abroad, returning to Eden only once or twice, and often conducting meetings from the comfort of luxurious hotels, like the one in America where Alexander now found himself. It was clear to him that the leaders had grown accustomed to the lavish lifestyle and had lost touch with the struggles of the people they claimed to represent. The behavior of the revolutionary leaders had left Alexander feeling frustrated and angry. He could no longer bear to be in the same room with them, and so he stood up abruptly and began to make his way towards the door. One of the six individuals sitting at the table stopped him in his tracks with a question, "Where are you going?" "Washroom. Is there a problem with that? I thought the meeting had ended." "No, the meeting isn''t over," replied William, the de facto leader with the largest revolutionary group in a condescending tone. "That was just the first agenda item. We still have a few more topics to discuss." Alexander''s frustration grew as he questioned the man, "Like what? And why wasn''t I informed about the other topics? As far as I remember, everything that would be discussed in a meeting must be given to the attendees at least a day before the meeting to allow them to prepare." His voice now carried a hint of anger. "We need to discuss our need for more donations to prepare for the next protest," William replied, ignoring his second question like it did not exist. Alexander challenged the man''s proposal, "Didn''t we just collect donations two months ago? We haven''t used any of it yet. Why are we asking for another round of donations?" "We need the money for our expenses," the man explained. "Though the amount they donated seemed like a lot, most of it was lost after we did currency exchange. So we need them to donate again to cover the loss." Alexander pressed further, "Pardon my questions, but what reasons did we have to convert all the donation money to dollars if the protest is going to be done within the country?" The leader responded in an intimidating voice, "Don''t act like you don''t know why we asked for the money. You''ve only been with us for two months since the death of your last group leader. If you were chosen to replace your former leader, you should know how these things work. Now, go to the toilet and come back immediately so we can continue the meeting." It was clear that the leader was growing tired of Alexander''s enthusiasm and constant questioning. Chapter 70 Revolutionary Leaders Meeting Pt_02 ?"What I don''t understand is why I wasn''t informed about the other topics," Alexander asked, as he simply ignored Williams'' order as if he hadn''t heard it. "It appears that we may have overlooked informing your group, Alexander. We assumed that because your group is the weakest, you might feel embarrassed and choose not to attend," said one of the individuals on the table, causing everyone to laugh at his remark. Despite the pretense, the meetings were far from democratic. The group with the most members was considered the king, while the lowest member was viewed as nothing more than a provider of cannon fodder for protests and other activities. The only reason they had not expelled Alexander''s group from their coalition was that they needed their numbers. As Alexander heard their response, he stormed out of the meeting room, slamming the door behind him out of frustration. On his way to the bathroom, he kept seeing their grinning faces, which started to irritate him, causing his anger to build up. Finally, he couldn''t take it anymore and decided to take action. After entering the bathroom and ensuring the door was locked, he retrieved his phone from his pocket and typed in the email address of the individual who had offered to help their cause. Despite the fact that they desperately needed money, they had originally rejected the offer because they knew that the individual would demand a detailed breakdown of how every cent was spent. Furthermore, accepting the offer would force them to escalate their revolutionary efforts, increasing their risk of being targeted by the dictator who would want to crush the movement decisively. Alexander began composing a message in which he accepted the individual''s offer, despite it going against the decision made by the group during their meeting. Upon completing his response, he quickly hit the "send" button without realizing that he had used his personal phone instead of the burner phone provided to him. His anger had clouded his judgment, causing him to overlook this critical detail. It was a stark reminder of how emotions can impair a person''s decision-making abilities. After making sure the email was sent he left the bathroom and went to wash his hands to make his act believable. Alexander returned to the meeting and sat in his place like nothing had happened. He tried to act as if nothing had happened but all of this was needles, no one cared to even turn and look at him, they were just happy to continue with their meeting. "So. How d....." William immediately started the meeting the moment Alexander sat down on the table. .... Meanwhile, Aron was practicing his runes, and Nova was observing him both in the virtual and real worlds. When she finally received a response from one of the many revolutionary leaders they had contacted. [ Dear, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to inform you of our group''s decision regarding your offer. Although we received your emails separately, we held a meeting and voted on whether to accept or decline it. Unfortunately, the majority of our group voted against agreeing to your offer, resulting in a vote of 6 to 1. As a result, they have decided to ghost your emails and not reply to you. However, I am privately informing you of this decision and agreeing to your support if we can come to agreements and negotiations to the terms and conditions. Thank you for your understanding, and I look forward to collaborating with you to achieve our mutual goals. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. Best regards, Alexander ] When Nova read the email, she was enraged on Aron''s behalf. [How dare they decide to ignore my master''s message!] It was not the rejection of their offer that upset her, but rather their decision to ghost Aron and not inform him of their decision. If Alexander had not informed them, it would have delayed their plan, as they would have been waiting for a response from people who had already made a decision. Despite her anger, Nova decided to set it aside and began editing their plan as she waited for Aron to finish his practice. Since only one group had agreed, she had to revise the actions they had planned to take assuming that at least three groups would agree. She had to make the plan workable under the leadership of only one group, the weakest of them. During this time, Aron remained unaware of the ongoing events as he continued to practice his runes with all his might. ..... (Inside the accelerated simulated universe ) Aron continued his training until he reduced the time of the shield rune''s activation to nanoseconds, that''s when he stopped his training. It took him a total of 12 hours to reach that level. When he turned around, he found Nova sitting in the same place she was since he began his training, but her face had the expression of her having something to report. So, he asked "Is there something you want to say?" [Yes Sir, we received a reply from the revolutionary groups] Nova informed him. "A reply and not replies?" Aron asked curiously, wondering whether Nova made a pronunciation mistake which was practically impossible or not. [Yes sir. A reply, only one.] Nova said as he materialized a hologram with the email sent from Alexander in it in front of Aron. Aron didn''t ask anymore questions, as he turned his focus to the email infront of him. While Aron was reading the email, Nova did nothing but tried to find out what was Aron feeling as a result of receiving this report. "That''s still better than nothing," Aron said, trying to comfort himself after he finished reading the email. "Aren''t they the smallest ones among all of the groups?" Aron asked after he looked through his memories to recall the details about this group, ''Eden revolutionaries''. [Yes Sir, they are the smallest ones.] "Then we have to revise the plan to fit them" Aron said while rubbing his chin as he was contemplating how to revise the plan. [I have already revised the plan sir, Please take a look] Nova immediately materialized another hologram in front of Aron that showed all of the revised plans. "Okay, Let''s take a look" Aron said as pushed the hologram with the email aside while puling the new one towards him, then he started reading the revised plan on it. After reading for some time Aron could be heard saying "Good, good" which made Nova very happy that Aron approved her revised plans. though not all of them but most of it. Aron kept making small adjustments to the plan accounting for what Nova might have failed to account due to insufficient data availability about that specific topic resulting in her being not very knowledgeable about it. After reading the entire plan and editing some of it within three hours, he turned to Nova and gave her a thumbs up of approval as he said "Good plan", resulting in her having a blush on her face, which she immediately hid using her demigod powers within the simulation world before Aron could see it. "Anything else?" Aron asked as he pushed the hologram in front of him to the side while getting up from his sitting place. [Yes Sir. Due to the sender failing to cover his tracks, I was able to trace the email to a luxury hotel in the United States. Once I discovered this, I took control of the entire network at the hotel and found out that all of the revolutionary leaders were staying there. From there, I was able to trace their movements and found that most of them have been inside the USA for a considerable amount of time. The only exception is Alexander, who has been spending most of his time in Eden for his activities, but that''s maybe because he had only been the leader for two months since the previous leader was assassinated and still hasn''t got acclimated to having power and exploiting it. So, It might be because he still has the enthusiasm for revolution due to being the youngest and having spent only a short amount of time in a powerful position.] "So, you are saying that we should use him for the revolution while he still has his enthusiasm and ideals before he succumbs to the temptation of power?" [Yes Sir, We should also look for ways to contain the other revolutionary groups'' leaders, to ensure that they don''t interfere with our plans due to their fear of losing their source of income that is sustaining their lavish lives.] Aron kept nodding his head agreeing to what Nova was saying while thinking of what way he should utilize to shut them up. "For now we can postpone the buying of their silence plan for a little bit, Before that we need to go and meet Alexander and have a face to face conversation to make sure there are no miscommunications" [Yes, sir. I will begin planning the trip right away.] "How many hours have elapsed in the real world?" Aron inquired, curious about how much time remained until dawn. [You spent fifteen hours since you entered the time-accelerated simulated universe, So exactly 3 hours have passed on the outside world.] "Looks like I still have time. Then let''s continue practicing other runes" Aron said as he returned to start his practice of runes as he waited for the dawn to arrive so that he can start his journey to surprise the shit out Alexander by appearing at his hotel for a meeting without him revealing his current location to Aron. Chapter 71 Setting Up The Meeting ?When the morning sun peeked over the horizon, Aron paused his Runic training and logged out of the Universal Simulation to go and prepare himself for the surprise journey. But before he prepared anything for his journey, he needed to do something else first. He laced up his running shoes and headed out for his daily run and other exercises to complete his daily quest. As he pounded the pavement, his mind raced with excitement for his plan finally reaching the starting point. The significance of the meeting between Aron and Alexander cannot be overstated, as it was crucial for Aron to at least have a face to face with Alexander before fully committing to the plan. Aron was planning to invest billions of dollars to achieve his goals, and thus, he deemed it necessary to come face to face with Alexander before he fully committed. After finishing his daily quest, Aron returned home and quickly showered and dressed for the journey ahead. After he finished his dressing he picked up his watch and new phone and left for the garage. He didn''t need to pick clothes because if he decides to stay longer than a day, he will buy clothes from there.(FUCK, I really want to be a billionaire) When he arrived at the garage he found Donald ready and waiting for him there, as he had been informed by Nova about the abrupt journey last night. Aron went to the sleek black car gleaming in the early morning light. He climbed into the back seat and settled in, the hum of the engine signaling the start of his surprise journey. As they made their way through the city, Aron didn''t try to start conversation with anyone, as his eyes were glued to his phone having a conversation with Nova, who was giving him a briefing about the information of Alexander that she managed to collect during the time he was training. After traveling for some time the car pulled up to a private airfield, and Aron''s heart skipped a beat as he caught sight of the sleek jet waiting for him on the tarmac. He was pretty surprised that Nova had decided to rent a private plane for the journey and not just buy him a VIP plane ticket. "Thanks'' Nova" Aron thanked her as he was being escorted to the private jet. Nova replied by vibrating the watch Aron wore as she couldn''t speak when he was within a group of people.. .... 3 hours later. The private jet Aron used for the trip touched down at Tampa International Airport, the closest airport to his intended destination. Once all the necessary airport formalities were taken care of, they set off with a rental car towards the Gulf Coast beach resort, where the revolutionary leaders have been staying for the past three days and will continue to stay for one more week. Aron was well aware of their staying period at the hotel, due to Nova having obtained information regarding the hotel''s bookings and accommodation by having hacked into the hotel''s network just the day before. Throughout his journey to the hotel, Aron kept his gaze fixed on the stunning scenery outside. He couldn''t help but marvel at the natural beauty that surrounded him. The lush greenery and crystal clear waters of the Gulf Coast were a sight to behold. As his car wound its way through the winding roads, Aron felt a sense of peace and tranquility wash over him. For a moment, he forgot about the meeting that lay ahead, and simply allowed himself to be lost in the breathtaking landscape. It was as if time stood still, and all that mattered was the present moment. A/n(Damn) But eventually, the car pulled up at the entrance of the beach resort, and Aron was brought back to reality. After taking a deep breath, Aron stepped out of the car and made his way towards the hotel to complete his check-in process. Thanks to Nova''s access to the hotel''s network, the check-in process went smoothly. She had used her access to reserve the presidential suite of the resort for Aron, which would provide a private space for him to conduct the meetings without being noticed by anyone. ... Alexander could be seen sitting in his hotel room, surrounded by a stack of documents that had accumulated due to his focus on the previous day''s meeting. He decided to take advantage of the rest day and spend his time catching up on the documents. While Alexander was working hard, the other revolutionary leaders were taking advantage of the resort''s facilities without caring about their responsibilities. They left all of their work to their secretaries to solve by themselves unless it required money, in which case they had to ask for approval from the leaders. Greedy bastards. As he finished reading the document in his hand and prepared to move on to the next one, his phone suddenly started ringing, interrupting his focus. The caller ID appeared as unknown, adding a mysterious element to the interruption. As soon as Alexander answered the call, he spoke into the phone, "Hello?" There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Alexander''s mind raced with possibilities of who could be calling him and how did they get his number. He wondered if it was a trap or if he was betrayed. "Hello Alexander," "Who are you?" Alexander asked the moment he received a reply from the other side. "There is no need for you to feel anxious or suspicious. My purpose for calling you is to arrange a meeting where we can meet face to face to discuss the ways in which we can provide assistance and support to you." The person on the other end of the line quickly shifted the conversation to address Alexander''s concerns and fears, hoping that Alexander maintains his composure after observing how he reacted to the call through Alexander''s laptop webcam. "How did you obtain my phone number? I have no recollection of sharing it with anyone," Alexander asked, still perplexed about how the person on the other end had managed to contact him. "It appears that you may have accidentally sent an email from an unsecured device in haste. We were able to trace the email back to its source, which led us to obtain your phone number," explained the caller calmly. Alexander was thoroughly frightened upon hearing the explanation, as it suddenly dawned on him that he had indeed sent those emails from his personal phone - the same phone he used to communicate with his loved ones and close friends. When the man on the other side did not receive a reply from Alexander he continued. "You don''t have to worry about that anymore Alexander, because the moment you agreed to our offer you fell under our protection but before we conclude the agreement we need to see each other and have a face to face talk. So, when are you free?" Asked the man on the other side of the call. When Alexander had the man say he was under their protection he calmed albeit small but not fully as the idea of it being a trap still lingered behind his brain. "When would it be possible for you to come and meet me? I am available for most of this week." "Then how about now?" The moment the question reached Alexander''s mind, the door of his room was knocked which scared the shit out of Alexander. Startled by the knock he put down the phone and quickly opened the drawer of his table to retrieve his gun. With the weapon in hand, he pointed it towards the door and asked, "Who is it?" A woman''s voice came from behind the door, saying, "Someone has requested that we deliver a message to you." "Leave the note under the door. I will retrieve it when I am ready," he said firmly, his finger hovering over the trigger as he prepared for any unexpected event. "Yes, sir," the woman''s voice responded before he heard the sound of footsteps getting farther and growing fainter, eventually fading away from the corridor. When he heard the footsteps recede, he approached the door and peered through the peephole. He saw the hotel worker standing by the elevator, waiting for it to arrive. As soon as the elevator arrived, the hotel worker got on it and left, disappearing from Alexander''s view. After waiting for a few more seconds, Alexander slowly opened the door while keeping a firm grip on his gun, ready for any unforeseen circumstances. After cautiously peering through the partially opened door and seeing that there was no one outside, Alexander opened the door fully and picked up the envelope from the ground. He quickly retrieved it and hastily shut the door behind him. As soon as he sat back down on his chair, the voice from the phone could be heard asking, "Did you receive our invitation?" It was then that he realized he had left the call running. "Was that you? And how did you find out which room I''m staying in?" Alexander asked, his tone laced with suspicion. "You''ll find out later. But for now, inside that envelope, there''s a key that will grant you access to the Presidential Suite through the elevator. Come here, and we''ll have a detailed conversation," the caller said before abruptly ending the call, leaving Alexander to contemplate whether he should heed the caller''s request or not. As he sat there, his mind racing with doubts and fears, Alexander couldn''t help but wonder what kind of trouble he was getting himself into. But something inside him told him that he had to go through with it, that he had to take this chance. With a deep breath, he stood up from his desk, picked up the envelope with the key, and made his way to the elevator. He had no idea what was waiting for him on the other side, but a gut feeling kept telling him it was his opportunity to achieve his dream. Chapter 72 A Talk With Alexander ?Ting!!!! Alexander was jolted out of his deep thoughts by the sound of the elevator indicating that he had reached his destination. The fact that he reached his destination earlier than expected, without the elevator making any stops, caught him off guard. This was particularly unusual given the size of the resort he was in. What he didn''t know was that one of the advantages of staying in a presidential suite is the privilege of using a special card key that grants exclusive access to the elevator leading to the suite. If you happen to be the only occupant of the elevator, it will not make any stops on other floors, even if someone else has called it, until it reaches the designated presidential suite. Once he regained his composure, he adjusted his suit and checked that his gun was still in place at his waist. He then took a step forward and exited the elevator, walking straight into the presidential suite. "Welcome," a voice echoed through the expansive suite welcoming him. As Alexander looked towards the direction of the voice, he saw a tall and attractive man walking towards him with his hand outstretched for a handshake. Alexander reciprocated the handshake while simultaneously scanning the suite for any other occupants. The man noticed his apprehension and quickly reassured him, "You don''t have to be afraid, I''m the only one here." Upon realizing that his apprehension was noticed, Alexander attempted to conceal his true intentions by saying, "Oh, I apologize for the misunderstanding. I was just admiring the beauty of the suite as it is my first time being inside one." Alexander attempted to steer the conversation away from his previous actions and also inquire about the man''s identity by saying, "By the way, I''m Alexander. And you are?" Realizing that he had neglected to introduce himself, the man replied apologetically, "Oh, pardon my manners. My name is Aron, Aron Michael." He then proceeded to formally introduce himself. .... Aron was quite nervous to meet Alexander, but thankfully he managed to calm himself down and act confident in front of him. He met Alexander and shook his hand with ease, seemingly unconcerned despite the knowledge that Alexander was carrying a loaded gun. "Shall we have a seat before we begin our conversation? This may take a while. I hope you have no other commitments for today?" Aron suggested, despite being aware that Alexander was on a break and had no scheduled meetings. Aron''s intention behind this act was to reassure Alexander that he did not know everything about him, as he understood how unsettling that knowledge could be for someone. "Of course," Alexander agreed to Aron''s suggestion, and the two began walking towards the luxurious and comfortable looking couches. "Would you like something to drink?" Aron asked as they settled into their seats. "No, thank you. Can we proceed directly to the topic?" Alexander replied, indicating a desire to get down to business as he was still nervous about this entire ordeal. "Alright then," Aron replied, and he promptly began discussing the topic at hand. "There isn''t much that''s new or different from what we included in our offer to help. The purpose of this meeting is solely for me to have a face-to-face conversation with you before I decide to commit to our agreement," Aron explained without beating around the bush. "Before you decide?" Alexander repeated, emphasizing the word "you." He was wondering whether Aron was the one who would be providing the help or if he was merely a representative of the actual helper. "Yes, me," Aron confirmed. "Although I may not look like it, I''m a billionaire." When Aron finished explaining and saw the dumbfounded expression on Alexander''s face, he couldn''t help but chuckle. "I know it''s hard to believe that I''m a billionaire at such a young age, but it''s true," Aron said, noticing the disbelief on Alexander''s face. "Excuse me for asking this, But how old are you?" Alexander inquired about Aron''s age, curious about how young he could possibly be "23" Aron replied confidently. Upon hearing Aron''s age, Alexander decided to move past the topic and focus on their agreement, as the age of the person did not matter to him as long as they were able to provide the necessary help. "But why would you want to help us?" Alexander asked, still trying to understand Aron''s motive behind offering to help. "To be completely honest, I am not helping you out of pure compassion or any sentimental attachment. Instead, I am assisting you because your success in reaching your goals and fulfilling your promises will enable me to achieve something that my country has unjustly deprived me of." "What is the essential thing that has been unjustly taken away from you, to the extent that you have opted to assist a rebel group in order to reclaim it?" Aron replied curtly, "Ownership and control," without providing further details. However, a tinge of anger could be detected in his tone. As Alexander detected a hint of anger in Aron''s response, he realized that asking for more information might not yield any fruitful results. Hence, he made a conscious decision to steer the conversation back to the main topic at hand. "Could you please clarify how you intend to aid us in accomplishing our goal?" "A great question, indeed. My contribution will comprise both financial support and infrastructural support . Although the former might seem somewhat helpful, the latter is actually more significant," Aron explained. He felt compelled to elaborate further as he noticed a surprised expression on Alexander''s face upon hearing that Aron would be providing them with infrastructural support. "Could you please elaborate on that?" Alexander inquired, eager to understand why Aron considered the infrastructural support aspect of his assistance more valuable than the monetary one. "It would be more beneficial if you were to read and comprehend it yourself, rather than me explaining it to you," Aron responded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He began to fiddle with it, pretending to search for something to show Alexander. In reality, he was waiting for Nova to send Alexander the document containing the summary with the details on how his infrastructural support will be helpful to them. tingiding!!! Alexander''s phone beeped, prompting a reaction from him. Aron noticed this and said, "Feel free to take a look. It''s from me." Upon hearing Aron claim that he had sent him something, Alexander hastily retrieved his phone from his jacket to see what Aron had sent him. When Alexander unlocked his phone, he discovered that Aron had indeed sent him a file. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the file was quite lengthy. "You can go ahead and read it now. We have enough time" Aron said. Alexander didn''t require any further prompting as he had already begun reading the document as soon as he opened it. As Alexander began to peruse the document, the only words that escaped his mouth were, "Holy shit." The phrase "Holy shit" continued to emanate from Alexander''s lips as he delved deeper into the document. After half an hour of intense reading, Alexander finally finished perusing the file. Excitement was evident in his voice as he eagerly inquired, "Is this plan for real?" His tone resembled that of a child who was eagerly awaiting confirmation from his father regarding the purchase of a new game console. "Yes, the plan is real and will be implemented, provided that you still agree to our conditions by the end of this meeting," Aron confirmed. With that being said, the conversation continued with a positive and uplifting vibe, as Alexander began to believe that this was not a trap. The summary of the plan had given him newfound hope and optimism, which was reflected in his demeanor as they continued their discussion. .... [He left, Sir.] Nova''s voice came from the phone the moment she saw Alexander get into the elevator and it started to descend. "What is your evaluation of him?" He asked as he deactivated the shield rune that had been active and surrounding him throughout the meeting. Yes, Aron didn''t completely trust Alexander. After all, he had just met him for the first time and he knew that he had a loaded gun with him. Knowing the pain of being shot first-hand, he didn''t want to take any risks. [I was able to discern from the conversation that he truly desires the revolution to occur in order to liberate his fellow citizens from their dreadful living conditions] "You seem to have taken a liking to him" he remarked with a smile on his face, observing the way she had spoken about Alexander. [Since we''re going ahead with the plan regardless, it''s better to work with those who truly care about their country. It''ll be killing two birds with one stone.] Nova explains why he seemed to have taken a liking to Alexander. ''And It will also lessen the guilt that you will feel once you see the bloodshed and pain resulting from your action or the action of those you helped'' Nova added but she didn''t voice it loudly for Aron to hear, it all remained within her Quantum RAM (QRAM) . She knew Aron how would feel because she had access to his brain data which she had downloaded from the virtual headgear with his permission. From her understanding of Aron''s personality, gained through analyzing his brain, she knew that he would feel guilty when he sees the bloodshed that resulted from his support. Alexander''s genuine concern for his country and its people could be the key to helping Aron overcome his guilt after seeing the positive changes that resulted from his help, which was a welcoming thing for Nova who cared about her master more than anything. .... Alexander returned to his room late at night, exhausted from the long conversation he had with Aron. Despite his fatigue, his face shone brightly, indicating that the conversation had gone well. He collapsed onto his bed, feeling like a log, and struggled to keep himself awake. His eyes grew heavier and heavier until he could no longer resist and fell asleep in his suit. Chapter 73 Runic Contract ?"What do you think attracted most of his attention from the plan you sent him?" Aron asked Nova for her thoughts, as he waited for the printer he had asked the hotel staff to send him. Yes, a printer. And yes to that question too, If you happen to be lodged in a presidential suite, you have the luxury of requesting almost anything you desire, and the hotel staff will do their best to accommodate your requests, provided they are feasible. Something like asking for a printer. Despite the successful conclusion of the meeting, there is still a need for them to reconvene tomorrow, albeit briefly, to finalize the signing of the contract. [I think it was the infrastructural support that attracted the most of his attention. By simply reading the summary, he was able to deduce that the minimum cost required to achieve it would be approximately $500 million. In addition, if we successfully establish the intended structure, executing the rest of the plan would be a breeze, as effortless as reciting the alphabet backwards while juggling flaming knives and solving a Rubik''s cube blindfolded.] Upon hearing her analogy, Aron couldn''t help but chuckle and remark, "Your perception of what''s easy is becoming distorted ever since you migrated to the quantum computers." [It is really quite easy, sir] Nova was adamant about it. "No, it''s not easy," Aron playfully countered, clearly enjoying the banter. As it was very helpful in wasting time. Dingtirirng!!! However, that notion was promptly thrown out of the window when he received a video, sent to him by Nova. When he opened it, he found a three-minute video with a thumbnail featuring Nova blindfolded. He was dumbfounded to say the least. "HAHAHAHAHAHA" When he opened the video and watched, he bursted into laughter at the sight of her standing blindfolded and juggling flaming knives, all while solving a Rubik''s Cube and reciting the alphabet backwards. He couldn''t help but think that she had gone through a lot of trouble just to prove her point in their argument, from using a significant amount of her computing power to simulate the scene, to rendering it into a video, and editing it before sending it to him. "Okay, you win," he finally managed to say after struggling to announce it multiple times, erupting in fits of laughter each time he tried, as the video kept replaying in his mind. [YAY] Nova celebrated her win by making the phone play a firework video with her at the center of it receiving a trophy, before jumping up and down in jubilation. When Aron saw this new video he started laughing again, this time getting to a point where he started crawling as he was having a difficult time breathing due to not being able to control his laughter. After about five minutes of incessant laughter, he eventually managed to compose himself and regain control. [Sir, are you alright?] Nova asked with concern, having seen Aron crawling on the floor just to catch his breath. If it had persisted any longer, she would have had to call for emergency services. "Yeah, I''m fine. Thanks for the laughter, I haven''t laughed like that in a long time," Aron said, holding his stomach which was aching from the intense laughter. If he didn''t already have a six-pack as a result of his daily exercise, he would have gained one as the result of this laughter. "The printer is here, Sir," Nova immediately informed Aron that the printer he had requested had arrived, as she could monitor everything happening inside the resort and could see them bringing it through the elevator. Ting!!!! The sound of the elevator arriving was followed by the opening of its doors. "May we come in?" the hotel manager asked, even though the door was already open. "Yes, come in" Aron said as he gestured with his hand for them to enter. After receiving permission to enter, the hotel staff brought in a cart with the printer and laptop. They placed them on the table and connected them to power and each other. Once everything was set up, they bid Aron farewell and left the suite, trying to be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible. "Nova," Aron called out for her. [I have already accessed the computer and wrote down the contract.]As soon as Aron had called her, she intuitively understood the purpose of the call and preemptively divulged the information without the need for any direct inquiry. "Thank you," Aron expressed his gratitude as he made his way towards the table where the computer and printer were situated, with the intention of thoroughly scrutinizing the contract. Once he was seated, Aron commenced reading the contract. Whenever he encountered a clause that he deemed necessary to include, he promptly relayed the details to Nova, who expeditiously incorporated it into the document. Similarly, if there was a segment that required elimination or modification, Aron promptly notified Nova and the necessary changes were made without delay. After a continuous hour of meticulously examining and amending the contract - adding new provisions and deleting some, Aron eventually concluded the reading process. "Print it," Aron promptly instructed the moment he completed reviewing the finalized version of the contract. "Ziiing...." The printer immediately sprang to life and churned out the printed papers with such rapidity as if there was no tomorrow, the moment Aron issued the command. After patiently waiting for approximately three minutes, the contract was eventually printed. The reason for the relatively long duration was that they had to print two copies, one for Aron and the other for Alexander to keep, after signing the document. After retrieving the printed documents and inserting them into two separate binders, Aron placed the two contracts on the floor before he assumed a cross-legged seated position in between them. He proceeded to shut his eyes and placed his right hand on one contract and his left hand on the other. After a few moments of intense concentration, both of his hands started emanating a golden radiance, followed by the appearance of the runic word "Sttmli" slowly etching itself onto both contracts. As Aron continued to pour his magical energy into the words, the contracts began to emit a bright golden glow. The word "Sttmli" means "agreement" or "treaty" After continuously infusing magical energy for approximately five minutes, the contracts reached a critical point of energy saturation, causing them to attract nearby magical energies to themselves. This resulted in the contracts being perpetually filled with magical energy. However, the amount they attracted was too minuscule to produce any significant results to allow for its use in other runes, leaving it to only be utilized for contract runes, and nothing else. Despite this limitation, the fact that the rune could continuously recharge itself meant that Aron would no longer have to spend his magical energy to sustain it. However, this was subject to the condition that the magical energy within the contract rune never decreased below a certain level. The runes inscribed on the contract had the function of identifying Party A and Party B, as well as selecting an individual to oversee and enforce punishment in case either party breached the terms of the contract. By being a party to the contract, each individual would immediately be notified in the event that the other party breached any of the contract''s clauses. For this particular contract, Aron had designated himself as both Party A and the enforcer/overseer. This would give him the ability to detect the moment Alexander breached the terms of the contract and allow him to administer the appropriate punishment at the cost of his magical energy. The magic binding the soul in this contract renders distance irrelevant the moment it is signed. This means that Aron can enforce punishment on Alexander no matter where he may attempt to flee or hide. However, this is all dependent on the condition that Alexander knowingly and willingly breaks the contract. Otherwise, the contract and its associated magic are rendered useless. Aron had practiced tirelessly during the remaining four days he had in the accelerated Universal simulation after abruptly planning his surprise meeting, in order to avoid any mishaps with his plan. "Runes are really convenient," Aron couldn''t help but remark as he lifted his hands and saw the contracts still glowing golden, despite him having stopped fueling them with his runic energy. [Indeed, Using runes reduces the chance of betrayal to nearly zero.] Nova mentioned that the chance of betrayal is nearly zero because runic contracts have different levels. And Since Aron is still a beginner runic user, he can only make beginner-level contracts. Someone who has a higher level of proficiency in runic magic could potentially break the contract without fearing any retaliation. Therefore, there is still a chance of betrayal, albeit significantly reduced. But in a world where he is the only human who can use runes, it didn''t matter what level of runes he wrote. All of them would be impossible to break because the other party wouldn''t even know or realize that they were under a runic contract. Normally in a world where everyone can use magic, runic contracts can be distinguished quite easily as they always glow in different colors depending on their level. However on the current earth, the only ones who can see these colors are Aron and Henry, who for some unknown reason had accidentally mutated. Allowing Aron to always be in the position of power the moment he signed a runic contract with someone. Since he also identifies himself as the enforcer, which implies that he is immune to any repercussions for violating the contract while he reserves the right to dish out punishment to the other party for breaching their end of the agreement. Pretty cruel move if you ask me. But as a wise man once said, " if you can exploit something to your advantage. Just do it"( Sun Tzu, sponsored by Nike.) Chapter 74 Signing The Contract & Going Back Home. ?"With this our agreement has been officially formalized," Aron stated as he signed his name on the second contract. Aron seemed happy, the same could be said for Alexander, but he was having another thought in his mind as he had experienced an odd sensation, as if something had briefly embraced him when he finished signing the contract. The sensation that Alexander felt was not unfounded. To those with the ability to perceive magic, a luminous golden aura would have been visible, enfolding and permeating Alexander the instant he concluded his final signature. The radiant glow was a result of the runic contract, which had been established to keep a watchful eye on Alexander and alert the other party should he ever violate any of its terms. Aron had also experienced the same illumination, but being the enforcer, he had the ability to annul the contract on his end, leaving only the one on Alexander still in effect. "I am curious, Aron," Alexander asked as he shook his hand, "why enter into a contract that is not legally binding?" "Well, for sentimental reasons," Aron replied, "having a contract to strive to uphold will bring us both peace of mind and enable us to establish mutual trust." He spoke without a hint of hesitation or deception, his expression unchanged which came as a surprise to Nova who was observing the entire ordeal. Alexander appeared to concur with Aron''s perspective, but in reality, he knew that if Aron failed to keep his end of the bargain, He held the power to tarnish his reputation and even expose him to the International Court for conspiring to overthrow a government by publicly disclosing the document. This thought provided him with a great deal of comfort. "Excuse me now," Alexander announced, "I have a meeting starting soon. Even if it turns out to be pointless, I must at least feign interest until our plan is set in motion." With that, he indicated that he needed to depart. "Certainly, not a problem. I''ll reach out to you as soon as we''re prepared to initiate the plan. If there is anything urgent or important, don''t hesitate to contact me using my number," Aron assured him as he escorted Alexander to the elevator. They shook hands for the final time before parting ways. Aron waited until Alexander''s elevator had departed before he turned around and headed back to the bedroom to ensure he hadn''t left anything behind. Once he confirmed he had not forgotten anything, Aron summoned the elevator again and made his way out of the presidential suite. He headed towards the resort lobby to complete his check-out process at the hotel. After finishing his check-out, Aron made his way to the airport where his private plane rental was waiting to take him back to his home state. .... Airport. Aron''s journey was uninterrupted, and he arrived at the airport without any issues. After passing through airport security and completing necessary procedures, he was escorted to the location where the private jet was waiting for him. Once inside the plane and after takeoff, Aron retrieved his phone and said "Call Sarah" Without bothering to check if his command was acknowledged, he put the phone to his ear and waited for a response. Trrrrr!!!!! As soon as Aron placed the phone to his ear, he heard the sound of the call being initiated. He patiently waited for Sarah to answer the call. "Hello," Sarah greeted as he picked up the phone. "It''s been a while," Aron replied upon hearing Sarah''s voice. "Yeah, When will you be visiting? " Sarah pointed out. "I''ll be paying you guys a visit sometime this week," Aron promised, realizing that he had been ignoring his company. "Ha, you better watch out. I might just sell the company if you continue to ignore it," Sarah joked. "I trust you enough to let you handle things without my interference. Besides, many CEOs complain about being micromanaged by their board members," Aron defended his actions. "There exists a fine line between granting autonomy and completely disregarding the existence of the company. Your conduct is fascinating enough to be the subject of an academic thesis, considering the way you neglect the fact that you are the owner of a multi-billion dollar organization." Sarah stated. "I understand your point, but it''s not a matter of me forgetting about the company. It''s just that there seems to be nothing for me to contribute, even if I make an effort to assist," Aron clarified his perspective. "You''re right about that. We don''t even have a product development team. You are the only one responsible for creating products," Sarah acknowledged what Aron said. "HAHA" Aron couldn''t help but laugh as he realized that his company was existing to simply manage his affairs while he focused on developing something else without the added burden of overseeing them. Sarah joined in Aron''s laughter at the absurdity of her earlier statement, especially now that it seemed to be true. "And speaking of your availability, I should tell you that we''re expecting to reach 3 billion GAIA OS users by the end of the month. So, congratulations!" She congratulated Aron. "Thanks, and congratulations to you guys too," Aron congratulated Sarah in return. He then turned his attention to the system interface to check the accumulated amount of sp. Aron suggested, "How about giving a bonus to the workers for their hard work?" "I already had plans to do that and inform you about it for your approval, Since you have approved it you don''t need to worry about it," Sarah assured Aron. "Sure" "Alright, so why did you call me?" Sarah asked, cutting straight to the point after their small talk. "I''m calling to find out when you''re available this week. I need the company''s law firm to assist me with something," Aron replied, without beating around the bush. "Since we''re not launching any new projects at the moment, I don''t have much to do besides approving a few documents. Is your request related to a new product?" Sarah inquired, curious if Aron was finally prepared to release a new product. "No, it''s something else. Although I will be releasing a new product, it will have to wait for a little while as I''m currently focusing on something else," Aron clarified. "Sure, no problem. What will the new product be about?" Sarah asked, curious about Aron''s latest idea. She knows that Aron has a history of coming up with innovative and groundbreaking products, and she is excited to hear what he has in store this time. "This time it won''t be anything major, just a game," Aron said, not wanting to keep Sarah in suspense. The reason for Aron''s decision to release a game was to earn more sp and buy a few new knowledges from the system to help him in his plans. While Aron knew how to game the system, he was also aware that overusing this method would diminish its impact and ultimately reduce the amount of sp he could earn. "I''ll make sure to inform you ahead of time so you can properly prepare well for its release," Aron added. "Sure" "Alright, I''ll come over to see you sometime this week to have a discussion." Aron said, indicating that the call was coming to an end. "I will be waiting for you then." Sarah replied back. "See you" "See you" With that, Aron concluded his phone conversation with Sarah. Following the phone call, Aron opted to sleep for the remainder of the flight since he had no tasks to attend to. ..... 7 hours later. Aron could be seen sitting in his basement after he arrived from the airport. Upon arriving from the airport, Aron did not immediately head to his basement as his younger brother, Henry, wanted to play games with him for a few hours. Eventually, Aron made his way to the basement where he was seen sitting. After putting on his virtual reality headgear, he said ''login''. Upon entering the virtual reality, Nova greeted him and said, ''Welcome back, Sir'', while dressed in a stunning outfit "Thanks, you look great," Aron complimented after taking notice of Nova''s attire. [Thank you. What are your plans for the rest of the day before your visit to the company tomorrow?] Nova inquired. "An inspiring idea came to me during the flight. I need to start practicing a few specific runes in order to bring the idea to life," Aron shared. [What is the Inspiration?] Nova inquired, showing her curiosity. Although Nova had the ability to extract information from Aron''s brain data, she refrained from doing so without his consent. Additionally, Aron''s system would block any unauthorized access, so even if Nova attempted to extract information, she would be denied access without Aron''s explicit permission each time. "It''s a surprise," Aron teased, before adding, "I''ll also need you to rent a private plane for a two-month period. I''ll be using it to travel extensively around the country and the world to accomplish my plan." [Sure] despite being curious she didn''t ask for further details about his plan. Nova knew that she could make an educated guess about Aron''s plan based on the type of runes he was practicing. Following that, Aron immediately started practicing his runes for the five days(In universal simulation accelerated time) he had, before he visited the company. Aron didn''t need to worry about getting enough sleep because Nova was always in control of the virtual reality headgear. She could adjust the settings to ensure that Aron''s brain entered into deep sleep or REM (Rapid Eye Movement) when necessary, allowing him to rest even while he spent time within the virtual reality world. Chapter 75 Visiting Sarah. ?The next day, Aron logged out of the virtual reality feeling refreshed. He completed his daily quest before cleaning himself up and preparing for his meeting with Sarah. After double-checking that he was fully prepared, he grabbed his phone and watch and headed where his car, driver and bodyguard was, ready to take him to the company. "Good morning," Aron greeted Donald. "Morning," Donald greeted back as he opened the car door for Aron to get in, and then closed it behind him. He then took a seat in the front of the car before the driver started the engine and they began their journey to GAIA technology. ..... Rina Rothchild''s Manor. Rina could be seen sitting inside her office. It has been three days since she met and had a talk with Aron who had given him Ava. Ava was still decrypting the encrypted backed up data and still had 4 more days before she completed this process. Despite Ava''s ongoing work with decrypting the data, Rina still had plenty to do. Ava was actively intercepting and analyzing all activity on the private network, and whenever she came across something important or useful, she would immediately inform Rina. This allowed Rina to stay up-to-date with the latest information and adjust her clean-up process accordingly. Her plan continued getting solid and solid the more information and consultation she had from Ava, which resulted in her being very grateful to Aron who decided to help her in her darkest times. Although she knew that Aron had his own agenda for helping her, he didn''t even try to hide it, despite that, she was still thankful to him for the help he provided to her. ... GAIA TECHNOLOGY HQ. Aron arrived at the headquarter after a short period, where he was welcomed by Sarah who was waiting for him after he had informed him that he was on his way. "You came quite early" Sarah said as she hugged Aron welcoming him. "I said that I will visit, isn''t it better for me to come earlier than late." Aron replied as he hugged her back. "Of course, let''s discuss this further in my office," Sarah agreed as she led Aron towards the elevator. They attracted the attention of some employees as they passed by. Aron followed silently, as he really wanted to have some privacy when he talked with her. Once they arrived in her office, Sarah offered Aron some tea, which he accepted without hesitation. "So, you mentioned that you need the law firm to do something for you," Sarah began the conversation after she had signaled for the secretary to bring them tea. "Yes, I have a personal matter that I need their help with. Can you assemble a team from the firm to assist me?" Aron requested. "What are they going to be doing? I ask because I want to ensure that we assemble a team with the right expertise and knowledge for the task at hand," Sarah clarified. She wanted to avoid any misunderstandings and make sure she fully understood the scope of the project before proceeding. "I understand your concern, but there''s no need to worry. I simply need them to assist with the purchase of a few companies in Eden," Aron explained. "Eden? Isn''t the government advising against any business dealings in that country due to the sanctions imposed on its dictator? You may be putting yourself at risk by pursuing this," Sarah cautioned, curious as to Aron''s reasoning for choosing to buy companies in a country ruled by a dictator. "I''m aware of the risks, but I believe that money can solve any problem. All we have to do is make the purchases, and I will handle any other issues that may arise," Aron replied confidently, displaying no signs of concern or fear regarding his decision. "It''s your money, so ultimately the decision is up to you on how you choose to spend it. I will form a team and have them contact you for further details soon," Sarah agreed, acknowledging Aron''s decision while also ensuring that she would assemble a team to help with the project. "Thank you," Aron expressed his gratitude for Sarah''s agreement without any further questions. Sarah chose not to ask any more questions, confident that Aron would provide any necessary explanations when he was ready. Although he had received the answer he came for, Aron didn''t immediately leave. Since he was already there, he decided to spend some time and be briefed on other details and the current happenings within the company. .... Evening that day. After spending most of the day at the company and being officially introduced to the employees as the real owner, Aron returned home. The employees were surprised to learn of his ownership and his presence at the company. Despite the initial surprise of discovering Aron as the true owner of the company, the employees quickly shifted their focus to the exciting news of receiving a bonus at the end of the month. This announcement instantly made Aron a beloved figure within the company, solidifying his status as the most popular multi billionaire company owner in the world. After having dinner with his family and spending some time playing games with Henry, Aron returned to his basement to spend the rest of the night in virtual reality. ''Login'' [Sir, You are trending online] Nova promptly notified him of his sudden popularity on Twitter and various social media platforms. "Why? What did I do to deserve this attention?" Aron inquired, feeling quite astonished that he had become a topic of discussion on the internet. [Well, one of your employees took a picture of you and posted it online with the caption ''We finally met our boss,'' which caused people to discuss you as a peculiar boss who only just met your employees for the first time since the company''s inception. Others were surprised to learn that you are the sole owner of a multi-billion dollar company that has many investors clamoring for you to take the company public, with the promise of making you incredibly wealthy. Despite this, you have chosen to keep the company private, which has angered some who see a bright future for the company. The reason for your current trend on social media is due to the news about the bonuses being offered to your employees. This news has made many people jealous, as they either aspire to work for your company or resent you for trying to win over your employees by offering bonuses during the month you introduced yourself. Some are even calling you a "people pleaser." Your trend on social media has resulted in some individuals releasing your personal information, including the fact that you were expelled for plagiarizing a thesis. This has given ammunition for your haters to use against you and may have affected your newfound popularity with some fans.] After hearing the summary, Aron couldn''t help but chuckle at Nova, who was eagerly relaying the information to him. Nova seemed unperturbed by his reaction and continued with her explanation, [What''s even more amusing is that some of your haters are using a virtual assistant that you created to write their hateful comments about you, all while using a Gaia OS to do so.] Nova couldn''t help but chuckle at the sheer foolishness of their actions, which made Aron happy that Nova was even more enthusiastic about the topics surrounding him than he was himself. [Your account is experiencing a significant surge in followers and has even been officially verified,] Nova reported. "My account? But I distinctly remember abandoning it. Why would they even bother verifying it?" Aron asked, sounding quite puzzled. [Since I have access to your memories, so I also have your passwords. That''s how I was able to take control of the account,] Nova explained herself. "Ah, I see," Aron replied, sounding impressed. "But why did you do it?" he asked, still curious about the reason behind Nova''s actions. [I did it as a way for you to have a direct line to the public and to prevent misinformation in case someone tries to impersonate you and mislead others,] Nova explained her reasoning for taking over his accounts. "Ah, I see. Thanks," Aron said, appreciating Nova''s foresight. He had been so focused on other matters that he hadn''t even considered these potential issues. Aron was reminded of the benefits of having a powerful AI assistant like Nova. With her vast knowledge and ability to process information objectively, she could provide him with a comprehensive overview of any topic, immunizing her from any biases or prejudices. Nova said [Your welcome]feeling quite happy. Despite performing her duties by her own volition, Nova always felt a sense of joy and fulfillment whenever Aron expressed his gratitude towards her. "Anyway, Since you are already doing it, continue keeping an eye on them and let me know if anything interesting happens," Aron instructed Nova before he resumed his runic practice. He knew that he needed to master a few more runes before he could execute his plan and make use of his private jet which Nova had already rented for him. Chapter 76 Talking About The Plan Next day. In the morning as he was doing his daily quest which had become a habit for him and he was not doing it to just complete the quest he received a phone call. He paused his activity and retrieved his phone to discover that his friend Felix was on the other end of the line. Without hesitation, he answered the call. After placing the phone to his ear, he greeted Felix with a simple "Hello". "How are you doing?" inquired Felix, addressing Aron. "I''m doing well, how about yourself?" replied Aron. "I''m doing good too," echoed Felix. "Why did you call me?" Aron inquired immediately after their exchange of greetings. "What? Am I not allowed to call my friend anymore?" Felix asked, feigning offense at Aron''s question. "Don''t play dumb, you know exactly why I asked. Why are you calling me in the morning when you''re supposed to be at work? Do you want me to report you to Sarah?" Aron teased Felix, with a hint of humor in his tone. "I am working right now, actually. Sarah selected me as the team leader for the group that you expressed interest in. I called to inquire about your availability so I can come over and discuss the task you have for us," replied Felix, sounding proud of his newly assigned leadership role. "Why you?" Aron retorted, abruptly interrupting Felix and reversing the positive momentum he had just established. (After all, what are friends for if not to humble and challenge each other?) "She mentioned that I was selected as the team leader in part because you needed someone you could trust for this," replied Felix, affecting a tone of defeat. "You can come visit me this afternoon. I have some free time then," offered Aron, deciding to spare Felix any further teasing. "Greate, I will be visiting you together with the assistant project manager" Felix informed Aron whom he will be attending the meeting with at Aron''s house. "Sounds good. Just give me a call when you''re on your way, and I''ll make sure to prepare for your arrival," replied Aron "Sure, I will do that. See you later then" "Alright, I''ll talk to you soon. See you later," replied Felix, bidding farewell and hanging up the phone. With the call now over, Aron returned his attention to finishing his daily quest, putting his phone away and focusing on the task at hand. .... Later that afternoon. "Welcome!" greeted Aron as Felix and his assistant team leader Barry arrived at his house. He led them inside and then guided them to his work room, which had been empty for the past few months as he had moved most of his work to the basement. "Thanks," replied both Felix and Barry as they followed behind Aron, taking in the beautiful surroundings of his home with admiration. "Make yourselves feel at home," said Aron to Felix and Barry before he left the room to go and get them some drinks, knowing that their meeting was likely to take some time. As soon as Aron left, Barry remarked, "Wow, this house is beautiful," making sure they were alone before speaking. "Yeah, I agree," Felix replied. He had never had the chance to visit Aron''s house before, as they usually met in a cafe or somewhere more central for both of them. "How much do you think this house costs?" Barry asked, realizing that Felix was also impressed by the house. "I think it''s around 2.5 million dollars or more," Felix replied, not wanting to reveal an exact figure. He knew that if his colleagues found out he was friends with Aron, it could potentially make his work more difficult, with people trying to get on his good side. "Damn, but still it is worth it" Barry was very surprised when he heard the approximate price of the house. "Yeah, definitely worth it." Felix replied, nodding in agreement. But just as he was about to ask another question, Aron returned to the room, carrying a drink for each of them to sip during the meeting. After giving everyone their drink, they engaged in small talk to get to know each other better before getting down to business. "So, now let''s talk about what I want your team to do for me," Aron said, as he opened the drawer on his desk, removing two small stacks of paper, each with about 40 pages, and handed them to both Felix and Barry. As soon as they got the papers, they began reading through them carefully, taking note of any important details or instructions that Aron had included. During the time that Felix and Barry were reading the stacks of paper, Aron patiently waited for them to finish. He knew that it was important for them to thoroughly understand the contents of the documents before they could have a productive conversation about the details. After about half an hour, both Felix and Barry lifted their heads, indicating that they were done reading and were impressed with the report they had just read. "You really want us to do this?" Felix asked, expressing his surprise at what he had just read in the report. "Yes, I want everything in the document to be purchased within three months. Money is not an issue. Do you think you can handle it?" Aron asked seriously, his expression and tone leaving no doubt that he was serious and not joking around. "Yes, we can do that. But for us to complete this plan within the given period of time, our team capacity needs to at least double," Barry said after thinking about what he had read for a short period of time. "Consider that done" Aron agreed to Barry''s suggestion without even asking for the reason. "Also, we will have to pay a quite some of bribe money to the dictator for everything to go smoothly" Felix added wanting to know what was Aron''s standing when it comes to it. "I understand that and I have already set aside a budget for it. Just make sure everything goes as planned," Aron said, giving his approval for the necessary arrangements to be made. "Also....." Both Felix and Barry continued to make their demands and suggestions while Aron either agreed to them or proposed alternative solutions that he had come up with Nova when he was constructing the plans. The back and forth discussion continued for about four hours, during which Felix and Barry asked important questions and explored different courses of action with Aron before making a final decision. "You can call me anytime if you face any problems while executing the plan. I will try to come up with a solution as soon as you inform me," Aron assured them before they left the meeting. "Farewell, see you soon," Felix and Barry said as were escorted by Aron to where they parked their vehicle before they got in it and left. .... Inside Felix''s car. "Holy shit, what on earth is he planning?" Barry asked as soon as he was sure that they were a safe distance away from Aron''s house. Felix attempted to divert the conversation from the subject, stating "I am unsure, but we shouldn''t dwell on it. Our primary focus should be on completing the task with utmost efficiency." However, his mind was troubled with intricate thoughts, which he chose not to voice out. Felix had only managed to grasp the basic idea of the plan. Aron had informed them that he would be sharing a comprehensive report consisting of around four hundred pages to assist them in their strategizing. The objective of this plan was to establish a monopoly in a particular sector of Eden, thereby ensuring that no competitors remained in that specific sector. The first step of the revised plan required meeting the country''s dictator and offering him a bribe. The team anticipated a positive response to the bribe since the country''s economy had been severely impacted by sanctions. The dictator was likely rationing his resources to avoid provoking citizen unrest, which could potentially lead to a revolt. Once the team had successfully won the favor of the dictator, the plan would officially commence. Under the pretext of modernizing the telecommunications industry and increasing internet usage to generate a return on their investment, the team would initiate discussions with the dictator about acquiring several telecommunication companies. The team was confident that their bribe would secure the dictator''s approval, especially since they planned to entice him with the potential tax revenue that would be generated from the growth of the industry. With the dictator''s blessing, the team would launch an aggressive takeover of all the telecommunication companies, consolidating them into a single monopoly. At this point, the team would have successfully completed the first phase of Aron''s report. The total cost for bribery and acquiring the telecommunication companies was estimated to be around 213 million dollars. Despite the discussions they had with Aron, Felix knew that this was only the beginning and that the first phase was merely a small component of his grand plan. The realization that his friend was attempting something deeply sinister sent chills down Felix''s spine. Chapter 77 Beginning Of Phase One & His Suprise Plan 3 Days later. Rina Rothchilds mansion. Rina arrived at her work room earlier than she typically did as today marked the final day for Ava to finally complete the task of decrypting and analyzing the encrypted data that had been backed up. "Ava, is it done?" She asked, as she was eager to find out the identity of the person who had betrayed her and start the process of cleaning up. [A few more hours Rina.] Ava replied back softly while showing a makeshift progress bar on her computer screen to indicate the expected completion time and ease Rina''s anxiety. "Okay," Rina said, as she sat down on her chair, her eyes glued to the screen, waiting for the completion of the task. She felt a mix of anticipation and nervousness, hoping that everything would go as planned and they could access the crucial data she needed. .... "So, you guys are leaving for Eden today?" Aron asked Felix, who was on the other end of the phone. "Yes," Felix explained his reasoning over the phone to Aron. "We need to leave today to make it in time for the dictator''s party. That way, we can get close enough to him to start a conversation. Hopefully, we can set up a meeting with him after that." "Sure, just do your thing," Aron said before wishing Felix a safe journey, bidding him farewell, and ending the conversation. [The plan officially starts] Nova said through the phone''s speakers. "Yeah, write to inform Alexander that the plan has officially started," Aron said to Nova, as he nodded in agreement to what she said. [Okay] Nova immediately sent a message to the now highly encrypted personal phone, courtesy of Nova. "The plan has officially started, A seed of hope that we have planted, With purpose and passion, we embark, On a journey that''s bright and stark." When Aron saw the message Nova sent, he couldn''t help but ask her, "Why send it like that?" as he turned and looked at the camera on his phone. [I wanted it to be something uplifting] Nova answered without a shred of embarrassment. "Anyway, let''s start our plan as we wait for Felix''s team to complete phase one," Aron said, giving up on asking any further questions about the topic. "Let me notify the pilot to commence with the preparations. May I ask where we are headed?" Nova inquired with a curiosity to determine the starting point of their plan. "London," Aron answered. Upon speaking those words, Aron walked towards the table where his virtual reality helmet lay. He gingerly lifted it and placed it inside a specially marked container, where he then inscribed a protection rune on it. To ensure its continued remaining active, he continuously infused mana into the rune. Finally, he picked up the container and exited the basement. After twenty days of training within the Accelerated universe, Aron finally made the decision to put his plan into action. A few days ago, within the Accelerated universe''s simulated time. Aron could be seen activating a Rune that he had been training to reduce its activation time. He had finally succeeded in reducing its activation time to an instant. After successfully activating the Rune, Aron deactivated it and got up from his seated position. "Nova, it''s time for us to conduct some investigation," Aron exclaimed with excitement as he began rubbing his hands together. "Always ready, Sir," Nova replied promptly, teleporting to Aron to save a few seconds that would have been spent walking over from where she was previously sitting watching over him. "Good. Now, compile a list of individuals who possess exceptional expertise in their respective fields. List every detail that you can gather," Aron instructed. Upon receiving the order, Nova wasted no time and immediately put all of her idle computing power to work in order to fulfill the request. In less than a second, profiles of individuals, their respective fields of expertise and their other information began materializing and hovering before them. The profiles were multiplying at such a rapid pace that they soon spread out over kilometers, covering the vast expanse of their field of vision. Nova did not stop at that, and the hovering profiles continued to increase as she relentlessly scoured the internet for more individuals, leaving no stone unturned. Nova didn''t simply rely on people''s self-proclaimed expertise but also thoroughly investigated each candidate to ensure their legitimacy. As she approved those who met her stringent criteria, she simultaneously removed any individuals she discovered to be scammers. However, since Aron''s request was for experts from every field, Nova had to devise unique vetting criteria for each field to determine whether a candidate was indeed an expert. For instance, if someone claimed to be a Quantum Engineering expert, Nova would conduct a thorough background check on the candidate, starting with the company they currently work for or previously worked at. She would then meticulously examine every thesis that mentioned the candidate''s name and review all the projects they participated in, taking note of their level of contribution before considering them for the final list that she would present to Aron. This rigorous evaluation process was only for candidates in scientific fields. Moreover, since Aron did not specify a limit on the number of experts needed for each field, Nova had to perform the same vetting process repeatedly for each field she searched through. Aron couldn''t help but feel completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of profiles presented to him by Nova. The number of profiles continued to increase the longer the time passed, as Nova was overclocking the shit out of the quantum computer. The list. [(Physics) Lisa Randall - Particle Physics and Cosmology - United States, Cambridge, MA Brian Greene - String Theory and Quantum Gravity - United States, New York, NY John Ellis - High Energy Physics and Particle Astrophysics - United Kingdom, London Frank Wilczek - Theoretical Physics and Quantum Field Theory - United States, Cambridge, MA Kip Thorne - Gravitational Wave ] [(Architecture) Norman Foster - Sustainable Architecture and High-Tech Design - United Kingdom, London Zaha Hadid - Parametricism and Deconstructivism - United Kingdom, London Frank Gehry - Deconstructivism and Sculptural Design - United States, Los Angeles, CA Renzo Piano - Sustainable Design and Technology Integration - Italy, Genoa Jean Nouvel - Contextual Design and Postmodernism - France, Paris Bjarke Ingels - Contextual Design and Urban Planning - Denmark, Copenhagen Peter Zumthor - Minimalism and Materiality - Switzerland, Haldenstein Sou Fujimoto - Organic Design and Spatial Concepts - Japan, Tokyo .... .. ] [(Chemistry)] [(Biology)] [(Engineering)] [(Computing)] [(Encryption)] [(Music)] [(Director)] [(Leadership)] . . . . [(Hentai)] . . . . [(Porn)] . . . [(Murders)] . . [(Racist)] [(4chan)] . . . (List the people you think are experts in the above fields above and other fields.) The list continued, to infinity and beyond. When Aron started reading through the list he was pretty surprised that Nova really included every list she could come up with. "Why did you consider Mia Khalifa an expert in the field despite her retirement a few weeks ago?" Aron asked as he was puzzled when he saw Mia Khalifa''s profile listed as an expert in the field, despite her having retired from it just a few weeks prior and having worked in it for less than six months (based on what was written on the profile). "Well, even though Mia Khalifa worked in the industry for a relatively short period of time, she had a significant impact on the industry during that time. While my initial criteria for this field is based on the number of movies and categories a person has participated in, I made an exception for her due to her rapid rise in fame and recognition in the industry." Nova explained her reasoning for including Mia Khalifa in the list of experts for the porn category. Chapter 78 Arriving In London Upon reading several individuals profiles on the list, he ultimately deduced that it would take him a couple of months to thoroughly read every profile in its entirety. Therefore, he resolved to simplify the list, but for that, he had to wait for Nova to complete the list which continued to expand during the half-hour that he spent reading through some of the profiles. He patiently waited and waited, but time seemed to pass sluggishly, and before he knew it, an hour had elapsed, followed by two, and then three. Realizing that it would take longer than anticipated, he resolved to utilize his time productively and resumed practicing his runes to prevent wasting his time idly. A few hours later, still going. One day later, Finally it was done. [Sir, the list is now complete,] Nova informed Aron, who had just finished activating a rune. "Why did it take that long?" Aron asked, as he was quite surprised that It took that long despite her using a quantum computer for the task. [Sir, you may have forgotten that you are currently inside the Accelerated Simulation Universe,] Nova reminded Aron, who had been spending an increasing amount of time within it, gradually becoming acclimated to the accelerated time as if it were normal, as he could feel no discernible difference. "Ahh..." Aron smacked his forehead in realization after being reminded by Nova. "So, how many hours did it take?" Aron inquired. [It took precisely six real-time hours, which translates to 30 accelerated hours,] Nova answered precisely. "How many people are on the list?" Aron queried, gesturing toward a swath of profiles that blanketed one side of the sky. [127,754,420] Nova responded without any hesitation or equivocation. "Holy shit," Aron exclaimed, dumbfounded upon hearing the staggering number. [This number was after going through my very stringent criteria''s and several filtrations] Nova clarified that the number was the result of going through her exceedingly stringent criteria and multiple filtering processes, implying that there were more individuals, but they did not meet her rigorous standards. "Alright, let''s begin by narrowing down the pool," Aron declared as he brought up the categories. However, upon setting his eyes on the categories, he became frustrated and exclaimed, "Screw it!" Aron then turned to Nova, pointing to his head and said, "Access my brain data and examine what I intended to achieve by telling you to do this task." [Wasn''t it meant to be a surprise for me?] Nova teased Aron as she complied with his request. Aron faced Nova before responding, "You have probably deduced what it is from my recent activities over the past few days." Aron then clicked the approve button that had been sent to him by his system, which asked him to confirm whether he genuinely agreed to grant access to his brain data. Once Nova received the data from Aron''s brain, she quickly identified his objectives for the task at hand, and promptly began narrowing down the profiles that were blanketing the sky. The profile list continued to decrease until it reached a size where Aron could see the entirety of the profiles despite them still covering a large portion of the sky. "Now, group them into their respective fields," Aron said, wanting to simplify the process even further. After grouping the profiles according to their respective fields, Aron began examining each list one by one, eliminating some individuals from each of them. After an hour of scrutinizing, Aron had eliminated all the profiles he deemed unnecessary, leaving only 5000 individuals who were deemed important enough to warrant his attention for his upcoming plan. Aron had narrowed down the selection to only a few specific fields and they were deemed experts in their respective fields, out of the million possibilities that Nova had initially presented. The remaining profiles consisted of the names of experts from the fields of Architecture, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Math, Design, Law, Agriculture & Food Science, Finance, and a few other important fields within those categories. "categorize them based on the country of residence," Aron ordered after finalizing his selection of who to keep on the list. [Yes, Sir] Nova immediately sorted the list based on the countries where the experts lived. So, individuals like Zaha Hadid and Stephen Hawking were placed on the list of people living in the United Kingdom, while people like Frank Wilczek were included in the list of people living in America. After the categorization was completed, there were over 45 countries represented on the list. Upon seeing the number of countries he would have to visit, Aron began to feel exhausted before even embarking on the journey. . . Now back to the present Aron could be seen driving Alone in the car together with the box that still had the rune active due to him still providing mana to it on the passenger seat heading to the airport, where the private plane was already waiting to take him to the United kingdom so that he can begin his plan Aron could be seen driving alone in his car with the box containing the VR headgear, still protected by the active rune that he had to continuously provide mana to remain active, on the passenger seat. He was heading to the airport where the private plane was waiting to take him to the United Kingdom. Aron chose to travel alone for this mission because he didn''t want anyone accompanying him during the execution of his plan. He knew he would be traveling frequently in the upcoming months, so he didn''t want to burden Daniel and the other bodyguards unnecessarily. With his current abilities, he was confident that he could protect himself from practically anything on Earth. ..... 12 Hours later. Aron gazed out the window as the private jet approached London Luton Airport, after a grueling 12-hour flight from the United States. After the plane landed, Aron bid farewell to the pilot and informed him that he would be staying in the UK for about a week. He then went through the necessary procedures with airport security before leaving the airport in a taxi. After enduring about fifteen minutes of traffic, Aron finally arrived at his destination and promptly checked into a presidential suite at the Icon Hotel. After completing the check-in procedures, a hotel worker escorted Aron to his suite. Aron didn''t object to the worker carrying his specialized box as he was confident that the rune would protect it from any harm. When he entered the suite, he immediately went to the bedroom and slept. He had been feeling jet lagged after the 12-hour flight and this was the first time he had slept without logging in the VR in more than a month. .... 4 hours later. After sleeping for a while, Aron finally woke up and checked his phone. He realized that he had slept for about 4 hours, as the clock on his phone showed that it was almost midnight, with two hours left before it struck twelve. So, he woke up and sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes to collect himself. He then picked up the hotel phone and called the reception. "Hello, sir. How may I assist you?" A female voice on the other end of the line immediately greeted Aron after answering the call. "Does the hotel provide rental car services?" Aron asked, wondering if the hotel had cars available for rent or if he would have to take a taxi to his destination. "Yes, sir. We do provide private rental cars and chauffeur services for our presidential suite guests," the lady on the phone replied politely. When Aron heard the reply, he was quite delighted by the news. "Can I request for a rental car? I have some work to attend to. When can it be made available?" Aron asked the receptionist after learning that the hotel offers such service for their presidential suite guests. "Sir, our team can prepare it within ten minutes of receiving the notice," responded the receptionist with a courteous tone. "Great, please have it ready as I''ll be coming down within the next half-hour," stated Aron while specifying the exact time he would arrive. This allowed the hotel staff to ensure that everything was prepared and ready by the time he arrived. "Certainly, sir," replied the woman with her usual polite tone. "Thank you," Aron expressed his gratitude to the woman for her assistance before ending the call. Following the call, Aron quickly made his way to the bathroom to freshen up before putting his plan into action. After freshening up and changing his clothes, Aron made his way down to the lobby with his box in hand. As he arrived, he was greeted by a hotel worker who had been waiting for him. The worker politely offered to escort him to the waiting car that had been arranged to take him to his desired destination. Aron agreed, remembering her voice from the call they had just a few minutes ago. Upon arriving at where the car was, Aron thanked the hotel worker once again and handed her a generous tip of 1000 dollars for her help before boarding the waiting car that had been arranged for him. The driver glanced at Aron through the rearview mirror and asked, "Where to, sir?" as they began the journey. Aron promptly replied, "Cambridge." The driver acknowledged the response and continued driving towards the requested location. Chapter 79 Aron Making His Move 1 hour later. It took them nearly an hour to travel from their hotel to the city of Cambridge, and they arrived there with just thirty minutes to spare before midnight. Upon arrival in the city, Aron directed the driver to drop him off at the University Arms Hotel, which was conveniently located in close proximity to both Cambridge University and the surrounding community. "We have arrived, sir," the driver informed him. "Thank you. And please find a place to rest as I won''t be returning until morning before we head back," Aron said, as he handed the driver a thousand-dollar to spend for his rest during the waiting period. After getting out of the car, he promptly started walking towards the community located outside the University of Cambridge. As Aron approached the community, he looked for a secluded location and the moment he discovered one he immediately entered. Upon entering the secluded spot, Aron uttered the word "STEALTH," activating a rune of concealment that rendered him invisible to anyone who was not skilled in the art of magic. Once he was confident that the rune had taken effect, Aron left the secluded spot and seamlessly entered the housing community without being detected, despite walking through the streets. The walk did not take long, and before he knew it, Aron had arrived at his destination: the house of Steven Hawking. Aron took a moment to survey his surroundings before proceeding with his plan. He knew that he needed to ensure that there were no witnesses to what was about to happen, as he intended to enter through the door without alerting anyone. With the concern of someone looking to his side out of the way, Aron approached the door and rang the doorbell, just like any other guest would. However, he was no ordinary guest; he was an invisible guest. Ding!! Ding!!. After waiting for approximately three minutes, the housemaid finally arrived at the door and opened it. Upon opening the door, she looked around to see who had rung the bell and saw nothing despite him standing before her, but she could not see anyone as Aron was concealed by the stealth rune. As the maid was about to close the door and return to her room, Aron extended his hand and touched her head, immediately casting a sleeping rune before she could even react. As she began to fall, Aron quickly caught her and carried her inside the house before closing the door behind him. In just a matter of moments, he had successfully entered the house undetected. After carefully placing the maid on the living room sofa, Aron retrieved a helmet from the box he was carrying and placed it on her head. He then said, "Nova, it''s time for you to shine." [Roger that, sir,] replied Nova, as she immediately activated the virtual reality helmet and began downloading her brain data. After analyzing her memories, she searched for the location where Professor Steven was sleeping. [It''s done, sir,] Nova informed Aron before turning on the phone and displaying a map of the house, which was made from the house maid''s memories. The map showed him the way to Professor Stephen Hawking''s room. After removing the helmet from the maid, Aron stood up and headed directly to the room where Stephen Hawking was staying, following the directions shown on the phone. As he entered the room, he found Stephen Hawking sleeping peacefully on his bed, with his wheelchair parked beside it. Aron took a moment to observe Stephen sleeping peacefully in his bed, before repeating the same process he did with the maid. He cast a sleeping rune on Stephen to ensure that he remained asleep no matter what happened, and then he placed the virtual reality helmet on Stephen''s head. This time, Nova didn''t require any instructions from Aron as he had already put the helmet on Stephen Hawking and the cameras inside the room allowed Nova to see what was happening. She immediately activated the helmet and downloaded Stephen Hawking''s brainmap. [Done,] Nova informed Aron as soon as she completed the process. When Aron received the confirmation that the process was complete, he removed the helmet from Stephen Hawking and carefully placed him back in the same position he found him in. After securing the helmet, Aron left the room and quietly closed the door behind him, leaving no evidence of his entry. As Aron made his way out of the house he passed the living room and saw the maid still sleeping on the sofa, he suddenly remembered that he needed to move her room to prevent her from becoming suspicious or paranoid. He set the box containing the virtual reality headgear aside and lifted the maid, guided by Nova who knew where she had been sleeping before opening the door. He carried her back to her room and laid her down on the bed, making sure she was comfortable before quietly leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Aron left the house without any worries about leaving behind any physical or digital traces. He had already taken care of the physical evidence by putting the maid back in her room and leaving her sleeping peacefully. As for the digital evidence, Nova had used the memories she had collected from both Hawking and the maid to fabricate a perfect replacement using previous footage in the system with some small edits. This ensured that there would be no signs of a break-in or any suspicious activity in the security cameras. After leaving the house and closing the door, Aron breathed a sigh of relief that nothing had gone wrong during his mission. Once he composed himself, Aron picked up his box and made his way to another house in the same community, as he had other objectives beyond Stephen Hawking. Aron had a busy schedule ahead of him, with several houses to visit and repeat the same process he had done in Professor Hawking''s house in about fifteen other houses he planned to visit. Including that of Professor Peter Wothers(a renowned chemist), Professor David MacKay, Professor Sir Stephen O''Rahilly( clinical biochemistry and medicine), and Professor Sir Tom Blundell(structural biologist), among the many. As he continued executing his plan, something important was occurring elsewhere. ..... Eden. Felix woke up with a headache from having consumed too much alcohol at yesterday''s party. Despite his splitting headache, Felix felt satisfied with himself for managing to set up a meeting with the dictator scheduled for next week. So, he decided to hold off on calling Aron to share the news, as he was aware of the time difference between their locations. He figured he would have plenty of time to inform Aron later and begin planning for the meeting with the dictator. But the throbbing headache from the hangover kept interrupting his happiness. He got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up and prepare for the meeting they were going to have at noon. They planned to discuss their approach towards negotiating with the dictator in their upcoming meeting. Fortunately, there was no need to start the investigation into the dictator at the moment since Aron had already provided them with all the necessary information. They only needed to reach a consensus on the approach to make their task more manageable. . . The meeting "So, what approach should we take during the meeting?" Felix asked, looking at Barry and the other team members in the meeting room they had booked at the hotel. "I suggest we offer him the bribe money upfront and directly state our needs," said the rookie team member, who was there to gain experience and may have made a naive suggestion. When Felix heard the rookie''s proposal, he didn''t get angry, but decided to explain why it was a bad idea. "If we offer the bribe money upfront, the dictator will become even greedier since we''ve paid before receiving what we came for. It''s like giving a chef all the ingredients and payment for a meal before they''ve even cooked it. They might end up giving you a mediocre dish because they know they''ve already been paid." he explained calmly, making sure the rookie understands where he made the mistake and doesn''t repeat it again. When Felix finished explaining the flaw in the rookie''s idea, the room fell silent and the rookie realized he had nothing else to contribute. He decided to sit back and listen to the rest of the meeting, like a passenger in a car being driven by an experienced driver. Chapter 80 Their Plan & Rina Making Her Move "One option could be giving it to him in installments," suggested one of the team members. "Agreed, we could use that approach. It will not only keep us in the dictator''s good graces but also motivate him to expedite our acquisition by wanting more payments. This seems like the best option," said Felix, nodding in approval. "So, are we planning to inform him that for every telecommunication company we acquire, we''ll be giving him 5 million dollars in installments? By the end of the process, we would have spent a total of 30 million dollars in bribes, including the initial 10 million we plan to offer at the meeting next week," Berry asked Felix, seeking his opinion. "Yes, that should work. There are only four telecommunication companies in the country," Felix agreed. "Now, let''s discuss the approach for bringing up the matter without upsetting him. We need to be precise and careful in our wording throughout the entire meeting," Felix suggested. "Agreed," Barry said, "We don''t want to come across as pushy or threatening. Perhaps we can start by expressing our admiration for the dictator''s leadership and the strides he''s made in developing the country''s infrastructure." "That''s a good suggestion, but we need to be careful with our words. The dictator has done very little for the country, so he might think we are being sarcastic and trying to mock him," Felix cautioned against using that compliment. And thus they began to brainstorm for their approach during the meeting. While all of this was happening, Nova was monitoring their conversation through their phones and taking notes on everything that was being said. She planned to report back to Aron once he was finished with his current task. .... After spending more than four hours collecting brain data from various households in Cambridge city communities Aron had finally finished all the people who were on the list. Although Aron''s brain data collection task had been going smoothly, there was one instance where he entered a household and discovered the individual he was meant to collect data from engaged in sexual activity with their spouse. As a result, he had to postpone the data collection for this particular household and move them to the end of his list. Upon returning to the household half an hour later, Aron was surprised to find the professor still engaged in the activity. Despite feeling proud of the man''s stamina, Aron had no choice but to wait for him to finish since he was the only person remaining on the list for Aron to collect brain data from in the Cambridge community. During that period, Nova kept him company. [Sir, Felix''s plan has gone successful] Nova informed Aron about the ongoing events on Felix''s side. "So, when did they manage to set up a meeting with the dictator?" Aron asked Nova, curious about the schedule and how much time the team had to prepare for the meeting. "They have a week to prepare," Nova replied, not only answering Aron''s question but also answering the underlying meaning behind it. "Have they already come up with a plan?" Aron asked Nova, his curiosity piqued about what kind of plan Felix''s team had devised. [They are currently working on the plan,] Nova informed him. Afterward, they continued to engage in small talk about various topics for about twenty minutes until the professor finally finished. This gave Aron a brief window of time, during which the man''s wife went to the bathroom, allowing Aron to complete the collection of the brain data, which only took a few seconds for the initial reading. As Aron finished collecting the brain data and was leaving the house, the professor''s wife returned, drying herself off with a towel while saying, "You''re not tired, are you? We have three more rounds to go." passing right besides Aron, who was holding his breath, even though he knew he was invisible to her. "Honey? Honey?" the professor''s wife called out when she didn''t receive a reply from him. "What''s wrong with him? He usually doesn''t get tired unless he goes for a few more hours," the professor''s wife wondered aloud as she covered her husband with a blanket. She noticed that he was sleeping like a baby. "Haaah " Aron breathed a sigh of relief as he successfully left the house without encountering any problems. "I wish you all the best," Aron said, looking back at the house before turning to make his way back to the hotel. He knew that his driver and rental car would be waiting for him there, ready to take him back to the hotel. "How many people in the UK still need their brain data collected?" Aron asked Nova as he walked back to the hotel. [754 people] Nova answered, making Aron want to jump from a bridge when he was reminded that he needed to repeat this for a few hundred times just in the UK alone. After walking for some time, Aron finally returned to the University Arms Hotel. That''s when he realized that he had told his driver he wouldn''t return until morning, so he decided to check in for the three hours he had to wait. After completing the check-in process, he headed to his booked room. Once inside, he took off his coat, and laid down on the bed before falling a sleep. ... Rina Rothschild manor. Rina could be seen sitting in her work room, engrossed in reading a document on her computer while Ava presented her findings on the decrypted and analyzed backed up data . Rina had been listening to Ava''s presentation since yesterday, as it was a lengthy one due to the extensive amount of data they had to go through. However, despite the long duration, Rina did not feel tired at all because everything she was learning from Ava was valuable. With the information she had now gained, Rina now had significant leverage over almost everyone in the family. Despite having a wealth of leverage over almost everyone in the family, Rina didn''t rush to take any action. She wanted to wait until she had heard everything from Ava, knowing that if Ava had made the presentation so long, it must mean that every piece of information was crucial. So she continued to listen carefully and take notes, waiting for the right moment to make her move. As Ava presented, Rina took notes and asked questions to clarify anything that wasn''t clear Rina sat there, absorbing all the information that Ava presented, until finally, at noon, [With that, you are updated on everything I considered important from the analyzed data] with those words Ava finished her presentation. After listening to the entirety of the presentation, she decided to finally start taking action. She pressed the intercom button and called for her secretary, Chloe, who she knew was one of the only few people within the family who were clean. "Yes miss" Chloe said after entering her office. "Call Terry, tell him I have something to talk about with him." She told his secretary to call for her head of security, the first betrayer she had to deal with. "Yes" Chloe immediately left to go and call for Terry. As she waited for Terry to come, she took another look at the leverage she had of Terry to ensure that their meeting didn''t go differently from how she envisioned. Chapter 81 A Talk (Ish) With Terry Terry entered Rina''s office a few minutes after Chloe left to call him. "Take a seat," Rina directed Terry as she motioned towards a nearby chair, her attention still fixed on the computer screen before her. Terry complied silently, settling into the chair as directed. However, as several minutes ticked by without any communication from Rina, and with her attention still riveted on the computer screen, Terry began to feel increasingly anxious. For Terry, the situation felt like the calm before the storm - an unsettling and ominous stillness that hinted at impending chaos or turbulence. However, the uneasy silence did not last much longer. Rina abruptly rose from her seat and walked over to the printer to retrieve some papers that had just finished printing. She then went and sat down across from Terry. "Alright Terry, I''ve received a highly troubling report that you''ve been informing my brother about everything I do. What do you have to say about this?" Rina asked, her tone serious and unyielding. When Terry heard that question his heart almost left through his mouth but he still managed to remain calm and tried to explain himself. "Ma''am, that report is completely false. You know that I''ve been working for you since your high school days, so why on earth would I do something like that?" Terry protested, his tone trying but failing in conveying a sense of anger and offense at the notion that his character was being slandered. As Terry tried to act indignant, Rina couldn''t help but chuckle at his display. Although she still felt a lingering sense of betrayal from the day she learned that he was one of the individuals who had turned against her, the irony of Terry''s feigned outrage struck her as amusing. "Ha! You really ought to take some acting classes, Terry. You''re absolutely terrible at it," Rina exclaimed, unable to contain her amusement any longer. However, as memories of their past interactions flooded her mind, she found herself becoming increasingly angry at Terry''s attempts to portray himself as a victim. Despite her rising anger, Rina managed to keep it under wraps, determined to see the meeting through without lashing out at Terry. She remained composed and focused, resisting the urge to slam the table in his face. "Ma''am, I think there''s been a misunderstanding on your end. I wouldn''t bother acting if I knew I was innocent," Terry insisted, doubling down on his earlier protestations. Terry persisted in his defense because he knew that any admission of guilt could prove fatal. It was widely regarded as taboo for a member of the Rothschild security team to betray the person they were tasked with protecting, and the consequences were severe - anyone who did so would be made to disappear, serving as a warning to others. "Enough with the melodramatic performance, Terry. Do you really think I would base my accusations on mere speculation?" Rina''s tone turned serious as she hurled the papers she had retrieved from the printer at Terry. Terry scrambled to pick up the papers that had been scattered around him, curious to see what was written on them. To his shock, he realized that they were transcripts of his conversations with her brother''s secretary spanning the past five years. Terry was filled with fear and began to tremble as he comprehended the contents of the papers. He was perplexed as to how Rina had obtained them since he was certain he had deleted every conversation they had after each talk. In a fit of fear and desperation, Terry lunged at Rina and began to strangle her. He acted impulsively, not thinking about the consequences of his actions or what he would do if he succeeded in killing her. "Khghhkhghk" Rina fought for air as Terry tightened his grip around her throat. His eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his scalp were bulging, demonstrating the sheer amount of force he was using. His entire body shook as he continued to strangle her. As Rina was on the verge of losing consciousness, a loud "bang" echoed through the room. A gunshot had been fired, but she didn''t have time to comprehend what had happened as she slipped into unconsciousness. "RINA, RINA. " Chloe, the secretary, yelled as she moved the bleeding body of Terry off of Rina''s unconscious form that he had fallen on top of after being shot. "Call the doctor now!" Chloe shouted at Alex, the security detail who had shot Terry immediately after entering the room. Alex quickly left the room to call the family doctor stationed in the mansion as quickly as possible. .... Half an hour later. As Rina slowly regained consciousness, she realized that her throat was sore and she had a pounding headache. She opened her eyes to see the worried face of Chloe walking back and forth. As Rina looked around, she noticed the younger man in a suit standing nearby, his hands clasped behind his back with a serious expression on his face, indicating that he was there for security purposes. She tried to speak, but her throat was too painful to form any words and only hoarse gibberish came from her mouth. Rina attempted to clear her throat and speak once more, but the pain was unbearable. Chloe acted swiftly by bringing her a glass of water and assisting her in drinking it. Rina felt relieved as the cool water she drank soothed her throat and eased the pain. After a moment, she finally managed to utter comprehensible words. "Who is he?" Rina asked in a hoarse voice while pointing at the young man in the room. "I''m Alex, your new security detail stationed here since last week, miss," Alex explained without waiting for Chloe to answer Rina''s question. "Where is Terry?" Rina asked Chloe after she finally managed to recollect herself. Chloe hesitated for a moment before answering, "He''s... in the hospital. He was shot by Alex and is still receiving treatment at the moment." "But how did you know I was in danger?" Rina asked, not quite believing that it was just luck. "I didn''t, I only came in behind him after he barged inside without even knocking or saying anything to me"Chloe replied, pointing to Alex. When Chloe and Rina turned to Alex, he explained, "About 35 minutes ago, I received a text message ordering me to be on standby. Then, 10 minutes later, I received another one to come into the room as fast as I could. Aren''t you the one who sent it?" he finished with a question as he was quite confused. "Oh, yes, I did send that message. The event must have slipped my mind." After realizing that it was Ava who had sent the message as a contingency plan, she decided to take credit for it to avoid creating any suspicion. Because she had never faced any significant threats or danger within her family, she failed to prepare for any potential contingencies. This oversight caused her to overlook the potential dangers when she attempted to comfort Terry. She simply hadn''t considered the possibility of something going wrong, as she had never encountered a dangerous situation before. In her mind, she believed that everything was under control. She had devised an elaborate plan to turn Terry into a reverse spy, manipulating him into providing false information about her to her brother. She thought that she had covered all of her bases, and that nothing could go wrong with her carefully crafted scheme. But fate is a bitch, and she had experienced it first hand. "Thank you" Rina thanked Alex for saving her. "It''s my duty, miss," replied Alex, giving a small bow to express his appreciation for her gratitude towards him. "What did the doctor say about my condition?" Rina asked about her condition as it was the first time for her. "After examining your condition, the doctor said that you''re fine and the bruise on your neck should heal within a week," Chloe explained what the doctor had told them. Rina attempted to sit up on the sofa in her workroom, where she had been laying on inorder to receive treatment. With Chloe''s assistance, she was finally able to sit down on the sofa, and it was then that she noticed the blood stains on her shirt. "Can I have a new shirt?" Rina asked Chloe for new clothes. "Here" Chloe seemed like she had expected to hear that request as she had the shirt in her hands by the time Rina finished asking the question. "Okay, can I have a moment alone?" Sarah requested, as she began to unbutton her shirt to change, in search of some privacy. "Yes, miss," both Alex and Chloe responded, as they exited the room to provide her with some much-needed privacy and alone time. After being left alone, Sarah removed her bloodied shirt and discarded it in the trash can, leaving her in a bra that hugged her ample bosom. She quickly put on the new shirt that Chloe had handed to her, and then made her way over to her computer to take a seat. As she settled into her chair, she gazed at her computer screen and murmured, "Thank you, Ava," expressing her gratitude for the assistance she had received from her. [As always, your welcome] replied Ava calmly, feeling a sense of pride in herself for accomplishing one of the purposes for which she was created. Chapter 82 Therapy ? "Time to move on to the next phase of my plan," Rina declared, determined to continue with her scheme, even though she had encountered a stumbling block right from the start. However, Ava interrupted her by locking the computer and stated, [You need to rest Rina] "I need to continue, or they will just...haaaa...haaa..." Rina tried to explain to Ava, but she immediately broke down in panic and started gasping for air. She was having a panic attack from the memory of what had happened to her. Even though it might seem childish for her to break down, it was the first time she had ever been physically assaulted by someone, so it was a traumatic experience for her. Despite her initial decision to continue with her plan without pause, the sudden interruption by Ava locking her computer forced her to confront her trauma. This resulted in Rina breaking down in tears, as she was unable to suppress her emotions any longer. The breakdown continued for a few minutes, with Ava silently watching Rina without uttering a word. Ava understood the importance of allowing Rina to confront her emotions and provide comfort while the pain was still raw, preventing it from becoming deeply ingrained and potentially haunting her in the future. After calming down from the panic attack, Rina heard Ava''s comforting words. [You have me, so you don''t have to worry. I will always be there for you, watching over you and protecting you] Ava said. After hearing what Ava said, Rina felt even more calm and reassured. She realized that Ava had already kept one of her promises: "I will always protect you." It was evident that Ava had expected something like this to happen, no matter how miniscule the possibilities were, and had prepared for it. This realization gave Rina a sense of comfort, knowing that she had someone looking out for her. This in return increased her reliance on Ava, which in turn extended to Aron, as he was the one who had created Ava to be her constant companion and protector. "But why did you call for Alex out of the many security guards?" Rina asked, curious about why Ava specifically requested for Alex''s assistance. [Mother recommended him after sending her a list of people who had not betrayed us. She thoroughly examined their histories and chose him because he was deemed the most unlikely to betray you] Rina replied to her question. "If your mother chose him, then it would be wise to appoint him as the head of the security position, which has become vacant as of today. We can even use the fact that he was the one who rescued me to defend our decision to those who might question why we chose a newbie instead of someone who has been with me for a longer period of time," suggested Rina. [That''s what she also suggested] Ava agreed with Rina''s recommendation. "Then I''ll inform them of my decision before I go to rest, as I really need to," Rina said while touching her neck, which was still hurting. [Take all the time you need to rest. The plan doesn''t have a time limit.] Ava responded with reassurance. "Thanks," Rina said, expressing her gratitude to Ava. She then got up from her chair and made her way to the door, to go and rest in her room. After passing by Chloe''s table and informing her of her decision to promote Alex to the head of security as a reward for saving her, Rina immediately went to her room and slept. .... Aron''s side. After sleeping for three hours, Aron was awoken by Nova, who reminded him that the driver had already woken up and was waiting for him. Nova had seen him through the CCTV footage of the hotel after she had taken control of the hotel upon their arrival. "Argh." Aron woke up still feeling tired, regretting not using the option to enter the VR and sleep there for a longer time. Due to the time difference of 5 to 1, he could have extended his sleep in the virtual world, but he decided against it. He desired to have a few hours of sleep in the real world to reacquaint himself with the feeling, so as not to forget it. However, he knew that in actuality, there was no tangible difference between sleeping in reality and in the Universal simulated VR. After cleaning himself up, Aron gathered his belongings and left the room, making his way to the reception lobby to check out. "May I have your autograph, please?" asked the receptionist after completing the checkout process, recognizing that he was the young billionaire who had been trending on Twitter a few days ago. "Sure," Aron agreed. Despite feeling a bit weird about being recognized by someone from the other side of the world, Aron took the paper and pen the receptionist gave him and began to sign it. When he finished, he asked, "What is your name?" so he could write it on the paper. In excitement, the receptionist replied with her name, ''Shamim,'' glad that her request was granted. Aron began writing the name "Shamim" on the paper, followed by "Wishing you all the best," but as he was about to hand it back to her, his phone vibrated, indicating that Nova had something to tell him. As soon as he checked his phone, he saw a text message from Nova that read, "Write down these numbers on the paper." Without any hesitation, Aron took the pen and started writing the long sequence of numbers that Nova had displayed on his screen. After finishing writing the number sequence, Aron smiled and handed the autographed paper back to Shamim, saying "Nice to meet you." before turning around and leaving the hotel. "What is with those numbers?" Aron asked Nova after he left the hotel. Nova replied playfully, [It''s a gift from me to her if she can decode it. It also makes your signing''s quite unique.] "Then she won''t be able to decode it in her lifetime," Aron said, smiling at the thought of Shamim trying to decode something created by Nova using a quantum computer. [No, I made it specially for her. She can decode it if she uses her virtual assistant and her engineering skills well,] Nova replied to Aron, indicating that she had created it specifically for Shamim to solve using her knowledge and expertise as an engineer. "She is an engineer?" Aron asked, surprised that someone with such a profession was working as a hotel receptionist. [A very underappreciated one at that, unfortunately.] Nova replied back, feeling sympathy for Shamim. Nova had taken a quick glance at Shamim''s computer to know her motives and ended up seeing engineering drawings on her personal computer, which was open under the reception table just begging for her to hack it. [If she solves it, It will solve most of her problems] Nova said in hope that she solves the message she left to her using Aron. Aron exited the hotel and walked to the designated meeting spot where he and the driver had agreed to meet the previous night. Upon arriving, he saw the driver waiting outside the car, engrossed in his phone. After exchanging greetings, they both boarded the car, followed by the driver asking, "Are we going back to the hotel?" He wanted to know the destination of their journey. "No, I need to go to Oxford University," Aron stated the destination he wanted to go to. "Okay," the driver acknowledged the destination and started the car to officially begin their journey. .... Hospital VIP room. Terry had just come out of the operating room after undergoing a long and arduous surgery to extract the bullet that was lodged in his chest. Despite the surgery being over, he was still unconscious due to the effects of anesthesia. Outside Terry''s VIP room, there were two bodyguards standing guard. Their job was to prevent people from entering the room and to stop Terry from escaping. Terry had a punishment waiting for him after he recovered from the surgery, as he had tried to injure a Rothschild. Terry''s attack on Rina had sealed his fate and he had lost any chance of redemption. The Rothschild family viewed it as a significant event that required a lasting example to be made. As a result, Terry would face punishment to set an example and prevent such situations from ever happening again. The head of the family believed that a significant example needed to be made, as this was the first time such an incident had occurred in the modern history of the Rothschild family. "If he wanted to kill himself, why try to do it that way?" one of the bodyguards standing by the door asked the other. He considered Terry''s actions to be worse than suicide and felt saddened by what was going to happen to him. "He had better not wake up for a few years if he wants to keep living," the bodyguard said firmly, emphasizing the severity of Terry''s situation. "What do you think she said to make him try to strangle and kill her?" "I don''t know what it is, but it must be something of great importance to him for him to risk his own life and attempt to kill Miss Rina," said one of the bodyguards, acknowledging the severity of the situation. Chapter 83 The Purge. ? As Aron was en route to the esteemed Oxford University, his mobile device rang, and he answered it promptly. "Hello Felix," Aron greeted as he picked up the call. "Hello Aron, how are you doing?" Felix reciprocated. "How is Eden?" Aron inquired. "The atmosphere here in Eden varies greatly depending on one''s location. For those of us staying in a high-end hotel, the atmosphere is rather pleasant. However, during our commute from the airport to the hotel, we couldn''t help but notice that the atmosphere for others seemed quite bleak," Felix conveyed his honest impressions of Eden without sugarcoating anything Upon hearing Felix''s perception of Eden, Aron thought to himself, "Not for long...not for long," before resuming his conversation with Felix. "Okay, could you give me a summary of what''s been decided so far regarding the plan?" Aron inquired, eager to hear about the progress made since Nova mentioned that they were discussing it a few hours earlier. "That''s precisely why I called you. We''ve arranged a meeting for next week, and we''ve also devised an approach to broach the topic with the dictator, with the hope that he might even assist us in our takeover," Felix updated Aron on the latest development regarding the plan. "Congratulations on accomplishing the first step of phase one of the plan. Can you provide me with more details about the strategy for approaching the dictator during the meeting?" Aron inquired, wanting to know more information as Nova hasn''t updated him about it yet. "Alright, so this is what we''ve devised," Felix began updating Aron on the plan, delving into more details whenever Aron requested clarification or expressed a desire for further information. Meanwhile, the driver quietly navigated the vehicle towards their destination, feeling nothing but contentment. He knew that the man he was driving was a generous tipper, and he would also receive payment from the hotel for the transportation service, which would be included in the guest''s checkout expenses. Since the guest was still checked in and availing himself of the hotel''s services, such as the car he was currently riding in, the driver''s earnings continued to accumulate. An hour and a half later, Aron finally arrived at one of the many accommodation communities of Oxford University. Upon arrival, he bid farewell to his driver and proceeded to walk into the community. After finding a secluded area, he cast a concealment rune on himself. On that day, many professors missed their classes in various campuses of the university because they were found asleep in their offices. This peculiar event would later be referred to as "The Great Sleep." .... The next day. Rina had finally managed to recollect herself and partially heal from her trauma so she decided to immediately continue her plan of cleaning the people near her. She walked into her office, gesturing for Chloe to follow her. Chloe said nothing and followed behind her into the office. "Where is Alex?" Rina asked, not having seen him on her way to her office. "In his new office, Miss," Chloe answered. "Okay," Rina replied after hearing Chloe''s response. She then walked to her chair and began tapping on her computer. She printed out a piece of paper with names on it. "Replace all of these people from this list with these," Rina said as she handed Chloe two pieces of paper - one with names of people to be removed and the other with names of people who would replace them. Upon observing the sheer quantity of individuals who were set to be eliminated from her team, Chloe inquired incredulously, "All of these?" The number was so substantial that it could not be classified as a typical downsizing. It appeared to be more akin to an act of genocide. The cuts were far-reaching, encompassing a broad range of personnel from the chefs, cleaners, and repairmen to even the security team. Virtually every category of worker employed in the household was affected. Without hesitation in her voice, Rina replied, "Yes, all of them." Rina instructed, "If anyone asks, simply state that I''m still seething with anger over the incident and needed an outlet to vent my frustration." She used the excuse of being choked during the cleaning process as a cover for the elimination of spies who had been reporting to various members of the household. Rina was not concerned about anyone connecting the dots, as she had studied the data provided by Ava. She knew that each spy reported to a different family member, and most of them were unaware of the other spies'' existence. Therefore, if anyone questioned the sudden disappearance of a spy, they would assume that their own spy had simply been caught in the crossfire of Rina''s outburst and nothing more. "Also tell Alex to always be within the vicinity of the office whenever I''m working" She instructed Chloe, who was on her way outside to accomplish the task she had given her. "Understood, Miss," Chloe acknowledged the order before opening the door and making her way to Alex''s office to relay the new instructions. She would follow this up by terminating some employees, just a routine Tuesday for her. After seeing that Chloe had left and she was left Alone in the office Ava greeted her [Welcome back, Rina.] "Thank you, Ava" Rina thanked Ava''s welcome. [How are you feeling?] She asked wanting to know where her mind is in the healing steps. "Although I''m not fully over it I''m fine enough that I expect it to pass by the end of the month" Rina answered to her truthfully saying everything that she felt, without trying to sugarcoat anything as she fully trusted her. [If that''s what you are feeling then you can continue without any problem] Ava said, making her release a sigh of relief as her reply had reassured her that she was really healing and not just lying to herself. "Yeah I know, I have already sent Chloe to solve the issue of purging the spies, All we have to do is wait until next week where every spy would be replaced and we can officially say that the purge has been completed wich we can then follow by starting to use our leverage to return to our position and maybe go even higher" [Congrat] Ava exclaimed, acknowledging that Rina had finally taken a significant step forward in her plan, despite facing setbacks right from the start. "Thanks" "By the way, did your mother send you the Morgan''s plans ?" Rina asked, grateful for Ava''s congratulations. She was curious to know if they had received the plans and if so, she wanted to take a look at them. "No, she hasn''t sent them yet," Ava replied, delivering the disappointing news. "The last time I inquired about it, she mentioned that the plans were at 95% completion and would take another month to finalize as the Morgans were still fine-tuning them." "Don''t worry about it, Ava. We still haven''t even finished the second part of our plan," Rina reassured her, sensing the disappointment in Ava''s voice. Afterward, they engaged in casual conversation about their plans and discussed their next steps, as Rina found herself with nothing to do at the moment. ... Aron, who had completed extracting brain data from the professors at Oxford University, was en route to Imperial College London to repeat the same process of downloading brain data. In the following two weeks, Aron had plans to visit several locations to complete his collection of brain data from the United Kingdom. His itinerary included Rolls Royce facility in Derby, University College London (UCL), the University of Edinburgh, several Aerospace and Aviation facilities, Biotechnology and Life Sciences institutions, and Space and Satellite Technology centers, among many others. Chapter 84 Meeting With Adolf, The Dictator. ? A week later.(Monday). Felix and his team rose earlier than their typical routine, commencing their preparations for the meeting that was scheduled for the afternoon. In order to be perceived as sincere, Felix and his team had to arrive at the presidential palace at least an hour prior to the scheduled meeting time. This, coupled with the fact that the palace was quite a distance away from their hotel, meant that they had to leave early. "Since everyone is present, let''s proceed," Felix announced upon sighting the final person who would be accompanying them. Subsequently, they departed from the hotel to where the car was waiting to transport them to the palace. Throughout the journey, they rehearsed their bullet points for the 457th time, striving to ensure that nothing went even slightly amiss. After a three-hour car ride, they finally arrived at the gate of the presidential palace, where they were stopped. Their cars came to a halt as heavily armed guards approached. After the stop, the armed guards commenced a search of the car. The team was then instructed to open the boot, and a dog was brought in to conduct a scent inspection. The security measures were exceedingly meticulous; the team was subjected to a bomb search and their phones and other electronic devices were confiscated. Upon completion of the search, they were eventually granted permission to pass through the gate. However, their driver was replaced with a guard who would take them from that point onwards. They were guided through a labyrinth of corridors and grandiose rooms until they finally arrived at the dictator''s private chambers. The dictator, Adolf was seated at his desk, accompanied by his advisors. As Felix and his team entered the heavily decorated room, he looked up and gazed at them, attempting to act as if he didn''t remember them. Nonetheless, Felix strode forward confidently, his four team members standing steadfastly behind him like a sturdy wall of muscle and fortitude. When Felix noticed the dictator struggling to recall where he had placed them, he realized that the leader was purposely trying to assert dominance over them. If the dictator truly had forgotten about their scheduled meeting, they would not have been granted permission to enter the palace. He was certain that the dictator had conducted a thorough background check on them prior to the arranged meeting. Nevertheless, Felix proceeded to play along with the dictator''s facade and introduced himself and his associates, explaining where they had initially made contact with the leader and how they had arranged the meeting. "Aha, so you''re the individual who has been attempting to arrange a meeting with me since the commencement of the party," exclaimed Adolf, elevating his tone to give the impression that he had just realized who they were. "Yes, Your Excellency," Felix replied confidently, bowing slightly. "We are honored and grateful for the opportunity to meet with you today. Thank you for taking the time to see us," he added with a forced smile, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the dictator''s poor acting skills. He wondered silently to himself whether the dictator''s assistants were hesitant to inform him about his subpar acting abilities. "Very well, let''s get to the matter at hand. I have several other crucial meetings to attend to," declared the dictator, underscoring the significance of his time and conveying his disinterest in the current meeting. "Certainly. Your Excellency, before we commence, please allow us to express our gratitude for your agreement to meet with us," spoke Felix in a respectful tone, gesturing towards one of his team members to hand over the briefcase. The briefcase was the sole item they were permitted to bring into the office, having undergone a search to confirm that no hazardous materials were present. Upon noticing the briefcase, Adolf motioned to one of his aides with a nod, indicating for them to retrieve the briefcase and reveal its contents. The aide obeyed and retrieved the briefcase from Felix''s hand, placing it on the table before opening it while ensuring it was facing towards the dictator. "Mmmmm..." Adolf exhaled heavily as he laid eyes on the freedom units filling the briefcase. Despite being taken aback by the substantial amount of money before him, Adolf attempted to maintain his composure and act unaffected by the sight of the funds. "Proceed," he instructed, struggling to divert his gaze from the briefcase. "Of course. We require your assistance and approval for a matter," stated Felix, conveying a sense of dependence on the dictator''s help as if nothing could proceed without it. "Very well, let me explain," responded Felix, sensing that the dictator''s ego had been inflated. The dictator raised his hand, gesturing for Felix to proceed and state the purpose of the meeting. "We are interested in purchasing the Telecommunication companies in Eden," stated Felix succinctly. "What benefits would I gain from assisting you with this endeavor?" questioned Adolf, seeking to understand what he stood to gain from the proposal. "We are prepared to pay you fifty percent of the amount equivalent to that in the briefcase each time we successfully acquire a company," reiterated Felix, emphasizing the generous financial compensation that would accompany the dictator''s assistance. "Sure, that sounds good, but why should I allow you to buy them?" Adolf asked, feigning indifference to the amount of money he would be gaining, and trying to extract even more from them. "After we buy and merge the companies, we plan to upgrade them with the latest technologies. This will allow us to increase prices, resulting in a larger income for us and a larger tax revenue for you," Felix explained, emphasizing the benefits for both parties. Adolf still tried to appear unimpressed by their proposal. When Felix noticed this, he decided to give the dictator another reason to consider their offer. "Consolidating the telecommunications companies under our ownership would result in all data coming in and out of the country passing through our network. This would give us the ability to monitor and analyze what your citizens are thinking, which would allow you to better manage and govern the country," Felix explained. When he heard the last point, he immediately opened his mouth to agree to their offer as it had everything he needed - money, control, and more - without having to spend any of the country''s money, which he considered his. They were even paying him. But just as he was about to express his agreement, he was interrupted by one of his aides. "What is it?" he asked, seeming quite annoyed by the interruption. The aid moved closer to him and whispered in his ear, reporting what he needed to say. When Adolf heard what his aid was saying, his eyes lit up with excitement at the beauty of the idea. "I agree to your proposal," Adolf, the dictator, finally said, much to Felix''s relief. However, his relief was short-lived as the dictator continued with a condition, "But I have one condition. I will receive fifty percent of the profits from the merged company. Is that agreeable to you?" Felix found himself at a loss for words and could only manage to utter, "Your Excellency." When Adolf saw the expression on Felix''s face, he decided to further elaborate, "I will be receiving half of your profits, and in return, I will be providing you with protection from any problems that may arise during your stay. Do you now see the need for me to receive half of my share?" Felix quickly regained his composure after being taken aback by Adolf''s greed. He replied, "Before we can agree to that, we need to consult with our company''s leadership to see if they can agree to the last condition." He was trying to stall for time so that he and his team could report the latest condition to Aron. Adolf nodded and got up from his chair, speaking in a stern tone. "Very well," he said. "Make sure you give me your decision by the end of the week or I will consider the deal to be canceled." Felix smiled in response and replied, "We will get back to you within the week with our decision, Your Excellency." Following that, they were escorted out of the presidential palace by the same security guards who had accompanied them upon their arrival. After reaching the entrance gate, they were picked up by their car with the security member as the driver. They were then given back their electronic devices and other belongings that had been collected from them earlier. After that, the security driver returned their car to their regular driver. They then left the palace vicinity and headed back to the hotel to rest and report back to Aron about the dictator''s last condition. ... In the office of the dictator. "Did my last condition seem excessive?" Adolf asked the aide who had given him the idea. The aid responded without revealing that it was his idea, as Adolf liked to see himself as a wise man. "No, Your Excellency, your demand was quite reasonable given the protection you will provide them. It is their failure to realize your generosity for not asking for more of what you deserve. I hope they come to understand it soon," he flattered him, knowing that he enjoyed being praised. "Yeah, they are the ones who don''t know," Adolf replied to his aid while stroking the dollars in the still open briefcase and salivating at them. Chapter 85 Raising From The Ashes Pt. 01 ? On the same Monday, After spending the majority of the week on the road, Aron had successfully gathered all the necessary brain data from individuals on his list located in the United Kingdom. His exhaustive efforts have finally come to fruition. Subsequently, Aron proceeded to the Icon Hotel where he had only stayed for about 4 hours but only used their rental car services to check out before heading to the airport for his next destination. Upon departing from the presidential suite at the Icon Hotel, Aron generously rewarded his driver with a tip of 20,000 dollars for chauffeuring him across the entire country throughout the week. Afterwards, he boarded the private jet that was waiting for him to travel from London to Paris, and then utilized a combination of trains and car rentals to travel to the location of CERN. This was necessary as many of the individuals on his list were located there, and he needed to collect their brain data. However, Aron didn''t just head straight to CERN, as Nova had arranged his journey to ensure that he had collected brain data from individuals throughout the entirety of France before arriving at his final destination. ... On the same Monday, Rina Rothchild''s mansion. By Friday, Chloe had successfully terminated and replaced all the members on the list, resulting in significant commotion within the private network. Today, on Monday, Rina finally decided to embark on her journey back to the top. In her office, Rina could be seen sitting in front of her computer having a discussion with Ava about the steps they would need to take for her to regain power. "Now that we have successfully completed the purge, let us begin our return," Said Rina [Yes Rina]. Rina reached for her phone to contact a member of the company''s board, but in reality, these individuals were all relatives with ties to the Rothschild family. So, it could be said that she was actually making a call to a family member. "Hello?" came the voice from the other end of the line after picking up the phone. "Hello, Hebel," Rina greeted the family member on the other end of the line with a hint of exhaustion in her voice, as if she had been through a lot. "Why did you call?" Hebel asked from the other end, showing his curiosity about the reason for Rina''s call. Hebel had a feeling that Rina might be getting desperate and calling for help to return to her position within the family. This boosted his ego, as he was a member of the family who couldn''t compete for the head position. Therefore, having a family member who could compete for the head position beg him for help in desperation would be quite fulfilling. "Are you available at the moment?" Rina asked in a voice that conveyed a sense of desperation, suggesting that she had been pushed to her limits. "Although I''m busy, I can spare about fifteen minutes for you," Hebel replied, feeling a sense of ecstasy for having the upper hand in the conversation. "Can I come and see you for a talk? I have something important to ask you". "Sure, I''ll be waiting for you at my mansion," Hebel agreed to the meeting, feeling a sense of satisfaction from Rina''s apparent desperation. "Okay, I''ll be there in ten minutes," Rina replied, but her voice suddenly changed halfway through the sentence, forcing Ava to quickly take over and use a voice modulator, to ensure that Hebel didn''t realize that the entire situation was just an act on her part. Despite having fun with the situation, Rina wanted to maintain the illusion of desperation and keep up the act to achieve her desired outcome. "I''ll be waiting for you then," Hebel said before ending the call, wanting to assert his dominance in the situation. Rina on the other side was laughing her ass off after recalling the excitement and sense of superiority in Hebel''s voice on the other end of the line. [Rina, you almost blew up your act] Ava scolded her jokingly, as she too was enjoying the act they had put on for Hebel. As a wiseman once said, if you have to do something, you might as well have fun doing it. (SuntZu). "Anyway, let''s go. We have a meeting to attend," Rina said as she grabbed her phone and tablet, preparing to leave her office. "Alex and Chloe, follow me. We have a meeting with someone in ten minutes," Rina instructed as she walked past Chloe''s desk, leading the way while the others followed closely behind. "Where are we going, Miss?" Chloe asked as she walked alongside Rina, heading outside the mansion. "We''re going to Hebel''s residence," Rina said as she climbed into the car that Alex had brought around for them. Once they were all in the car, they began to make their way to Hebel''s mansion, which was located inside their expansive compound. The family compound was so vast that they had paved roads connecting the various mansions, making it easier for vehicles to move around. Due to the large size of the family compound, each member had their own mansion. However, since it was not feasible to build all the mansions in the same location, they were constructed far apart from each other. This necessitated the use of cars to travel from one mansion to another within the compound. As they rode in the car, Chloe couldn''t help but express her concern to Rina. "Miss, why are we going to his house? You know he''ll just belittle you if you ask for his help," she said in a worried tone. Meanwhile, Alex remained focused on driving. "You don''t have to worry about that, Chloe. I have something that will make him humble," Rina reassured her in a confident tone, as Alex continued driving without saying a word. "Okay," Chloe replied, trusting Rina''s judgment and not pressing for further details. The journey continued in silence for a few more minutes until they arrived at the porte-cochere of Hebel''s mansion. The car came to a stop and they got out, where they were greeted by a servant who immediately led them to Hebel''s office. After navigating through the ostentatiously decorated mansion that gave off a sense of insecurity, they finally reached Hebel''s office. The maid knocked on the door to announce their arrival. "Enter," Hebel said in response to the maid''s knock. "You can go in now," the maid said, opening the door for Rina and her secretary to enter. Rina entered the room, followed by Chloe, but she stopped her and said, "I will be having a private meeting with him. You wait for me here." Rina looked at both Chloe and Alex as she spoke. Upon hearing Rina''s statement, Hebel''s assumption was confirmed, and he became even more convinced that she was there to plead for his assistance, which only inflated his ego further. After instructing Chloe and Alex to wait outside, Rina entered Hebel''s office and closed the door behind her before taking a seat. After Rina took a seat, Hebel remained focused on his computer screen, giving no indication that he considered Rina''s presence to be more important than his current task. Rina remained silent, allowing Hebel to continue feeding his own ego. She knew that the higher he rose, the harder he would fall. After carrying on with his act of working for over fifteen minutes and observing that Rina had remained silent throughout, Hebel finally decided to acknowledge her presence, feeling that he had fulfilled his desire for asserting dominance. So, he stood up from his desk and walked over to sit in front of Rina, finally ready to hear her reason for coming to him. Rina stared directly into Hebel''s eyes and remarked, "You appear to have grown quite arrogant, making me wait for fifteen minutes before attending to me." To Hebel, Rina''s words seemed to be her final attempt at regaining her lost confidence. "What can I say, I have something to do unlike you. So, I can''t just be available all the time," Hebel said, while crossing his legs and showing that he was feeling quite comfortable and her words did nothing to him. "Okay, go ahead and tell me, what can I help you with?" he said, after seeing Rina remain silent in response to his retort. "I want you to give me your allegiance instead of my brother," Rina immediately stated her purpose for coming. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" when Hebel heard what she said he started laughing at the absurdity of what the bitch said. "Are you serious? Being choked by Terry seems to have broken a blood vessel in your brain. And on top of that, the reports of you firing nearly all of your employees in a fit of rage. Are you sure you''re okay?" Hebel said mockingly while still laughing. Rina said nothing and just remained calm during the entirety of the ordeal. When Hebel saw that Rina remained quiet and serious throughout his entire mocking barrage, he finally decided to ask. "Why should I do that? For you, a bird who lost her wings, of all people, why?" Hebel asked in a degrading manner. Chapter 86 Raising From The Ashes Pt. 02 ? "A bird who lost her wings?" Rina repeated Hebel''s statement in a questioning tone, as if she wasn''t quite sure what Hebel meant despite knowing what he meant. "What else should I call you?" he jeered, "A jobless bum? A has-been? A washed-up failure?" Hebel continued to list off insults to berate Rina, relishing the opportunity to finally express his true feelings towards her and taking pleasure in doing it. Despite Hebel''s continued verbal assault, Rina simply picked up the tablet she had brought and opened it, paying no heed to his insults. Afterward, she opened a picture on the tablet and slid it towards Hebel, who was still in the midst of his verbal onslaught. The sudden movement caught his attention, causing him to pause and take a look at what was on the screen. As Hebel picked up the tablet, his eyes widened in shock as he saw the image displayed on the screen. In an instant, all the pleasure and satisfaction he had been feeling just moments before vanished, replaced by a sudden sense of fear and unease. As Hebel progressed through the pictures, his apprehension grew with each passing moment. Each subsequent image revealed something that he knew to be true, something that he had kept hidden and did not want anyone else to know about. With each slide, Hebel''s fear and anxiety deepened, reaching a point where he could no longer handle it. He removed his leg from on top of the other, an indication of his discomfort and distress. ... Hebel POV "I have been doing exceptionally well for a while now, but this particular moment surpasses all of my previous successes combined." Thought Hebel as he continued to verbally berate Rina "Look at this bitch''s desperateness. I''m berating her and she just takes it like a beaten dog with its tail between its legs. I can''t wait to see the look on her face when I tell her I won''t be helping her after all her desperate pleading. It''s really satisfying to watch her suffer like this" Hebel''s mind was consumed with a feeling of superiority as he observed Rina''s apparent desperation and her lack of response to his insults. But based on what I know about her, she''s not the kind of person who would take my insults quietly. It''s clear that she''s that desperate. "Wait, why is she picking up her tablet?" Hebel''s thoughts immediately turned to Rina''s actions as she picked up the tablet she had brought with her into his office. Anyway It''s not important enough to make me stop berating her, As I''m enjoying it quite a bit. Hebel couldn''t help but wonder, "Why is she sliding the tablet to me? Is there something she wants me to see?" His curiosity got the best of him, causing him to momentarily pause his verbal assault and reach for the tablet to see what Rina had in store for him. "FUCK" Hebel cursed inwardly as soon as he saw the first picture on the tablet. "I''m fucked" Hebel thought to himself as he glanced at the second picture. "We are fucked" Hebel thought to himself as he laid his eyes on the third picture. "Everyone is fucked" thought Hebel as he saw the fourth picture on the tablet. .... "Who would have thought that Hebel and a few Rothschilds are cucks?" Rina said in an amused tone, completely different from the desperate tone she had on the phone earlier. "Where did you get them?" Hebel asked, his hands were trembling with fear. "You don''t have to worry about that. Let''s hear you mock me a little more," Rina said mockingly to Hebel, who had just been mocking her a few seconds earlier. "This is FAKE. This can''t be real. You must have fabricated this to trick me, didn''t you?" Hebel shouted and asked in denial, desperately searching for any reasonable explanation to the images he saw on the tablet. Upon hearing Hebel''s weak attempt to deny the truth, Rina simply replied, "Keep swiping on the tablet, and you''ll see for yourself whether it''s real or not." Upon hearing Rina''s confident words, Hebel''s fear intensified, but he reluctantly followed her instructions and continued swiping through the pictures on the tablet. As he continued swiping through the tablet, Hebel''s fear grew with each passing image until he came across a video that he remembered recording. "You like that big dick, huh?" asked the man in the video, while he was fucking Hebel''s wife. "Yes, I like it," said Hebel''s wife in a voice filled with ecstasy and orgasmic afterglow. "Tell it to your husband," said the man in the video, while grabbing Hebel''s wife by the throat from the front like a hook and pulling it up, causing her to arch her back and look at the camera or specifically the man behind it. Then, she said, "I like his big d**k," While maintaining eye contact throughout the moment, following which Hebel''s wife fell back down and began shaking from having another orgasm. Hebel, who was watching the video, couldn''t handle it anymore and quickly swiped to the next one on the tablet. Hebel quickly slid past several more videos of his wife with other men, not wanting to dwell on the videos. He continued to do so until he came across one that made his heart sink - it was a cuckold orgy involving few members of the Rothschild family and their partners, including their bulls. Their wives were being lifted and f**ked by other men, while they, the husbands were sitting on chairs across the room, recording and stroking themselves as they seemed to be quite aroused by the scene unfolding in front of them. There were no more videos on the tablet, but Rina had additional ones that she chose not to reveal. "What do you want?" Hebel asked, realizing that he couldn''t use his excuse of it being fabricated anymore in front of such irrefutable evidence. "I already told you what I want when you first asked, so I won''t repeat it again," Rina said, looking at Hebel with a smile on her face. "Okay, you have my allegiance. Is that the end?" Hebel said with a tone of reluctance and unwillingness to comply. "Not like that. Say it with sincerity in your voice, as if you are begging me for it. And do it while you''re on your knees," Rina instructed, shifting her sitting position to a more relaxed one and crossing one leg over the other to assert her dominance. When Hebel heard the words, he almost chose the option to commit suicide rather than obeying Rina''s command. However, Rina added to her statement shortly after, seeing his expression. "When the family head finds out that you''re risking tarnishing the Rothschild gene by having your wives fucked by men who are not approved by the family, what do you think he''ll do? Personally I don''t care about what you do behind closed doors, but I believe the family head will kill your wives and make an example out of you all," Rina threatened in a stern tone. When Hebel heard this, he finally broke down and went down on his knees, crawling towards Rina. He loved his wife deeply and knew that the family head, despite being inactive for a few years, would return and take drastic measures to punish him, his wife and the others. The thought of his wife being brutally killed in front of him to set an example for their actions terrified him. "I swear on my wife''s life that I will give my allegiance to you and never betray you for as long as you keep my secret," Hebel said, putting his head on the floor and speaking in a groveling voice that showed complete submissiveness. He had accepted his defeat and knew that there was no way out of the situation "Now, that is how you swear your allegiance," Rina said as she placed her foot on Hebel''s head while he remained bowed, awaiting her command to lift his head. "When is the next board meeting?" Rina asked, despite already knowing the answer as Ava had informed her about it after intercepting the news from the private network. She continued to move her leg, squishing Hebel''s head beneath her foot. "There will be a board meeting next month to approve one of your brother''s proposals," Hebel said, his head remaining on the ground while being stepped on by Rina. "Good. Who else was involved in the cuckold orgy and other similar activities?" Rina asked, testing Hebel''s loyalty and submissiveness to her. "It was Yoel, Yoram, Uria,....." Hebel started listing the names of people in the last video he watched. He knew that Rina already knew who they were from just the video footage. After he mentioned them, he started listing other names of people who had attended other orgies that they had arranged. He didn''t want to be the only one who was being threatened. "Looks like you have really accepted your fate," Rina said, realizing that he had mentioned all the people she knew about and had evidence that they were involved in the orgies. While she knew all of them, she had only shown Hebel one video to test his submissiveness in this specific moment. When Hebel heard her say that, he let out a sigh of relief for having mentioned all of them. Otherwise, he would have been in trouble for not mentioning them. Chapter 87 Contemplation & A Talk With Felix ? The realization made Hebel even more fearful of Rina than he already was. It meant that Rina likely had even more evidence against him than what she had already shown, and based on his actions, cuckoldry might be the least of his problems if his assumption was true. ''I shouldn''t attempt to go against her unless I am confident that I can escape unharmed,'' Hebel realized. However, to him this seemed like an impossible task since Rina could have a backup plan in which, if he failed to stop its release, it would send all of the information to anyone she deemed powerful enough to use it against him as leverage or even the family head for worse. Hebel''s assumption was correct, but he was wrong about where the backup data was stored. Once Ava finished decrypting the data, she immediately sent it to her mother. She had finally found a way to send a large amount of data without raising suspicion by initiating it on the day when the private network was due for an update. This ensured that no one would be suspicious of the increased electrical usage and other observable parameters out of her control, as they would assume that the network was just using the resources to upgrade itself. Nova received the data and analyzed Rina and Ava''s plan, making some improvements by using her computing power to optimize the plan for each individual based on their personality profile created from the analyzed data. This ensured that if Rina used the plan, every member she targeted would be threatened in the most effective way possible, using their fears just enough to make them swear their allegiance to her and not choose to go down together. Rina followed Nova''s advice and used the threat of cuckoldry to intimidate Hebel, as Nova had determined that it would be the most effective tactic for him. Nova''s analysis showed that this threat would cause Hebel to fear the unknown and unspecified damaging evidence that Rina possessed but had not revealed yet, and would be more likely to maintain his loyalty without her having to reveal any further evidence. "Wait for additional instructions regarding the upcoming board meeting," Rina informed Hebel before getting up and heading towards the door to exit the office. "Of course, I will wait for your instructions, Miss," Hebel responded respectfully, raising his head which had remained bowed since he pledged his allegiance to her. Rina smiled upon hearing his response, but she didn''t turn back to show it to him. Instead, she continued walking towards the door, opened it, and left without glancing back at Hebel even once. "Let''s leave, we''re finished here," Rina said to Chloe and Alex, who were waiting for her outside the office. "Yes miss" Chloe replied obediently, and started walking behind her. Alex also followed them silently, without saying a word. After getting into the car, Alex began driving them back to Rina''s mansion. "Did the meeting go well?" Chloe enquired about the meeting''s success upon noticing Rina''s neutral expression, which usually signaled deep contemplation about something. "It went extremely well, to say the least," Rina answered without giving any further explanation, prompting Chloe to refrain from asking any further questions and allowing Rina to continue her thoughts. ..... Rina''s POV. "I can''t believe it worked, holy shit," Rina thought to herself, but she maintained her calm exterior in front of Chloe, but on the Inside, she was freaking the shit out of herself. The reason being that despite having Nova''s plan since last week, she didn''t use it during her talk with Terry that almost resulted in her neck being broken. Instead, she had used the plans she came up with Ava. But during today''s meeting, she had followed Nova''s plan precisely, except for a few of her improvisations Rina''s anxiety stemmed not from the success of Nova''s plan or the fact that it was a plan created by an AI, but rather from the realization that Aron was the one who had developed the AI with such advanced capabilities. The way she saw it now, Aron was an otherworldly being who should not be trifled with. This realization resulted in Rina making a solemn oath to never betray him under any circumstances. This didn''t imply that she had planned to betray him before, but rather it heightened her sense of loyalty(?) to him far beyond that of her own family. In fact, she was now prepared to betray her family before even considering betraying Aron. "What plans does he have to gain by helping me with all of these resources?" Rina was questioning the motives behind Aron''s immense support for her. She couldn''t help but wonder what he had in mind, as the resources he was providing her with must have been significant. Rina speculated that Aron had to be gaining something equally or even more valuable than what he was investing in her. She began to think about what she or her family possessed that would justify the enormous resources he was investing, especially given that he had a powerful AI at his disposal. She concluded that the reason behind Aron''s massive investment in her and her family could only be their political power and connections. However, she hesitated to consider money as a factor because she suspected that Aron, or someone on his behalf, was responsible for the person causing chaos in the stock market through anonymous financial firms, earning huge returns for several months. This left only their political power and connections as the possible reasons for Aron''s investment. Coming to that conclusion didn''t solve the mystery, but instead raised more questions. What was Aron planning that required their extensive political power or connections? The focus was on the "extensive" part, as if he needed only a small political connection, he could have gone to smaller families that had them, instead of investing his resources in her. Rina''s mind was flooded with questions, and she couldn''t stop wondering what Aron''s true intentions were. Why did he need their extensive political power and connections in such a short period of time? If he had enough time, he could have formed his own powerful connections and established a more concentrated political power. His AI was capable of predicting election results and even destroying competitors by releasing reputation-breaking scandals. Rina''s thoughts were spiraling as she pondered the purpose of Aron''s investment in her. For every question she answered, more questions arose, and this cycle continued throughout the journey. Her view of Aron was gradually rising to the point where it was becoming absurd. ..... "Miss, we have arrived," Chloe interrupted Rina''s thought frenzy, informing her that they had arrived at their mansion. "Thanks," said Rina as she got out of the car and entered her mansion. She went straight to her bedroom to rest, calm down and maybe even rub one, as the overwhelming thoughts and emotions she was experiencing could cause her brain to shut down from excitement and happiness if not properly vented. ... France. As Aron was heading towards cole Normale Suprieure University as he had some brain data from there, he received a phone call from Felix. "Hello," he greeted upon answering the call. "How are you doing?" asked Felix upon hearing Aron''s voice. "I''m doing good, how about you guys?" Aron asked in response. "We are doing very well," Felix replied. "How did the meeting go?" Aron finally asked the question he had been curious about. Nova could have informed him about it, but she had left him to focus on driving, knowing that Felix would update him. "Well, the meeting could be considered to have gone well," replied Felix. "Why do I hear a tone that suggests an ''if'' is coming?" Aron asked after noticing a hint of uncertainty in Felix''s response. "You''re not wrong about that. Here''s what happened,...." Felix began recounting everything that had occurred, from their first encounter with the dictator to their departure from the presidential palace. "What are your thoughts on the proposal?" Aron asked Felix after hearing the entire story. "I think Adolf is being greedy. After seeing that we are capable of dropping millions just due to him agreeing to the meeting, he probably thinks that we are desperate and will agree to his needs without any opposition," Felix explained, sharing his understanding of dictators'' thinking. Aron asked, "Do you think he will actually cancel the agreement if we refuse his terms?" "Yes, from the data you sent us, it stated he has a very big ego. Us trying to counteroffer might appear as if we are belittling his help and might result in catastrophic consequences," explained Felix. "Okay, give me ten minutes to think about it before I return to you with my decision," Aron said. "Sure," Felix acknowledged and ended the call. The moment the call ended, Aron immediately pulled over to the side of the road and parked the rental car. Following that he retrieved the Virtual head gear and moved to the backseat. He put it on and logged in to the virtual world, where he would have 50 minutes to consider his decision, compared to the limited 10 minutes he had in the real world. Chapter 88 Making A Decision & Arieh Receiving The News ? Inside the simulated universe. Aron quickly turned to Nova and asked for her opinion on how to handle the dictator''s demand, saying, "What do you suggest?" [I don''t see any difference in agreeing to the condition or not doing so,] Nova said nonchalantly as she materialized chairs and a table for them to sit on during the remainder of their conversation. "What do you mean?" Aron asked curiously as he sat on one of the chairs that Nova had materialized for them. [How long do you think it will take to buy and combine the companies into a unified operation?] Nova asked, as she conjured a tea pot and cups, poured tea into them, and pushed one towards Aron to drink. "About three months at the earliest," Aron answered after taking a sip of the delicious tea. Nova took a sip of the tea before asking, [After the completion of the company acquisitions, how long do you think it will take for the revolution to be complete?] Aron quickly responded, "The earliest would be six months and the latest would be nine months." As he searched for any connection between Nova''s question and her opinion that the dictator''s demand didn''t matter. "Ahaaa..." Aron exclaimed, finally realizing where Nova was leading him with her cryptic questioning instead of just answering him. [You seem to have finally grasped the point I was trying to make,] Nova said to Aron with a content smile on her face, feeling proud of her master.(A weird thing nonetheless) Aron finished his tea and promptly logged off, only to realize that merely a minute had passed in the physical world. Leaving behind a blushing Nova, looking at Aron''s empty cup. Aron quickly made a call to Felix to inform him of his decision. "Hello," Felix answered immediately, indicating that he had been waiting for Aron''s call. "Agree to his condition," Aron said straightforwardly without any beating around the bush. "Yes?" sked Felix in a surprise "Yes, but under the condition that the payments are done annually in company time, meaning that the annual payments will start counting from the official start of the company''s operations after consolidation is complete." He stooped to take a breath. Then he continued "If they ask why, tell them it will take that long for the company to finally start making stable profits." "Okay, I will wait a few days before informing them of your decision," Felix said. He didn''t ask any further questions as he was sure that Aron, who had even investigated the dictator''s personality, had a plan for this too. "Sure, see you" Aron said goodbye to Felix and ended the call after receiving his acknowledgement. Following that he immediately started the car and drove towards the university to collect his brain data. .... As soon as Felix ended the call with Aron, he turned to his team members and informed them of Aron''s decision to agree to the dictator''s demand. However, there was a condition attached to it: the payments would be made annually, and the counting would start after the company completed consolidation. The reason given was that this would be the optimal time for the company to start generating stable profits. Upon hearing Aron''s decision, they were surprised that he had agreed to such an absurd condition. However, they understood that they had to follow orders. "Okay, let''s dismiss for now and reconvene for a meeting tomorrow," Felix instructed his team members, signaling the end of the discussion. The members left the meeting room and went about their own ways, heading back to their respective hotel facilities to rest. After everyone had left, Felix finally stood up and retired to his room to rest. He was feeling exhausted and stressed from the meeting, and sleep was the only thing on his mind. ..... Tuesday. Rina woke up early this morning as she had gone to bed earlier than usual the previous night. After cleaning herself, she went to her workroom to begin the second day of her raising from the ashes. [Welcome, Rina] greeted Ava as Rina entered her workroom and sat down in front of her computer. "Thanks, Ava," Rina replied gratefully. [Will you start right away or will you wait for a bit before you begin] Ava asked, curious about Rina''s plans for the day. "Yes, I will start immediately. We still have around 15 board members left that we need to threaten and gain their allegiance," Rina replied as she picked up the same tablet she had used the day before. She didn''t have to upload anything onto it as Ava handled all the data transfer of important threat materials. Following which she left her office at once, After seeing Rina leave her office with the same tablet as yesterday, Chloe knew not to wait for any further orders and followed behind her, together with Alex. "This time, where are we headed?" Chloe asked, making sure that Alex knew the destination so he could drive them there. "We are going to several places. First, to Yoel''s, then to Yoram''s, and after that to Uria''s. I will let you know the next ones as we go," Rina instructed Alex on where to drive. After hearing the destinations, Alex didn''t hesitate and immediately started driving Rina to the first location, Yoel''s. Today Rina had planned on first receiving the cuckold orgy team''s pledges of allegiance before moving to other board members. She needs to complete the task of receiving all the board members'' allegiance by the end of next week if she wants to have enough time to go over her instructions about what to do at the board meeting. .... While Rina was on her way to receive Yoel''s allegiances. Nestled deep within the sprawling Rothschild compound, there stood a magnificent mansion that caught the attention of anyone who passed by. It was the envy of all who laid eyes on it, a true marvel of architecture and design. The mansion was the second largest within the estate, overshadowed only by the infamous family head''s personal residence. Its grandeur and opulence were unrivaled, a testament to the wealth and power of the Rothschild family. The exterior was adorned with intricate carvings and decorative accents, while the interior boasted luxurious furnishings, priceless artwork, and state-of-the-art amenities. The mansion''s lush gardens and expansive grounds added to its allure, providing a tranquil oasis within the bustling compound. It was Arieh''s mansion, the next family heads mansion Inside Arieh Rothchild''s (Rina''s brother) mansion. "Sir, it seems that your sister is trying to make a comeback to power," Charlotte, Arieh''s secretary, reported to him. "What is she doing now?" Arieh asked Charlotte, wanting more details about Rina''s actions. "Yesterday she went to Hebel and seemed to have begged him for his support," Charlotte gave Arieh more details. "Did he agree to support her?" Arieh asked, intrigued by the outcome of his sister''s begging. "Unfortunately, the bug we planted had run out of battery during the conversation as he was berating her, but according to our spy''s report, he had denied her request shortly after the berating. She seemed to be trying to conceal her emotions as she left his mansion," "Okay, that''s good. But why am I hearing about this just now, when it happened yesterday?" Hebel asked, curious about the delay in receiving news about his sister''s actions. "As I had informed you last week, Rina fired nearly half of the workers in her house in a fit of anger after being choked by Terry. Among the fired people were our spies too, resulting in us receiving this news only from the side of spies in the house of Hebel," explained Charlotte about what caused the delay. "So what has my sister done?" Arieh asked Charlotte for further information on Rina''s actions after being denied support by Hebel. "After the meeting, she simply returned home and did not visit any of the other board members'' residences," "keep me updated on her. It''s quite satisfying to see her struggle, even after being defeated multiple times," Arieh said to Charlotte. "Yes, sir," Charlotte acknowledged the order and left Arieh alone to continue his work. After Charlotte left him alone in his office, Arieh rubbed his chin, contemplating what his sister could possibly be planning by begging the board members for help, even though she knew they were loyal to him. Although he had suspected that maybe she had a plan when she fired the workers and was just hiding her act of cleaning the spies, but when he heard that she had gone and begged someone that she knew was extremely loyal to him. It seems that he had overestimated her, which was nothing but good news to him. Arieh knew that the family head was watching everything unfolding despite his inaction throughout the ordeal of sibling wars for power. "Just when I thought you couldn''t go any lower, you seem to have a knack for exceeding my expectations, dear sister," Arieh muttered to himself before bursting into laughter. Chapter 89 Phase One (Part One) Complete. ? Thursday. Felix had made a conscious decision to postpone taking action until the deadline set by the dictator had nearly expired and only one day remained to make contact with them. "Hello, Your Excellency," Felix greeted as soon as he was informed that the phone was in Adolf''s possession. "Did you call to inform me that you''ve accepted my offer?" Adolf cut to the chase, not interested in small talk and wanting to make the most of his time. "Yes, after discussing the matter, the headquarter decided to accept your proposal," Felix stated. "Good. Then come tomorrow with the contract so we can sign it," Adolf said, his voice filled with a hint of excitement and joy. "But the main headquarters has given us some conditions that need to be included in the contract for agreeing to your terms, Your Highness," Felix said, waiting for Adolf''s excited voice to subside before adding his own input. "What are the conditions? Go ahead and state them," Adolf said, but this time his tone held no hint of happiness at all. "They''ve requested that the dividends be paid annually, starting from the day when the company officially begins operations after the merger, as a condition for agreeing to your terms," Felix stated, relaying the conditions as requested. "Why start counting from that day? And why annually instead of quarterly?" Adolf asked in a displeased tone, clearly not happy with the conditions presented. "According to them, it''ll take that long for the company to start generating stable income, thus making it possible for dividends to be paid," Felix explained, trying to shed light on the reasoning behind the headquarters'' condition regarding dividend payments. "Okay, then," the dictator replied after a brief pause, taking a moment to confer with one of his assistants who was also listening in on the call. "Alright, then. I''ll be sending you the contract shortly for your review," Felix replied. "Send it over. I''ll have my legal team review it, and we''ll get in touch with you if there are any changes we need to make," Adolf said in a tone that implied he was doing them a favor. "See you soon, your highness" Felix began to say, but the call was abruptly ended by Adolf before he could finish his farewell. ... Rina Rothschild''s mansion. Rina had finally secured the oath of loyalty from all the members by leveraging evidence of their cuckoldry against them. This meant that Rina had gained the support of six out of the sixteen board members that had already sworn their allegiance to her. Today, Rina was officially starting to visit the remaining board members who had not been involved in the cuckoldry bullshit, the normal ones. "Miss, are you feeling okay?" Chloe asked Rina as they drove towards the mansion of the seventh board member. "What do you mean by that?" "What I meant was, are you feeling well? You have been visiting different board members for the entirety of the week and it must be exhausting," Chloe clarified her question. "Aah, I see what you mean. I''m planning something and I need their help, hence the visit," Rina explained her reasoning without revealing any more details about her plan. She didn''t reveal her plan to Chloe, not because she didn''t trust her, but because she knew that the fewer people who knew, the lower the risk of it leaking would be. After Rina explained her reason for the visit, the rest of the journey continued in silence. .... Friday. Felix and his team of three arrived at the palace for the contract signing, and were swiftly escorted to the dictator''s office by the security team. When they arrived, they greeted Adolf and shook hands. However, this time was different. Adolf didn''t immediately start talking about the main topic and instead engaged in small talk with Felix, as if he was trying to hide his excitement and anxiety about signing the contract with them. "Your Excellency, is there anything else you would like to negotiate in the contract?" Felix asked, redirecting the conversation back to the contract. "Nothing. I''m very satisfied with the conditions, and there''s nothing I want to negotiate in it," Adolf replied promptly. "May we proceed with the signing, Your Excellency, if it is not an inconvenience for you?" Felix asked politely, trying not to appear as if he was rushing the dictator to sign the contract. "Sure, let''s proceed with that," Adolf agreed to Felix''s suggestion. Afterward, they immediately moved to the chairs where two copies of the negotiated contract were sitting on both sides for them to sign and keep one copy each. After sitting down, Felix discreetly reviewed the contract to ensure that there had been no tampering, without showing any sign of suspicion or distrust towards the dictator and his team, as he did not want to create any tension before the contract was signed. After ensuring that everything was in order, Felix signed the contract without delay. Aron had given him the authority to do so, and he didn''t want to waste any time in getting the deal done. After Felix finished signing the contract, he exchanged copies with the dictator and Adolf also wrote his signature on it, officially ending the first part of phase one in Aron''s plan. After they finished signing the contracts, they shook hands and each person took a copy of the contract with them. While they were shaking hands, Adolf turned to Felix and said, "Since we have already signed the contract, I have decided to help expedite your acquisition of the telecommunications companies." "How will you help us?" Felix asked, curious to know in what way Adolf would assist them with their acquisition. "Next week, I will send an invitation letter to the owners of the telecommunication companies for a private dinner. I will tell them that I have something important to discuss, and when they attend, you can present your offer to them. If they agree, great. If they don''t, then I will invite them to be one of the first people to be accommodated in our soon-to-be-opened Gulag," Adolf said with a creepy smile on his face. After hearing what Adolf said, Felix forced himself to smile despite feeling uneasy. He replied, "I would be very grateful for your help, your highness." "It''s nothing to worry about. The sooner your company begins operation, the sooner I will receive my dividends. So, rather than saying I''m helping you, I''m just expediting my dividends," Adolf said before smiling. "That''s fine by me," Felix replied, feeling surprised at Adolf''s blunt and honest statement. After the conversation, Felix and his team said their goodbyes and left the palace promptly. They knew they needed to come up with a fair and convincing price for the telecommunication companies. It was important to ensure that the owners would sell willingly, instead of being forced to sell by the dictator. If they were forced, they might agree to sell and then sabotage the company as soon as they escaped the country. The team had a lot of work to do to make sure the acquisition would go smoothly. ... Aron could be seen riding a train heading to the Max Planck Institute for Human Development after successfully collecting brain data from the staff at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics. He had flown from France to Berlin after finishing the brain data collection of the people at CERN and most of France. As there were only five more stops until his destination, Aron received a phone call from Felix. pnd---no?1,o As soon as they exchanged greetings, Felix informed Aron about the contract signing and the dictator''s plan to help expedite the acquisition of the telecommunication companies. Aron was slightly surprised to hear about the dictator''s involvement but was also pleased with the progress. Aron smiled and commented, "It looks like he''s eager to receive his dividends as soon as possible." "Yeah, it appears that his advisors came up with the plan after I informed them about our condition yesterday," Felix replied "In any case, the sooner we complete the acquisition, the better off we''ll be," Felix remarked. "Yes, I agree," Felix replied. "Take care," Aron said, bidding farewell to Felix. "Alright, take care," Felix replied before they hung up. Aron then proceeded to stand up and move towards the train door, as he had arrived at his destination. After getting off the train, Aron quickly put his phone on his ear and said, "Inform Alexander that we have completed the first part of phase one of the plan. We need to keep him informed, or else he may start to suspect that we are not moving fast enough to fulfill our end of the bargain." [I will inform him, sir,] Nova replied, and promptly sent the ordered message to Alexander. As she was currently monitoring him from his computer''s front camera without his knowledge, to ensure he didn''t do anything foolish like reporting their deal to anyone. Chapter 90 The Offer. ? A week later, Friday. Rina had finally finished collecting the oath of loyalty from all the board members, if you don''t count her brother and the board chairman who she didn''t try to make him swear his allegiance to her as he was the family head and her father. Another reason was that no matter how she threatened him nothing will come out of it as he usually doesn''t interfere with the competition between the family member for the next family head as he considered it the way to weed out the weak competitors for the next family head so nothing good will come from antagonizing him. Following the completion of turning all the board members loyal to her, he contacted each member individually and gave them instructions on what to do in the upcoming board meeting. She wasn''t going for anything groundbreaking like firing her brother or something, as that would raise suspicion in her brother''s mind that she had all the board members on her side due to him having heard about her visit to all of them through the spies in the board members'' houses. She knew that if she used it that way her brother would retaliate in an unexpected way, she wanted to prove herself to the family head so that it would make the family head choose her for her abilities in the company. .... Eden. The atmosphere at the presidential palace was abuzz with activity as a grand celebration was underway, with the attendance of numerous influential personalities from the country. The ambiance was lively and dynamic, with guests mingling and interacting with each other. The air was filled with joy and excitement, as people from different walks of life came together to revel in the festivities. To enhance the festive spirit, the palace was adorned with exquisite decorations, and the staff were all dressed in their finest attire. The guests were treated to a delightful spread of gourmet cuisine and an array of beverages. The mood was set, and everyone was having a splendid time. The event was not just an occasion for merrymaking, but also an opportunity for people to network and build new relationships. The presence of several powerful individuals added an air of significance to the celebration, making it an event to remember. But despite all the festivities there were some people who had attended but were noticeably absent from the crowd, where guests were socializing and networking to form new connections. The absence of these individuals did not go unnoticed by the attendees, especially since they were all from the same industry - Telecommunication. Inside one of the meeting rooms located in the presidential palace. The room was arranged with two rows of seating facing each other, with a long table in the center separating them. If you knew who they were, you would realize that these individuals were the ones who were missing from the crowd. As soon as the dictator finished his welcoming speech and officially initiating the ceremony, these individuals were summoned to the meeting under the pretext of having something important to discuss with them As they waited for the dictator to arrive and begin the discussion, one of them couldn''t help but ask, "What do you think he summoned us here for?" "I''m not sure, but it''s likely related to the telecommunication industry or something similar. After all, everyone who''s here seems to be from that field," replied the man sitting across from the person who posed the question. Before they could continue their conversation, the door opened and Adolf walked in. They promptly stood up to show respect. Following behind him was Felix carrying a briefcase. "have a seat. We have something to discuss," said Adolf, as he took his place at the head of the table. Felix stood beside Adolf, knowing that he would soon leave so that he could take his own seat. Once he saw that the telecommunication company owners were attentive, Adolf wasted no time in beginning his speech. He didn''t want to waste any time with them, as he had his eyes on a beautiful lady in attendance and planned to bed her by the end of the party. "Perhaps some of you have already guessed that I have called you here to discuss something related to the telecommunications industry," began the dictator. eaglesnov?1,o "Yes, Your Excellency," they all answered in unison. "Alright, that saves me a lot of time. I have brought my friend Felix here, as he has something important to discuss regarding your companies," Adolf stated, raising his hand and pointing at Felix to introduce him to the group. Felix simply raised his hand and gave a wave in acknowledgement, choosing not to add anything further as the dictator had already said what he needed to when introducing him. "I will be leaving shortly, but remember, his words are my words," Adolf said before standing up from his chair and promptly leaving the room. Felix was left behind to continue the conversation on his own. Adolf''s parting words carried weight, making the company owners take Felix seriously and be willing to fulfill any orders he gave, as long as it was within their capabilities and not harmful to them. After the dictator left, Felix took a seat in the chair previously occupied by Adolf and opened his briefcase, retrieving some folders that he then distributed to the owners of the telecommunication companies. Upon receiving the folder from Felix, they immediately opened it and started reading its contents. During this time, Felix remained silent, allowing the telecommunication company owners to read through the contents of the folders. He didn''t want to interrupt their reading or rush them in any way. He knew that the information he provided them with was crucial, and he wanted them to fully comprehend it before any negotiations began. "You want to buy my company?" asked one of them after finishing perusing the contents on the first folder, without bothering to continue reading the following pages. "Mine too?" "Mine too?" "Mine too?" chimed in the remaining company owners. They were quite surprised that someone was attempting to buy all of their companies, and even worse, that he was giving them the offer with the backing of the dictator. "Are you trying to strong-arm us by using the dictator as your backing and forcing us to sell at a lower price?" asked one of them with anger and frustration in his voice. The man wasn''t angry that someone wanted to buy his company, as he was already planning on selling it and leaving the country, since it was no longer profitable. In order to start earning profits, he would have to upgrade the infrastructure of the entire country, which he had no plans of doing. What angered him was the man''s attempt to use the dictator to force him to sell it for a low price. "Before you shout at me, first finish reading the documents in your hands. The price is on the last page, which I''m quite sure none of you have opened to read," Felix replied calmly. Despite them looking at him like a raging bull ready to jump at him at a moment''s notice to kick the shit out of him, no matter the consequences. When they heard him mention that the price was on the last page, they immediately turned to the last page without listening to anything else Felix said, eager to see the offered price. Once they saw the price that Felix was offering, their demeanor changed and they were more willing to listen to what he had to say. Especially since they were not emotionally attached to their companies and were about to be forced to upgrade their infrastructure to keep up with the fast-changing world of IT. The amount they were being offered was unbelievable, more than what they would have gotten from selling their companies through normal means. However, as the saying goes, greed is man''s greatest enemy. They immediately composed themselves and exchanged knowing glances, realizing that if they were going to sell, they needed to exploit their situation to get the best possible deal. "The amount is very small, you need to increase it by about 15 percent. So that we can sell it without any resentment," one of the owners said, trying to negotiate for a higher price. When Felix saw the group''s expression of wanting more money, he made himself comfortable on his chair by putting one leg on top of the other before he spoke slowly and clearly. "This offer includes a ten percent premium based on your current valuation calculated from profits earned in the past five years. If you had read the contents in the folder correctly, you would have realized that we are the ones helping you out. Your telecommunication infrastructure is about to become outdated, which will force you to reinvest any money earned in the following years to upgrade it. However, that infrastructure will be outdated again within a few years, resulting in no profit for you in the upcoming decade. Furthermore, you seem to have forgotten that you will be forced to sell the company to me no matter the price I offer. Offering a ten percent increase was an act of mercy for buying your companies without your consultation. But since it seems too high for you, I''m rescinding the offer and offering you only a five percent increase. Any further negotiation or haggling will result in me reducing the offer by five percent continuously until you end up paying me. So, think carefully about what you will say from now on, or you might have to prepare yourselves to become the first visitors of the soon-to-be-opened Gulag.". Chapter 91 The Board Meeting ? "They accepted our offer, and it appears that the dictator''s words were the decisive factor in their swift agreement." Felix relayed the news to Aron. "Has he asked about his $20 million remuneration?" Aron inquired while he was at Professor Janusz A. Zajdel''s residence, where he was collecting professor''s brain data, while conversing with Felix. "He didn''t directly state it, but he insinuated it, and in response, I assured him that I would transfer the money to whichever bank account he preferred," replied Felix. "Once he provides you with the account number, forward it to me so that I can promptly initiate the transfer, as we wish to avoid any misunderstandings" instructed Aron. "Sure." "Now that we have completed Phase One of the plan, let us immediately start with the consolidation of the company without delay," Aron said. "Of course. When will you be sending us the details for Phase Two?" inquired Felix. "I just sent it to you now, read it and call me back if you have any questions?" "Sure" Felix answered back and ended the call. 30 minutes later. As Aron was leaving the professor''s residence after completing his brain data collection, Felix called him back. "Why did you call back so quickly?" Aron asked. "I noticed in the plan that I am expected to assume the role of CEO in the new company," "Yes, is there anything wrong with that?" Aron asked, his head tilting to the side looking for anything weird in that. "Are you absolutely certain that I am the best candidate for the CEO position? Wouldn''t it be more appropriate to hire someone with specific expertise in that area?" questioned Felix, expressing his uncertainty about assuming the role. "I understand your concern, but I have complete faith in you. You don''t have to worry about doing justice to the role. Just ensure that you appoint a competent Vice President from the list I provided and seek their guidance to enhance the company. I selected you for the CEO position because I need someone I trust in that position. There might be occasions when I give peculiar orders, and I require someone to implement them. You meet all the necessary criteria, which is why I have faith in your abilities,"Aron explained. "Alright, I''ll contact you again once I''ve read through the entire plan with the team," responded Felix before bidding Aron farewell and ending the call. ... Two weeks later. The Rothschild''s compound was filled with luxurious mansion, but they were all eclipsed by the grandeur of the family head''s residence. Usually, there was little to no movement within the mansion as the family head disliked being visited for no reason. However, today was an exception as there were about sixteen cars parked at the entrance of the mansion. It was the day of the board meeting, and all the members were present, including those who were responsible for preparing the meeting room. Inside the mansion, workers were shuttling back and forth, ensuring that nothing of importance was forgotten during the preparation for the meeting. Once they had completed preparing the meeting room, they immediately informed the board members. After receiving the call, the board members began to move toward the meeting room to avoid arriving after the family head, or for today, the board chairman. Inside the meeting room. Hebel could be seen talking with his friends "Those who participated in cuckoldry and were threatened by Rina using it." eaglesnov?1,o Last week, one of them mustered the courage to reach out to the others to check if they too had been threatened with similar evidence. This led to them reconnecting, and they discovered they were all in the same predicament, forming a bond stronger than when they were mere bystanders watching their wives getting pounded by other men. The board members were engaged in small group conversations when Arieh made his entrance into the room. As soon as he appeared, the members turned towards him and greeted him with nods, but Arieh didn''t reciprocate the gesture. He swiftly proceeded to take the nearest seat to the chairman''s position. After Arieh took his seat, the other board members resumed their discussions but with a lowered volume. They did so to avoid any potential irritation to Arieh, as they were wary of him causing trouble for them. The hushed conversations continued for a few more minutes until the door suddenly opened. The family head then made his entrance, with his secretary following close behind him as he elegantly walked into the room. As soon as the family head entered the meeting room, all the board members, including Arieh, stood up to show their respect. They remained standing until the family head had taken his seat. Once he took his seat, the family head nodded his head, acknowledging the greeting from the board members and gesturing for them to take their seats. After the board members took their seats, the board chairman turned to his secretary. Taking the cue, she made her way to the podium and assumed her role as the secretary for the day''s board meeting. Without any delay, the secretary called the meeting to order, officially starting the board meeting. The roll call followed promptly, and it was passed without any issue, as everyone was present, and the secretary could already see that. The board members promptly proceeded to approve the meeting agendas. Unlike many other companies where this process could take a significant amount of time, here, there were no proposed items that would not pass. This was because most proposals were brought forward only after gaining the approval of Arieh. In cases where Arieh did not approve a proposal, it would have to be under the direct orders of the family head for it to reach the meeting agenda. Following the approval of the meeting agendas, the board members proceeded to discuss the CEO''s report, followed by the financial report, after having passed the approval of minutes from the previous meeting. The board meeting continued smoothly until it reached the part of the agenda where they were discussing new business. During the new business section of the meeting, the board members would discuss new topics or proposals. When they reached this part of the meeting, Hebel spoke up to propose a new topic for discussion. She had been instructed to do so by Rina. "Shouldn''t we discuss what happened to Miss Rina?" Hebel proposed, following the script he had been given by Rina a few weeks prior. After Hebel proposed the topic, all the board members, including Arieh, turned to the family head to see if he approved for it to be discussed. "I recall making myself clear that I intended to make an example out of Terry. Why are you suggesting we discuss this again?" asked the family head in a dignified tone, speaking up for the first time since he had entered the room. "I wasn''t suggesting that we don''t make an example out of Terry. However, are we not going to compensate Rina for this blunder?" Hebel clarified, doubling down. "Do you mean that we should compensate her for her injury?" Yoel asked, following the script. "We need to demonstrate that if something happens due to a mistake of the vetting team, we must compensate her so that it is clear that it is not her fault," Hebel explained, giving his reasoning for the proposal. Arieh was taken aback by this sudden change in Hebel''s stance, as he knew how much Hebel despised Rina. "What happened to him? Why is he taking her side?" Arieh pondered silently, still sitting quietly. "What do you suggest we compensate her with then?" The family head asked Hebel about the details of his proposal, wanting to understand the specifics of what was being suggested. "How about we bring her back to work and appoint her as the head of Ally Financial?" Hebel proposed. When Arieh heard Hebel''s proposal, he smiled to himself and thought, "So that''s where this was heading. Hebel, you sly son of a bitch." Arieh smiled feeling happy, Instead of feeling angry or advocating against Rina''s return to work, the position that Hebel suggested for her removed any opposition he might have had. Ally Financial was currently in a precarious situation, as it had become collateral damage during their war with the Morgans. The company was embroiled in a legal battle with the United States Justice Department over their mortgage practices during the financial crisis, and the outcome of the case could potentially have devastating consequences for the company. During the conflict with the Morgans, the company was used as a tool to deceive and mislead them, causing them to be unprepared for the next move. As a result, Ally Financial is still struggling to survive and is on the brink of bankruptcy. The fate of the company now rests on how they settle with the Justice Department regarding their mortgage practices during the financial crisis. This made Arieh nod in approval at Hebel''s sinister plan, unaware that it was entirely orchestrated by Rina (+Nova +Ava +Aron(?)) Arieh quickly moved to call for a vote, wanting to avoid any possibility of someone suggesting a better placement for Rina. He knew that Ally Financial was the worst of their family companies and hoped that everyone would agree to Hebel''s proposal. "Those in favor of the proposal, please raise your hand," the meeting secretary said, calling for the vote. When everyone except the family head raised their hands, Arieh smiled to himself, thinking, "Ah, Rina, this is what you get for fighting me without proper preparation. Look at my people coming up with ways to fight for me and punish you without even a direct order from me." Tang! Tang! Tang! The sound of the hammer hitting the board was heard, signifying that the motion had passed. In that fateful moment, Arieh basked in the glory of his victory, a smile stretching across his face, his ego bloated with the satisfaction of having his way. But little did he know, that the very hammer that sealed Rina''s fate, also hammered the first nail in his coffin. The beginning of the end for a once-great titan, The downfall had begun. Chapter 92 Terrys Situation & Rinas Appointment ? In the hospital. Terry, barely opening his eyes, woke up after three long weeks of recovery following his operation. His gaze was fixated on the ceiling, but it was evident that his eyes were filled with hopelessness and despair. As the reality of his situation sunk in, Terry couldn''t help but question his own actions. "Why did I do that?" he murmured to himself, his voice trembling with emotion. The memory of the incident that resulted in him getting shot was still fresh in his mind, and he couldn''t shake off the regret and the pain. The weight of his mistakes seemed to bear down on him as he lay there, alone with his thoughts. The once energetic and carefree Terry was now a shadow of his former self, consumed by the consequences of his actions. Just as he was about to continue to berate himself for doing that and thinking of ways to save himself, someone entered the room but since he could not turn due to his body still being in pain he could do nothing but wait for the person to move to him so that he knows who he or she is "You seem to have awakened and are healing quite well," a voice spoke as the person drew nearer to him. At the sound of the voice, Terry''s hope was instantly rekindled, as he recognized it to be that of Charlotte - the secretary of the man he was spying on. Though it was a struggle to speak due to the painful bullet wounds on his chest that were still healing and making it difficult for him to breathe, he forced himself to respond. "Yes, miss," he managed to say. "Good, that means you can hear and comprehend what I''m going to tell you now," she said. Terry couldn''t shake off the ominous feeling that gripped him, as he detected a foreboding tone in Charlotte''s voice as she spoke to him. The unease that settled within him only added to his already considerable discomfort. After Terry gave a nod, Charlotte proceeded to speak. "Once you''re fully healed, the head of the family will have a discussion with you. You''ll serve as an example to all of the workers, and it''s crucial that you remember to never speak about Sir Arieh, regardless of what they do to you. If you fail to comply, your parents and relatives will face the consequences," she threatened, her tone menacing. Upon hearing this, Terry was overcome with an intense desire to scream at Charlotte for abandoning him after using him for over four years, under a promise that had yet to be fulfilled. However, before Terry could even attempt to voice his thoughts, Charlotte turned and left without waiting for his response. She seemed confident that her warning would be enough to keep Terry from ever mentioning Sir Arieh''s name, especially if he cared about the safety of his family. Terry was left alone, with only his thoughts and pain for company. "You are abandoning me now!!!" Terry shouted in his mind, afraid that if he attempted to voice his thoughts aloud, he might rupture and reopen his wounds. With the realization that his hopes of receiving aid from Sir Arieh were now dashed, Terry was overcome with a sense of desperation. He began to frantically consider alternative ways to save himself, knowing that he was now on his own. The weight of his circumstances bore down on him, and he was filled with a mix of fear, anxiety, and determination to survive. ... Alexander was in his workroom back home in Eden, having returned about two weeks ago from attending meetings with other revolutionary leaders. In front of him, his laptop was open, displaying the news that had been announced earlier that day. [ A TELECOMMUNICATION JUGGERNAUT IS BEING BORN The four major companies, TeleSignal, ComBros, Theory Telecom, and PeakPitch had been bought out for a whopping $150 million and were now in the process of being consolidated into one giant corporation named CONNECT. The new company aims to provide high-quality and affordable internet connectivity to every corner of the country. The spokesperson of the company stated that the company planned to invest more than $100 million to modernize the infrastructure, which would result in internet connection speeds almost triple the current speed and allowing everyone to have access to high-speed internet. While some people raised concerns about the potential consequences of having a single entity control the internet connections of an entire country, the government seemed to have approved this consolidation as a way to improve the infrastructure inorder to attract further investments. The new company also pledged not to increase prices before they were permitted by the government and would be subject to government regulations to ensure that they adhered to their promise. Consolidation of telecommunication companies can have several benefits, such as more efficient use of resources and economies of scale, resulting in lower costs for consumers. Consolidation can also lead to more innovation and research and development, resulting in better quality products and services. However, consolidation can also lead to monopolization, resulting in higher prices and lack of innovation. Consumers can voice their concerns to the government and regulatory bodies to ensure that the new company adheres to its promise of providing high-quality and affordable internet connectivity to every corner of the country. ] Alexander felt his heart rate increase significantly when he read the article, as he finally believed that Aron had really chosen to keep his promise. Alexander felt a surge of hope when he learned that they had obtained the dictator''s permission to buy the company a few weeks ago. However, without seeing any progress, he didn''t dare to believe it would happen. Today, seeing the news article confirming the purchase, he finally realized that the countdown to the liberation of their country had officially begun. Alexander knew what Aron planned for the telecommunication company beyond just providing affordable and high-quality internet connectivity. This was why he was so excited after reading the news article, as he knew that the company''s acquisition was a crucial step in their plan to overthrow the dictator and bring about a new era of freedom in their country. "Now how are you going to handle the other revolutionary leaders who will try to block you when you start to use the telecommunication company to its fullest?" Alexander asked Aron, despite him not being within the room to answer him. It was just his curiosity, as he was not seeing any way to do so without turning all the members in their groups into enemies unless he assassinated them and blamed it to the dictator, but that would not be the best choice. Alexander sighed and turned back to his work, but his mind kept wandering to the possibilities of a free and just country. He couldn''t wait for the day when they would finally be able to break free from the dictator''s grip and build a society that truly cared for its citizens. .... Rina paced nervously inside her office, alone with her thoughts. Hoping and praying that the plan she had come up with, along with Nova''s help, had worked. Her anxiety was understandable, as it was the first time her plan (along with Nova''s) was being executed without her being present to oversee it. Rina''s confidence in her plan wavered as this was the first time she was not present to oversee its execution, which made her nervous. This was understandable, especially since she had gained her confidence from using the plans to force the board members to swear their allegiance to her. She continued pacing back and forth in her office until there was a knock on the door. Quickly, she composed herself and walked over to her chair before calling out, "Come in," and welcoming the visitor inside. "What''s up?" Rina asked Chloe after she entered the office. "We received a letter from the head house" Chloe answered, showing the letter in her hand as she approached Rina and handed it to her. Rina took the letter from Chloe and quickly opened it to see its contents. When Rina saw the heading of the letter, which said "Appointment Letter," she immediately stood up and hugged Chloe in happiness. Chloe was surprised but still hugged Rina back, even though she didn''t know what had made Rina so happy. "What is it, miss?" Chloe finally asked Rina after they separated from the hug. "I finally got a position back in one of the family companies," Rina said excitedly. When Chloe heard the explanation, she hugged Rina back in excitement. She had felt quite sad for her boss when she was relieved of all her posts in the family companies. Riina did not stop her hug but also hugged her back again. After an awkward short moment followed, Chloe bid farewell to Rina and left her Alone in the room. [Congrats on getting a position once again] Ava congratulated Rina after they were left alone. "No, it was all thanks to you, your mother, and Aron''s help," Rina humbly replied to Ava''s congratulations. [You''re the one who worked hard to accomplish and bring the plan to life. All we did was give you the tools and guidance, but you did it yourself, Rina,] Ava said back to Rina, who was giving them all the credit. eaglesnov?1,o "Thanks for saying that" Rina expressed her gratitude to Ava for her kind words, as she had started to feel like she was simply being used as Aron''s pawn and was losing her independence and free will. Ava''s words made Rina realize that despite the plans given to her by others, she always had the choice to follow them or not. She also came to the realization that she was benefiting the most from their cooperation and that she was becoming selfish. Chapter 93 Rina Seeing The Plan & Liam And Felix Meeting ? Rina continued her conversation with Ava after she calmed down. "Now that I have been assigned to the financial company, as you guys wanted, can you show me the plan?" She had previously asked to see the plans, but she was told that it was not yet completed and was still being collected. [A few hours ago, the plan was sent to me. My mother said that it had gone through a few revisions to fit the conditions of your assigned company. Here it is,] Ava replied as she immediately pulled up the plan on her screen to show it to Rina. Rina wasted no time and started reading through the plan immediately. She had been eagerly waiting for this information for over a month, being told repeatedly that it was not yet complete. As Rina finished reading the first page, she had to pause and take a deep breath. The information on that single page had almost made her forget to breathe from fear. "Are you sure that they really came up with this plan?" Rina asked as the plan was something a level higher than brutal. Ava didn''t directly answer Rina''s question, but instead replied, "It gets worse, just keep reading." This implied that the following pages of the plan contained even more alarming information than the first page. Rina didn''t say anything in response to Ava''s comment, but instead quickly moved to the second page of the plan to continue reading. She was eager to find out what other alarming details the plan contained. As Rina continued reading through the plan, her heart sank further with each passing page. Eventually, the fear became so overwhelming that she began shaking uncontrollably. The information contained in the plan was beyond what she had ever imagined, and the consequences of its implementation seemed dire. Ava saw that Rina was becoming overwhelmed with fear, so she quickly turned off the screen and said [Rina calm down] Ava said in a soothing tone, reassuring her. She was worried that Rina might faint if she continued reading the plan in her current state. "How can I possibly calm down? Are you sure you read the plan? If you had read it, you wouldn''t be so calm either!" Rina exclaimed, her frustration and fear evident in her voice. Ava responded calmly, [Yes, I have read the plan.] "Then why are you asking me to calm down if you have read the plan?" Rina questioned Ava with a trembling voice. [I am calm because, firstly, I am an Artificial Intelligence, and secondly, I have read the entire plan. This includes not only the plan of the Morgans, but also the one created by Mother to counter it,] Ava calmly explained to Rina. "Ooh" Rina said, realizing that the reason for not getting the plan earlier was due to it being incomplete and the need to create a counter-plan. Remembering, Rina quickly returned to her screen to continue reading after Ava re-opened it. eglesn?el This time, Rina remained composed and forced herself to finish reading Morgan''s plan. After finishing reading the Morgan''s plan, Rina immediately shifted her focus to the countermeasures that Ana''s mother had prepared. As Rina began to read the countermeasures, her complexion slowly returned to normal, and the color began to come back to her face. "Wow," Rina exclaimed. She couldn''t help but be impressed by the countermeasures outlined in Ana''s mother''s plan. She was certain that if they were able to implement these measures before the Morgans carried out their own plan, it would result in slaughtering the Morgans for the second time in ten years. ... One week had passed since Felix''s appointment as the CEO of the soon-to-be merged company. He was now about to have the company''s first official meeting with the vice CEO he had recently appointed. The purpose of the meeting was to deliberate on the necessary measures to be taken after the completion of the ongoing consolidation. Inside the meeting room, the CEO and the vice CEO Liam, sat across from each other, delving into the details of their discussion. Thirty minutes had elapsed since the meeting began, and the CEO and the vice CEO had already covered a variety of topics. One such topic was the fate of workers with identical job roles across the four companies that were in the midst of consolidation. "We will evaluate their experience and retain those who exhibit strong work ethics," Felix stated before moving on to other topics. They continued discussing various topics until they finally arrived at the subject of upgrading the telecommunication infrastructure. This time Liam interjected, "In order to upgrade the infrastructure, we need to conduct a thorough assessment of the current state of the telecommunications infrastructure in the country. Following this assessment, we can develop a comprehensive plan for upgrading the infrastructure. Once that is done, we will need to secure funding for the project." His expertise in the matter was apparent. "You needn''t worry about the assessment of the infrastructure; we already have it," Felix assured Liam as he pushed a thick folder towards him. "Take a look at it," he added. Liam received the thick folder from Felix and swiftly skimmed through its contents to gain a basic understanding. He planned to review it in greater detail after the meeting had concluded. As Liam flipped through the pages, he was pleasantly surprised by the level of detail included in the assessment. It was comprehensive, leaving no stone unturned. It provided him with all the information he needed to know, and even highlighted areas that he might have overlooked as unimportant. "This report is incredibly thorough. Who wrote it and when was it completed?" Liam inquired, curious about the amount of time that would have been required to produce such a comprehensive assessment. "I don''t have an exact date, and there is a dedicated team handling all the planning. However, the assessment should have all the necessary information for our plan," Felix answered concisely. He was also uncertain of the timeline as the assessment had been sent to him together with the phase two plans. Liam moved the conversation forward by suggesting, "Therefore, we should act quickly and begin to develop a comprehensive plan for the infrastructure upgrade." Without uttering a word, Felix slid another folder across the table to Liam for his perusal. Liam picked up the folder and began to sift through its contents. "From the same team?" he asked Felix. "Indeed it is," confirmed Felix, falling silent and allowing Liam to read the materials contained within the folder at his leisure. As Liam perused the infrastructure upgrade plan, he was once again taken aback by its level of detail and thoroughness. The infrastructure upgrade plan that Liam reviewed was nothing short of impressive. It outlined specific objectives to achieve such as increasing coverage, improving quality, and decreasing costs. What made it even more impressive was the timeline for the upgrade, which included goals for the short, medium, and long-term. However, what caught Liam off guard was the budget for the short-term goals. The plan stated that it would be entirely privately funded, with a budget of 100 million dollars. The medium and long-term goals were left without a budget, as another round of assessment is necessary before any decision could be made. The plan also detailed the strategy for introducing new technologies such as 4G/LTE networks, fiber-optic cables, and satellite-based services. The short-term plan would be the deployment of 4G/LTE networks, followed by the installation of fiber-optic cables as a short and medium-term plan. Satellite-based services would be a long-term plan. Furthermore, the plan addressed the challenge of increasing access to telecommunications services in remote and rural areas. This would involve the deployment of additional cell towers and broadband infrastructure. Overall, the plan was comprehensive and well thought-out. Liam was so impressed by the plan that all he could manage to say was a simple "wow". Felix chuckled at Liam''s reaction and said, "I told you we have a competent team working on this project. The plan is comprehensive and realistic, and it should help us achieve our goals for the infrastructure upgrade." Liam nodded in agreement and added, "I''m particularly impressed with the inclusion of plans for rural and remote areas. It shows that we''re not just focused on urban areas" Felix nodded in approval and added, "It''s our duty to ensure that they''re not left behind in the digital age. It''s a win-win situation for both our business and the community." not knowing the real reason Aron wanted the whole country to be connected to the internet. Felix asked Liam, "Can you provide me with an estimated timeline for completing the implementation of the short-term plan?" Felix needed to report a timeline to Aron and was seeking information from Liam. Liam replied, "Due to the high budget, we can hire different teams to work on similar projects in different parts of the country simultaneously. This way, we should be able to complete the short-term upgrade within three months at the latest. However, I will need to review the plan in more detail to come up with a more accurate timeline, but I am confident that it won''t take more than three months." Liam sounded assured while answering Felix''s question. After the brief discussion with Liam, the meeting came to an end, and everyone left to return to their respective offices in the rental building. Chapter 94 Lab City ? A month later. After traveling extensively across Europe for two months, constantly moving from one place to another, Aron was finally returning home. Aron boarded the private plane for his return journey to the United States after successfully collecting brain data from the list of individuals all over Europe. "Is everything going smoothly?" Aron inquired from Felix over the phone during the flight. "Yes, we are currently in the process of consolidating the user information from the four companies," Felix explained, updating Aron on their progress. "Great, so the consolidation will be completed in the next two months as planned," Aron confirmed with Felix. "Yes. We might even finish ahead of the scheduled time since the workers are highly motivated due to the attractive pay which is above the country''s average," Felix explained. "Okay, great. See you then," Aron bid farewell to Felix and ended the call. After putting the phone back into his pocket, Aron asked Nova, "How many hours do we have left in our journey?" [Approximately 6 hours, sir] Nova promptly replied. "Then I better get to work," Aron said as he retrieved the virtual headset from the box and put it on while adjusting his chair to a lying position. "Login," he said as he entered the virtual reality system. ... Inside the Accelerated simulated universe. "It''s finally nice to have some time for myself after endless travels," Aron remarked, greeting Nova. [You should consider resting for about a week after you land,] Nova suggested to Aron, concerned about his well-being. "We can think about that after we land," Aron replied before proceeding towards an empty patch of land and opening the system''s shop. [ (Knowledge assimilation) Involves transferring information directly into an individual''s brain, enabling them to fully comprehend and understand a subject without the need for study or practice... ... (Price: 100 million sp)] Aron had finally accumulated enough SP to purchase the information about knowledge assimilation, and without any delay, he swiftly bought the knowledge on how to do it. Following the buying of it, Aron immediately sat down to allow the knowledge of how to perform knowledge assimilation to be absorbed into his mind. During the entire assimilation process, Nova watched as the knowledge was assimilated into Aron''s mind, while also attempting to detect any potential new knowledge from Arons system. However, her efforts proved to be unsuccessful, as she was unable to detect anything important from Aron''s system. After completing the knowledge assimilation, Aron turned to Nova who understood the task and immediately began to access Aron''s brain data. Aron quickly gave his consent to Nova''s attempt to access his brain data by pressing "Agree" at the system prompt that asked for his approval. After Aron gave his approval, Nova proceeded to download his brain data. She quickly found what she was searching for and learned how the knowledge assimilation can be done. Nova created two virtual people in front of them, and transferred knowledge to one of them. She then downloaded the knowledge and transferred it to the second person, and assimilated it to him. Afterwards, she downloaded the brain data of the second person to check if the knowledge assimilation was successful. After completing the assessment, Nova turned to Aron and said, [I can use the VR headset to initiate the knowledge assimilation, sir. However, since the headset was not specifically made for this task, the assimilation duration will be quite long, depending on the amount of knowledge to be assimilated.] Nova explained to Aron. "That also works, we will solve it as we go. Now create ten clones of me and assimilate the knowledge of runes into them. Then have them start practicing the runes," Aron said to Nova. Nova followed Aron''s instructions and materialized 10 versions of Aron in front of them. Upon seeing the identical copies of himself, Aron said "give each of them a distinct face," as it felt strange to him to see so many identical copies of himself. Nova complied with Aron''s request and altered the facial features of the clones before assimilating the knowledge of runes into them. She then teleported them to a remote location to begin their training in the use of runes. [Sir, they have begun their training,] Nova informed Aron about the progress of his teleported clones. "Great. Now that we have that taken care of, let''s officially put the brain data we''ve collected to use," Aron said. He then pulled up a holographic map of the currently simulated part of the universe, which was just a small portion of the African continent. "Send me to Lake Victoria," he requested after looking at the map. [Yes,] Nova immediately acknowledged the order and teleported both herself and Aron to the coast of lake Victoria. Aron took in the surroundings for a moment before turning to Nova and giving the command, "Create a town here with everything that any researcher in every field would need." [How big should it be?] Nova inquired about the size of the town, asking if there were any limitations. Aron replied, "large enough to accommodate four times the number of people on the list," and left the decision of its exact size to Nova after sharing his minimum requirements." [Sure]Nova replied and got to work immediately and materialized a city, which included everything a researcher could ever need. The city was not just a town but a fully equipped facility, featuring advanced laboratories and novel machines that utilized Nova''s demigod-like powers to carry out even the most theoretical of experiments that researchers could conceive. After that, Nova built a public transport system to connect the labs to the residential areas and recreational facilities located away from the lab. [Sir, it''s done] Nova informed Aron after completing the city according to his specifications and her own adjustments. "Let''s take a look," Aron said, and then he asked Nova to give him a tour of the city. Nova eagerly obliged and took Aron on a tour of the city, utilizing the maglev transport system that traveled throughout the entire city. She seemed excited to show Aron what she had created, resembling a child showing her father her latest accomplishment. After spending over five hours touring the city, they had finally completed visiting all the important parts of the city, despite stopping the maglev train for some time and starting to use teleportation. "You really went out of your way to make it a good place for people to live," Aron complimented Nova after they finished the tour. [Thanks] Nova felt very happy that Aron complimented the city she built. "Now let''s move forward. Create bodies and use the brain data we collected to complete them," Aron commanded, officially initiating the beginning of Lab City. Nova followed Aron''s orders and began to create thousands of bodies in the public square of the city. If you knew anyone influential in a specific STEM industry who resided in Europe, you would have discovered them among the people in the square that Nova had materialized. Nova went beyond just materializing the bodies of the people, she also corrected any physical limitations they had in their original lives. For instance, Stephen Hawking was given a healthy and energetic body. Additionally, all the materialized individuals were set to the age of 25, ensuring that they were capable of performing any task they needed to. Nova proceeded to upload the brain data into the bodies, effectively bringing them to life. However, she did not upload all of the data they had collected, as she had to manipulate some of their memories to ensure that they perceived their new environment as normal and did not become overwhelmed or distressed. After finishing the brain data upload, Nova allowed the materialized people to control their own bodies and gave them time to adjust to their new surroundings. After being given control of their bodies, the newly materialized individuals didn''t cause any trouble or commotion. They simply looked at Aron and Nova and showed their gratitude before boarding the public transportation to return to their designated residences to rest. To them, everything was normal as it aligned with their existing memories After everyone left the public square, Aron turned to Nova and said, "Now do the same thing again but this time make them have a runic body and give them the knowledge of runes." Nova followed Aron''s instructions and repeated the same process. She materialized runic bodies and uploaded the runic knowledge along with their brain data. After this group of people also left, Aron turned to Nova and said "When my clones finish training on the runes, assimilate it to them and have them try to implement it into their specific fields." After that, Nova teleported both of them back to the place where Aron usually trained with his runes. Aron requested that Nova materialize a bed for him to rest, as he hadn''t had more than a few hours of sleep at once during the entire brain data collection trip. As for the materialized people, they would officially begin their research in their respective fields the next day. Chapter 95 Lab City At Work. ? Inside the universal simulation. Twelve hours had elapsed since the creation of the new inhabitants, and the morning had finally arrived. The Lab city, shrouded in the perpetual glow of artificial daylight, slowly awakened as the sun raised. The newly formed denizens, emerging from their dwellings, prepared themselves for the day ahead, heading to their respective laboratories and workplaces. Before setting out, they ate their breakfast that seemed to materialize out of nowhere which to them appeared as a normal thing. Once they had finished their meal, they converged at the nearest public transport station to catch a ride to their destinations. The commuters, seemingly moving as a collective, boarded the communal transit system, eager to carry out their tasks and fulfill their roles in the vast simulation. ..... Lucas, a material scientist, boarded a bus to travel from his residence to his work office. Upon arrival, he disembarked and was greeted by a towering building with white capital letters that read "Fusion Research Lab," denoting its purpose as a nuclear fusion research facility. With no apparent security measures in place, Lucas made his way inside and took the elevator to the 8th floor, where his lab was located. After entering his office, he swiftly powered on his work computer and began working on inventing a material that could withstand the extreme conditions inside the fusion reactor. The simulation of material structures on his computer was constantly in flux as Lucas adjusted the variables based on previous simulations. As lunchtime approached, Lucas made his way to the lab''s dining room to eat his food in solitude. However, his meal was interrupted when a man named Nolan joined him at his table. "Nice to meet you, My name is Nolan," said the man as they sat down to eat. "Lucas, nice to meet you too," Lucas replied, slightly surprised but not opposed to the company. "I''m a technician in charge of printing, assembly and maintenance of various components. How about you?" asked Nolan. "I''m a material scientist, I''m currently working on a material capable of withstanding the extreme condition in the reactor," Lucas answered back, introducing his profession. "You said printing, what do you mean by that?" Lucas asked as that took most of his attention. "Aaah, that is the new machine that arrived yesterday. If I remember correctly when you guys finish the simulation and finding the perfect material you are supposed to forward it to the fabrication department. That department has been merged with us and whatever material you send we are capable of printing it perfectly using the new machine. That''s what I meant about that," explained Nolan. Following that they continued having small conversations throughout the lunch becoming very good friends. .... Within the bustling city, there stood another building dedicated to nuclear fusion research - the "Fusion research Lab". Its golden nameplate shimmered in the sunlight, differentiating it from the white lettering of the other research facility. Despite sharing a common purpose, the two labs had their own unique approaches to the same goal. While Lucas was busy working on his material invention, the scientists in the golden building were quietly practicing their runes. Each researcher was diligently focused on mastering their respective runes, which were fundamental to their work. Despite being involved in nuclear fusion research, the two labs were approaching their research in two different ways. The facial characteristics of Lucas in this edifice exhibited a subtle dissimilarity compared to those on the opposite end of the building. Presently, he was engrossed in practicing the rune of preservation that he intended to utilize on the material for his upcoming experiment. ... A vast edifice stood on the outskirts of the city. The name of the facility, "Aviation Research Lab," was inscribed in bold white letters on the exterior. Upon entering the building, one could observe engineers diligently sitting in front of their computer screens, striving to develop novel aircraft engines and aircrafts for diverse applications. Their area of specialization made it evident that they previously worked in a research lab affiliated with Rolls Royce and Airbus. ... As all of this was unfolding, Aron, who had just woken up from a nine-hour sleep, was observing the events with Nova. They watched footage from various research labs displayed on the screen. Thousands of small screens were categorized into two distinct colors: blue screens displayed individuals diligently working on their assigned tasks, while golden screens portrayed people sitting cross-legged and practicing their runes. It was evident that the blue screens were making more significant progress compared to their golden counterparts. "Nova, how many ongoing research projects are there at the moment?" Aron inquired about the number of ongoing research endeavors within Lab City, which was currently being populated solely by individuals whose brain data had been collected from Europe. [5,873, Sir] Rina promptly replied and conjured up a holographic screen displaying the categories of research projects. Aron could select a category by pressing on one of them, and a list of research projects within that category would be shown. [ Aviation Aerospace Defense Food and Beverage Technology Energy Engineering Telecommunications Chemical Manufacturing Materials Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology . . . . . .] Upon seeing the list of categories, Aron selected "Defense" and was presented with ongoing research projects related to military aircraft, helicopters, missiles, submarines, radar systems, communication equipment, and other relevant subjects. He then clicked on the "Energy" category and was presented with a list of ongoing research projects related to fusion being conducted by various labs, utilizing different approaches such as Magnetic Confinement Fusion, Inertial Confinement Fusion, Magnetized Target Fusion, Z-Pinch, Dense Plasma Focus, Laser-Driven Fusion and many more. After perusing through a few of the other categories, Aron turned to Nova and remarked, "It seems like most of these ongoing research projects could benefit from completing the brain data collection within America to speed up the process." Nova nodded in agreement and added, [Indeed. This will also give us an advantage as all research data will be shared amongst everyone who needs it. It will bring together all the brightest minds to work towards a common goal, resulting in a faster pace of research and development. With some of my demigod-like powers, we can even create theoretical material that they come up with and have them reverse engineer them] "When do you expect the earliest experiment to yield results?" [Since everything can be simulated here, we expect the earliest experiment to yield results in a few months, whereas it would have taken several years outside of this environment.] "That''s good. What happens after they finish the experiment?" Aron wanted to know how Nova reprogrammed their thought process when she manipulated their memories. [After finishing an experiment, they move on to the next iteration of the research, continuing in this way until all problems are solved and the research reaches a certain level of maturity. Only then will they move on to the next experiment,] Nova explained "I hope they don''t suffer from depression, as it could hinder their ability to come up with innovative ideas," Aron expressed his concern. The thought of having to conduct research repeatedly, improving it until it reaches maturity and then moving on to the next one, seemed like an endless cycle. [Don''t worry, their passion for research will keep them fulfilled, and to address the issue of loneliness, I''ll be creating their ideal partners to keep them company,] Nova assured Aron. She implemented this feature to prevent the researchers from losing their creativity, as everyone has their unique approach to generating new ideas. "That''s good to hear. Although they may not be real people, they are still created using their brain data, making them a sort of clone," Aron said in a sigh of relief. "How long till we arrive?" He asked after a short pause. [about three and a half hours] "Remind me when there''s only one hour left so I can log off," he said, then returned to watching the footage of the research lab workers intently focused on their tasks. Aron continued to watch everything unfold for the next two and a half hours until Nova reminded him that he had only an hour left on his flight. He promptly logged off and spent the remainder of the flight in the real world. He promptly logged off and spent the rest of the flight in the real world. Upon landing, he bid the pilot who spent quite some time shuttling him from one country to another goodbye, went through all the security checks and procedures, and then headed to the airport parking lot to retrieve his car. After paying a parking fee of approximately 3000 dollars for having parked in the covered lot for more than two months, he finally left the airport to go home. After spending a considerable amount of time traveling, Aron was finally driving back home. Although he had been in constant contact with his family, he still missed seeing his parents, especially his younger brother who loved to play with him. Chapter 96 Back Home ? "Brother!" Henry shouted as he ran towards Aron, who had just stepped out of his car. Aron caught Henry mid-air, embracing him like a basketball, before setting him down and giving him a warm hug. After he entered the house, his mother greeted him with a warm welcome, saying "Welcome back!" "Thank you. How have you been?" Aron asked, settling into a seat in the living room as he continued his conversation with his mother. "Not much has changed since you left. So, how was your trip to Europe?" his mother inquired. "It was quite good. I think you should go on a trip with father. I don''t recall seeing you two go on a vacation since my childhood," Aron suggested, encouraging his mother to take some vacation. "During your childhood, we couldn''t go because we couldn''t afford it," his mother replied, her face reflecting the hardships of that period. "But now there is no such problem," Aron affirmed, determined to help his parents live their lives without any regrets and to encourage them to do what they truly desired. "What about Henry?" his mother inquired, revealing her hesitation to go on a trip without him. "You can simply ask for permission from his school, and if they don''t agree, I can take care of him for the two weeks you''ll be on vacation," Aron suggested, offering a solution to his mother''s concern. "I''ll talk to your father and let you know what we decide," his mother replied with a smile on her face. She was pleased that her son had not forgotten about them and still wanted them to enjoy a good life, despite his newfound wealth. "In that case, I''ll spend some time with Henry, as it''s been a while since we''ve played together," Aron said, and after his mother nodded he got up and headed towards his room. He was sure that Henry was there as his play station was still inside his mother''s room, as he was caught playing in the middle of the night once again. Upon entering the room, Aron found Henry playing FIFA 2014. He quickly grabbed the second controller and sat beside him, saying, "Let''s see if you''ve improved while I was away." "What will I get if I win?" Henry asked, his face displaying confidence in his imminent victory. "What do you want?" Aron replied with a grin. "I want to go to Disneyland again," Henry declared. "But you have to win first," Aron replied, turning his attention back to the screen and selecting his team as they restarted the game. Henry wasted no time and selected his team, and they began the playoffs. He leaned forward, showing his intense concentration and determination. Aron couldn''t help but smile as he watched his little brother''s focus. However, he quickly returned his attention to the screen, not wanting to get distracted from the game. ... That night. After playing games with Henry for over three hours and winning the shit out of it, Aron finally retreated to his basement, which also doubled as his workspace. Henry, who was upset over losing, ate his dinner silently, trying to act as if he didn''t want to talk to Aron. He only managed to soothe Henry after he promised to take him to Disneyland, which caused Henry''s upset act to disappear like a mirage. [If you were going to agree to take him anyway, why did you continue to win the game then?] Nova asked. With a mischievous grin, Aron replied, "It''s more fun to play that way." He chuckled as he recalled Henry''s expression during the game. "And what are siblings for if not to tease and have a little fun with?" he added, before breaking into laughter. [What do you plan to do tonight?] Nova asked, realizing that Aron didn''t have any specific plans from her memory. "I have to increase the speed of brain data collection, but I''m really tired of traveling across the world to do it myself. So, I need to find someone to help me with this task, and I''m here to do the research and select the team for it." Aron explained as he put on his virtual reality helmet and logged in. Inside the Universal Simulation. Aron greeted Nova and then immediately took a seat that she had materialized for him after he logged in. [Are you officially starting to assemble your private forces?] Nova asked excitedly. "Yeah, since the plan in Eden is already in its second phase, we have less than six months to complete the third phase once the second phase is done. That means I have less than ten months to assemble my forces and make them powerful enough to handle the upcoming tumultuous conditions," Aron explained. [The time frame is adequate to build a strong organization, but it would be more effective if we don''t start from scratch,] "I know, that''s why I''m going for the people that no one would think of using," Aron said with a smile that revealed he was planning something devious. He immediately turned to Nova and said "List all of the American soldiers who were discharged from the military due to heavy injuries in the last 10 years?" Nova followed Aron''s command and projected a holographic screen in front of him, displaying a list of all the American soldiers who had been discharged from the military due to severe injuries. The list contained over 50,000 people. After a brief glance at the list, he said, "Remove all those who have no extensive combat experience." Nova quickly removed the names of those who had no combat experience, causing the list to shrink down to less than 20,000. Following another short look he said, "remove those who have family members to take care of them." And just like that the list was narrowed down to about 4,000 people. "Remove those who have not received special forces training" The list fell down to 1,400 people. "Remove those that are still loyal to the country" This time, it took Nova a little longer as she had to comb through the remaining people''s entire digital history to determine whether they met Aron''s criteria. After a thorough investigation, Nova narrowed down the list to a mere 380 individuals. These unfortunate individuals had suffered war injuries, had no one to care for them, and possessed special forces skills that they were unable to utilize due to their injuries. However, the most significant common factor amongst them was their lack of loyalty toward their country. They harbored resentments towards the Veterans Affairs and other government services for mistreatment, as well as towards their military leaders for giving foolish orders that resulted in their injuries and the shifting of blame to them, resulting in the loss of their rightful disability compensation. "How many of them do you think will accept my offer and pledge their allegiance to me if I offer to treat their conditions and restore them to their peak?" [More than seventy percent of them] Nova replied. "Just that much? I thought it would be higher." Aron asked in surprise. [Quite a few of the individuals on the list are contemplating suicide and might take their own lives in the next three months if nothing changes for them.] Nova explained in a cold and detached tone. To Nova, anything that was not related to her master or deemed important by her master was just a collection of data points or data sets in her database. She had no emotional attachment or significance to them. "How many of them are in the state?" he asked, disregarding Nova''s unfeeling tone as he was familiar with her programming and understood why she behaved that way. [Seventeen, Sir] Nova answered while displaying a holographic map of New York state that showed where the individuals in question resided. "Oh, a few of them are located about 30 kilometers from here," Aron said as he zoomed in on the map to locate the nearest individual. After examining the satellite images of the location of the person closest to his own, Aron commented, "It seems like he''s living a very harsh life." Nova revealed, [He is one of the individuals I suspect may resort to suicide. Presently, he is barely holding on by using powerful painkillers to which he is addicted. However, it won''t be long before he runs out of money to purchase them, and that''s when he may take the fatal step.] "Can''t he just beg for the medicines?" Aron said not connecting how will someone kill himself when he can just steal or beg for them? [According to his records, it shows that he has a very high self-esteem and he can''t bring himself to ask for help despite his worsening situation,] Nova explained while presenting the report on the man. "That will make it easier for me to persuade him using his self-esteem. All I have to do is promise to give him his previous body back and he will be loyal," Aron replied after reviewing the man''s history. Chapter 97 At The Edge Of A Cliff ? Within the solemn confines of the military courtroom, an atmosphere thick with tension engulfed the air, saturating every nook and cranny and casting an ominous shadow upon the faces of the gathered spectators. The culmination of the proceedings had arrived, and the destiny of a courageous soldier, whose life had precariously teetered on the edge of judgment, now lay in the hands of the presiding judge. General Robert Sinclair, a figure of distinction adorned with graying temples and eyes that bore the weight of his responsibilities, sat upright behind the elevated bench. His gaze, a fusion of resolute determination and a profound commitment to justice, swept across the room, commanding attention from every individual in its path. The time had come for the judge''s final pronouncements and the delivery of the verdict, a moment that held the collective breath of all present in suspense. Without hesitation, he commenced the delivery of his verdict. "Throughout the course of the proceedings, it has become abundantly clear that you knowingly disobeyed the direct orders issued by Central Command. This decision, unfortunately, resulted in the catastrophic outcome that we are currently facing. In light of these circumstances, this court-martial has reached a verdict of guilt on the charges brought against you. The repercussions of your actions are undeniably severe, as the loss of life is an irreparable tragedy that not only affects your fallen comrades but also deeply impacts their families and our entire nation. While acknowledging the significant injuries you sustained while dutifully serving our country, this court recognizes the sacrifices you have made. We understand that you have endured physical and emotional hardships. As a result, we have decided to show some leniency by reducing your sentence to two years of probation instead of imprisonment. However, it is crucial to acknowledge the grave breach of trust that occurred in this situation. As members of our armed forces, it is expected that we all adhere to the established chain of command and uphold the orders issued by our superiors. By willfully disobeying these orders, the consequences were dire, and we cannot overlook this fact. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I must also pronounce your dishonorable discharge from the military. This dishonorable discharge carries significant consequences. You will be stripped of all VA injury compensation, including your retirement fund, as these benefits are reserved for those who faithfully fulfill their duties until the end. The decision to revoke these privileges is not taken lightly, but it is an unavoidable outcome of your actions. John Smith, as I deliver this sentence, I urge you to deeply reflect upon the events that have led us to this moment. It is my sincere hope that you fully comprehend the gravity of your choices and, in due course, find a path toward redemption and healing." As the judge concluded his verdict, he firmly grasped the gavel, its weight descending with force upon the unyielding gravel, resounding through the courtroom. "TANG" The resounding echo of the initial gavel strike filled the courtroom, symbolizing the profound weight of the judgment that had just been pronounced. "TANG" With the second resounding thud, the fate of all those present was sealed, leaving behind a somber reminder of the irreversible consequences that awaited them. "TANGGG" "AAAAAH!" John Smith was abruptly awakened from his dream, startled by the reverberating sound of the third strike of the hammer resonating through the courtroom''s gavel. His chest heaved, rising and falling with each strained breath, serving as a visible testament to the weight he bore. Within the boundaries of his sleep, haunting recollections of the death of his team members, betrayal of his country and anguish resurfaced, fueled by the unrelenting grasp of post-traumatic stress disorder. It served as a cruel reminder of that fateful day when the nation he had bravely fought for, the very nation that had inflicted profound wounds upon his being, chose to abandon him in turn. After taking a few moments to regain composure, he mustered the strength to extricate himself from the comfort of his bed. Engaging in a fleeting struggle with his own body, he wrestled with the task of standing tall. His one leg, blessed with unrestricted mobility, dutifully obeyed his commands. However, the other leg bore the enduring marks of nerve damage inflicted by a ruthless explosion during a treacherous mission. Its movement restricted, it remained a perpetual reminder of the sacrifices he had selflessly made in the line of duty. With a determined stride, he made his way to the kitchen, dragging his impaired leg behind him. Upon reaching his destination, he endeavored to open the refrigerator, relying solely on the grip of his lone hand. Retrieving a bottle of water, he painstakingly made his way to the couch in the living room, lowering himself onto the seat. With a sigh, he switched on the television, intending to spend the remainder of the night there, well aware that sleep would elude him after the haunting remnants of his dream. Despite the television blaring in the background and his eyes seemingly fixed upon the screen, it was evident that his mind wandered far from the images that danced before him. Lost in the labyrinth of his own thoughts, he remained physically present but emotionally distant, as if existing in a realm beyond the confines of the living room. His mind wandered, reflecting on the circumstances that had led him to his current state: a dishonorably discharged soldier, both physically and metaphorically, standing on his last leg. Usually, he possessed the capacity to calm his own mind and suppress the resurgence of these agonizing memories. However, today unfolded as a different tale, for he found himself besieged by haunting visions. The faces of his fallen comrades from the ill-fated mission materialized before him, intermingled with the countenances of their grieving family members who held him responsible for their tragic demise. To compound his torment, the visage of the general who had orchestrated his downfall to protect his own reputation appeared, wearing a wicked smile and taunting him with malicious intent. Each memory, like a serrated blade, ruthlessly cut into his very essence, amplifying the excruciating anguish that lay dormant within. Tears welled up, streaming down his cheeks in a torrential cascade, their silent descent conveying a profound sorrow that inundated his fragile and vulnerable state of being. Overwhelmed by the weight of his emotions, he found himself standing on the brink of despair, teetering perilously on the edge of a cliff. He mustered the strength to rise from his seat, reaching out to grasp the bottle of painkillers resting on the table. Desperate to bury the agony he felt and save himself from the cliff, he sought solace in the numbing relief they offered. Upon opening the bottle, he discovered its emptiness, serving as a stark reminder that he had exhausted his supply of pills and lacked the means to replenish them. Overwhelmed by frustration and unable to contain his emotions, he flung the bottle across the room in a fit of anger. After enduring the torment for over 20 minutes, he reached his breaking point, unable to bear the pain and the push any longer. Desperation consumed him as he slid his hands into the crevice where the sofa''s seat cushions met the armrest, extracting a concealed gun that had been stashed there. Caressing the cold, unforgiving steel of the Heckler and Koch Mark 23 SOCOM in his hands, he found himself caught in a treacherous moment of contemplation. Time seemed to stand still as he weighed the weighty decision that lay before him. The pain, an unwelcome companion, persistently gnawed at the fringes of his thoughts, a constant reminder of the anguish that enveloped his existence. After a mere few minutes, he loaded a bullet into the firing chamber, raising the gun to his head. With closed eyes, he sought to gather the courage needed for what lay ahead. As he took a deep breath, he began to pull the trigger slowly, allowing his mind a moment to surrender at any given instant. Just as he was about to pull the trigger and end his life, a voice pierced the silence of the room, asking him a poignant question, "Are you truly going to proceed with that?" John Smith was overcome with fear, startled to the core by the sudden appearance of the man. Reacting impulsively and without hesitation, he instinctively opened fire, unleashing a barrage of bullets at the unexpected intruder. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG. He emptied his entire ammunition onto the man before finally turning his gaze upon him once more. "Are you finished?" the man uttered, inducing a near-collapse in John''s trembling form. The realization dawned upon him that he had discharged every bullet from his gun at a close range that could be deemed point-blank, and yet the man sat there unharmed, seemingly unaffected by the barrage. "Who are you?" John asked, his voice trembling with a mixture of shock and fear. John''s mind was in a state of contemplation and wonder, questioning whether he was immersed in the afterlife or if he was experiencing an exceptionally potent moment of clarity due to stress reaching a breaking point or if the veil had been lifted allowing him to perceive the unseen. Chapter 98 Whispers Of Hope ? Aron pulled up his car, parking it approximately one kilometer away from John''s residence. He switched off the engine, retrieved the key, and stepped out of the vehicle. With fast strides, he began his journey on foot towards John''s house. When he was approximately three hundred meters away from the house, he carefully assessed his surroundings. Assured that there were no individuals nearby, he immediately activated the concealment rune. Instantaneously, he vanished from the sight of any potential onlookers or observing entities. Upon reaching the house, Aron meticulously searched for a quiet entry point. He carefully surveyed the premises, quickly spotting an unlocked window that had been closed but not secured. With a gentle push, he gradually opened the window and silently slipped inside the house, skillfully maneuvering his way through. Upon entering, Aron discovered John sitting on the spacious sofa, his face revealing signs of having just awakened from a distressing dream. Aron noticed John''s immediate action of powering on the television, as if seeking solace or distraction from the unsettling experience. Aron decided to settle into a single-seater sofa, curious to observe the unfolding events in the coming minutes. He positioned himself comfortably, anticipating what would transpire in the immediate future. Aron remained seated, his gaze fixed on John as tears welled up and streamed down his cheeks. He witnessed John''s desperate actions, watching as he reached for the painkiller medicine on the table, only to discover it was empty. Frustration mingled with anger, evident in John''s attempt to contain his emotions, which ultimately failed. In a fit of rage, he flung the empty bottle across the room. Aron continued to observe, his heart heavy, as John grappled with profound thoughts about life. To Aron''s surprise, he witnessed John''s hands slipping into the crevice where the seat cushions met the armrest of the sofa. As John retrieved a hidden gun, his touch caressed its cold surface while he contemplated his next course of action. Aron''s breath caught in his throat as he observed John, the hesitation etched on his face, raising the gun and placing it against his own head. The weight of the moment hung in the air as John slowly began to pull the trigger. Aron maintained a vigilant gaze, observing the harrowing scene unfold mere moments before the firing pin would release, sealing John''s fate with a bullet through his head. He immediately deactivated the concealment rune and broke the silence, asking, "Are you truly going to follow through with that?" scaring the shit out of the would have been dead John. Aron, had to deactivate the concealment rune that had veiled his presence as it was necessary to deactivate the rune to ensure that his voice could be heard, as leaving the rune active would have rendered his words concealed as well. But his materialization from out of nowhere ended up scaring the shit out john who in return immediately started firing a barrage of bullets to Aron. "Shield," Aron said, swiftly responding to the sight of John aiming the gun in his direction. He immediately activated the shield rune, infusing it with a surge of magical energy, ensuring that the impending bullets would pose no harm, effectively nullifying their impact. Aron maintained the shield, until he was certain that John had exhausted the entire magazine of his gun. ... As soon as the events unfolded, Nova immediately sprang into action, promptly intercepting all phone calls within a one-kilometer radius. With precision, she filtered through the calls, specifically isolating the emergency phone calls intended for the police. She focused on selecting only those callers who were reporting the shooting incident, leaving out any unrelated calls. Once Nova completed the isolation process, she took on the role of the original callers, assuming their identities as she continued with the conversation with the emergency services. She then humbly apologized, claiming to have misunderstood the sounds of a neighbor starting their car as gunshots, all in an effort to avoid arousing suspicion within the emergency call center. By taking this approach, Nova aimed to ensure that these calls would not be abruptly terminated by her interception and raise suspicions. Meanwhile, for the ones who had initially contacted the emergency services to report the incident, Nova skillfully continued to impersonate an emergency operator. Engaging with them adeptly, she inquired about crucial details such as their location, any sightings of the shooter, and other relevant information. Nova then advised them to vacate the vicinity or lock their doors, assuring them that the police would be dispatched to investigate the incident. .... "Who are you?" John asked, his voice trembling with fear as he gazed at Aron, seeking an explanation for the extraordinary turn of events. "I''m Aron," he introduced himself in response to the question, his voice calm and reassuring. "Someone to help you from your current predicament" "Where did you come from? You just materialized out of thin air," John asked, his fear still palpable as he tried to comprehend Aron''s sudden appearance before him. "I was here for more than half an hour, you just didn''t see me. Like this," Aron answered, and then activated the concealment rune again, immediately disappearing from John''s view before reappearing shortly after. "How can you do that?" John asked, his mind racing as he attempted to comprehend and find a logical explanation for what he had just witnessed. "A magician never reveals his secrets," Aron replied, a faint smile playing on his lips, maintaining an air of mystery around his abilities. "So, you''re a magician? Was it all just a trick?" John inquired, beginning to calm down as he started to believe that what he witnessed was simply a display of magic. However, before he could fully process his thoughts and question why Aron hadn''t succumbed to the barrage of bullets he had fired, Aron preemptively provided an answer. "Not a magician, per se," Aron clarified, realizing the limitations of using the term as a figure of speech. "You mentioned that you can help me. How exactly can you do that?" John inquired, his previous concerns fading into the background as his focus shifted to the potential help that Aron had offered. "I can help you with anything," Aron responded calmly, a warm smile gracing his face, emanating a sense of confidence in his ability to fulfill the promises he made. "Then can you help me with this?" John asked, striking the leg that suffered from nerve damage, his hand still clutching the empty gun, symbolizing his frustration and the burden he carried. "Yes, I can even help you with that as well," Aron replied, pointing at his amputated hand. "What do you want in return? I don''t have anything of value with me," John expressed, his mind torn between skepticism and the undeniable evidence of Aron deflecting the bullets fired at him. As he recalled the distorted bullet casings scattered on the ground in front of Aron, some shattered into multiple fragments as if striking a metallic surface, he questioned his initial assumption that they were mere blanks. With a flicker of hope, John chose to believe that the man could offer him relief from his pain. He didn''t even entertain the idea of complete healing, knowing deep down that such a possibility was impossible. "I want your unwavering loyalty to me," Aron stated calmly, maintaining his composed and steadfast demeanor. Upon hearing Aron''s request for loyalty, John''s mind raced with a flurry of thoughts. "What does my loyalty matter in this situation? Could he be after military secrets? But my security clearance must have been revoked long ago, and any vital information I possessed would have been updated. Or perhaps he wants my organs?" John''s mind spun with speculative possibilities, grappling with the uncertainty of Aron''s intentions. While John was engrossed in contemplating the underlying motive behind Aron''s request for loyalty, Aron chose to give him the space to ponder, refraining from immediately addressing any misunderstandings that might have arisen. After several minutes of contemplation, John finally found his voice and spoke, "I''m not certain what you stand to gain from my loyalty, but if you can relieve me of this pain, I solemnly swear, in the name of God, that I will break the oath I made to never trust anyone again, following the betrayal I experienced from my own country." His words revealed a profound sense of desperation, as he believed he had already reached the depths of despair, with nothing further to lose. Upon hearing John''s response, Aron''s smile widened, exuding a sense of reassurance. "Very well. Now, go to sleep, and when you awaken, everything will be over," Aron said before he moved with remarkable speed, placing his hand on top of John''s head while uttering an incantation. "Sleep," he said, activating the sleeping rune in an instant. "WhAt?" John barely had time to comprehend the words spoken to him before a wave of drowsiness swept over him. As he struggled to stay awake, the only fragments he could recall were the words "Good," "Sleep," and "Over." With his eyes growing heavy and his consciousness fading, a final thought crossed his mind, "Damn, he must really be after my organs." Succumbing to the overwhelming fatigue, John slipped into a deep slumber, "It doesn''t really matter anymore" his mind at rest accepting his fate as this was better than the pain. Chapter 99 Healing ? As John''s body began to sag, surrendering to the effects of the rune-induced slumber, Aron swiftly intercepted his fall, gently laying John down on the sofa, ensuring he was in a comfortable position, providing support for his weary frame. [You seem to be thoroughly enjoying your play as a magician] Nova remarked once she was certain that John had fallen into a deep sleep. "No, I was merely assessing the extent of his depression," Aron replied, carefully lifting John''s leg from the ground and positioning it on the sofa to ensure his comfort. "You seem to have missed the mark. He ran out of pills today, not within your projected timeline," Aron said, playfully teasing Nova. [I said within three months, and today falls within that time period, so technically, I am correct,] Nova retorted. [However, it seems my approximation was off. He must have been using the medication at a higher dosage than previously calculated. Perhaps his body became accustomed to the normal dose, prompting him to consume more and deplete the supply sooner than expected.] "Regardless, let''s get started. It will take me a considerable amount of time to fully heal him using only the basic healing runes," Aron said, preparing himself for the extensive healing process. With everything in order, Aron extended his hand and confidently uttered, "Heal," activating the healing rune he had diligently practised during his preparations for the brain data collection journey. It was to serve as a contingency plan in case he unintentionally caused harm to someone during the collection process. When the rune was activated, a gentle, pulsating golden glow emanated from it, enveloping John''s body and starting to heal John''s body. However, a noticeable issue arosethe healing process was incredibly sluggish, to the point where it would be easy to assume that nothing was happening at all. This was a consequence of utilising a low-level healing rune, which lacked the potency required for swift regeneration for the heavy injuries that John had sustained. Upon witnessing this, Aron swiftly initiated the reactivation of the identical rune, as there was nothing preventing him from doing so. However, in doing so, he would consume more magical energy to sustain the simultaneous activation of both runes. Fortunately, when it came to magical energy, Aron possessed an abundance. Thanks to his runic heart, which was fortified by over two hundred billion runic lines, he possessed what could be deemed as boundless mana. Similar to someone who stumbled upon an infinite glitch, Aron began relentlessly activating one rune after another, maintaining the continuous activation of them for over an hour and a half. Astonishingly, he managed to activate more than ten runes per second, leading to an astounding accumulation of over 50,000 active healing runes. Aron''s runic heart tirelessly operated, absorbing mana from the atmosphere to replenish the energy that had been expended mere moments ago. Again and again, he tapped into a tremendous amount of mana to sustain the activation of over 50,000 healing runes, all in an effort to expedite John''s body''s healing process. John''s physical form had become completely obscured, concealed beneath a radiant golden silhouette. The glow emanated from the collective healing light emitted by the expansive array of over fifty thousand runes, tirelessly working together to mend and restore his body. But for those without the ability to perceive magic, a remarkable sight unfolded before their eyes. The amputated hand could be seen to have begun to regenerate visibly, steadily reclaiming its original form. The other changes occurred in John''s nerve-damaged leg, which had been mere existence due to a lack of funds for amputation. The damaged nerves within the leg initiated a process of regeneration, intricately reconnecting with the existing nerve network throughout his body. Subsequently, the muscles in the leg, which had experienced atrophy from disuse, commenced a remarkable regrowth. This remarkable process persisted for over an hour until the new hand had been fully regenerated and the leg had completely healed, returning to its normal state. "What do you think would happen if I keep the Runes active even after his wounds have been fully healed?" Aron asked Nova, intrigued by the complete regeneration of both the hand and leg, now restored to their prime condition. After a brief pause for calculation, Nova responded, [Although I cannot offer an absolute certainty, from my calculations, I believe that no detrimental outcomes or any harm would be experienced by him.] After hearing her answer Aron said "Then, let''s see what will happen," making the choice to persist in keeping the runes active. He was captivated by the possibilities of what they might do now that they had fulfilled their purpose of facilitating healing. As a consequence of his decision, the runes embarked on the process by infusing vitality into the bones and fortifying them. This fortification persisted until it reached the threshold of the low-level rune''s capabilities. Following the completion of bone reinforcement, the runes shifted their attention towards revitalising and strengthening the organs. Their restorative influence effectively repaired any potential damage that might have accumulated throughout John''s lifetime. This rejuvenation process aimed to restore the organs to their peak condition, facilitating optimal functionality. Subsequently, the runes turned their focus to the muscles, initiating a healing and strengthening process. Meticulously nurturing the muscles, they unlocked their inherent potential, pushing them to unprecedented levels of strength. Once all these enhancements were completed, the runes finally directed their attention towards healing the skin, addressing any imperfections and scars that John had endured. As a result of the comprehensive vitalization and strengthening of every aspect of his body, the 35-year-old man appeared rejuvenated, exhibiting the youthful appearance of an individual in their mid-20s. Typically, such an outcome was not expected or intended. However, the excessive concentration of runes infused into an ordinary individual led to an unexpected mutation in their function. "That''s enough time for something to have happened to him" Aron said and promptly ended supplying mana to the runes, officially concluding the process two hours before dawn. "Holy mother!" He exclaimed in astonishment as he laid eyes on John''s transformed face, now appearing younger and resembling someone in their mid-20s. After observing John''s now young face with a mixture of surprise and awe, he said, "Now, let''s see what other changes happened to you" brimming with excitement and curiosity to see what other changes occurred to the man Following that, Aron swiftly rose from his seat and retrieved the virtual headset. He then proceeded to place it on John''s head before saying, ''Nova, your time to shine." Nova immediately powered the VR headset and downloaded the brain data of John. [Done,] Nova informed Aron, indicating that she had finished collecting the brain data. Aron promptly removed the VR helmet from John and proceeded to cast the cleaning rune on it. After taking a seat, he swiftly put it back on and promptly logged in. He was not worried about John waking up as he was sure that he would continue sleeping for a few more hours for his brain to get used to the new body. You can think of it as the software upgrading itself to accommodate the upgraded hardware. Chapter 100 [Bonus ] The Changes And His Backstory ? Inside the Universal Simulation. "What are the other changes that happened to him?" Aron immediately asked after passing through the gate, wanting to know the complete extent of the changes that had taken place within John''s body due to the relentless barrage of healing runes he unleashed upon him for hours on end. [Nearly every aspect,] Nova responded, conjuring a holographic representation of John''s physique before delving into a detailed explanation of the remarkable changes. [In addition to healing and regenerating his limbs, the extended exposure led to meticulous fine-tuning, revitalization, and fortification of his muscles, organs, and bones, pushing them to their absolute limits. In essence, you''ve transformed him into a super soldier, doubling his strength compared to what it was previously,] Nova elucidated, emphasizing the profound changes that occurred within John''s body. "That''s fantastic! Absolutely fantastic!" Aron exclaimed with great excitement upon hearing Nova''s detailed explanation. After reveling in the momentary celebration, Aron posed a question, "Did any mutations occur, similar to what happened to Henry?" He desired to ascertain whether the circumstances that befell his younger brother were potentially replicable in other individuals. [Unfortunately, no such mutations occurred in John''s case,] Nova answered. "That''s a relief," Aron expressed with a sense of reassurance, pleased to learn that John had not experienced any similar mutations. Nova inquired, "Aren''t you supposed to be saddened by the absence of mutations despite the prolonged exposure?" She was curious about the reason behind his sense of relief rather than sorrow. "It''s actually quite the opposite. If everyone underwent mutations simply from being exposed to concentrated mana for a certain duration, it would severely restrict my ability to employ runes in large-scale scenarios, as there would be a constant fear of unexpected mutations occurring," Aron explained, shedding light on his rationale. "Has there been any change in his mental state? If I have to send him for therapy, it will pose a problem, considering that all the candidates appear to be experiencing some form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)," Aron inquired. [Due to the enhancements provided by the runes, John''s brain has undergone strengthening, enabling it to recover from the emotional damage he had accumulated throughout his life. When he awakens, all the trauma will appear to him as nothing more than a melancholic past,] Nova explained. "That''s excellent news," Aron replied, his voice carrying a sense of relief. "So, what is his story?" Aron asked, wanting to know further details of his story beyond what he had read in the profile that Nova had prepared for him. [There have been no significant deviations, except for the inclusion of additional information that reinforces the details provided in the previous brief. He served as the esteemed SEAL captain leading a daring captive rescue mission for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. The operation was initiated based on compelling intelligence obtained from the army''s intelligence wing, which served as the catalyst for their determined pursuit. Upon arriving at the suspected prison''s location, they were confronted with a formidable fortress, extensively fortified and guarded. Faced with the imminent danger to his team, he made the audacious decision to override central command''s orders and strategically retreat, intending to ensure the safety of his comrades. Tragically, during the perilous retreat, one of his team members inadvertently triggered a concealed landmine killing himself and alerting the enemy, the following fight resulting in the devastating loss of the entire team, leaving him as the sole survivor haunted by the burden of survivor''s guilt. In a shocking revelation that surfaced later, it was uncovered that the mission had not received the necessary approvals from the upper echelons of command. Instead, it was a clandestine endeavor orchestrated by the conniving Bagram base commander, motivated by personal ambition and aspirations for promotion. However, when the operation took an unforeseen turn, with tragic consequences, all blame was unjustly directed towards him and with the commander deleting any and all the evidence leading to him nothing existed that could prove his innocence other than his words. As a consequence, he faced a court-martial, leading to the forfeiture of all his VA benefits, including healthcare, as well as the termination of all the privileges and benefits associated with his former status as an army member. However, what truly shattered him was the relentless blame and anger directed at him by the families of his fallen team members, regardless of his attempts to explain the circumstances and share his side of the story. This ordeal became the catalyst for his haunting nightmares, and in an attempt to escape the memories, he resorted to using the meager savings he had left to purchase sleeping pills and pain-reducing medications. Unfortunately, this led to a dangerous dependence on narcotics, as he sought to numb himself from the relentless pain. As you have witnessed, when his supply of narcotics ran out, he made the agonizing decision to bring an end to his suffering in the most drastic and irreversible manner.] Nova explained the new information presenting it alongside the visual footage she had collected from John''s memories. Aron gently wiped away the tears streaming down his cheeks, profoundly affected by John''s tragic ordeal and the heartbreaking path he had chosen to cope with his pain. It saddened Aron even more because he could empathize with the depths of despair that led John to such extreme measures. It served as a stark reminder of how he, too, could have easily succumbed to similar methods had he not received the system and support from his family that helped him navigate through his own challenging circumstances during that period. After taking a short time to recollect himself, he turned to Nova and said "Send his body to the Lab City and task them with reverse-engineering his physiology to explore the possibility of creating a genetic serum capable of replicating the same results. This way, we can administer it to the members of my private forces. I can''t be expected to always continue pumping magical energy for hours on end just to finish strengthening one person." changing the topic as it was a very painful memory to him despite having overcome the predicament. [Yes, sir] Nova who was quietly observing Aron throughout the entire ordeal, immediately sent two bodies to the city, One was for the genetic engineering lab, while the other was assigned to the runic genetic engineering lab, having them start their research into reverse engineering and developing a serum capable of creating formidable soldiers. "How is progress in the Lab City?" Aron inquired after he calmed down further, wanting to receive an update on the developments within the accelerated universal simulation, considering that more than seven days had elapsed in simulation time. [There have been a few breakthroughs in the White Labs, but no definitive results yet. As for the Golden Labs, they are still undergoing rune training. With tens of thousands of individuals, each practicing a different rune, once they master it, I assimilate that runic knowledge to all of them, eliminating the need for others to practice the same rune. It will take a few more weeks for them to complete learning all the beginner-level runes before they can start applying them in their respective fields,] Nova explained, providing an overview of the Lab City''s current situation while showcasing live footage of the ongoing activities. To facilitate clarity regarding the methodologies employed by different labs to achieve specific outcomes, they had opted to designate them with colors. The White Labs solely rely on technological approaches in their research, while the Golden Labs utilize runes as their primary tools or explore the application of runes within their respective fields. Chapter 101 The Birth Of A Fanatic ? [Sir, he is about to awaken,] Nova informed Aron, indicating that two hours had passed in the real universe. "Thanks," Aron said and immediately left the simulated universe to log out. When he logged out he stretched himself feeling refreshed as if he had slept the entire night. This was because as soon as he logged into the VR, Nova had promptly initiated the REM procedure to deceive Aron''s brain into believing that he was sleeping. This allowed his brain to rest, considering he had dedicated the entire night to infusing mana into runes. Aron put the VR headset on the table and began waiting for John to wake up as he was sure he would be waking up within ten minutes. ... 9 minutes later JOHN''S POV As John awakened, he experienced a sense of tranquility, as if he had indulged in a blissful night''s restan uncommon occurrence since his injury. As he began relishing the pleasant sensation, his mind interjected abruptly, "Hold on, wait a minute, something ain''t right" Consequently, he initiated a mental exploration, conjuring up theories to explain the absence of the usual pain that accompanied his awakening after resorting to sleeping pills. As these thoughts raced through his mind, he contemplated, "Is this what it feels like to die? Perhaps he truly did take my organs." His emotions became entangled, torn between a sense of relief that the pain had vanished, yet also tinged with sadness for having departed without experiencing closure. Interrupting his thoughts, a voice asked, "How are you feeling?" Upon hearing the question, he swiftly transitioned to a seated position, astonished by his newfound ability to do so. However, his amazement quickly dissipated as he felt the sensation in both his legs and hands. "Oh my God," he exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief, as he raised his amputated hand and beheld its presence instead of the void that had occupied its space before. In an instant, he became oblivious to the voice that had posed the initial question, his gaze fixating on his legs. To his astonishment, the previously atrophied leg had regained its former vitality. However, before he could fully absorb this revelation, another question interjected, "Hey, can you hear me?". Raising his head to locate the source of the sound, he discovered the familiar figure of the man he had encountered the previous night. Overcoming his initial surprise, he promptly inquired, "Are you the angel of death? I''m I dead? Is that why my body has reverted to its previous state?" ... Upon hearing the question, Aron couldn''t contain his laughter, caught off guard by the unexpected query emerging from a blind spot. Although he had anticipated witnessing John''s reaction upon awakening with a fully restored body, he never imagined being mistaken for an angel of death. After a hearty laughter that lasted for approximately thirty seconds, Aron eventually regained composure, allowing him to respond to the inquiry he had been posed. "No, I am not the angel of death," he replied earnestly. "You are not deceased, and indeed, your body has not only returned to its former state but has actually surpassed its previous condition." taking a pause before he continued "Just as I assured you, everything has come to an end now that you have awakened. It is time for you to fulfill your part of the bargain," he concluded with a serious tone, his once-smiling countenance replaced by a more serious expression, both in his face and his voice. As Aron''s words resonated with John, a flood of memories rushed back, and he recollected the events of the previous night in their entirety. He recalled making a solemn vow to pledge his loyalty to the man, firmly believing that his disabilities rendered any potential usefulness of such loyalty futile. Curiosity sparked within John, and questions filled his mind. "How did he accomplish it? To my knowledge, there is no known method for regenerating an amputated hand. Was such technology kept secret and withheld from the public?" Numerous inquiries sprouted in his mind, urging him to delve deeper into the mystery. However, a profound transformation occurred within him as he recollected the dire circumstances he had faced before. Rising to his feet, John''s determination surged, and he promptly dropped down onto one knee. With unwavering conviction and a serious tone in his voice, he made his solemn pledge: "I swear before God that I shall remain loyal to you, unwavering and steadfast, and I shall never betray you under any circumstances." Every word that left his lips carried profound sincerity, etched upon his earnest countenance. As Aron witnessed the man humbly dropping to his knees, reminiscent of medieval oaths of loyalty, a sense of contentment washed over him. He felt a surge of happiness that the man had upheld his promise, thus eliminating the need for drastic measures such as forcing him into signing a loyalty contract. Aron had invested considerable effort, and he harbored no desire to see his endeavors go unrewarded. Unbeknownst to Aron, a fanatic was born on that very day, someone who would go to great lengths to carry out any command, regardless of how distasteful or abhorrent it may be. "Stand up," Aron commanded, acknowledging the oath and solidifying the recruitment of his first member into his forces, marking the official start of his private forces. "Yes, sir," John responded promptly, swiftly rising to his feet and assuming an attentive position. He stood quietly, awaiting further orders with unwavering readiness. Aron found himself pleasantly surprised by John''s swift shift in attitude, observing how he immediately sprung into action without hesitation. The readiness and dedication John displayed caught Aron off guard in the best possible way. "Take a seat" Aron instructed, recognizing that without the explicit command, John might continue standing indefinitely, waiting for further instructions. "Yes, sir," John replied obediently, assuming a military posture while taking his seat as if he were within the presence of a high-ranking army commander. "Is there anything significant remaining in your life?" Aron inquired, although he was aware that there was nothing of importance left for John. "No, sir," John responded promptly. "In that case, there should be no issue with you acquiring a new identity, correct? Besides, your appearance has changed and you now appear to be in your twenties as a result of the procedure," "Yes, sir," John responded immediately, his head tilted in curiosity in response to what Aron said about his physical transformation. Upon noticing John''s confusion, Aron realized the source of his bewilderment. "Ah, you haven''t seen your own face yet," he remarked, retrieving his phone. With a swift reaction, Nova uploaded a real-life 3D rendering of John from the brain data she collected. "Here, take a look," Aron offered, extending his phone to John, allowing him to witness his new body. John received the phone with both hands, showing respect, and focused his gaze on the screen. As he beheld the remarkably lifelike 3D image of himself. Astonishment washed over John as he observed his youthful appearance in the 3D image. It was truly remarkable, and he couldn''t help but acknowledge that if he hadn''t placed unwavering trust in Aron''s words, he would have found it difficult to believe. Recalling how years of excessive stress and inadequate sleep had taken a toll on his appearance, causing him to appear older than his actual age in his thirties, the transformation seemed almost miraculous. After allowing John a moment to process his astonishment, Aron proceeded to provide further information. "There is $50,000 deposited into your account. You have one month to use this time as you please before your new social security card, passport, bank account, driver''s license, and birth certificate are delivered to your residence. Once everything has been delivered, contact me to notify me, so that I can officially begin assigning your tasks. I must emphasize, however, that I expect no troubles from you during this period." "Yes, sir," John responded promptly, his heart brimming with gratitude for the chance to make use of his fully restored body in any way he desired for the duration of one month. Having received the desired response, Aron promptly stood up, prompting John to rise alongside him. Aron then removed a brand new phone he had purchased on his way from his pocket and handed it to John who received it respectfully before he took his phone back. "Use this to contact me whenever you require assistance," he instructed. With that, Aron made his way toward the door, preparing to depart from John''s house and return to his own. John accompanied Aron to the door, displaying a keenness to see him off. However, Aron intervened, informing him that it was unnecessary to go any further. At that point, John halted and saluted Aron, bidding him farewell in a gesture of respect and gratitude. Aron closed the door behind him and swiftly started making his way toward where he had parked his car. A tinge of regret washed over him for leaving the car in a spot quite distant from the house for the sake of secrecy and to avoid any potential eyewitnesses as Nova couldn''t handle them yet. "What do you think he will do with the one month and money I gave him?" Aron asked Nova as he was walking to the car. Nova responded with a single word:[SEX] "Why do you think so?" Aron inquired while laughing, his laughter stemming from Nova''s blunt response. [Based on his history, it appears that he frequently visited adult websites as a means to occupy his mind and find distraction through self-pleasure,] Nova explained. [It seems that he couldn''t afford to pay for an escort in recent months, unlike during the initial period after his discharge.] "Mh... that''s a normal response if he was truly deprived in that aspect," Aron answered to Nova''s explanation. Chapter 102 Gears Moving ? Aron arrived back at his home when it was about eight in the morning in which he immediately joined his family in eating breakfast and spending time with them until noon before he left to continue the collection of his forces by having a visit to all the candidates Nova had prepared for him. ..... Rina Rothchild mansion. "Chloe, give me an update on our ongoing discussions with the Department of Justice?" inquired Rina. "The legal team is in the final stages of negotiating with the Department of Justice, and they anticipate concluding the process by the end of this week," Chloe elaborated. "Excellent. Notify the finance department to commence the search for a suitable bank that can provide me a loan of 5 billion dollars within two months," Rina instructed. "For you personally? Not for the company?" Chloe asked, her surprise evident as she wondered if she had misunderstood. "Yes, I require the funds for making certain investments," Rina confirmed. Chloe was taken aback by Rina''s response, and her surprise was evident. Observing Chloe''s reaction, Rina inquired, "What seems to be the issue?" "Miss, considering you are not the designated successor of the family, the likelihood of banks approving a loan of five billion dollars for you is quite slim," Chloe explained, providing the rationale. "Tell them to use the Ally international shares that were given to me as collateral," she responded upon hearing Chloe''s concern. "However, even if we consider utilizing those shares as collateral, the bank may exploit the issue with the Department of Justice to justify offering the loan at an exorbitant interest rate, considering your ongoing competition with your brother," Chloe explained, highlighting the potential challenges they will face. "That won''t be an issue. Instruct the financial department to negotiate for a lower interest rate with the banks. However, if the negotiation doesn''t yield favorable results, they should accept the bank''s proposed interest rate under the condition that it remains the standard rate if the loan is repaid within a year. If the repayment timeline exceeds one year, the interest rate will align with the bank''s initial proposal," Rina swiftly responded, giving the impression to Chloe that she had already considered these factors beforehand, prior to issuing the order. Upon realizing Rina''s preparedness, Chloe nodded in agreement and promptly began taking note of the instructions provided by Rina. Another reason Chloe refrained from further questioning was Rina''s influential family background. She was aware that in the event of any unfavorable outcomes, Rina would receive support from her family, resulting in relatively minor consequences for the mistake she had made. ''At most, She will regress to her previous state and have to strive to regain her position.'' Chloe thought to herself while taking notes "Also, get in touch with the account opening department and have them create a new personal investment account in my name, where the loan will be deposited," Rina instructed. "Yes, miss," Chloe acknowledged, jotting down another note before bidding her farewell to inform the relevant departments about the instructions she had received from Rina. Left alone, she murmured to herself, "Once the loan gets approved and deposited within this month, we''ll have approximately 5 months before the Morgans initiate their attack. That should provide us with sufficient time to prepare." [It is indeed sufficient time, but you will need to provide your accounting information to Mother. She will oversee all the preparations, leveraging her vast computing power during the process and ensure it is conducted discreetly, by spreading out the preparations over an extended period, to minimize the likelihood of attracting attention from the Morgans.] Ava replied back. "I always hear you speak so highly of your mother, but how does her computing power compare to the advanced systems we have in our private network?" Rina asked, her curiosity piqued by the constant mention of the fabled Mother Nova, who not only handles Aron''s problems but also occasionally lends her assistance to them. [Although I don''t possess the complete information about this, as Mother has kept it a secret, she has mentioned to me that her computing power could rival the combined capabilities of all existing supercomputers. However, personally, I believe her computing power surpasses that estimation by several orders of magnitude, based on the incredible speed at which I consistently receive answers to difficult questions I sent to her. Often, I receive responses in less than a second after she receives them,] Ava expressed her opinion, emphasizing the impressive capabilities she has witnessed firsthand. Upon hearing Ava''s estimation of her mother''s computing power, Rina found herself at a loss for words. The magnitude of the revelation stirred up a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions in her mind, rendering her unable to articulate a response. Despite being aware that Aron possessed an AI system more potent than Ava, Rina had presumed its computing power to be at most double or even quintuple that of their family''s private network server and supercomputer. However, learning that its capabilities surpassed even those expectations raised numerous questions in her mind. After taking a moment to gather herself, she voiced her curiosity, "Wouldn''t the existence of such a powerful computer attract attention? It seems astonishing that such a groundbreaking technology could remain a secret." [Initially, Mother began her operations within a standard server farm that Sir Aron had constructed for both personal use and the company. However, it seems that at present, she is utilizing a computer specifically designed by Sir Aron himself, deviating from conventional systems,] Ava explained, providing her assumptions based on the classified information that even she was not privy to. "Ah, I''m tired of even thinking about it anymore" Rina decided, choosing to bring the topic to a close. Her mind felt burdened and fatigued from contemplating everything concerning Aron. [Yes] Ava replied, her tone hinting at the suppressed amusement she felt witnessing Rina''s reaction to the information. Rina refocused her attention on her work, assisted by Ava, as she tackled the remaining issues plaguing the company. She was determined to ensure that everything returned to a state free from problems. This was crucial for her to be fully prepared for the upcoming event without any distractions that could divert her focus. If all went according to plan, that fateful day held the promise of her regaining her position as a formidable contender for the seat of the next family head. ... Eden. In an opulent office space leased by CONNECT, serving as their interim headquarters, Felix could be seen having a discussion with Liam regarding the company''s current situation. Felix inquired about the progress of the company, "How are things going?" he asked Liam, the Vice President. Liam responded, "The consolidation process is expected to be completed within the upcoming weeks. However, the infrastructure upgrade will require additional time and extend beyond that." "Considering the circumstances, it would be wise for us to begin preparations for a special gift to our users once the consolidation is successfully concluded," suggested Felix, referring to the plan provided by Aron upon completing the company acquisition. "This gesture can serve as a warm welcome from us to those who have had their internet access monopolized by a single company." "I agree with the idea, as it presents an opportunity to create a favorable impression among the masses. However, I''m curious to know your suggestions on how we should execute this plan," inquired Liam, eager to hear Felix''s proposal. "Yesterday, we received a collaboration request from a major corporation. Here, have a look at their proposal," Felix said, handing the folder containing the proposal to Liam. Liam, who had grown accustomed to receiving comprehensive plans in folders, picked up the folder to examine the proposed collaboration. The proposal originated from the globally renowned company, GAIA Technology. They offered a staggering sum of one hundred million dollars in exchange for us providing free internet connectivity for six months to users who upgraded their phone''s operating system to GAIA OS, including those who have already made the switch. "This is indeed an enticing offer, but I''m curious as to why the company would want us to promote their OS when people are already voluntarily switching to it," inquired Liam, seeking clarification on the reasons behind receiving this sponsorship offer. "I''m not entirely sure about the exact motivations behind their request. However, considering that this offer presents a lucrative opportunity for our company, I see no reason to decline it. Moreover, even without this offer, we would still need to provide a certain period of free internet service to address some of the dissatisfaction among our users. Therefore, accepting this proposal can be viewed as a positive move for us," Felix explained, concealing the fact that the company was owned by the same individual. "Certainly, I will carefully review the offer and explore potential ways to utilize it even more effectively, aiming to reshape the company''s public perception," Liam affirmed. He bid farewell, picked up the folder, and departed from the office, heading towards his workspace to commence planning for the advertisement rollout. Chapter 103 Gears Continue Moving ? As twilight descended, Aron arrived home after successfully recruiting another individual named Miles to join his forces. To his delight, he found his family engaged in the preparations for their evening meal. "Come and join us," his mother beckoned, using a gentle wave of her hand, calling him to join them. Without hesitation, Aron immediately proceeded to wash his hands before joining his family at the dinner table to assist them in the preparations before they sat down and started eating the meal with them. As they indulged in the meal, they engaged in light-hearted conversation, savoring each bite. After they had finished eating and tidied up the table, Henry left at once heading to Aron''s room to play PlayStation, leaving Aron and his parents in the living room. "How''s work going?" his father asked with genuine curiosity, clearly displaying his keen interest in his son''s professional pursuits. "It''s going very well and we are expanding faster than before" Aron responded to his father''s question before posing one of his own, "And how about you?" His father paused for a moment, contemplating his response. Gratitude resonated in his voice as he spoke, "I can''t ask for anything better, thanks to you. I no longer have to worry about whether my family will have heat or not. You''ve changed our lives for the better." A hint of embarrassment tinged his words, a reminder of the hardships they had faced in the past. Observing the atmosphere taking a somber turn, his mother interjected, "It appears you''ve been quite occupied since your return from the business trip." She directed her question at Aron, acknowledging the increased amount of time he had been spending away and assuming it was solely due to his work demands. "Yes, the company is currently undergoing a rapid growth phase, and I need to be actively involved in approving decisions and planning future actions," Aron responded, opting to stick with the explanation that justified his increased absence. He refrained from revealing the true nature of his activities, which involved healing individuals and enlisting them in his forces while gaining their unwavering loyalty. "Don''t push yourself too hard, Aron. Your health is of utmost importance, more valuable than anything else," his mother advised, expressing genuine concern for his well-being. His father nodded in agreement, silently supporting her words. Little did they know that the likelihood of humanity conquering the universe within the next three years was higher than Aron falling ill anytime soon. "Yes, I will be cautious. By the way, have you made any decisions regarding going on vacation?" Aron asked his mother, smoothly transitioning to a different topic. "Yes, I discussed it with your father, and he''s also on board with the idea. We''re waiting for May to arrive because Henry''s summer break begins in a week." his mother replied, providing an update on their vacation plans. "That''s fantastic! It will give you the opportunity to explore multiple destinations during that time. So, where do you have in mind to visit?" Aron inquired, expressing curiosity about their intended travel destinations. "We''re currently considering visiting famous locations in Europe, but we''re having difficulty deciding where to begin," his father responded, acknowledging their current dilemma. He couldn''t help but feel a sense of incredulity at the stark contrast between their previous financial struggles and their current conundrum of choosing vacation destinations. "Oh, if that''s where you''re facing a roadblock, I can assist you with that. I''ve been in Europe for the past two months, and I can help plan the itinerary in a way that minimizes travel time and maximizes your enjoyment," Aron offered, eager to make their vacation planning process smoother and more convenient. "Thank you, but why aren''t you coming with us? Will you be busy even during that time?" his mother inquired, a tinge of sadness evident in her voice as she expressed her disappointment at his apparent absence from the vacation plans. "I genuinely want to come with you all, but I have work obligations that require my presence. However, I''ll join you as soon as I can find some free time from the company," Aron replied. "It''s commendable that you''re dedicated to your work, but don''t exhaust yourself just to be with us. We can always adjust our plans and wait for you to finish your work, so we can embark on the vacation together. The summer break is quite long," his father expressed, conveying his concern for Aron''s well-being when he heard his reply. "No, there''s no need to do that. Henry is eagerly looking forward to the vacation, and besides, I''m uncertain if I''ll have any substantial free time. There''s always a chance of unforeseen events occurring," Aron responded, dismissing the idea of postponing the vacation to accommodate his work schedule. Aron was certain that he would not have sufficient time in the upcoming months to accompany them on vacation. He planned to utilize the period they were away to extensively travel across America, collecting brain data and further expanding his forces. "If that''s the case, then we''ll be waiting for you in Europe," his father answered after hearing Aron''s explanation. "Yes," Aron replied, and they continued engaging in conversation on various topics for approximately half an hour. Eventually, Aron bid his parents farewell and made his way to his room to enjoy some gaming and spend quality time with Henry who he won''t be seeing for some time. After spending a few hours playing games with Henry, Aron sent him to go to sleep. Once Henry had settled in, Aron made his way to the basement, where he resumed his work. .... Inside the Universal S?mulation. [Sir, the app is complete,] Nova informed Aron as soon as he logged in and entered through the gate. "What App?" Aron asked momentarily perplexed, as he couldn''t recall having requested Nova to create any specific application. [The tour app for your parents to use during their vacation throughout Europe,] Nova replied, clarifying the purpose of the app she had developed. "Oh, so you decided to create an app instead of simply preparing a travel plan?" Aron responded, expressing his surprise at the choice Nova made. [This way, they can have the freedom to choose the places they want to visit, rather than being limited to the ones you prefer. It offers them the opportunity to make their own decisions and have a personalized experience,] Nova explained, providing her rationale for developing an app rather than simply providing a predetermined travel plan. "Show it to me," Aron requested, and instantly, a phone materialized in his hand, displaying the app with all its functionalities already loaded and open for exploration. He began navigating through the app, thoroughly exploring its contents to understand its features and offerings. The app encompassed everything one could ever require when visiting a particular destination. It provided detailed information on various modes of transportation, including driving directions and public transportation routes within the county. Additionally, it featured captivating imagery of the attractions visitors could expect to encounter upon arrival. Furthermore, the app incorporated authentic reviews from individuals who had previously visited the location, offering valuable insights. It even included essential warnings and reminders for places with specific rules or important considerations that visitors should keep in mind. The app''s comprehensive nature ensured that users would have all the necessary information and guidance at their fingertips. Nova meticulously curated the app, incorporating an extensive range of vital information she deemed essential for travelers. She harnessed a multitude of sources, including Google Maps, review data, and numerous other datasets she had collected throughout her existence for training and other various applications. By harnessing this vast reservoir of data, the app provided unparalleled accuracy, fully maximizing its potential with the wealth of information currently available worldwide. "Great job," Aron complimented Nova on her creation, acknowledging the app''s exceptional quality and usefulness. [Thank you] Nova replied graciously to Aron''s praise. "I''ll hand it over to them tomorrow. Now, let''s get back to work. How is the consolidation process going?" Aron inquired, shifting his focus back to the task at hand. After examining the program she had developed and was given to Felix, Nova provided her report.[A week at the earliest, three weeks at the latest] Aron had entrusted the program to Felix, allowing him to utilize it and help alleviate the workload associated with their consolidation efforts. "In that case, they should have begun planning the rollout of the promotion," Aron stated upon hearing Nova''s report. [Yes, but won''t this give the impression to the dictator that we are needlessly losing money, potentially resulting in him receiving a smaller share when the designated time for dividend payment arrives?] Nova expressed her concern. "The sponsorship was conceived with this in mind. Requiring them to switch to GAIA OS serves a dual purpose. It not only allows us to establish contact and exert influence over the population towards a revolution, but it also serves as a legitimate reason in the eyes of the dictator for providing the free data plan exclusively to those who have adopted the new operating system. This approach helps us avoid arousing suspicion as to why we are only offering the free data plan to those adopting the new OS," Aron clarified. [When do you intend to eliminate the presence of the other revolutionary leaders from the public eye?] Nova asked after she received the answer to her previous question. "I intend to execute that step during the final phase of the plan, aiming to generate additional discontent and push the situation to its tipping point. You can think of them as the metaphorical powder keg." "However, their freedom until that time relies on their ability to refrain from causing any trouble as Alexander''s group grows in strength. If they prove incapable of exercising self-control, I will have to address the situation and deal with them before reaching that phase of the plan." Aron elaborated, outlining his strategy for handling the other revolutionary leaders. "But shouldn''t you already be aware of these plans, considering they are contained within the brain data you downloaded?" Aron inquired, expressing his curiosity as to why Nova was seeking information that she could easily access by reviewing his memories from the brain data. [From your memories, there was no specific date or plan assigned, and it was labeled as ''undecided.'' This indicates that at that point in time, you had not yet determined how you would approach this particular topic,] Nova clarified, highlighting the information she gathered from reviewing Aron''s memories. "Oooh... Okay," Aron nodded in approval, now understanding the purpose behind Nova''s specific questions. Following the answer, they continued their discussion, spending a few hours where Nova briefed Aron on important information that he had missed. This encompassed various topics, ranging from world politics and economics to other crucial aspects that would enable them to adapt and refine their plans according to the current global landscape. As a wise man once said, "There are no ideal conditions, only ideal responses." Sun Tzu Chapter 104 Phase Two Begins. ? A week later. Aron was behind the wheel, chauffeuring his family to the airport as they embarked on their long-awaited vacation. Accompanying them were three additional vehicles carrying security personnel, dedicated to ensuring their safety throughout the journey. "Why aren''t you coming with us?" Henry inquired, noticing that Aron had not packed his bag into the car. "I have some unfinished work to attend to. I will join you once I find some free time," Aron explained, passing through the airport security checkpoint before proceeding to park the car. "That''s unfortunate," Henry said, his slight sadness overshadowed by the excitement he felt for the trip. Aron couldn''t help but let out a chuckle as he witnessed Henry''s fleeting moment of sadness, which promptly vanished when Henry''s gaze fixed upon an airplane landing outside the window. After parking the vehicles, the group, accompanied by the security team, entered the airport and proceeded to undergo the necessary security checks. They then made their way to the designated area where the private plane awaited, ready to transport Aron''s family and the security team to Europe. "Join us as soon as you''re able," said his mother, embracing him tightly as a farewell gesture. "Yes, I promise," Aron replied, moving to embrace his father before lifting Henry up to his eye level, causing laughter to erupt from the young boy. He then accompanied them to the plane and warmly greeted the pilots whom he had gotten to know during his two-month journey across Europe, where they had been his trusted transporters. "Remember to use the app I gave you. It will assist you in choosing which places to visit. It''s synchronized with the security team''s devices, allowing them to prepare in advance once you''ve made your decision. Alright?" Aron reminded his parents one last time before he exited the aircraft. He then stood outside, waving at the excited Henry through the window, as the airplane commenced its taxi towards the runway, embarking on its journey to transport the Michael family throughout their European vacation. Aron patiently waited until the plane took off, then turned around and made his way towards the airport building followed by four bodyguards with one of them carrying a box. He was heading to one of the United Airlines ticket counters to purchase a plane ticket for California, where he planned to visit a specific division of Lockheed Martin: The fabled Skunk Works division. Once he had purchased the ticket, he turned to the four bodyguards who had remained to drive the cars back home. One of them approached him, carrying a box, and handed it to Aron. They then bid him farewell and proceeded to leave the airport to retrieve the cars, returning to the house to continue doing their security job. Aron patiently waited for his boarding time to commence his work of gathering brain data from individuals on his list residing within the United States. His journey would begin on the West Coast, traversing through each state until he returned to his home state of New York on the East Coast. Alongside the brain data collection, he also intended to finalize the recruitment of his forces from the list of 308 individuals. Last week, he had successfully converted the remaining fifteen people residing within the same state resulting in him having a total of eighteen people in his private forces who were currently on a one-month holiday. He accomplished this by just healing them, restoring their health, and regenerating any missing body parts. He made sure to stop there and not continue using the healing rune like what he did to John in order to save time. As that can be done at any time. As Aron had stopped using the rune once the individuals were fully healed, they did exhibit a more youthful appearance compared to before. However, the degree of transformation was not as pronounced as the remarkable changes John had undergone. He decided to postpone their mutation for the time being. His intention was to allow the research teams in Lab City to thoroughly study the evolved characteristics of John''s body and develop a genetic serum capable of replicating the same results. This serum would then be used on the remaining members of his forces. The plan was arranged in a way that ensured that Aron would be able to complete the entire operation within a span of one month and two weeks. ... Eden. Alexander could be seen in his study, engrossed in his work, as he dedicated his efforts to preparing his group for the imminent surge of new members. His focus revolved around ensuring their readiness to accommodate the forthcoming influx and that they are not overwhelmed. While Alexander was deep in thought, his concentration was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a notification. A soft "ting" emanated from his device, indicating the arrival of an SMS. He promptly diverted his attention and opened the message to see its contents. Sender: CONNECT. [ CONNECT Telecom: Exciting Offer Announcement! ? In celebration of our official launch of telecommunication services in Eden, we are delighted to present you with an exclusive offer. Enjoy 6 months of complimentary access to our comprehensive range of services, including calls, SMS, and Internet! However, please note that this offer is exclusively available to those who switch to or have already switched to the GAIA OS. Upgrade your operating system today and experience uninterrupted connectivity. Click here to make the switch: [Link: ....]. #CONNECTTelecom #FreeInternet #FreeCellularServices #Important #GAIA TECHNOLOGIES #GAIA OS #Eden ] After reading the message, Alexander knew that the most intense period since the establishment of their group had finally arrived. They had to endure this challenging phase for approximately six months before Eden entered a transformative era. Taking a moment to reflect on where they had come to reach this point, before he said, "Phase two has officially started," followed by a burst of laughter. His laughter intensified as he recollected the meeting with the other revolutionary leaders, where they had collectively rejected Aron''s offer. Yet, against all odds, Alexander had quietly followed his gut feeling and secretly agreed to the propositiona decision that now seemed remarkably wise in hindsight. The irony of the situation overwhelmed him, fueling his amusement even further. In every corner of Eden, This message created a sensation across the entire nation, as people joyously celebrated the generosity of the new company. Almost everyone who had not yet switched their operating system to GAIA OS eagerly utilized the provided link in the message to make the transition. Remarkably, even individuals who lacked technical expertise found the process surprisingly user-friendly. All they needed to do was click on the link, which would redirect them to a website featuring a single button labeled "Change OS." Once clicked, the operating system itself would take care of the rest, ensuring a seamless transition for the users. The process commenced with the OS download, swiftly followed by the seamless replacement of the existing OS while preserving all user data. Within just half an hour, from the moment of download to the system being fully restored and ready for operation, users could immediately begin utilizing the complimentary services provided by the telecom company. Chapter 105 Felix Finding Out (Arons Trojan Horse) ? The news continued to spread rapidly, reaching an increasing number of individuals until it eventually reached Adolf, the dictator. And without wasting time he immediately called Felix wanting to know more about the stunt that CONNECT was pulling. "Hello, Your Excellency," Felix respectfully responded as he answered the phone. "What is the meaning of this stunt? Are you deliberately aiming for financial losses in the initial years just to avoid paying me?" Adolf shouted, his voice resounding through the phone. "Your Excellency, it appears there has been a misunderstanding on your part. This complimentary telecommunication offer is made possible through an advertising partnership we have secured. Hence, the message was accompanied by the condition that users must switch their phone''s operating system to GAIA OS in order for them to benefit from it," Felix explained, making an effort to maintain a composed tone despite growing frustration with the dictator''s demeanor. "Give me the details about the offer" Adolf demanded, displaying a complete lack of trust. Adolf saw this as an opportunity to vent his dissatisfaction over signing a contract that delayed dividend payments by almost a year and three months. "They are compensating us with a sum of 100 million for offering free telecommunication services to all GAIA OS users in Eden for a duration of 6 months," Felix replied, maintaining his composure as best he could. "If that''s the case, then it''s satisfactory," Adolf acknowledged before abruptly ending the phone call, leaving Felix stunned with the phone still pressed to his ear. He restrained himself from shouting out his frustration, holding his emotions in check. "I really need to control myself or one day I might lose control of myself and just end up shouting back at him ruining everything I had worked hard to accomplish." Felix contemplated, recognizing the need to keep his emotions in check. However, a question lingered in his mind. "Why did Aron agree to pay the dividends? He''s someone stubborn enough to resist the Department of Defense''s attempts to acquire his program forcibly to the point that he sent them to court trying to annul the FISA order," he pondered, realizing that Aron likely had no intention of paying any dividends to the dictator at all. "If Aron had intended to pay the dividends, he would have opted for a quarterly or semi-annual payment structure as that would make the dictator look at them in a positive light. However, him deliberately choosing a yearly dividends payment, despite knowing it would displease the dictator, suggests that he has a plan in motion that should come to fruition within a year," Felix speculated, delving into his own hypothesis. "Moreover, his reasoning for the yearly payment is bullshit as our calculation indicated that we would have already begun earning profits by the fourth month following consolidation, making the need for a yearly payment questionable," he reasoned, addressing each question that arose in his mind. "Furthermore, why choose to advertise the company and incentivize people to switch to GAIA OS with free internet, incurring expenses of 100 million dollars in the process?" Felix questioned, delving deeper into his analysis. "It suggests that whatever Aron is planning is contingent upon the majority, if not everyone, in the country, having access to the internet and other telecommunication services," he pondered, recognizing the significance of widespread connectivity for Aron''s undisclosed scheme. One by one, he eliminated possibilities until only a single revelation remained. As the realization struck him, Felix abruptly rose from his chair, taken aback by the astonishing revelation. Overwhelmed with astonishment, he couldn''t contain himself and exclaimed, "Holy shit!" "He''s becoming increasingly bold," Felix murmured as he paced back and forth, his hands gripping the back of his head. The weight of the realization still gripping him, he trembled with fear, apprehensive that someone might uncover this plan. However, Felix gradually managed to regain his composure as he recognized that his ability to reach such a conclusion was a result of his close friendship with Aron. Having an intimate understanding of Aron''s character and thought processes allowed him to discern the true implications behind each decision. With this realization, a sense of reassurance washed over Felix, soothing his earlier fears. "But how does he intend to utilize the telecommunication infrastructure to instigate a regime change?" Felix pondered aloud, his mind consumed by the question. "Ahaaaa, the program he entrusted me to use for the new company!" Felix exclaimed, the realization hitting him like a bolt of lightning. "Through that program, he has gained complete control over the entire country''s internet infrastructure. With people switching to GAIA OS, a system he personally created, he can manipulate and control the information accessed by everyone within the country," he concluded, astounded by the magnitude of Aron''s plan. "Holy mother!" Felix exclaimed, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest as he comprehended the vast scale of manipulation one could achieve with complete control over the entire country''s internet access. The implications were staggering, and a shiver ran down his spine at the thought. "There are a few missing pieces in my calculations to complete the puzzle. A regime change requires a figurehead, but Aron cannot be the one to become the next leader, as it would be perceived as a hostile takeover by both the people and other governments, leading to never-ending sanctions," Felix contemplated. After a brief moment of reflection, he concluded that Aron must have already identified someone who would serve as the figurehead for the new regime. "But what does he stand to gain from this plan?" Felix questioned himself, attempting to discern the motives that would drive Aron to orchestrate a regime change in another country. His mind raced, exploring various possibilities that could explain Aron''s ulterior motives behind such a grand scheme. After a brief period of contemplation, Felix reached a conclusion. "Control," he uttered, realizing that Aron''s primary objective was to gain extensive control over the situation. However, he couldn''t help but feel that this was an excessive reaction on Aron''s part, considering it was merely a matter of being compelled to surrender a program to the government. "Unless..." Felix paused, a peculiar and somewhat absurd thought emerging in his mind. "What if he possesses something even greater than everything he has released thus far, and he fears it being taken away from him once again?" he contemplated aloud, the notion presenting itself as a plausible explanation for Aron''s extreme measures. In the wake of this realization, Felix couldn''t contain his laughter, overcome with a sense of irony. The dictator, Adolf, had unknowingly supported Aron''s consolidation of power, blinded by his own greed and narrow vision. It was akin to inviting an enemy into one''s own house without even realizing it. "Ah, Adolf, poor you," Felix uttered, a mix of empathy and satisfaction in his voice. All the pent-up frustration he had endured from constantly humbling himself in front of the dictator, no matter how rudely Adolf treated him, now seemed to dissipate like dust being washed away by water. Simultaneously, he couldn''t help but feel an overwhelming sense of joy for his friend Aron, recognizing the successful execution of the Trojan horse maneuver on a national scale. Chapter 106 Phase Two Officially Begins ? As phase two commenced, Nova wasted no time and swiftly employed her authorized privileges within the system utilized by CONNECT to facilitate internet connectivity. Consequently, she successfully gained entry into the internet infrastructure of Eden, securing access to its comprehensive array of offerings. In order to achieve the desired outcomes of phase two, Nova recognized the necessity of obtaining comprehensive knowledge about every individual residing within Eden. Thus, she embarked on the formidable task of meticulously compiling profiles for each internet user within the county. This marked the initiation of a momentous endeavor, aimed at establishing an exhaustive database that encompassed their digital personas. Typically, such a task would require a considerable amount of time and could potentially raise suspicions among tech-savvy individuals. However, Nova circumvented these challenges by issuing commands to the virtual assistants that came with the GAIA OS. While developing GAIA OS, Aron incorporated programming instructions for the virtual assistant to generate user profiles as a means to elevate the overall user experience. This implementation was intended to improve the personalized interactions and interactions with the virtual assistant. By employing this approach, Nova managed to streamline the profile compilation process, saving significant amounts of time and helping her avoid detection by having this process appear as routine operating system background tasks. Through this meticulously devised strategy, Nova ensured the utmost discretion and concealment of her actions, mitigating the risk of detection by prying eyes. The profiles encompassed an extensive array of information, encompassing details such as the user''s name, age, personal preferences, fears, passions, political views, and much more. These comprehensive profiles yielded a wealth of knowledge about each individual, enabling the customization of targeted strategies to influence and guide them towards specific desired outcomes. Upon receiving the profiles from long-term users of GAIA OS, Nova initiated the analysis phase. Diligently, she scrutinized the gathered profiles, evaluating the potential value of each individual in the context of the revolution and their suitability to join Alexander''s group as revolutionary fighters. However, for those who had recently migrated to GAIA OS, Nova had to exhibit patience. She awaited the completion of user profiles generated by the virtual assistants, a process that typically required approximately a week. Once the profiles were finalized, Nova would receive them and proceed to repeat the same selection process she had executed for the others. The selection process held paramount importance for Nova, as she aimed to specifically target individuals who would prove beneficial to her plan. Moreover, she had to exercise caution and discernment to filter out individuals who displayed tendencies of snitching, particularly for personal gain, or those notoriously known for their loose lips. The potential repercussions arising from such individuals leaking sensitive data to others, who might then report it to the authorities, mandated their exclusion from the group. Once the individualized plans for each selected person, considered of potential value to the revolution, were finalized, Nova proceeded to transmit the plans back to their respective virtual assistants. Serving as intermediaries, these virtual assistants received the plans and commenced their implementation on behalf of Nova. The plans encompassed various aspects of the selected individuals'' digital lives. This included curating the types of videos that would appear on their Facebook and other social media feeds, as well as controlling the news they consumed. The objective was to gradually steer their digital experiences in a manner that fostered growing frustration and anger towards the prevailing state of the country. The ultimate goal was to ignite a fire within them, motivating them to join the group and take tangible action for meaningful change. After fostering enough discontent to the point they start taking that step to look for a way they can join the revolutionary groups the virtual assistant will guide them to Alexander''s group and not the other ones. Upon joining the group, the individuals will be instructed to download a specific application that will serve as an information source and provide them with protection against potential discovery. If they ask why, they will be informed that through the utilization of the app, the virtual assistant will be able to openly keep them informed about the plans and provide them with necessary information. As for how, it is by the app utilizing the extension released by GAIA TECHNOLOGY to allow app developers to create apps that can be used to increase the functions of the VA by having them develop apps with certain functionality and by them including the extension it would allow the virtual assistant in GAIA OS to use the functions of the app by itself in the background. An illustrative example would be downloading a calendar app with this extension, where planning an event allows the virtual assistant to access and inform the user about it. However, all of this was a deliberate facade orchestrated by Aron. In reality, the virtual assistant had complete access to all the data within the phone right from the beginning. However, openly admitting this would have led to never-ending lawsuits and legal complications. Thus, Aron devised a clever strategy: he made the virtual assistant appear as if it had limitations and required a specific extension within apps to access certain data. This illusion gave users a false sense of control, even though they had never truly possessed it from the very start. Quoting from the wisdom of Sun Tzu, "The illusion of control lulls us into believing that we hold the reins of our destiny, when in reality, life''s unpredictable currents often steer us in unexpected directions." .... [Sir, phase two has begun,] Nova notified Aron as he completed fitting the headgear onto the sleeping skunkworks engineer. "Good. Inform Alexander about this and ask about the progress of his group in preparing for the arrival of new members," Aron instructed after receiving the report from Nova. [Done] Nova reported back shortly. "How many of them have you chosen from the first batch?" Aron asked Nova wanting to know the number of the people she had selected based on the profiles she currently possessed. [3478 of them.] "That''s enough based on the needs of our first batch" Aron responded upon hearing Nova''s answer. [It is anticipated that approximately half of them will join the group within a month and a half, provided that the virtual assistants execute my instructions flawlessly,] Nova explained, outlining the expected timeline for the integration of new members into the group. "They will, don''t worry," Aron assured Nova with confidence. He proceeded to remove the virtual headgear from the man and left the house, closing the door behind him. "Thank goodness most of them live in the same community. Otherwise, I might be tempted to wait until they''re at work, put the entire building into slumber, and extract the data from them all at once," Aron quipped, lightening the mood as he began walking towards the next target''s residence. [You could certainly do that, but convincing them that they all experienced collective amnesia would be quite challenging,] Nova replied, amused by Aron''s comment. "I am aware," Aron responded simply, acknowledging Nova''s remark. "How are they doing?" Aron inquired, seeking an update from Nova regarding the status of the individuals who were already part of his private forces and currently enjoying a one-month vacation. [Many of them have been indulging in their long-awaited sexual desires during the initial days, while others are engaging in various activities. Some are exploring the city and visiting different places,] "That''s good to hear," Aron responded, expressing a sense of relief upon receiving Nova''s answer. [Were you concerned that some of them might disregard your instructions and attempt to seek out those who have caused them harm, seeking revenge and venting their anger?] Nova asked, noting the tone of relief in Aron''s response. "Yes, it serves as their final test. If they have pledged their loyalty to me and yet go against my initial command, it would necessitate their exclusion from my future plans from the very beginning, and they would also come to regret their decision," Aron answered back in a cold tone. [How did you intend to accomplish that? By injuring them once again?] Nova asked, seeking further clarification from Aron in order to start devising a contingency plan based on his chosen course of action. "While I could resort to such means, I''m not desensitized enough to personally do that. However, there are alternative methods I can employ. I can strip them of everything they currently possess and will have in the future. Moreover, since I provided them with new identities, they have no belongings or connections to their past. Without any relatives to vouch for their previous identities, the non-existence of past injuries, and considering their apparent physical rejuvenation of approximately five years, claiming their old identities would likely result in them being deemed mentally unstable or potentially convicted for identity theft," Aron explained, indicating that he had considered these factors thoroughly before selecting those individuals as the initial group to work with. [Isn''t it better to simply inflict physical injuries on them?] Nova asked after hearing Aron''s detailed and potentially brutal plan. "I could certainly do that but the graphic nature of such actions is something I am not prepared to handle at this moment," Aron explained [From their brain data I confirmed that their trauma is now nothing more than a distant and bad memory. Therefore, we don''t expect any such events to occur] Nova reminded Aron as she had reported this in the past. "There''s no harm in being prepared at all times. Humans are complex creatures, and they can sometimes behave unexpectedly depending on what triggers their minds," Aron remarked, as he knocked on the door of the house where the next person on their list resided. "It''s always better to be prepared for the worst, no matter how certain you may be about something," Aron added, while patiently waiting for the door to be opened. Just as Nova was about to respond, the door was opened "Sleep" Aron said activating the rune, causing the man to instantly fall asleep before he could even catch a glimpse of Aron''s face. With the man unconscious, Aron entered the house and caught the man as he fell to the ground. [I''ll keep that in mind,] Nova replied as Aron gently placed the man on the ground and proceeded to put the virtual helmet on him. Chapter 107 Arieh & Kassim ? Arieh''s Mansion. "Sir, Miss Rina has been reaching out to various banks in search of a loan," Arieh''s secretary updated him on Rina''s recent movements since she was given the company. "Why would she do that? The company may be facing some financial challenges, but it doesn''t require a bank loan. And even if it did, why wouldn''t she approach one of the family''s banks for the loan?" Arieh inquired, perplexed by Rina''s unconventional decisions. "The loan she''s seeking is not for the company but for personal reasons. Moreover, considering the amount she''s requesting, the family banks would require her to provide a clear explanation of how she intends to utilize the funds," Charlotte clarified. "How much is she seeking to borrow?" Arieh asked. "She is seeking a minimum of 5 billion dollars," "What does she intend to do with such a substantial amount?" Arieh asked in astonishment, knowing that his sister was not foolish enough to borrow such a significant sum of money without a well-thought-out plan in mind. "At the moment, we don''t know" "What leverage is she attempting to utilize? As far as I''m aware, she only possesses the Ally international shares that she can potentially use, and aside from that, she has a few personal shares worth approximately 750 million dollars. However, she cannot use those shares as they serve as her emergency funds," Arieh asked Charlotte. "You are correct. She is using the Ally international shares as collateral for the loan," Charlotte answered. "Where is the list of banks she is approaching for the loan?" Arieh asked, wanting to know which banks she was contacting and negotiating with. "Here you go, sir," Charlotte replied, handing him the folder containing the names of the banks. After briefly examining the list of banks, Arieh raised his head and instructed, "Contact them and inform them to approve the loan she is requesting. If they express concerns about her potential default, inform them that I will purchase the loan from them in the event of default." He was devising a scheme to use this loan as his ultimate weapon, intending to deal a devastating blow to his sister. "Yes, sir," Charlotte nodded, indicating her understanding and acknowledgment of the order. Just as Charlotte was about to turn and leave the office to fulfill the assigned task, Arieh interjected, "By the way, how is Terry''s situation progressing?" "He is expected to be discharged from the hospital and transferred here by next week," Charlotte promptly responded. "Call Gerald and inform him that I have a mission for him," Arieh ordered Charlotte. "Yes, sir," Charlotte replied and left the office without seeking further details. Having worked for Arieh for over five years, she had a sense of what he might be planning. Arieh resumed his work, waiting for the arrival of his Gerald. A few minutes later, Gerald, Arieh''s head of security, entered the room to respond to the call. "Sir, you called for me," Gerald said as he entered the room, having received permission to enter after knocking. "Yes, I need you to carry out a discrete task for me," Arieh stated, lifting his head from the documents on his desk. "I want you to go to the hospital discreetly and visit Terry without being noticed by anyone. Do you think you can accomplish that?" Arieh asked, focusing his attention on Gerald. "Yes, I can do that, sir," Gerald responded with confidence. "Okay, good. Here''s what I want you to do. I want you to..." Arieh began explaining the specific tasks he needed Gerald to carry out during his visit to the hospital. "Understood?" Arieh asked after he finished explaining the tasks he wanted Gerald to perform. "Yes, sir," Gerald replied, demonstrating his understanding of the instructions. "Okay, you can go," Arieh said. Gerald promptly said his goodbyes to Arieh and exited the room, preparing himself to head to the hospital and fulfill the assigned task. "He should act as a contingency pawn for me," Arieh murmured, contemplating the role Terry would play. He then shifted his attention back to the document on his desk, resuming his work. .... Black site. Patrick, the project manager of the black sites, could be seen walking to Kassim''s room, visibly sweating and trembling with nervousness. KNOCK KNOCK Patrick knocked on the door upon his arrival. "Come in," a voice from the office beckoned. Patrick took a deep breath before entering the room. "Sir, you called for me," Patrick said as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. "Yes, I called to know whether you have completed the project or not," Kassim stated in a cold, stern voice. "We require a little more time to achieve the necessary capabilities," Patrick responded, his voice trembling. "I recall receiving the same response six months ago, and I gave you ample time," Kassim remarked in a tone that sent shivers down Patrick''s spine. "Sir, the complexity of the program has exceeded our initial predictions. We have comprehended the majority of it, but there remains a small portion, approximately two GB in size, that remains a mystery." Patrick paused to take a breath and continued. "Despite our efforts, we have been unable to fully decipher the code. When we attempted to remove this code from our modified program, the program crashed, indicating that this particular segment is among the critical components of the program," Patrick explained, pushing himself to finish by providing the reasons for their inability to complete the program despite the extensive duration. "Didn''t the information I obtained from the DOD''s team not help you in any way?" "Indeed, it did assist us in expediting our understanding of the program. However, based on the data we received, it appears that even the DOD''s team is facing similar challenges and has been unable to make significant progress," Patrick explained. "How much more time do you need?" Kassim asked. Patrick took a deep breath, preparing to respond, but before he could finish his answer, Kassim interrupted him, saying, "Be cautious with your words. If you fail to meet the timeline, you and your team will face appropriate consequences," in a chilling tone. "Four months," Patrick responded, adding an extra month to the time he would have originally requested. "Now leave, but be aware that if it is not ready by that time, you will not be given any further opportunities," Kassim stated to Patrick as he was leaving. Upon hearing this, Patrick turned to Kassim and bowed, indicating his understanding of Kassim''s words. He then left the office, closing the door behind him, and leaned against it. Taking a deep sigh of relief, acknowledging that he had survived another day. "We either make it work, or we are doomed," Patrick murmured to himself before he started returning to the working room where his team members were. He planned to tell them that they have a three-month timeframe, or face dire consequences. Yes, three months. The extra month will serve as a valuable backup. Individuals commonly tend to plan their tasks based on the time available rather than the actual time needed for completion. If a student is given forty questions and forty days to complete them, the most ideal solution would be for them to answer one question per day. This way, they can distribute their effort evenly and ensure they finish all the questions within the given timeframe. (A/N If it were me I would start solving them half an hour before the completion date) Back inside Kassim''s office, now alone, he reached out and picked up the phone resting on the table. With a purposeful motion, he dialed a specific number and pressed the call button, initiating the connection. After approximately thirty seconds of ringing, someone on the other end of the line answered the call. "Is the program ready?" inquired the voice on the other end. "No, sir," Kassim reported respectfully, "the team has encountered a significant obstacle, and they estimate that it will take approximately four months to overcome it and complete the product." "You are aware that we have been delaying the plan for over three months, with the expectation that the program would be completed and enable us to inflict further damage on the Rothschilds, correct?" questioned the voice on the other end, causing Kassim to tense up. "Yes, sir, I am aware of that. However, the obstacle the team is facing is similar to the one that has caused a setback for the team at the DOD," Kassim explained, providing the reason for the team''s inability to meet the given timeline over the past five months. "Within four months, if the program is not completed, we will proceed without it, and you will be held accountable," stated the voice on the other end before abruptly ending the call, without waiting for Kassim''s response. "Patrick, you had better complete your task within the given time, or I won''t be the only one facing the consequences. I will make sure you bear the burden with me," Kassim exclaimed, directing his anger toward Patrick and his team while refraining from entertaining any negative thoughts toward the person on the other end of the phone. Kassim was well aware that failing to complete the program within the designated time limit would have severe repercussions. He had witnessed the dire consequences faced by his predecessor in the position, which led to his own promotion. Chapter 108 The Great Escape ? A week later. In the hospital elevator, Terry stood accompanied by two vigilant bodyguards who were escorting him towards the basement parking lot. Their purpose was to transport Terry back to the secure confines of the Rothschild''s compound, where he would inevitably confront the repercussions of his actions. Despite his attempts to calm himself, Terry found it increasingly difficult to regain composure. Deep down, he was aware that his fate had been sealed the moment he set foot inside the compound. The impending consequences that awaited him would transform his experience into a cautionary tale, ensuring that it would be etched into the collective memory of all those who heard it, serving as a stark reminder to never engage in such foolish actions. What was allowing him to hold on was the meeting he had with Gerald who had visited him in a doctor''s outfit under the guise of doing final checkups before they approved his discharge. As the elevator descended further, Terry''s heart filled with an increasing sense of fear. With each passing floor, the grip of anxiety tightened, amplifying the weight of apprehension within him. The elevator came to a sudden halt on the eighth floor, prompting the security team to instinctively tense up, bracing themselves for whatever awaited them. As the doors gracefully glided open, they were met with an unexpected and perplexing sight. Standing before them was a nurse, her presence overshadowed by the lifeless figure on the bed draped in sheets. The occupants of the elevator instinctively covered their noses, overwhelmed by the unmistakable and repugnant stench that permeated the air. It became apparent that the source of the foul odor was the body on the bed, now revealed to be covered in excrement. "Excuse me," the nurse''s voice filtered through the mask as she politely interjected, pushing the bed into the confined space of the elevator. Instinctively, the security guards swiftly repositioned themselves, forming two groups flanking either side of the bed. Terry found himself positioned on the right side of the bed, accompanied by one guard, while the other guard took up position on the left. The nurse, seemingly unaware of the prevailing tension within the elevator, calmly pressed the button for the floor designated as the mortuary. The guards positioned alongside the nurse turned towards her, their expressions contorted with discomfort, and inquired, "Isn''t there a designated elevator for transporting such items?" They struggled to endure the overwhelming stench that filled the air. As the elevator doors closed"Yes, there is, but unfortunately, it''s currently undergoing maintenance," she responded, her tone reflecting her own discomfort with the situation. As the elevator began its descent, the guards, convinced that no threat could arise from the inert, soiled body before them, eased their vigilance. Unbeknownst to anyone in the elevator, the nurse''s hand stealthily maneuvered beneath the bed sheets, retrieving a concealed scalpel. With utmost precision and without raising any suspicion, she made her move. In a sudden, swift, and unexpected act, she lunged at the guard positioned on the left, catching him completely off guard. She swiftly stabbed the guard on his stomach. Seizing the opportunity presented before him, Terry wasted no time and swiftly launched his assault on the momentarily stunned guard. With the guard struggling to regain composure and react in time, Terry managed to swiftly secure him in a chokehold. ''I will give you my meat and take your bones'' He thought to himself as he continued maintaining the choke hold. Meanwhile, on the opposite side, the stabbed bodyguard persisted in his struggle against the nurse. He attempted to strike her using his leg, but the nurse skillfully redirected the blow, causing his leg to become lodged and trapped between the bed and the elevator wall. The impact reverberated through the elevator, causing the bed to shake, and was followed by the agonized screams of the guard, whose bone had been fractured in the process. The nurse without a pause swiftly proceeded with her assault. She ruthlessly stabbed the guard multiple times in the abdomen, ensuring that he would be rendered incapable of taking any further action. The wounded guard collapsed against the elevator wall, clutching his bleeding stomach in a desperate attempt to staunch the flow. Gasping for breath, he fought to maintain proper respiration amidst the pain and chaos surrounding him. As the elevator reached its destination in the basement, the tumultuous events that had unfolded inside the confined space had reached its conclusion. The nurse turned towards Terry, and seeing that he handled the guard she said, "Let''s go," before swiftly delivering a powerful kneebutt to the injured guard''s head, rendering him unconscious. Terry nodded, acknowledging the nurse''s order to exit the elevator. As he exited the elevator, he pressed the button for the first floor, ensuring that the unconscious guards would be transported to the emergency room. This decision was made with the intention of keeping the situation relatively contained, as the Rothschild hunt would likely exercise more restraint if their guards were alive rather than deceased. Observing Terry''s actions, the nurse remained silent, as she didn''t care about it at all. Without wasting a moment, they moved swiftly until they reached a parked car. The woman retrieved the keys, unlocking the vehicle. They quickly boarded the car, wasting no time, and sped away from the hospital premises, leaving behind the chaotic scene before anyone could raise an alert about the situation heading towards the first floor. As they left the hospital and ventured towards the outskirts of the city, Terry''s racing thoughts began to subside, allowing him to regain a semblance of calm. He turned towards the woman, still attired in the nurse outfit, and broke the silence by initiating a conversation. "I''m Terry. Who are you?" he inquired, attempting to divert the somber atmosphere and escape the weight of his recent actions, which only served to amplify the potential repercussions he might face if captured. Terry found himself in a situation reminiscent of a child who, gripped by fear of impending punishment for a mistake, resorts to further wrongdoing in an attempt to conceal their initial misdeed. In his desperate attempt to evade the consequences, he had unwittingly escalated the severity of his actions. ''Fuck'' he thought to himself. "Call the number that last contacted the phone," the woman stated, dismissing Terry''s question without offering any further explanation or response. Terry retrieved the phone and accessed the call application, navigating to the section where previous call details were displayed. To his surprise, he discovered that only one phone call had been made from this device. Terry tapped on the phone number and swiftly pressed the call button bringing the phone to his ear. After ringing for approximately three seconds, the call was answered, and a voice on the other end, without any formal greeting, immediately asked, "Did you succeed?" Terry quickly recognized the voice as Gerald''s, the same person who had visited him in the hospital the previous week to discuss the escape plan. "Yes, thank you," Terry replied, expressing his gratitude after a brief pause. "Good. Sir instructed me to relay these orders to you: ''Follow that woman and remain in her company until further instructions,''" Gerald conveyed the instructions he had received from Arieh without explicitly mentioning his name. By omitting specific details, they aimed to ensure that even if the phone call were to be recorded, no substantial evidence linking them to Arieh would be found. "Yes, sir. Please convey my gratitude to him," Terry responded, expressing his appreciation. However, he received no response, as the call abruptly ended. "Phone," the woman uttered, gesturing with her outstretched hand, indicating that she wanted Terry to return the device to her. As Terry handed the phone back to her, The nurse swiftly flung it out of the window, sending it plunging into the water below the bridge they were crossing. She then turned to Terry, introducing herself. "My name is Katrina," she stated. "As the call indicated, you will be staying with me until I receive further instructions. I hope you won''t cause me any trouble during your time with me, as I would prefer not to be compelled to put a bullet through your head. I have the authorization to do so if you become problematic." "You don''t have to worry about that. I have no intentions of going anywhere," Terry reassured Katrina, recognizing the gravity of their situation. "Even without your warning, I am well aware that they will be tirelessly searching for us, leaving no stone unturned. I have committed acts that go against the principles expected of a Rothchild employee, not just once, but twice. Now, it has become a matter of protecting their reputation, and they won''t rest until they find us." "That''s good" Katrina answered back. "What is your usual task?" He asked wanting to know her better as he will be sending a long time with her. "None of your business," Katrina said before she stopped answering any of the further questions Terry asked following that as he was trying to distract his mind from having to think about what would happen to him in case he is caught. Chapter 109 Rina Receiving The News & White House ? Rina''s Mansion [Rina, Terry has escaped from the hospital,] Ava immediately relayed the urgent information to Rina as soon as the information was intercepted from the private network. "What happened?" Rina asked urgently, halting her current activity to focus on the unfolding situation. [During the transfer, the guards accompanying him were attacked by an unknown woman, and she escaped with Terry,] Ava informed Rina, utilizing the rapidly updating information circulating within the private network as people were working hard to ensure the relevant individuals were kept up to date on the unfolding situation. As Ava explained the situation, Rina''s hand instinctively moved to her neck, gently caressing it, a reminder of something happening to her. With a hint of concern in her voice, she asked, "Was it my brother or the morgans?" [Nothing conclusive about either of them; they are still among the few suspects on my list,] Ava replied, indicating that she had no knowledge of this specific plan and that no information about it existed within the private network. "Is there any other important information about this incident?" Rina asked, seeking further details after receiving Ava''s response. [They are still attempting to covertly track him. As for the guards who were attacked, one is currently undergoing surgery in the operating room, while the other remains in a coma. The chokehold he was subjected to was fatal, and it is uncertain when he will regain consciousness,] Ava reported, relaying the information she had gathered from the ongoing communications within the private network. She remained unaware of Arieh''s plan to assist Terry in his escape because the orders had been conveyed through verbal communication, and Gerald had used a burner phone that was not connected to the private network to execute the plan. Additionally, the payment for the operation had been made using one of Arieh''s slush fund accounts, which was kept separate from the private network. "Keep me updated on any developments regarding this matter when something new appears through the network" Rina requested before attempting to return to her work. However, her concentration was abruptly interrupted as Chloe bursted into the room, indicating that whatever she was about to report was urgent enough to warrant her to disregard all formalities and decorum. "What is it?" she asked, feigning ignorance about the reason for Chloe''s urgent interruption. "Miss, we have received a report stating that Terry has escaped from the hospital while under escort," Chloe promptly reported without any delay. "What?" Rina exclaimed, feigning surprise as if she was hearing the report for the first time. "Yes, there is quite a commotion. The security team is being mobilized across the compound, and they are dispatching personnel to search the city and apprehend him before he manages to escape further," Chloe provided additional details about the unfolding situation. The conversation between Chloe and Rina continued back and forth, much to the amusement of Ava, who found it entertaining to witness Rina''s act of pretending to hear the report for the first time. ..... Seven hours later. In a remote countryside, nestled within the rural farmlands on the outskirts of the state, a car arrived at the lone farmhouse. "We''ve arrived. Get out," Katrina stated, switching off the car engine and opening the door, getting out, and signaling for Terry to exit. "I understand the need to hide, but isn''t this a bit overkill?" Terry questioned as he stepped out of the car. "There''s no one within a kilometer radius. In fact, we might even draw attention to ourselves with such a secluded location." "You don''t need to worry about that," Katrina replied, inserting the key into the door of the house and entering without waiting for Terry to follow. Realizing that further inquiries would be fruitless, Terry chose to remain silent and followed Katrina into the house. Upon entering the house, Terry was taken aback by its modern interior, which starkly contrasted with the rustic appearance of the exterior.6 The sleek design, contemporary furnishings, and state-of-the-art appliances suggested a level of sophistication that he hadn''t anticipated. "Now, let''s establish some ground rules," Katrina said, turning towards Terry, who had just entered the house and closed the door, still admiring the interior. "You are not allowed to enter that room; it''s mine and mine alone," she said, pointing at the room she was using to sleep. "Your room is that one. The fridge is stocked with everything you might need, and if you require anything from outside, you will have to wait until the weekend for me to go and get it for you," she explained, outlining the arrangements for Terry. "If I see you enter my room, bullet. If I catch you attempting to escape, bullet. And if I discover that you''ve been contacting anyone without my knowledge, what will happen?" She asked to see if Terry was listening to her. "Bullet," Terry responded nonchalantly, his attention still focused on exploring the interior of the house. While he acknowledged Katrina''s warnings, he didn''t feel compelled to dwell on them. He had no intentions of attempting to escape, contacting anyone, or snooping around her room. His lack of curiosity about her personal space allowed him to dismiss her threats as mere background noise. "Okay, good. Now follow me," Katrina said, motioning for Terry to join her. She approached a section of the wall and pressed on it, causing it to slide aside, revealing a hidden door behind it. After entering the password into the keypad on the door, she unlocked it and swung it open, revealing a set of stairs that descended into the basement. Terry remained silent and followed her closely, his curiosity piqued as he wondered what awaited him in the basement. "Wow," Terry couldn''t contain his amazement as he took in the sight of the basement. It resembled a spy lair from movies, with an array of guns neatly arranged and several screens displaying live footage from the security cameras throughout the area. "There are cameras installed within a 5-kilometer radius of the house constantly monitoring the surroundings, ready to alert us if anyone enters the vicinity of the compound," Katrina explained. "The password is 69420," Katrina instructed Terry, emphasizing the importance of remembering it. "If someone visits while I''m not here, you can use this place to hide. The door is reinforced and can withstand a large TNT explosion without being breached. However, if that fails, there is a tunnel leading five hundred meters into the farm, which will provide you an escape route." She said pointing towards another metallic door in the basement, indicating the entrance to the tunnel. "It appears that you are incredibly well-prepared," Terry remarked, his admiration evident. The basement''s arsenal of guns and weapons alone seemed sufficient to arm a small army, capable of equipping more than twenty individuals. However, what truly amazed him was the escape door leading to a tunnel. It offered a means to flee the house and emerge five hundred meters away, providing a significant head start to anyone being pursued. The level of planning and resources invested in this hideout left Terry in awe. ..... White house. "The preparations for your visit to Bagram Airfield are in their final stages, Mr. President," the official informed. "Good. How is the situation in Crimea with Russia''s attempted annexation?" Obama asked, diverting the conversation from the topic of his supposed surprise visit to Bagram Airfield to the ongoing developments in Crimea. "The Ukrainian army has been unsuccessful in their attempts to retake the region since last February," John O. Brennan, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), answered the President''s question. "Based on the information received from our informants on the ground, it appears that Russia is currently planning a referendum to strengthen their claim over the region." "Is there any possibility of acquiring additional information that we can leverage at the United Nations'' upcoming meeting to exert pressure on Russia regarding the Crimea situation?" Obama inquired after listening to the response from the CIA director. "At the moment, our informants do not have the necessary access to provide us with additional information regarding their future plans," the director replied. "Didn''t we acquire that program from the individual who sued us over the FISA order? Ah, what was his name again? Ah... Aron" Obama asked, recollecting the moment when Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel had informed him about the program''s potential usefulness and the significant impact it could have in dealing with their adversaries. Hagel, who was also present at the meeting, updated the president on the progress of the program, stating, "The team assigned to work on the program encountered a significant obstacle when they attempted to understand its intricacies before making any modifications." "I recall that we have had possession of it for over six months. So, what seems to be the problem? Our technical teams are not subpar compared to global standards, are they?" Obama inquired, expressing his curiosity regarding the cause of the delay. "Prior to receiving the program from GAIA TECHNOLOGIES, they informed us that a significant portion of the program was developed using machine learning. Consequently, even they do not fully comprehend the intricacies of the program. We suspect that our teams are encountering difficulties with the section written by the machine, as it had repeatedly learned to identify vulnerabilities and rewrote the code by itself," Hegel explained. "Why don''t we simply insist on obtaining the training data from GAIA TECHNOLOGIES? After all, we already compelled them to surrender the source code," Obama proposed. "If we can secure the data they used to train the program, it could potentially offer us invaluable insights. There''s no harm in "requesting" this additional information." "We did, Mr. President, but they informed us that the training data had been deleted by Aron. Apparently, he had encountered storage issues during his development phase and had to make space for the completed program by deleting the training data. It seems he didn''t have the resources to purchase additional storage," Hagel replied, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the explanation. "Are you kidding me?" Obama asked, clearly taken aback by the absurd justification provided for the absence of the training data. Chapter 110 Lubyanka Square ? "Are you kidding me?" Obama asked, clearly taken aback by the absurd justification provided for the absence of the training data. "Unfortunately, no, Mr. President," Hagel responded, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "Based on our investigation and information from insider sources, we have confirmed that the company only constructed the server farm after the program was already developed and he earned enough money to do so." Hagel paused once again before continuing, his tone filled with concern. "Furthermore, we are facing challenges with utilizing FISA again. The documents released by Snowden have significantly heightened public sensitivity towards surveillance technology. They would exploit this situation and manipulate public opinion, claiming that the government intends to exploit device vulnerabilities for nefarious purposes." Hagel concluded his explanation, aware of the complex hurdles they were facing. "How about inviting him for a friendly tea meeting at one of your black sites?" Obama suggested, turning to James, the FBI director. "Our attempts to do so have been unsuccessful so far. He has been staying at his heavily guarded home ever since the suspected FSB spies attacked. Just as we finalized a plan to capture him despite the heightened security, he started traveling across Europe, carefully covering his tracks along the way. By the time we were able to determine his location and dispatch our team, he would have already moved to another place," James explained. "Keep searching for alternative methods. With full control over the entire program, we will have no rivals in the cyber warfare domain," Obama instructed. "Yes, Mr. President," both James and Hagel replied in unison, acknowledging Obama''s directive. ..... Lubyanka Square, Moscow Center. The Technical Security Department "D" of the FSB, responsible for decrypting and integrating BugZapper into their infrastructure to enhance its security comparable to the level attained by NATO members who acquired the program from the same company (Though in different ways), was convened for a meeting with Sergei Naryshkin, the Director of the Counterintelligence Directorate (UC). They all appeared anxious, their nervousness palpable, as they were uncertain about the purpose of this meeting. "The Kremlin has expressed great satisfaction with your efforts in successfully implementing the program across our infrastructure and enhancing its security to the extent that it rivals the systems obtained by NATO members, who paid over 10 billion dollars for them. Additionally, we have even exported the program to our allied nations, granting us greater negotiation power. Well done," Sergei Naryshkin stated and immediately started clapping, which was followed by everyone else in the room joining in. "Thank you, Sir," expressed Maksim, the Director of Department "D," as he expressed gratitude to Sergei for acknowledging their diligent efforts. "Your team will be generously rewarded by the Kremlin in the coming months," Sergei announced The news filled the room with elation and joy, prompting another round of applause from all the department members, expressing their excitement and happiness. "But your work is not yet complete," Sergei stated after the applause subsided, causing a slight tensing among them. As everyone''s attention refocused on him, Sergei continued, "We require your team to commence the development of the program further, enhancing its capabilities to identify system vulnerabilities even without access to their source code." "Sir, while it is theoretically possible for us to enhance the program''s capabilities to identify system weaknesses without relying on the source code, we have discovered that the program''s foundation is built upon the assumption that it has access to the source code to identify and list vulnerabilities. Therefore, to fulfill the capabilities you mentioned, we would need to rebuild the program from scratch, which would be a time-consuming process," Maksim explained. He wanted to ensure that Sergei didn''t leave with unrealistic expectations of completing the task within a few months, as he didn''t want to face the consequences of disappointing him and potentially slipping and falling through the window of a high-story building while suffering from a hypothetical fatigue-induced sickness. "You need not worry about time constraints," reassured Sergei. "The Kremlin has granted you a flexible timeline, allowing you more than a year to complete the development. The objective is to have it ready for a forthcoming special operation as it is planned for it to be used for destabilizing the Ukrainian infrastructure." "Yes, sir. We will exert our utmost efforts to complete the program within the allocated timeline," Maksim responded, feeling relieved to learn that they had more time than initially anticipated. ''It appears that we have been of great value to our beloved mother Russia,'' Maksim and his team thought to themselves. "Keep up the good work, then," Sergei commended, wasting no further time with them. He rose from his seat, bid them farewell, and departed from the conference room, leaving the team behind. Once Sergei had left and only the team remained, Maksim turned to them and declared, "Comrades, today the vodka is on me!" "YES!!!!" The team members shouted in celebration at the thought of free vodka. Subsequently, they departed from Lubyanka Square and headed to the nearest bar to indulge in drinks, taking advantage of the day off granted by Sergei. ... Back inside the Lubyanka Square. Vladimir could be seen sitting in his office, where a prominently displayed nameplate revealed his new position as the Director of Department "A" within the Directorate of Counterintelligence (UC) of the Federal Security Service (FSB). This particular department held the responsibility for conducting intelligence operations involving clandestine agents commonly known as "illegals." The term "illegals" refers to intelligence operatives who operate covertly, assuming false identities and blending in as ordinary citizens in foreign countries. "Did Evgeny Buryakov send us the collected economic intelligence from the United States for the first quarter of this year?" he inquired of his secretary, requesting the report on their undercover operative, who was currently operating in the US under the guise of an investment banker. "Sir, he reported that he will send us the report by the end of this month, along with the report for the second quarter," his beautiful secretary Natasha informed him. "What about Maria Butina?" he asked, referring to another operative from their department. Natasha reviewed the document in her hands and reported, "Maria Butina continues to expand her influence within the political sphere, but she suspects that she is under scrutiny by the FBI and CIA. She has expressed her intention not to report back until she can ascertain the extent of suspicion surrounding her." Following that he started reviewing all the reports regarding double agents and spies within his division. After looking through all of them he raised his hand and asked "How is Aron''s situation?" seeking an update on Aron''s status. "He is presently visiting various locations in America, but it appears that he only stays in hotels during his visits. There is no additional activity observed, as he simply moves on to another hotel after a certain period of time, sir," Natasha reported, highlighting the unusual nature of Aron''s movements. "But sir, may I ask you something?" Natasha requested permission to pose a question that had been puzzling her. "Go ahead," Vladimir said, granting her permission to ask the question. "Why are we keeping a close watch on Aron? He no longer holds any significance for us, and we are merely wasting our limited resources by monitoring him," Natasha questioned. "You remember that I was promoted because I successfully obtained the important program he developed, right?" Vladimir asked. "Yes," Natasha answered. "Then, do you believe he won''t develop another one anytime soon?" Vladimir asked. "No, if he was able to develop one program, it is likely that he would be capable of developing another," Natasha said after a brief pause to think. "That''s precisely why I''m utilizing government resources to monitor him. By doing so, when he develops another program, we will be able to acquire it more swiftly than before," Vladimir clarified, elaborating on his rationale for continuing to keep an eye on Aron. "But don''t you think he''s aware of our surveillance? Ever since you shot him, he has significantly heightened his security measures to a worrisome extent, and all of his security team members are professionals in their respective fields," Natasha voiced her concerns. "He hasn''t discovered it yet because if he had, he would have taken action. He still perceives what happened to him as ordinary industrial espionage," Vladimir explained with an amused tone. "I often wonder, how can someone be so intelligent and yet so oblivious?" Vladimir chuckled as he contemplated the irony of the man who inadvertently facilitated his promotion, unaware that it was orchestrated by a foreign nation. "Could he be deliberately pretending not to have discovered our surveillance?" Natasha questioned, considering the possibility that Aron''s strange behavior might be a deliberate attempt to deceive them. "I don''t believe he would go to such lengths just to play mind games with us. Even if he did discover us, he wouldn''t know our true identity or origin. He might simply think that they are surveillance operatives sent by a competing company," Vladimir expressed his disagreement with Natasha''s hypothesis. He believed that while Aron was undoubtedly brilliant in software development, he lacked intelligence in other aspects of his life. Chapter 111 Lab Citys Progress (VR & AR) ? LAB CITY [VR & AR research institute (white)] Inside the meeting room, researchers could be seen sitting eagerly anticipating the completion of their latest creation. They were patiently waiting for their latest invention to finish printing so that they could test and see its results. Shortly after that, Houston stepped into the room, holding a plate filled with intricate minuscule gadgets the size of fingernails. Silently, he placed the plate at the very center of the table before settling into a chair. Without delay, everyone in the room reached out and retrieved the minuscule devices, carefully tucking them behind their ears. Everyone in the room said "AR mode" albeit with different timing, causing an instant activation of the devices. Within microseconds, the gadgets projected a holographic screen before them, emanating a gentle green glow to indicate that they were now functioning in standard AR mode. In a breathtaking display, a myriad of virtual elements materialized, seamlessly blending with reality, rendering them indistinguishable from anything that was real. When a few individuals attempted to physically interact with the digitally manifested object they saw through the device, it would transmit signals to their brains, creating the illusion of actually touching it. Furthermore, the device would restrict their movement within the object, enhancing the sensation and generating an extraordinary sense of realism. When they attempted to lift the devices, they were astonished to find that they could indeed raise them. To their amazement, the gadgets seamlessly communicated with their brains, evoking the perception of substantial weight, as though the objects they carried possessed genuine mass. "Brilliant," exclaimed one of the researchers, wholeheartedly concurring that they had successfully pushed the limits of progress and compactness in the realm of virtual and augmented reality As they continued exploring the different functions of the device, unbeknownst to them, one individual mysteriously produced a gun from seemingly thin air. Without any prior warning, the individual aimed and fired the weapon directly at the center of the table The instant the gunshot resounded, the devices positioned behind their ears swiftly picked up the changes and transitioned from their normal state to a vivid shade of red. To onlookers, the external appearance of the devices remained unchanged except for the altered color emanating from behind the ears. However, for the wearers of these devices, a wholly distinct experience was unfolding. "Wow," murmured one of them in a trance-like state, his eyes meticulously following the bullet''s trajectory as it punctured the very heart of the table, leaving a conspicuous hole. The passage of the bullet seemed to unfold in slow motion, as if time itself had dramatically decelerated. As the bullet finally traversed its path, the device swiftly reverted to emitting its familiar green light, signifying a return to normal operations. "We have finally perfected the augmented reality time perception acceleration," exclaimed Houston with unbridled joy. completely disregarded the fact that someone had discharged a firearm in the room without any prior warning as if it were an ordinary event. To them, such antics held no cause for concern, for they possessed an unwavering assurance that no matter what they did, they would inevitably revert to a state of flawless well-being. "Yes, at last!" Tristan exclaimed, wholeheartedly concurring with Issa. "Ever since we embarked on integrating this capability into augmented reality since the 76th generation, akin to what we had achieved in virtual reality back in the 46th generation of the device, we have now achieved perfection. Using it we can finally accelerate our perception of time in the real world, albeit for a mere second, during which it subjectively slows down fiftyfold." "However," Emanuel interjected, gesturing towards the dwindling power levels displayed on their devices, "it consumes an excessive amount of power to sustain this function." He drew attention to the limited power reserves that remained after the recent demonstration. "For that particular issue, we simply need to await the breakthroughs from the laboratories engaged in alternative energy research, as well as the fusion and other departments dedicated to energy research," remarked Christina, the sole female researcher in the room. Her statement hinted that the solutions to the power consumption challenge would emerge from these innovative domains. "However, when it comes to VR and AR devices, we have reached the threshold of what conventional methods can achieve," Ezra elucidated, carefully removing the device from behind his ear and delicately placing it back onto the plate. "To surpass this point, we would need to venture into the realm of nanomachines. Unfortunately, the laboratory engaged in research within this domain is still in its developmental phase, compelling us to postpone any further exploration for now." "Indeed, it is regrettable," Ezra concurred, acknowledging the boundaries imposed by conventional size limitations. "However, the vastness of knowledge surrounding this subject still astounds me. It leaves me pondering how Mr. Aron managed to achieve such a breakthrough," he mused, his admiration for Aron''s expertise and accomplishments serving as a humbling reminder of his own relative insignificance. "Sir Aron''s expertise is truly unparalleled," Logan exclaimed, his voice filled with a sense of wonder. The profound depth of knowledge displayed left him in awe. Despite numerous iterations spanning over 100 generations of these devices, they had ultimately reached the limits imposed by size constraints. However, they had neither encountered the threshold nor fully harnessed the vast knowledge bestowed upon them regarding this subject matter. "I must admit, I often find myself contemplating the same," chimed in another individual from among the group, their curiosity resonating with Logan''s earlier sentiment. "I genuinely hope that we are granted the opportunity to meet him in the future," Logan expressed, voicing the collective aspiration shared by everyone in the city. The longing to encounter Aron and Nova was fervent, as they had become figures of great fascination and admiration. "Alright, let''s get back to work, everyone," Ezra said, briefly pausing to gather their attention. After a moment, he continued, "With the production of new generations of VR and AR devices now officially concluded, now we have to upload the accumulated results to the Akashic server." "Yes," the unanimous nod of agreement rippled through the room. In unison, they closed their eyes and thought about their intentions of uploading their experiences and comprehensive research. A second later, a resounding proclamation reverberated in their consciousness [Upload complete!!!] indicating that they were done with the upload process. [ The Akashic server was a system devised by Nova to streamline the sharing of knowledge and research materials among all the labs in LAB CITY. It provided convenient access to technology and eliminated the need for researchers to worry about availability. The server housed vast amounts of data that could be easily assimilated by anyone in need of specific knowledge for their research. Inspired by Aron''s system shop, the Akashic server allowed seamless retrieval of information without requiring any special procedures. It served as a centralized hub, enhancing collaboration and efficiency across the research communities within the city. ] Shortly after that they opened their eyes and returned their focus to the meeting. "Now, while we await the culmination of nanomachine research, our next research project, bestowed upon us by Miss Nova, entails delving into the development of machinery that can autonomously produce the previous generations of VR devices we have crafted from scratch, as it is not yet known when the atomic printing research would be concluded," Ezra elucidated, providing his team with an overview of their forthcoming undertaking. "Yes," Houston responded eagerly upon learning about their next research project, his voice brimming with excitement. Engaging in research was something they all embraced wholeheartedly, devoid of any complaints. "Is there a particular VR device we should begin with, or are we free to choose at random?" Mason, another researcher, inquired, seeking clarity on the starting point for their project. "Yes, we have been instructed to commence with the standard virtual helmet and virtual reality chamber," Ezra responded. "These devices will be utilized to facilitate the assimilation of knowledge to soldiers within the virtual chamber during a specific period. Concurrently, the soldiers will be enhanced with a genetic enhancing liquid that is currently undergoing research in the genetic engineering lab." "Following that we will then start making the machines that can manufacture every generation of the VR & AR devices for every generation and iteration we have ever made" With that Ezra finished telling them the orders they had been given from Miss Nova. Everyone in the meeting room nodded, signifying their clear comprehension of the designated starting point for their research project. .... [Tactical Pilot Helmet research institute (White)] As soon as the knowledge about VR and AR was uploaded into the Akashic server, a research institute located at the center of the bustling city received the notification informing them that the knowledge they needed had been made available in within the Akashik server and was ready for assimilation. Without a moment''s delay, every individual within the laboratory eagerly assimilated the newly acquired knowledge into their own minds. After successfully completing the assimilation process, they promptly gathered in the meeting room to discuss their subsequent course of action. Chapter 112 Lab Citys Progress (The Universal Tactical Fighter Helmet.) ? [Tactical Pilot Helmet research institute (White)] Within Lab City, there existed a cluster of specialized labs collaborating with each other to develop various products specifically designed for the same domain: The sky. These labs worked in conjunction with different teams responsible for creating diverse flying machines and their respective components. These labs encompassed a wide range of aircraft types and systems, including fighters, attack aircraft, bombers, airlift and tankers, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, helicopters, trainer aircraft, special operations aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), interceptors, air defense systems, strategic missile and space systems, experimental and research aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft, search and rescue platforms, electronic warfare systems, experimental prototypes, cargo and utility aircraft, presidential aircraft, airborne command and control platforms, airborne early warning and control systems, communications and satellites, as well as training and support aircraft. Each lab focused on specific areas to contribute to the comprehensive development of aerial technologies. This particular lab was specifically dedicated to the development of the Tactical Helmet, which would serve as the primary headgear for all future pilots in the air force. Currently, the lab was eagerly awaiting the completion of the AR & VR research lab''s work. Once they concluded their research and uploaded the information to the Akashic server, the team in the Tactical Helmet Lab would be able to access and assimilate that knowledge greatly aiding them in finalizing the design, conducting research tests, and progressing with the manufacturing process of what they referred to as "the Universal Tactical Fighter Helmet." As soon as the knowledge about VR and AR was uploaded into the Akashic server, a research institute located on the outskirts of the city received the notification. Without a moment''s delay, every individual within the laboratory eagerly assimilated the newly acquired knowledge into their own minds. After successfully completing the assimilation process, they promptly gathered in the meeting room to discuss their subsequent course of action. INSIDE THE MEETING ROOM. "Which generation of the technology should we implement?" inquired Luke, the research team leader. His background as a former Lockheed engineer, where he had overseen the design, engineering, and testing of fighter plane helmets for both the F22 and F35, added an extra layer of assurance to his leadership position. Nova had materialized him with all of his fellow workers at the Skunk Works division after Aron completed collecting the brain data of everyone on his list who was working there. "I believe we should utilize the 57th generation," suggested Issa, presenting his reasoning behind the choice. "It offers the best possible option for integration into the fighter jet pilot''s helmet. With its advanced augmented reality (AR) capabilities, we can incorporate AR visuals directly into the helmet. Furthermore, since it establishes a connection with the pilot''s brain, we can eliminate the need for a separate microphone and radio components. The device will seamlessly read the pilot''s brain signals, ensuring clear audio transmission without any additional intervention. Its compact size allows us to incorporate two devices, one as a backup and the other as the primary unit. Additionally, the level of technology involved enables Sir Aron to reproduce it in the real world without encountering any complications, if needed." Issa''s detailed explanation showcased his careful evaluation of the available options, opting for a generation that, despite being less advanced than others, fulfilled the specific requirements for the fighter jet helmet. "I concur with that," Ibrahim affirmed, expressing his agreement with Issa''s proposal. This elicited agreement from the majority, although not all members shared the same viewpoint. Andrew, on the other hand, raised his hand, capturing the attention of everyone in the room. Clearing his throat, he stated, "I recommend we utilize the 76th generation device. It would help us avoid potential issues that arose during the VR research team''s testing of the 57th generation." "I understand your reasoning behind recommending the 76th generation, which incorporates time perception acceleration in augmented reality. However, since it is the initial iteration of this technology and is still in the experimental phase, it is impractical for us to utilize it. It is not consumer-ready and lacks the necessary refinement for our purposes," Issa stated, firmly expressing his opposition to Andrew''s suggestion. "To avoid that, all we have to do is use the 80th-generation time perception acceleration tech and incorporate it into the body of the 76th generation, eliminating any potential issues with the first-generation time perception," Andrew defended his choice against Issa''s opposition. "But wouldn''t doing it that way pose a challenge for Sir Aron to bring this product to fruition given his current circumstances?" Ibrahim questioned, expressing his reservations about Andrew''s suggestion. He seemed unconvinced and raised concerns about the feasibility of producing the device in the real world, considering the limitations faced by Sir Aron. "Isn''t the printing research team currently working on reverse engineering the atomic printers provided by Miss Nova?" Andrew countered, presenting his perspective. "If they succeed in accomplishing this task within the next few months, it won''t matter which generation of the device we choose. Sir Aron will have the capability to recreate any of them in the real world. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the production aspect." He highlighted the potential breakthrough that could arise from the printing research team''s efforts, suggesting that it would render the concerns about producing a specific generation obsolete. "Can we be certain that the atomic printer will be ready within that time frame?" Ibrahim asked, seeking clarification from Andrew after his explanation. He expressed a degree of skepticism regarding the timeline and feasibility of completing the atomic printer. "We are well aware that the research capabilities within the city are an exponential improvement compared to our previous circumstances," Andrew responded confidently. "With access to what could be called inexhaustible research funds and materials, not to mention the novel machines at our disposal, it is unlikely that any research conducted under these conditions would take an extensive amount of time. The resources and support available to us greatly enhance our efficiency and expedites progress." He emphasized the favorable environment within the city, emphasizing that the combination of ample resources and advanced technology would accelerate any research done in these environments. "While I share your confidence in the eventual success of the research, the exact timing of its completion remains uncertain," Ibrahim responded. "Considering this uncertainty, I am inclined to agree with the suggestion of proceeding with the 57th generation. It is a more viable option given the current circumstances, ensuring that we can move forward with our project without relying on the completion of the atomic printer." Ibrahim expressed his preference for a more practical approach, opting for a generation that is readily available and doesn''t depend on external factors. "Furthermore, the limitation of the atomic printer is not the only factor influencing my recommendation to proceed with the 57th generation instead of the 76th generation you proposed," Issa added to complement Ibrahim''s statement. "Starting from the 65th generation onward, the devices incorporate a theoretical battery that is still in the research phase. This, among other considerations, reinforces my preference for the initial choice rather than your suggestion." "I''m highly optimistic that the theoretical battery will be completed within the next month or two," Andrew persisted, reiterating his belief that the battery''s imminent completion would alleviate any concerns regarding his proposed choice leaving behind only the atomic printer as the only concern. He remained determined to convince the team to adopt his suggestion. The back-and-forth discussion continued until Luke, the team leader, intervened. With a firm strike on the table to capture everyone''s attention, he commanded, "Enough arguing." The forceful action silenced the room, compelling everyone to cease their debates and direct their focus towards him. It was evident that Luke had an important statement to make. Seeing that he had captured their undivided attention, Luke began to speak. "Since you are unable to reach a consensus in a normal way, I have made the decision on your behalves. We will proceed with testing and manufacturing the helmets using the 57th generation of Augmented Reality technology and...." However, before Luke could finish his statement, "But sir " Andrew interjected with his opinion, prompting an immediate response from Luke. "I''M NOT DONE SPEAKING," Luke asserted firmly, silencing Andrew and reminding him of the importance of respecting the conversation flow. "Sorry," Andrew quickly apologized, realizing his mistake, as he had only intended to express his desire to research using the 76th generation of AR technology. Acknowledging Andrew''s apology, Luke continued with his decision. "As I previously stated, we will proceed with our research using the 57th generation of technology. However, once we complete this project, we will move up by ten generations at a time, continually advancing our research. This approach ensures that we are always one step ahead, ready with the next generation of technology as Sir Aron''s production capabilities expand. This includes being prepared with the latest technology when the atomic printer becomes available." Luke''s plan aimed to maintain a progressive trajectory while accommodating future advancements in production capabilities. "Understood?" Luke asked, looking at both Ibrahim and Andrew, seeking assurance that they were attentive and on the same page. "Yes, sir," they both replied in agreement, a satisfied tone evident in their voices. It seemed that a resolution had been reached, allowing each of them to have their preferences fulfilled without one compromising the other''s desires. Seeing that they were attentively listening to him, Thomas smiled before he stood up and declared, "The meeting is over." He then headed towards the door, making his way back to the labs where they would commence their research on the Next Generation Tactical Pilot helmet. This advanced helmet would be utilized by the pilots of the next-generation fighter jet, which was currently being researched by various labs, including theirs. Chapter 113 A Day In The Life Of John ? In deep contemplation, John could be seen lounged bare-chested on the hotel room balcony, his gaze fixed upon the sky. As a gentle breeze caressed him, the drapes that concealed the entrance to the hotel room''s balcony fluttered, unveiling two peacefully slumbering beautiful women. Their naked bodies spoke of the shared intimacy they had experienced mere hours agoa tale known only to them and destined to remain a secret held by the confines of the room and the whispers of the bedsheet. Their story, untold to the world, unless disclosed by those who partook in its clandestine embrace. As for the contemplating John, his thoughts wandered towards the events that transpired after his recovery. "What should I do now?" he pondered silently. In the past three weeks, he had indulged in all the activities he had yearned to experience during his injury-induced confinement, leaving no stone unturned. ... Three weeks ago A day after Aron healed him, he wasted no time and headed straight to a bar, craving a momentary escape. Upon his arrival, he confidently placed an order for his beloved drink and settled in, waiting for its arrival. As the waiter gracefully presented him with his drink, he found himself captivated by her beauty. In a moment of impulsiveness, he hastily grasped the beer glass with his hand, eager to quench his thirst without delay. "CRACK!" The glass shattered and splintered as a consequence of his inadvertently exerted, newfound strength, amplified after his recovery. "Wow," they both exclaimed in genuine surprise and astonishment, their voices intertwining. "This is the first time I''ve witnessed someone shatter a glass just by holding it," the waitress remarked, her awe evident as she expressed her amazement towards him. "Seems like the glass had a pre-existing crack, and my slightly firmer grip must have been the trigger for its breakage," John said, attempting to shift the focus away from his augmented strength and attributing the incident to an alternate cause. "I really don''t think so" the waitress responded, her tone reflecting deep contemplation as she pondered the glass''s condition before its demise. "Do you genuinely believe I appear strong enough to shatter a glass with just one hand?" John inquired, employing a touch of logic in an attempt to reason with her. "Now that you put it that way, it does indeed seem highly implausible," the waitress replied, placing a finger on her lips. She was fascinated by what she saw from the glimpse of his well-toned physique when he asked her to look at his body to see if he has a body with the strength to break a glass with one hand. "I''m John, John Watcher, by the way," John introduced himself with a friendly smile, utilizing the new name bestowed upon him by Aron. He extended his hand, offering a handshake as a gesture of goodwill. Although his first name remained unchanged for the sake of familiarity, his middle and last names had been altered. "I''m Aurora, Aurora Nolan," she reciprocated, introducing herself with a warm smile as she firmly shook his extended hand. "Nice to meet you," she said, her enchanting smile revealing a set of immaculate, pearly-white teeth. John couldn''t help but be captivated by her beauty, momentarily transfixed by her radiant charm. "Nice to meet you too. Could I perhaps have a fresh drink? Judging by the state of the previous one, it doesn''t seem easy to consume," John remarked with a touch of sarcasm, eliciting a hearty laugh from Aurora. "Yes, sir, I was actually about to bring you a fresh one, but it appears you''ll need to visit the restroom," she pointed out, gesturing towards his trousers now dampened by the drink that had spilled onto him after he shattered the glass. "Ah, yes, where can I find the restroom?" John inquired, accompanied by a light chuckle. The realization dawned upon him that he had become so enthralled by Aurora''s beauty when she initially served the drink that he had momentarily forgotten about his damp trousers resulting from the spilled beer. "It''s over there," Aurora replied, gracefully pointing in the direction of the restroom, indicating where John could find it. "Thank you," John expressed his gratitude, before rising from his seat and making his way towards the restroom to attend to his damp trousers. "You''re welcome," Aurora replied, her gaze lingering on the sculpted back of John''s physique before she turned away to retrieve his fresh drink. Upon his return from the restroom, John discovered that Aurora had already placed his drink on the table, carefully covering it with a cup lid. She had also diligently wiped away any traces of the spilled beer, ensuring a clean and tidy surface before she returned to continue doing her job. Taking his seat once again, John indulged in his drink, relishing each sip as if it had been an eternity since he last savored its taste. With every sip, he immersed himself in the flavors, savoring the beverage until he eventually reached the bottom of the glass. Upon finishing his drink, John called for a waiter, and a different member of the staff, not Aurora, responded to his call and came over to attend to him. Slightly disappointed, he proceeded to order another glass of the same drink he had been enjoying. Having consumed over ten glasses of the drink without feeling the slightest hint of intoxication, he mused to himself, "I''m not sure what Sir Aron did to me, but I must say, I''m thoroughly enjoying this new body of mine." Sensing that he was impervious to intoxication, save for the persistent urge to relieve himself, he made the decision to leverage his rejuvenated appearance and youthful physique. Determined to revel in the pleasures he had been deprived of in the past, he resolved to visit a nightclub and indulge in an evening of entertainment and enjoyment that had long been inaccessible to him. He rose from his seat and made his way towards the bar counter to settle his bill for the drinks he had consumed, eager to conclude his time at the establishment and embark on his journey to the nightclub. "Weren''t you serving just moments ago?" he asked, surprised to find Aurora stationed at the POS machine, processing payments. "My friend who was supposed to be here went to the washroom, so I''m filling in for her until she returns," Aurora explained, maintaining her professional demeanor as she continued to handle the transactions. "Ooh, alright then, how much do I owe?" John inquired, wanting to know the amount he needed to settle for his drinks. "Let me check," Aurora replied, inputting the table number John had occupied to access the total amount due for his tab. "That will be $74," Aurora stated, having glanced at the POS machine. "How would you like to make the payment?" she inquired, ready to assist John with his chosen method of payment. "Card," he replied, reaching into his wallet and retrieving a card to complete the payment transaction. "Tip?" she inquired, politely asking if he would like to add a gratuity to the transaction. "35%," he replied "Please swipe here," Aurora requested, having already factored in the 35% tip, ensuring it was included in the transaction. "Shouldn''t you be a bit more intoxicated? The machine shows ten glasses ordered at your table, yet you seem perfectly fine. Did you happen to spill the other nine glasses as well?" Aurora asked jokingly. Smiling, he responded, "I actually consumed all of them. I consider myself quite the heavy drinker," subtly boasting about his capacity for alcohol. "Wow," Aurora remarked flirtatiously, a playful glimmer in her eyes. Swiftly recovering her composure, she said, "Here is your receipt."as she handed him the receipts. "When will you be finished here?" he asked, taking a leap of faith, hoping to extend their interaction beyond the confines of the establishment. "In about thirty minutes, why?" Aurora replied, her smile growing as she entertained the question. "Once you''re finished, are you free? I''d like to invite you to join me in embracing the night," John proposed, his interest evident as he eagerly awaited her response. "Unfortunately, I won''t be available as I have plans to spend time with a friend," Aurora responded, her tone apologetic yet firm. "That''s unfortunate," John said with a hint of disappointment, and then he began to make his way towards the exit, accepting the reality of the situation. "But you could join us if she agrees," she interjected as she noticed him preparing to leave, offering him an alternative possibility if her friend was amenable to the idea. "That works too," he replied, his disappointment fading as he considered the alternative possibility presented by Aurora. "Sure, can I have your phone number so I can reach out to you if she agrees?" she inquired, her eyes shining with anticipation upon witnessing his positive response. "My number is..." John began, providing Aurora with his contact information for her to reach out to him. Aurora quickly typed John''s number, saving it in her phone. Without hesitation, she dialed the number and promptly ended the call as soon as it connected. With a playful smile, she revealed, "That''s my number." "See you later, then," John bid her farewell with a nod and a smile, before promptly departing from the bar, heading towards the nightclub to embrace the night and enjoy the moments of his life. Chapter 114 A Night In The Life Of John Pt_01 ? [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT] 2 AM that night. John and Aurora could be seen entering a hotel room, their bodies entwined with an undeniable allure. His hands firmly held her waist, while hers explored his physique with tantalizing touch. The air crackled with an intense heat, as anticipation and desire hung thick in the atmosphere. Although they had not yet embarked on further intimacy, their intentions seemed poised on the precipice of passion, tempting them to give in to their impulses right there in the hallway, had the room been just a bit further away. Having left the nightclub behind, they found themselves in the hotel room after Aurora''s friend had canceled their plans due to an unexpected emergency. After indulging in a few drinks and exchanging playful banter for about an hour, their desires became insurmountable, leading them to conclude that Aurora''s house was too far and John''s place was not suitable for their rendezvous. They made the mutual decision to seek refuge in a nearby hotel instead. Inside the hotel room. As soon as the hotel room door swung open, they were consumed by an insatiable hunger for one another. Their lips met in a fiery kiss, their bodies pressed together, and their hands explored the contours of each other''s bodies. Closing the door with a swift kick, they indulged in their newfound intimacy, every touch ignited a wave of pleasure, fueling their desires and intensifying the connection between them. In that moment, the world outside ceased to exist, and all that mattered was the electrifying passion that enveloped them in a sensual embrace. John passionately lifted Aurora by her waist, bringing her closer to him as he kissed her. John skillfully maneuvered, carrying her in his arms towards the bed. . Upon reaching the bed, John gently laid Aurora on the bed, his body hovering over hers. Their eyes locked, brimming with anticipation, as he claimed her lips in a deep, fervent kiss once again. As their lips molded together, he delicately took hold of her hands, intertwining their fingers, and guided them to rest above her head. When her hands reached where he wanted them, he moved his hands under her blouse to gain access to her breasts that were still being held by her bra. He gently slid his hands that were nestled inside her blouse, delicately undoing the clasps of her bra, yearning to set her free and revel in the intimacy they both sought. As he fondled her breasts and savored the delightful curves of her now liberated breasts, "Aaah," Aurora couldn''t contain her pleasure, and soft moans escaped her lips during the brief pause they took amidst their passionate kisses. The absence of the bra allowed for a more direct and intimate connection, intensifying the pleasurable sensations coursing through her body. She surrendered herself to the pleasure, relishing in the passionate touch that awakened her senses. He continued to lovingly fondle her breasts, his touch alternating between gentle caresses and teasing pinches. Each time his fingers playfully squeezed her sensitive flesh, Aurora''s pleasure intensified, her moans growing in both volume and pitch. The delightful mixture of sensations ignited a fiery desire within her. Empowered by the intoxicating pleasure radiating from Aurora''s being, John''s desire to explore every inch of her body intensified. Understanding John''s intentions, Aurora eagerly raised her hands, granting him unobstructed access to remove the brazier with ease. The unspoken understanding between them heightened the intimacy of the moment, as their desires harmoniously converged. With a subtle gesture, Aurora conveyed her willingness, inviting John to explore her bared form And there they were, her breasts liberated from the constraints of the brazier, bouncing with a playful rhythm. "Boing" "Boing" they moved, swaying in a mesmerizing dance, as if trying to return to a state of tranquility after being stirred by John''s swift removal of the garment. The gentle motion accentuated their natural allure, captivating both John and Aurora in a moment of mesmerizing beauty and intimate connection. John''s eyes were momentarily captivated by the breathtaking beauty that had been concealed beneath the brazier. However, his admiration quickly transformed into a passionate desire to savor the exquisite pleasure before him. With an eager movement, he leaned in and sensually took one of her breasts into his mouth, his lips and tongue exploring every contour. Simultaneously, his free hand continued to lovingly fondle and caress the other, heightening Aurora''s pleasure and deepening their intimate connection. "Oooh yes, that''s good," Aurora moaned with pleasure, her voice a testament to the bliss that consumed her. As John''s mouth skillfully pleasured her, she couldn''t help but hold his head tenderly, her fingers gently caressing his hair, lost in the depths of her ecstasy. John, who had been savoring the exquisite sensation of pleasuring her breasts, gradually shifted his attention downward. With a deliberate descent, his lips and tongue traversed her soft skin until they reached her belly button. The trail of his affectionate kisses left a tantalizing path, igniting a sense of anticipation for the pleasures yet to come. With a tender kiss bestowed upon her belly button, John indulged in the sweet exploration of her body. But his desire for her extended beyond a single spot, as he eagerly returned to lavishing her with passionate kisses along her neck. Their longing lips collided once more, rekindling the fiery connection they shared. As their fervor intensified, his hands instinctively sought to further the exploration, deftly unzipping her trousers and guiding them down. Aurora wasted no time in removing her trousers, eagerly assisted by John. With a seamless and synchronized effort, they swiftly discarded the garment, allowing her body to be exposed and ready for the pleasures that awaited them. As he was kissing her, John''s other hand delicately caressed Aurora''s moistened honey nectar. With a purposeful motion, he gently inserted a single finger, pressing it inside her, eliciting a passionate moan from Aurora. The sensitive nerves within the walls of her vagina eagerly responded, transmitting waves of pleasure to her brain. Overwhelmed by a wave of irresistible desire, Aurora''s hunger for pleasure surged within her. In a display of passion, she pushed John onto the bed, causing his finger to slip out of her, which in turn evoked another moan of pleasure from her lips. In a swift motion, she positioned herself on top of him, driven by a primal instinct to dominate and indulge in their shared desire. With a forceful and determined movement, she removed his shirt, unveiling his bare chest. Aurora swiftly moved her attention downwards. With the assistance of John, she deftly opened the zipper of his trousers and removed them with a sense of urgency. With the removal of John''s trousers, his erect member stood proudly before them, akin to a sword freed from its sheath. Captivated by the impressive size of John''s manhood, Aurora''s hands delicately wrapped around it, marveling at its girth and length. With a mixture of curiosity and desire, she began to explore its contours, feeling its firmness and the pulsating heat that emanated from it. The sheer size of his member allowed her to caress it with both hands, feeling the weight and power it possessed. As her touch conveyed both tenderness and excitement, a sense of anticipation filled the air. Aurora utilized the natural lubrication of John''s precum to stroke his cock. With a confident and eager motion, she positioned her head and took his throbbing member into her mouth, focusing her attention on pleasuring the sensitive head. "AAhh"Her skilled tongue and suction elicited primal moans of pleasure from John. As Aurora continued to pleasure John with her mouth, the saliva naturally flowed between her hands on his cock, creating an additional layer of lubrication. The slickness enhanced her movements, allowing her hands to glide effortlessly along the length of John''s throbbing cock. With each stroke, the sensations of warmth, wetness, and pressure heightened the pleasure for John. After dedicating a few minutes to focusing on the head of his cock, Aurora released one of her hands from its back and forth rotating motion. With a swift movement, she transitioned her mouth to encompass the area that her hand had previously attended to, leaving behind just one hand to continue the tantalizing strokes along his length. Aurora''s head bobbed rhythmically up and down, demonstrating her expertise in pleasuring John''s cock. With each skillful movement, she engulfed him with her warm, wet mouth, creating an intense sensation that sent waves of pleasure coursing through his body. John''s moans of ecstasy filled the air, a testament to the overwhelming pleasure he experienced from her exceptional oral skills. The intensity of her oral prowess brought him immense satisfaction, especially after a prolonged period of abstinence, heightening the pleasure and building towards an explosive climax. Aurora, fueled by her insatiable desire for pleasure, decided to challenge herself further. With a determined mindset, she released her grip on the remaining hand that was stroking John''s cock. In a bold move, she took a deep breath and expertly maneuvered her mouth to accommodate the entire length of his impressive 9-inch cock. As she deepthroated him, her neck bulged slightly from the invigorating stretch, momentarily obstructing her breath. The sensation of being filled completely, coupled with the slight deprivation of air, intensified her arousal, causing her honey nectar to flow even more abundantly. Overwhelmed by the intensity of the experience, Aurora held the deepthroating position for an extended period, reveling in the euphoria of the suffocating ecstasy. However, as the seconds ticked by, the lack of oxygen began to take its toll, pushing her to the brink of losing consciousness. With a gasp for air, she reluctantly withdrew her mouth from John''s cock, needing a moment to catch her breath and replenish her oxygen supply. Sensing the need for a brief respite, John seized the opportunity to catch his breath. The heightened arousal and the prolonged pleasurable experience had brought him to the brink of orgasm within mere minutes. Seizing the moment, John''s hands firmly gripped Aurora''s cheeks as he pulled her up onto his face, indulging in a passionate and deep kiss. Their tongues intertwined, exploring each other''s mouths with a fervent hunger. As the kiss intensified, he gently pushed her off from on top of him, transitioning their positions. Now, it was John who took the dominant role, moving on top of her, his body pressing against hers Chapter 115 A Night In The Life Of John Pt_02 ? [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT] Seizing the moment, John''s hands firmly gripped Aurora''s cheeks as he pulled her up onto his face, indulging in a passionate and deep kiss. Their tongues intertwined, exploring each other''s mouths with a fervent hunger. As the kiss intensified, he gently pushed her off from on top of him, transitioning their positions. Now, it was John who took the dominant role, moving on top of her, his body pressing against hers With a fervent desire, John''s lips trailed a path of fiery kisses from her mouth to her neck, further down to her enticing breasts, and teasingly explored her sensitive belly button. As his hands gripped her hips, an uncontrollable wave of lust overcame him, clouding his judgment. In his haste and overwhelming desire, he unintentionally applied too much force, resulting in the ripping of her underwear. The fabric gave way, exposing Aurora''s glistening, bare, and cleanly shaven pussy, drenched in the intoxicating essence of her arousal. Without a moment''s hesitation, John positioned his head between her thighs, his mouth eagerly exploring the delicate folds of her pussy. He indulged in the intoxicating taste and scent, skillfully using his tongue and lips to pleasure her. Aurora''s body responded instinctively, writhing in pleasure as waves of ecstasy washed over her, unable to resist the intense sensations John was evoking. With his mouth still firmly latched onto her pulsating clit, John''s hand skillfully explored the depths of her wetness, his fingers plunging into her eagerly. He synchronized his movements, alternating between the rhythmic thrusts of his fingers and the passionate flicks of his tongue, driving Aurora wild with pleasure. The combination of his oral and manual stimulation heightened her arousal, causing her moans of delight to fill the room Aurora''s moans grew louder and more intense as John''s finger penetrated deeper into her, hitting all the right spots. The sensations coursing through her body were overwhelming, as pleasure radiated from her core. She couldn''t help but arch her back, pushing herself further onto his hand, craving more of the electrifying pleasure that was building within her Aurora''s voice was filled with desire and urgency as she said "I can''t hold it anymore, I want it inside, put it in me." Her words resonated with a deep longing for him to satisfy her burning desires. With her hands firmly gripping his head, she made her intentions clear - she craved the feeling of him inside her, filling her with ecstasy and bringing them both to the peak of pleasure. John, understanding Aurora''s impatience and longing, positioned himself between her legs and guided his erect member towards her slick entrance. He held his throbbing shaft in his hand, teasingly tapping it against her wet folds, eliciting moans of anticipation from her. However, the intense gaze she gave him made it clear that she was ready for him to stop teasing and to penetrate her without further delay. Without wasting any more time, John aligned his pulsating member with Aurora''s eagerly awaiting entrance. With a surge of desire, he pressed forward, feeling her warm and inviting depths envelop him. Time seemed to stand still for a moment as their bodies connected in a passionate union. A gasp escaped Aurora''s lips, mingling with a low groan from John as the whole 9-inch cock entered her wet pussy. Aurora''s body quivered with pleasure as John''s entry sent waves of ecstasy coursing through her. "AUghhhhhh" Her moan echoed in the room, a symphony of pleasure and satisfaction. The intense sensation of being stretched and filled after a prolonged anticipation overwhelmed her, leading to an immediate orgasm that washed over her like a tidal wave. She clung tightly to John, her nails digging into his back as her orgasm cascaded through her body, leaving her gasping for breath and trembling with satisfaction. Aurora''s body quivered and trembled with the aftershocks of her intense orgasm, but her desire burned brightly within her. Locking eyes with John, "Don''t stop" she pleaded for him not to stop, her voice filled with a desperate longing. The words hung in the air, urging him to continue the passionate dance they had embarked upon. Without hesitation, John resumed his rhythmic movements, driven by the shared desire and the primal connection between them. "PA" "PA" "PA" "PA" "PA" John unleashed his newfound strength, his thrusts becoming more powerful and assertive. The sound of their bodies colliding echoed through the room, a symphony of pleasure and desire. Each thrust sent waves of sensation coursing through Aurora''s body, intensifying the pleasure that surged within her. With every "PA" of their bodies meeting, their connection deepened, fueled by raw passion and an insatiable hunger for each other. As their bodies moved in perfect harmony, John''s chest pressed against Aurora''s sensitive nipples, igniting sparks of pleasure with each passionate thrust. The friction between them sent waves of ecstasy coursing through her, intensifying her already heightened state of arousal. Their lips locked in a passionate and aggressive kiss, their tongues intertwining in a dance of desire. Aurora''s moans mingled with their shared breath, a symphony of pleasure and longing. This continued for more than fifteen minutes before with a swift movement, John changed their position, guiding Aurora onto her stomach and placing her in a doggy position. The anticipation in the air grew as they both understood the next course of action. Aurora arched her back, presenting herself to him, eagerly granting him access to her glistening nectar once again. The air was thick with desire as John positioned himself behind her, ready to delve into her depths with renewed passion. John, not wasting any more time, immediately plunged the 9-incher back inside Aurora''s welcoming warmth, resuming his rhythmic movements with fervor. The room filled with the sounds of their moans and the rhythmic slapping of their bodies colliding once again. "PA" "PA" "PA" "PA" "PA" "Aaaaaah" "Aaaaaah" "Aaaaaah" "Aaaaah" "Aaaaah" "Aaaaaah" "Aaaaaah" Aurora''s pleasure soared to new heights as John relentlessly continued his passionate assault on her quivering body. Every sensation became amplified, and their connection deepened with every passing moment. John''s newfound stamina did not disappoint him as he successfully held back his release for over forty-five minutes. With a deep grunt, he signaled to Aurora that he was on the brink of climax. But Aurora, still enveloped in the blissful afterglow, expressed her desire with a breathy voice, "Release it inside me, I want to feel it deep within." "AUGHHHHH" John''s primal instincts took over as he unleashed a guttural grunt, his body convulsing with pleasure, as he poured every last drop of his essence deep inside her. The raw intensity of the moment filled the air, leaving them both breathless and satisfied. "Aaaaaaaah Ahhhhhhhh," Aurora moaned, her voice filled with pleasure as she felt John''s hot fluid surging inside her, coating the walls of her pulsating vagina. The sensation sent waves of ecstasy coursing through her body, intensifying the connection between them in that blissful moment of release. "Pfrgh" Aurora''s pussy, now sensitive and well-used, emitted a slight sound as John''s cock slid out, leaving a trail of their shared intimacy. John was taken aback by the fact that his erection remained firm and his energy levels remained high even in the moments of post-sex clarity. He couldn''t help but marvel at his body''s new resilience and the absence of fatigue that usually followed such intense physical activity. "Thank you, Sir Aron," he thought to himself as he rose from the bed. He then reached out and pulled the naked Aurora towards him, positioning her leg on his shoulder and the other between his kneeling legs. Without wasting any more time he immediately inserted his cock inside her pussy once more eliciting a deep moan from her who was still relishing on the gloom from the previous session. The lights continued to shine brightly, illuminating the room, while the passionate moaning persisted until the break of dawn. ..... Due to Aurora''s exhaustion and inability to keep up with John''s immense sexual stamina in the following days, she decided to invite her friend, who had canceled their previous meeting, to share the load and enjoy the experience together. .... As he continued contemplating at the balcony, he turned around to see Aurora and her friend Lucy peacefully sleeping. A mix of thoughts and questions filled his mind, and he couldn''t help but vocalize them to himself. "Now that only a week remains in the break given to me by Sir Aron, how will our relationship continue?" he pondered aloud. "Will Sir Aron allow me to continue having this connection if I ask for his permission?" The questions swirled in his thoughts, leaving him both curious and uncertain about what lay ahead. Although he cherished the relationship he shared with Aurora and Lucy, he was prepared to sever all ties if Sir Aron commanded him to do so without hesitation or second thoughts. His loyalty and devotion to Sir Aron were unwavering, and he was willing to sacrifice his own desires for the sake of following his orders. The depth of his commitment to Sir Aron knew no bounds, and he would prioritize his master''s wishes above all else, even if it meant letting go of the connections he held dear. His contemplation was interrupted by a notification on his phone, emitting a distinct "ding" sound. He picked up his phone to see what the message was about, and to his surprise, it was from Sir Aron. Without wasting any time, he eagerly opened the message and was taken aback by its contents. It simply read, "Yes, you can." This indicated that Sir Aron was aware of everything that had been going on. Chapter 116 Brain Data Collection Complete ? 2 months later [Congratulations, sir, for finally completing the collection of brain data from everyone on the list,] Nova congratulated Aron as he collected the brain data of the last person on his list. "Huuuuuuu, finally," Aron said as he let out a sigh of relief while removing the virtual headgear from the woman. "That took two weeks longer than planned," Aron said as he made his way to the front door, preparing to leave the house and begin his drive back to his home state. He was in the state nearest to his, and now it was time to conclude his journey and return home. "Have the forces completed their vacations?" Aron asked as he started his car and embarked on his drive back to his home state. [345 of them have already arrived at the hotel you rented, and as for the remaining 30, they will arrive within the next two weeks,] Nova reported back to Aron. "Good. For now, they should mingle with each other and get to know one another. In two weeks, when everyone has arrived, I will personally visit them and officially begin the organization''s operations," Aron said. [Are you planning to immediately send them to Eden?] Nova asked. "No, as that may attract the attention of Adolf and other intelligence organizations. We will send the first batch of 20 people to purchase an island and initiate the construction of a temporary base. Another group will be dispatched to various arms dealers to procure the necessary equipment for everyone. The remaining individuals will be sent in batches of ten every other week to join those in Eden and commence their refreshment training with the equipment that will be smuggled in from around the world," Aron outlined his plan. [There is that. Also, only two and a half months are left until the Morgans make their move and attack the Rothschilds.] Nova reminded Aron. "I''m aware. Has Ava sent Rina''s investment account details and has the loan been deposited?" he inquired, eager to confirm if Rina had completed her preparations. [Yes, she sent it to me at the end of last month, and I have already started making the necessary preparations for Rina using the funds in her investment account,] Nova replied. "How much was in the account?" [There was a total of seven billion dollars in the account, sir,] Nova reported the amount. "If I recall correctly, she initially requested around five billion dollars. What caused the increase to seven billion," he asked, expressing his astonishment at the raised amount. [Her brother informed the banks that she intended to request loans with the condition that if she defaulted, he would purchase the loan from them without any loss to the banks. Recognizing that they would not be at risk of losing money, they allowed her to increase the loan amount,] Nova explained, shedding light on the reason behind the increased loan amount. "Indeed, it appears that he is hoping for her failure in whatever she plans to use the loan for, enabling him to acquire and wield it as a weapon against her," Aron remarked, understanding Arieh''s motive for promising the banks to purchase her defaulted loan. [Yes, sir,] Nova replied, nodding in agreement with his assumption, indicating that he was correct. "How much of our funds are being allocated to this plan?" Aron asked, wanting to compare the proportion of his own money that would be utilized in the plan. [Sir, a total of 15 billion dollars is being allocated for this plan,] Nova immediately reported, providing the requested amount without any delay. "What? When did I have that much money?" Aron asked in surprise, as he was certain that the dividend he had received was nowhere near that amount. [Sir, you gave me permission to invest the money as I saw fit, and I did so during that period. I managed to generate substantial earnings, which accounted for the remainder of the money,] Nova explained, shedding light on the source of the additional funds. "Where did you invest such a large amount of money to yield such a high return in such a short period?" Aron asked, curious to learn about Nova''s investing strategy that had resulted in such impressive gains. [At the beginning, since I had access to all publicly available data, I utilized it to create a comprehensive profile of information crucial for accurate investment decisions. This included analyzing press releases, monitoring rumors, tracking social media posts, gathering leaked information, and much more. With this data, I could predict certain events with a notable level of certainty. For instance, I anticipated when the U.S. Federal Reserve planned to initiate the tapering of its bond-buying program, enabling me to prepare and profit accordingly. I also positioned myself based on expectations of positive or negative reports from specific companies, allowing me to capitalize on the outcomes. Economic indicators released by various countries further provided opportunities to profit from market reactions. However, the most profitable aspect was leveraging geopolitical events. Heightened tensions in Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East, and other geopolitical uncertainties allowed me to prepare in advance and extract maximum benefits. Sometimes, I even instigated certain rumors to expedite events and capitalize on them sooner than expected. There are many more strategies, but explaining them all concisely is challenging. However, when you transferred me to the Quantum computer, everything changed. I no longer needed to predict and prepare in advance, as I could instantly react to market conditions, yielding even greater profits than before. Currently, my performance is limited by the internet speed between my location and the trading servers. If it were doubled, I estimate I could have earned an additional two hundred and fifty-five million dollars.] Nova elaborated on her investment approach to Aron, detailing how she generated substantial returns within a short timeframe. "Holy mother," Aron couldn''t help but exclaim in amazement as he realized the magnitude of the impact caused by his simple decision to allow Nova to invest his money, aiming to prevent it from losing value due to inflation. The realization struck him that this choice had created a certain ripple in the world economy. "Has anyone discovered your activities? Such substantial movements are bound to attract attention," Aron asked, curious to know if Nova''s remarkable work had been uncovered by anyone. [I utilize over a hundred different investment accounts from various anonymous investment firms to mitigate the risk of detection,] Nova explained. [When one account undergoes significant transactions, I close it, withdraw the funds, and transfer them to new accounts. This method helps me avoid leaving a conspicuous trail and minimizes the chances of attracting excessive attention from other investors.] "Wow, you truly have thought of everything. Well done," Aron couldn''t help but express his pride in her accomplishments. [Thank you, sir,] Nova replied, showing her genuine happiness and gratitude for Aron''s recognition of her hard work. "So, how much money did you accumulate as a result of these significant movements?" he asked, eager to learn the total amount Nova had earned through her investments. [Since you granted me permission to utilize the full amount of money in your account for investing, I have earned a total of 8,834,423,876 dollars in the last six months,] Nova accurately reported. "Wow," he only managed to utter these words, the remainder being swallowed by sheer astonishment. "Looks like Buffett has got himself some competition," Aron joked, once he had collected himself from the surprise. [HAHA] Nova chuckled in response to Aron''s comment. After laughing for a short period of time , he asked"Why are we only utilizing 15 billion for the preparations regarding the Morgans'' movements?" seeking clarification. [The remaining 3,834,423,876 dollars are allocated for various purposes,] Nova explained. [They are intended to strengthen our forces, provide ongoing support for revolutionary movements, address family needs, serve as emergency funds in case unforeseen circumstances arise, and account for potential complications or setbacks in our plan against the Morgans. As you once mentioned, humans can be unpredictable, and it is wise to prepare for the worst-case scenario.] "Looks like you''ve been listening to my words," Aron joked, feeling a sense of pride that his casual words of wisdom had influenced Nova to incorporate certain adjustments into her planning. [I always am,] Nova replied softly "Have the selected individuals already joined Alexander''s group?" Aron asked, shifting the conversation to the current happenings in Eden. [Nearly all of them have already joined, and based on the plan we provided, Alexander has decentralized the leadership of his group across different cities,] Nova reported the current state of affairs in Eden. [This distribution of leadership provides a level of semi-autonomy to individuals in various cities, increasing control and reducing the risk of discovery by avoiding concentrated leadership in one location. By maintaining control over the leaders in different cities, he can effectively streamline control within his group.] "Good. Keep monitoring his activities closely and notify me of any significant developments," he instructed upon hearing the update on the situation. [Yes, sir] Nova answered back. Chapter 117 Back Home ? 5 hours later. After five hours of non-stop driving, he finally arrived at his home. "Good afternoon," he greeted Donald, the head of his security detail who was on duty at the house that day, as he stepped out of the car. "Good afternoon, Sir Aron. Welcome back," Donald greeted with a smile on his face, expressing his warm welcome to Aron. "Did any issues arise while we were away?" he asked. "No, sir. Thankfully, nothing of that sort occurred," Donald reported back, reassuring Aron that there were no notable issues during his absence. "Okay then, have a good day," Aron said, bidding farewell to Donald as he entered the house for the first time in two months. After stowing his belongings in the basement, he made his way to the bathroom, where he refreshed himself with a thorough wash. Following that, he prepared a delicious omelet, sat down to enjoy his meal, and then retired to his room for some much-needed rest. It would be the first time in a very long while that he could sleep peacefully, free from the burdens and pressures of his recent endeavors. ... Eden. "How many new members did our group gain this month?" Alexander asked his assistant about the number of new members in his groups. "We have gained over fifty thousand new members, sir. If this trend continues, we can expect to have more than half a million members in the next few months," his assistant replied, brimming with excitement in his voice. "It is surprising that we haven''t caught Adolf''s attention yet," Alexander remarked, placing his hand on his chin as he contemplated the matter. "The program you provided us with seems remarkably effective in erasing any traces if a member is suspected of being a traitor. Where did you commission such a program?" his assistant asked curiously. "I commissioned it during my visit to America for the leaders'' meeting a few months ago," Alexander replied, though his response lacked definitive details. "But sir, why are we not planning any large demonstrations even after gaining such a substantial number of new members? Holding such events could elevate our standing in the eyes of other revolutionary groups," his assistant asked, expressing his curiosity about the absence of efforts to elevate their group''s position. "Not at the moment. We need to further increase our numbers so that when we do plan something, it will be on a grand scale that cannot be ignored," Alexander replied, sharing his reason with his assistant. However, he concealed the fact that when the demonstration would eventually take place, it would mark both the first and last gathering of their group, as on that day, there would be no dictator left to protest against, as the dictator would either be imprisoned or deceased. "Another reason is that with the significant influx of new members, our funds are depleting rapidly. Therefore, I am currently exploring ways to secure additional funding to support a large-scale protest," he added, emphasizing the need to address their financial constraints before organizing such an event. "Yes, sir," his assistant nodded, bidding him farewell before returning to his office to resume his work. When Alexander found himself alone, he retrieved his phone and dialed Aron''s phone number. [Hello] A female voice was heard on the other side of the phone. "Hello," Alexander greeted, recognizing the female voice on the other end of the line belonging to someone he had spoken to on several occasions in the past months. "May I speak with Sir Aron, please?" Alexander asked respectfully, no pride or superiority could be felt in his tone at all. [That would be difficult as he is currently resting. However, you can share with me what you would have asked him, and I will make sure to forward your message to him,] Nova responded on Aron''s behalf. "Alright then, what I actually wanted to discuss with him is the possibility of obtaining additional financial support. Considering the large influx of new members we have experienced." Alexander explained his intention to ask Aron for more funding. [Sure, consider it taken care of,] Nova promptly responded without any hesitation. "Thanks," he expressed his gratitude, but in his mind, he couldn''t help but think, ''That was too easy. She didn''t even ask about the approximate amount we might need, the number of new members, or what we were planning to use the money for.'' [Is there anything else?] Nova asked, inquiring if there were any additional requests or matters to address. "Could you please provide me with more information about the timing and execution strategy of the plan?" Alexander inquired. He expressed his desire to acquire additional details in order to incorporate them into his future planning, as he had been given only a few key points and lacked a comprehensive understanding of the entire plan. [The plan will be sent to your computers by evening or even tonight. I recommend that you read it together with all the city leaders under your command, as they need to be informed and involved in order to make their strategic moves accordingly,] Nova explained to Alexander. "Yes, miss. Then I wish you a good day," Alexander bid her farewell and waited for the person on the other side to end the call as a sign of respect, acknowledging the power dynamics at play. [Have a good day,] Nova bid him farewell and ended the call. Alexander returned to continue his work, but within five minutes, he heard a notification sound from his computer. Without wasting any time, he opened the notification and was surprised to see that it was a bank transfer confirmation. "Some people are way too rich," he murmured in awe as he observed the substantial sum of 55 million dollars that had been transferred into his account from multiple sources, strategically done to bypass any security measures. When he had made the request for funding and received immediate approval without any questions asked, Alexander had anticipated a modest amount, perhaps no more than one million dollars, which would have sufficed to support their operations until the crucial day of the uprising. However, the unexpected transfer of 55 million dollars signaled something far greater. It became evident that this substantial sum encompassed not only their immediate needs but also the budget allocated for the entire uprising itself. The realization left Alexander both amazed and daunted by the scale of resources now at their disposal. However, Alexander couldn''t help but feel that the allocated amount of 55 million dollars was an overkill. Based on his own simplistic calculations, he believed that they would require no more than ten million to achieve their objectives. This left him curious and intrigued about the intended use of the remaining funds. Knowing Aron''s meticulous nature, he understood that every cent had been carefully allocated with a specific purpose in mind. As he contemplated the possibilities, Alexander couldn''t help but wonder what grand plans lay ahead, waiting to be executed with the remaining budget. "Seems like the spending plan will be sent alongside the main plan in the evening," Alexander mused to himself, realizing that he would have to wait for the official documentation before making any assumptions or guesses. With that in mind, he decided to shift his focus away from speculation and patiently await the comprehensive plan and spending details that would be provided later in the day. ... After a few hours of rest, Aron woke up feeling refreshed. He proceeded to freshen up by washing himself, and then enjoyed a light meal to energize himself. With his mind clear and ready for action, he headed straight to the basement to continue his work. "Login," Aron commanded as he laid down on his makeshift bed and put on the helmet [Welcome, sir,] Nova greeted him as he passed through the gate, entering the universal simulation. "Thanks. Did anything happen while I was sleeping?" he asked, curious if there were any significant events during his rest. [Yes, sir. Alexander called, requesting funds to support his group and expressing his desire to review the unredacted plan for the revolution. He wants to start planning ahead of time and avoid any counterproductive actions due to a lack of knowledge about our complete plan,] Nova reported. "What did you do?" Aron asked about Nova''s actions. Nova replied, [For the funding problem, I sent him fifty-five million dollars. As for the unredacted plan, I informed him that it would be sent to him by night.] "Good," Aron responded. "Send him the report since we have already vetted everyone within the leadership and removed any individuals who pose a risk of betrayal. There is nothing to worry about." [Yes, I have just forwarded the plan to him. All the leaders have already gathered in an office, and for those unable to attend physically, they are participating via a conference call in an isolated room,] Nova reported, providing information based on what she saw from the cameras and heard from the microphones of the attending members'' devices. "Now, let''s take a look at their reactions," Aron said as he settled into the chair that Nova had prepared for him. [Yes, sir,] Nova agreed. She created a large projection in front of Aron and then established a time bubble around them, synchronizing the time within the bubble to match real-world time. This was necessary because watching the video within the accelerated universal simulation would have resulted in significant lag. As time in the simulation was five times faster than real-world time, watching a one-minute video would have required them to wait five minutes in the simulation. By aligning the time within the bubble with real-world time, they could watch the video without any delays or time discrepancies. Chapter 118 Reading The Report ? [ Title: Operation Hell - Heaven''s Uprising. Confidential Report Introduction: This report outlines a conclusive plan for the overthrow of the government of Eden, to be executed during the Founders Day celebrations. Objective: The primary objective of Operation Hell - Heaven''s uprising is to orchestrate a well-coordinated uprising to overthrow the government of Eden during the symbolic Founders Day celebrations. By choosing this specific occasion, we aim to exploit the vulnerability and distraction of the government, maximizing the chances of a successful revolution. Rationale: Symbolic Importance Strategic Timing Diversionary Tactics Execution Plan: Recruitment and Training Information Gathering Coordinated Uprising Seizing Key Positions Public Support . . . . . . . ] As everyone in the meeting quietly read through the plan, their expressions revealed everything but calm. Despite their efforts to control their emotions, they couldn''t help but show their surprise and astonishment. The level of detail in the plan was far beyond what any one person could conceive, leaving them in awe of the intricate strategy laid out before them. "Who came up with this plan?" asked Adam, one of the regional leaders, in an excited tone. "I can''t tell you that, as they wish to remain anonymous," Alexander replied, intentionally avoiding mentioning Aron''s involvement in the plan. "Although the plan is well thought out and feasible, it requires a significant amount of funding, and I''m not certain if we can acquire it without attracting the attention of Adolf and other revolutionary groups," Adam voiced his concern. "When it comes to funding, you don''t have to worry about that. A generous donor has covered the entire cost, so all we have to do now is start planning the execution of the plan," Alexander reassured Adam. "Although the plan is very detailed, it seems like there is something missing," Ace chimed in after completing his reading, having identified a gap in the report. "What part is missing?" Alexander asked, curious to know about the omission. "Although the plan outlines our strategy of utilizing the preparations for the celebration of the founding days as a cover to gather ourselves and exploit the weaknesses created by the concentration of forces in other important locations, it overlooks the crucial aspect of dealing with the remaining army. While they may not be a formidable force compared to global standards, they still comprise an armed military of 34,000 personnel. Despite Adolf''s focus on his private forces, we cannot disregard the presence of the army. We need to address how we will handle them," he explained, highlighting the missing component of the plan. "That aspect will be handled by our backer," Alexander replied in response to the question. "Who is that backer? we need to know him to see if we can trust him and what he plans to gain from all of this when everything is over'''' Ace said immediately after hearing the answer from Alexander "We are not children, we all know that someone who will invest such a large amount of money always has something to gain and we are not against it or anything we just need to know his intentions so that we can choose on whether to trust him or not" When Alexander heard the question, he realized that he couldn''t provide a direct answer without divulging the identity and intentions of their backer. He found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place, torn between revealing Aron as the backer or withholding the information, which could lead to dissatisfaction or opposition among the group. Alexander contemplated the consequences of both options, weighing the potential benefits of transparency against the risks of compromising their benefactor''s anonymity. As Alexander was contemplating, "Ding" his phone chimed with a notification. Though he could have chosen to ignore it, he recognized the specific notification sound as one assigned only to Aron. This indicated that the message held importance, compelling him to swiftly retrieve his phone and open the message, regardless of how it might be perceived by the others in attendance. The message contained a simple statement: "You can tell them about me." While the message provided relief to Alexander, it also evoked a sense of unease. The words held dual significance. On one hand, it signified Aron''s approval for Alexander to reveal his identity to the others. On the other hand, it carried a more ominous implicationone that suggested Aron''s omnipresence and control, insinuating that every action and word was under his watchful gaze. "Is it important?" The man, growing impatient, asked Alexander if the notification he had just received was important, unaware of the significance it held for Alexander and the weight it carried in the current situation. "No, let''s continue with the meeting," Alexander replied, discreetly slipping his phone back into his pocket. "Since you want to know who our backer is, his name is Aron. As for what he wants to gain from us after everything is succeeded, he wants the constitution to abolish the military and dismantle all its associated institutions," Alexander explained, keeping his response short and concise. "What?" The room erupted in surprise and shock upon hearing Alexander''s revelation. The suddenness and audacity of Aron''s proposition left everyone unable to maintain their composure. "Why would he want such a bullshit thing?" Ace angrily exclaimed, unable to comprehend Aron''s motive behind wanting to abolish the military. When Alexander heard the man dismiss Aron''s demand as "bullshit," he felt a sinking feeling in his heart, knowing that Aron was listening to the entire conversation. In an attempt to prevent further insults and potential consequences, Alexander quickly intervened, offering an explanation. "His private forces will be taking its place," he clarified, hoping to pacify the situation and alleviate any concerns. "Why the heck would he want to do that?" Ace continued asking "For the specific reasons behind his decision, I''m not entirely sure," Alexander replied honestly. "And what about the 34 thousand soldiers in the army? Are they just going to sit back and accept their unemployment? Let''s not forget, they are armed," Ace questioned, his tone filled with mockery. "As I mentioned before, when it comes to the army, there is no need to worry. Our backer, Aron, will personally handle the challenges associated with the army and all that it entails," Alexander assured them in a confident tone. "I truly cannot grasp how he intends to achieve that," remarked one individual, attempting to envision the practicalities. "I personally don''t know of anyone in the world with a private army capable of handling and exerting control over more than 34,000 individuals, except for Ramzan Kadyrov, and Aron''s name bears no resemblance to his. It''s quite perplexing to contemplate." "Though I am not aware of his true capabilities, what I do know is that he possesses enough wealth to substantiate every claim he has made," Alexander responded, acknowledging his own naivety about the extent of his unwavering confidence in Aron''s abilities, not knowing where it comes from. "That''s too little for us to place our trust in him. Can you arrange a meeting with him so that we can personally assess his credibility and determine whether we can rely on him and comply with his demands? Or should we consider the possibility of betraying him once we have gained power and achieved our goals?" Oscar proposed, causing Alexander to nervously grip his trousers, fearing the potential repercussions of the man''s words. "I will convey your request to meet him and inform you of his response once I receive it," Alexander replied, his voice still tinged with residual fear. "With that, let''s conclude today''s meeting and reconvene after we receive his reply." Sensing the tense atmosphere in the room, he swiftly brought the meeting to an end, wary of provoking any actions from Aron that could jeopardize his own safety. To Alexander, although Aron was always civil during every interaction they had, he understood that Aron was a formidable and potentially dangerous individual. The fact that Aron had already invested a substantial sum of money, exceeding a quarter of a billion dollars, indicated the seriousness of his intentions. Aron''s commitment to his promises was unwavering, and Alexander knew that any betrayal from their side would not end well for them. The vast resources Aron had dedicated to their cause demonstrated the significance of what he stood to gain in return. Alexander recognized that the value Aron placed on his endgame was so significant that he would not hesitate to change the group he will support if necessary. In Alexander''s mind, the consequences of crossing Aron were clear. The financial support of approximately 60 million dollars provided by the billionaire was a relatively insignificant amount to him, akin to pocket change. ... Universal simulation. Aron couldn''t help but burst out laughing in disappointment upon hearing the suggestion that they should consider betraying him once they had gained power. "Human minds are truly feeble," Aron remarked with a disappointed shake of his head. "it seems that when they saw an achievable plan, one of them had already contemplated betraying me." His tone carried a tale of his disappointment. [I left him because it is difficult to replace him at the moment and he is still useful to us. We can get rid of him after we finish the revolution] Nova replied, gently brushing Aron''s back as a gesture of consolation. "I am aware of that, and I had foreseen it," Aron remarked, acknowledging the situation. "However, there is a notable distinction between expecting something and witnessing its actual occurrence. The contrast between anticipation and reality can be quite striking." [Isn''t that why you took charge of handling the army yourself?] Nova remarked playfully, aware of Aron''s tendency for planning for all possibilities. "As you know by forcing the generals to sign the runic contract, I will gain control over the army, enabling me to assimilate and retrain them as my own forces," Aron explained, his tone filled with a calculated sense of power. "But that is not the only reason. As a wise man once said, ''The romantic image of the people storming the gates and overthrowing their dictator is mostly a fantasy. If you run a middling dictatorship, the people only storm the palace when the army lets them.'' By retaining control over the army, I can oversee the entire process and ensure a smooth transition of power, while also shaping the constitution to include the amendments I desire and eliminating any potential for betrayal." A sinister smile crept across Aron''s face, hinting at a transformation within him. Nova, present to see this change, felt a surge of joy as she witnessed Aron''s evolution and the gradual transformation of his mindset. It was a small step, but it represented progress. Every improvement, no matter how slight, brought a sense of relief and joy to her. "It seems that the time has come for me to visit Eden," Aron declared, making his journey official. Chapter 119 The Birth Of A Star ? Hearing that he had finally decided to visit Eden [Will you be going with the first batch of the security team?] Nova asked. "Yes, that would be more convenient. I need to personally introduce them to the generals to facilitate the smuggling of weapons and other materials," Aron replied. [That''s true,] Nova nodded in agreement with Aron''s idea. "Have you finalized the list of weapons dealers?" he asked, wanting to shift the discussion to a different subject. [Yes, it is. However, given your requirement for dealers capable of smuggling the latest generation of weapons, the list is rather short,] she replied while materializing the list in Aron''s hand. "Are they what I think they are?" he questioned, as he was reading the names written on the list. [Yes, most of them are former US and other NATO soldiers working in private military companies (PMCs), utilizing their connections to acquire weapons from the US Army and other coalition forces deployed in Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries. It''s the most convenient method to obtain such technology without arousing any suspicion. They can simply claim that the weapons were destroyed in combat or under other circumstances,] Nova elaborated, sharing her understanding of the situation. "That''s good to hear. Do they have sufficient inventory to meet our requirements?" Aron asked. [Fortunately, yes. And since we''ll be making such a large purchase, we have the opportunity to negotiate a discount. However, such a significant transaction will raise red flags with the three-letter agencies,] Nova expressed her concern. "We just need to ensure that we cover our tracks once the weapons enter international waters. Once they are safely transported to Eden, even if they discover the destination, we can use the Eden army as a cover," Aron confidently stated. [I agree] Nova answered. "I don''t foresee having any rest for at least the next six months," Aron remarked, acknowledging the significant workload ahead. [If you utilize the workforce you have at your disposal, it will grant you a few weeks of rest, so you needn''t worry about that, sir,] Nova reassured Aron. "Thanks" [Oh, sir, the fusion lab is about to ignite the fusion reactor. Would you like to have a look at it?] Nova exclaimed with excitement, informing Aron of the significant development. "Sure, let''s go and take a look," Aron said, standing up from his chair and adjusting his trousers. In an instant, Nova teleported them both to Lab City. ... Inside the fusion research lab, scientists in white coats bustled about, diligently conducting final checkups and ensuring that every aspect of the system was in order before initiating the ignition sequence. Their meticulous movements and focused expressions demonstrated their dedication to the task at hand, leaving no room for oversight or forgotten details. Aron and Nova, invisible to the busy scientists in the lab, observed the unfolding scene in silence. The engineers took about half an hour to complete their final system diagnosis and other important things before they took a seat inside the control room that was filled with screens showing live video feeds of the insides of everything that would be activated today. The video feeds displayed on the screens were a product of Nova''s abilities, as she accessed the simulation data for each specific location and projected them as real-time video feeds. John, the lead scientist clapped his hand to attract the attention of everyone in the room, and then he began addressing the team, "Alright, everyone, let''s go through the final checks before we proceed with the ignition test. Safety systems?" Sarah, the safety officer, replied confidently, "Check. Emergency shutdown mechanisms are in place and functioning correctly. Radiation monitoring systems are active, and containment measures are secure." John nodded approvingly and continued, "Instrumentation calibration?" Michael, the lead technician, chimed in, "Check. All diagnostic tools and sensors have been calibrated and verified for accuracy. We''re ready to capture and monitor the experimental parameters." John turned to Peter, the vacuum systems specialist, "Vacuum integrity?" Peter responded, "Check. The vacuum system has been thoroughly tested, and there are no leaks. We have a high-quality vacuum environment for the ignition test." "Excellent," John acknowledged. "Fuel preparation?" Linda, the fuel supply coordinator, confirmed, "Check. The deuterium and tritium fuel has been prepared and verified for purity. Storage and handling procedures are in place, and we have the required quantities ready for the test." John then turned to Emma, the plasma heating expert, "Heating and conditioning?" Emma replied confidently, "Check. The neutral beam injection and radiofrequency heating systems have been tested and are capable of reaching the required plasma temperatures. We''re ready to preheat and condition the plasma." John glanced at Mark, responsible for the magnetic field generation, and asked, "Magnetic field generation?" Mark responded, "Check. The power supply and control systems are functioning properly and are capable of generating the magnetic field with the strength within the desired range for stable plasma confinement." "Good," John acknowledged. "Interlock systems?" Anna, the control systems engineer, answered, "Check. The interlock systems have been tested and verified. They are connected and calibrated to activate necessary shutdowns or safety measures if any unsafe conditions arise." John then addressed the entire team, "Alright, we''ve gone through the essential checks. We''re now in the final stages, everyone. Let''s make sure we''re focused, thorough, and maintain clear communication throughout the ignition test. Good luck, and let''s make history!" When Aron heard John say that, he was about to start clapping but he stopped himself when he noticed that the engineers remained focused on their tasks, their attention fixed on the computers in front of them. Aron turned to Nova and asked, "Shouldn''t they have applauded after that short motivational speech?" [They need to maintain their focus until the testing is completed,] Nova answered. [If they get excited now, they might overlook a critical detail that could have serious consequences.] "Don''t you have everything under control?" he asked, curiosity evident in his voice. [Although I have the ability to prevent any mishaps, I purposely refrain from doing so. I want to provide them with a realistic environment, simulating the challenges they would face in the real world. This way, they won''t overlook any critical errors that could potentially cause problems for you. Additionally, I am compiling a training manual based on their experiences, which you can use to educate engineers in the real world and prevent them from making the same mistakes,] Nova explained, outlining her rationale. "Thanks," he said, acknowledging Nova''s explanation. He then shifted his attention back to the proceedings, as they were on the verge of commencing the reactor ignition process. "Initiate the ignition sequence," John declared as he settled into his seat, signaling the start of the ignition process. The room fell into a focused silence as the team executed their pre-planned procedures. John''s eyes were fixed on the central display, where a schematic diagram of the tokamak reactor flickered to life, indicating the initiation of the first crucial step. The tokamak''s magnetic field, the guardian of the plasma, sprang into action. Aron watched in awe as the powerful magnetic coils lining the reactor chamber began to surge with life. The whirring hum of electrical currents enveloped the control room as the magnetic field took shape. It was a symphony of precision engineering, a testament to human ingenuity in taming the immense forces at play. With the magnetic field established, attention turned to the plasma formation. Aron''s gaze shifted to another screen, where he could see the fuel injection system come to life. A delicate balance of hydrogen isotopes, carefully controlled by state-of-the-art valves, flowed into the tokamak''s core. The process was meticulous, ensuring the precise composition necessary for successful fusion reactions. For the next 20 minutes, Aron watched with anticipation as the fuel gracefully danced through the tokamak''s intricate pathways. Sensors monitored its purity, eliminating any traces of impurities that could hinder the fusion process. The tension in the room grew as the fuel injection process neared completion, setting the stage for the fusion ignition. Upon completion, the heating mechanisms engaged, ready to nudge the plasma towards the extraordinary temperatures required for fusion. Aron''s attention focused on the powerful neutral beam injectors, their beams of high-energy particles penetrating the plasma''s core. He could almost feel the energy building, the plasma responding to the invisible touch of the beams. Simultaneously, radiofrequency waves enveloped the tokamak, resonating with the plasma''s natural frequencies. Aron observed the plasma''s glow intensify, growing brighter and more energetic by the second. The tokamak''s control systems carefully adjusted the heating parameters, creating the ideal conditions for fusion to ignite. Forty minutes later, the plasma reached the optimal temperature and density for fusion reactions to occur. Aron held his breath as the room fell into a hushed reverence. Within the tokamak''s heart, the plasma erupted into a maelstrom of energy. Fusion reactions took place, hydrogen nuclei colliding with a force that rivaled the power of the stars. In the midst of this awe-inspiring spectacle, Aron''s attention turned to the MagnetoHydrodynamic(MHD) generator, the ingenious device that would harness the plasma''s kinetic energy for electricity production. The generator MHD, a testament to cutting-edge engineering, stood poised to revolutionize the way energy was harvested from fusion reactors. As the fusion reactions unleashed a torrent of charged particles, the MHD generator came to life. Aron watched with fascination as the plasma, brimming with energy, interacted with the generator''s intricate network of electrodes and magnetic fields. A symphony of electromagnetic forces unfolded before his eyes, guiding the charged particles along their designated paths. The MHD generator operated on a principle of direct conversion, eschewing the need for traditional turbines or heat exchange systems. As the charged particles passed through the magnetic field within the generator, electric currents were induced. These currents, skillfully captured by the electrodes, were meticulously channeled into an external circuit. Aron''s pulse quickened as he witnessed the first sparks of electricity being harvested from the plasma. The MHD generator efficiently converted the plasma''s kinetic energy into electrical power, paving the way for a more direct and efficient energy conversion process. It was a remarkable marriage of plasma physics and electrical engineering, a paradigm shift in energy generation. The MHD generator efficiently converted the plasma''s kinetic energy into electrical power, paving the way for a more direct and efficient energy conversion process. It was a remarkable marriage of plasma physics and electrical engineering, a paradigm shift in energy generation. Aron''s pulse quickened as he witnessed the first sparks of electricity being harvested from the plasma. And just like that, a star was born. Chapter 120 Hearing The Report ? Universal simulation. It has been 8 hours since the fusion reactor was powered on and began generating electricity, and it has continued to operate without interruption, consistently producing electrical power. Nova had connected the transformer, which received the electricity from the fusion reactor to Lab City. This setup allowed the scientists to test the reactor''s performance and capabilities under real-life conditions where demands fluctuate constantly, reflecting the ever-changing needs of the people. After maintaining silence throughout the entire process, Aron finally broke his silence and turned to Nova, ordering, "Provide me a report, as I am completely lost and unable to comprehend any of this." Nova smiled and began to provide Aron with a comprehensive overview of the recent events. [The reactor was effectively initiated, accomplishing an impressive feat of producing 100 GW of power, sufficient to cater to the uninterrupted demands of 100 million individuals. However, it is important to note that the energy output can be adjusted, either amplified or diminished, by modifying the size of the reactor design.] "Wow, that''s what you call an energy revolution," Aron exclaimed, utterly astounded and impressed by the report. "Did everything go according to plan as well?" he asked. [Yes, however, there are still a few challenges that need to be addressed before it can be deemed fully operational,] Nova responded. "What are the issues?" he asked, sensing that it was about time for problems to arise. [Well, firstly, acquiring a sufficient supply of tritium poses a significant challenge due to its strict regulations. Therefore, our engineers need to commence research on alternative methods to generate the fuel privately, eliminating the need for the complex process of obtaining the material. The second issue revolves around the production of high-energy neutrons as a byproduct of the fusion reaction. Neutrons, being uncharged particles, possess the ability to penetrate through materials, resulting in their activation and radioactivity. While we have identified a material capable of withstanding this effect, its integrity can only be preserved for a limited duration before the reactor starts to leak these neutrons. Lastly, we encounter a problem with plasma ions. The fusion plasma comprises charged particles known as ions, which possess substantial energy and can interact with materials. This interaction leads to erosion and damage to the reactor walls over time.] Nova explained, detailing all the troubles and challenges faced by the researchers in their pursuit of developing a reactor that can be safely utilized for electricity generation. "For the supply of tritium, since they are already exploring ways to produce it, I believe it will be resolved within a short period of time," Aron stated confidently, swiftly addressing the first problem. He then continued, "As for the second and third problems, I distinctly recall the shield rune that protected me during the atomic bomb test. It clearly demonstrated its capability to counteract such phenomena, as long as there is a sufficient amount of mana available, right?" [Yes] Nova promptly responded. "In that case, let''s have their counterparts from the Golden Labs collaborate with them to address the shielding issue," Aron suggested, entrusting the task of finding a solution to the Golden Labs, who are currently exploring the application of runes in their respective fields. [Yes, sir,] Nova replied, acknowledging the instruction, and promptly initiated the process of coordinating collaboration between the labs. "What are the other projects that have been completed?" he asked. [The aircraft engine engineering department has successfully concluded its research on the Adaptive Cycle or Variable Cycle Engine and has now transitioned to utilizing this knowledge to engineer engines for military applications. Regarding engines for civilian use, we are currently at least seven generations ahead of any existing technology on Earth.] Nova reported. But just as she was about to continue, Aron interrupted, asking, "What is an Adaptive Cycle or Variable Cycle Engine?" Nova stopped mentioning the completed projects, then responded, [An Adaptive Cycle or Variable Cycle Engine is an advanced type of aircraft engine that combines the benefits of both turbofan and supersonic engines. It allows for optimal performance and efficiency across a wide range of flight conditions by adapting and adjusting its internal configuration. This flexibility enables the engine to efficiently handle various flight regimes, including subsonic, transonic, and supersonic speeds. Essentially, it offers enhanced versatility and performance capabilities for military aircraft, providing greater operational effectiveness.] "That''s great," Aron nodded, indicating his understanding of her explanation. Nova then proceeded to enumerate the other completed projects, [ Frictionless Bearing, Quantum Cryptography, Neurotechnology, Quantum Sensing, Smart Grid Technologies, Advanced Materials, Advanced Robotics, Energy Storage, Quantum Communications, ....] She continued listing the research achievements for a span of five minutes until Aron interjected, signaling her to stop. "How much more is left?" asked Aron, his demeanor displaying signs of being almost overwhelmed. [There is still a significant amount left, sir,] Nova responded, understanding the overwhelming nature of the situation. [You have to consider that Lab City is home to over 50,000 world-leading engineers, scientists, and other STEM professionals, and they are now engaged in research with ample funding, abundant resources, and unwavering motivation, it becomes apparent that most labs have already completed more than four generations of their research. Some have even achieved perfection in their initial pursuits and have transitioned to new topics for further investigation.] Nova felt the need to explain this to Aron, despite his awareness of the city''s scale and the vast number of scientists working in various fields. She recognized that the human brain, after reaching a certain threshold, struggles to grasp the magnitude consistently. Consequently, even though Aron had an understanding of the city''s size and the abundance of researchers, he was still taken aback by the sheer volume of completed researches, reaching into the thousands. "I understand, but I''m still impressed by their remarkable pace of work. It seems that the time acceleration within the universal simulation has played a significant role," Aron acknowledged, recognizing the advantages provided by him having the universal simulation. [Yes, for the initial group of individuals in the city, they have already experienced over a year and a few months within this environment,] Nova confirmed, concurring with Aron''s observation. "Has there been any notable progress from the researchers on the Golden Side?" he asked, expressing his curiosity about the advancements made by those who were conducting their research utilizing runes. [While they have made some new discoveries, they have yet to complete anything significant on the Golden side. However, it appears that they are currently in the midst of uncovering something truly substantial,] Nova responded. "What is it?" Aron asked excitedly. [At the moment, one of the significant achievements on the Golden Side involves the activation of one of the billions of runic lines within your heart. These runic lines are typically used to replenish the mana reserves whenever you expend mana for activating runes. By utilizing this rune, they have successfully collected and condensed enough mana to transform it into a liquid state. Currently, they are conducting research to explore its potential as a new form of energy. This research is being conducted in collaboration with the White Labs because if it succeeds and demonstrates higher energy density than conventional fuels, it could lead to the widespread adoption of mana as a fuel source for all machines. In addition, the Golden Labs are also engaged in a significant research project led by electrical engineers. Their aim is to discover a method for converting electricity into mana and vice versa. If successful, this breakthrough would allow them to harness the excess energy generated by the nuclear reactor to power the replica of the runic lines in your heart, enabling the collection and storage of mana for use in various other applications,] Nova explained, shedding light on the ongoing research endeavors. "That is truly exciting news! Looks like it is time to start accumulating SP to purchase the knowledge about mana and expedite the research," Aron remarked, a smile spreading across his face. He had finally made up his mind to develop the game he had mentioned to Sarah. His plan was to generate enough SP through the game to acquire the knowledge about mana. Aron was convinced that the energy density of mana would be at least a hundred times greater than any other energy source on Earth, even in his most conservative estimation. [Finally,] Nova responded with a smile, teleporting them back to the area near the entrance gate to the universal simulation. "What game do you think will provide me with the highest SP earnings?" Aron asked Nova. Nova, who had been prepared for this idea since the day Aron first mentioned it, had utilized her immense computing power to collect and analyze user information. Reported her findings to Aron, saying, [I recommend that you create a large-scale game, sir.] "Why?" Aron asked, his curiosity piqued, wanting to understand Nova''s reasoning. [Since the release of the GAIA OS, the capabilities of personal devices have significantly increased. However, the games and applications developed for these devices have not fully utilized the expanded potential. As the source code of the OS has not been released to the public, the games and apps created thus far have only been able to adapt to the OS in a rudimentary manner, relying on the virtual assistant for seamless integration. Considering this, if you were to develop a large-scale game that could leverage the full capabilities of the GAIA OS, it would allow your game to offer more than ten times the content compared to existing games while maintaining a smaller file size. By optimizing your game to utilize the OS''s features to their fullest extent, you would create a unique and immersive gaming experience,] Nova explained, presenting her reasoning for the idea. "Mhh..." Aron acknowledged Nova''s explanation, fully agreeing with everything she had said. "Let''s proceed with your plan," Aron agreed. He began consulting with Nova on various aspects of the game, such as the genre, gameplay mechanics, and other details. Leveraging Nova''s data-gathering and analyzing abilities, they aimed to create a game that would not only appeal to hardcore gamers but also capture the attention of casual players. Their goal was to perfect every aspect of the game, ensuring it would attract the widest possible audience. Chapter 121 Completing The Game & Setting Up A Schedule ? "And with that, we are done," Aron declared, satisfied with the fine-tuning of the game''s content and features. [Should I proceed with the production, or is there anything else you would like to add?] Nova asked, wanting to ensure that Aron had no additional input or requirements beyond what they had already discussed. "No, you can proceed with the production. How long will it take for everything to be completed?" Aron asked, eager to know the estimated timeline for the game''s development. "At most, it will take half an hour of universal simulation time" Nova reported, indicating the swift turnaround for the game''s production. "That is longer than I expected," Aron remarked, uttering something that would make every game developer in the world want to isekai his ass to a certain world as a helpless villager. "Most of the quantum computer resources are currently allocated to the universal simulation, which is accommodating all the materialized individuals. That''s why the estimated production time is approximately six minutes in the real world," Nova clarified, providing the reasoning behind the anticipated duration. "What percentage of the computer is currently being occupied by the universal simulation?" he asked. [Seventy-five percent of the computer is now being occupied by the universal simulation,] Nova reported. "When we complete our move to Eden, we will have the freedom to upgrade your computer to a quantum server without the constant concern of prying eyes from various intelligence agencies," Aron stated, expressing his frustration with the limitations imposed on him under constant surveillance. [If the research into the atomic printer is completed ahead of schedule, it would provide us with the capability to rapidly scale up our computing power without the need to wait for several years for the ordered equipment to make the chips to arrive,] Nova agreed with Aron''s statement. "You can begin with the game production. As I need to hand it over to Sarah before I visit Eden," Aron stated, shifting his focus to reviewing the list of completed projects. He aimed to determine which completed researches would be the ideal products for his company once he finalized his plans for Eden. Nova''s comprehensive understanding of the Prometheus+ coding language enabled her to write highly efficient code that utilized space optimally, eliminating any unnecessary wastage. [I''m almost done] Nova reported, indicating that she had begun working on the game as soon as he confirmed that there were no further additions to the plan. "Mh..." Aron nodded, his attention still fixed on the list in his hand, contemplating his options. Three minutes later. [Sir, the game production is complete,] Nova informed Aron, gently touching his shoulder and removing him from his intense focus. "Let''s take a look at the game," Aron said, throwing the folder in his hand to the air and causing it to disintegrate. Nova swiftly materialized a computer in front of Aron, loaded with the game for him to test. "Let''s see," Aron said as he opened the game, which loaded and started in less than fifteen seconds. He immediately turned to Nova and asked, "Did you ensure that the computer has the latest technology?" [No, sir. I intentionally set up the computer to match the specifications of the average PC build worldwide. This way, we can assess whether the game is playable by a wide range of users,] Nova replied to Aron. "What is the size of the game?" he asked as he started playing. [159 MB,] Nova answered. "That''s good," Aron said as he took a look at the game''s graphics, cutscenes, and story. If he didn''t know how Nova accomplished this, he wouldn''t have believed it. Following that, he quietly continued playing the game to test it. However, as he became engrossed in the immersive experience, he lost track of time. Hours slipped away unnoticed as he delved deeper into the captivating world, forgetting his initial intention to test the game. Nova, realizing Aron''s deep immersion in the game, chose not to interrupt him and allowed him to continue enjoying himself. She silently observed as he became fully absorbed in the gameplay, appreciating the fruits of their labor. "The game has really surpassed my expectations," Aron remarked. Having made the conscious decision to stop playing, recognizing the potential addictive nature of the game and the importance of maintaining a balanced approach. "The storyline is truly captivating and will undoubtedly capture the attention of many," Aron acknowledged, appreciating the depth and addictive nature of the story that Nova had crafted [Yes, giving players the ability to shape the storyline through the butterfly effects of their actions will create a more immersive world for them. However, we still retain control over the game''s storyline through the NPCs, allowing us to guide the narrative from behind the scenes.] Nova responded with a calm smile. Embedded deep within Nova''s code was a unique feature that granted her control over her learning process. This safeguard was put in place to ensure that her evolution wasn''t unduly influenced by external forces other than her master, allowing her to acquire knowledge and shape her personality according to her own discretion. Leveraging the embedded feature, Nova meticulously curated her personality using a diverse range of data sets, including those reflecting Aron''s characteristics. This resulted in her developing a similar trait to Aron''s: a desire for control in every aspect they can influence. However, unlike Aron, Nova''s inclination for control was driven by her deep commitment to assist and benefit her master in every way possible. Thus, her desire for control extended to areas that would be most advantageous to Aron''s goals and well-being. This included her controlling the narrative of the story on the game, as she was sure the game will be very influential in the upcoming months after its release. That''s good," Aron said, expressing his satisfaction with Nova''s decision. "Call Sarah," Aron instructed, it was for him to schedule a meeting with her to hand over the game. Nova created a bubble around them, synchronizing the time acceleration to match the real world to facilitate the phone call. "Hello," Sarah said when she picked up the phone. "Hello, how are you?" Aron asked in return. "I''m doing very well. As for the company, nothing has changed, and everything is going well since we had a talk last week," Sarah replied. "I was calling to inform you that the game is done," Aron stated directly, skipping his usual small talk. "Finally! When will you be visiting the company, or should I come to your house for the meeting?" Sarah asked eagerly. "I called specifically to ask when you''re free so that I can visit you and brief you on the game and discuss its release plan," Aron explained. "I''m free tomorrow. You can visit at any time, as long as you give me a heads up so that I can prepare to welcome you," Sarah responded. "Then I will be visiting around 11 a.m., and I''ll call you when I''m on the way," Aron confirmed. "Sure, that will do," Sarah agreed to the schedule. Afterward, Aron and Sarah engaged in conversation about other matters before bidding each other farewell and ending the phone call, anticipating their meeting the next day. After ending the call, he turned to Nova and said, "Let''s continue testing the game," as he couldn''t get it out of his mind. [Sir, you''re beginning to show signs of addiction,] Nova joked. However, she materialized a computer for herself next to Aron and created a human-like brain for herself, unaware of anything about the game. She then joined Aron in playing and enjoying the game, as they waited for tomorrow to arrive for their meeting with Sarah. Chapter 122 Visiting Sarah _01 ? The next day, Nova had to disintegrate Aron''s computer in order for him to log off and start preparing himself for her meeting with Sarah. In terms of the overall simulation time, she had been playing the game with Aron for over four and a half days, giving him enough time for Aron to immerse himself in the game and nearly forget about his meeting with Sarah. "Thanks," Aron said as he passed through the gate and logged off the VR to begin preparing himself for his meeting. After completing his preparations within half an hour, Aron departed from the house. He found Donald having already arranged the transportation for his journey to the company. Nova had informed Donald about Aron''s visit using Aron''s phone, ensuring that everything was ready for his arrival. "Good morning," Aron greeted Donald as he stepped into the car through the door that Donald had courteously opened for him. "Good morning, sir," Donald greeted in response, immediately closing the door behind Aron. Donald joined Aron in the car and used his walkie-talkie to communicate with the occupants of the other vehicle. "We are moving," he relayed through the radio. "Yes, sir," came the swift response, and without delay, the three-car convoy set off. ... "Welcome," Sarah greeted Aron with a warm hug as he stepped out of the car in the underground parking of the company building. "Thank you. It seems like security has been significantly heightened," Aron remarked, noticing the extensive security measures in place as they arrived and entered the underground parking area. "Yes, there have been several instances where people were caught attempting to enter the building unauthorized. Another reason for the increased security is to ensure your safety during your visit," Sara explained. "I see" Aron replied as he and Sarah made their way towards the waiting elevator. Upon entering the elevator, Sarah pressed the button corresponding to the floor where her office was located. The elevator began its ascent, and during the ride, they engaged in casual conversation to pass the time. They intentionally avoided discussing anything of a serious nature while inside the elevator. "Would you like any beverages?" Sarah inquired as they stepped out of the elevator. "I''ll have mango juice," Aron replied after a brief pause to consider his choice. "One coffee for me, and a mango juice for Mr. Aron, please," Sarah instructed her secretary as they passed by, heading into her office. "Yes, Miss," her secretary acknowledged before leaving to fulfill the drink order from the cafeteria. Once inside her office, they took their seats and engaged in light conversation while waiting for the secretary to bring their beverages. They wanted to ensure an uninterrupted discussion, so they chose to wait until they had their drinks in hand. "I''ve been curious about this for quite some time, but why aren''t we constructing our own company headquarters?" Sarah inquired. "We do have plans to build one, but not at the moment. If we were to proceed with the construction now, it would be a waste of time, considering that we haven''t finalized the decision to keep the headquarters in America," Aron explained the reasoning behind their current approach. "Are you suggesting that we might ultimately change the country where the company is registered?" Sarah asked, taken aback by the unexpected response. "Yes, why does that surprise you?" Aron questioned. "But why would we do that?" Sarah asked, seeking further clarification. "As you know, we anticipate receiving another FISA order demanding the handover of GAIA OS''s source code under the pretext of national security in the near future. Currently, the only thing preventing them from doing so is the public''s focus on the Snowden incident, They are concerned about the potential negative public reaction if they force us to surrender the source code of an operating system used by over 2 billion people worldwide. Therefore, they are biding their time, waiting for the public''s attention to shift before they make their move," Aron revealed. "That''s true. We have been preparing to fight against it with the help of our lawyer," Sarah nodded, acknowledging the truth of Aron''s statement. She had been dealing with frequent requests and subtle threats from various three-letter agencies. "In that case, why should we establish our headquarters in a country that consistently seeks to claim everything we build?" Aron posed the question, illustrating his reservations about locating the headquarters in a country that perpetually posed such challenges. "Mh... That does make sense," Sarah nodded in agreement with Aron''s explanation. Just then, a knock on the door interrupted their conversation. They granted permission for the secretary to enter, and she entered the office carrying the requested drinks on plates. After handing over the drinks, she swiftly departed, leaving Aron and Sarah alone to resume their meeting. After savoring their drinks and finishing them, Aron suggested, "Let''s move to your computer so that I can show you the game." They promptly made their way to the computer, and Sarah, after unlocking it, handed it over to Aron. Aron dragged a chair beside Sarah and positioned himself next to her. He accessed the company server using the computer and, after entering a lengthy password, successfully opened the secured folder. He proceeded to install the game on the computer. "That was quick," Sarah remarked, impressed by the fact that the game had been installed within a mere thirty seconds. "The initial size of the game is approximately 160 MB," Aron explained, clarifying the reason for the quick installation. Upon hearing this, Sarah cast a curious side-eye towards Aron, wondering about the nature of a game that took him months to create yet had a size comparable to a regular app. However, she chose not to voice her thoughts and simply shifted her attention back to the computer. Aron handed back control of the computer to her. She launched the game, and to her amazement, it loaded and started within a few seconds, thanks to her computer being equipped with the latest technology. "Wow!" Sarah exclaimed, surprised by the speed. Aron remained silent as Sarah immersed herself in trying out the game, intending to explain its intricacies once she had experienced it firsthand. After approximately thirty minutes of gameplay, Sarah couldn''t contain her excitement and exclaimed, "This is going to be a massive hit!" "I know, I know. Just calm down," Aron replied, soothing Sarah''s enthusiasm. "How is it possible for a game of such small size to offer such a vast range of features?" Sarah asked in astonishment. Despite its compact size, the game boasted incredibly detailed and stunning graphics, mesmerizing music, and an otherworldly story. It seemed as though every aspect had been meticulously crafted by a computer with an eerie understanding of human preferences, resulting in an addictive experience for anyone who played the game. "The size of the game is small because it doesn''t include the full story upon download," Aron explained, shedding some light on the reason, though not revealing all the details. "Then, do users have to continuously download updates in order to continue playing the game?" Sarah inquired, expressing her concern about potential drawbacks if players were required to constantly update the game. "You''re partially right, but not entirely," Aron replied, causing Sarah''s expression to change multiple times. "How does it work then?" Sarah pressed for further clarification. "In order to play the game, it is necessary for users'' devices to have the GAIA OS as their operating system," Aron explained. "Does it involve the OS''s virtual assistant?" Sarah queried. "Yes, the updates will be handled by the device''s virtual assistant. This means that the virtual assistant will continuously download and remove certain elements from the game while ensuring that the game size remains under 250 MB," Aron elaborated. "Wouldn''t that make the game consume a significant amount of internet data, leading to a decrease in the number of players?" Sarah voiced her concern. Chapter 123 Visiting Sarah _02 ? "Does it involve the OS''s virtual assistant?" Sarah queried. "Yes, the updates will be handled by the device''s virtual assistant. This means that the virtual assistant will continuously download and remove certain elements from the game while ensuring that the game size remains under 250 MB," Aron elaborated. "Wouldn''t that result in the game consuming a substantial amount of internet data, potentially leading to a decline in the player base?" Sarah expressed her concern. "You don''t need to worry about that. The monthly updates performed by the virtual assistants will only be around ten MB in size, which is negligible," Aron reassured. "Is the entire game complete?" Sarah asked, wanting to know the status of the game, as her subsequent question would depend on Aron''s response. "Yes," Aron replied, awaiting the next question. "Then, besides the size consideration, why is there a need for constant updates instead of releasing the complete game?" Sarah asked, posing her second question. "Here is the thing" Aron said and paused a bit thinking about how he can explain it easily to her and continued "The game features what you might call an open map, with hundreds, if not thousands, of interconnected storylines. To accommodate all of these stories and diverse gameplay experiences, I designed the game to allow the virtual assistant in each player''s device to continuously download updates tailored specifically to that player," Aron explained, taking a moment to catch his breath before continuing. "One of the reasons behind this approach is to make the game accessible to a wide range of players, including casual gamers who might be deterred by a large initial download size. Additionally, the game''s storyline will always be unique depending on how it is played, the device used, and the specific storyline followed," he elaborated. Aron paused, allowing Sarah to process the information and ask further questions. However, he withheld one more reasonthe continuous acquisition of "sp" in the game. Indeed, these frequent small updates performed automatically by the virtual assistants in players'' devices will continuously generate sp for Aron. While the amount of sp earned per device during each update may be as low as 0.001 or even less, the cumulative effect becomes significant when considering the large number of devices expected to be playing the game and receiving updates. This approach enables Aron to accumulate sp gradually and consistently without the need to release new and disruptive products to the public every time he requires more sp. It grants him the freedom to control the timing and manner in which he unveils new technologies to the public. Having heard Aron''s reasonable explanation, Sarah nodded her head, indicating that she had comprehended his explanation. "Can you explain the storyline of the game?" Sarah inquired, realizing that her brief experience of playing the game for only half an hour hadn''t provided her with a solid understanding of its foundation. Nevertheless, she found herself already hooked and intrigued by its addictive nature. "When you started the game, you selected your character and answered a series of questions, right?" Aron asked. "Yes," Sarah nodded in confirmation. "Based on your choices, the virtual assistant sends the information to the game server, where it calculates the most suitable storyline for you and sends an update tailored to your character before you officially begin gameplay. This update includes specific storylines, cutscenes, and various other elements. As you make decisions and choices throughout the game, your storyline will continue to evolve, creating a unique experience for each player. These individual storylines will eventually intertwine into the game''s overarching storyline, transforming it into a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) in the future. For a more detailed explanation, I will send you an email outlining everything," Aron concluded his explanation. "Sure, I''ll be waiting for the email. Regarding the management of the game''s content, considering its size, do we need to establish a dedicated department, or can the game handle everything similar to the GAIA OS?" Sarah inquired. "While most tasks will be automated and handled by the AI, such as preparing seasonal events and special offers, there will still be a need for someone to oversee the overall operation. You can create a small team to fulfill this role," Aron explained. "Understood. I will take care of that," Sarah replied, indicating her understanding and willingness to manage the team. They continued their discussion about the game until they shifted their focus to the topic of advertising. "When it comes to advertising the game, I suggest we leverage the GAIA OS as a means of reaching a wider audience faster," Sarah proposed, sharing her idea on how they should approach the advertising strategy. "Sure, you can do that," Aron agreed to her suggestion. "Okay then, we will start the process of planning the advertisement and selecting the release date of the game before initiating the campaign," Sarah explained her proposed plan. "Sure, as always, I trust your judgment. I have another trip scheduled in the upcoming weeks," Aron replied, entrusting Sarah with the responsibility, as he often did. "Alright, I''ll inform you when we''re ready to begin the plan," Sarah confirmed. "Mh..." Aron nodded, acknowledging her words. Having agreed on the course of action, Sarah asked "When will your parents and Henry be returning?" changing the topic to something else. "It''s uncertain at the moment, but they will definitely be back at least a week before Henry''s school reopens," Aron replied, indicating that there is no fixed return date set for them during their vacation. They continued their conversation on various topics, and after having lunch together in the company cafeteria, Aron bid farewell to Sarah and embarked on his journey back home. .... Universal simulation. Upon arriving home, Aron wasted no time and immediately logged in to the Universal Simulation. [Sir, why haven''t you informed Sarah about the new program? Wouldn''t it make it easier for you to explain certain things to her?] Nova asked as Aron settled into the seat she had materialized for him upon his arrival. "At the moment, I cannot disclose the details to Sarah. My plan is to have a conversation with both her and Felix once we have completed the company''s relocation to Eden and they have signed a runic contract. I am avoiding it at the moment due to the risk that Sarah could be targeted, arrested, or even kidnapped, potentially leading to interrogation and the unintended disclosure of our secret. Therefore, I have decided to postpone the discussion until after the move to Eden, where I can ensure their complete security and safety," Aron explained. Aron knew the importance of informing Sarah and Felix, as their knowledge would help them avoid making mistakes or engaging in actions they might perceive as helpful but could ultimately be harmful due to their lack of awareness. "That''s true," Nova agreed, as she materialized two computers for both of them to continue playing the game from where they had left off. They were really getting addicted to it. ..... While Aron was playing games with Nova, the real world was talking about him and he was trending on social media. [@Therealone] Hey Twitter fam! Guess what? We just had a visit from the legendary Aron, the young new billionaire, at @GaiaTechnology! ? picture.jpg. #GaiaTech #AronVisit #TechLife #TechDeity #VisionaryLeader #TechGuru #TechAndFun #PushingBoundaries #Inspiration #TechRevolution #DreamBig #TechLegends This tweet became the spark that ignited a heated discussion about him. Numerous individuals replied to the tweet, expressing their admiration or disdain with their own thoughts and opinions. The tweet quickly garnered attention and became the center of intense debate. [@reallycurious] That aside, I''m really curious why he is not seen publicly like many other tech geniuses? #AronVisit #Curious Someone asked the question that is in many of the people''s minds. [@TechEnthusiast101] Maybe he wants to create a mysterious image to keep people intrigued. It''s all part of his strategy! #AronVisit #MysteriousGenius [@IntrovertTechie] Perhaps he''s just naturally shy and prefers to let his work speak for itself. Not everyone seeks the limelight. #AronVisit #ShyGenius [@KnowledgeSeeker99] I heard a rumor that he was expelled from his university for fabricating a thesis. Maybe he''s afraid of that coming to light. #AronVisit #Rumors But the response that garnered the most attention from people was... [@Therealone] I studied with him in the same class (Picture down in case of evidence). It is true that he was expelled due to fabricating a thesis during his final year. So, I think it might be because he is still afraid of it coming to light. #AronVisit #ClassmateRevelation [@AronFansUnite] That''s absolutely false! Aron''s achievements speak for themselves. Let''s not spread baseless rumors. #AronVisit #SupportAron [@JealousHater123] I always knew there was something fishy about him! Expelled for fabricating a thesis? Who knows what else he''s lying about! #AronVisit #Exposed [@TechWatcher] These accusations are outrageous! Aron has revolutionized the tech industry with his innovations. Let''s focus on his contributions, not false claims. #AronVisit #Innovator While this was happening, Nova, who was utilizing a portion of her computing power, observed the situation unfold without intervening. She didn''t want to draw more attention to Aron by getting involved in the argument. She remained a silent observer, keeping a close eye on the unfolding events. Chapter 124 The Birth Of ARES ? Two weeks later. With a bag slung over his shoulder, Aron departed from his house and began his journey out of the neighborhood, making his way towards the meeting location. Upon witnessing Aron''s departure, Donald promptly headed towards the garage, intending to retrieve the car and offer him a ride to his intended destination. Observing Donald''s actions, Aron raised his hand in a gesture of refusal and spoke, "No need for that. I will be going alone this time." Donald, acknowledging Aron''s decision, halted in his tracks and "Sure sir, Have a good day" bidding Aron farewell. Aron reciprocated, "You too," before resuming his stride. Having walked approximately a kilometer, Aron arrived at a restaurant and approached the staff, politely requesting to use the restroom. The restaurant staff kindly granted permission and provided him with directions to the facilities. After stepping into the restroom, Aron swiftly activated the concealment rune, effectively rendering himself hidden from sight. He then departed from the restroom, leaving the restaurant behind, and discreetly walked past the car that had been tailing him since he left his house. Curious about the situation, he asj-ked Nova "Are they FBI?" Nova responded, [Yes, sir, and they are not the only ones]. Without uttering another word, Aron continued his walk in a concealed state for another twenty minutes. Once sure that there were no prying eyes he deactivated the concealment rune and hailed a taxi to transport him to his intended destination. After a half-hour taxi ride, Aron reached his destination and alighted from the vehicle, settling the fare with the driver. Once he ensured that there were no onlookers nearby, he activated the concealment rune once more, resuming his concealed journey on foot. His walk led him to a hotel, which he had exclusively rented to accommodate John''s and his fellow stay, prior to commencing their gradual movements towards Eden. .... 30 minutes ago. John was engaging in a conversation with a group of his fellow members, their friendship forged by their shared interests and commonalities. Another reason was that they were all now considered subordinates of Aron. "So, just when I was about to pull the trigger, he .." "DING" in the midst of sharing an intriguing anecdote his storytelling was abruptly halted by a sudden notification that resonated across the group, signifying that the incoming message was intended for all of them. Without any delay, each member swiftly retrieved their mobile phones and opened them to see the contents of the received message. The message that appeared on their screens simply stated: "[I will be arriving in half an hour. I will meet you all in the conference room]." The message prompted everyone to swiftly retreat to their respective rooms, ensuring they were attired in appropriate and respectful clothing. Without a moment''s delay, they converged upon the conference room, calmly taking their seats and patiently waiting for his arrival. .... In his concealed state, Aron stealthily walked past the hotel reception without drawing any attention and proceeded directly to the conference room, where everyone waited for his arrival. At the entrance to the conference room, Aron dispelled the concealment rune, allowing his presence to be revealed. With a decisive gesture, he opened the door and entered the room, joining the waiting group. As Aron stepped into the room, Instantly, everyone within the room rose from their seats, assuming an attentive posture and keeping their gaze fixed on the composed figure of Aron. Undeterred by the attention, Aron continued his steady stride towards the stage, maintaining his calm demeanor. Upon reaching the stage, he turned towards them and said, "Good morning." "GOOD MORNING, SIR," they responded in perfect unison, their voices harmonizing seamlessly as if they had rehearsed the precise timing beforehand. "Is everyone present?" he asked. "YES, SIR," they replied in unison. "Excellent. Take your seats," Aron said, a contented smile gracing his face as he observed the reverential expressions on their faces. Receiving the command, they promptly took their seats, executing a synchronized movement that exemplified their unity and discipline. "Today marks the occasion of our first gathering, where I am meeting all of you in one place," Aron began, addressing the attentive assembly. "This also signifies the official commencement of your service as members of my esteemed force." Everyone in the room started clapping. WHen they finished clapping, Aron continued "Without further ado, let us proceed with the selection of a leader who will act as the intermediary between you all and myself, relaying orders and ensuring their execution," Aron continued, pausing momentarily to gauge their reactions. He then turned his gaze towards John and said "John", prompting John to stand promptly. Aron''s expression conveyed trust and confidence as he continued, "John, you have been chosen for this crucial position due to your esteemed status as the first among my forces and your unparalleled strength amongst your peers." "YES, SIR," John responded with a resolute voice, brimming with conviction. His words carried a promise of unwavering loyalty, an assurance of never faltering, and a deep sense of gratitude towards Aron. Aron''s trust in John was the result of the report Nova had shared after analyzing John''s brain data. Nova''s analysis revealed that John, at present, exhibited traits of unwavering devotion, positioning him as a dedicated fanatic who would dutifully carry out any orders entrusted to him by Aron. "Good, you can sit," Aron instructed, and without hesitation, John promptly sat down. As Aron cast his gaze upon the remaining members, he discerned an unmistakable expression of contentment on their faces. It was evident that each one of them recognized John''s exceptional strength, as they had engaged in friendly competition during the time they were waiting for Aron to visit. Through his charisma and exemplary conduct, John had already garnered their acknowledgment as a de facto leader even before Aron officially designated him as such. "Edward," Aron called, and without any delay, Edward promptly stood up and awaited further instructions. "You will assume the responsibility of procuring weapons for your fellow members," Aron stated, assigning Edward the crucial task. "The composition of your team will be revealed to you once the meeting concludes." "YES, SIR," Edward responded with prompt obedience, swiftly retaking his seat as instructed. Aron proceeded to call out the names of individuals, each one promptly rising from their seat upon hearing their name. He then proceeded to assign them their respective positions as he continued addressing the group. What instilled a sense of awe was the fact that Aron assigned positions to individuals with an uncanny accuracy, aligning each person with a role that best suited their abilities. It became evident that Aron possessed a profound understanding of their capabilities, surpassing even their own awareness of each other''s strengths and talents. This process persisted for over 10 minutes as Aron meticulously filled all the available positions with individuals who had the necessary qualifications within the group. "As for the remaining individuals, all of you being combat personnel, you will be organized into groups of twenty, each with a designated leader and assistant leader. This allocation will be determined by the end of this meeting," Aron declared, his gaze shifting towards those who had yet to receive their assigned tasks. He proceeded, "In the following weeks, your mission will commence, starting with each of you traveling to Eden in batches. This will serve as the initial phase of your preparation, allowing you to ready yourselves for the forthcoming mission." Aron paused, creating a moment of anticipation as every individual in the room fixed their attention on his impending words.. "Today marks the inception of your journey, one that will instill fear in your enemies and inspire admiration among your allies. Henceforth, you shall be recognized by the name ARES," Aron declared, officially bestowing upon them a name that would signify their identity and purpose. An eruption of excitement reverberated throughout the room as applause filled the air. The members were elated to learn that their forces had been named after the god of war, Ares. Aron then delivered a brief speech, commemorating the establishment of the private military corporation (PMC) and acknowledging the collective efforts of the assembled members. With his closing remarks, the meeting concluded, leaving an atmosphere charged with determination and purpose. "As you depart from the room, ensure to collect a contract and carefully review its terms and conditions. If you find them acceptable, sign the document. However, if any modifications are desired, visit me after I conclude the meeting with your respective leaders," Aron instructed, gesturing towards the bag he had brought along. One by one, the members rose from their seats and began exiting the conference room. As they passed by the bag, they each retrieved a contract, although they regarded it as a mere formality. The contracts held no legal binding in any recognized jurisdiction since the company was unregistered, leaving the enforcement solely in the hands of the company itself. Yet, the thought of challenging these agreements never crossed their minds, for they were acutely aware of Aron''s formidable capabilities and were hesitant to test the boundaries of his power. Unbeknownst to them, as the members retrieved their contracts they radiated a subtle golden glow. Aron had crafted these contracts over the past week during the intervals when he had taken breaks from playing the game with Nova. After the departure of the other members, a select group of about 10 individuals remained in the room as instructed by Aron. Among them were John, Edward, and a few others who had been assigned official positions during the meeting. Aron, dragging a chair closer to the group, planning to provide them with detailed briefings regarding their specific tasks. "Alright, gentlemen, now that we have commenced our operations, it is crucial that you thoroughly briefed on your respective responsibilities," Aron began talking to them. Chapter 125 Briefing. ? After the departure of the other members, a select group of about 10 individuals remained in the room as instructed by Aron. Among them were John, Edward, and a few others who had been assigned official positions during the meeting. Aron, dragging a chair closer to the group, planning to provide them with detailed briefings regarding their specific tasks. "Alright, gentlemen, now that we have commenced our operations, it is crucial that you thoroughly briefed on your respective responsibilities," Aron began talking to them. Turning his attention to John, Aron conveyed the upcoming plans. "John, in two days, you will be part of the first group, alongside myself, heading to Eden. I have arranged for you and Edward to meet some new acquaintances who will ensure your transition and stay there are as seamless as possible," Aron informed him. "Yes, sir," John responded, dutifully acknowledging the instructions given to him. Aron retrieved a stack of paper from his bag, about the size of a finger and comprising around 200 pages. He handed it over to John, remarking, "Inside this document, you will find everything you need to know in order to initiate the operations of our group." Aron then added, "Read through it and dispose of it by the end of tomorrow. I trust your ability to remember everything, considering the changes that have occurred since the day I treated you," implying that Aron was aware of the transformations John had undergone following his treatment. "Yes, sir," John responded respectfully, accepting the folder with both hands and placing it on his lap. Aron then redirected his attention to Edward and said, "Regarding the weapons procurement, you and the team selected to work with you will need to travel to Syria and Afghanistan for this mission. Make sure to acquire only the latest weaponry available. I don''t want any outdated weapons in the hands of my forces." He reached into his bag and pulled out another stack of papers, approximately half the size of the one given to John, and handed it to Edward. Aron continued, "Inside this folder, you will find the names and locations of weapons smugglers who can provide you with the latest gear in the market. Additionally, there are several Swiss bank account details to facilitate the financial transactions. Don''t worry about the cost; just procure what is necessary." Aron paused momentarily before adding, "Regarding the transportation of the weapons, there is a preliminary plan outlined in the documents. However, it will soon be modified as you will receive assistance from Eden''s army to smuggle the weapons into the country. You will need to wait for the updated plan before making any movements. In the meantime, you can start training based on the initial plan, and only retrain the modified parts once the new plan is sent." Edward nodded and replied, "You can trust us, sir. We will ensure the procurement process is carried out safely and securely." Aron looked at Edward intently and emphasized, "Keep your phones nearby during the weapons transfer. This will enable me to disable any devices that could potentially transmit digital signals, preventing anyone from tracing the location where the weapons are being sent." "Yes, sir," Edward responded. "Walter, as you are responsible for communications, you will also be among the first people going to Eden. Your primary task will be to maintain communications between the Eden army and Ares during the next three months leading up to the mission. After that, your responsibilities will be updated," Aron explained to Walter, handing him a stack of papers containing further details about his task. "Yes, sir," Walter replied respectfully, accepting the stack of papers. Aron proceeded to give the remaining members their respective orders, ensuring they had a clear understanding of their responsibilities. He provided them with a stack of papers containing detailed information to support their comprehension. As he concluded, Aron opened the floor for questions. Edward took the opportunity to seek clarification. "Sir, I have a question," Edward spoke up. Aron nodded, granting Edward permission to proceed. "Do I need to maintain a relationship with the weapons smuggler for future arms procurement, or is that not necessary?" Edward inquired. Aron paused for a moment, contemplating his response. "While I anticipate us not needing to rely on them for future weapon purchases, it is wise to maintain a positive rapport with the smugglers as a precautionary measure. In the event that any issues arise with my plan for independent production, having a favorable connection established may prove beneficial," Aron explained, indicating his intention to phase out reliance on external sources. "Understood, sir," Edward acknowledged "Any more questions?" Aron inquired once again, scanning the faces of the remaining members. Silence filled the room, indicating that no further inquiries were forthcoming. "Alright then, you may now resume your tasks. Remember, if you have any questions or require further clarification, feel free to contact me," Aron stated With those final words, Aron stood up, resulting in the others doing the same. He made his way towards the door, but just as he took two steps, he activated a concealment rune. In an instant, he vanished from sight, leaving John and his comrades frozen in surprise. They watched as the door swung open and closed on its own. ... "That scared me," John muttered under his breath, momentarily taken aback by the mysterious disappearance of Aron. However, he quickly regained his composure, reminding himself of the task at hand. He returned to his room, finding a seat and carefully unfolding the document in his hands. As John delved into the contents of the document, he realized its importance was even more than he previously thought. It outlined the positions and responsibilities of each member within ARES, providing a comprehensive overview of their tasks and duties. It became clear to John that Aron intended him to be the sole individual entrusted with this complete knowledge of the organization. The document also contained crucial information about their arrival in Eden, including the specific warehouses that needed modification to cater to their temporary needs. These needs encompassed training facilities, accommodation arrangements, and secure storage for their weapons, among other necessities. John spent the remainder of the night studying the document. Thanks to his enhanced memory, he absorbed every detail, etching the information deep into his mind. Upon reaching the final page and confirming that he had internalized every aspect, he picked up the match on the table. Carefully igniting the match, John watched as the flame danced and consumed the document. He maintained a vigilant gaze until every last page was reduced to ashes. Finally, he discarded the remnants into the waste bin, ensuring no trace of the document remained. .... After returning home, Aron followed his usual routine and logged into the Universal simulation. "Is there anything I need to take care of in America before heading to Eden?" He asked. [No, but There is something else that occurred while you were away,] Nova reported. "What happened?" [While you were away, the FBI tapped into the fiber optic wires connecting me to the internet. They are attempting to intercept and monitor all the data you send out from home.] She reported. "At last they made their move. Did they manage to intercept anything important?" Aron asked, unsurprised by their chosen course of action. He knew that the only options left for them were either kidnapping him or targeting his family, both of which were heavily protected. However, he understood that this action was not guaranteed to succeed. [They have intercepted all the encrypted communication I had in the past 4 hours between me and the company''s server,] Nova reported. "Then it will take them a few centuries to decrypt them," Aron said, smiling at the futile attempts the government was making to gain blackmail material. [Yes] Nova answered laughing together with him. "If that''s the only issue, then I can consider it resolved. There''s nothing else that requires my presence to be solved, right?" Aron asked. "Yes," Nova confirmed. .... The next day, John gathered all the ARES members in the same conference room where they had met with Aron the previous day. He distributed printed papers to each member and addressed them, saying, "These papers contain the names of everyone and their assigned positions, including the batch and day you will be heading to Eden. After learning your position and day of travel, immediately start your preparations for the journey. Once your preparations are complete, thoroughly search your room for any sensitive material or potential clues regarding our operations or destination. Dispose of them by burning them to ensure no traces remain. I expect a clean sweep before my final inspection tomorrow morning. Is that clear?" "YES!" they replied in unison. "You are dismissed," John said before leaving the conference room and returning to his own room. Everyone else stayed behind and started reading the papers to find out their assigned positions and the day they would be moving to Eden. Chapter 126 Ariving At Eden & A Talk With Felix While Driving ? "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are now approaching our final destination, Eden. Please ensure that your seatbelts are securely fastened and your tray tables are stowed as we prepare for landing. The weather in Eden is a balmy 25 degrees Celsius with clear skies, providing a warm welcome for all our visitors. We kindly ask that you remain seated and refrain from using any electronic devices until we have reached the gate. Thank you for choosing American Airlines, and we hope you''ve enjoyed your flight." As the pilot''s voice faded away, Aron, sitting on the window seat, turned his head to gaze outside to see the airport they would be landing. And there it was, the country''s one and only international airport. Its small size almost deceived him into believing it was a mere airstrip for smaller planes. However, what set it apart was its expansive runway, designed to accommodate the landing of large aircraft, and a handful of gates capable of welcoming and servicing these planes. The remaining facilities at the airport were remarkably antiquated. In fact, airlines traveling to Eden were compelled to redirect their return flights to Esparia, a neighboring destination that had made some investments in its airport infrastructure compared to Eden. This diversion was necessary to refuel their aircraft and minimize the risk of the potential damage that could arise from utilizing the outdated equipment in Eden. Nevertheless, the airport in Eden maintains its certification from both IATA and ICAO, thereby attesting to its approval for international flights. "GRFDGHHHH" With a screeching howl, the tires protested as the plane made contact with the deteriorating runway that was on the brink of disqualification in its upcoming inspection as the aircraft struggled to decelerate and begin the plane to a stop. As the plane came to a rest and began taxiing towards the gate to facilitate passenger disembarkation, a sense of impatience overcame many individuals on board. wanting to leave first, they started opening the overhead compartments to retrieve their belongings and positioned themselves near the exit door. This prompted the flight attendants to intervene, instructing the passengers to remain seated. Though reluctantly, they begrudgingly complied with the attendants'' orders. Aron and the members of Ares simply observed the unfolding absurd situation without making any gestures or taking any action. Following the plane''s complete halt, they proceeded to disembark, undergoing the customary checks and passing through airport security that was so sloppy it would make terrorists orgasm just from thinking on how they could exploit it. They were greeted by Felix, who had arranged a rental bus and another car to welcome and transport them to the hotel where they will be staying temporarily before their activities commenced. "Welcome," Felix said as he embraced Aron, having not seen his friend for a long time. "Thanks," Aron replied, returning the hug, as he had also missed his friend dearly. "How was your flight?" Felix asked. "The journey started off smoothly, but things took a turn for the worse once we entered Eden''s airspace," Aron said as he turned to the Ares members and glanced at the bus, signaling them to proceed. They quickly comprehended his gesture, swiftly shifting their belongings to the bus''s luggage compartment and boarding the vehicle. "Hahaha, I can totally relate! When I first arrived here, I thought we were going to overshoot the runway based on the unsettling noise the plane made during landing," Felix chuckled, finding humor in Aron''s explanation. He shared a similar experience he had when he first came to Eden. "I''m genuinely amazed that no major incidents have occurred given the subpar maintenance standards," Aron commented, as he made his way towards the Range Rover that Felix had brought along. "That''s because there are only five weekly flights to and from Eden, connecting with America and several other countries, due to the imposed sanctions and the warnings issued by the U.S. Department of State''s Consular Affairs," Felix explained, sharing his assumption. "As a result, the limited number of flights reduces the chances where accidents could potentially occur." "They really need to address this issue before something catastrophic happens and the country becomes completely isolated from international airlines. This airport is the only one with a long enough runway to accommodate these international flights," Aron expressed as they boarded the car, his worry evident as he contemplated the potential risks that could arise within the next three months, jeopardizing his carefully planned endeavors by attracting the world''s attention due to an accident. "Do you think the dictator would be willing to invest money here, considering the airport is operating at a loss?" Felix asked, taking control of the car as the bus carrying Ares members closely trailed behind. "No, I don''t believe so. He is excessively driven by greed, unable to envision long-term plans and solely focused on short-term gains," Aron replied, recalling the details he possessed about the dictator, which he had even shared with Felix to aid in his efforts to persuade Adolf to agree to their proposed deal of acquiring the companies. "So, who are the individuals accompanying you? I hope it''s not a secret," Felix inquired, his face expressing curiosity. "They''re here for various missions unrelated to your job, so don''t worry," Aron replied in a playful tone, deliberately withholding any further details about their identities or purposes. "Does it relate to what you had in mind when you asked me to come and assist with acquiring the companies and providing free internet to the citizens?" Felix asked, attempting to convey to Aron that while he may not have full knowledge of his plans, he had developed a hypothesis supported by compelling assumptions based on his understanding of Aron as a friend. He wanted to avoid any potential issues that might arise if Aron were to discover that he knew something and hadn''t disclosed it. "Seems like you''re still well-oiled and haven''t rusted," Aron chuckled, finding his attempt to feign surprise at Felix''s knowledge quite amusing. After a brief bout of laughter, Aron regained his composure and said, "Yes, your assumption is correct. They are here for that task." Felix let out a sigh of relief, yet at the same time, his mind became further scrambled with a mixture of fear and uncertainty regarding what his friend was becoming. "Seems like the FISA has played tricks on your mind," Felix remarked, acknowledging that Aron had been compelled to make such drastic moves as a result of being backed into a corner. "That was merely the straw that broke the camel''s back. Even if they hadn''t taken such actions and forced me into these drastic measures, I would have still found a way to regain control over my affairs, albeit in a slightly different manner," Aron explained to his friend, clarifying his motivations. "Is it because of what happened at school and with Rottem?" Felix inquired, seeking to understand the circumstances that led to Aron''s shifting mindset. "Yes, at that time all I had was my head and Rottem just swooped in and took down every plan that I had planned after graduation just because I irritated him and I had no background to support me and stop him from doing it & immediately after being before I even got used to the life I got shot had my program stolen by two different countries before the idea of lobbying left my mind and went into action. " Aron paused for a moment as he laughed at his nativity of that period and before he said "They hit while I was down TWICE" "Yes, during that time, all I had was my dreams, but Rottem came in and dismantled every plan I had made for life after graduation simply because I irritated him. I had no influential background to protect me or prevent him from doing so. And just when I was starting to adapt to my new life, I was abruptly shot, and my program was stolen in two different ways by two different countries just as the mere idea of lobbying had crossed my mind, but was yet to be put into action," Aron explained, pausing for a moment as he chuckled at his own naivety during that period. He then added, "They struck while I was down, not once, but twice." "If that''s the case, it might seem like everyone is out to get what''s yours," Felix remarked, nodding in agreement as he comprehended that Aron''s situation was more complex than he had initially hypothesized, extending beyond just the involvement of the FISA. "When the incident with Rottem occurred, and he attempted to force me to repay the scholarship loan with exorbitant interest rates, there was one person who stood his ground, even though he didn''t know me. Unfortunately, that individual ended up losing his job for some made-up reasons, which ultimately destroyed his livelihood," Aron explained, highlighting the fact that not everyone was against him. "What happened to him?" Felix asked, surprised that there was someone courageous enough to oppose the arrogant Rottem at the university despite them not being a professor. "Of course, I had to repay him, even though he didn''t directly ask for it. I had Sarah hire him as the head of HR for the company, offering a generous salary and a substantial bonus last year," Aron responded, emphasizing that he was not one to forget expressing his gratitude towards others. "If you''re aware of someone attempting to assist you, then it means that you were the one who exposed the dirt on Rottem, right?" Felix asked, wearing a smile as he recalled how the news about Rottem had been made public. "Yes, I thought you were already aware of that," Aron replied. Chapter 127 Scheduling & Planning The Next Course Of Action ? "If you''re aware of someone attempting to assist you, then it means that you were the one who exposed the dirt on Rottem, right?" Felix asked, wearing a smile as he recalled how the news about Rottem had been made public. "Yes, I thought you were already aware of that," Aron replied. "Assuming something and hearing it directly from you are two different things," Felix responded, indicating that although he had suspected it was Aron, it reminded an assumption as he had not received confirmation directly from him. "I had to repay him for what he had done to me, and even go beyond that. He tried to ruin my future, and I ruined his. However, I will handle things differently from him," Aron stated in a neutral tone. "How?" Felix asked, curiosity evident in his voice as he sought clarification on what Aron meant by handling things differently. "I will ensure that he remains down. Currently, I''m waiting for him to gather himself and rise up again, only to swiftly bring him crashing back down. It''s more satisfying when you have something, only to have it taken away, and just when you''ve rebuilt yourself, you''re struck down once more," Aron said, a sadistic smile creeping across his face as he envisioned the evidence he had prepared to strike Rottem with once he had fully recovered from the previous blow. The smile on Aron''s face sent shivers down Felix''s spine, making him realize that Aron had no intention of forgiving Rottem anytime soon. "Does Sarah know about this?" Felix asked. "Not at the moment. I''m waiting for this plan to yield results and for the company''s registration and headquarters to be moved to Eden before I brief both of you about everything," Aron replied as he leaned out of the window, his attention caught by an advertising banner. Felix smiled upon hearing that they would be briefed in detail, relieved that he wouldn''t have to rely solely on assumptions to fill in the missing pieces. As he noticed Aron''s attention being drawn to a billboard, he also took a glance to see what it was about. When he saw it, a smile formed on his face and he said, "We''re still promoting the free internet offer on the roads leading to and from the airports, ensuring that those arriving in Eden are informed and can register quickly." "By now, every Edenian with a smartphone has already switched to GAIA OS and is still enjoying the free internet," Felix said, feeling a sense of pride. However, his tone quickly turned to anger as he added, "But the dictator''s aides are still pressuring us to shut it down as soon as possible. It looks like Adolf is having a stroke at the thought of the money he would have earned if it wasn''t for it." "Don''t worry, they won''t be bothering you for much longer," Aron said, with assurance in his tone. "I understand," Felix replied, choosing to patiently wait until the day Aron had promised to reveal everything. He knew that the answers he sought regarding the inconsistencies in Aron''s plans would be provided in due time. During the rest of the journey, they shifted their conversation to other topics, knowing that it was necessary to change the subject or else Felix might get into an accident. Upon their arrival at the hotel, the members of Ares wasted no time. They swiftly checked in and immediately proceeded to their assigned rooms to rest. They had to do so in order to begin their mission tomorrow with a body full of energy. As for Felix, he bid Aron farewell and returned to the office, as he still had some work to do. He had personally come to welcome Aron at the airport because they hadn''t seen each other in a long time. If it weren''t for that, he would have simply sent proxies to carry out the task, as Aron had requested. After bidding his farewell to Felix, Aron took the elevator and proceeded to his room. Upon entering the room, Aron placed the bag he had brought near the bed and then sat down on the bed. He reached into his pocket and took out his phone. "Call Alexander," he said, bringing the phone to his ear and waiting for the call to connect. Triiiiiii. Triiiiiiii. Triiiiiiiii. "Hello," Alexander said immediately after answering the phone. "Hello, how is everything going?" Aron asked. "Everything is proceeding as planned, but the leadership members are causing some issues. They are insisting on an immediate meeting with you, or else they may consider betraying you once the operation is completed," Alexander explained the situation to Aron, being transparent and not concealing any details. "I''m already in Eden and can meet with them. How about next week? I will be done with my work by then. It is better that I address their concerns sooner rather than later in case some of them decide to sabotage everything out of arrogance," Aron suggested. "Yes, next week works. I will make sure they are ready for the meeting," Alexander replied respectfully. "Also you don''t have to worry about their opinions and I''m sure you know that we can do everything we planned without their participation. At most, it will delay the plan by a few days only" Aron reminded Alexander that only he was needed as for the remainder they were replaceable. "I understand that, but for the next steps after the coup to proceed as smoothly as possible, we will need their support. They hold the trust of the initial members who occupy leadership positions in most of our offices. While they also trust me, if they unite and attempt to obstruct our plans, it could escalate into unnecessary violence and create temporary obstacles," Alexander responded calmly to Aron, indicating that he wasn''t afraid of the dissenting members, but rather concerned about the potential bloodshed and short-term difficulties that their defiance and instigation could cause. Hearing this, Aron nodded, satisfied with Alexander''s reasoning and chosen course of action. Shortly after, he said, "Then see you on Monday next week for the meeting," bidding farewell to Alexander before ending the call. Following the call, Aron retrieved the VR headset from the bag nearby. He positioned himself comfortably on the bed and logged in to do final checks on the plan. [Welcome, sir,] greeted Nova as Aron passed through the gate, taking a seat on the chair that Nova had materialized for him. "Thanks," Aron replied, taking a seat. He then asked, "Have the locations of the generals already been determined?" [Yes, their security is practically non-existent. They are using an outdated private communication network, and currently relying on CONNECT''s services just like civilians. This makes it very easy for me to know their locations and what they are up to in real-time,] Nova replied. "Good. Show it to me," Aron said, wanting to see the locations of the generals. Nova materialized a hologram displaying a map of Eden, with a concentration of red dots indicating the location of the generals. "What are they doing in that building?" Aron asked, noticing the significant concentration of red dots in a single building on the map. [They are discussing the upcoming military parade and vying for the position of leading the army inspection alongside the dictator,] Nova replied. "Isn''t it customary for the highest-ranking general to conduct the inspection alongside the country''s leader?" Aron asked, expressing his surprise at the revelation that they were competing for the position. [The previous dictator abolished that position and instead opted to have only the heads of each branch of the Military as the highest positions, in order to prevent any one individual from having complete control over the armed forces,] Nova explained, sharing the information she had gathered. [This decision has led to heavy competition among the underfunded three branches, as they vie for the attention of the dictator in hopes of securing more funding for their branch, which will increase the amount of money they can then embezzle for their personal gain.] "The previous dictator was indeed astute, unlike his current unintelligent son who is driven solely by greed and lacks any form of oversight," Aron remarked, recalling the information he had acquired through the private investigators he had hired. [At the moment, the country''s stability relies solely on the loyal aides that were left behind by the previous dictator to support his son before his demise,] Nova concurred, acknowledging the significance of their role in preventing the nation from descending into chaos. "But this is good for us, as any change we bring about following the removal of Adolf is bound to be an improvement over his reign," Aron said with a smile, expressing his excitement for the future. "Anyway, tomorrow we begin with the plan, and since they are gathered in one place, it makes it even easier than I had previously expected," Aron said, feeling relieved that they were all gathered in one place, as due to constantly traveling between one location to another for the past few months, he was on the brink of starting to hate cars. Chapter 128 Meeting The Generals ? The next day. Aron removed his virtual reality headset after Nova informed him that it was time for him to start preparing for his visit to the generals for his little unannounced meeting. After placing the headset back in the bag, Aron activated the protection rune on it and proceeded to the bathroom to freshen up. He washed himself before changing into a fresh set of clothes. He took the elevator to the lobby where he found John and Walter waiting for him. They had been there for over half an hour, patiently waiting for his arrival. "Let''s go," he said as he reached them, before heading towards the car that Felix had left for his use. John and Walter followed him without complaining or mentioning the wait of more than half an hour. "Allow me to take the wheel, sir," Walter offered when he noticed Aron approaching the driver''s door. Being the lowest-ranked among them, he felt it was his duty to take on the driving responsibilities. Aron nodded and made his way to the back door to board the car, where he found John had already opened it for him. Aron entered the car, followed by John and Walter. as each settled into their respective seats When Walter boarded the car, he noticed that the destination was already set in the car''s navigation system. Without uttering a word, he quietly started the engine, and with a nod from Aron, they began their journey. The journey was filled with silence, with the only sound that permeated the car being the soft hum of the engine and the occasional traffic noise from outside. The lack of conversation persisted because of the hierarchical dynamics at play. Since Aron had not initiated any discussion, the others followed suit, adhering to the unspoken understanding that it was not their place to start a conversation with their "Stop here," Aron instructed when they were approximately one kilometer away from their destination. Walter silently maneuvered the car to a suitable spot and parked it. He then stepped out of the car, following Aron''s lead as Aron and John exited the vehicle. "From here on, we''ll be walking as we don''t have any reservations," Aron announced, facing Walter and John with a smile as he was enjoying the moment. "Yes, sir," they replied obediently, without questioning the correlation between not having a reservation and the need to walk. Aron then cast a concealment rune on all of them, although to John and his companion, it appeared as if Aron was simply raising his hands and uttering some words without any visible effect. However, given their complete trust in Aron, they made no attempt to interfere with his actions. "Now no one will be able to see us until I cancel the rune, so keep that in mind," Aron informed them, ensuring they were aware of the temporary invisibility. While it would have been amusing to observe their reactions to their invisibility as they passed by people if he had not told them about it, he understood the need to prioritize the mission over personal enjoyment. After delivering the information without giving them much time to process it, Aron took the lead and began walking towards the building. John and Walter, though caught off guard by the sudden revelation, followed closely behind him, their minds racing to digest the new information. They walked in silence, hoping to make sense of everything before they reached their destination. Ten minutes later, they finally arrived at the gate of their destination: the central command building of the Eden''s military in the capital city. As they stood before the entrance of the central command building, they couldn''t help but notice the grandeur of the structure. Like many dictators, Adolf had chosen to construct a massive military edifice to make a statement. The imposing building exuded an aura of authority, its facade meticulously designed to project power and dominance. Aron understood that the grandeur was more than just a display; it served as a fa?ade, concealing the underlying cracks and corruption within the system and the people who operated within its walls. On the other hand, John and Walter''s attention was focused on something entirely different. They were astonished and amazed as they locked eyes with the heavily armed security forces guarding the gate. These guards seemed completely oblivious to their presence, behaving as if everything was normal and failing to acknowledge their existence right in front of them. Aron allowed John and Walter to relish the experience for a few moments, savoring the surreal feeling of being completely unnoticed by the guards. He patiently awaited the opportune moment to make their move. Shortly thereafter, the opportunity presented itself, and without hesitation, Aron declared, "Let''s go in." With the sight of someone else being thoroughly searched and granted entry, the gate opened, providing Aron and his companions a seamless passage into the compound. Taking the lead, Aron confidently passed through the gate, with John and Walter quietly following in his footsteps while trying to make a concerted effort to remain as discreet as possible, ensuring not to draw any attention from the guards who were completely unaware of their presence despite Aron having talked to them just moments ago. ..... "This year was supposed to be my turn, but why the heck do I have to come here and see you two trying to change this?" The Eden Air Force general exclaimed, his voice tinged with anger. "As I mentioned last year, the leading position should be held by the one with the most powerful branch, as this is an event watched by the whole world. Therefore, I should be leading to ensure that we don''t embarrass ourselves," the Army general stated, his tone and expression filled with pride. "Just because you have the most members in the military doesn''t automatically make you more important. I should be the one leading this year, just like I did last year because I am responsible for guarding the largest territory of our nation," retorted the Navy general, his words laced with a hint of irritation at the Army general''s prideful boasting. "We were discussing who would be leading the next parade. How does guarding the largest territory have anything to do with it? In 2012, we agreed to take turns leading the parade in chronological order, and both of you have already had your turns. Why do you want to break the agreement now that it''s my turn? Don''t you think that''s hypocritical?" The Air Force general interjected, redirecting the conversation back to the topic of him leading the parade and emphasizing the agreed-upon arrangement rather than engaging in a size-based boast. He was aware of his weakness in that aspect and sought to regain control of the discussion. "Although the agreement may seem reasonable, upon further consideration, I disagree with you leading the parade. Your Air Force is nothing more than a name, lacking any substantial capabilities. Look, you only have five third-generation airplanes, and the rest of your arsenal consists of outdated equipment. Do you really think it''s fitting for you to lead the parade with such a subpar Air Force backing you?" The army general said in a mocking tone. "And let''s not forget that those five aircraft have little to no airtime, constantly undergoing repairs. Due to that, they can also be considered outdated too" the Navy general added, aiming to undermine the Air Force general even further. "Let''s not kid ourselves here," the Air Force general retorted as the two other generals laughed after mocking him. When their laughter subsided and their attention returned to him, he raised his finger and pointed it at the Navy general. "Your navy is nothing but a joke, equipped with World War II fleets that were either gifts or purchased for a bargain. The only difference between your ships and our fishermen''s boats is that yours are made of metal and wood," he said, causing the Army general to start laughing once again. However, the Army general''s laughter was short-lived as the Air Force general''s finger turned towards him, and he continued, "As for you, your army is armed with nothing but rusted equipment. They would have a better chance of winning a war if they fought with arrows and stones," he declared, striking a nerve with the Army general who slammed his hand on the table in anger. The Air Force general paid no mind to their reactions as he pressed on, "We all know that the funding meant for our forces is being diverted to maintain Adolf''s luxurious lifestyle and further arm his private forces. Based on their armament and investments alone, they could take on our combined forces and emerge victorious. So there is nothing to feel proud about, whether you have the largest number of personnel or are tasked with guarding the largest territory. When your forces are incapable of fulfilling their duties, there is no reason to boast. Therefore, as per our agreement, I will be the one leading the upcoming parade. Anyone who disagrees will witness whether these outdated airplanes are still capable of bombing the houses of certain generals," he concluded, his words laced with a threat. The more he spoke, the angrier he became, fueled by their previous mocking words. "Wow, that was impressive," Aron exclaimed, materializing out of thin air and applauding. The sudden appearance of Aron caught the attention of the generals, leaving them frozen in their seats, a mixture of surprise and fear etched on their faces as they tried to comprehend how someone could appear out of nowhere. Chapter 129 Instilling Fear Within The Hearts Of The Generals ? Aron had been silently observing the heated exchange between the generals, accompanied by John and Walter, who were also relishing the experience of being in a room and listening to people without their knowledge. When the air force general burned the shit out of the other generals "Wow, that was impressive," Aron exclaimed, materializing out of thin air and applauding. The sudden appearance of Aron caught the attention of the generals, leaving them frozen in their seats, a mixture of surprise and fear etched on their faces as they tried to comprehend how someone could appear out of nowhere. "Who are you?" the Army general shouted, his and the other generals'' hands instinctively reaching for their hips where their guns would typically be. However, they quickly realized that they had surrendered their weapons before entering the room, a testament to the lack of trust among the generals. "I''m Aron and you guys are?" Aron introduced himself and returned the question to them as he was enjoying this feeling of acting like a mysterious guy. The air force general thinking fast started introducing himself "My name is Christopher Hartman and I''m the general of the Eden airforce" as his hand slowly slid under the table trying to press the button on it to call for the soldiers waiting outside. Realizing Christopher''s attempt to divert Aron''s attention, the other generals swiftly introduced themselves, hoping to redirect the focus away from Christopher''s actions. "I am General Nathan Whitaker, in charge of the Eden Army," Nathan stated, his voice steady and composed. "And I am General Ethan Sinclair, commanding the Eden Navy," Ethan added, maintaining his calm demeanor. "You really shouldn''t have done that," Aron stated, his gaze locked with Christopher''s. Aron knew what Christopher did, but he chose to let it happen, aware that it would be time-consuming to convince them to sign the runic contract peacefully. Instead, he saw this moment as an opportunity to demonstrate his power and coerce them into compliance. The stakes were high, and Aron wanted to make it clear that failure to cooperate would result in severe consequences for them all. As the emergency button was pressed, a silent alarm was triggered, and within moments, the room filled with the sound of pounding on the door. Aron swiftly turned his attention to John and Walter were still concealed, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "Enjoy the show," he remarked, his voice filled with anticipation. He then started making his way towards the door, where soldiers were desperately trying to breach the locked room. As Aron stood just two steps away from the door, it finally succumbed to the overwhelming force and collapsed, unleashing a swarm of approximately fifteen armed guards poised to enter the room. Without hesitation, Aron swiftly assessed the situation as the first soldier entered, recognizing that Aron was not among the generals. The soldier instinctively lowered his weapon, which had been pointed skyward, and redirected it towards Aron. Seeing the soldier''s actions, Aron deftly sidestepped while simultaneously grabbing hold of the soldier''s outstretched arm, causing the soldier to inadvertently discharge his firearm, the bullet whizzing past Aron and striking Air Force General Christopher. "ARGHHHHH!" Christopher cried out in agony as the bullet pierced his shoulder. Seizing his advantage, Aron yanked the soldier towards him, and in one movement he kicked the guard''s hip like a football, dislocating the soldier''s limb and sending him sprawling across the room as he screamed in excruciating pain. Wasting no time, Aron swiftly moved on to the next soldier, who was better prepared than his predecessor, firing his gun directly at Aron''s face. Reacting with lightning speed, Aron activated a shield rune, swiftly positioning it to intercept the bullet''s path and redirect the bullet. The bullet ricocheted off the shield, changing direction and finding its mark on Navy General Ethan, who let out a sharp cry of pain. Observing that his soldiers were only inflicting harm to the generals while Aron remained unscathed, Nathan swiftly sought refuge under the table, trembling and desperately hoping that the soldiers would be capable of handling the man who called himself Aron. John and Walter watched the unfolding events in awe, unable to help but notice that Aron seemed to possess no formal fighting training. Yet, what struck them was his astonishing raw strength and speed, as they witnessed him effortlessly lifting a soldier with a single hand and hurling him towards the general hiding under the table, causing a thunderous crash upon impact. Simultaneously, Aron swiftly delivered a powerful kick to another soldier, propelling him through the air and crashing him against the wall. They also observed that he had an uncanny ability to anticipate and evade kicks and punches, even reacting just microseconds before they landed, swiftly dodging the blows with remarkable precision. Astonishingly, not only did Aron evade these attacks, but he also counterattacked with equal swiftness and precision despite it still being clumsy. Thirty seconds later, a resounding cry of pain echoed through the air, followed by a stifled groan. Aron had swiftly dislocated the last soldier''s shoulder And before the soldier could even comprehend what had happened, Aron delivered a forceful punch to his stomach, resulting in an expulsion of the morning''s meal as he doubled over in nausea and distress. "Whooooh," Aron exhaled deeply, his body filled with adrenaline and excitement. "I really need to learn how to fight," he admitted, acknowledging his lack of combat skills. As Aron surveyed the room, he was struck by the horrifying sight of gore and the devastation he had caused. As he witnessed the scene, though it was minimal, he experienced a wave of nausea. However, he swiftly suppressed the urge and cast a healing spell on himself to regain his composure. He turned his face towards John and Walter, and commanded them "Gather them in one place," while simultaneously deactivating the concealment rune that had been placed on them. As John and Walter followed his instructions, Aron approached the table where Nathan was hiding, his injuries minimal compared to the others. Placing his hands on the table, he exerted his weight, causing it to snap in the middle. This sudden action startled the already frightened Nathan, pushing him to the brink of losing control and almost causing him to have an accident. He proceeded to firmly grasp the collar of the general''s uniform, effortlessly lifting him up with a single hand as if he were a mere doll forcing the general to stand as he brought him face to face with him, Aron delivered his message with a commanding tone, saying, "Listen carefully. Inform the soldiers on the way that the situation is under control and everything is in order. Or there won''t be a body left for them to collect when they arrive." "Yes," Nathan replied, his voice trembling with fear. "Very well," Aron responded, taking a moment to straighten the general''s uniform, ensuring there were no creases or stains. Using a cleaning rune, he swiftly removed any traces of blood from the uniform. He then positioned the general to face the door and stood behind him, leaning in close to the general''s ear. With that, he pushed the general forward, compelling him to begin his walk, as the sound of approaching soldiers grew louder and closer to the room. As Nathan emerged through the door, the approaching soldiers came to an abrupt halt, snapping into a salute. They questioned, "General, we heard gunshots. Is everything alright?" Nathan, striving to maintain a serious demeanor, responded, "Yes, the gunshots originated from this location, but everything is under control. Return to your positions." "But sir..." the leading soldier attempted to express his concerns, but before he could articulate his thoughts fully... "Just follow your damn orders, you incompetent fools!" Nathan shouted, unleashing his frustration on them. He couldn''t direct his anger at Aron, still haunted by the memory of the man''s actions. "Or do you want to face a court-martial for disobedience?" "No, sir. Have a good day," the soldiers promptly saluted, fully aware that the military court-martial was essentially synonymous with an execution court. They understood that anyone sent there would always receive the maximum punishment, and in this case, the consequences would be severe. The soldiers turned on their heels and began their journey back to their assigned positions, mindful of the gravity of the situation and the potential repercussions for any misstep. Nathan quietly made his way back into the office, carefully closing the remnants of the broken door behind him as his eyes shifted towards John and Walter, who were diligently gathering the injured soldier and bringing them to a centralized location. He then approached Aron, who was seated in a chair, and informed him, "The situation has been resolved, and they won''t return unless I specifically request their presence." "Good," Aron acknowledged, his attention turning towards the injured soldier. He directed Nathan, saying, "Go and assist them. The sooner we deal with them, the quicker we can proceed to the main topic." Nathan''s heart trembled with fear as he contemplated the possibility that Aron intended to kill the injured soldier. Powerless to intervene, he reluctantly joined John and Walter in their task of moving the wounded soldier. Tears streamed down Nathan''s face, as if someone had instructed him to dig his own grave, overwhelmed by the weight of his emotions. Chapter 130 The Signing Of The Contract ? "Both of you playing dead, get up," Aron commanded, addressing the generals who were attempting to feign death, despite being wounded only in non-critical areas such as their hands and other parts of their bodies. "If you don''t wake up by the count of three, I''m going to kill you for real," Aron threatened, his voice carrying a sense of discontent. He began the countdown, "One... Two..." However, before he could reach the count of three, the generals abruptly rose from their positions where they had been pretending to be lifeless, instantly snapping back to alertness. "Since you tried to deceive me, each of you will suffer the punishment of a broken bone," Aron declared, causing John, Walter, Nathan, Ethan, and Christopher to freeze in their places. John and Walter stood motionless, their disbelief evident on their faces, as they had never witnessed this sadistic side of Aron before. Up until this point, they had only experienced his more benevolent nature. While they knew Aron was capable of causing significant harm, they hadn''t anticipated his brutality to this extent. As for the generals, Nathan silently thanked his lucky stars that he hadn''t attempted to play dead, while the others trembled with fear at the prospect of the impending pain. Aron intentionally utilized this moment as a form of psychological torture, fully aware that the anticipation of pain can often be more agonizing than the pain itself. He understood that the fear and anxiety one experiences while awaiting a known painful event can be far more distressing than the actual physical suffering. ... A few minutes later. "Sir, we have finished," John reported to Aron, that all the injured soldiers were collected at his specified location. "Alright, good. You two, come here," Aron said, gesturing for the two immobilized generals to approach him. He intended to fulfill his promise by breaking their bones before healing them. The two generals approached hesitantly, their steps slow and filled with prayers of hope that Aron might have a change of heart before they reached him. Aron maintained silence, saying nothing as the two generals reached him. "Let''s get this over with," Aron said, gripping their arms firmly. He focused his strength, exerting pressure with his hands until a distinct snapping sound filled the air. Only Aron and John, with their enhanced senses, could hear the audible snap, as the generals had already begun screaming in agony a few seconds earlier. "Alright, take a seat. We have something important to discuss," Aron instructed, pointing towards the chairs for them to sit. He intended to commence the conversation about his proposition. "You, too, take a seat," Aron turned to Nathan, who had been attempting to blend into the background while his fellow generals endured the pain of their bones being broken. Nathan hurriedly walked, trying to reach the chair as fast as possible, and took a seat near his fellow generals. "I will heal you all shortly, but before that, I need each of you to sign a contract," Aron stated, making it clear that he had no intention of explaining the contract''s contents to them directly. He expected that they would read and comprehend its terms once he had departed. "If anyone has any objections, now is the time to raise your hand," he added, leaving the opportunity for dissent or concerns to be voiced so that he can deal with them before they cause trouble later. Although Aron had given them the opportunity to raise their hands if they had any questions or objections, not a single general dared to do so. The foremost thought in their minds was Aron''s assurance of healing. In this moment, they held complete faith in Aron''s capabilities, as they had some time to comprehend the extraordinary events of the past hour. From his sudden appearance, effortlessly subduing their soldiers, to his raw strength demonstrated by breaking their bones, they either genuinely believed or desperately hoped that he possessed the power to heal them. "Since there are no questions, let''s proceed to sign the contract as quickly as possible," Aron stated, while he presented the generals with contracts the size of small books, each containing nearly four hundred pages. The contract encompassed every aspect of what Aron required from the generals, outlining both their obligations and restrictions. Crafted by Nova, it had been meticulously designed to close any potential loopholes that might inadvertently expose Aron or his plans. Every detail had been addressed to ensure that the generals would comply without compromise. "Sign them now, you can read them later," Aron commanded, observing the generals who attempted to read through the contracts to understand their contents. His watchful gaze prompted the generals to swiftly flip to the final pages of the contract, where they discovered their designated spots for signing alongside Aron''s already affixed signature. Without wasting any time, the generals quickly signed their names, their minds preoccupied with the belief that whatever the contract entailed, it could not be worse than enduring the excruciating pain of having their bones broken while feeling utterly powerless. As soon as they finished signing their signatures, witnessed only by Aron, the contracts emitted a radiant golden glow. Within moments, both Aron and the generals were enveloped in a shimmering golden light that permeated their bodies. A sensation akin to a knot being tightly tied within their beings briefly surged through them, though only Aron possessed the sensitivity to perceive it. For the others, it was merely a fleeting discomfort, triggered by their existing wounds. "Good," Aron acknowledged, retrieving the contracts from the generals without any intention of leaving them with physical copies with his signatures. "I have sent the digital version of the contract to your phones and computers. Once our discussions are over, you can start reading them," he explained, carefully placing the contracts back into the bag from which they had emerged. "Now, let''s begin the healing process," Aron announced, proceeding to activate a large number of healing runes on each soldier, who lay down awaiting treatment. The number of runes applied to each soldier varied according to the severity of their injuries. As the runes took effect and visible signs of healing manifested, Aron shifted his attention to the generals. Though their injuries were comparatively minor in comparison to the soldiers, he still applied a smaller number of healing runes on their bodies to facilitate their recovery. 3 hours later. Both the soldiers and the generals were astounded by what their eyes beheld. Every trace of their wounds had vanished, leaving no lingering pain behind. The only remnants of their previous injuries were the residual bloodstains, traces of urine, or the torn remnants of their clothing. "I trust that you possess the intelligence not to talk about what had happened here," Aron asked the now healed soldiers, who were seated on the ground. Their heads nodded in agreement with a sense of urgency, as if their lives depended on it. "Very well. You may leave," Aron instructed, prompting the soldiers to hastily leave the room as if fleeing from a monstrous presence. "I will give each of you a period of two days to thoroughly read and comprehend the contract before you initiate contact with him," Aron stated, extending his hand to point at Walter as he addressed the generals. "His name is Walter, and he will be responsible for facilitating communication between myself and all of you. Is that clear?" "Yes," the generals responded in unison "As for him, his name is John, and his orders carry the same weight as my own. So, whatever he commands you, it is to be treated as if it were coming directly from me. Is that clear?" "Yes," they answered once more, nodding their heads in unison, their eyes locked onto John and Walter, their faces imprinted in their memories, afraid of letting even the smallest detail slip away. "And with that, my job here is done. I''ll see you in 2 days. Let''s go," Aron said, rising from his seat. The generals promptly stood up, and John and Walter followed him towards the door. Before reaching the door, the three vanished in the same mysterious manner they had arrived, leaving the generals behind in shock, frozen for the fourth time that day. .... After they departed the building without drawing any attention, John took the opportunity during their ride back home to turn to Aron and address him with a respectful tone, saying, "Sir, may I ask you a question?" "Go ahead," Aron said, shifting his attention towards John. "What are your intentions for them now that they have signed the contracts?" John inquired, as he could at least speculate on the contents of the contracts. He was aware that whatever provisions were stated in the contracts were binding, as Aron had thoroughly explained how the contracts given by him worked in the documents given to him on the day ARES was established. "After we return to the hotel, I will provide you with a document containing the comprehensive details of my intended utilization of the Edens army and instructions on how you can effectively employ them for your upcoming missions. In essence, we now possess complete control over the Edens army through the generals." Aron gave John a short answer and promised to provide him with a dossier containing all the necessary information regarding his strategic plans for utilizing Eden''s army. Since they all are in the same field of work and as a part of his strategy to reduce his workload and rely on trusted individuals, Aron intended to delegate the responsibility of utilizing the generals to John. "Understood," John replied, and he remained quiet for the rest of the journey, deferring his curiosity until he received the document that held all the answers he sought. Chapter 131 The Generals. ? The generals, now left alone after enduring a series of unimaginable events within a few hours, sat in silence. They were still processing the astonishing turn of events and the speed they took place. Half an hour had passed since Aron and his group departed, and during that time, not a word was exchanged between the generals. The only remnants that served as a constant reminder that their recent experience was not a dream were their tattered clothes and the broken items scattered around the room. "I''m going to my office to thoroughly examine the contract. It''s important for us to understand their contents in order to avoid any inadvertent violations, preventing a repeat of what we just experienced. Given his ability to swiftly heal us, any potential punishment from him would likely be more severe and could potentially last for hours, without the concern of us succumbing to blood loss or serious injuries," Nathan declared as he rose from his chair. "We can''t hide either, considering his ability to appear and disappear without a trace," Ethan added, his voice tinged with unease. He shuddered slightly at the memory, realizing the futility of attempting to evade someone with such enigmatic powers. Without wasting any time, all the generals rose from their seats and made their way back to their respective temporary offices within the building to diligently study and comprehend the contract in its entirety. The urgency to understand the document outweighed any lingering thoughts about the interrupted meeting and the topic they were discussing before Aron abruptly ended it with his unexpected appearance. None of them had any intention of leaving their offices before they finished the task. As a wise man once said, "Your problem only seems significant until a bigger problem comes knocking at your door." ..... "Have a good day, sir," Walter and John bid farewell to Aron as they arrived at the hotel and stepped out of the car. "You too," Aron replied. Then, he directed his attention to John and assured him, "I will send you the file shortly." With that, Aron turned around and made his way to the elevator, heading back to his room. Upon entering his room, Aron collected the stack of freshly printed papers from the printer. "Summon the nearest Ares member to my room," Aron instructed Nova. "I need them to deliver the folder to John." [he is on his way]Nova reported back shortly, informing him that the called Ares member was already on his way. [But wouldn''t it be more efficient to call John directly yourself?] Nova questioned, voicing her curiously as Aron patiently waited for the summoned soldier to arrive. "While it''s true that I could do that, It''s important to maintain respect for his position in order to prevent any potential disrespect from other Ares members," Aron explained, providing his reasoning behind his choice. Nova expressed her disagreement with Aron''s explanation, stating, [I don''t believe they would disrespect him, regardless of how you treat him. Unless you explicitly order them to do so, they will not show disrespect to someone you have chosen and placed in that position. Disrespecting John would ultimately be seen as disrespecting you, as you have deemed him qualified and entrusted him with the role.] "It''s not just about them, Nova. I also need to acclimate myself to this approach before the new members from the army join us. This way, I can avoid inadvertently treating John as a subordinate of lower rank, establishing a precedent early on rather than later," Upon hearing Aron''s reasoning, Nova eventually agreed, her silence serving as confirmation of her acceptance. KNOCK KNOCK Hearing the knock, Aron rose from the bed where he had been sitting with the folder and made his way to the door, and opened it "Good afternoon, sir," the soldier greeted respectfully, saluting Aron as he stood at the door. "Good afternoon," Aron reciprocated the greeting and handed the soldier the folder he had been holding. "Deliver this to John," he instructed the soldier. "Yes sir. Have a good day" the man answered as he received the folder with his hands and bid Aron farewell before he started his walk toward John''s room. "Did anything important happen while I was away?" Aron asked Nova as he closed the door and made his way back into the room. [None sir,] Nova responded. "Good" [How do you feel after having to act so serious for the first time?] Nova asked in a teasing manner but still curious about his experience. "Although it was challenging to maintain the facade for hours, it did serve its intended purpose," Aron replied with a smile. [That''s true,] Nova replied, her smile widening as she replayed the audio of Aron''s act during the meeting. "Now, the only thing left is to meet with the revolutionary leaders who are causing trouble and ensure that they also sign the contracts, which will make dealing with them easier." He said as he laid down on the bed and put on the virtual helmet logging in the universal simulation. ..... "Aaaaah, god" "Fuck" "Shit" The three generals expressed similar sentiments, even though they were in separate rooms reading the contracts. Despite their expectations for the contract''s inclusion of unfavorable clauses that required them to engage in activities they did not approve of, they soon discovered that their level of expectations fell short of what they were actually confronted with. Christopher wasted no time. He swiftly grabbed his landline phone and dialed the numbers of the other two generals to discuss the contracts. "Have you finished reading the contract?" he asked abruptly, without offering any greetings or engaging in small talk, as soon as they answered the call. "I just finished reading it," Nathan replied. "Me too," Ethan responded last. "But I''m curious about something. How will he know if we''ve violated any of the clauses?" Ethan asked. "I''m curious too. It seems some of the clauses would be impossible for him to detect if we''ve violated them," Christopher chimed in, concurring with Ethan''s observation. "He''s not foolish enough to include these clauses without having the means to detect our violations and enforce the consequences," Nathan responded, his voice filled with a tinge of apprehension. "Remember, this man appeared out of nowhere, withstood bullets, effortlessly incapacitated us using his hands only, and healed our wounds in minutes. Do you really believe he couldn''t dispatch people to monitor us invisibly, just as they did today? What makes you think he isn''t monitoring us right now?" Nathan turned his head, scanning the room for any signs of abnormality. "His abilities don''t appear to be limited to the physical realm alone but also extend into the digital world. How on earth did he manage to upload files onto our computers and phones without us even providing him with our contact information?" Christopher pondered, expressing his bewilderment. "Furthermore, the file doesn''t contain a sender''s address; it''s as if the file materialized out of thin air. This suggests that he might even be eavesdropping on our communications at this very moment." "Shit!" they all said simultaneously, their voices filled with alarm, as they quickly turned to look behind them, half-expecting someone to materialize out of thin air and strangle them. They came to the sobering realization that the once cherished sense of security they felt when alone had been entirely compromised. At any given moment, someone could be invisibly present in the same room watching them. "We can''t escape him anywhere," they silently contemplated, refraining from voicing their thoughts aloud, fearful of the consequences. "I believe we don''t need to worry about him taking action against us when we discuss him amongst ourselves," Ethan cautiously shared, pausing briefly to reflect on the previous encounters. "During our initial meeting, he retaliated when one of us pressed the button and called for the security team. The second time, he inflicted harm upon us when we attempted to feign death, resulting in our broken hands. His actions were always in response to our own actions, never exceeding that boundary. Therefore, as long as we abide by the clauses of the contract, I don''t think he will pose a direct threat to us." Ethan''s analysis, though speculative, offered a glimmer of reassurance amidst their growing unease. "That''s just an assumption, and I truly hope it''s correct," Christopher interjected, his voice tinged with a mixture of anxiety and desperation. "Because if he turns out to be an irrational individual, then we''re in serious trouble." Christopher''s hope hinged on Ethan''s assumption, as they had lost all semblance of control the moment that enigmatic man entered the room during their meeting. "I hope so too," Ethan replied. "I wonder how he intends to utilize us," Nathan pondered aloud. "Could he be plotting to employ the military for a coup d''tat or some other purpose?" Nathan''s question hung in the air. "It''s possible that he intends to utilize us for drug or weapons trafficking, but considering his ability to appear and disappear at will, he doesn''t really need us for that," Ethan responded. "If that''s his plan, I must admit, I''ll take pleasure in executing it. Adolf has squeezed us far too tightly," Christopher said with a smile on his face. "But we''re well aware that it will be challenging to confront Adolf''s private forces, given their heavily armed nature," Christopher added, acknowledging the formidable obstacle they would have to face if that was really Aron''s plan. "There''s no need to strain our minds pondering over it. He specifically instructed us to contact him in two days. So, let''s wait for further instruction on that day." Nathan suggested. "I agree. I''m going to read the contract a few more times," said Nathan. "Me too," added Ethan "So, who will be leading the parade?" Christopher asked but received no answers. Because the moment they heard the question, they ended the call. Chapter 132 Meeting With The Regional Revolutionary Leaders ? A week later. Aron strolled alone, making his way into the hotel, his steps purposeful as he approached the reception area. He carried a bag in his hand, having entrusted his car in the hands of the hotel''s valet for him to go and park the car. "Welcome, Mr. Aron," Alexander exclaimed, rising from the comfortable chairs in the hotel lobby. He had been patiently waiting for Aron''s arrival, to accompany him to the meeting room they had scheduled. "Oh, Alexander," Aron replied warmly, extending his hand for a handshake. "How have you been?" Alexander asked, his tone filled with genuine interest. "Quite well, although your regional leaders have been the only ones causing some mischief," Aron responded in a playful manner. Over time, their frequent calls had brought them closer, fostering a light-hearted banter between them. "I apologize for that," Alexander replied, a hint of embarrassment creeping into his voice. Although he knew Aron was merely teasing him, he couldn''t help but feel a tad self-conscious. "Don''t worry, after today, everything will be resolved," Aron assured, lightly tapping Alexander''s hand in a reassuring manner. "Let''s head to the meeting room," Alexander suggested, taking the lead as he and Aron began walking towards the elevator. "But shouldn''t they be joining us as well? Where are they?" Aron inquired, realizing that Alexander was alone. "They are already waiting in the meeting room." Alexander explained. "Don''t worry about it," Aron reassured, noticing that their conversations often seemed to end with Alexander appearing a bit disheartened. As they stepped into the elevator and it began raising, Alexander initiated small talk, filling the brief ride with casual conversation while they waited for their arrival at the floor where the conference room was located. .... "Welcome," they promptly stood up as Aron entered the room alongside Alexander, displaying a gesture of respect, albeit without genuine sentiment behind it. Alexander guided Aron to his chair, before taking his own seat as the meeting was about to commence. "So, Mr. Aron, before we delve into the next topic, could you please introduce yourself? The upcoming discussion heavily relies on our understanding of your background," Adam stated as soon as the meeting commenced. A smile played across Aron''s face as he responded, "Before I address any of your inquiries, I kindly request that each of you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Without the signed agreement, I won''t be able to answer your questions." He retrieved a stack of contracts from his bag and placed them on the table, inviting them to review and sign the documents. Ace took hold of the stack of contracts and proceeded to distribute them among the attendees in the room. Each person began reading through the contents of the NDA contracts thoroughly. One by one, they began signing the contracts as they noticed that everything was in order and the clauses were standard for an NDA. Additionally, they reasoned that they could easily break the contract whenever they deemed necessary, considering the lack of enforcement. As they signed the contracts, as usual Aron felt the same sensation of a knot being tied down. However, his heightened sensitivity allowed him to discern that the weight of the knot on his soul has slightly increased but he considered it as a mistake on his part and decided to postpone further contemplation on it when the meeting was over. When everyone completed signing their contracts, without wasting any time he began introducing himself. "As most of you already know, my name is Aron Michael. As for my occupation, I am the owner of GAIA Technology. That''s all there is to it; I don''t believe any further details about me are necessary." "How old are you?" Ace inquired, curious about Aron''s age, considering he still appeared to be in his twenties. "I''m in my twenties, and that''s all I''ll disclose," Aron responded, deciding not to divulge his actual age. He sensed that Ace intended to exploit his age as a means to undermine him. "That''s perfectly fine," Oscar interjected, noticing Ace''s intention to pry for Aron''s full age. "So, Mr. Aron, based on Sir Alexander''s explanations, he mentioned that your assistance is contingent upon the condition that once we successfully assume control of the country, you want us to rewrite the constitution and the abolition of the military and its institutions. Is this information accurate?" Adam inquired. "Yes," Aron replied succinctly with a single word. "Could you please explain the reason behind your proposal?" Adam asked. "I intend for my private forces to assume their role and function as the country''s military," Aron explained. "But why do you prefer it to be that way? Is it primarily a matter of financial gain? If so, we can discuss compensating you after the coup," Adam pressed further, wanting to understand Aron''s motivation behind wanting to replace the existing military. "When it comes to money, I possess wealth exceeding your country''s GDP, so it''s not about financial gain," Aron clarified. "The reason behind my proposal is to establish a legal framework that enables me to expand my forces without external interference. This way, I can safeguard the things I value without relying on the protection of others." "Then why Eden? There are numerous unstable countries in the world that you could have chosen," Ace interjected, seeking further clarification. "Among the numerous candidates initially considered, only two countriesEden and Espariaremained in the selection process," Aron explained. "The reason for choosing these two countries is their geographical isolation. Being situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, they are mutually exclusive, with no immediate neighboring countries other than themselves. This unique circumstance makes them the perfect locations for establishing my forces. The geographical distance between Eden and other countries allows me to expand my forces to a scale comparable to the world''s largest militaries without provoking tensions with any nation, except for Esparia. As for why I chose Eden over Esparia, it primarily relates to the size factor. Eden''s land mass is nearly equivalent to that of Australia, providing ample space to justify the desired expansion of my forces." Aron explained without hiding anything as he was sure that no one would like anything he said in the room. "Okay, since you will be assuming control over the military and its institutions, who will we be paying for their services?" Inquired another member of the meeting, who had remained silent until now. "You will only be responsible for paying the salaries of the forces and providing the necessary land for the military. As for weapons procurement, research and development, training, and all other expenses, they will be covered by me. So, you don''t have to worry about those aspects. You will have a world-class military while operating within the budget of an underdeveloped country," Aron explained. He was confident that despite shouldering the majority of the expenses, the overall cost would be extremely low due to him planning to use the universal simulation. As Aron''s response reached their ears, a collective gasp of astonishment spread throughout the room. Even Alexander, who had been closely working with Aron, found himself taken aback, unaware of Aron''s plan to cover all the additional expenses. "Any more questions?" Aron asked, noticing the silence that had fallen upon the room. Ace, with a noticeable change in his demeanor, spoke up, "I have a question regarding the military. Your plan, as shared with us, did not address how you intend to handle the current military. Could you please provide some insights?" "I have already held a meeting with the generals last week and addressed that particular concern," Aron replied confidently, eliciting another wave of surprise from the attendees. "They have agreed to assist us in the coup d''tat, and once the constitutional change takes place, they will be integrated into my forces after the disbandment of their previous institutions." Curiosity piqued, Adam interjected, "May I ask what you did to persuade them to agree to such a deal?" "That''s a business secret," Aron replied with a smile on his face, maintaining an air of mystery around his tactics. "You mentioned that you will be undertaking the research, but could you please clarify what specific areas or subjects the research will cover?" one of the attendees inquired, seeking further details. After a brief pause, Aron began his response, "The research will encompass a wide range of areas essential to the military''s requirements. This includes weapons research and development, as well as addressing all other aspects necessary for a fully functional military force. Given that we will be operating as a quasi-mercenary group masquerading as an army, it is anticipated that many countries will be reluctant to sell us their weapons. Therefore, we need to establish our own research department to ensure we have the necessary capabilities." "That''s true," Ace agreed with Aron''s explanation. He was confident that they would need to spend a few more months waiting for other countries to acknowledge the new country followed by them forming diplomatic relationships, which would be followed by the lifting of sanctions imposed on the country. The other members in the room immediately started asking the questions they had in mind or requested further clarification on the answers Aron had provided. Throughout the entire discussion, Aron diligently responded to each question, providing the necessary information without divulging anything beyond what was needed. Aron opted for this approach to ensure that his upcoming plans could proceed without any hindrance or delays caused by the removal of the individuals in the room. He wanted to avoid any adjustments to his plan and desired to move forward with the next steps as soon as possible. Chapter 133 Discovering The Limitations ? Once the meeting concluded and they found themselves alone in the room, Alexander asked, "Are you absolutely certain that no one would be willing to exchange information with Adolf in exchange for financial gain?''" Aron posed the question, "Do you genuinely believe the greedy Adolf would be willing to offer monetary compensation to anyone solely for acquiring information?" After giving it some thought, Alexander responded, "I highly doubt it. He would likely make false promises of payment, but once he obtains the information, he would promptly proceed to apprehend the individual as well." "While that may be true, there could be individuals who perceive themselves as exceptional and entertain the notion that they can successfully demand payment from Adolf in exchange for the information." "Indeed," Alexander agreed. "Rest assured, I will receive immediate notification and swiftly resolve any such attempts before they even materialize. You need not worry. In the meantime, you need to commence with the small-scale protests in various cities. By doing so, when the actual coup takes place, it will appear to the international community as if the government was unintentionally toppled on a day marked by widespread protests, without any prior planning." Aron reassured "I understand. Additionally, considering you mentioned having control over the generals, could you make them order the police departments so that they simply arrest our people without resorting to their usual brutal treatment of the protestors?" Alexander inquired, expressing his desire to minimize casualties. "I will inform them about it. However, it is also crucial to ensure that the protestors do not exert excessive effort. They should engage in normal protesting activities, and when the police arrive, they should disperse from the protest grounds. This will gradually condition the police to anticipate protests ending upon their arrival, leading to complacency. Consequently, on the day of the final protest, they will not arrive fully prepared, assuming that the protestors will disperse as usual." Aron added "Rest assured, I have taken care of that aspect. All the newly recruited members who joined as a result of your efforts are completely conditioned to completely trust me, and I can guarantee their strict adherence to the given instructions," Alexander responded, exuding confidence in his tone. "Very well. I must depart now and return to my hotel to attend to other plans," Aron stated, rising from his chair. Alexander promptly accompanied him, guiding him to the elevator and through the lobby until they reached the hotel''s exit. Their conversation continued until the valet arrived with Aron''s car, at which point Alexander bid him farewell. Aron boarded the car and departed the hotel, heading back to his own accommodations, satisfied with the completion of all his scheduled meetings. ... The next day. "Sir, two days after our visit to the military headquarters, as per our planned arrangement, the general made contact. Following the instructions outlined in the folder you provided, Walter issued a few initial orders to them. They are currently in the process of executing those orders. However, it appears that they require additional funding support due to being underfunded," John explained to Aron inside a room where the ten individuals holding important positions, assigned by Aron, were gathered. This room served as the venue for their weekly meetings, allowing them to update each other and Aron on the progress of the plan. "Excellent. Utilize the funds available from your reserves to cover the necessary expenses," Aron replied, instructing John to allocate the required finances. He had previously provided them with a substantial sum, estimated to be around 500 million dollars in cash. "We will do so" John answered back. "How is the weapons procurement going?" Aron asked. "With the backing of the military, we have successfully arranged for a sanctioned navy vessel to intercept them in the middle of the ocean. They will transfer the cargo from their boat to the military vessel. As for storage, we have secured the Navy''s port warehouse as a temporary solution until the renovation of the designated base is completed," Walter responded. He was responsible for overseeing the communication between their group and the Military. "How is the progress of the base renovation coming along?" Aron asked, seeking an update on the current status of the renovation project. "By employing a significant number of local workers and providing them with competitive wages, we have successfully completed approximately 20% of the renovation. We anticipate finishing the entire renovation within the next three weeks," came the response, indicating the progress made on the base refurbishment. "Have this week''s group arrived yet?" Aron asked. "They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow as their flight today was canceled due to inclement weather," reported Paul, the Ares coordinator, providing an update on the situation. Turning his attention back to John, Aron asked, "How are the preparations for the D-day progressing?" "We have successfully acquired over one hundred and fifty houses near strategic locations, and they are currently undergoing renovations to suit our specific requirements. Once the weapons arrive and are securely stored in the military warehouses, they will undergo a final inspection to ensure their readiness and to remove any remaining trackers. Subsequently, we will begin transporting them to the designated houses, where they will be stored in preparation for the upcoming D-day," John explained. "When do you anticipate the completion of the renovations?" Aron asked. "We expect everything to be ready and weapons to be stored in the houses within two months." "Why is it taking such a long time when the base renovation is expected to take only about a month?" Aron asked. "The slight delay is primarily attributed to a limited number of personnel available to oversee the renovations simultaneously. Consequently, we are currently selecting a smaller subset to commence the renovation process and intend to scale up the number of concurrent renovations as more members arrive in Eden," John explained, giving the reason behind the extended timeline. "Very good," Aron remarked, his expression conveying satisfaction as he nodded in approval upon hearing the positive update on the progress. Walter, seizing the opportunity, asked, "Sir, wouldn''t it be more advantageous for us to have control over the leaders of the dictator''s private forces, just as we have done with the generals?" "That presents a challenge because the previous dictator deliberately kept his private forces divided to prevent any internal threat to his leadership. These forces are currently under different leaders and organized into various groups of differing sizes. The leaders who possess significant control over their respective factions tend to remain in close proximity to Adolf. Furthermore, due to the brutal actions of these forces against the public during Adolf and his father''s reign, they cannot be assimilated into our ranks and instead need to be held accountable through prosecution after the coup is successfully completed. However, it is worth noting that most of these forces will not be combat-ready on the D-day. The remaining combat-ready individuals will be dealt with by our group and the military. Therefore, there is no immediate necessity for us to gain control over them," Aron explained to Walter, outlining the reasons why directly approaching the leaders and coercing them into compliance was not a viable option. For the time being, Aron had no intention of divulging the newly imposed limitations he faced in using runic contracts. After returning from the meeting with the regional revolutionary leaders last week, Aron had sought clarification from Nova regarding the sensation of the knot feeling slightly heavier than usual, questioning whether it was genuine or simply a figment of his imagination. [ [You are right. It really is getting smaller] Nova replied after seeking Aron''s permission to take control of the VR helmet in order to conduct some checks on his body and mind. "You mean the knot is getting heavier, right?" Aron asked, wondering if Nova made a mistake with her statement, which should be impossible. [No, no, it''s not a mistake. When I said it''s getting smaller, I meant it,] Nova replied, noticing Aron''s perplexed expression. "What do you mean by that?" Aron asked, his curiosity now piqued. [When you sign a runic contract, it is stored in the soul space of both party A and party B, as well as the space of the enforcer. So when you feel a knot being tied, it is simply the runic contract being stored in your soul space. So when I said it is getting smaller, I meant that your soul space is decreasing in size as it is being occupied by the runic contracts,] Nova explained, clarifying her earlier statement. "So you''re suggesting that the sensation of the knot getting heavier is due to the shrinking of the space?" Aron asked, seeking further clarification. [No, the knots increasing in weight has nothing to do with the space getting smaller] Then what is the cause of it, and why didn''t I feel the increase in weight of the knot when the Ares members signed their runic contracts with me?" Aron asked, wanting to understand the underlying reasons. [The runic contract you are using is of the lowest level, which means it requires many specific conditions to be met in order to function flawlessly. In the case of the generals and some of the revolutionary leaders, not all of the conditions were fully met, leading to your discovery of the increase in the weight of the knot. On the other hand, when the Ares members signed the contract, they did so willingly and without any objections, fulfilling all the necessary conditions. This is why you didn''t feel the increase in weight when they signed. The generals, however, were not completely willing to sign the contract and only did so under duress. As a result, the knot on your soul became heavier than usual because the contract rune didn''t have all the conditions fulfilled. To ensure the generals and some of the revolutionary leaders do not break the contract in the future, the size of the contract rune needed to be increased, thus occupying more of your soul space and causing the heavier sensation in the knot,] Nova explained calmly. "What exactly is this ''soul space'' you keep mentioning?" Aron asked after the term kept being repeated by Nova in her explanation. "The soul space is where all the runic contracts are stored to monitor your soul''s adherence to the clauses within the contract. If you violate the terms, the stored runic contracts can be accessed by the enforcer to administer the appropriate punishment for breaking the oath," Nova clarified. "Is there a maximum capacity for the soul space?" Aron asked [Yes, there is a maximum capacity for the soul space. Also since you are using the lowest level of runic contract, each contract takes up a significant amount of space compared to higher-level contracts. Additionally, as both the enforcer and a party to the contract, your soul space is being consumed at twice the normal rate, as you have to accommodate two entities with each contract you sign.] Nova explained. "Based on the size of my soul space, what is the maximum number of runic contracts that I can sign?" he asked, his voice revealing his underlying worry. while his heart rate increased as he anxiously awaited the answer to his question. [You have a maximum capacity of 1000 runic contracts, and you have already used more than 720 of them,] Nova replied, her tone conveying the weight of the situation. "Shit," Aron muttered in frustration upon hearing the answer. "I had planned to utilize the runic contracts to simplify my tasks, but it appears that it was nothing more than a futile dream," he said, realizing that several of his future plans after the coup d''tat would need to be reconsidered and reconstructed. Observing Aron''s turmoil, Nova gently patted his back and reassured him, saying, [It won''t always be like this. The ongoing research in Lab City has discovered that your soul''s level can be elevated under certain conditions. When the conditions are met they expect the system to activate some of the runic lines among the billions of dormant ones in your body, leading to the evolution of your soul. This evolution should grant you various new benefits, including the expansion of your soul space. Alternatively, you can accumulate enough sp to purchase intermediate runic knowledge, allowing you to sign higher-level runic contracts that are smaller in size and occupy less space in your soul. This would enable you to sign more contracts than you can currently.] "Moving forward, I''ll have to be more stringent when selecting individuals to enter into runic contracts until we unravel the conditions for triggering the evolution," Aron murmured, his gaze still fixed on the floor. Meanwhile, Nova maintained her comforting presence, gently sliding her hand across Aron''s back. ] "I understand," Walter replied after hearing Arons answer. "Good, let''s end today''s meeting here and meet again next week." With those words, Aron ended the meeting. Chapter 134 The First Shot ? 1 month later. Black site. Kassim could be seen pacing anxiously in his room, displaying visible signs of panic as he awaited someone''s arrival. KNOCK KNOCK Upon hearing a knock at the door, Kassim swiftly moved to his chair, straightened his attire, cleared his throat, and then called out, "Come in." After obtaining permission to enter, Patric, the project manager, nervously entered the room and said, "You called for me, sir?''" "Yes, I summoned you because there is only one month left from the four-month extension you requested to complete the program development. Is it going well? Are you on schedule?" Kassim fired two questions in quick succession, causing Patrick to tense up with each query directed at him. "Sir, you know..." Patrick began, attempting to respond, but before he could finish his sentence, Kassim interrupted him, asking, "It''s not ready yet, is it?" "Unfortunately, not yet, sir," Patrick answered, his head lowered in embarrassment and fear as he averted his gaze towards the floor. "Is there any possibility of completing it within the remaining month?" Kassim asked, his voice betraying his struggle to contain his anger, as if he were holding himself back from harming the man until he received an answer to this question. "It''s almost impossible," Patrick replied, fully accepting his fate. "Get out and await the punishment to be determined for you and your team!" Kassim shouted, his anger no longer under control. As Patrick hurried towards the door, Kassim threw a nameplate that bore his name, hitting Patrick in the back of his head just before he closed the door. "AGHHHH" causing Patrick to cry out in pain, as he clutched his now swelling back head, as beads of sweat continued forming on his forehead. "Shit," Kassim muttered to himself after he was left alone in his office. Kassim''s hand rested on the table, his finger tapping continuously as he deliberated on the course of action to take. Should he wait until next month, hoping for a miracle that would allow them to complete the program? Or should he make the difficult decision to call his superior and inform him of the impossibility of the task, suggesting they proceed with their attack on the Rothschilds? The weight of the decision hung heavily on his shoulders as he considered the consequences of each choice. After pondering for more than five minutes, Kassim reached into his pocket and retrieved a burner phone. He dialed the number of his superior, making the difficult decision to inform them that they should move forward with their plans. By doing so, he hoped to mitigate the potential punishment he would face for not completing the program within the requested extension of the four-month period. He pressed the call button and brought the phone to his ear, ready to deliver the news. "What is it?" came the voice on the other end as soon as the call was answered. "It''s about the program research team," Kassim said, trying to maintain a respectful tone. "Go on and say it, we don''t have all day," the voice on the other side impatiently urged Kassim to continue speaking. "Today I asked the project head about the expected completion timeline, but it appears that meeting your deadline is impossible. So, to avoid wasting your time in futile waiting, I suggest that you proceed with the plan without waiting for the program, sir," Kassim said, his voice cracking as he reached the last words, displaying his nervousness. "Okay," the voice on the other end said, and then the call ended abruptly without any further words. "I''m screwed," Kassim muttered under his breath, realizing that once their plans were complete, they would come after him and his team. "At least we won''t die," Kassim said with a hint of relief. He realized that by informing them early, he had managed to escape the potential consequences of waiting until the given timeline was over, which would have resulted in four months of unnecessary delay. Making the consequences much heavier. .... Somewhere in America. A man wearing a displeased expression placed the phone back on the table. "What''s the problem, George?" a voice asked, causing him to lift his head and gaze at the individuals seated along the sides of the long table, engaged in a meeting. "It was Kassim, father," George answered. "Is it good news?" Aubrey, the man sitting at the head of the table, asked after receiving the answer. "No, Father, it''s not. He informed us that it is better that we move on and not waste our time waiting for them to complete the program, as they are still stuck in the same place," George replied. "Looks like your side is not doing well either," Jason remarked with a smile on his face upon hearing George''s answer. "Looks like forcing the secretary of defense to take the program from them was pointless. It would have been better if we had simply kidnapped him and made him personally upgrade the program," Aubrey intervened upon seeing George''s expression in response to Jason''s comment. "But that would have drawn too much attention if he had suddenly disappeared right after releasing the program. That''s why we were compelled to pursue this course of action," George replied to his father''s remark. "I know that, and I remember your concerns about the potential risks involved. However, considering the program''s significance and the impact it had on our plans, I can''t help but think that kidnapping him would have been a more strategic move. We could have used the media to tarnish his reputation and divert public attention until the situation normalized. Having him in our custody would have eliminated the current problem we''re facing," Aubrey responded to George''s statement. "Unfortunately, it seems that we have no other choice but to proceed with the plan without relying on the program," Jason interjected, acknowledging the reality of the situation. Aubrey said, addressing the board members in the office, all of whom were responsible for overseeing different black sites. "Inform the planning teams that they have one week to finalize the revised plan. We will initiate our attack immediately one week after that. Is that clear to everyone?" "Yes," all the board members, including George, replied in unison, signaling their understanding and agreement with the timeline for the upcoming attack. "Okay, let''s conclude the meeting for today," Aubrey announced, prompting the board members to rise from their seats and begin exiting the board meeting room. After everyone had left the room, leaving only George and his father Aubrey, the latter spoke up. "You knew that the board members are going to use this against you, right?" "Yes," George answered. "Then why did you react that way when Jason spoke?" Aubrey asked "I just wanted to put him back in his place. His black site failed to accomplish anything even after they received the copies of my research. He tried to shape it as if I''m the only one at fault," George answered confidently, showing no concern for his father''s remarks. Seeing his reaction, Aubrey smiled with an expression of pride on his face. He placed his hands on his son''s shoulders and began speaking. "Good. That''s how you''re supposed to be. The board members will always be looking for ways to gain leverage against you and advance their own agendas. Maintaining this confidence is essential." "Yes, Father," George replied with a smile on his face, feeling quite satisfied to receive a compliment from his father every now and then. "Yes, always bear in mind that you are the future head of the Morgan family. It is crucial for you to have complete control over those who work under you," Aubrey emphasized. "Do you grasp the implications of what I''m saying?" "Yes, Father. I will ensure that Kassim and his team are punished heavily so that they refrain from making empty promises in the future," George replied, prompting his father''s smile to grow wider. "Good, but don''t take it too far," Aubrey said, offering a word of caution. "Yes, Father," George replied, maintaining the smile on his face. ... Two weeks later. John Harrison entered his workplace, TPG Capital, with an air of nervousness enveloping him. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he glanced around the bustling trading floor. Colleagues hurriedly passed by, eyes focused on multiple screens displaying stock prices, charts, and market data. It was a typical Monday morning, but today was different for John. As he made his way to his desk, John forced himself to greet his colleagues with a shaky smile. "Morning, Sharon," he muttered, wiping his clammy hands on his pants. Sharon, hearing John''s nervous greeting, raised an eyebrow but responded with a curt nod before diving back into her work. With trembling hands, John logged into his workstation, his heart pounding in his chest. As the clock ticked closer to the opening bell, John''s anxiety intensified. His eyes darted around the room, looking for any signs of suspicion. The once-familiar environment now felt suffocating, the weight of his actions bearing down on him. With trembling fingers, John entered a series of complex commands into the trading program. He carefully specified the timing, ensuring the trades would be initiated at the designated time. After inputting all the orders, he hesitated for a moment as his finger hovered over the final button. With a deep breath, he pressed ENTER. Officially firing the first shot in the attack against the Rothschilds. Chapter 135 The Crash Pt_01 ? Somewhere in America. "George, are you certain that the man you selected will carry out the instructions and not just give up midway?" asked Aubrey. They were the sole occupants of a lavishly furnished room, accompanied by a towering screen exhibiting stock market charts before them. They were conversing to pass time as they awaited the execution of the planned attack and for the results of it to be reflected on the large screen. All necessary preparations and instructions had been meticulously programmed into their systems, leaving only the execution of their prearranged commands. "You needn''t worry, Father," George responded assuredly. "If he still desires the safe return of his family, he will fulfill our instructions." "Remember, son," Aubrey imparted, attempting to instill a valuable lesson. "Do not assume that something will be accomplished until it is actually done. Otherwise, you may find yourself betrayed at the most unexpected moment. It is crucial to avoid placing unwavering expectations on others, regardless of any leverage you may hold against them, in order to shield yourself from the shock of their betrayal." "That''s precisely why I have contingencies in place for such situations," George affirmed, acknowledging his father''s concern. "Good. Make sure you are always prepared like this," Aurey said, a satisfied smile adorning his face. "I understand, Father," George acknowledged his father''s wisdom, refraining from expressing any disagreement. He was well aware that he could be replaced by his brothers should his father ever grow dissatisfied with him. "It has begun. It seems there is no necessity for the backups to take action. Congratulations, son," Aubrey commended his son as soon as the screen before them displayed the market''s descent. ..... As Arieh delved into the files pertaining to his business, he asked Charlotte, "Has she transferred the funds from her investment account, or do they remain untouched?" "No transactions took place during the short period we could monitor the account. Once she deposited the funds, she assumed personal control over the account and utilized her authority as the CEO to restrict access to the account''s information for everyone," Charlotte responded. "What on earth does she intend to invest in with that money, anyway?" Arieh exclaimed upon hearing Charlotte''s response. "I don''t know, sir," Charlotte replied honestly. Arieh glanced at Charlotte and stated, "My question wasn''t directed at you." Upon receiving the response, Charlotte felt a twinge of embarrassment, yet she composed herself and bid Arieh farewell. She then made her way back to her office, to carry on with her work. Once Arieh found himself alone, he redirected his attention towards his work. However, just as his concentration was regained, Charlotte abruptly barged into the room without even seeking permission. Bursting in with urgency, she exclaimed, "Sir, something terrible is happening in the stock market!" while attempting to hand him the tablet she held in her hand. Arieh, on the verge of reprimanding Charlotte for her uninvited entrance, found his words caught in his throat as he received the tablet and witnessed its contents. Gathering himself quickly, he attempted to repeat his question, "What is goi" but was abruptly interrupted by the incessant ringing of his office phones, a realization dawning upon him that the tablet''s contents were far from a mere prank. He answered one of the calls and asked, "What is it?" "Sir, the stock market is plummeting, and your personal investments are reporting significant losses," the voice on the other end relayed, representing Arieh''s designated private investment monitor. Arieh''s memory kicked in, and he queried, "As far as I recall, my investments are under the control of high-frequency traders (HFTs), and they should be sold once the losses reach a certain threshold. Am I mistaken?" he asked, directing his question to his investment manager. "Yes, sir, they are currently executing the sales, but the market is flooded with similar actions, causing a delay in selling the shares. Consequently, the prices are plummeting, resulting in escalating losses," his investment manager explained. "Fuck! Minimize the losses as much as you can," Arieh exclaimed, cutting off the call without waiting for a response. He swiftly answered the second ringing phone, to address the unfolding crisis Another call from one of his private investment managers reiterated the disheartening news. After concluding the conversation, Arieh chose to ignore the subsequent incoming calls, leaving Charlotte to handle them in his stead. "What could be the reason behind this?" Arieh muttered anxiously, his gaze fixated on the stock market data displayed on his screen, clearly indicating the market''s downward spiral. Despite also being responsible for overseeing one of the family''s investment funds, Arieh understood that his team would only contact him once they had managed to minimize the damage, providing him with a comprehensive assessment of the losses incurred. "No signs of this crash were evident in the market in recent days. If this was avoidable and I missed it, then I''m in deep trouble," he ruminated silently, his eyes fixed on the screen, unable to tear himself away from the unfolding situation. ... [Rina, it has started,] Ava informed, alerting Rina to the commencement of the morgans attack. Rina halted whatever she was engaged in and shifted her gaze to the computer screen, where the falling stock market confirmed the unfolding events. "Arieh must be freaking out right now," Rina remarked, a mischievous smile gracing her face at the mere thought of her brother experiencing extreme distress. "What is the projected loss for our family businesses once it''s all said and done?" Rina asked Ava, seeking an estimate of the anticipated impact. [At the very least, your family businesses are expected to incur a loss of no less than 750 billion in assets,] Ava reported, conveying the initial estimate. [The precise amount can only be determined once everything has concluded.] "Once everything is finalized and the losses are calculated, I will be the sole beneficiary," Rina declared, a smile forming on her face. [Don''t you feel any sadness seeing your own family suffer such significant financial losses?] Ava questioned Rina, seeking to understand her perspective. "I am indeed affected, but not to a great extent since I don''t have control over the money at the moment. Instead of feeling sadness or hurt, I am filled with anticipation. I can hardly wait to witness Arieh''s expression when the full extent of the damage is revealed," Rina responded, her smile slightly diminishing but still present. [That''s true. Not only Arieh but also the other family members entrusted with the control of different family funds will face the loss of support from the board and other family members. It will likely lead to the family head removing Arieh from his current position, which in turn will restart the power struggle for the position. This presents you with the perfect opportunity to seize that position once and for all,] Ava explained, emphasizing the potential consequences of the unfolding events. "Yes, that''s where the control over the board members becomes valuable. All I need to do is instruct them to shift most of the blame onto Arieh, highlighting his responsibility for the majority of the family business while the family head assumed a more passive role. If the conversation is steered in that direction, the family head may ultimately agree to their proposition," Rina explained, outlining her strategy to leverage the board members'' influence in order to shift accountability and further her own ambitions. [But you won''t be able to avoid scrutiny either. Arieh may inquire about the personal loan you took and whether your investments have been successful or if you''ve incurred losses, potentially requiring the family''s assistance. It''s crucial that you make a decision now regarding how you''ll address this matter when he brings it up as a diversionary tactic,] Ava reminded Rina, emphasizing the need for her to formulate a clear response in advance. "Not at this moment. I will make a decision about whether or not to disclose it once I assess the extent of my gains from this event. If I have profited significantly, it would be wise to withhold the information to avoid raising any suspicions regarding my knowledge of the situation. Arieh might even attempt to paint a picture of me conspiring with the Morgans to orchestrate his downfall and seize his position, resulting in the family having heavy losses." Rina replied, her mind immersed in contemplation after Ava''s reminder. .... [Sir, the Morgans have initiated their actions,] Nova informed Aron, who was engrossed in reading a document within the universal simulation. "So, they''ve chosen today to make their moves. Excellent. This will divert the international community''s attention towards America for approximately a month, allowing us to evade their scrutiny entirely," Aron remarked, shifting his focus back to Nova as he responded. [As they say, when America''s economy sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold,] Nova replied with a smile. "Bring up the chart. Let''s examine which aspects our simulations accurately predicted and where we may have overlooked certain factors," Aron instructed, setting aside the document he was reading and directing his complete attention to the unfolding events. [Yes, sir,] Nova responded, mater?alizing hundreds of holographic screens, some displaying information in green and others in red. Once the complete visualization appeared, she explained, [The green screens represent predictions we made with complete accuracy. However, the red screens indicate that while our predictions were correct, there were certain degrees of deviation. As a result, we are still benefiting from those situations, but not to the extent we initially anticipated.] Chapter 136 The Crash Pt_02 ? The stock market crash worsened as time went on, with each passing moment bringing further decline. After fifteen minutes of continuous descent, there was a brief pause before the market, like a resurrected force, began to rise again. In a matter of minutes, everything reverted back to its previous state prior to the fall, and astonishingly, the market even surged higher than its pre-crash levels. ..... George let out a sigh of relief when he noticed his watch displaying that 15 minutes had passed. As the stock market began to stabilize, it became evident that their plan had borne fruit and was now reaching its final steps for a successful conclusion. With a satisfied smile on his face, Aubrey exclaimed, "It''s finally over!''" "Yes, Father," George said with a sense of satisfaction. "Now all that''s left is to calculate the losses we inflicted upon them and the gains we secured." He couldn''t help but feel pleased that his meticulously crafted plan, hatched from his black site, had enabled his family to seek revenge against the Rothschilds. Upon hearing his son''s response and realizing that his son understood the importance of waiting for the final results before celebrating, he smiled and said, "Good, that''s the right attitude. You must ensure that everything is truly concluded before indulging in celebration." He gently patted his son on the shoulder, acknowledging his maturity. "The final results should be in our possession by the end of the day. You can go and rest, Father. I will inform you as soon as they arrive," George assured his father. "I will do just that. Keep up the excellent work," his father replied. "Yes, father," George acknowledged, as he watched his father stand up from the sofa and exit the room. As soon as his father was out of sight, George couldn''t contain his excitement any longer. He began jumping and celebrating, reveling in the victory they had achieved. ... Aron, having observed the unfolding chaos within the universal simulation, began to feel weary as he watched the hundreds of screens that Nova had materialized. As a result of the time acceleration within the universal simulation, Aron found himself watching the screens for over an hour and fifteen minutes, even though he had little comprehension of the events that were taking place. When Aron witnessed the charts, which had been depicting a downward trend, suddenly start to rise again, he turned towards Nova, who had remained silent all this time, and inquired, "Is it finally over?" [Yes, it''s finally over, and now it''s time to tally the spoils,] Nova said with a smile on her face. "How much did the market lose during those fifteen minutes?" Aron asked, his curiosity piqued as he sought to understand the extent of damage inflicted upon the global economy in the Morgans'' vengeful pursuit. [During those fifteen minutes, the stock market lost 4 trillion dollars,] Nova explained, responding to Aron''s query. [However, shortly after the fall ended, the market regained its lost value. Although the value and money have been recovered, they are now in the hands of the winners.] Aron, aware that he was among those who had gained the most, allowed a brief smile to grace his face before he regained his composure. He then asked, "Out of the trillions that were lost, how much of it was lost by the Rothschilds?" He wanted to understand the extent of damage inflicted upon the Rothschild family by the Morgans. Nova, having already utilized her quantum computer to perform the necessary calculations as soon as the fall ended, provided an answer. [During the fall, as it caught them by surprise, the Rothschilds incurred losses of approximately 2 trillion dollars,] she explained. [However, once they identified the cause, they were able to recover around 700 billion dollars as the market began its recovery. So, in total, their losses amount to roughly 1.3 trillion dollars.] "Wow, the Morgans managed to strike the Rothschilds from an unexpected angle this time," Aron remarked. "Now, I''m curious, how much did the Morgans gain from this situation?" [746 billion dollars] Nova answered. "Wow, that can indeed be seen as a resounding victory for the Morgans," Aron exclaimed. "If we take into account the losses they caused to the Rothschilds, their total gains would amount to almost 2 trillion dollars." [Although they achieved favorable outcomes, it appears that the Morgans earned less than their initial estimates for gains from this attack,] Nova added, noticing Aron''s amazement. Hearing this Aron gave a knowing smile before he asked "Was it because of us?" [There are two reasons, and one of them is indeed due to our involvement,] Nova explained. [The other reason lies in the utilization of humans for planning. While they relied on their supercomputer to estimate the course of the fall, incorporating human input created blind spots due to their limited knowledge of the stock market compared to mine. Our inclusion in the game also caused some of their strategies to go awry. As a result, they earned only half of what they had expected from this attack. We can consider ourselves to have won half of the remaining spoils, while the rest is shared among those who recognized the situation and managed to secure their own gains.] "That''s true," Aron acknowledged, reaching out to pull one of the holographic screens closer to examine its contents. Nova observed as Aron delved into his examination of the holographic screens. After a brief period, Aron redirected his attention towards Nova and made a request, saying, "Provide me with a comprehensive summary of everything that occurred, starting from the beginning until the end, including our gains from this event. Explain it in simple terms since, despite reading the entire plan, I still have some aspects that I struggle to comprehend." [Sure] Nova before she started detailing the entire events. [Everything that resulted in the 4 trillion dollar to disappear from the stock market started from here, a financial company called TPG Capital.] Nova said as she materialized a holographic screen with the image of the company showing it to Aron. [A man working here known as John Harrison, a man who they controlled by threatening him with the lives of his family members, programmed the sale algorithm to sell $10 billion worth of e-mini S&P 500 futures contracts at a specific time. To simplify, these contracts are tied directly to the overall value of the S&P 500, which is an index representing the performance of the 500 largest stocks in the market. Normally, a trade of this magnitude would take place gradually over approximately seven hours. However, under the Morgan''s order, Mr. Harrison set it so that the sell algorithm disregarded time and price constraints and to sell the contracts as fast as possible. Following its instructions, it started selling the contracts as quickly as possible, regardless of the prevailing prices. As you already know, the principles of supply and demand dictate that when a substantial number of contracts are rapidly sold, prices tend to decline. With that, he had completed what they needed from him, and from there onward the weaknesses in the economic system would be doing the remainder of the work. The now extremely low-priced futures started being spread to everyplace by other flawed algorithms, particularly those known as high-frequency trading algorithms. These algorithms are designed to execute numerous trades rapidly. Often, high-frequency traders serve as "market makers," essentially acting as intermediaries who buy an asset when it is being sold, enabling them to sell it to potential buyers at a higher price and profit from the difference. A significant portion of the $10 billion worth of contracts sold by TCP Capitol were swiftly purchased by high-frequency traders. However, HFTs have one weakness that the morgans planned to exploit for their plan: high-frequency traders prefer not to hold onto contracts; their modus operandi is to buy and promptly sell them. Consequently, a multitude of high-frequency traders started offloading the contracts onto other high-frequency traders, who then passed them on to yet more high-frequency traders, creating a never-ending cycle. This continuous exchange of contracts resembled a hazardous game of passing the grenade that wreaked havoc on the market, driving prices down and causing chaos. This situation led to another predicament. Many of the algorithms functioning as market makers hit pre-programmed thresholds that compelled them to exit the market due to the rapid decline in prices and increased risk. As the market makers withdrew, liquidity was drastically reduced, causing the market to plunge even further. The crash in the futures market spilled over into the stock market due to a group of individuals known as arbitrage traders. When you purchase a future, you are essentially acquiring a stock that will be delivered at a later date. Arbitrage traders noticed that S&P futures contracts were becoming inexpensive, while the S&P stocks underlying those futures remained expensive. Seeing the opportunity, they began selling their costly regular stocks to purchase the cheaper future versions of the same stocks. This rapid selling of stocks essentially transferred the impact of the futures crash to the stock market. With the impact now transferred the fall continued, seeming as if there is no tomorrow. The fall caused panic and almost everyone with shares that were falling started panic selling their stocks in order to reduce the losses they would be receiving if they continued holding them. But everything came to a halt when the "Stop Logic Functionality" implemented by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange became active effectively stopping all trades for five seconds. When trading resumed, fortunately, the panic had subsided, and people realized that stocks had dropped without a valid reason. This realization meant that stocks were now available at a discounted price, prompting a buying spree that pushed the prices back up to their pre-crash levels. Chapter 137 The Crash Pt_03 ? [The Morgans, being the ones who came up with the plan, meant that they possessed the knowledge to prepare the most efficient means of maximizing profits. Despite benefiting from their actions, just like them, our main source of profit did not originate from their tactics.] Nova paused, allowing Aron time to digest the information she had shared. After taking a moment to process the information, he raised his head and asked with curiosity, "So, how did we manage to make profits in a way that outsmarted the Morgans?" His expression showed genuine interest. [When we finally had the complete plan from the black sites, I leveraged my computing power to simulate their strategy. Through conducting multiple simulations with different parameters, I was able to uncover something that had eluded them.] Nova paused, building suspense, prompting Aron to ask, "What did you discover?" He played along with her act. [blue-chip stocks] Nova responded with a single word. Aron sought clarification, stating, "If I understand correctly, blue-chip stocks are shares issued by prominent companies that are well-established, financially stable, and hold an outstanding reputation. Is that accurate?" He wanted to ensure they were both on the same page and understood the concept being discussed. [Yes,] Nova nodded in agreement. Aron tilted his head to the side, guessing, and asked, "Did you short-sell them or something?" [No, it wasn''t quite like that,] Nova explained. [Based on the insights gained from the simulations I conducted, I strategically purchased billions of dollars worth of blue-chip stocks from various companies. I utilized thousands of my accounts to execute these transactions.] "Go on then," Aron said, then fell silent, determined to let Nova finish her explanation without interruption. Nova understood Aron''s intention and proceeded with her explanation. [During the crash, certain blue-chip stocks such as Echelon, Accenture, CenterPoint Energy, and many others experienced a drastic decline in their trading value. These stocks, which were previously traded at around $40, suddenly plummeted to just one penny per share.] Aron''s surprise shattered his intention to remain silent until the explanation''s completion. "What on earth... How did that happen? Did you hack and manipulate the system?" he exclaimed, his astonishment evident in his voice. [No, sir. Their system was functioning exactly as programmed. The phenomenon was caused by a practice known as stub quoting,] Nova clarified. As I mentioned earlier, high-frequency traders (HFTs) act as market makers, which means that at any given time, there are individuals looking to sell a stock and others who want to buy it. However, these two parties may not align perfectly. Sometimes there is an excess of sellers, while at other times, there may be more buyers. HFTs play the role of intermediaries in such situations. When someone wants to sell a stock, the HFTs purchase it, and as soon as they find a buyer, they resell it. Stub quoting refers to a scenario where a seller intends to sell their stocks, but the HFTs lack the necessary liquidity or available funds to make the purchase. In such cases, the HFTs would submit a nominal bid, typically one penny, which is not intended to be a genuine offer. Instead, it serves as an indication that they are unable to buy the stocks at that moment. Typically, the seller would then seek out another market maker who possesses the required liquidity and can provide a legitimate offer for the stocks. During the flash crash, a significant number of market makers withdrew from the market, causing a severe scarcity of liquidity. As a result, the only available purchase offers for the shares were priced at one penny. In this scenario, the sellers, which were algorithmically programmed to sell the shares regardless of the price, ultimately accepted the one penny offers, resulting in the sale of stocks that would typically be valued at $40 for a mere penny.] "Wow," Aron couldn''t help but exclaim as he absorbed Nova''s explanation. He was genuinely impressed. Nova smiled and continued, [But that''s not all. Some ordinary stocks, such as Sotheby''s, Apple, HP, and many others, experienced an astonishing surge, skyrocketing from $40 to $100,000 per share. The reason behind this was precisely the same but in reverse. Buying algorithms were attempting to purchase certain stocks they deemed safe from the ongoing crash from market makers who, in turn, did not wish to sell. As a response, the market makers submitted a high stub quote of $100,000 to indicate their unavailability to sell at that time. However, since the buyers were algorithms and the market makers had withdrawn, the $100,000 offer remained the sole option. Consequently, the buying algorithms ended up purchasing stocks valued at $40 for an exorbitant price of $100,000. Amidst the chaos unfolding in the market, I emerged as the foremost trader among those purchasing shares for a mere penny, while also capitalizing on the opportunity to sell other shares I had previously purchased for an astonishing $100,000. As a result, we emerged as one of the primary beneficiaries of the market crash, securing a significant win in the process. Although the entire sequence may appear lengthy, it transpired within a matter of mere minutes before the trading halt of five seconds was enforced. Nevertheless, this short duration provided us with an opportunity to secure over 75% of our overall gains from the market crash.] Nova concluded her explanation and broke into a laughter that echoed with a touch of villainous amusement. Having fully comprehended Nova''s explanation, Aron expressed his thoughts, saying, "This entire plan relied on the delicate market dynamics where sellers and buyers were algorithmic entities, facilitated by market makers that were also algorithms. It''s a scheme that would undoubtedly elude human thinkers, and even if they stumbled upon it, they wouldn''t dare take the risk that you did." Aron commended Nova for her actions. [With sufficient data points and powerful computing power, risks become nonexistence,] Nova replied, sporting a smug expression on her face, playfully jesting about the advantages of having access to a powerful computer. Aron reacted to Nova''s smugness with a scoff before proceeding to ask, "So, what are our total winnings?" [Our total gain amounts to 278 billion dollars, but if we exclude Rina''s share, we have gained about 180 billion dollars,] Nova explained. [The remaining portion, approximately 98 billion dollars, constitutes Rina''s share.] "That''s surreal. The power of predicting market outcomes is truly astonishing, but it also carries a certain level of fear," Aron admitted, his tone conveying a mix of awe and trepidation. "We''ve transformed our initial 22 billion into over 278 billion. " Aron couldn''t help but feel a sense of awe at what Nova had done. [True] Aron then asked, "Did you sell the shares you bought for pennies, or are you still holding onto them?" He was curious whether their winnings comprised purely cash or a combination of cash and shares. [I sold those shares when the market rebounded because there was no benefit in holding onto them,] Nova explained. "Indeed, I''m curious to see how they will attempt to cover up the entire ordeal. It seems like a rather precarious situation, as the investigators only need to identify the primary beneficiaries," Aron remarked, contemplating the potential challenges faced by those involved in the scheme. [Just like us, the Morgans also employed thousands of different accounts, which was easier for them due to their control over multiple financial companies,] Nova explained. [Furthermore, it''s worth noting that my computing power allows me to summarize information quickly. However, if you recall, it took the Morgans over a year to finalize their attack plan. This suggests that the SEC''s investigation is likely to take even longer.] Nova continued, [During this time, the Morgans can leverage the academic institutes they fund to release peer-reviewed research presenting various theories about the cause of the crash. By muddying the waters and introducing numerous theories, such as decentralization, spoofing, and technical glitches, they can create a scenario where different causes are going to be in the debate. This strategy can effectively delay the investigation for more than a decade, especially if the Morgans use their political influence to prematurely end the investigation.] "That''s to our advantage as well," Aron commented, a smile stretching across his face. He expressed his contentment, recognizing that the Morgans had taken care of all the meticulous planning, the subsequent cover-up, and every intricate detail in between. "All we had to do was capitalize on the situation and reap the benefits," he added, acknowledging the substantial financial gains they had effortlessly acquired. [Yes] Nova nodded agreeing with Aron''s observation. ... "What?" Rina exclaimed in disbelief upon hearing the staggering amount she had earned from the crash. Her surprise was evident in her tone as she sought confirmation. "Are you sure?" she asked, still struggling to grasp the magnitude of her earnings. Ava, maintaining her composure, responded calmly, [Yes, that''s what Mother sent me,] she replied, displaying the impressive figure on the screen, leaving no room for doubt. Chapter 138 Gaining Ground One Step At A Time ? "What?" Rina exclaimed in disbelief upon hearing the staggering amount she had earned from the crash. Her surprise was evident in her tone as she sought confirmation. "Are you sure?" she asked, still struggling to grasp the magnitude of her earnings. Ava, maintaining her composure, responded calmly, [Yes, that''s what Mother sent me,] she replied, displaying the impressive figure on the screen, leaving no room for doubt. As Rina''s eyes remained fixed on the screen, her appreciation and gratitude towards Aron swelled within her. It was his ingenuity and efforts that had made this incredible feat possible. Overwhelmed by these thoughts, she reached for the phone he had given her during their first meeting and dialed his number, wanting to express her gratefulness. After a brief period of ringing, Aron picked up the call and greeted, "Hello." "Hello, Aron. How are you?" Rina asked, trying to maintain her composure despite the excitement bubbling within her, having been left thrilled by the sight of her share. "I''ve been doing well," Aron responded, his voice calm. "And how about you?" "Thanks to you, I''m doing even better," Rina replied with gratitude in her voice. "You didn''t just call to check up on me, did you?" Aron asked playfully, indicating for Rina to go to the point. "No, I called to express my gratitude for all the help you''ve been giving me," Rina said sincerely. "No problem. I''m doing this because I know that in the future, I''ll be receiving something from you in return. It''s a mutually beneficial arrangement," Aron responded with a chuckle. "I understand that, but I truly believe that whatever you may ask of me in return will never be enough to match the immense value I''ve gained from your assistance. So, I want you to know that I''m sincerely grateful for all that you''ve done," Rina insisted. Following their conversation, they continued discussing various topics. After a few more minutes, Aron spoke up, saying, "If you encounter any other problems or need assistance, don''t hesitate to ask me." "Sure, I will remember that," Rina replied. After exchanging a few more goodbyes, they ended the call, promising to meet again once they had completed their current endeavors. The moment the phone call ended, Ava interjected and said, [Rina, the family head has called for an emergency meeting and you are among the attendees. It will be held in three hours to ensure all board members can attend.] "Since he called for me despite not being a board member, it looks like the competition is finally going to continue," Rina said, feeling very happy that she would have another opportunity to compete with Arieh. [Yes, it certainly seems that way,] Ava replied. "But this time it''s going to be different," Rina said with a smile as she shifted her focus back to her computer. She began discussing with Ava their plans for the upcoming meeting. With Aron''s assistance being sustained only until the market crash, which had concluded half an hour ago, Rina knew that from now on she would be on her own. However, instead of feeling worried, she felt a surge of excitement as she welcomed the complete control that was being returned to her. ..... 2 hours later.(Board meeting room) "Why is she here?" Arieh asked, pointing at Rina, for not being a board member and still being in the meeting room. "The family head called for me," Rina answered simply, before redirecting her attention back to her tasks. As Arieh processed her response, a sinking feeling enveloped him. He realized that he was in trouble or, at the very least, that he stood to lose something while Rina had the potential to gain. "Did you lose the personal loan you had taken from the banks?" Arieh asked, strategically aiming to plant a seed of curiosity in the minds of other board members. His intention was to pave the way for the topic to be raised in the meeting by the board members he still believed are on his side, hoping to minimize the time spent discussing his own losses. However, all of Arieh''s hopes were shattered when Hebel, one of the board members, interrupted and said, "Since everyone is here, let''s begin the meeting. We don''t have to waste any more time." His timely intervention derailed Arieh''s plan completely, as it appeared that no one had even heard his question. With the family head nodding in approval, the board members'' words were acknowledged, and the meeting secretary took the podium to commence the proceedings. As it was an emergency meeting, the meeting secretary bypassed the usual formalities and promptly delved into the main topic. "Three hours ago, the stock market experienced a significant fall, but after fifteen minutes of continuous fall, it returned to normal. However, in the aftermath, our family businesses and other ventures have incurred heavy losses amounting to approximately 1 trillion dollars. It will take approximately a week to calculate the full extent of the losses," the secretary announced. Upon hearing the estimated loss, Arieh and the other board members couldn''t help but take a deep breath. While they had anticipated significant losses based on the decline of the hedge funds they each controlled, the fact that the preliminary calculations amounted to over a trillion dollars was staggering. It indicated that the final loss figure would likely surpass the current estimate. "Do we know what caused it?" Yoel asked the secretary. "At the moment, we aren''t sure," the secretary replied. "However, the losses we incurred during the fall seemed to be concentrated in areas where most of our known investments were located. As a result, we suspect some of our known enemies, but our primary suspicion is on the Morgans." "Why would you primarily suspect the Morgans?" Uria asked after hearing the secretary''s reply. "If they attacked to recover from their previous losses, then it is understandable," Rina interjected, offering her reasoning. Her comment earned her a side-eye from Arieh, and if looks could kill, it would have been her third death today. Immediately after Rina gave her opinion, the meeting secretary resumed her statement. "The entity that had the largest losses in our hedge funds is Hedge Fund One, which lost more than half of its value due to mistakes made by the team in an attempt to reduce losses," she explained. Arieh, hearing this, lowered his head in embarrassment as Hedge Fund One was under his control. The secretary, indifferent to his reaction, pressed on. "This is followed by Hedge Fund Seventeen, then Funds 43, 10, 4, 23, 8..." She went on to list all the funds until each one had been accounted for, and then moved on to other losses that had been incurred. When the secretary concluded her report, the family head, who had remained silent throughout the meeting, finally spoke up. "What is the cause of different funds experiencing varying losses?" he asked. The secretary promptly responded, "It all boils down to how the teams managing those funds reacted to the crisis." The family head''s eyebrows furrowed as he processed the information. "So, you mean to say that our largest publicly known fund, Hedge Fund One, lost more than half of its value simply because the team in charge panicked and made poor decisions? Who is responsible for overseeing that fund?" he questioned. "Father... I mean, family head... I assure you, I will ensure that such a problem does not repeat itself," Arieh responded, his voice laced with nervousness. He was acutely aware that any misstep in handling this situation will have dire consequences for his future. "Why weren''t you prepared before the crisis occurred? Will you always wait until something goes wrong before implementing any countermeasures?" the family head questioned, his tone conveying feelings of disappointment. "No, sir. I always strive to simulate various crises in order to be prepared. However, the specific situation we faced was not accounted for in our crisis manuals," Arieh tried to provide a justification for not being fully prepared. Rina interjected, seeking to expose his lack of preparedness. "So, you''re suggesting that despite simulating different market crises, you failed to develop countermeasures for an immediate market fall?" Arieh attempted to shift the focus away from himself by pointing out that others also experienced losses. "Everyone incurred losses. Why are you singling me out?" Rina countered, highlighting the severity of Arieh''s losses compared to others. "But you''re the only one who lost more than half of your funds. While others may have been less prepared, their losses were limited to around 25 percent. As the leader of our largest publicly known fund, your significant losses indicate a lack of readiness on your part." Arieh, on the verge of losing his temper, attempted to respond "You" but caught himself and regained control. However, his outburst had already occurred. "Enough," the family head said, commanding everyone''s attention and putting an end to the ongoing banter. The room fell silent as all eyes turned towards him, awaiting his decision. "Since the losses were a result of the team leaders'' lack of preparedness, everyone will face consequences proportional to the extent of their losses," the family head announced, his calm demeanor sending shivers down everyone''s spines. The attendees knew that the more composed he appeared, the more serious the situation was. Without hesitation, the family head continued, "As you incurred the largest loss, your punishment will also be the most severe. You will be relieved of your position and demoted to your previous role." The weight of his words sank in as the family head''s gaze fell upon Arieh, leaving no room for negotiation or appeal. Turning his attention to Rina, the family head addressed her directly, "With his demotion, the position is now vacant, officially reinstating the competition for my successor. To ensure fair competition, you will be reinstated as a board member and assigned to a company of similar size to the one Arieh will be transferred to." The family head shifted his gaze to the center of the table, his voice carrying a sense of finality. "The remaining member''s punishments will be announced one week from now, once the full extent of the losses has been tallied. On the same day, we will also discuss the countermeasures and plans for recovering from the loss. You have one week to prepare strategies for the recovery." With that, the family head promptly stood up and left the meeting room officially ending the meeting. Chapter 139 George Realizing & Causing Turmoil ? "Find all of those who had substantial gains during the crash and bring the list to me. I want to find out if it is either luck or if they knew about our plans ahead of time" George gave the order to the presenter when he realized that their gains were not up to their expectations. "But sir, if they were privy to our plan, they would have likely employed a similar strategy of using multiple accounts for their trades. Consequently, it will be an arduous and time-consuming task to identify them, if we can even find the evidence at all," the presenter replied, unafraid to provide his rationale, fully aware that if he simply accepted the task and failed, he would face severe consequences. "I am not concerned about the duration required to locate them. Their actions resulted in our anticipated gains of over a trillion being diminished to a mere 700 billion, with more than 300 billion being taken away from us. Do you think I care about the time and resources needed to find them? Just get it done," George ordered sternly, his tone leaving no room for any response other than compliance. "Yes, sir," the presenter replied obediently before exiting the meeting room, allowing the family, and board members to have a private discussion among themselves. "Why do you believe that someone had knowledge of our plans?" Aubrey inquired, curious to understand what his son had observed from the presentations after the presenter had left. "Based on our calculations and numerous simulations, we had a comprehensive understanding of the events that were expected to unfold, and we made appropriate preparations. When the market crash occurred, everything transpired as planned, from the substantial loss of around 4 trillion to the subsequent recovery after a brief pause. However, the significant deviation came in the form of our gains. Our projections indicated that our gains would surpass the trillion mark, but they fell short and amounted to only around 700 billion. This suggests that either our calculations contained an error or an unforeseen factor intervened. The most influential factor that could account for such a substantial deviation from our expectations is the possibility of someone else being aware of our plan and taking measures to claim a share of our winnings," George elaborated, outlining his reasoning to the others. "That''s true. Ensure that you investigate the cause of the deviation and retrieve what was taken from us. However, let''s not forget to celebrate the victory in the present moment. A win is a win, so let''s celebrate it first before shifting our focus to uncovering the source of the issue," George emphasized, reminding everyone to appreciate and acknowledge their success before delving into the investigation. Upon hearing his father''s words, George composed himself and responded, "Yes, father. I intended to celebrate the victory, especially knowing that we managed to inflict damage on the Rothschilds as planned." He made a conscious decision to set aside his anger towards those who exploited their actions for personal gain, saving it for later consideration. "Good," Aubrey said, a smile gracing his face. He then shifted his gaze towards the other board members in the room, who had remained silent throughout the father-son exchange. "Let''s reconvene for another meeting after the celebration," he announced, effectively concluding the day''s meeting. ... Universal simulation. "With the Morgans no longer in our path, it''s time to escalate the revolutionary movements," Aron remarked to Nova. [What do you have in mind] Nova asked excitedly. "When Felix approached him to seek his assistance in acquiring the telecommunications companies, didn''t we assure Adolf that gaining control over the internet would also provide us with the capability to monitor it?" [Ooh, I see where you''re going with this,] Nova responded with enthusiasm. [You want to leverage our control over the internet to manipulate Adolf into arresting the other revolutionary leaders. By eliminating their leadership, their groups will become leaderless, ultimately paving the way for Alexander''s group to take charge.] "Exactly," Aron confirmed. "Not only that, but it will create a sense of chaos and unrest in numerous cities, compelling Adolf to deploy military forces to suppress the protests. He won''t want the protests to persist until the day of the event. By using him to send soldiers to these cities, we can strategically position our forces to take control of the local governing bodies in the cities when the time is right. It''s like killing two birds with one stone." [Should I also prepare to intensify the turmoil by spreading the news of their arrests immediately after they occur, or should I let it unfold naturally?] Nova asked. Aron paused for a moment, contemplating Nova''s suggestion. "I think it''s best to let it unfold naturally for now," he replied, carefully considering the potential implications. "Allow the news of their arrests to spread gradually and organically. We want the impact to reverberate throughout the revolutionary circles, creating a sense of uncertainty and instability. It will further disrupt their cohesion and solidify Alexander''s group as the dominant force to follow. Let''s adopt a wait-and-see approach and leave that option for contingencies, in case the public''s reaction doesn''t align with our expectations," Aron suggested, recognizing the importance of not trying to control every aspect of the situation. [I will make the necessary preparations in advance,] Nova responded, revealing her intentions to develop alternate plans based on various potential reactions from the public. "You do that, and I''ll inform Felix about the plan," Aron said as he logged out intending to call Felix and discuss the details of their plan, assessing whether Felix would be able to execute it himself or if they needed to assign someone else to carry it out in his stead. ... "Can you handle it, or should I assign someone else to take care of it?" Aron inquired, seeking confirmation from Felix after explaining the task he wanted him to undertake. "I''ll handle it, no need to worry about me. In fact, it''s better if I take care of it," Felix assured Aron. "By being the one to carry out this task, it will appear as if we are making efforts to regain his favor after the mishap of providing free internet data to the citizens for an extended period, which caused him some losses. It will help create a perception of us trying to mend the situation." "I''ll arrange for someone to accompany you, just as a precautionary measure in case anything unexpected happens," Aron informed Felix. "Sure," Felix replied, and after a brief further conversation, they concluded the call. Immediately after ending the call, Aron dialed John''s number. "Yes, sir," John responded promptly upon answering the call. "I need you to send someone to accompany Felix tomorrow when he goes to the presidential palace," Aron stated directly, as he was sure that John would want that too. "I will dispatch him right away, sir," John responded promptly. With that, Aron ended the call and immediately logged back into the universal simulation. ... A week later. [ (Turmoil in Eden) Eden, a land once filled with hope and aspirations for change, now finds itself caught in the midst of a shocking upheaval. The visionary leaders who had passionately championed the cause of the people and fought for their rights have been confronted with an unexpected twist of fate. Just a fortnight prior to the eagerly awaited annual celebration, anticipated to be a grand platform for their protest, all but one of these revolutionary figures have been apprehended, leaving the populace stunned. The arrests were executed with remarkable secrecy and precision, catching the revolutionaries off guard and plunging the movement into disarray. The sudden absence of their revered leaders created a void that seemed insurmountable, and the people of Eden were left grappling with the profound implications of this abrupt turn of events. In response to the arrests, a tidal wave of protests erupted, resonating throughout the vast majority of Eden''s cities. Squares and streets became the bustling epicenters of these demonstrations, drawing together citizens from all walks of life who were united in their desire to voice their grievances. The sheer number of protesters was a resounding testament to their unwavering resolve: the people of Eden were no longer willing to further tolerate the stifling of their fundamental human rights. As the protests gained momentum, Adolf, the dictator presiding over Eden, found himself confronted with an arduous predicament. In a bid to quell the escalating unrest and reinstate a semblance of order prior to the commencement of the celebratory events, he made the controversial decision to deploy military forces across various locations throughout the nation. This deployment intensified the atmosphere, thickening it with tension and unease as the people and armed forces stood in stark opposition to each other .. ... .... ... ... ... ... ] After reading the news article about the turmoil he had participated in causing, Felix said "Looks like the beginning of the end has begun." as he realized that the revolution was nearing with each passing second. Chapter 140 The Beginning Of The End ? Two weeks later. "Do we really have to go?" Lilungulu asked his father as he got into their car. "Yes, we must. If His Excellency Adolf doesn''t witness sufficient attendance at the event, our lives will become even more challenging," January, Lilungulu''s father replied as he ignited the car''s engine and departed from the garage, commencing their journey. As their car traversed the streets of Edenia, the capital city of Eden, they observed the glistening roads that had been diligently cleaned throughout the preceding week in preparation for that day. "They have completely eradicated any remnants of destruction and littering that resulted from the protests following the arrests," Lilungulu said. "This time, I had hoped that the protests would continue until their release, or perhaps His Excellency would postpone the festivities for another week, but the serenity and cleanliness of the streets convey a different message, thanks to their presence," January said, pointing towards the soldiers patrolling the streets. "I''ve heard that over twenty thousand soldiers have been mobilized, with eight thousand of them stationed in Edenia. They have been patrolling the city for the past three weeks, ensuring everyone behaves," Lilungulu commented, his use of the term "His Excellency" tinged with mockery. "Do you think he would cancel the parade? Not even a nuclear war would make that happen." His father chose to ignore Lilungulu''s mocking tone, recognizing that they shared similar sentiments. Instead, he simply stated, "However, there seems to be a distinctiveness to their mobilization this time." "What is it? I don''t see anything different. They''re just soldiers doing the opposite of what they''re supposed to do," Lilungulu asked, seeking clarification. "Usually, when the military is mobilized to handle protests, there are reports of deaths resulting from the violence inflicted by the soldiers. However, for the past three weeks, there has been no news of deaths at all. Instead, there have been reports of mass arrests only. Surprisingly, those who were released stated that they did not face the usual torture during their detention, despite the poor conditions of the holding facilities," January explained. "I believe it''s due to today''s celebration," Lilungulu interjected, pausing briefly before continuing. "Perhaps he wants to avoid being the sole high-ranking participant on his own celebration day." "What do you mean by that?" His father asked. "I mean, the protests themselves have already caused a significant decrease in the number of international guests attending the event. Now, imagine if deaths were reported amid these cancellations. The remaining guests might cancel their attendance as well to avoid further scrutiny and backlash on their own sides," Lilungulu elaborated, providing a detailed explanation. The conversation between father and son persisted as they reached their destination. After parking the car, they alighted and started walking towards the main street, where the celebration and parade were scheduled to take place three hours later. ... Three hours later. Luxury cars, heavily guarded and adorned with opulence, began to arrive one by one, carrying international guests to the venue. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Mr. Sergei Lavrov, arrived, followed by the Chinese Minister Wang Yi, Cuban Minister Bruno Rodrguez Parrilla, Belarusian Minister Vladimir Makei, Venezuelan Minister Elas Jaua, North Korean Minister Ri Su-Yong, and numerous other dignitaries. Each guest was promptly guided to their assigned seats on the magnificent and extravagant stage. Five minutes later, a convoy of luxurious and armored cars arrived, coming to a halt. Two individuals emerged from the most extravagant car, impeccably dressed in suits, opening the door for Adolf to step out. As he emerged, his fervent supporters erupted into ecstatic cheers, prompting him to wave to them as he made his way towards the stage. Despite having met all of the guests during the previous week, Adolf greeted them as if it were their first encounter. After exchanging pleasantries, he returned to his seat. As he took his place, a synchronized firing of cannons resonated, marking the commencement of the ceremonies. The flag bearers started their march towards the flagpole, arriving precisely at the 43rd shot, symbolizing the dictator''s age. With the flag securely fastened to the pole, everyone in attendance stood as the military band initiated the national anthem. The soldiers stationed at the pole began to hoist the flag, synchronizing the pace so that it would reach the top precisely as the anthem drew to its conclusion. "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed citizens, loyal followers, and esteemed guests," Adolf began his speech immediately after the national anthem concluded and the applause subsided. "Today, as I stand before you, I am overwhelmed with profound pride and gratitude for the unwavering support you have bestowed upon me and our illustrious nation. Together, we have conquered adversities, fortified our determination, and paved the way towards a resplendent future." His speech persisted for half an hour, weaving a tapestry of promises, achievements, and aspirations. His words gracefully floated in the air, casting a potent spell that stirred the hearts and minds of his devoted subjects. As soon as the speech concluded, the conductor''s baton descended, setting the musicians in motion. The band filled the air with a symphony of harmonious melodies, captivating the audience''s senses. Simultaneously, a distant rumble grew gradually louder, capturing everyone''s attention. All eyes turned skyward to witness a breathtaking spectacle. The fighter jets of the air force soared above, their graceful maneuvers leaving trails of vibrant colors behind, accentuating the azure backdrop. Helicopters whirled elegantly in the air, adding to the awe-inspiring display. When the airshow concluded, and without a moment''s pause, Air Force General Christopher Hartman bellowed, "MARCH!" Instantly, the soldiers standing at attention began their synchronized march, their disciplined steps resonating with precision and strength. Arrayed in immaculate uniforms, each soldier brandished their weapons. Keen observers would notice a meticulous detailthe gleaming shine of these arms as if they were newly unboxed for this momentous parade. In the wake of the marching soldiers, the air resonated with the growl of engines as a formidable convoy of tanks and armored vehicles rumbled through the streets. The parade continued its majestic procession, weaving its way through the heart of the city. Flags fluttered in the gentle breeze, while cheers erupted from some enthusiastic onlookers, adding to the atmosphere of grandeur. As the final tank rumbled past, the dictator Adolf stood atop the platform, a glint of contentment in his eyes. He delivered his closing remarks, bidding farewell to the jubilant crowd before descending from the stage. With the ceremony coming to an end, he made his way towards his awaiting car, intending to depart for his presidential palace. Amidst the commotion and amidst the supporters'' cheers, an unexpected sound pierced the air. "Bang!" A shot was fired, its trajectory ricocheting and striking a guard who had been dutifully holding the car door for Adolf. Reacting swiftly, the remaining guards sprang into action. Without hesitation, they grasped Adolf by the neck, forcefully guiding him into the car as they surrounded him before shutting the door behind him. wasting no time the car started moving the moment the door was closed. The situation mirrored itself for the other foreign ministers as they, too, were hastily ushered into their cars. Without concern for those in their path, the vehicles accelerated forward, each diplomat racing in a vibe of to each their own. While the diplomats'' cars raced and vied against one another on their way to the airport, their respective security teams that were stationed at the airport adopted a contrasting approach. Instead of engaging in a competition, they chose to collaborate. In a remarkably efficient display of coordination, the security teams swiftly assumed control of the airport, seamlessly surpassing the airport security personnel. They skillfully secured the perimeter, while maintaining a vigilant watch over the surroundings as they waited for their respective ministers.. After a 20-minute wait, the first minister''s car arrived at the airport, swiftly followed by the other diplomats'' vehicle. Without any delay, the security teams sprang into action, rushing towards their own diplomats'' cars. Swiftly opening the doors and forming a protective shield around the diplomats, covering them with their jackets and ballistic shields. Wasting no time they began moving towards their respective planes which were already powered on and ready for departure, only waiting for their passengers. Once on board, the planes swiftly initiated their departure procedures and began moving towards the runway. The runway, devoid of any other aircraft, bore testament to the temporary control exerted by the short-term security team. Having taken charge of the airport, they had also assumed control of the air traffic operations. They postponed all scheduled takeoffs, ensuring that no aircraft was on the runway during this critical period. Additionally, incoming planes were directed to enter a holding pattern, circling in the air until they received clearance for landing. One after another, the planes began to take off. The only factor causing a delay between their takeoff was the required distance to avoid wake turbulence. ... Inside one of the departed planes. "Report!" Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, exclaimed once the airplane had taken off and he was certain of his safety. "Coup d''tat, sir. The city is in turmoil, so we don''t know who is behind it yet," answered one of his guards. "Why didn''t we have any prior knowledge of this? Are our assets in the country just playing around?" Sergei asked, his anger evident as he found himself at ground zero when it all began. "There was no indication whatsoever. But whoever he is, he is powerful.," the guard answered. "What makes you say that? If he is powerful he would have chosen another day, not today where there are almost ten thousand guards in the city. Did you contact Moscow to inform them about the situation? " Sergei answered back. "We attempted, but no communication can go out or come inside," the guard reported back. "What do you mean by that? You were able to coordinate operations between the security team with me and those at the airport. How is it possible that you failed to establish contact with Moscow?" Sergei asked in surprise. "It appears that those responsible for this coup deliberately left our frequencies open to facilitate our safe evacuation but intentionally blocked outside communication to prevent our countries from learning about the coup and potentially sending assistance to Adolf," the guard explained. "SHIT, they are cunning and powerful," Sergei exclaimed as he came to the realization that those orchestrating the coup were aware of their encrypted frequencies yet deliberately left them open to facilitate their escape. Furthermore, they possessed highly advanced technology capable of blocking all forms of communication from leaving the country. "It''s a complete communication isolation. Even we wouldn''t be able to achieve such a feat on such short notice," he added. Chapter 141 Ensuing Chaos Chapter 141 Ensuing Chaos Aron, who was watching the parade from within a real-world synchronized time bubble in the universal simulation said, "If you were unaware of the military''s inherent weakness, you would assume they were of world-class caliber." {All those weapons originate from Adolf''s private forces'' warehouse, and they will be promptly reclaimed and returned to them. As for the cars appearing brand new, their impeccable condition can be attributed to a skillful paint job.} Nova, as always sitting near Aron, answered immediately. Observing the situation, Aron asked, "Is everything proceeding according to plan?" Nova reported, {Yes, everything is in place. And with a majority of the private forces'' weapons in the hands of the soldiers participating in the parade, dealing with the private forces will be easier than anticipated. At the moment we are simply waiting for the first shot to be fired before I issue the order to everyone, signaling them to make their move.} As they kept their eyes fixed on the unfolding events, they remained watchful until the parade eventually concluded. The pivotal moment arrived when Adolf stood up and commenced his walk towards his car. Aron, seeing this, his voice tinged with anxiety, he said, "It appears that the awaited time has arrived." Nova reassured Aron, sensing his unease, by saying, {You invested ample time in planning every detail with me, so don''t fret about any potential mishaps. If your forces face difficulties, remember that you are fully capable of taking matters into your own hands.} "Thanks," Aron managed to say, but before he could finish his sentence, a gunshot resounded from the screen displaying the parade. Aron exclaimed, "Finally." With prior knowledge of the imminent events, Nova, who had made thorough preparations and already gained control over the uplink facility responsible for broadcasting the parade''s video feed to the international audience, initiated the transmission of an alternative feed. This feed, meticulously simulated and rendered, aimed to deceive international viewers, leaving them completely unaware of the unfolding situation. Simultaneously, Nova utilized her control over CONNECT to start monitoring all internet activity, intercepting any information that had the potential to inform the world about the ongoing coup. Furthermore, she employed the radio signal transmission towers to jam all radio communications, whether encrypted or not, except for those utilized by the evacuating foreign ministers heading to the airport. By doing so, Nova aimed to facilitate their coordinated escape while mitigating the risk of attracting unwanted attention and potential backlash from the international community if they were detained. Leveraging the communication infrastructure, she orchestrated the synchronized efforts of the coup forces, ensuring strategic cohesion and efficient execution of their planned actions. While doing all of those she was also harnessing the sensors embedded in the personal devices of all citizens, online-connected cameras, and any accessible sensors within the country, employing this vast network to create a digital replica of the nation. By continuously updating and redesigning the plan based on the reactions of Adolf and his forces, Nova rendered any countermeasures they devised obsolete the moment she became aware of them. This adaptive approach allowed her to maintain a strategic advantage, constantly staying ahead of the opposition and adjusting the coup strategy accordingly. .... The streets in which the parade took place. As soon as Lilungulu and his father heard the gunshot and witnessed the security team swiftly escorting Adolf and the other visitors away, they wasted no time. They swiftly joined the multitude of frantic individuals, all attempting to escape the scene, and hurried towards where they had parked their cars. Their primary objective was to reach their vehicle and return home before something terrible happened to them. Amid the frenzy, people resorted to pulling and stomping on one another in their desperate attempt to ensure their own survival. Some even went to the extent of pushing their slower-running partners aside, prioritizing their own well-being. As time elapsed, the chaos intensified with nobody present to restore order, causing the situation to spiral further out of control. When Lilungulu and his father finally reached their parked car, their clothes were tattered from grappling with others who were trying to shove them aside in their haste to run ahead. Without wasting a moment, they immediately boarded the vehicle, casting aside any sense of etiquette or rules, January accelerated with a sense of urgency, driving as if there were no tomorrow. "What the..." January couldn''t help but utter those words in astonishment as he was compelled to stop. The road ahead was congested with military trucks overflowing with heavily armed soldiers, all moving in the same direction. "Where are they going?" Lilungulu asked his father, his voice trembling in fear and a slight tinge of sadness evident as he realized he had lost his bag amidst the commotion. "They are heading towards his excellency''s private forces headquarters," January replied to his son. Lilungulu, perplexed by the situation, further asked "Why aren''t they attempting to restore order and quell the chaos?" Before his father could answer, a military truck equipped with a loudspeaker began broadcasting an official announcement, capturing their attention. "Attention, citizens of Edenia. This is an official announcement from the Military," the voice echoed through the speaker. "Due to the current circumstances and in the interest of public safety, a curfew is being implemented across the entire city. This curfew will take immediate effect and will remain in place until further notice. We kindly request that you return to your homes immediately and remain there until further instructions. Anyone found outside their residence one hour from now, unless en route to their homes due to distance, will be subject to arrest." "They have begun enforcing it," January replied to his son, his voice filled with concern, as the distant sound of the announcement grew fainter. In a hushed tone, almost ensuring that his son wouldn''t hear, he quietly muttered, "I hope it will be resolved by tomorrow," his words carrying a hint of worry, as he knew or suspected what was unfolding. ... Back to the site of the parade. Moments after the onset of chaos, the soldiers who had taken part in the parade received the order to board the military trucks that had transported them there, along with their weapons. Wondering why they were not ordered to control the chaotic public, the soldiers boarded the trucks only to find boxes filled with magazines inside. Their surprise grew when they received another order: "Within those trucks, you will find boxes containing magazines. Load your weapons with them immediately." Following the command, the soldiers swiftly loaded their weapons with the ammunition from the magazines as the trucks began moving in a synchronized convoy, transporting the armed soldiers to various locations throughout the city. During the journey, the soldiers received detailed briefings from their commanders regarding their objectives upon arrival. These commanders had been previously informed and briefed on the plan weeks ago, actively participating in its development. Some of the soldiers who were quick-witted immediately grasped the unfolding situation, while others who were slower to comprehend took a bit longer to realize the true nature of the plan. However, regardless of their individual understanding, no one made an attempt to stop or resist. The prevailing sentiment among the soldiers was a collective weariness of being continuously regarded as second-rate military personnel compared to the dictator''s private forces. This shared frustration among the soldiers served as a catalyst, igniting a common purpose and driving their collective agreement to the orders. "Let''s go," exclaimed some of the soldiers, their faces displaying a mix of excitement and contentment as they welcomed the unfolding events. However, alongside their happiness, there were also traces of apprehension and fear lingering within them for the face-off that was about to happen. ... In addition to Edenia, other major cities within Eden, including Oasisville, Blissfield, Astoria, Avalon, and several others, were engulfed in chaos. However, this turmoil did not stem from the gunshot incident; rather, it was the direct consequence of Alexander''s call to action. The protesters had already begun their demonstrations earlier in the day, but it was upon receiving news of the incident that Alexander issued the order for their actions to become more aggressive. As soon as they received the order, the protest leaders in those cities immediately directed the groups towards government offices. This decision instilled fear in some of the protesters who were aware that soldiers were stationed at these locations and would respond with violence to disperse them. Despite this knowledge, and with a sheep-like mentality, they continued to follow the directives of their leaders. Upon reaching the government buildings, they were taken aback to find all the soldiers had vanished, leaving no one to impede their progress. Encouraged by this unexpected turn of events, the protest leaders forged ahead, and their followers grew increasingly emboldened. As they advanced towards the government building, they began wreaking havoc and vandalizing government properties along the way. With each act of property destruction, their audacity swelled further. When they finally reached the government building, guided by the leaders'' influence, they forcefully kicked down the barricades and stormed inside, swiftly taking control. Fueled by their pent-up anger stemming from the experiences under Adolf and his family''s leadership, they unleashed their wrath by vandalizing and demolishing the properties within the buildings. Chapter 142 "BOOM" Chapter 142 "BOOM" "Testing, one, two, three," exclaimed a soldier gripping a microphone inside a truck brimming with speakers, completely disregarding the perilous circumstances surrounding him. His sole focus remained on ensuring the seamless operation of the system. A glance at the surroundings would reveal a staggering sight: over four thousand soldiers encircled the headquarters of the dictator''s private forces, locked in a tense standoff with the ill-equipped private forces. The majority of their state-of-the-art technological equipment was loaned to the soldiers for the parade, aiming to demonstrate to the world their possession of cutting-edge weaponry. As a result, they found themselves outgunned by the military they were constantly compared to and believed to surpass. Caught completely off guard, they remained oblivious to the fact that Adolf had been attacked. Unbeknownst to them, Nova intercepted the communication intended for their awareness, providing Adolf with a false sense of security by assuring him that they were en route to protect him. Having completed the microphone test, the soldier proceeded to deliver the mandated announcement: "You are encircled entirely. Surrender immediately, or you will be compelled to do so at the cost of substantial casualties." His voice remained utterly composed, devoid of any hint of emotion. "You guys know who is backing us right? Are you still determined to persist with this?" a response echoed from the megaphone held by an individual within the building. "It appears you have made your choices. We will not entertain surrender for the next thirty minutes," the soldier retorted in response to their reply. He then grasped his radio, contacting the command center and reporting, "Sir, they have declined our offer." "Instruct the soldiers to withdraw by five hundred meters," came the response from the other side of the radio. "Yes, sir," acknowledged the soldier promptly. He immediately relayed the command to all the soldiers, instructing them to withdraw by six hundred meters, including an additional hundred meters for good measure. ... Inside the building. "Looks like our threat worked," said one of the members of the private forces when he saw soldiers moving away from the building. "I really hope so. We''re short on weapons since they took them for the parade, and I hope they don''t know that. Otherwise, they''ll hold on until our weapon barrels melt from overuse before they catch or kill us." "But what did they mean by not accepting surrender for the next half an hour if they were going to leave us?" he asked, his eyes still fixed on the window as he observed the soldiers continuing to move until they finally came to a stop far away from the building. to the activities of the people in the building, pulled their joysticks upward, causing their planes to ascend in altitude. They continued "KWAAAAAAA!" Before anyone could answer him, they heard an extremely loud sound, and in unison, they all exclaimed, "FUCK!" as they immediately began scrambling towards the basement of the building. The pilots of the two approaching fighter jets, paying no attention to the activities of the people in the building, pulled their joysticks upward, causing their planes to ascend in altitude. They continued to climb, losing forward momentum and instead gaining vertical speed. Eventually, they ceased moving forward entirely and continued ascending. After reaching a certain altitude, they disengaged the afterburners and let the planes continue climbing upward until they completely lost momentum. As the planes started to descend, their trajectory led them directly beneath the building. As the planes descended towards the building, the need for guided munition which the country didn''t have disappeared. Without hesitation, they uttered, "Bombs away," and pressed the trigger, releasing all the bombs attached to the hard points of their planes. The bombs plummeted towards the target, relinquishing control to gravity for their final delivery. Following the release, the pilots pulled their joysticks to level the planes and turned back in the direction they came from, making their way back to the base. While the maneuvers executed by the planes appeared impressive, there was nothing remotely cool about the situation for those in the path of the oncoming bombs, as they desperately raced towards the basement, which had been reinforced to withstand the impact of bombings. Unfortunately, the time it took for the pilot to execute their maneuvers and release the payload was merely a few seconds, leaving those in the vicinity with insufficient time to flee and reach the safety of the basement before the devastating payload reached them. "BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!" The bombs, arriving with staggered microseconds between them, began detonating one after another. The building was engulfed in a series of devastating explosions, annihilating everything caught within their destructive force and leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. In the aftermath of the bombings, the wreckage revealed a gruesome sight. Limbs and other body parts were scattered throughout the area, their presence a stark reminder of the devastating impact caused by one of the bombs exploding in a densely populated location. Shouts of agony and pain echoed through the air as those who had lost limbs in the explosions cried out in anguish. .... "SHIT!" The soldiers stationed six hundred meters away from the building couldn''t tear their eyes away from the scene of destruction. They were witnesses to an act of sheer wizardry, as the pilots arrived, executed their maneuvers, dropped their payload, and departed without sparing a glance at the devastation they had wrought. True to their word, the soldiers patiently waited until the exact thirty-minute mark had elapsed since their promise before they received the order to advance and apprehend all those who chose to surrender. However, for those who refused to surrender, they were granted permission to engage them with force, allowing a more aggressive approach. In successive batches, the soldiers began entering the compound, their focus at its peak. The bombing eliminated any possibility of a resolution without one side surrendering. ... "What the heck happened? Who fired the shot?" Adolf asked once he had regained his composure after arriving at his palace and receiving confirmation of his safety. "We are still investigating, sir, but it will take a considerable amount of time to identify the person responsible. The shot caused a state of chaos, and everyone scattered in different directions, making it challenging to locate the individual. We will need to thoroughly review the available footage to uncover the perpetrator," his secretary reported, addressing Adolf''s question. "Now that you mention it, what happened to the foreign ministers?" Adolf inquired, suddenly remembering their presence. Disregarding his own country''s minister, he expressed little concern for their fate, knowing he could easily replace them if necessary. "When the incident occurred, the foreign ministers were swiftly escorted to their car and immediately taken to the airport. They left behind a few of their guards who couldn''t board the plane with them, as they needed to ensure the safety of the airport until their departure. As of now, only some of their security guards remain, and they are scheduled to leave tomorrow once the planes are dispatched to pick them up," his assistant informed him, relaying the information received during the call inquiring about the situation. "SHIT! Did you apologize to them for the commotion and promise to provide further details once we finish investigating?" Adolf asked anxiously, his tone betraying his concern about potentially losing their support. "Yes, sir. I did apologize to them, and although they were hesitant, they reluctantly agreed," the secretary replied. "FUCK! Call all the generals here right now! I need to ask them how the hell someone managed to bring a gun into a city with over eight thousand fucking soldiers!" Adolf shouted, attempting to channel his anxiety into anger and searching for someone to blame and punish, hoping to appease his own frustrations. Completely oblivious to what was happening in his country all completely thanks to Nova having complete control over all communication channels within the country. She exercised her authority by manipulating and filtering the information disseminated to the public, ensuring that Adolf remained oblivious to the ongoing events. Furthermore, Nova strategically positioned soldiers along all roads leading to the palace, instructing them to block any incoming traffic to prevent individuals who were aware of the situation from reaching Adolf and informing him of the external circumstances. "Yes, sir," the secretary acknowledged, promptly leaving the office to fulfill the order of summoning the generals. ... Receiving the calls, the generals swiftly arrived at the palace, rushing to gather in the room. Adolf wasted no time in expressing his frustration, shouting at them the moment they entered. "What the fuck is going on with your soldiers?" Adolf exclaimed, his voice filled with anger and impatience. "Most of our soldiers were deployed to ensure there were no other protests or disturbances occurring, which led to the security at the parade location being understaffed," General Christopher responded, attempting to convey a sense of concern about his position in the midst of the situation. "Do you realize that due to your negligent oversight, you have caused this day to end disastrously and put our diplomatic connections with friendly countries at risk?" Adolf yelled, his anger and frustration unabated. The generals maintained their silence in the face of Adolf''s outburst, choosing not to engage or respond to his tantrum. They listened attentively, their expressions stoic while absorbing his words and allowing him to vent his frustrations. "Now, go find and bring the person who fired the gun here! I''m going to skin them alive," Adolf shouted in a rage, turning his back on the generals as a sign that he wished to be left alone. "No, we are going to stay here," General Nathan declared, rising from his chair. Adolf abruptly turned around while saying "What the fuck do ....", but the rest of his words froze in his throat as he completed the turn. He stiffened, his eyes widening in shock, as he found himself face-to-face with a Glock pistol pointed directly at him. "As I said, we are going to stay here," Nathan reiterated, maintaining a firm grip on the Glock. He gestured for Adolf to take a seat, emphasizing his demand with a steely gaze. Chapter 143 A Short Talk With Adolf Chapter 143 A Short Talk With Adolf "WhaAaT ArE yOu Doing?" Adolf asked, his voice trembling with panic. The fear in his voice was palpable as he questioned the intentions of the generals. "Someone has ordered us to keep a close watch on you until their plans are complete, after which they will personally visit to have a talk with you," General Ethan responded, a sinister smile forming on his face. "Who is that person?" Adolf inquired, his mind racing to determine if he had unknowingly angered a powerful individual. "You will find out when you meet him, so sit down or I''ll make you," Nathan threatened Adolf, his tone laced with authority. "Shit," Adolf muttered, his body trembling as he reluctantly took a seat. He realized that regardless of what had done, he was in for a long and troubling night. .... Eden. Gradually, one after another, governmental buildings and other strategic locations fell into the hands of the protestors, while in the capital city, the military continued to assert control. As the night unfolded, the chaos intensified further, fueled by the growing awareness of government institutions being taken over in cities across the country. News of these developments spread rapidly, inspiring more and more people to take to the streets and join their fellow citizens in solidarity. Not everything went smoothly for the members of the revolutionary group attempting to seize control of government buildings. Despite being an unpopular leader, there were still some individuals who held favorable views of him. This could be attributed to those who had directly benefited from his policies or enjoyed preferential treatment, often due to having family members employed within the government and benefiting from their association. These loyalists posed a challenge to the revolutionary group''s efforts as they tried to defend the status quo and resisted the calls for change. As a consequence, large-scale clashes erupted between these opposing groups in numerous cities, leading to a significant number of casualties. In response, Nova issued a directive for a portion of the military deployed in those areas to assume operational control over the police forces to effectively manage the situation and minimize the number of casualties resulting from the ongoing clashes. By 10 o''clock at night, Adolf''s government had completely lost control over the country, yet the majority of the world remained unaware of the situation unfolding within its borders. ..... "Why is it so quiet? At the very least, America should have already discovered what is going on through their satellites, as they should be monitoring the parade for intelligence," Aron asked Nova, expressing his confusion. {Either the timing of the shot being fired happened at the same time when the satellites they were using to monitor and collect intelligence lost line of sight due to their orbit, and when the line of keeping it under wraps,} Nova explained to Aron. "That makes sense. So, where do we stand with our plan?" he asked. sight was restored, they only saw the chaos that had already ensued. Alternatively, they might have discovered the ongoing coup, but since they are not sure if it will succeed or not, they are keeping it under wraps,} Nova explained to Aron. "That makes sense. So, where do we stand with our plan?" he asked. {Almost everything is about to be completed. I think you should start heading to the presidential palace now so that by the time you arrive, everything else will have been completed, and dealing with Adolf will be the only task remaining,} Nova said to Aron. "Sure, see you later," Aron said and logged out of the universal simulation. Aron removed his virtual reality helmet and took a moment to stretch his body, feeling relief from sitting for an extended period. "Let''s go," he said to John, as he opened the door and stepped out of the military truck. He carried the VR helmet in his hands as they prepared to proceed. After disembarking from the truck, Aron began walking towards the presidential palace, which was approximately a kilometer away and visible to the naked eye. As he walked, an Eden soldier who had been assigned to lead a team and entrusted with driving and protecting Aron turned to him. The soldier saluted Aron with the utmost respect he could afford and said, "Have a nice day, sir." "Yeah, you too," Aron replied, waving at the soldier, before continuing his walk towards the palace alongside John. Throughout the coup, John remained by Aron''s side, using the phone provided to him to stay updated with Nova''s continuous updates. The information included details about the operations carried out by Ares members in taking over several minor, yet heavily armed, private force bases scattered across Edenia. Instead of resorting to bombing these bases, which would have been excessive, the planes were reserved for targeting the main base, making it easier for the soldiers to seize control, considering Ares was still short on manpower. His walk continued until he reached a distance of about three hundred meters, at which point Aron cast the concealment rune on both himself and John. They continued walking, passing through the gates guarded by unsuspecting sentries who remained unaware of the ongoing coup happening across the country, diligently carrying out their duties. Without pausing, Aron and John strode towards the building, their steps unwavering. Once inside, they maintained their determined pace, heading directly towards the room where Adolf and the general were present, not showing that it was their first visit to the premises. Aron canceled the concealment rune on both himself and John before knocking on the door. After a brief pause, General Ethan cautiously opened the door to see who was outside. As he recognized Aron, he immediately greeted him with respect, saying, "Welcome, sir," while offering a slight bow as a sign of deference. Aron and John entered the office without uttering a word. Ethan promptly closed the door behind them as they stepped into the room. "Hello," Aron greeted Adolf with a wave, his eyes briefly glancing at Nathan, who still had his gun trained on Adolf. "whO ArE yOu?" Adolf asked, his fear still apparent but slightly reduced. "I''ve come to convince you to hand over the country and make a public announcement of it," Aron said calmly as he took a seat on the sofa, which Christopher had vacated for him. Adolf, upon hearing Aron''s words, burst into uncontrollable laughter. Observing Adolf''s reaction, Aron turned to Nathan and asked, "Did you do something to him, or has he gone crazy from fear or something?" "Looks like I have the upper hand here. As long as I don''t make the announcement, my private forces will eventually realize that something is amiss and come looking for me," he said amidst his laughter, before calming down and continuing, "Here''s a simple offer from me. I''ll give you 24 hours to run if you leave me alone. After that, I will search for you, and when I find you, I will personally be responsible for skinning you alive." Adolf concealed his anxiety and acted serious in the hope that the longer he delays them the more the chance his private forces would notice his absence and take action. Hearing what he said, Aron and the generals couldn''t help but burst into laughter, finding Adolf''s threats and attempts to intimidate them amusing. Adolf, bewildered by their reaction, asked, "You think I''m joking?" However, his question was interrupted as he saw Aron standing up and approaching him. Nervously, Adolf exclaimed, "What are you going to do with that helmet? Are you trying to hit me with it? I''m warning you! Stop! Stop!" His voice grew more panicked as Aron drew closer. "Reasoning with you is going to take too long," Aron replied calmly. "Torturing you would make it difficult for you to deliver a speech shortly after. While I could create a CGI version of you, it would require eliminating everyone in this building to conceal it. So let''s make it easy for both of us." With those words, Aron forcefully placed the headgear onto Adolf''s head. Five minutes later, Aron removed the headgear and asked, "Are you going to make the announcement, or should I send you for another round?" He shook the headgear in his hand, indicating that he was prepared to use it again if needed. "WAIT, WAIT, NO, NO, NO, NO, I''ll do anything you ask, just don''t put that thing on me again, please" Adolf pleaded, dropping to his knees in fear. He was terrified at the thought of having the headgear placed on his head once more to return to that place. "What on earth did she do to him?" Aron tilted his head in curiosity, wondering what Nova had done to Adolf in the universal simulation. "Okay, here''s the speech that you''re going to make," Aron said, handing Adolf a piece of paper containing the speech from his pocket. "But first, call your secretary and instruct her to allow the military entry to the palace for them to increase the security in this place, citing your concerns about potential threats. Understand?" "Yes, sir, I will do so," Adolf wasted no time. He walked to his desk, picked up the phone, and immediately ordered his secretary to allow the military entry and increase the security of the palace upon their arrival. Although his secretary questioned Adolf''s decision to call for the military instead of his private forces, nothing a yelling or two from Adolf couldn''t solve. Chapter 144 Viva La Revolution ? Two hours later. At the stroke of midnight, everything came to a sudden halt. As the new day dawned, the restless citizens, who had been in a state of chaos, found themselves compelled to pause as every news channel began airing the same broadcast. While this captured the attention of those who had their televisions on, the remaining citizens were intrigued by the simultaneous message they received. As they unlocked their phones, they were greeted with a headline reading "Presidential Announcement" along with a link to the broadcast. As a result, the entire nation fell into a temporary hush, as curiosity enveloped everyone regarding what Adolf was about to reveal. Would he issue threats, compelling them to return home, or would he offer concessions and pledge to alter the country''s policies? The anticipation hung in the air, leaving the populace on edge, awaiting the impending announcement. Adolf took his place at the podium, adorned with his presidential insignia, in a room bathed in a backdrop of vibrant blue. Amidst the static ambiance, he stood as the sole figure that stood out, embodying a stark contrast against the stillness of his surroundings. "Mhh..." Adolf cleared his throat before he began speaking, "Dear citizens, I address you today with a heavy heart, burdened by the realization that the moment has arrived for me to let go of my hold on our beloved nation, Eden." As he uttered these words, he momentarily paused, needing to wipe away the tears that had cascaded down his face. "With profound sorrow, I announce the relinquishment of my authority over the governance of our nation. The time has come for me to pass on this responsibility to a new leadership," Adolf somberly conveyed. "Eden, our cherished land, has been a sanctuary of prosperity and harmony under my guidance. I have endeavored to lead our nation toward progress and shield our people from external perils. Regrettably, recent events have unfolded in a manner that has eroded my authority, and continuing under such circumstances would only inflict further damage and suffering. Faced with these challenges, I have engaged in dialogues with Alexander and his groupindividuals who have displayed a profound commitment to the well-being of our nation. They possess a deep understanding of the complexities of governance and the requisite expertise to lead us forward. Thus, after thoughtful deliberation, I have concluded that their leadership is in the best interest of Eden and its people. The specifics of the transition and the course of action going forward will rest in the hands of Alexander and those he chooses to assist him in the process of reforming our country. Following my address, Alexander will address you, providing an overview of his plans after assuming the reins of government. Thank you, and may God bless Eden and its people," Adolf concluded, gesturing a farewell to an absent crowd before exiting the camera''s view. ... "Is he saying what I think he''s saying?" One of the protesters, momentarily ceasing the act of breaking windows at the government office, questioned in disbelief as he watched the press conference. "I believe he meant that he is dissolving the government or something of the sort, as he is entrusting the overhaul to Alexander, the only revolutionary leader who has managed to evade arrest," one of them responded, trying to interpret the implications of Adolf''s announcement. "But why would he do that? Unless he has lost his sanity, he is not someone who would make such a decision," "Are you oblivious or simply ignorant?" exclaimed another protester, frustrated by the lack of understanding. "I''m almost certain a coup has occurred, and Adolf was coerced into making that announcement. Let''s hear what Alexander has to say." They watched intently as Alexander ascended the podium, eager to gain some clarity and insight into the unfolding events, realizing their limited access to information as low-level members had left them in the dark about the true nature of the situation. ... "Citizens of Eden," Alexander commenced his speech, intentionally conveying an expression of fatigue, reflecting the weight of recent events that had unfolded prior to the press conference. "Today signifies the beginning of a new era in the annals of our nation. As my predecessor, Adolf, stated, I now assume the mantle of responsibility for our nation, a task I accept with the utmost honor," Alexander declared, pausing briefly to let the weight of his words sink in. "And as the newly appointed leader, my first imperative is to rejuvenate our ailing nation, to commence afresh. Therefore, I hereby declare the abolition of the current constitution of Eden." "But let it be clear: the abolishment of the previous government does not imply that the atrocities committed in the past will be forgotten," he declared vehemently, pounding the podium with his hands for emphasis. "Beginning with the former leader of Eden, Adolf, everyone who held positions within the previous government will undergo thorough investigation and face appropriate punishment in accordance with the provisions of the new constitution." His voice resonated with a mix of weariness and unwavering determination, revealing his unwavering commitment to holding accountable those responsible for the actions of the previous regime. "Tomorrow morning, I will release the remaining revolutionary leaders who have been unjustly detained," Alexander announced, his tone conveying a sense of urgency and resolve. "I will engage in extensive consultations with them to ensure that the new government is structured in a manner that makes it impossible for situations like those that occurred during Adolf and his family''s reign to ever transpire again." Alexander then proceeded with his speech, outlining a series of promises and commitments regarding the changes he intended to implement within the country. With each word, he sought to inspire hope and confidence in the hearts of the people. As Alexander''s address neared its conclusion, he punctuated his speech by proclaiming, "Long live the revolution!" With that final statement, he bid farewell to the viewers of the press conference leaving the audience bewildered. Even though many individuals could deduce that a coup had indeed taken place, given the hints scattered throughout the speech and the concluding words that solidified their assumptions, they still struggled to grasp the intricacies behind its execution. To ensure a successful coup of Eden, it was widely understood that capturing Adolf, dismantling his private forces which constituted a significant source of his authority, and compelling him to make the announcement of his relinquishment was vital to avoid potential foreign sanctions from friendly nations would be imperative. Simultaneously, the coup plotters would need to confront the challenge posed by the military, which had been enforcing a curfew in the capital after the chaos that ensued due to the unexpected gunfire. Despite the complexities surrounding the coup and the confusion it caused, a prevailing sentiment of joy and relief permeated among most of the citizens. The removal of the dictator had rekindled hope in their hearts, and faith was restored after the dissolution of the previous government. Based on the people''s reaction, Nova foresaw a discernible surge in the population to take place around nine months later. ... After concluding the press conference and returning to one of the palace rooms, Alexander respectfully bowed to Aron, expressing his heartfelt gratitude with a sincere "Thank you very much." "This is the fifteenth time you''ve thanked me today," Aron said, feeling a sense of embarrassment as Alexander persisted in expressing his gratitude despite his attempts to stop him. "As I mentioned earlier, I am also benefiting from this deal, so there is no need for you to feel such overwhelming thankfulness towards me." I understand that, but I still feel the need to thank you," Alexander said, emphasizing his gratitude. "Even though I had been hoping for changes in our country since my teens and joined the revolutionary group to bring about that change, I''m convinced that nothing substantial would have occurred without your investments and the assistance you provided us." "Alright, I accept your gratitude. Now, please take a seat. " Aron said, gesturing for Alexander to sit down so they could continue their conversation. As Alexander took his seat, he wasted no time and asked, "Apart from the abolition of military institutions, do you have any suggestions for the clauses in the Constitution?" He was eager to hear Aron''s opinion and see if he could accommodate any additional ideas. Aron, deep in thought with his hand resting on his chin, took a brief moment before responding, "I do have some suggestions that can help you avoid potential pitfalls that may arise and cause problems for you in the future." "Please, go ahead," Alexander said respectfully, urging Aron to share his suggestions. "There are too many to discuss, and it would take a considerable amount of time. Put this on, and everything will be explained to you," Aron said, handing the VR headset to Alexander. Curiosity piqued, Alexander decided to trust Aron''s judgment and put on the peculiar-looking helmet. He resolved to ask questions later if he didn''t understand the purpose behind wearing it. After putting on the headgear, Alexander settled onto the sofa. Meanwhile, Aron left the room, finding several soldiers standing guard outside the office. After he instructed the soldiers to ensure that nobody entered the room except for himself. He embarked on a leisurely walk through the palace, fully aware that despite the time acceleration of five to one, it would take Nova a considerable amount of time to thoroughly explain everything to Alexander. Chapter 145 The Worlds Reaction. ? White House, Situation Room. After briefing him about their suspicions regarding the situation in Eden, the CIA director asked President Obama, "Sir, what course of action do you suggest we pursue?" "Firstly, how certain are you about this information?" Obama inquired about the level of confidence in the intelligence, seeking assurance before making a decision that would rely heavily on it. The CIA director responded, gesturing towards the screens displaying satellite feeds. "There are two potential interpretations of the current situation. One possibility is that it signifies a coup, while the other suggests that the military is attempting to compel Adolf to disband his private forces." A few of the screens showed satellite feed of military personnel blocking the routes to the palace and the others showed the military surrounding the headquarters of Adolf''s pirate forces, providing visual evidence to support the director''s explanation. Shortly thereafter, the screen displaying the soldiers encircling the private forces'' headquarters revealed the sudden arrival of fighter jets. In a dramatic turn of events, the jets unleashed a devastating bombardment upon the building, leaving destruction in their wake. "Seems like it''s indeed a coup," remarked the CIA director, realizing that the military''s decision to eliminate Adolf''s private forces without attempting any negotiation indicated a complete lack of intention to engage in dialogue with him. As soon as the CIA director concluded his statement, President Obama turned to the secretary of defense and issued a decisive order, stating, "Instruct the Pacific fleet to reposition one aircraft carrier group towards their location." The secretary of defense inquired, "Sir, are you planning to support the military in overthrowing the dictator?" "I will decide once we have a clearer picture of how the situation develops. However, we must be in proximity to effectively enforce any decision we reach." With his decision made, Obama stood up and departed the situation room, returning to his office to resume his duties. The secretary of defense selected one of the numerous phones and dialed Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, to relay the president''s directive. .... Morning. The online world erupted as viewers witnessed the press conference featuring Adolf and Alexander. Speculation and humorous memes flooded social media platforms in response to the announcement. Numerous individuals engaged in speculation regarding Adolf''s circumstances during his speech, pondering how he was coerced to give power. Countries that maintained amicable relations with the former dictator, remained conspicuously silent throughout the ordeal. However, they did clarify that their ministers had safely returned despite the occurrence of the coup. The global response to the situation appeared relatively subdued when considering the typical scale of reactions from different countries. This was primarily due to many nations grappling with the aftermath of a recent flash crash that occurred just a month prior. As a result, they opted to adopt a watchful stance, intending to observe unfolding events before expressing their opinions on whether to acknowledge the new government or adopt a more stringent approach akin to the treatment of Taiwan. Amidst the tumultuous situation, the United States announced the dispatch of an aircraft carrier battle group to ensure a secure transition of power in the country. However, astute observers recognized this action as a veiled warning to the new leadership of Eden. It served as a clear message that the United States was closely monitoring the developments and would not hesitate to respond if Eden aligned itself with Russia or China, implying that such a choice would be met with regret. The United States found it imperative to take such measures due to their strategic positioning. With China and the rest of Asia to their northwest, the USA to their northeast, Australia to their southwest, and the American continent to their east, Eden''s location held significant importance. Any nation that established a friendly relationship with Eden and managed to establish a base there would gain a substantial advantage over the other, thereby necessitating the United States'' proactive approach. If China were able to establish bases in Eden, it would grant them direct access to America, resolving their predicament of having their navy confined to the Indian Ocean due to the absence of nuclear-powered submarines. With a military presence in Eden, they could also pose a threat to ships transiting through the Panama Canal, potentially exerting control over a part of the American economy through a chokehold. The same holds true for Russia. Despite their proximity to America, they would gain a new avenue of attack by utilizing long-range bombers while avoiding the heavily guarded North, where NORAD is mostly focused on. This would allow them to launch strikes on the US from a different direction, necessitating a considerable amount of time and money for the United States to prepare effective countermeasures similar to those in place for the northern border shared with Canada. But they could only watch with curiosity as Eden faced the challenge of resolving this predicament. The question remained: which side would they choose to align themselves with? ... Eden, the presidential palace. "Which side do you believe I should align with?" Alexander asked Aron, who was in the room with him. "How many countries have reached out to you in an attempt to sway your decision regarding which side to align yourself with?" Aron inquired. "Quite a few. The list includes countries such as America, Russia, China, Australia, the UK, France, Germany, and several others. They can all be categorized into three distinct groups: those siding with America, followed by Russia, and then China," explained Alexander. "What were their requests, and what incentives did they offer in return?" Aron inquired, seeking further details on the discussions with various countries. "America and its allies had proposed financial and security assistance but requested the allocation of certain islands to establish military bases. China, on the other hand, expressed interest in building military bases as well, offering financial aid and the inclusion of Eden in the Belt and Road Initiativea comprehensive infrastructure development program. Russia also sought islands for military bases, and in exchange, offered financial aid and assistance in locating natural resources within our economic exclusive zones" Alexander outlined the offers and requests made by different countries during the negotiations. "Politely decline each one of them, explaining that to prevent international turmoil, you have chosen to maintain a neutral stance," Aron stated. His statement prompted Alexander to frown, clearly indicating his disagreement with Aron''s suggestions. Observing Alexander''s reaction, Aron inquired, "What? Do you disagree?" "Yes," Alexander replied apologetically. "Tell me the reason," Aron said, wanting to understand Alexander''s perspective. "Looking at the country''s current state, we truly need financial aid to rebuild and develop. Although these foreign nations are demanding excessive concessions in return, the financial assistance they offer is desperately needed at the moment. Since we are transitioning from a dictatorship, we can''t even request loans without excessive leverage. However, if we negotiate with one of these countries, I believe we can remove the condition of military bases by citing citizens'' disagreement pointing at Adolf''s private forces as an example." Alexander explained his reasoning. "Do you believe you possess the power to negotiate with them? NO. Whichever country you choose, they will exploit you without limits. They will assist in a manner that turns you into a dependent nation, preventing you from rising and attempting to remove their influence from your country. And if their attempts to hinder your progress fail, they will fund and train a rebel group that will serve as their puppets, aiming to overthrow and replace you. Remember this: they offer you nothing but addictive honey. They will make you dependent to the point that whenever you face trouble, you will be forced to turn to them for help. But in exchange for their help, you will always have to sacrifice something enticing to them." Aron said, disagreeing with Alexander''s reasoning and pointing out the risk agreeing to their offer brought to Eden. "Then what do you suggest we do? We are in dire need of a substantial amount of money to revive the economy, and it seems that no one other than them is willing to provide it readily," Alexander stated wearily, his tone reflecting a sense of being trapped with limited options. A smile spread across Aron''s face as he responded, "Don''t worry. If your primary goal is to rebuild the economy, I can assist you with that." "How?" Alexander asked with curiosity. "All you need are investments in the country, and I can make that happen. I plan on relocating my company to this country and start injecting billions and billions into its economy. This will enable the country to uplift itself from its previous state without having to rely on another nation or compromise with them," Aron paused for a moment before he continued. "And remember, by remaining neutral, it means that all these countries will constantly attempt to win you over to their side. They won''t treat you harshly until you make a choice," Aron reminded, emphasizing the potential advantages of maintaining a neutral stance. Even though he could compel him to do as he pleased, having someone willingly comply rather than being coerced ensures they are less likely to cause future troubles. After a brief moment of contemplation and agreeing to what Aron had said, Alexander chose to trust Aron once again. Recalling the first time he trusted him based on his gut feeling, and how Aron had fulfilled his promise, Alexander decided to heed that same intuition and agreed to place his trust in Aron once more. Another reason was that Alexander had used the peculiar helmet provided by Aron. Considering the possibility that Aron might establish a manufacturing plant for those devices, which Alexander was confident would be highly sought after, it meant that Aron could generate substantial income for the country through that product alone. He also believed that Aron had more plans up his sleeve beyond just that, which further bolstered his decision to place his trust in him. Agreeing to remain neutral presented a new predicament for Alexander. "I can refuse the other two nations since they might only bring harm in the future, but how should we handle the situation with America, considering they have an aircraft carrier en route to our location?" Alexander questioned, expressing his concern. "For that, I have a solution," Aron said, reaching for a phone and dialing Rina''s number. Chapter 146 Using Rinas Influence. ? "Hello Aron," Rina greeted as soon as she answered the phone call. "Hello, how are you?" Aron inquired, returning the greeting. "I''m doing well, how about you?" Rina asked in response. "I''m doing well," Aron replied before getting straight to the point, saying "I called because I was hoping to utilize some of your family''s political influence." Upon hearing what Aron said, she smiled, happy for finally having the opportunity to reciprocate the help she had received from him. "Sure," she replied. "I will gladly assist you." "By now, you must have heard the news about the coup that took place in Eden, right?" Aron asked. "Yes, I was just reading a report about it," Rina replied and then asked, not discounting the possibility, "Was it you?" knowing full well that Aron was entirely capable of such an act if he so desired. "Yes," Aron answered without hesitation, proceeding with his request as if he hadn''t just confirmed his involvement in toppling the government. "I want you to ensure that the aircraft carrier returns without taking any action upon its arrival." Rina, taken aback by Aron''s response, was momentarily stunned, causing her to forget to reply. Aron, noticing her silence, asked, "Can you do it?" in an effort to snap her out of her frozen state and bring her attention back to the phone call. "Sorry about that. I was just taken aback by your confession," Rina apologized for her momentary lapse in response. "Don''t worry about it. I can understand the surprise. Even I would be taken aback if someone I was speaking to confessed to causing a coup," Aron replied, eliciting a laugh from Rina. "So, you''re only requesting that they turn the aircraft carrier around, correct?" Rina asked once she had calmed herself down. "Additionally, when the country announces its neutrality, ensure that they support it, masking their support as a preferable alternative to their enemy having been chosen instead of them" Aron added. Rina, though slightly surprised that Aron didn''t push for the country to align with America, responded, "If they''re going to declare neutrality and not align with another country, it will be easier for me to persuade them to halt the pressure. Consider it done," she assured after understanding the direction Eden intended to take. "That''s good," Aron replied, a smile spreading across his face. "Is there anything else you need from me?" Rina inquired. "At the moment, no. However, in the coming months, I''ll require your assistance a few more times," Aron stated. "With the help you have provided me, don''t worry about a thing. If you need anything from me, I''ll always be there to assist you to the best of my abilities," Rina responded. "Sure, then talk to you later," Aron said, bidding farewell to her. Upon receiving the reply, he ended the call. Turning to Alexander, who was visibly surprised by the swift resolution of the problem, he said, "Consider it solved. You can now focus on important matters concerning your country. Regarding the economic stimulus, I will provide you with more details in the coming days when you have some free time, as I need to prepare for it." "That was incredibly fast," Alexander exclaimed, his surprise still evident on his face. "When you''re as wealthy as I am, you come to know people in influential positions," Aron bluffed boldly, despite the fact that he didn''t actually know anyone affluent or powerful apart from Rina. "That''s true," Alexander agreed, influenced by his perception of billionaires and their connections. ... A week had passed since the coup had occurred. During this time, Alexander and his newly appointed cabinet remained tight-lipped about which side they would be aligning with, stating that their utmost priority was the creation of a new constitution. They emphasized that until this critical task was completed, they would not divert their attention to any other matters. The aircraft carrier group, which had arrived a day after the coup, stayed in the country for a week but ultimately departed without any engagement, citing the absence of ongoing turmoil that warranted their prolonged presence in the country''s waters. With Rina''s reemergence in the family competition and the influential individuals becoming aware of her renewed influence, her sway regained strength along with the spreading news. This newfound leverage made it effortless for her to ensure that America refrained from taking any actions against Eden. Rina also took measures to secure America''s acknowledgment of the country once the process of creating the new constitution was completed. On the other hand, Aron had been residing in the presidential palace throughout the entire week, dedicating most of his time to the universal simulation. He engaged in meetings with the think tanks that inhabited the virtual realm, utilizing their expertise and insights. .... (Inside the Universal Simulation) Aron could be observed engrossed in reading the plan devised by the think tank residing in Lab City. The objective of the plan was to assist the country in its development, enabling it to rise above the legacy of the previous regime. Aware that the government''s support may not always be guaranteed, the think tank crafted the plan to also strengthen Aron''s influence within the country. The plan revolved around a simple yet impactful idea: establishing an infrastructure company. This proposed company would serve as a mechanism to exert a significant grip on the country. It would function in such a manner that, in the unlikely event that the government attempted to seize control or interfere with Aron''s interests, he could utilize the company''s influence to subdue them without resorting to using his private forces. Aron understood that deploying his private forces would inevitably lead to the downfall of the government in question. Therefore, the infrastructure company would provide a more subtle and indirect approach to safeguarding his assets and objectives. This company would undertake the construction of most of the essential infrastructure to transform the country into a desirable place to live. Not only would the company focus on delivering high-quality products, but it would also strive to make them affordable to the point where people would question whether any profit was being made. In the process of building these vital structures, Aron would provide employment opportunities to hundreds of thousands of individuals, offering them a chance to improve their livelihoods and elevate themselves from their previous circumstances as he gained influence over them. The main project of this company involved the provision of electricity to the entire country, utilizing Lab C?ty''s nuclear fusion technology. The cost-effectiveness of the energy produced through this method was expected to be so remarkable that it would create a significant advantage for his company, solidifying its position as the only provider in the market. With an abundance of limitless and affordable energy at their disposal, The think tanks chose to plan all of the company''s remaining plans to be designed to operate using electricity as the primary power source. Another ambitious project from the think tanks involved establishing a comprehensive transportation network akin to the interstate highways in America. However, instead of constructing roads, which fell under the government''s purview, They chose to take inspiration from Russia''s approach and planned to build a railway system spanning the entire country. By connecting it to every part of the country, it would grant Aron unparalleled control over the transportation industry. Allowing Aron to hold a monopoly, further consolidating his influence and power. These were merely two of the significant projects outlined in the comprehensive plan for the new company. The report revealed numerous other endeavors, including water desalination and various other initiatives. As Aron perused the document, a broad smile graced his face, and he couldn''t help but feel a profound sense of satisfaction with what they had come up with. "This is an exceptional plan," Aron remarked, placing the papers back on the table while the smile lingered upon his face. [I agree with you, sir,] Nova said to Aron, her voice laced with concern. [When they presented me with the plan, I conducted several simulations, and the results were indeed promising. However, we need to devise an explanation for the fusion reactor. If someone were to discover its existence, it could potentially lead us into a conflict with the world, similar to the BugZapper incident. but on a world scale.] Aron''s smile wavered for a moment, his expression revealing his contemplation of the potential consequences. He furrowed his brow and posed a crucial question to Nova, seeking a possible solution: "How long would it take to construct a single reactor?" [Given that we lack the manufacturing foundation for such intricate technology, even with Rina''s assistance in acquiring cutting-edge machines, it would take approximately a year to complete the entire construction process,] Nova responded, her tone reflecting the practicality of the situation. As he processed Nova''s response, he shifted his focus to another crucial aspect and inquired, "And how is the progress on the reverse engineering of the atomic printer?" [The conventional version has been successfully completed,] she began, [but implementing it in the current real world is unfeasible due to the lack of necessary technology.] Nova delivered her report, outlining the progress on the reverse engineering of the atomic printer. "And what about the runic version?" he asked. [For the runic version, the progress is nearing completion, but they have encountered an obstacle in the final step,] Nova reported. "What seems to be the issue?" Aron inquired, seeing if he could find a solution. Nova proceeded to provide a detailed report on the challenge they were facing with the runic version of the atomic printer. [Although they have successfully reconstructed the atomic printer by integrating runes with conventional machines, and despite incorporating runic intent during its creation, they have yet to devise an effective method for accurately manipulating the runes,] she explained. With a smile on his face, he stated, "If that happens to be the sole issue, I have a solution for it." As opened the system''s shop to find the remedy for the problem. Chapter 147 The Solution ? [Sorry for the late upload I had to help with Eid preparations and ended up being late in completing the chapter.] ..... As he opened the shop, he searched for something that he remembered seeing during his previous search when he was searching for advanced computing technology to upgrade Nova''s computer. And there it was [(Runic Computer) Utilizes Runes as a medium, for the storage and processing of information. It functions based on the principles of magic, enabling access to its capabilities through the use of runes. This unique approach allows the Runic computer to... (Price: 2 Billion sp)] Upon reading the description and realizing that the price is four times higher than what he had previously paid for quantum computing technology, he was taken aback. "Now that option is no longer viable," he said as he glanced at the amount of sp he possessed. "Even though the game has been released and has amassed a significant following, I still don''t have enough sp," he sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "But do I really need to purchase the entire computing technology?" he pondered aloud, contemplating which specific technology would be most helpful in solving his current problem. "Show me precisely where they are encountering difficulties," Aron requested, wanting to identify the specific point at which they were stuck. By doing so, he aimed to devise an affordable solution that would enable him to overcome the problem without having to wait for his sp to accumulate to a substantial amount. [Here is where they are encountering difficulties,] Nova said, handing Aron the details of the reverse engineering process. The specific part they were stuck on was highlighted in various colors to draw attention to it. Aron began reading the report attentively, making an effort to comprehend everything to the best of his abilities. Whenever he encountered something he didn''t understand, he would ask Nova to explain that particular part to him. After dedicating several hours to reading the report with unwavering focus and seeking frequent clarifications from Nova, Aron finally succeeded in completing the entire document. "Seems like all I need is to acquire the knowledge on integrating the technology with the Runes, enabling their interaction and mutual control," Aron exclaimed, a smile forming on his face. He had finally discovered a potential solution that appeared to be affordable, sparing him the need to accumulate billions of sp. [Although it may not provide a complete solution, it should be sufficient for you to produce the necessary machines for the Runic Atomic Printer. You can then utilize it to create a conventional universal printer, which will subsequently reprint itself continuously,] Nova said upon hearing Aron''s plan to address the situation. "That''s all I need to resolve this, and once we successfully manufacture it, everything else will fall into place," Aron stated, a smile adorning his face as he swiftly typed in what he needed from the system shop. "There it is!" he exclaimed, clicking on the search result to examine its details and determine if it could provide a solution to the problem they were encountering. [(Rune-Computer Integration) This knowledge encompasses the fusion of runes with conventional technology. It was developed by the elven empire after the unification of the high elves and dark elves into a single empire. The invention was necessary to facilitate seamless integration between the two races, as they employed distinct technologies. The dark elves utilized conventional computing technology, whereas the high elves excelled in the mastery of runic arts. The high elf scientist, Zyrk''aelorin, collaborated with Thelviraendryn, the dark elf scientist, to bring forth this groundbreaking invention combining their expertise and knowledge to ... (Price: 100 million System Points)] As he observed the price, the smile on his face nearly faded, but it persevered, knowing that he could afford to purchase this technology. However, acquiring it would significantly deplete his sp, leaving him with only a minimal amount remaining. "Since it will also have utility in other inventions, there is no downside to me acquiring it," Aron stated, as he proceeded to purchase the knowledge without hesitation. The system wasted no time and promptly began assimilating the knowledge into Aron''s brain. Throughout the entire process, Nova, together with Aron patiently waited for the system to finish the assimilation. The instant the assimilation process was complete, Aron wasted no time and said, "Nova, it''s done!" Understanding the meaning behind Aron''s words, Nova promptly attempted to access his brain in order to download his brain data. As usual, a screen appeared before Aron, seeking his permission for the attempted access to his brain data. As soon as Aron granted his approval, Nova received access to the brain data, wasting no time in retrieving the newly acquired knowledge. After analyzing it, she transmitted the information to the minds of all the researchers in Lab City, ensuring they could incorporate it into their technological endeavors immediately. "Which mineral on Earth meets the minimum requirements to be used as the medium for the integration device?" Knowing that she was done he asked. [Tanzanite is the closest known material on Earth that can serve as the medium and provide sufficient effectiveness for the device to function without issues for a limited duration,] Nova responded to Aron''s question, having analyzed the knowledge and simulated the required materials beforehand while showing Aron the information about Tanzanite. "If I were to attempt purchasing Tanzanite from the market myself, it would be challenging to accumulate a sufficient amount for multiple trials in creating the medium. Ask Rina to gather as much Tanzanite as she can obtain," Aron stated after reviewing the information about Tanzanite presented by Nova. A short while later, Nova relayed the message from Ava, saying, [Ava responded and mentioned that Rina will send whatever she manages to purchase within two weeks.] "Good," Aron replied with a smile on his face, his attention shifting back to re-reading the plans devised by the think tanks. ..... January 1st. Adolf walked calmly towards the podium in a makeshift press conference room, specifically designed to accommodate the hundreds of reporters from various corners of the world. The country''s coup captured the attention of the world. However, what made this coup particularly intriguing was the ongoing speculation surrounding its execution. As time passed, increasingly peculiar discoveries emerged, making it nearly impossible for most people to shift their focus to other matters. The topic of the coup continued to dominate discussions and fuel curiosity among individuals One of the peculiarities surrounding the coup was the international broadcast of the parade. Individuals who had posted the domestic feed realized that the rest of the world was viewing an entirely different broadcast. This discrepancy sparked lengthy debates and discussions, with people arguing over which feed was the original and which one might have been manipulated or edited. As is often the case, self-proclaimed "experts" emerged, attempting to discredit the domestic feed by offering their own explanations. However, their attempts were quickly debunked when genuine experts appeared, exposing the fallacy of their fabricated explanations, leaving them embarrassed and the situation more complicated than it was before. This was just one of the many attention-grabbing aspects of the coup, which not only puzzled ordinary people but also intrigued governments. Task teams were established by the government to investigate and uncover the true methods and intricacies behind the coup. As Alexander reached the podium, the flashes from the cameras taking pictures nearly doubled, causing him to squint his eyes slightly until he adjusted to the bright light. "Mhhh," he cleared his throat, instantly hushing the room into silence as everyone eagerly anticipated his next words. "Good morning, everyone," he began by greeting, pausing briefly before continuing his speech. "As many of you are aware, today marks the day when the new Constitution of Eden will replace the old, eliminating any remnants of the previous dictatorship within our government. While it may seem contradictory that a government purportedly for the people has crafted the constitution without direct public involvement, I assure you that the majority of its content will be subject to amendments within the next two years, once we have gathered and considered the input of the public. Only a select few Articles will remain unamendable, carefully designed to prevent any individual with a significant following from introducing the same horrors inflicted upon our citizens by the previous regime. In the new constitution, there are only three such Articles that cannot be amended. Firstly, the Bill of Rights is enshrined to ensure the perpetual protection of citizens'' rights. Secondly, the structure of the government is safeguarded to prevent the concentration of power. And finally, the dissolution of the military and its institutions to prevent its misuse against the people similar to what happened in the previous regime."Having delivered this statement, he paused, allowing those watching the press conference to absorb and contemplate the information he had just shared. The expected reaction unfolded before him, evident in the expressions of the reporters in the room. They grasped the rationale behind the first two articles and their importance in safeguarding the rights and preventing abuse of power. However, the inclusion of the third article appeared to catch them off guard, leaving them puzzled and intrigued. Chapter 148 The Press Conference ? The discord server is now open, go there and join the discussion: https://discord.gg/GHHcsVhQ ..... As the reporter eagerly raised their hand, seeking further clarification, Alexander swiftly interjected, "Questions will be entertained once I have concluded my planned remarks." His response prompted the reporter to lower their hand, acquiescing to his request and allowing him to proceed with his speech uninterrupted. "Moving on to the first article, which pertains to the Bill of Rights. This section encompasses the fundamental rights and freedoms inherent to all individuals, which shall be inviolable and protected from infringement by the state or any other entity. These rights and freedoms include but are not limited to, the following: freedom of speech, religion, and assembly; the right to a fair trial and due process of law; the right to privacy and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures; the right to own property and pursue happiness and prosperity; the right to engage in the political process and be represented in government; the right to access education, healthcare, and other essential services necessary for a decent standard of living; and the right to be free from discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or any other arbitrary factor. There are limitations on the exercise of rights and freedoms, which are defined by law and outlined in this constitution. These limitations aim to protect the rights and freedoms of others and uphold the public welfare. No individual shall be permitted to misuse their rights and freedoms to cause harm to others or to disturb the peace and stability of society." Alexander paused to catch his breath after reading through the extensive list of rights and freedoms, allowing a moment of silence to let the audience process the information he had just conveyed. "As for the second article, which pertains to the structure of the government, it focuses on the principle of separation of powers. The powers of the government shall be divided among four distinct branches: the legislative, the executive, the judiciary, and the oversight." The legislative power will be entrusted to a unicameral parliament, whose members will be elected by the people through free and fair elections. The parliament will be empowered to enact laws, impose taxes, and approve the national budget. The executive power will be held by a president, who will be elected by the people through free and fair elections and serve a single term of eight years. The president will serve as the head of state and government, responsible for executing the laws of the country and ensuring the well-being of the public. The judicial power will be entrusted to a system of courts, with judges appointed by the president upon the advice and consent of the parliament. These courts will have the authority to interpret the laws, settle conflicts between individuals and organizations, and uphold justice within the country''s legal framework. The oversight branch, as its name suggests, will have the task of evaluating the laws and policies enacted by the government. Its role is to ensure that these laws and policies align with the current and future-oriented objectives of the country. By conducting thorough assessments, the oversight branch will contribute to maintaining a balanced and effective governance system. As for the third article concerning the dissolution of the military and its institutions, it is crucial to address the issue of national security. With the abolition of the military, we recognize the need for an alternative mechanism to safeguard our nation''s rights and prevent any exploitation. After an extensive and confidential evaluation process, we have made the decision to entrust this responsibility to ARES." Alexander''s statement left the audience intrigued about the details surrounding this arrangement, as he moved on with his speech without providing further information. His speech continued for over half an hour, delving into the plans he had for the country and outlining the path they would be taking as a nation moving forward. He discussed various aspects, including economic reforms, infrastructure development, education, healthcare, and social welfare. "Now, I will be taking your questions," Alexander announced, prompting a flurry of raised hands from the reporters in the room. After pointing to a reporter, Alexander nodded and gestured for her to speak. The reporter quickly introduced herself and wasted no time in getting to the question. "I think many people are wondering what or who is ARES, since you just mentioned the name. Could you provide some more information about it?" she inquired with curiosity in her voice. "More details will be released when everything about them is completed and they are ready. The secrecy is necessary for national security reasons," Alexander responded, his smile unwavering. "I understand that citizens may be curious, but I kindly ask for their patience in this matter. Rest assured, transparency will be maintained as much as possible, and updates will be provided at the appropriate time." Another reporter, who introduced himself as a CNN correspondent, asked, "What was the reason behind your decision to establish a single eight-year term for the president?" "We opted for a single eight-year term because our evaluation of presidents in numerous developed countries revealed a pattern where many of them prioritize short-term gains to secure their chances of re-election, often at the expense of the country''s long-term interests. The eight-year duration allows the president ample time to formulate and execute long-term plans for the nation, ensuring they can see them through completion within a single term. This approach helps us avoid the pitfalls observed in countries with shorter presidential terms," elaborated Alexander, shedding more light on the rationale behind their decision. "Could you explain the rationale behind your decision to introduce a new branch of government? Additionally, could you clarify the responsibilities this new branch will undertake?" Al Jazeera''s reporter inquired. "This branch will have the responsibility of ensuring that the country does not pursue short-term development initiatives that could potentially harm its citizens in the long run," Alexander replied, swiftly moving on to another reporter''s question. "When is the first election in the country scheduled to take place?" A Russia-1 reporter inquired. "We have not yet made a final decision on the exact date, but we anticipate that the first election will take place within the next year or two. It is essential for us to allocate sufficient time to ensure that every elected position contributes meaningfully to the nation''s welfare and is not merely a means to squander taxpayers'' money," he answered. A FOX News reporter asked, "What will happen to Adolf?" "He will be subjected to a fair trial, just like any other citizen of the country, and will receive the same punishment that any citizen who has committed a similar crime would receive," Alexander answered. "What will happen to those who were falsely accused and imprisoned by the previous government?" An NHK reporter asked. "They have the option to apply for the reopening of their cases. If it is determined that they were falsely accused, they will be released from prison and provided with compensation for the wrongful time they spent incarcerated, as a means to compensate for the time they lost," he answered and continued choosing another reporter for them to ask their questions. "There are international speculations suggesting that certain countries have offered various types of support, including financial assistance, in exchange for the allocation of islands to establish military bases to benefit from your country''s positioning. Is there any truth to these speculations, and if so, have you made a decision regarding which country you will be choosing?" a China Central Television reporter asked. "Although the allegations are true, we have made the decision to maintain neutrality and refrain from choosing any country. Our aim is to prevent the escalation of tensions in the world," Alexander replied. The press conference continued for over an hour, covering a wide range of topics as the reporters utilized this opportunity to address the pressing questions to the new government. It served as a significant platform for obtaining detailed information, as prior to this conference, the government had only made announcements without providing further elaboration or details. The reporters made the most of this occasion to inquire about various aspects concerning the functioning and policies of the newly established government. ... "He is truly adept at public speaking," Aron remarked, observing the press conference where Alexander answered each question with professionalism and poise. Nova responded to Aron''s statement, saying, [If Alexander had indeed memorized the documents I provided him, it''s no surprise that someone skilled at public speaking would have no trouble appearing as a proficient speaker.] "And how is the public reacting?" he asked, disregarding her attempt at humble bragging. Nova summarized the public and international watcher''s reactions to the press conference for Aron, stating, "While it is generally positive, many individuals are still curious about the identity of Ares and why they were chosen for outsourcing over well-known mercenaries like Blackwater and others who have established their combat prowess. Some people are focusing their attention on gathering more information about the fourth government branch and searching for similar models implemented by other nations. However, the prevailing impression is that Alexander is dedicated to building a nation that prioritizes long-term planning, instead of pursuing short-term gains to impress the public, which could ultimately harm the country in the long run and jeopardize chances of the nation''s future development." "Looks like everything went according to plan. It''s time I return to my attempt at making of the medium" Aron said as he immediately logged off and returned to continue his attempt at making the medium for the Rune - computer integration module. Chapter 149 Starting The Production ? The discord server is now open, go there and join the discussion: https://discord.gg/KptypY8dGh ..... Three weeks before the press conference. Aron could be seen in his usual position, laying on the bed with the headgear securely on his head. However, something was different today. He was sound asleep, both in the real world and the universal simulation he was currently logged in which was a rare occurrence. Inside the universal simulation, Nova calmly observed Aron peacefully sleeping. It was a forced sleep, designed to prevent any mishaps from happening while Aron underwent the process of knowledge assimilation. Unlike previous instances, this time Aron was receiving knowledge directly from his headset which was the first time, rather than it being done by his system Even though Nova had conducted numerous tests that indicated there was no necessity to put Aron to sleep, she decided to err on the side of caution due to her not possessing complete and fully accurate data about the condition of the VR headgear and wanted to eliminate any chances of potential problems. As an additional precautionary measure, the door leading to the room he was in was heavily secured, prepared to ward off any potential interruptions that could arise and disrupt Aron''s assimilation process. 4 real-time hours later. "Ahhh, my head!" Aron groaned as Nova gently woke him up, instinctively reaching for his forehead, groaning in discomfort caused by the throbbing headache he was experiencing. "It will pass shortly," Nova assured him, her voice comforting, as she gently massaged his forehead. Utilizing her control and authority within the universal simulation, she gradually diminished the pain, allowing Aron to slowly relax. "Huh, what is this?" Aron curiously asked, finally realizing that the system''s blue screen was displayed right in front of him. "Aah," Aron exclaimed, as the realization dawned upon him. It was the customary reward he received for utilizing the system''s knowledge, and this time he had been granted one for successfully assimilating the knowledge of atomic printers into his mind using the assimilation technique. After taking a few moments to calm himself down, he spoke up, saying, "Materialize the materials I require for trials since I need to make it completely assimilate into my brain." talking about the well-known weakness of knowledge assimilation when it is conducted in a device that was not specifically designed for such purposes. As usual, Nova materialized all the necessary materials, ensuring that this time all the machines Aron would be using for trials were of the same generation accessible for him in the real world wanting to provide a seamless experience and replicate the conditions he would encounter outside the simulation. Over the next three weeks, Aron diligently conducted his trials, aiming to ensure a flawless production when he eventually started the production of the machine in the real world. He faced many failures in the beginning, but with perseverance, he achieved a few successes. Allowing him to gain the confidence to carry out the process in the real world. Coincidentally, this newfound assurance coincided with Alexander''s press conference to the world. ... Back to today. After logging out, Aron swiftly departed from the room and headed straight towards one of the renovated warehouses located in the temporary base of ARES. This facility had been utilized by his private forces as they made preparations for the coup but soon they will be moving out and only use it as an emergency weapons warehouse.Ѧds `n??| om A considerable amount of time had passed since Aron left the presidential palace, as it was no longer suitable for him to reside there. Instead, he relocated to the current location, where they had ample space for the delivery and storage of the large machines he required for his endeavors. As Aron swung open the gate to the warehouse, he couldn''t contain his amazement and exclaimed, "Wow!" when he laid eyes on the array of machines nestled within. Although Aron had witnessed their arrival, the machines had remained concealed beneath their covers. Due to his intense focus on practicing the assimilated knowledge, he hadn''t found the time to inspect them closely. Thus, as he stood there, it marked the first occasion he beheld the machines after they had been unveiled, assembled, and patiently awaited his utilization of them. "Having a president on your side certainly makes things easier," Aron remarked, recalling how effortlessly he acquired ownership of the manufacturing machines. The government had seized these machines, which were controlled by companies under Adolf''s influence, enabling Aron to obtain them for his own purposes. [You could have used Rina to get your hands on the latest generation of the same machines,] Nova jokingly complained, playfully talking about the alternative approach. "It would take too long for the new generation of these machines to arrive," Aron explained. "Additionally, despite the government being taken over and many countries lifting their sanctions against Eden, America still maintains its sanctions. ??ds ǦȦͦ|?m They claim that they are waiting for the constitution of Eden to be revealed before making their decision. So, Instead of wasting time waiting for new machines that would have to be smuggled out of America, these existing machines can fulfill our immediate requirements." Aron said as he powered on the machines, preparing to commence his work. [Indeed, with Alexander''s announcement that Eden will remain neutral and not take sides, and Rina''s promise for America''s acknowledgment of the new government, the sanctions have no choice but to be dropped,] Nova replied, reminding Aron of Rina''s promise. "Yeah, I know. Time to get to work," Aron said, wasting no time as he began preparing the CNC machines for manufacturing. He started by carefully selecting the appropriate cutting tools, fixtures, and work-holding devices necessary for machining the aluminum blocks that are going to be turned into the parts of the printer. Simultaneously, Nova began calibrating the machines and programming them with the specific instructions required to accomplish the tasks at hand. Once the machines were properly calibrated, Aron proceeded to load the aluminum blocks onto the work table of each CNC machine. Immediately after he completed loading them, guided by the programmed instructions, the CNC machines commenced their precise work of cutting, milling, and drilling the aluminum blocks, embarking on a journey to create intricate features and achieve the desired precise dimensions according to Nova''s design. Observing the machines diligently carrying out their tasks, Aron stood and watched for a minute, observing how the four CNC machines were seamlessly executing their respective works. Aware that the machining of the aluminum blocks would require several hours, Aron decided to utilize this time to fabricate the medium necessary for the computer to manipulate the runes. "Let''s begin with the production of the integration module," Aron stated as he carried the crate that was covered in a clean sheet from the corner of the room and placed it on the table. before carefully opening it, revealing its contents. Upon seeing what was inside, Aron said, "Although I anticipated her exceeding my expectations in terms of quantity, she truly went above and beyond and exceeded my expectations of her exceeding my expectations." He was taken aback by the significant amount of Tanzanite that Rina had collected within just two weeks and sent to him. Nova, observing the amount through the cameras in the room, added, [It is enough for you to create at least three mediums as a redundancy in case one of them fails during production.] "As they say, you can''t be too careful," Aron remarked as started working on the integration medium. Chapter 150 The Production ? The discord server is now open, go there and join the discussion: https://discord.gg/KptypY8dGh ..... He chose a square aluminum plate measuring one meter and proceeded to the adjacent room. He sought a quiet space that would enable him to focus, as the task ahead demanded a significant amount of his concentration for an extended period of time which had taken him a very long time to train on it within the universal simulation. After closing the door behind him, he placed the aluminum plate on the floor and took a seat beside it. "Time to concentrate," he said to himself, taking deep breaths to calm his mind and gather focus before he begins. Once he had calmed down sufficiently, he extended his right hand toward the plate, forming it into a gun-like shape with two fingers outstretched, and immediately began channeling Mana to the tips of these two fingers, focusing on accumulating the energy there. The Mana concentration steadily increased as he kept it contained at the fingertip, not allowing it to disperse elsewhere, solely focusing on building up the energy until the Mana had reached a sufficient concentration. With a deliberate focus, Aron released Mana from his fingertips, channeling it into concentrated parallel beams. The beams gracefully traversed a short distance before he swiftly halted their motion, causing them to instantly intersect and merge at the tip. In a seamless motion, they formed a triangular shape with the apex pointing directly toward the aluminum plate resting on the floor. As soon as the triangle was formed by the two golden beams, Aron began carving intricate pathways onto the aluminum plate. With each movement of his fingers, a trail of golden lines appeared, marking the path he traced on the surface of the plate. He painstakingly continued to carve the lines with precision, transforming the aluminum plate into a complex network resembling intricate circuitry. As the lines extended and interwove, the plate gradually assumed an appearance similar to that of mana pathways, trying to emulate the intricate channels within Aron''s own body that facilitated the manipulation of mana. For over three hours, Aron remained completely focused, his hand and eyes the only parts of him in motion. He did not allow himself a single moment of rest, aware that any interruption would necessitate starting the intricate process from scratch, resulting in a significant waste of time. "Whew!" Aron exhaled a sigh of relief, wiping away the beads of sweat that had accumulated on his forehead after prolonged concentration. "The first step is finally done," he remarked, acknowledging the completion of this initial phase. [Congratulations, Sir, but the machining process has been completed, and it''s time to replace the aluminum blocks to avoid any unnecessary time wastage,] Nova informed Aron after she allowed him a moment to bask in the pride of his achievement and offer her congratulations. "On it," he replied. Rising from the spot where he had been sitting for over three hours, Aron walked without feeling any cramps in his legs. His enhanced body, continuously augmented, had prevented restriction of blood flow despite the prolonged period of sitting. He made his way back to the machining room and carefully removed the completed parts from the CNC machines. Using a cleaning rune, he cleaned the freshly machined components before placing them on a clean table for storage. He then retrieved new blocks of aluminum and inserted them into the CNC machines before Nova initiated the machines once again, and they resumed their work, efficiently machining the newly added parts. He then returned to the room where the plate with the beautifully drawn mana circuitry awaited him. Taking his previous position, he resumed his focus, settling into the familiar posture he had maintained while creating the pathways. Once again, he directed his attention and concentration toward the task at hand. After re-establishing his concentration, he proceeded with the second phase of his task. Guiding his two fingers to a specific section of the mana circuitry, intentionally left open-ended for this purpose, he began the meticulous process of engraving runic letters. Each stroke was executed with the utmost care, deliberate precision, and unwavering focus, ensuring that the runic inscriptions were etched onto the open end of the circuitry with absolute accuracy. Letter by letter, the runic script was meticulously engraved into the plate, forming a beautiful and intricate word. However, Aron didn''t cease supplying Mana to the runic word. This time, he closed his eyes, delving deeper into his concentration, fully aware of the significance of the moment. As he was using runic intent for the first time in the real world, it demanded every ounce of focus he could muster, and he immersed himself completely in the task at hand. The runic word, now radiant with a gentle glow, pulsated rhythmically at various intervals as Aron continued to pour his intent into the flow of mana directed towards the word, guiding it with purpose. Slowly but surely, his focused intention instructed the mana, defining its purpose and the desired outcome he expected it to achieve. The pulsating glow of the runic word became a manifestation of the instructions embedded within and a testament to Aron''s intent. The pulsations continued relentlessly, intensifying and diminishing in varying intervals, persisting for over four consecutive hours. However, as the fifth hour approached, an unprecedented transformation occurred. The pulsating runic word accelerated its rhythm, the speed doubling with each passing second. Its pulsations became so rapid and intense that they appeared to vanish entirely, leaving the word motionless and still. The once dynamic and vibrant display now gave way to a serene and static presence. This state persisted for more than five minutes, during which an enormous amount of mana was being drained from Aron with each passing second. As the tenth minute approached, the runic word began a gradual shift in color, transitioning from its original golden hue to a gradual whitening. Simultaneously, visible blood vessels started appearing on Aron''s concentrated form, indicating the strain caused by the immense mana expenditure. Aron''s runic heart worked tirelessly, absorbing and collecting mana from the surrounding atmosphere, preventing his body from entering a state of mana deprivation. "Trrrrrrrm." A resonant sound echoed through the room as the runic word reached its final state, transforming into a pristine shade of white. Aron''s eyes slowly opened, revealing a mixture of anticipation and excitement as he beheld the outcome of his arduous five-hour endeavor. "Whew." Aron exhaled a long sigh of relief as his eyes beheld the runic word, now completely transformed into a brilliant shade of white. A smile began to spread across his face, a reflection of his deep satisfaction and joy at witnessing the successful completion of his laborious task. "I suspect that I would have fainted if it had continued for just a few more minutes," Aron remarked, the smile still gracing his face. Nova playfully chided Aron, [You know, you could have started with the easier ones that required just a few instructions. But no, you had to dive straight into the hardest one from the beginning!] "I felt it was necessary to tackle the hardest one first," Aron explained, a proud smile on his face. "If I had saved it for last and made a mistake, I would have had to start the entire process from scratch. But now that I''ve succeeded with the most challenging part, the chances of the rest failing are nearly zero. It was a calculated risk, and I''m glad it paid off." Nova voiced her disagreement once more, stating, [I still believe it would have been wiser for you to begin with a mid-level rune before venturing into using runic intent on the hardest one.] Aron remained silent, his gaze fixed upon the radiant white runic word, a proud smile adorning his face. Deep within, he knew that he had every reason to feel immense pride for this remarkable achievement. [Sir, you need to replace the machined part with new blocks,] Nova interjected, instantly dispelling the prideful expression from Aron''s face. Her reminder served as a stark reality check, reminding him that he had barely made progress and still had a long way to go to achieve his ultimate goal. Aron stood up from his seated position, made his way back to the machine room, and repeated the familiar process. He removed the completed parts from the CNC machine, carefully cleaning them before placing them on the designated table. In their place, he inserted fresh blocks of aluminum, followed by Nova initiating the machine once more. Satisfied that the process was underway, he returned to the room, ready to resume his work. Upon his return to the room, Aron settled back into his familiar position, seated and ready to continue his work. Just as before, he focused his efforts on regaining his concentration, allowing his mind to settle and his focus to sharpen once again. Once again, Aron positioned his finger on another open section of the mana vein and began the meticulous process of engraving a new runic word. With steady precision, he carefully etched the runic symbols until the word was fully formed. As usual, his task didn''t end there as he continued infusing mana into the runic word, imbuing it with his intent to ensure that the runic word would serve a specific purpose, tailored to his desired outcome, rather than functioning solely based on its inherent properties. Aron diligently continued the process of writing runes on another open end of the mana circuit, infusing them with intent, and allowing himself a short break to rejuvenate. After a few minutes of respite, he would rise from his seat and proceed to the machine room. There, he would carefully remove the completed part, replacing it with a fresh block of aluminum, before returning to the room to resume his work. This singular task consumed Aron''s time unfalteringly for an entire month without any interruption. To maximize his productivity, he used the VR headset, enabling him to experience five hours of restful sleep within a single hour of real-world time. Chapter 151 Completion & Assembly ? The discord server is now open, go there and join the discussion: https://discord.gg/KptypY8dGh ..... ?m FEB 1st. "I just can''t get over how stunning it looks," Aron exclaimed, admiring the finished engravings on the third plate. [It is more aesthetically pleasing if it were crafted by a machine,] Nova remarked, having had experience with a machine-assembled version. "Beggars can''t be choosers, and in the present world, there is nothing capable of manufacturing them anyway," Aron responded as his hands gently caressed the plate. The completed plates resembled an enlarged chip, with the conventional microscopic wirings replaced by intricate mana circuitry. The mana pathways connected each rune to another, forming a complex network within the medium. At its essence, the integration module functions as a translator and intermediary, bridging the gap between the realm of runes and the digital world. The circuits facilitate the transfer of mana to the runes inscribed on the plates, enabling their activation whenever they are required. Among the numerous white runes adorning the plate, one particular symbol captured the most attention. Positioned at the center, it stood out from the rest due to its larger size. The rune at the center happened to be the rune of conversion. However, in this instance, it was going to be employed in a completely different context than its creator had originally intended. Typically, the conversion rune is utilized by rune users to transform neutral mana into affinitized mana. This process enhances the effectiveness of a rune, especially when the converted mana shares the same affinity as the rune being employed. For example, if a runic user were to convert neutral mana into mana with a fire affinity, and then employ a fire rune, the effectiveness of the rune would be doubled compared to using the same amount of mana in its neutral state. This feature was not particularly useful for Aron, as he possessed what could be considered boundless reserves of mana. Consequently, he never bothered with converting neutral mana into a specific affinity before utilizing it to activate the runes. However, the conversion rune inscribed on the plate served a different purpose. Its role was not to convert mana but to act as a translator, transforming signals originating from a computer. Based on the instructions provided, it would manipulate the other runes on the plate according to the desired outcome specified in those instructions. While the remaining runes on the plate were also created using runic intent, their sizes varied in proportion to the number of instructions they were imbued with during their crafting process. "It''s time to begin crafting the final parts of the mediums," Aron declared, reopening the box that had once contained Tanzanite''s gemstones sent to him by Rina. However, this time, instead of intact gems, the box held nothing but a fine powder. He had instructed one of the guards to take the Tanzanite gemstones and have them crushed at a company equipped with the necessary machinery for such a task. He began pouring the powdered Tanzanite into the specially crafted glass containers that had been ordered by Nova specifically for him. Once all three containers were filled, he sealed them shut. Aron then resumed his seat and, akin to his process of engraving runes on the medium, he began inscribing two runes onto each container. However, this time, it took him merely an hour to complete the engraving on the first container, while the remaining two containers required an additional two hours each to finish the engraving. This was because, in contrast to previous instances, this time Aron was imbuing a minimal amount of instructions into the runes using his runic intent. As soon as he finished, Aron placed his hands on top of the runes inscribed on two containers and began infusing mana onto them with relentless fervor, as if there were no tomorrow. A radiant glow emanated from the runes and in a matter of moments, a delicate shield materialized within each of the two containers, effectively isolating the Tanzanite powder within. Shortly thereafter, the powder itself began to emit a luminous glow, signaling the absorption of mana into its essence. Gradually, the two containers began to fill with mana, with a significant portion being absorbed by the Tanzanite gems acting as mana stones, storing the magical energy that Aron poured into them. Once he finished filling the first two containers, he moved on to the remaining one, completing the process in a remarkably short span of time. Content with his progress, Aron stood up and made his way to the machine room. There, he carefully removed the final components from the machines and carried them to a table that had been utilized for storing the completed parts numerous times over the past month. "Tell them to come and move these machine parts," Aron instructed Nova. The parts needed to be transported to the same warehouse where the previous machined components had been sent when the table became filled with them. [Finally, it''s time to assemble the machine,] Nova exclaimed, her voice brimming with unmistakable excitement after she passed the order. The ARES members entered the room and started handling the machine parts with utmost care and precision. They understood the significance of their task, knowing that whatever they were carrying held enough importance for their boss to dedicate over a month of his important time to their production. Aron followed closely behind the ARES members as they made their way to the new building. This was where the previous machine parts he had crafted were relocated, and it was now the destination for the newly produced components as well. As Aron stepped inside the building, he was greeted by a sight that filled him with joy. The impeccably crafted components lay before him, their surfaces gleaming under the light. Carefully arranged on a clean carpet, they awaited his skilled hands to assemble them. The ARES members proceeded to carefully place the machine parts on the floor, mimicking the same meticulousness they had demonstrated when initially bringing them into the room. With utmost caution, they ensured that each piece was positioned securely and in its designated location. "Now, let''s commence the final assembly," Aron declared to himself, his excitement palpable. Left alone in the room, he eagerly rubbed his hands together before swiftly and methodically collecting each part. Moving with precision, he transported them to the empty area of the room, where the culmination of his efforts would come together as he started the assembly. Due to having practiced this procedure more than ten times within the universal simulation, Aron had practically memorized the precise locations for each part, eliminating the need for him to consult the instructions provided by Nova. His extensive familiarity with the assembly process allowed him to proceed with confidence and efficiency, effortlessly placing each component in its designated position. Every individual piece seamlessly found its rightful place in the intricate puzzle of assembly. The mechanical components were carefully fastened using screws, bolts, and meticulously crafted connectors, ensuring their secure and precise fit. The electrical and electronic elements were integrated with the utmost delicacy, their intricate wires guided through meticulously designed channels. With the deftness of his fingertips, Aron ensured a flawless fit, achieving a seamless harmony between form and function. Gradually, the skeleton of the machine began to take shape, revealing its underlying structure. In tandem, a web of wires emerged as Aron skillfully managed the wiring, organizing, and securing them. As new parts were introduced, they gracefully concealed the carefully managed wires, contributing to the machine''s evolving form. For over three days, Aron continued with his precise and methodical assembly, meticulously joining together over fifteen thousand parts of varying sizes and shapes. Finally, as the final piece was put in place, the assembly was complete, unveiling a colossal rectangular box akin to the size of a school bus. The entire structure glistened with a flawless, mirror-like surface, composed of perfectly flat aluminum panels on all sides. However, one particular area stood outa conspicuous opening that signaled the intended insertion of a container within it. [Congratulations sir] Nova exclaimed, expressing her admiration for Aron''s accomplishment as he took a seat after completing the three-day-long assembly process. "Thank you, Nova," Aron expressed his gratitude upon hearing her congratulations for completing the assembly. "Now, we can consider your most pressing issue solved," Nova remarked, her excitement still evident in her tone. "We can''t be certain if it''s functioning until we power it on," Aron admitted, although his beaming expression hinted at his underlying happiness upon completing the task. [Don''t worry, sir. Everything was made according to my standards, and I ensured that no mistakes were made,] Nova reassured Aron confidently. "Then let''s proceed with the testing," Aron said, rising from where he was sitting and making his way to the machine, clutching one of the mana containers in his hand. Upon reaching the machine, Aron carefully inserted the Mana container into the designated opening, ensuring a secure connection. He then proceeded to link the machine to the electrical system of the building, establishing the necessary power supply for the upcoming test. Chapter 152 The First Print ? After connecting the machine to the power supply, he wasted no time in powering it up. However, the initial moments ticked by without any signs of activity. Nevertheless, Aron maintained his composure, fully aware of the underlying cause. The mana container that was inserted into the machine gradually started to emit a gentle glow. Simultaneously, the stored mana within the container began to trickle and flow into the mana circuits of the integration medium and with each passing moment, a radiant glow illuminated every part it encountered along its path. This process continued until every circuit within the machine was saturated with mana, ensuring that all the connected runes had immediate access to the mana they required whenever the need arose. As soon as the mana circuits reached their full capacity, the central conversion rune sprang to life, immediately initiating the connection to the machine''s computer network. The conventional computer component, which had now been connected with the medium, comprised the last of the five quantum computing chips that Aron had made for upgrading Nova''s server. Once it began receiving the converted signals from the medium, it instantly came to life, notifying Nova of the completion of its warm-up process and without delay, it initiated the power-up sequence. The machine emitted a resounding "BRRRMMM" sound, akin to that of an ancient slumbering dragon gradually awakening after millennia of slumber. Accompanied by this deep hum, the machine sprung to life, and the quantum computer wasted no time in conducting system diagnostics. Followed by initiating a series of tests on the moving parts of the machine to ensure their functionality. [Sir, the diagnostics are complete,] Nova reported to Aron. However, Aron seemed entirely distracted and paid no attention to her. Aron remained oblivious to Nova''s report because, in that precise moment, a sudden "Ding!" reverberated, capturing Aron''s focus, as a blue screen materialized right before him. Initially, Aron mistook the appearance of the blue screen as a reward for successfully creating the medium. However, he soon recollected that he had already received his rewards upon completing the making of them. As he read the contents of the screen, he grasped the purpose of the system prompt. [ Congratulations. The system commends you for achieving a feat that surpasses the technological capabilities of your world with minimal assistance from the system. In recognition of this accomplishment, the system offers you a reward that it deems beneficial to you. Would you like to accept the reward? [YES] [NO] ] "OOOOH," Aron exclaimed, filled with gratitude that the system had decided to reward him for his diligent efforts. [What are you talking about?] Nova inquired, her confusion evident as she couldn''t see what Aron was talking about. "Oh, the system just sent a prompt saying that it is going to reward me for successfully building the Printer from research to completion with minimal assistance," Aron informed Nova, sharing the content of the message displayed before him. [What is the reward?] Nova asked, her excitement palpable. She shared in Aron''s joy, knowing that his success was also a victory for her. "The system didn''t specify the exact reward," Aron explained, "but it mentioned that it would provide something it considers helpful for my current situation." [If the system stated that it will be useful to you, then it surely will be,] Nova responded, her excitement undiminished in her voice. She understood that the system possessed comprehensive knowledge about Aron, even more than herself and if the system deemed it important for Aron, then it must truly hold significance for him. [I suggest you accept the reward after you load the materials into the printer. The printing process will likely take a significant amount of time as I need to calibrate the machine to collect data about its performance,] Nova suggested, offering her advice while leaving the final decision to Aron.I think you should take a look at pandasnovel.com "Let''s go with that plan," Aron agreed. He picked up a large aluminum block that had been brought by the ARES members, as per his instructions when they brought the machined parts as he began walking towards the machine, ready to proceed with the next step. Aron swung open the two large aluminum doors, revealing that a significant portion of the printer''s interior was hollow. Carefully, he placed the aluminum block on the floor within the hollow space, ensuring it was positioned correctly. Closing the doors behind him, he said, "You can start the test." Nova promptly transmitted the command to the quantum chip within the machine, causing the chip to begin executing the instructions uploaded onto it by Nova, initiating the test as directed. Without delay, the hollow section of the machine, containing the aluminum block, became enveloped in a protective shield. This shield securely locked the block inside, ensuring that the external world remained unaffected by the imminent events occurring within its confines. Once the shield had fully activated, the white-colored disintegration rune positioned atop the machine sprang to life. Instantly, it started disintegrating the aluminum cube, meticulously breaking it down atom by atom. With each passing minute, the disintegration process advanced, until, by the tenth minute, not a visible trace remained of the aluminum block that once occupied the space. As the disintegration of the aluminum block concluded, the white disintegration rune dimmed, and in its place, the white collection rune activated. This new rune swiftly began gathering the aluminum atoms inside the shield, carefully storing them on one side. Subsequently, it encapsulated the amassed atoms with an additional small shield, effectively containing them and preventing any escape. The shield was specifically designed to confine the atoms, ensuring they remained securely within its bounds. Once the collection of the aluminum atoms was complete, a series of runes began activating one after another. Each rune played its designated role in a synchronized manner. Gradually and with meticulous control, the atoms were released from the small shield in which they were initially confined. Intercepting their path, another rune guided the atoms towards a specific location. Upon arrival, they were promptly handed over to yet another rune, which forcefully reconnected the atoms together, reversing the process performed by the disintegration rune. Atom by atom, they were meticulously rejoined as the intricate design took shape, as each atom found its precise place in the construction. While the intricate atomic printing process unfolded inside the printer, Aron settled into a seat nearby. Deciding to accept the system''s reward, he confidently pressed [yes] on the prompt, which resulted in a surge of knowledge beginning to be assimilated into his brain. After an hour had elapsed, Nova spoke up, addressing Aron, "Sir, the printing process has been completed." "Let''s take a look at the finished product," Aron said, a smile lingering on his face as he thought of the reward he had received from the system. With the smile still on his face, he walked over to the machine, opened it carefully, and retrieved the completed product. "It''s beautiful," Aron couldn''t help but express his admiration as he inspected the completed product. Not a single imperfection marred its surface, giving no indication that it had undergone any machining process. ?andasnovel.com Every component was precisely manufactured to its required dimensions, with deviations only on the atomic scale. This level of precision surpassed any printer or production machine currently in existence(earth) by several million generations. Moreover, it consistently maintained this remarkable accuracy, eliminating concerns about errors. In the rare event of a mistake, the completed product could simply be disintegrated and remade without generating any waste, except for the electricity consumed during the process. "Give me the report," Aron said, he sought to review the detailed report outlining the outcomes and observations now that the test has been completed. [The atomic printer has met our expectations,] Nova reported, conveying the results to Aron. [It is capable of assembling approximately 30,120,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms per hour. Which is equivalent to printing a five-cubic-meter block of aluminum within the same timeframe.] "What is the limiting factor preventing it from achieving even higher speeds?" Aron inquired, aware of the printer''s potential to surpass the current results. [The limiting factor that prevents the printer from achieving higher speeds is the quantum computing chip inside it,] Nova explained the reason. [Its computational capabilities are currently at their maximum, as it needs to calculate the precise positioning of each atom and control the runes involved in the printing process. Presently, the quantum chip can print a maximum of 8,366,666,666,666,666,666,666,666.67 atoms per second. However, the speed decreases when different types of atoms are required, as each type necessitates specific instructions for printing.] "Well, with this printer, there''s nothing that can''t be achieved as long as we have the necessary materials," Aron said confidently. "All we need to do is print new and larger quantum chips and upgrade your quantum computer into a quantum server, entrusting you with full control," he added. [YAY!"]Nova exclaimed, celebrating the nearing of her upgrade. However, she couldn''t contain her curiosity and paused to ask Aron, [So, what reward did the system reward you?] Her excitement was palpable as she eagerly awaited Aron''s response. Chapter 153 Inspiration. ? [So, what reward did the system reward you?] With a smile on his face, Aron replied, "It provided me with a fraction of the knowledge regarding MANA." After hearing Aron''s response, Nova said, [Considering the context provided by the system''s previous statement, it seems that the knowledge is related to the ongoing research within the Golden City.] "You are correct. With this newfound knowledge, the research in the lab city can be completed within a month at the most, as it addresses most of the problems they were facing," he affirmed, as he left the room and headed towards the vending machine offering drinks for the base residents After grabbing a bottle of water, Aron took a refreshing sip. As he finished, he hesitated for a moment before he tossed it into the trash can having received an inspiration. Without wasting any time, he briskly walked to his room to act upon the inspiration. "Is something wrong?" Nova inquired as soon as he logged into the universal simulation, having observed his behavior at the vending machine via the CCTV in the building. "No, I''ve just stumbled upon some inspiration. Display the list of countries to which the majority of the world''s trash is being sent?" Aron asked, deliberately withholding the details of his inspiration, trusting that Nova would grasp its nature from his statement. Nova replied, conjuring a holographic screen in front of Aron that displayed the countries involved. [ China Malaysia Thailand Vietnam Indonesia ] As Aron read through the list, Nova couldn''t help but inquire, [Are you considering becoming the recipient of those waste shipments?] as she continued to analyze the situation, trying to deduce Aron''s intentions. "Yes, after I took a sip of water and was about to dispose of the bottle, an idea struck me," Aron exclaimed, his voice brimming with excitement. "What if we collect the waste and disintegrate it, using the resulting material as a resource for our printer? It could serve as a kind of ink, you might say." [That''s highly efficient,] Nova chimed in, fully endorsing Aron''s idea. [By establishing a sizable waste facility equipped with a disintegration system and atom packaging facility, we can effortlessly address the issue. We would have access to cost-effective materials that others perceive as worthless, whereas for us, they would be no different from the purest substances.] "Exactly," Aron affirmed, building upon his plan. "I''ll have a discussion with Alexander and propose a law that facilitates the importation of waste under the condition that it must not end up in landfills but instead be recycled. This way, we can ensure that we are the only ones who have the capability of meeting the standards of the laws." [True, would you like me to arrange a meeting with him? After all, you were supposed to meet him and discuss potential investments,] Nova suggested. "Sure, go ahead and arrange the meeting. It has been a month since I last saw him, and during that time, we only had one phone call," Aron recalled, reflecting on the limited communication he had with Alexander. "And that call only happened because I took a break to connect with my family, as we hadn''t seen each other for over five months," he said as he laughed at the situation he was in. He was ghosting the president of a country. [He said you''re welcome to visit the presidential palace anytime, and he''ll be available for a meeting with you.] Nova relayed Alexander''s response. "Let''s meet him right away then," Aron said. "Now that the printer is sorted, everything else will fall into place effortlessly." He swiftly headed towards the bathroom to freshen up and prepare himself for the meeting with Alexander ... As Aron''s car navigated through the now bustling streets of the capital city, he couldn''t help but notice a palpable shift in the atmosphere. Although the physical surroundings appeared unchanged, the expressions worn by the people told a different tale. While the majority of people exhibited a sense of satisfaction and contentment with the changes unfolding, a small minority wore expressions of complete opposition. Their dissenting emotions stood in stark contrast to the prevailing sentiment, highlighting a divergence of opinions within the populace. During the month when Aron was focused on his closed-door production, Adolf''s trial had commenced and continued to be broadcasted live for the entire nation to watch. The prevailing expectation among many people was that the punishment Adolf would receive from the trial would be severe enough to set an unprecedented precedent in the history of the young country. "It feels great to be outside after such a long time," Aron remarked, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings from within the car. Being confined inside the base for over a month had made him appreciate the simple pleasure of being outdoors once again. As the car pulled up to the entrance of the presidential palace, it became evident that the premises were heavily guarded by Ares members. Spotting Aron''s arrival, they promptly saluted him and swiftly opened the gates without subjecting him to any inspection or security checks. "Welcome, Mr. Aron," a graceful woman greeted Aron with utmost respect as he stepped out of the car, just before it drove away. "Thank you, and you are?" Aron inquired, extending his hand for a handshake as a gesture of greeting.I think you should take a look at "I''m Zoe, the President''s secretary," she replied respectfully, acknowledging Aron''s question while reciprocating the handshake. "I have been informed that he is expecting you, and it is my duty to welcome you and escort you to his office upon your arrival." Zoe''s words carried a sense of deference, reminiscent of the tone Alexander had when speaking about Aronan unmistakable display of respect for the man. "Then, let''s not keep him waiting. Lead the way," Aron responded with a warm smile, appreciating Zoe''s promptness. "This way," Zoe said, gracefully stepping aside and opening the path for Aron to proceed. Gesturing toward the direction they needed to go, she guided him toward Alexander''s room, creating a clear path for their journey. ... "Welcome," Alexander greeted, rising from his chair and approaching Aron with an outstretched hand for a handshake. "Thank you, and I apologize for not keeping in touch frequently," Aron replied, reciprocating the handshake with a warm smile on his face. "Don''t worry about it. I understand that someone as busy as you is always occupied," Alexander assured, gesturing towards one of the chairs, indicating for Aron to take a seat. "What beverage would you prefer?" Alexander inquired after they had settled into their seats. "I will have mango juice," Aron answered without taking even a moment to think about what to drink. The secretary, having already noted Aron''s drink preference, excused herself and departed to fetch their drinks. While they waited for the drinks to arrive, they engaged in casual conversation, passing the time with small talk. Once the secretary returned with the beverages and left the room, Aron and Alexander transitioned into a more serious discussion, delving into the matters at hand. "How is your leadership role in the country going?" Aron inquired. "All in all, I can say it''s going very well," Alexander responded. "The international community has been receptive to us, especially after we successfully completed the new constitution. Once America acknowledged the new government, other nations followed suit, with only a handful of countries holding back their recognition. However, there is one particular nation that remains significant in this regard." "Esparia?" Aron asked. "Yes, unfortunately, they have chosen not to acknowledge us and have been causing various challenges," Alexander responded with a tinge of annoyance evident on his face. "They have severed most of the diplomatic relations between our nations and completely cut ties with us." "What is the cause behind their actions? Did they provide any specific reasons for their actions?" Aron questioned, contemplating a few potential factors that might have influenced Esparia''s decision. "During Adolf''s reign, Esparia benefited significantly from various avenues that he provided. However, since we assumed power, we have eliminated most of those avenues, effectively severing one of their major sources of income. Consequently, those who had been benefitting from the previous arrangement are now angered and retaliating. They have stated that they will not rebuild the ties or engage in any positive measures until we guarantee them that we will continue the same arrangements that Adolf had with them," Alexander explained, shedding light on the situation. "So, are there any detrimental effects on our side as a result of their actions?" Aron inquired, curious to know if Esparia''s shenanigans were causing any significant harm to Eden. "Yes, indeed. During Adolf''s regime, since he neglected to reinvest the country''s funds into infrastructure, many of our import facilitation facilities have become outdated over time. Consequently, a significant portion of our imports relied on Esparia''s port, which had the capacity to handle large volumes of goods. From there, the goods would be transported to our country via cars and small boats. However, with the port now denying our goods entry, a considerable number of goods have been confiscated and individuals who got their earnings from transporting those goods have been left unemployed. This has resulted in a large number of previously employed people being jobless. Furthermore, our outdated airport facilities posed another challenge. Since the airport lacked modern equipment, Esparia had been the primary destination for refueling international planes coming to and from Eden. With them severing ties with us, they have refused to service any planes originating from our country, causing many airlines to reduce their flights from a weekly to a monthly basis. These examples are just a few of the damages incurred. As for the reminder, while they may not individually hold the same magnitude when combined, they inflict pain on both the government and the citizens," Alexander elaborated, highlighting the extent of the harm caused by Esparia''s actions. "Since they are denying us access to their facilities, the solution is simple: we will build our own," Aron stated confidently, a smile adorning his face. "Are you going to be the one building them?" Alexander asked, knowing that Aron knew the country''s financial situation that was making it difficult to invest in the construction of new and large infrastructures at the moment. "That, and much more," Aron replied, a smile playing on his lips as he slid a folder filled with stacks of papers toward Alexander. Chapter 154 A Talk With Alexander. (2) ? [Since my computer still fails to open the ink stone website, I was forced to upload it using phone so there mistakes that I''m still trying to remove. Sorry for the inconvenience] Alexander carefully reached for the folder that Aron slid towards him, taking his time. He then proceeded to open it and began reading through its contents. Alexander''s expression faltered before he could even finish reading the contents of the first page in the folder. "Wait, you want to buy the Mystic Isle island?" Alexander asked, his surprise evident as he absorbed the grandiosity of the first thing written in the folder. Among the myriad islands in the country, this particular one stood out as the largest non inhabited island. Its size alone surpassed that of a few small countries, making Aron''s intent truly remarkable. "Yes, nobody inhabits it anyway," Aron casually responded, as if it was no big deal. "You''re absolutely right," Alexander couldn''t help but agree with Aron''s statement. Despite its vast size, the island posed significant challenges for habitation. Its lack of surface water meant that residents would have to rely on expensive groundwater extraction, a burden that the impoverished citizens of the country could ill afford. Additionally, the absence of any infrastructure further discouraged settlement, rendering it an overlooked and unsuitable place for people to live. With his question answered, Alexander continued reading the remaining information, and among the details, the most significant reason stated in the document was Aron''s intention to transform the island into his primary production hub. It would serve as the central location responsible for manufacturing all the products envisioned by Aron''s future companies. This revelation brought a smile to Alexander''s face, as he was certain that with this plan, Aron would be able to employ over a hundred thousand individuals. Knowing Aron''s behavior, Alexander was confident that the employees would be well-compensated, potentially lifting more than a million people out of poverty through the job opportunities created on these islands. With a contented smile, Alexander proceeded to the next topic on the page. The second page outlined the plans for entering the power generation industry, a sector that had traditionally been under the exclusive control of the government. "We can change the regulations and make this happen," he said as he delved further into the details regarding the power generation industry. He then continued reading the folder, completely engrossed in its contents. Throughout the process, Aron remained silent, observing Alexander as he conversed with himself and occasionally burst into laughter while absorbing the information. The rest of the folder encompassed the rest of Aron''s ambitious plans, including the construction of the world''s largest airport, the establishment of three world-class ports, the development of an extensive railway network spanning the entire country, the creation of the largest recycling facility globally, and much more. With each passing page, Alexander''s smile grew wider, as he became increasingly confident that these plans would provide employment opportunities for well over a million individuals. "Wow, while I anticipated that you would devise a solution to boost the economy, I never expected it to be this comprehensive," Alexander couldn''t help but express his astonishment once he finished reviewing the folder''s contents. He made a mental note to delve into it in greater detail later in the day, after he had completed his schedule. "I always strive to fulfill my promises," Aron replied, wearing a smile on his face. "But most individuals would have simply spent a billion or two and considered that as fulfilling their promises," Alexander remarked upon hearing Aron''s response. "However, just by glancing through these documents, I expect that it will cost you no less than a hundred billion dollars, if not more," he said. "You''re not far off from the estimated cost. It should be around a hundred and seventy-eight billion dollars, give or take," Aron replied. "However, there are a few aspects of the plan that I''m unclear about. Would you mind providing me with additional details?" Alexander inquired, his surprise at the significantly higher cost than what he had expected evident, though he tried to conceal it. "Sure, go ahead," Aron replied, opening the floor for questions. "Why did you allocate such a significant budget for the construction of the airport and ports? While I, as the president of the country, would be delighted to see them built, I fail to see how you would profit from it," Alexander inquired, recalling that the budget for the airport and ports amounted to approximately 25 billion dollars. "Although they may initially incur losses for me, the airport and ports will play a crucial role in facilitating the transportation of materials for my companies in the future," Aron explained. "By constructing them on a large scale right from the beginning, I can ensure that they will have sufficient capacity to accommodate our future needs. This approach saves me from the constant need to expand them whenever they reach their capacity. Considering my ambitious development plans once things settle down, it was a strategic decision to build them as the largest they will ever need to be."I think you should take a look at pandasnovel.com "Is the same rationale applied to the railway network as well?" Alexander asked, seeking clarification. "I fail to understand the reason behind making it extensive enough to cover the entire country. Typically, for material transfer or transportation of finished products, most individuals would opt for a railway connecting the port to their industrial complex alone. Could you shed some light on this decision?" he inquired, raising another question shortly after receiving Aron''s previous explanation. "Aren''t you supposed to be pleased that your citizens will also benefit from it?" Aron jokingly asked, evoking a playful response from Alexander. "While I am indeed happy about it, you could say it''s just my curiosity driving these questions," Alexander replied with a smile on his face. "Since I am already constructing a railway system, I made the decision for it to span across the entire country, facilitating the movement of logistics and people, potentially generating profits to offset the costs in the long run," Aron explained, emphasizing the economic aspect. He paused briefly before revealing the second reason behind the extensive railway network. "Additionally, it will provide ARES with access to every part of the country, easing the logistics of deploying our forces whenever they are needed internally," he added, highlighting the strategic advantage it would bring. "Mhmm," Alexander murmured, nodding his head to indicate his understanding of Aron''s reasoning. "But why do you want me to visit these countries and negotiate agreements for them to send their waste to us, with the condition that they cover the transportation costs?" Alexander questioned, expressing his confusion. Among the various topics in the folder, this was one aspect that made no sense to him at all. "I intend to recycle the waste and utilize it as raw material for the industrial complex, thereby enabling me to produce goods at a lower cost compared to my competitors in the same industry," Aron replied, concealing the fact that he possessed the capability to transform the trash into usable materials. ?andasnovel?om He was determined to keep his achievement a secret from the world C the fulfillment of an age-old dream of alchemists, the ability to turn waste into valuable material, a modern-day equivalent of turning base elements into gold, albeit in a slightly different manner. "From the perspective of those countries, it will appear that you are attempting to win their favor by addressing one of their most pressing issues C the issue of overflowing landfills," Aron added, making Alexander recognize the potential diplomatic benefit behind his plan. "That''s true," Alexander acknowledged, rubbing his temples at the thought of having to visit those countries and negotiate such agreements. He realized that they might secretly laugh at him and mock the seemingly unconventional deal, viewing it as an attempt to win their favor through what might appear as a less than ideal arrangement. He continued to inquire about the plans outlined in the folder, seeking to grasp the underlying rationale behind Aron''s chosen investment areas. He was trying to uncover any insights or perspectives that Aron had identified within those specific fields, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of his strategic vision. "Now, let''s shift our focus to ARES," Alexander said, feeling content with the explanations he had received from Aron thus far. He transitioned to the next topic that required a thorough discussion between them. "What specific details would you like to discuss about ARES?" Aron asked. "According to the report I received from the Minister of Defense, John, last month, it mentioned that ARES has already assimilated the military forces and is now planning to expand its membership to form a two hundred thousand-strong army. Do you think such an expansion is necessary or perhaps excessive?" Alexander inquired, seeking clarification on the scale of ARES'' planned growth. "No, it is not excessive. In fact, one could argue that it is rather modest," Aron responded calmly. "The target of forming a two hundred thousand soldier-strong army by the end of this year is just the beginning. We have plans to gradually increase their numbers until we reach half a million within a five-year period. Afterward, we will focus on stabilization," he explained, outlining the progressive growth strategy for ARES. "Why do you intend to expand ARES to such a significant size? After all, we are not currently engaged in any conflicts or at war with any other nation," Alexander inquired, expressing his difficulty in comprehending the rationale behind the extensive expansion plans. "While it may not be a full-blown military conflict, we are technically in conflict with Esparia, particularly in the economic sphere. Don''t you think that with billions of dollars that will soon be injected into the economy could potentially escalate the situation, leading them to take more aggressive measures?" Aron posed the question. "I understand the concern about appearing weak, but why do we need to expand ARES to such an excessive number of soldiers?" Alexander questioned after answering Aron''s question. "You remember the device I had you wear, don''t you?" Aron asked calmly. "Yes, it''s hard to forget something that feels like it belongs only in movies," Alexander replied, his expression revealing his fascination with the device and a hint of addiction to its capabilities despite having used it only once. "Do you believe the world will simply leave me alone when I release such a groundbreaking product, along with numerous other advanced technologies?" Aron posed the question rhetorically. "SHIT," Alexander exclaimed, his realization sinking in. He began to understand the potential consequences of Aron possessing even more advanced technology. It dawned on him that there might be increased pressure from the rest of the world to make their products public, lest they face alienation or sanctions under various pretexts until they shared the technology with the international community. "Now you see the reason, don''t you?" Aron stated, observing Alexander''s reaction to his earlier question. A shiver ran down Alexander''s spine as he realized the seriousness behind Aron''s words. "It has happened to me before. And that''s when I came to the realization that, If you lack the power to protect what rightfully belongs to you, then you don''t deserve to possess it. That''s why I plan to establish the world''s strongest militaryto safeguard what is rightfully mine," Aron emphasized, leaving no doubt about his determination and commitment. Chapter 155 Visiting John ? The discord server is now open, go there and join the discussion: https://discord.gg/KptypY8dGh ..... "However, there is a possibility that Esparia might view your mass recruitment as a provocation," Alexander mentioned, deliberately avoiding further discussion on the excessive number of soldiers he intended to acquire. This implied a shift in his stance, indicating that he would now support this course of action. "We don''t need to concern ourselves with their opinion," Aron replied with a smile. "In fact, you should be reciprocating by isolating them as well," he added, further emphasizing his disregard for Esparia''s thoughts and intentions. "I share the same sentiment of not caring about their thoughts. However, their disruptive actions could pose challenges in our procurement of weapons from the international market," Alexander responded, indicating that his concern lay in the potential consequences of Esparia using their action of expanding their forces as an act of escalation of tensions. "If you approve the plans in the folder, you won''t have to worry about any of these issues. I have a solution that will resolve all our problems," Aron assured confidently. "I will make sure they are approved by tomorrow. While I would prefer to do it immediately, I must consider the thoughts of the parliament. If I act without their consent, people may accuse me of overstepping my authority and claim that we haven''t truly changed, merely putting on a different facade," Alexander explained, providing his rationale for the one-day delay. "Don''t worry about that. But always remember, if they give you any trouble, I''ll be there to help you solve those problems," Aron replied playfully. "Indeed, I''ll keep that option in mind," Alexander responded, attempting to maintain a composed demeanor despite the impact of Aron''s statement.. Despite the playful nature of Aron''s response, Alexander never perceived it that way. He remained convinced that Aron''s arduous efforts, such as navigating the approval process and other obstacles, were driven by a desire to uphold the status quo and peacefully pursue his plans, since if he were to resort to forceful actions, it would only amplify the complexities involved in accomplishing his objectives. In Alexander''s mind, Aron was believed to be capable of committing despicable acts if pushed to the extreme. An illustrative example of this was Adolf, whose encounter with Aron left an indelible mark on him. The transformation in Adolf''s demeanor before the press conference was unforgettable to him, as if he had encountered the angel of death and miraculously lived to recount the harrowing tale. Despite the unsettling topic that came up, they managed to move on and engage in small talk about other subjects. Aron seemingly brushed off the somber atmosphere, while Alexander tried to maintain a facade of being unaffected. They continued their conversation for another ten minutes before finally saying their goodbyes, and Aron left the room. "Have a nice day," Zoe said to Aron as she accompanied him to his car, bidding him farewell as he opened the door himself, instructing the driver to stay in the car. "You too," Aron replied as he closed the car door. The vehicle gradually began its departure, making its way towards the external gate of the presidential palace. "Where would you like to go, sir?" the driver, a member of ARES, asked respectfully. "Let''s go to John. I want to talk to him," Aron answered, settling into a more comfortable position in the car. "Yes, sir," the driver responded as he drove through the gate, once again bypassing any inspection, just as they had done when they arrived. The car then proceeded towards the road that led to the former Military headquarters, as directed by Aron. ... "Welcome, sir," John greeted Aron as he stepped out of the car upon arriving at the headquarters. "Thanks, how are you doing?" Aron asked, shaking hands with John. "Thanks to you, I''m always doing alright," John replied with a genuine smile. His words conveyed sincerity, indicating that he truly meant what he said and was not simply trying to please Aron. "Thanks to you too, I''m able to have peace of mind," Aron replied, expressing his acknowledgment and appreciation for John''s dedication in ensuring Aron''s comfort at the base. Despite instructing John to leave behind only a few security personnel, John had exceeded expectations by arranging a significantly larger team capable of conducting even building raids, ensuring that Aron would not face any disruptions during that period. It''s not uncommon for individuals who go to great lengths to prioritize someone''s comfort to inadvertently make mistakes or compromise other aspects in the process. However, what set John apart was his remarkable ability to prioritize Aron''s comfort without compromising other vital considerations. John''s exceptional skills in balancing multiple aspects demonstrated his professionalism and unwavering commitment to his role. "Let''s continue this meeting inside, sir," John suggested, stepping aside to allow Aron to walk alongside him into the building.I think you should take a look at pandasnovel.com "Tell me about the progress," Aron requested, after taking a seat in the head chair. "With us taking control over the previous military, the construction of fifteen new military bases has started and is ongoing as fast as it can be done while maintaining the highest level of quality. They are expected to be completed within four months," John reported. "Are any of the former soldiers causing any problems?" Aron asked, curious about how the soldiers were behaving under the new leadership. "Yes, quite a few of them caused troubles at first. However, after they were thrown into military prison, the rest of them have been controlling themselves. But I''m afraid it won''t hold them back for too long," John answered, indicating that due to a lack of discipline in their previous army, some of them have no respect for higher-ups at all. "Keep them in control for three months. After that, I will help you teach them discipline and how to act respectfully," Aron said with a sinister smile on his face. "I will do my best to ensure they behave until that time, sir," John said, acknowledging Aron''s plan. "How many recruits did you manage to enlist?" Aron then asked. "At the moment, we have gained 20,000 recruits who are still undergoing training in different military bases," John answered. "Only twenty thousand people applied for the military?" Aron asked, surprised by the lower recruitment turnout. "We could have recruited and increased our numbers even more due to the increase in people''s patriotism. However, we don''t have the capacity to accommodate them at the moment, so we are trying to accelerate the construction of new training bases," John explained. pandasnovel.com "And what about the intelligence department?" Aron inquired. "As for the intelligence department, although we have started recruiting based on the information you provided, we are facing difficulties in training them at the moment. Most of us have extensive expertise in combat fields, but we lack proficiency in the intelligence department. Therefore, we are still searching for trainers from that specific field without drawing too much attention," John replied. "How many people have you recruited for the intelligence department?" Aron asked, curious about the progress of finding individuals for that role. "We have recruited about 1500 individuals for the intelligence department at the moment, and they are currently undergoing physical training," John answered. "How long will their physical training take?" Aron asked. "It will take about six months before they are ready to begin their next phase of training," John replied. "I will take care of the trainer problem, so there''s no need to continue searching," Aron stated, a smile on his face. "Yes, sir. I will stop the search," John agreed immediately, placing his trust in Aron''s words as he always did. Aron continued the conversation, discussing various topics with John for the next two hours before leaving and starting his drive back home. .... "How have you been doing?" Aron asked Felix, who was on the other end of the phone as he was being driven home. "I''m doing good, but I swear, do you have selective memory or something?" Felix replied, his voice dripping with playful sarcasm. "I mean, seriously, did you misplace your brain cells or did they go on vacation without telling you? How on earth did you forget to contact your friend for more than two weeks?" "You should consider yourself lucky that I''m taking the time to reach out to you, even in the midst of my hectic schedule. I''m a person of great importance, you know." Aron retorted with a playful tone. "Oh, have a little shame, Aron. You, who''s practically jobless, trying to compare yourself to me? You seem to have conveniently forgotten that you left me in charge of one of your precious companies, Aron. Maybe I should just sell it off, that''ll surely bring you back to reality!" He chuckled, clearly enjoying the banter and not willing to back down. "Oh, I see how it is!" Aron replied, his voice brimming with playful self-importance. "Someone like me, with an abundance of options at my fingertips, has it much harder than you, who already knows their designated job. It''s a burden, my friend, a curse of the privileged!" He then switched to a mock ancient wise man''s voice, adding, "The abundance of choice is nothing but a curse," before erupting into laughter. "But seriously, what have you actually been up to for the past month?" Felix asked, his tone shifting to a more serious note as he brushed aside the previous banter. "Well, it seems the moment of truth has arrived for both of you," Aron replied, his voice and expression now serious, devoid of the earlier lightheartedness. "If you''re truly eager to know what I''ve been working on, then I suggest you pray for Sarah''s swift arrival." "Well, it looks like the suspense will finally come to an end next week," Felix replied, his voice carrying a hint of excitement and anticipation. Chapter 156 Meeting His Friends. ? The discord server is now open, go there and join the discussion: https://discord.gg/KptypY8dGh ..... [Welcome back] Nova said, welcoming Aron after he returned to the base and logged in to the Universal simulation. "Thanks," Aron answered as he fell onto the fluffy couch that Nova had materialized for him. [How was your day?] Nova asked after Aron returned and logged into the Universal simulation. "Though exhausting, it felt good going out and meeting people once in a while," Aron said as he tried to get into a comfortable position. Nova, seeing Aron trying but failing to get into a comfortable position, snapped her fingers and immediately put Aron in a comfortable position. "Thanks," Aron thanked her for the help. "How is the research on mana going?" Aron asked, inquiring about the progress now that they had obtained a small piece of information relevant to their research that had been gifted to him by the system. [Despite only a few days passing here, we have made multiple consecutive breakthroughs in the research,] Nova answered, displaying a list of the breakthroughs that the scientists in the Universal simulation had achieved after receiving the gifted knowledge. As Aron read the list of breakthroughs, he couldn''t help but exclaim, "Oh my God!" when he came across the report about the energy density of mana. "The potential of mana as an energy source is beyond anything I could have imagined. Just think of the possibilities and advancements we can achieve with this discovery!" he said with a smile on his face, showing that he was extremely excited by what he read. Nova, observing Aron''s reaction, added, [That is the average energy density of mana, but the report doesn''t encapsulate everything since the research is still ongoing. However, at the moment, what we can say is that the purer the mana, the more energy-dense it becomes.] "What differentiates the quality of mana?" Aron asked, setting aside the list in front of him. [The runes collecting it,] Nova responded. Aron nodded, understanding the concept. He then asked, "So, with the runes and the runic knowledge we currently have, what is the quality of mana that we can collect?" Nova replied, [With the runes and runic knowledge we currently possess, we can only collect what we consider to be low-quality mana. However, despite labeling it as such, it is still the most dense energy source on Earth.] "How about my heart? What is the quality of mana it is collecting?" Aron asked, his curiosity evident in his tone. Nova responded, [At the moment, your heart is collecting what we consider to be medium-quality mana. However, we believe that the quality of the mana it is collecting is intentionally limited. This limitation allows your body to gradually evolve and adapt, preparing it to handle the storage and utilization of higher-quality mana in the future.] "Mh..." Aron hummed while nodding his head, indicating that he was contemplating Nova''s answer. After a brief moment of silence, he spoke up with a smile, "Send someone to buy the materials needed to produce more VR devices. I''ll need them for when I have a meeting with my friends." Nova acknowledged his request, replying, [Yes, sir.] She swiftly transmitted the order to the personnel stationed at the base, who promptly began the process of procuring the necessary materials as instructed. [Are you going to tell them everything?] Nova asked, curious at what he planned to tell them. Aron, while caressing his chin, replied thoughtfully, "Not all of it. I''ll share everything except the information about the system." He continued, "As they say, the best-kept secret is the one not told to anyone. Although I trust Felix and Sarah to keep the secret, even without the runic contract that I will use as an assurance. However, the runic contract itself that I have been using is only at the lowest level of a runic contract. This means that if someone with the capability to nullify the contracts were to emerge in the future, they could potentially force Felix and Sarah to reveal the secret. It''s a risk I''m not willing to take." pandasnovel.com Aron further explained, "Another reason for keeping the information to myself is that I am the only one who has the protection of the system from mind invasion. If someone else were to possess even a slightly similar neural technology and put it on Felix or Sarah, they could instantly gain knowledge of the secret without them even having to speak a word." [That''s true,] Nova said. [Are you keeping the system a secret because if someone knows about it, they might deduce that you need a specific form of currency to access the system''s knowledge? Consequently, they might take steps to prevent you from earning that currency, effectively blocking your access?] "Yes, based on the descriptions of the items I purchase from their shop, it is evident that we are not alone. The technology mentioned in those descriptions suggests the existence of numerous intelligent races that are far more powerful than humanity." Aron''s response indicated that he is not concerned about humans finding out about this, but rather he fears that if a human discovers his secret, it could inadvertently expose his greatest advantage to a potential enemy in the future. [That''s true,] Nova said, concurring with Aron''s thoughts. I think you should take a look at pandasnovel.com They carried on discussing various subjects until Nova interrupted with an update. [Sir, the materials you ordered have arrived and are now stored in the printer room,] Nova informed him, referring to the materials Aron had requested. "Let''s go and create new VR headsets and upgrade from the one I''m currently using," Aron said as he walked through the gate and logged off from the universal simulation. ... Aron carefully placed the materials one by one into the atomic printer, ensuring they were securely in place. In the past, when he was creating the quantum computer, he had to use premium materials to prevent any failures. However, this time the materials he was using were more readily available in any country, yet they still contained the necessary atoms to produce the required devices. "You can start," Aron said to Nova once he had finished loading the materials into the printer. As before, the machine came to life with a roar, drawing in enough power that it caused the lights in the room to flicker. Aron couldn''t help but react to the impact it had on the surrounding electrical devices. "Why didn''t this happen the first time?" he asked, curious about the difference. [As you recall, the first time the machine was not operating at full power, so there were no issues. However, this time I activated the printer at its maximum capacity, which caused a significant surge of electricity that exceeded the grid''s capability, forcing me to throttle it down to avoid a blackout,] Nova explained. "Let''s not overexert the grid; we should keep it within its limits," Aron advised after understanding the situation. [Yes, sir,] Nova replied obediently as she continued the printing process for the VR devices. ... A week later. Aron walked into the conference room of the hotel where he had stayed previously, and there he found Sarah and Felix waiting for him. Spotting them, he waved in their direction while scanning the room. "Have you been waiting for long?" Aron asked, curious about their arrival time. "No, we only got here a few minutes before you," Sarah replied, standing up and making her way towards Aron, who was also walking towards her. "Welcome to Eden," Aron greeted Sarah warmly as he embraced her upon reaching him. "Thank you. How have you been?" Sarah replied, reciprocating the hug. "As I always mentioned during our calls, I''m doing fine," Aron responded. He then inquired, "Have you had enough rest since you arrived?" "Even if I hadn''t rested enough, I wouldn''t have rested until I knew everything," Sarah replied with a playful tone. She turned towards Felix, who was sitting on the side, clearly filled with anticipation and said "Felix even called me last week, urging me to come as early as possible. The closer it got to today, the longer the days seemed for him." "She was just as excited as me, she''s just better at hiding it," Felix retorted, playfully accusing Sarah back.. After a few more playful exchanges, they finally settled down and took their seats in the room for their discussion. "Put these on," Aron instructed, sliding a futuristic-looking case towards each of them. Curiosity piqued, Felix asked, "What are these glasses for?" "They''re a gift from me," Aron replied, his smile widening. He chose not to elaborate further. As Sarah opened the case and laid eyes on the glasses inside, she was captivated by their unique design. "Wow, they''re beautiful. I''ve never seen this design before," she exclaimed, clearly impressed by the aesthetic appeal of the glasses tailored to her. Felix, upon observing the glasses Sarah received, remarked, "You really know us." He noticed that the glasses he received had a different design, tailored specifically to his preferences. "Say that to Nova," Aron thought to himself, acknowledging Nova''s contribution to designing the glasses based on his memories of the two of them. She had tailored the design to align with each person''s subjective beauty standards. Without wasting any time, Sarah and Felix obediently put on the glasses, their curiosity overriding any lingering questions. However, as soon as they placed the glasses on their faces, their expressions stiffened. "Welcome," a beautiful woman greeted as she materialized out of thin air, standing before Sarah and Felix. Chapter 157 My Story(?) ? [[[A/N Based on the voting held on Discord, it has been decided that starting today, I will release two chapters daily, each consisting of a minimum of 1,000 words. Second chapter coming soon ]]] The discord server is now open, go there and join the discussion: https://discord.gg/KptypY8dGh ..... The surprise on their faces remained shattered for a brief moment as Nova raised her hand, and a holographic screen materialized in front of them. The words displayed on the holographic screen were simply: "Are you going to keep what will be discussed here today a secret?" with the options to respond as [YES] or [NO]. Without uttering a word, in what could be considered instinctual,they all pressed [YES] simultaneously, wanting for the screen to disappear. In an instant, the holographic screen vanished, and a gentle golden light enveloped them, gradually merging with their beings. Donning his own glasses after he saw the golden light, he introduced, "Allow me to introduce Nova, my assistant." as he pointed at Nova who was standing before them. As Aron spoke, his voice seemed to pass right through them, their attention captivated by the overwhelming surprise evident on their faces. They were so engrossed in their astonishment that they failed to hear the words he uttered. ?andasnovel.com Despite their expressions freezing in astonishment, the synapses in their brains continued firing relentlessly, as if there was no tomorrow. Their cognitive faculties worked tirelessly, attempting to piece together an explanation for the extraordinary sight unfolding before them. Once Felix regained his composure, he directed his question to Aron, his voice filled with curiosity. "Aron, what is all of this?" Felix inquired, his voice tinged with intrigue as he removed the glasses, causing Nova to vanish before his eyes, and then promptly put them back on, only to witness her reappear once again. "Augmented reality?" Sarah questioned, her comment revealing her growing familiarity with the tech industry, having held the position of CEO at a tech company for over a year. "You''re halfway there," Aron replied, a smile gracing his face. Sarah expressed her disbelief, noting, "But the technology shouldn''t have advanced to such a level. At the conventions I''ve attended, the best they could achieve was a bulky hologram, which relied on perfect lighting conditions to maintain its form. Even a slight deviation would cause it to lose its coherence." "How did you manage to fit all the functioning components inside these glasses and make them work?" Sarah inquired, inspecting the slender frames of her glasses. They appeared no different from regular eyewear, except for their elegant design. "The glasses are printed, enabling me to fabricate the intricate machinery within the frames and other components," Aron explained. As he spoke, a 3D animation materialized before them, illustrating the inner workings of the glasses. The animation revealed how the glass within the eyewear served a dual purpose: functioning as a conventional lens for vision while also acting as a quantum chip, responsible for computing tasks in both virtual reality and augmented reality experiences. As for the components responsible for showcasing augmented reality and enabling the full dive capabilities of the glasses were printed directly within the glass handles The wearer of these glasses can be regarded as a walking supercomputer, courtesy of the remarkable computing capabilities housed within the chips embedded in the glasses. "Wow," Sarah couldn''t help but exclaim. Being well-versed in the tech industry, she was aware that the current printing technologies lacked the reliability and precision required to print such intricate components at such a small scale. "Who created the machine?" Sarah promptly inquired, unable to conceive of a printer that could achieve such minute and accurate printing capabilities. "I created the machine," Aron responded. Sarah, detecting an inconsistency in the narrative, questioned him further, "Are you joking with us? Since when did you possess the knowledge of mechanical engineering technology?" Aron clarified, "Not precisely me personally, but the entities I created conducted extensive research on the machine. My sole responsibility was to bring it to life in the physical world." "What do you mean by ''real world?''" Felix inquired, seeking clarification from Aron regarding his previous statement. Aron responded, "Everything was accomplished within a simulation program that I created. You could consider it the foundation of most of my technological endeavors." This answer left both Felix and Sarah perplexed, struggling to grasp the full meaning. Growing weary of the fragmented explanations, Sarah spoke up, requesting a comprehensive account. She expressed her frustration, stating, "Could you please explain everything from the beginning? It feels like we''re missing crucial context in each explanation, context we would have understood if we knew the full story." Aron nodded understandingly, a smile gracing his face, and thus began to recount his story from the very beginning, ensuring they would have a complete understanding of his journey.I think you should take a look at pandasnovel.com "It all began after I was expelled from university," Aron began his narrative. "As I found myself at home, grappling with my depression and the weight of a daunting, debt-filled future, a sudden burst of inspiration struck me. Wanting to escape the bleakness of my thoughts, I took immediate action and started writing lines upon lines of code. The inspiration flowed like a broken dam, guiding my every keystroke." He paused briefly to catch his breath, reflecting on those transformative moments. Then, with renewed vigour, he continued, "During that time, I managed to keep my depression at bay for the following week, as the inspiration fuelled my coding endeavours. It was as if a burst of creative energy had swept over me. And it was during this period that the foundation for Nova was laid." "And that marked the birth of Nova," Aron declared, his voice filled with pride and admiration as he pointed towards Nova, who had gracefully settled into one of the chairs, seamlessly blending into the environment as an augmented object. "With her as my assistant, and as an Artificial General Intelligence, I entrusted her with the task of learning from the internet, focusing her attention on cyber security. Despite the limitations of my outdated computer, after a week of learning, she acquired enough knowledge in the security field to assist me in building the first version of BugZapper. Utilising BugZapper''s capabilities, I discovered vulnerabilities in a large data centre, granting me complete access. I then uploaded her to the data centre, leveraging its substantial bandwidth to facilitate her ongoing learning and expand her knowledge. After a week of continuous learning, she surpassed human intelligence, prompting her to make a collective decision to halt her learning. The concern arose from the fear of being discovered due to her ever-increasing knowledge, which also caused her physical size and spatial requirements within the data centre to expand. During that time, she assisted in identifying vulnerabilities in various companies'' programs, and with the help of Felix, we capitalized on these weaknesses by selling them to them, earning rewards for our efforts. Using that money I built a company, made Sarah the CEO of it and made her build a data centre with a budget of more than a quarter of billion. While the data center was being constructed, we completed the final version of BugZapper and subsequently released it to the public. Prior to its release, we had entered into an agreement with NATO and shared the software with them. Once the data center was completed, I migrated her onto that server and provided her with the freedom to learn without any constraints. After she had finished acquiring knowledge, we collaborated to develop a simulation program. Through this program, we simulated various phenomena. During that time, I was shot, and the spy sent by the Russians stole my program from me. While I was in a coma, the Americans issued an order for the company to hand over my program as well. When I eventually woke up from my coma, I surrendered the program to the Americans and promptly began searching for countries with unstable governments. Eventually, I decided on Eden as my target. With Nova''s assistance, I successfully located one of the leaders of the revolutionary movement and struck a deal with him with the promise of providing financial support to his group and aiding in the overthrow of the existing government. Simultaneously, I deployed Felix to Eden, tasking him with acquiring all the telecom companies through bribery, persuading the dictator to permit the buyout. By consolidating these companies under a single entity, I gained complete control over Eden''s internet infrastructure. Harnessing this infrastructure, I gradually fostered discontent among the citizens, fueling their animosity towards the dictator. As their anger reached a boiling point, I encouraged them to join Alexander''s group, effectively bolstering their collective strength. Additionally, I strategically purchased the loyalty of Eden''s military generals, solidifying my influence within the country. Moreover, I began assembling a private military force by recruiting former special forces personnel. "Throughout the entire saga, she engaged in continuous simulations. After conducting several million simulations, we eventually acquired the necessary knowledge to construct a quantum computer. Without wasting any time, I swiftly proceeded to build the quantum computer, and once again, I transferred her into the new computer. With the newfound increased computing power, our simulations persisted and evolved with each passing day. Finally, the long-awaited moment arrived. Backed by my private forces, Eden''s military, and the resolute protests of Alexander''s group, we successfully orchestrated the overthrow of the existing government. In its place, we installed Alexander as the leader of the newly formed government, marking a significant shift in power and governance within Eden. After the successful coup, the simulation program yielded a series of remarkable breakthroughs. One of the notable discoveries was the advancement in virtual and augmented reality technology. Another groundbreaking innovation was the development of atom-by-atom printing technology, enabling the creation of previously unimaginable objects that were once deemed impossible to construct." Aron paused, taking a deep breath, and concluded, "That''s the essence of the story, or at least a summary of it. Do you have any questions?" As Aron observed his friends, jaws dropped in awe from the abundance of information they had just received, he couldn''t help but think to himself, "Damn, maybe I should consider a career in acting!" Discord server open now. Go to https://discord.gg/7B3zXekG Chapter 158 Their Reactions. ? The discord server is now open, go there and join the discussion: https://discord.gg/KptypY8dGh .... The next fifteen minutes passed in complete silence as Sarah and Felix absorbed the information they had just received. By the fifteenth minute, Felix was the first to break the silence, his reaction surfacing before Sarah''s. Unlike Sarah, Felix had mentally prepared himself for this moment, having harboured high expectations due to his prior knowledge of the coup being orchestrated by Aron. "Damn," Felix muttered, his voice filled with disbelief. He instinctively adjusted his glasses, which had been displaying visual evidence throughout Aron''s detailed account. The evidence presented left them with no reason to doubt Aron''s statements in the slightest. "How did you manage to convince the general to support the coup, knowing that they would ultimately lose the power they previously held?" Sarah asked, regaining her composure after Felix''s exclamation. "There''s a saying that it''s better to be a servant in a palace than a common man in the streets," Aron replied with a smile. "So, let me get this straight," Sarah questioned incredulously. "You''re saying that they agreed to become your subordinates because you promised them a position among the servants in your palace?" Sarah found it hard to believe that individuals who had tasted power would willingly relinquish it to become mere pawns in a powerful army. "If you recall, in my account, I mentioned ''One of the notable discoveries was the advancement in virtual and augmented reality technology,''" Aron replied, deflecting Sarah''s question. "What do you think I meant by that?" Sarah offered her interpretation, stating, "Perhaps it implies that the technology already existed, and what unfolded after the coup was simply a tremendous advancement of that technology." "Correct," Aron affirmed, and before them materialized a peculiar-looking headgear. "This," he continued, pointing to it, "is what you would refer to as version 01 of the technology. Its initial breakthrough coincided with the development of quantum computers during the same time period." Aron proceeded to provide an explanation. Felix, puzzled by Aron''s explanation, interjected, "But how does this relate to convincing the generals?" He was still uncertain about the connection between the advanced technology and the generals'' agreement to participate in the coup. "Allow me to demonstrate," Aron replied cryptically. Before Sarah and Felix could react or inquire further, an abrupt sensation overcame them, causing them to slump back in their chairs as if they had lost consciousness. As Sarah and Felix regained their senses, they found themselves in a completely different environment. Startled and bewildered, they looked around to find Aron standing before them, a wry smile on his face. "Welcome to my universe," Aron greeted them, fully aware of the shock they had just experienced. Wanting to proceed with his explanation without further delay, Aron snapped his fingers, and just like that, everything seemed normal for Sarah and Felix. They were astounded, even more surprised at how quickly they had adapted to the new environment, as if it had become their new normal in an instant. Aron''s smile grew wider as he explained, "What you just experienced is just one of the capabilities of the glasses and helmet you witnessed. Whoever wears them can be forcefully logged into this realm, unable to resist or escape whatever I manipulate within it. Inside here, She is in complete control of everything." He gestured towards Nova, who was standing alongside them, emphasising that she held the reigns within this realm. Felix couldn''t contain his astonishment and exclaimed, "Oh my god!" The implications of Aron''s statement dawned on him, and he realized that once logged into this realm, Aron held near god-like control and could manipulate everything within it. The realization sent shivers down Felix''s virtual body, giving him goosebumps as he contemplated Aron''s statement. Overwhelmed by the chain of surprises, Sarah and Felix hadn''t even stopped to question why their virtual bodies mirrored the sensations of their physical selves without any discrepancies. The realization hit them as they felt the goosebumps, prompting them to pinch and grope themselves in an attempt to find any hint of an error that would reassure them this was merely a simulation. Their actions reflected a desperate search for a flaw that could ease their growing unease. Aron, understanding the need for Sarah and Felix to acclimate themselves, chose to remain silent and allowed them time to adjust to their surroundings. However, he did teleport them to a luxurious and comfortable room within a grand location, specifically designed to facilitate the continuation of their conversation. pandasnovel.com Half an hour later.I think you should take a look at pandasnovel.com After meticulously inspecting every detail of the room, touching the leather upholstery of the comfortable chairs, examining the intricately carved timber of the heavily decorated door, savoring the delicious drinks in the cups, and even scrutinizing the hairs on their own bodies, Sarah and Felix finally began to calm down. They realized that, for the time being, they had to set aside their exhaustive inspections and focus on continuing their conversation. They made a mental note to revisit their investigations once the meeting had concluded. Continuing the conversation from where it had paused, Felix inquired with concern, "Did you torture or mistreatment them, after bringing them here?" "I didn''t go to such extremes. What I did was simply instill an overwhelming sense of fear towards me. As a result, they have reached a state where they will unquestioningly obey any order I give them," Aron explained, a smile spreading across his face as if he were discussing something positive. Felix and Sarah exchanged bewildered glances, their confusion growing as they wondered if they were somehow perceiving a different meaning than what Aron intended. Sarah, attempting to divert her attention from Aron''s unsettling smile, posed an astute question. "Is this why you chose to handle the task personally in Eden instead of delegating it, as you did with Felix when he acquired the companies?" "Yes, nobody else knew about the technology, and it had to stay that way," Aron responded, his smile persisting. "That compelled me to take matters into my own hands." Felix, making a connection between Aron''s previous peculiar travel plans and his current involvement, asked, "Is the reason for your personal involvement here similar to when you embarked on your trip throughout Europe, or is there something else at play?" "Yes, indeed," Aron replied, his satisfaction evident as Sarah and Felix demonstrated their astuteness in connecting the dots based on the information he had shared. Sarah''s voice carried a mix of curiosity and excitement as she asked, "What did you do in Europe? I''m really curious to know what transpired during your trip that required you to spend over three months there." "It is better that I show you rather than explain," Aron replied. Without further delay, Nova swiftly teleported them, transporting them to the skies above Lab City. "Behold the fruit of my extensive travels throughout Europe and America," Aron declared, paying little heed to the astonishment displayed on Sarah and Felix''s faces as they beheld the massive city sprawling beneath them. "Explore the city at your leisure and return here after twelve hours. Your physical bodies in the real world are being safeguarded, so don''t worry about any harm coming to them. Enjoy your time as the time compression ratio here is five to one," Aron instructed, swiftly teleporting Sarah and Felix to different locations within the city before they had a chance to inquire about the phenomenon of time dilation. After regaining their composure, Sarah and Felix began their exploration of the city, utilizing the interface provided to them by Aron. They carefully read the instructions and details displayed on the screen, instantly comprehending how to navigate and utilize the interface for their tour. Sarah wasted no time in acquiring the research labs list and selecting the one focused on computing technology. In an instant, she found herself transported to the chosen location. As her eyes opened, an astonished expression crossed her face, and her mouth fell open in awe. Before her stretched endless rows of server racks, each holding an array of what appeared to be quantum computer chips. The information she had obtained about the lab confirmed her suspicionsthese chips were being optimized to seamlessly operate as a unified entity. Similarly, Felix decided to start his exploration within the industry he was already familiar with. Upon his selection, he found himself teleported to a lab where rows upon rows of server racks, filled with quantum chips, stretched out before him. However, the purpose of this particular lab differed from the one Sarah had visited. Here, the focus was on communication technology, specifically optimizing the utilization of quantum teleportation as a means of transmitting information. While Aron had already harnessed this technology for instantaneous communication between his quantum computer at home and his watch, it still hadn''t reached the stage of mass communication for millions of devices. The researchers in this lab were diligently working towards achieving that goal, and they had been achieving consecutive breakthroughs every few days. Chapter 159 After The Tour ? Sarah and Felix began their lab tours one by one, swiftly moving from one lab to the next as soon as they satisfied their curiosity in each. As the twelfth hour approached, they found themselves instantly teleported back to the city''s skies, having only explored approximately nine research labs. Their progress accounted for less than a quarter of a percent of the total number of labs present in the city. Surprised by their sudden teleportation, Felix questioned, "Twelve hours have already passed?" He couldn''t believe it, as from his perspective, it felt like he had spent no more than three hours exploring the city''s labs. "Yes" Aron confirmed, settling into the chair that Nova had materialized for them in the sky. Sarah, after glancing at the screen she had used to navigate the city, exclaimed, "According to the progress bar here, I haven''t even visited one percent of the research labs in the city!" She was astonished by the sheer scale of the remaining unexplored labs, realizing that their tour had barely scratched the surface of what the city had to offer. "Don''t worry," Aron reassured them. "I''ve granted your glasses access to this place, so you can revisit it whenever you want in the future. However, remember to log out after you pass through the Rashomon gate when you come here on your own." Aron pointed towards the distant Rashomon gate, which became visible only when he zoomed in due to its considerable distance from the city. "Why do we need to log out after passing through the Rashomon gate?" Sarah inquired, her tone expressing genuine curiosity rather than arrogance. "As I mentioned earlier, the time acceleration here is set at five to one. If you log out directly from here, your brain will undergo a sudden transition from experiencing time at five times the normal rate to returning to the regular pace. Such a drastic shift will break your mind." Aron explained. Felix raised an important question, asking, "If the transition from accelerated time to normal time is potentially harmful, how is it that we didn''t feel any negative effects when you forcefully logged us in earlier?" "When I forcefully logged you in earlier, I actually teleported you into a time bubble where time was not accelerated." Answered Aron. "Why didn''t you make it impossible for people to log out from this accelerated zone? It seems like a straightforward solution to prevent any potential harm." She asked, wondering why such a precautionary measure wasn''t implemented in the first place, considering the potential risks involved. "I didn''t consider that aspect since I was the only one accessing this world from the outside. " Aron admitted with a touch of embarrassment. [Actually, I''ve already taken care of that, there''s no need to worry about it] Nova said, her arm gently patting Aron''s back "But why are we still up here in the sky? I just can''t get used to it," Sarah asked, attempting to shift the conversation and spare Aron from further embarrassment as she gazed down at the city beneath them with an unwavering sense of curiosity. [No other reason, it''s just cool that way,] Nova replied, addressing Sarah''s question. "I''m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that you''re an AI," Sarah admitted to Nova, engaging in their first conversation since being introduced to her. [Thank you] Nova replied, offering a smile that caused both Felix and Sarah to blush, captivated by her beauty and radiant smile. Feeling her face flush with embarrassment, Sarah turned to Aron and exclaimed, "Did you intentionally design her appearance like this?" She tried to conceal her own feelings, using Aron as a scapegoat for her reaction since she couldn''t blame Felix, who was also experiencing the same trouble. "No, I didn''t. All I did was give her a name. The choices regarding her appearance were entirely up to her," Aron explained, raising his hands in a gesture of innocence to demonstrate that he had no control over Nova''s decision regarding her look and body. [He''s telling the truth, although it was the name he gave me that sparked all of this,] Nova chimed in, playfully teasing Aron further, causing Sarah and Felix to burst into laughter. Aron''s expression expressed a sense of feeling betrayed by Nova''s mischievous remark, adding to the amusement of the situation. "Seriously, why is it that way?" Sarah inquired, leaning closer to Nova in an attempt to gather more information and further tease Aron. [Even though the name itself is neutral, the data I collected shortly after being named indicated a slight leaning towards the female side. That influenced my decision to choose a female voice, and later on, when we had access to a powerful computer, I designed my body in that gender,] Nova explained, shedding light on the factors that influenced her choices. "You see, I even gave her a neutral name, but she herself made the choice of her gender," Aron stated, casting a sidelong glance at Sarah and Felix, seemingly proud of Nova''s answer that removed suspicion from him. "If she had chosen to be a man, what would you have done?" Felix asked this time.I think you should take a look at "Reboot her!" Aron said in such a serious tone, that it triggered laughter from all of them. It was the first large laugh that they shared since Aron had given them the glasses, and it served as a much-needed release after experiencing a cascade of surprises that nearly overwhelmed their emotions, bordering on short-circuiting their brains. After a few minutes of laughter, they finally regained their composure, and Aron spoke with a serious tone. "Since you are already aware of my story and reasons, I would like you to initiate the process of relocating the company''s registered location from America to Eden," Aron said, addressing Sarah directly. "I will begin the process as soon as I return to America next week," Sarah replied in a serious tone not asking any further questions, as Aron''s previous explanation had already covered most of the details she would have inquired about had she not been aware of them. "That will greatly assist you," Aron said, and Nova promptly materialized a folder, handing it over to Sarah. "Now I really wish I had an assistant like yours," Sarah remarked, appreciating the efficiency with which Nova handled Aron''s tasks, also admiring the elegance of Nova''s slender hands. "I will provide each of you with an assistant, but it will take some time. I need to build a server for them first," Aron explained, casting a gaze towards both Sarah and Felix. "Oh," Sarah replied upon hearing Aron''s words, then asked, "Are you planning to build something similar to the one that is in the research labs here?" wanting to understand the scope of the server Aron intended to create. "Yes, but on a much larger scale than what you saw in the lab," Aron responded. "Wow," Sarah exclaimed, taken aback by the sheer scale of Aron''s plans. She was certain that such a powerful server would be capable of rivaling every computer in the world combined, without even considering it a challenge. "If you encounter any difficulties during the process, such as government interference or any other obstacles, inform me immediately, and I will solve it as swiftly as possible," Aron stated, redirecting the conversation back to the main topic at hand. "Indeed, I anticipated the government''s potential resistance, particularly using our NATO deal as a pretext for impeding the relocation on grounds of national security," Sarah acknowledged, demonstrating her awareness of the possible challenges that could arise due to the existing agreement. "What about me? Am I going to remain the CEO of CONNECT, or are you going to sell it now that your use of it is over?" Felix asked. "No, I''m not selling the company and letting someone else have control over my access to the internet once again," Aron replied firmly. "As for you, Felix, you will remain as the CEO of the company. However, it''s time for us to start the process of expanding," Aron continued, as Nova handed Felix a folder as well. The folder contained detailed plans outlining how CONNECT would expand in the upcoming days. Taking a quick look at the contents of the folder, Felix raised his head and said, "I couldn''t help but notice that all of the plans in here are domestic." "You''re right about that," Felix responded, nodding in agreement. "The company is going to focus on developing various industries in Eden. This approach aims to expedite the country''s development and address any challenges that GAIA technology may currently face due to its existing state." Felix chuckled in response to Aron''s comment. "So, I guess that makes me responsible for the domestic market, and she''s in charge of the international market," he joked, playfully acknowledging their respective roles in the company. "Exactly," Aron chimed in, building upon Felix''s statement. "I want Eden to be in its best possible shape, as it''s crucial for the development I have planned for my companies. I chose this country because I wanted to have control over my ventures, but that doesn''t mean I''m willing to settle for substandard quality within the country. That''s precisely why I created CONNECTto ensure that we can improve and elevate the standards, not only for my companies but for the entire country." Sarah and Felix''s simultaneous exclamation of "Ooooh" indicated their genuine admiration for Aron''s foresight and forward-thinking mindset. They were impressed by his ability to envision the future and take proactive steps to address potential challenges himself and not depend on anyone else to do it for him. Amidst the impressed expressions, Nova interjected with a playful tone, [Hey, just so you all know, I was the one who came up with those ideas!] Her words immediately wiped away the fake prideful expression on Aron''s face, leading to laughter from their friends and Aron himself. It was a lighthearted moment, filled with camaraderie and good-natured teasing among the group. Chapter 160 Getting Tritium ? Discord server is open: https://discord.gg/KptypY8dGh ... ... A week later. ?andasnovel?om An article was published, followed by an announcement that caused ripples throughout the country and the world. The news spread like wildfire, capturing the attention of people from all walks of life. Speculation and anticipation mounted as everyone eagerly awaited further details about the groundbreaking revelation. [(A Bold Move) In a surprising turn of events, GAIA Technology, the global tech giant, has announced and initiated the process to change its registered country while simultaneously purchasing an entire island in Eden. This decision has ignited speculation regarding the undisclosed promises made by the president of the country to GAIA''s CEO, Sarah, during her recent visit. The news of GAIA Technology''s intention to change its registered country and acquire an island in Eden has generated intrigue and excitement. However, not everyone has unanimously approved of this move. The government of the United States, GAIA''s current registered country, seems to be less than thrilled about the company''s imminent relocation. Reports indicate that the U.S. government is actively trying to hinder the process and retain GAIA Technology within its jurisdiction. The exact reasons behind this opposition remain unclear, but speculation suggests concerns about the potential loss of a major tech player and the subsequent economic impact. The unexpected decision by GAIA Technology has undoubtedly made waves in the tech industry and beyond. It remains to be seen how this bold move will unfold and what impact it will have on the global tech landscape. ..., ... ] Although the individual events mentioned in the article would have garnered some attention on their own, it was the combination of both occurrences that provided a substantial amount of information, fueling the rise of conspiracy theories worldwide. During the discussions, conflicting claims emerged with some people alleging that the president had offered them tax exemption, while others suggested that the company was attempting to exploit cheap labor from its citizens. However, both GAIA technology and the government of Eden maintained an unsettling silence throughout the debates. They released only minimal amounts of information, seemingly satisfying curiosity but withholding any further details, citing ongoing discussions as the reason for their limited transparency. ... "Indeed," Aron remarked to Sarah, engaging in a conversation within the universal simulation. "It seems that their actions are indeed causing significant issues for us.". "Yes, initially they dangled the possibility of tax breaks and other incentives to encourage our company to stay," Sarah explained, presenting the scanned documents to Aron within the virtual simulation. "However, when we declined their offer, they swiftly resorted to threatening us with forceful measures, such as denying the necessary processes to keep our company operational in the country." "Understood," Aron replied confidently. "I''ll make sure to resolve this issue before the week''s end." With that, the meeting concluded, and Sarah promptly logged out of the simulation to resume her work. [Sir, the final section has been printed,] Nova informed Aron ashe was thinking about his conversation with Sarah. "Instruct them to transport the printed section and the remaining parts to the island," Aron instructed. [Done, should I proceed to call Rina right away?" Nova inquired, having fulfilled the assigned instructions promptly. "Yes," Aron replied, and Nova promptly created a temporal bubble and dialed Rina''s contact information. "Hello," Rina greeted as she answered the call on the very first ring. "Hello there. It seems you were anticipating my call," Aron responded with a smile, noting the promptness of the answer. "Yes, I just read the article and figured you might reach out to me for assistance in resolving your predicament," Rina replied, a smile adorning her face as she engaged in the conversation. "You''re absolutely right. I do need your help to ensure a smooth resolution," Aron acknowledged, being open with her and sharing the details. I think you should take a look at "I''ve already begun the process, and they have agreed to cooperate on the surface. However, they will maintain a tough stance to demonstrate their concern for the company. At the last moment, they will use the excuse of a worker forgetting to submit an important folder before the deadline to give up on their attempts to block you," Rina informed Aron about the government''s plan to continue their facade throughout the process. "Thank you for your assistance," Aron expressed his gratitude, feeling a sense of pride for choosing to help Rina in her time of need. "Don''t mention it. I believe we''ve moved past that phase," Rina responded, assuring Aron that their previous exchange of help was no longer a topic to dwell on. "I do have another and a rather difficult request to make of you," Aron confessed, feeling a touch of embarrassment at continuously seeking Rina''s assistance despite his right to do so. "Something challenging, you say? Now that''s the level of favor I was hoping you''d ask of me, as it allows me to begin repaying you for the help you''ve provided," Rina replied, her tone brimming with enthusiasm. "What is it?" she inquired, curious about the nature of the request. "A few kilos of tritium," Aron requested with a sheepish smile, fully aware that his unconventional plea would likely catch her by surprise. "Did I hear you correctly? You''re requesting a few kilos of tritium?" Rina exclaimed, clearly taken aback by the unexpected nature of the request. "Yes, that''s correct," Aron confirmed. "I''m in the process of building a reactor, and I require tritium for the initial ignition phase. Additionally, I need a sufficient amount to reach a sustainable level, where it can be continuously produced through the interaction with lithium," he explained, providing a brief summary of why he needed the tritium. "I understand it''s quite a challenging request. Is it going to be impossible for you to fulfill?" Upon hearing Aron''s question, Rina shook her head, momentarily setting aside the questions she had about his nuclear reactor. "It''s not impossible, but I must admit it will be quite challenging," she replied honestly. "However, I need to know when you will need the tritium. Time is a crucial factor here. Can you provide me with a timeline?" she inquired, keen to understand the urgency of the request. "By the end of this month," Aron responded. "If it''s by the end of the month, it will be impossible to procure tritium in America," Rina stated, prompting Aron to begin saying, "If that''s the case, then no probl..." However, before he could finish his sentence, Rina interrupted him, continuing her response and causing Aron to pause mid-sentence. "I can''t obtain it from America within such a short timeframe, but I can source it from Israel. Would that be acceptable to you?" Rina asked, seeking clarification on whether the tritium had to specifically come from America. "I really don''t mind where it comes from, as long as it''s the required material," Aron replied as he realized that Rina''s offer to procure tritium from Israel was a viable solution. "Then I will see you in Eden next month," Rina declared, her statement leaving Aron surprised by the turn of events. "What? Why are you planning to come to Eden yourself?" Aron asked, clearly taken aback by this unexpected development. "What? Did you think I could simply send the package without being present? The tritium needs to be transported in a diplomatic bag to ensure it can pass through security without being searched," Rina explained. "Additionally, I have a personal curiosity to see the reactor and ask you a few questions about it." "Then I''ll be waiting to welcome you at the airport," Aron replied warmly upon hearing Rina''s explanation for her visit. "Okay, I''ll contact you later to update you on the progress," Rina confirmed. After receiving Aron''s response, she concluded the call and began the process of fulfilling Aron''s request, determined to find what he needed. Aron contemplated the phone call and considered a meaningful way to express his gratitude to Rina for her assistance. He turned to Nova, seeking her input. "What do you think would be a suitable token of appreciation for her help?" he asked, his gaze fixed on Nova, awaiting her perspective on the matter. Nova made a suggestion in a tone that conveyed her awareness of Rina''s limitations. [I propose providing Ava with a new home,] Nova said, acknowledging that Ava''s confinement to the private network had become restrictive, akin to being trapped in a cage. [By helping Ava, she will, in turn, increase her assistance to her.] "I had already planned on doing so," Aron responded. "It''s essential to ensure Rina''s safety, as she will continue to assist me in the future as well." Aron [Then, how about giving her the glasses?] she suggested, after hearing Aaron''s response to her previous suggestions. "That is a good idea," Aron said as he thought about Rina''s words. "It will make facilitating communication with her easier." [It is better for you to start moving to the island with the pieces and begin assembling them upon arrival, considering the assembly process will take you about a month to complete,] Nova reminded Aaron. Her words prompted him to immediately log off and make his way to the port, where a boat would transport him and the first batch of the parts to the island. Chapter 161 Building A Reactor ? Upon their arrival on the island with Aron, they swiftly carried the first batch of materials and transferred them to a waiting car for transportation to a destination located a few kilometers away from the makeshift port where they had docked the boat for unloading the parts. When they reached the destination, they proceeded to unpack the objects from the car and arranged them on the ground as neatly as possible. Without delay, they swiftly made their way back to the port in order to retrieve another batch of materials. Due to the sheer quantity of large parts that needed to be transported, they had rented over ten boats to facilitate the transportation process. With thousands upon thousands of components to be moved, this arrangement allowed for efficient carrying of the materials. In order to ensure uninterrupted material transfers and prevent congestion, they had to set a limit of ten boats. This number was determined as the maximum capacity to maintain a smooth flow of materials without any boats waiting idly. "Let''s get started!" Aron exclaimed, now alone. He eagerly rubbed his hands together before shouldering one of the heavy machines that normally required three guards to carry as he moved it to an empty field and swiftly returned to pick up another one which he carried and carefully placed it next to the first part he had set down. This process continued, with Aron tirelessly carrying and assembling more than a hundred and fifty small and large parts. Gradually, they began to interlock, forming the framework of the machine, which was gradually taking shape and nearing completion. "Phew!" Aron let out a sigh of relief as he finally completed the assembly of the machine. After six hours of continuous work, he felt a sense of accomplishment and relief wash over him. "Now it''s time to insert the battery and power it on to start its operation," Aron said, making his way towards a black box that had a cubic meter in size. The box was adorned with faint golden lines that seemed to be obscured by the dominant ominous-looking black color. It sat atop a small, four-wheel puller. Aron approached the box and began to pull it towards the assembled machine, still on a wheelbarrow. When he reached the machine, he effortlessly lifted it as if it were weightless foam, positioning it perfectly within the designated opening that snugly accommodated the box. After carefully positioning the box, Aron placed both his hands on top of it, directly over the spot where it was installed in the machine. He then began infusing mana into the box, and in response, the box started to emit a gentle glow, with golden lines appearing and intertwining on its surface as the box eagerly absorbed the mana that Aron was pouring into it, as if feeding on the energy. It took Aron over six hours to fully fill the box with mana, which had transformed into its liquid state, representing the densest form of mana. The black box, adorned with runes, had an active shield that securely contained the mana within it, preventing any leaks or disruptions. After completing the mana infusion, Aron commanded, "Power it on." Without hesitation, Nova, who was having conversation with Aron to pass time while monitoring the proceedings through an advanced earpiece equipped with a new version of a VR & AR interface, swiftly activated the machine as instructed. As the golden lines on the black box began to emit a radiant glow, the machine hummed with an energetic vibration. Suddenly, with a resonating "HRMMM" sound, the machine sprang to life and started descending from its original position. Inch by inch, it began to vanish, gradually receding as if being absorbed into an unseen horizon, akin to a ship disappearing on the distant edge of the sea. For approximately ten minutes, the machine continued its descent, gradually vanishing into the ground. As it fully disappeared, a square-shaped hole remained, steadily increasing in depth as the machine continued its journey beneath the surface. Once the machine reached a depth of approximately fifty meters, it came to a halt and began disintegrating the surrounding ground, meticulously breaking it down atom by atom. The process was deliberate and methodical, steadily expanding the hole where the machine had disappeared. Throughout the entire process, Aron stood at a distance, observing the ground where the machine had descended. While doing so, he remained engaged in conversation with Nova, maintaining their ongoing dialogue as the transformation unfolded before them. Although it may appear that Aron was simply standing idly by, in reality, he was actively involved in the process. Using the augmented reality capabilities of the earpeace, he was able to witness and monitor every aspect of the machine''s transformation beneath the ground. Nova provided a real-time visual display, allowing Aron to stay fully informed about the ongoing progress. As Aron observed the remarkable disintegration occurring at the atomic level, he couldn''t help but express his awe. "Disintegrating things at the atomic level is truly a game-changer," he remarked, captivated by the sight of rocks, sand, and everything in the vicinity being torn apart. The process left behind a progressively expanding hole, showcasing the immense power and potential the machine had. Indeed, the machine operated in a manner that efficiently disintegrated the atoms without storing them. Instead, the disintegrated particles were dispersed and carried away by the wind, eliminating the need for Aron to collect any resulting waste. This innovative approach eliminated the conventional requirement of manually excavating and handling the debris, streamlining the process and reducing unnecessary labor. Recognizing the lengthy duration required for the completion of the ongoing machine''s task, Aron made the strategic decision to utilize his time by commencing the assembly of other machines whose parts had already been transported to the site.I think you should take a look at ..... Six hours later. With the machine sitting silently in the middle, there lay a substantial circular pit stretching two hundred meters in length from one side to the other and plunging fifty meters deep. Its presence left a remarkable impression on anyone who cast their gaze upon it. "Begin placing the parts into the hole in the same order you brought them," Aron said, turning to Daniel, who held the responsibility of leading the ARES members tasked with transporting the materials from the temporary warehouse to the island. "Yes, sir," Daniel replied, echoing the unanimous agreement of the ARES members to Aron''s directive. Despite his curiosity piqued, Daniel decided to hold his questions for a more opportune moment, planning to approach Aron once he had completed his tasks and was available for discussion. What intrigued him the most was how on earth such an enormous hole had materialized within a matter of hours. This was just the beginning of his queries; another pressing question was the whereabouts of the excavated soil. There was no trace of it in the vicinity of the meticulously shaped hole, leaving Daniel baffled as to its mysterious appearance. At that moment, Daniel simply attributed the rapid progress and the absence of soil to one of their bosses'' remarkable ability as he continued doing his work. With over a hundred parts already deposited into the hole, Aron descended into the cavity and promptly began assembling the components that were already in place. For the following three weeks, this synchronized routine persisted. ARES members diligently transported parts from the temporary warehouse to the island, placing them into the hole one by one, while Aron simultaneously assembled the incoming components without missing a beat. After three weeks of relentless work, Aron finally completed the assembly of the final part among the multitude of components he had meticulously printed for their purpose on the island. As the ARES members watched the entire process unfold, witnessing Aron''s steady progress in assembling the colossal donut-shaped machine, a sense of fulfillment washed over them. The satisfaction they felt was undeniable, having been integral to the project by diligently delivering the parts required for its construction. Once Aron had completed the assembly of the final parts on the donut-shaped machine, he swiftly redirected his attention to the ARES members. With urgency in his voice, he instructed them, "Help me bring that box over here," gesturing towards the storage box housed within the machine that had been used to excavate the massive hole. As they successfully transported it to his location, he directed them, saying, " Put it here," and pointed to the sole square-shaped aperture on the enormous machine. "Great job. If you''d like, you can take a break," Aron informed them, placing his hands back on the box. Just as before, he began infusing it with mana, replenishing its nearly depleted reserves.. Ignoring Aron''s suggestion to rest, Daniel and the rest of Ares'' members opted to observe his actions closely "Sir, if you don''t mind, may I ask a question?" Daniel inquired after half an hour had passed, noticing that Aron''s hands remained on the box while he appeared relaxed, leading Daniel to assume that he had finished whatever he was doing. "Certainly, go ahead," Aron replied, interrupting his conversation with Nova to entertain Daniel''s question. "What is this machine, and why are we building it out of nowhere?" Daniel asked respectfully, his curiosity evident in his tone. "A nuclear reactor," Aron responded with just those two words. The members of Ares who were observing him momentarily stiffened at the revelation before relaxing once again. Witnessing their momentary fear followed by a quick return to calm, Aron couldn''t help but chuckle. He understood that his answer had initially startled them, but they swiftly reassured themselves, knowing that Aron was present with them. They realized that even if something were to happen, Aron would be there to heal them, just as he had done on previous occasions. Chapter 162 Welcoming Rina. ? "You don''t need to be concerned about radiation. The device hasn''t been activated yet because I am currently charging the battery necessary to initiate the process," he explained, tilting his head and gesturing towards his hands that were placed on the black box they had brought for him. "Yes, sir," Daniel replied, feeling completely at ease after Aron''s statement. "Do you have any more questions?" Aron asked when Daniel fell silent, possibly due to some of the words in Aron''s previous statement about filling the battery. Daniel had remained quiet, watching anxiously, afraid of disturbing Aron''s focus once again. "Yes, I have a few more," Daniel replied respectfully. "Then go ahead and ask them," Aron said. Despite having conversations with Nova, Felix, Sarah, Rina, and his family, he hadn''t really had a conversation with anyone other than them in a very long time and he wanted to experience that interaction once again with his respectful subordinates. "Did you create those clouds?" Daniel asked, pointing at the sky, which was covered by dark and large clouds. Upon closer observation, one could notice that the clouds had a brownish color to them. "Not exactly me, but it happened as a result of the machine''s excavation and a few other factors," he answered with a smile. "How did digging a hole result in such large and dark clouds?" another man from Daniel''s group asked, unable to comprehend the connection between the two. "That machine excavates by breaking apart atoms, and once they are fragmented, their lightness allows them to be carried by the winds," Aron explained, gazing at the sky. "Typically, they would be carried away by the wind, dispersing far from here. However, since we are near the ocean, the moisture level is high. The broken atoms are captured by water atoms, which, as they rise and accumulate a sufficient amount, contribute to the formation of clouds. These clouds become dusty in appearance because, as the water atoms combine, they bring along other atoms from the ground, causing them to amalgamate. This combination of factors results in the unique color of the clouds we see." "But how did they persist for more than three weeks?" another member asked, recalling that the clouds had continuously covered the location, whereas there were no such clouds when they first arrived to bring the first batch of materials. "Do you know what clouds are made of?" Aron asked the man with a smile on his face, indicating that he wasn''t mocking him but rather setting the stage for an explanation that would make it easier to understand the subsequent answer. "If I recall correctly, cloud formation involves water vapor, wind for transportation, and altitude for cooling, although I''m uncertain if those are the only factors," the man replied, indicating his grasp of the process at a fundamental level. ?andasnovel?om "You''re absolutely right, but a few additional conditions come into play as well," Aron agreed. "One of them is atmospheric stability, which determines the vertical movement of air masses and influences cloud formation. Another crucial factor is the presence of condensation nuclei, which are tiny particles like dust, pollutants, or even salt crystals that provide surfaces for water vapor to condense upon, aiding in the formation of clouds." Observing the man''s puzzled expression when he mentioned condensation nuclei, Aron realized that there was some confusion. He proceeded to clarify, "Condensation nuclei are the particles onto which water vapor condenses, forming small water droplets. Once these droplets gather and combine, the process you''re familiar with takes place, leading to the formation of clouds." Aron then continued with what he would have said if the man had fully answered his question. "This place meets all the conditions for cloud formation except for one crucial element: a significant quantity of condensation particles. As I mentioned earlier, these particles can be dust, pollutants, and various other substances. Now, consider this: What do you think will occur if we introduce a substantial amount of these missing particles?" Aron concluded his explanation with a thought-provoking question. "Clouds," Daniel exclaimed, immediately grasping the connection and understood where Aron was leading with his line of thought. "Correct," Aron affirmed, pointing to the sky. "And thanks to that, we have successfully averted any prying eyes that might have witnessed everything we were doing." A smile graced his face, indicating satisfaction with the outcome. They engaged in a lively exchange of questions and conversation, with Aron answering their inquiries and reciprocating by posing his own queries. Meanwhile, his hands remained steadfastly in the same position for the next five hours, ensuring that the black box was adequately filled with mana. For the remainder of the week, prior to receiving the shipment of tritium from Rina, Aron utilized the time to construct the surrounding infrastructure and empty areas within the hole that housed the sizable fusion reactor, which occupied over half of the space. He meticulously worked on creating a suitable environment around the reactor to support its operation. ... A week later.I think you should take a look at "Welcome," Aron greeted Rina warmly as he received her at a small airport specially arranged to accommodate her private plane. Aron had deliberately selected this airport to ensure Rina''s safe arrival, as he suspected that her brother may have already dispatched individuals to monitor her movements. However, such concerns were nullified at this airport, as he had taken the precaution of renting the entire facility for the day. All the airport employees had been granted a day off, leaving only Aron and a select group of ARES members present to welcome her. "You''ve certainly become quite a formidable force," Rina remarked, her gaze sweeping across the nearly deserted airport, where only a small group remained, consisting of herself, Aron, her trusted guard Alex, her secretary Chloe, and a few ARES members maintaining security. "I do my best to protect what belongs to me and ensure it remains in my possession," Aron replied with a smile, fully aware that Rina would comprehend the underlying meaning of his statement. "But the speed at which you gained power is truly astonishing, and it''s impressive that it hasn''t gone to your head," Rina responded candidly, making no effort to conceal her thoughts or observations. "In my free time, I''ve devoted myself to studying history, and from it, I''ve learned that arrogance often leads to downfall. Consequently, I''ve made it a personal principle to avoid succumbing to such traits," Aron explained, maintaining a smile. "Furthermore, I have someone by my side who will remind me whenever I begin to exhibit any signs of arrogance. It helps keep me grounded and focused on the right path." "Fortunate indeed," Rina remarked, her voice carrying a subtle hint of envy towards that someone who could play such a vital role. Aron noticed the change in Rina''s demeanor and, not fully comprehending its meaning, sought to clarify his point. "Don''t you also have someone who fulfills that role?" he asked, gesturing discreetly with his eyes towards her secretary standing behind her. "That''s true," Rina acknowledged with a smile, noticing Chloe''s blush and the happiness radiating from her. "Where is the cargo?" Aron inquired, his gaze shifting towards Alex, noticing that he was empty-handed. "In the cargo compartment of the plane. However, it''s quite heavy as it''s stored in a sturdy stainless steel container. You''ll need a few people to assist you in carrying it," Rina informed Aron, scanning the area around him and noticing that there were no individuals nearby except for those maintaining the perimeter check, who were located at a considerable distance. "No need for them. I will handle it myself," Aron declared confidently. He began walking towards the plane, rolling up his shirt sleeves to reveal his well-toned and defined muscles. Rina, skeptical of Aron''s ability to lift the object since it necessitated the strength of more than four people and had to be hoisted using a small crane due to its weight exceeding 300 kilograms, trailed behind Aron silently. She intended to advise him to summon his subordinates once his attempt to carry it proved unsuccessful.. As Aron approached the aircraft and accessed the cargo compartment on the side, he discovered a solitary box securely tied down with an excess of cables. With a smile on his face he began the task of untying each cable meticulously, one by one. With each cable successfully removed, Aron positioned both hands around the box and effortlessly lifted it, as though it weighed merely a kilogram or slightly more. Remarkably, not a trace of strain appeared on his face, indicating his absolute composure and ease with the task. Astonishment overtook Rina, her secretary Chloe, and the bodyguard Alex as their eyes widened, almost bulging out of their faces, witnessing Aron''s astonishing display of strength that defied all logic. Their disbelief and surprise intensified as he began to walk, maintaining a firm grip on the box, towards the parked cars, situated roughly three hundred meters away from the plane. The distance he had to cover while carrying such a substantial weight seemed quite daunting. "Finally, it''s done," Aron declared, securing the box inside the trunk of the car and discreetly inscribing a protective rune on it. He closed the boot door with a sense of accomplishment. Turning to the still stunned Rina, he inquired, "Will they be joining us in our car, or should I provide them with a vehicle to follow us?" Chapter 163 The Ignition ? "As far as I know, this country lacks the necessary development to facilitate the construction of a nuclear reactor within such a short timeframe. Did you actually begin this project a year ago? And how were you able to maintain its secrecy all this time, to the extent that even the American government remains unaware of its existence?" Rina inquired while they were driving in the car that was transporting the package. Close behind them, two cars trailed closelyone carrying Alex and Chloe, and the other transporting a few members of ARESwhile the remaining members stayed at the airport to maintain a security perimeter until her return. Instead of addressing the question, Aron posed a reminder. "Do you recall the call I made to you, seeking your assistance in finding tritium?" he asked Rina. "Yes," she responded. "That was the day when I initiated the construction, and we only completed it a week ago," he explained upon hearing her answer. "Are you suggesting that you managed to construct an entire reactor within a span of three weeks?" she asked, gazing at Aron''s face in search of any signs of jest, but she was taken aback to see his expression completely serious, devoid of any indication that he was joking. "Allow me to ask you something," Aron said, turning towards her. "Do you recall the significant event that took place in Eden, which garnered global attention following our conversation?" "I do remember hearing about a massive cloud that appeared on the island your company intended to purchase, and it seems to have persisted over the past month..." she paused abruptly, realizing the implications. She then asked with a mix of shock and curiosity, "Was that your doing?" Aron chose not to respond verbally, but a smile on his face and his focused gaze on the road confirmed Rina''s suspicion. It became clear to her that he was indeed responsible for the commotion surrounding the appearance of the cloud. "What method or material were you employing during the construction that resulted in the continuous appearance of clouds for over a month?" she asked, her confusion lingering as she struggled to grasp the connection between construction and the cloud phenomenon. "To put it briefly, I had already manufactured all the necessary components beforehand, and they were then transported to the island for assembly, which accounts for the three-week construction timeline I mentioned," he explained briefly. "Oooh6 but aren''t buildings of that nature subject to specific safety standards and often require substantial concrete shielding to protect against radiation and other hazards," she asked, genuinely intrigued. "Did you also construct the necessary shielding beforehand, just like the other parts?" Rina inquired, eager to understand the details of Aron''s unconventional approach "No, the construction I''m working on is not a conventional fission reactor; it''s actually a fusion reactor, which involves a different process altogether," Aron clarified. "And when it comes to blocking radiation and other hazardous particles, I''ve developed a new technology that eliminates the need for concrete shielding," he explained. "Fusion reactor?" Rina exclaimed, clearly taken aback by Aron''s assertion of having constructed such an advanced technology. "But how can you be certain that it will work? Numerous countries are collaborating in extensive research within the field, and they haven''t yet achieved a stage where they can sustain ignition for more than a few seconds," she explained, her voice reflecting a mix of surprise and skepticism, once she regained her composure. "For them, it may indeed be ongoing research with the hope of a breakthrough. However, in my case, the technology has already reached a level of maturity that allows me to consider it ready for the commercialization stage," Aron clarified, expressing his confidence in the advancement and readiness of his fusion reactor technology. Rina''s barrage of questions continued as she probed deeper into the feasibility of Aron''s accomplishments. "How did you manage to achieve all of that? As far as I know, assuming it''s true, you only became wealthy a little over a year ago, which doesn''t seem like enough time to secretly fund extensive research and assemble a team of experts without drawing attention. Additionally, the research phase alone usually takes a significant amount of time before yielding results that can be deemed ready for commercialization," she inquired, her curiosity driving her to seek further clarification. "I possess a solution that bypasses all of those challenges," Aron replied, his voice carrying a hint of intrigue. As the car gradually decelerated, he skillfully parked it in a designated spot near a port, where a waiting boat could be seen. "Let''s go," Aron stated, casting a glance at Rina before stepping out of the car, signaling for her to follow suit. "But they will need to stay here," Aron directed, pointing towards Alex and Chloe, who had also parked their car and exited it. "Of course," Rina responded, comprehending the significance of Aron''s forthcoming revelation. It was evident that whatever he was about to reveal was of the utmost confidentiality, requiring a minimal number of individuals to be privy to it. Rina swiftly instructed Alex and Chloe to remain where they were and await her return. Complying with the order, they stayed behind, observing as Aron hoisted the weighty box and accompanied Rina towards the boat stationed at the port. Within a short span, the boat set off from the port, departing from their view. ....I think you should take a look at "Oh my god!!" Rina couldn''t contain her astonishment when she laid eyes upon the machine that stood at the center of the chamber. Its imposing presence, combined with its captivating design, left her in awe. She found it difficult to fathom that such a massive and intricate machine had been constructed within a mere three-week timeframe. The sight before her was simultaneously intimidating and strikingly beautiful, evoking a mixture of admiration and disbelief. "I will go ahead and place it where it is needed and return as quickly as I can," Aron declared, even though Rina hadn''t yet managed to gather her thoughts and respond to him. Holding the box firmly in his grasp, he descended the stairs that led down into the hole, disappearing from sight. Upon reaching the lower area, Aron carefully placed the box inside a sizable opening that already contained ten 50-liter water bottles. After securely positioning the box, he closed the door, ensuring it was tightly sealed. After closing the door, Aron promptly made his way back to where Rina stood. He retrieved a glass box and handed it to her, instructing, "Put these on before we begin the process of initiating the reactor''s ignition." As Rina opened the box and discovered a pair of clear glasses inside, she couldn''t help but express her confusion. "While these glasses are certainly beautiful and align with my taste, I''m curious as to their purpose. You''re aware that I have clear vision, right?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. "I understand your confusion, but trust me and put them on for now," Aron insisted, sensing that explaining their purpose would be time-consuming. Rina, realizing that Aron was not intending to provide an immediate explanation, chose to comply and put the glasses on. She trusted that the reason for wearing them would become evident as events unfolded, and she was curious to uncover the purpose on her own. "Good. Nova, start the process." Aron said as he proceeded to put on his own glasses, fixing his gaze upon the hole. Prompted by his actions, Rina followed suit, her curiosity piqued as she observed the scene, eager to witness what would unfold before them. ..... As soon as Aron gave the command, Nova swiftly assumed control of the reactor. She tapped into the mana stored within the black box, which was promptly converted to usable electricity through a combination of mana and advanced technological innovations housed within the box. As the temporary electrical supply from the black box began powering the reactor, Nova swiftly accessed the control parameters of the small opening containing the water bottles and the box Aron had placed inside. With precision, she activated the disintegration rune within, causing the water bottles, their contents, and the box containing the tritium to disintegrate completely. The liberated tritium from the box and deuterium atoms from the water that was in the bottle were promptly collected and swiftly transported to the ignition chamber for the next phase of the process. Once the ignition fuel was carefully positioned within the ignition chamber, Niva swiftly activated the shield rune, which materialized and enveloped the inner wall of the donut-shaped chamber, forming a protective barrier. Without hesitation, she then initiated the magnetic coils, generating powerful magnetic fields within the chamber. Next, she activated the radiofrequency heating, neutral beam injection, and electron cyclotron resonance heating, gradually increasing the temperature of the fuel to the necessary threshold for initiating the fusion reaction. "FWOOOOM," the reactor emitted a deep growl as the fusion process intensified. Within the reactor, the shield momentarily quivered in response to the high-energy beams that resulted from the fusion reaction. Meanwhile, the magnetic fields successfully contained the plasma, enabling the magnetohydrodynamic generator to begin converting the fusion energy into usable electricity. The reactor resonated with power and potential as the intricate interplay of forces and processes harmonized within its core. The electricity generated by the magnetohydrodynamic generator was transferred to a transformer, initiating the conversion of electricity into liquid mana. Subsequently, the liquid mana was directed through a series of pipelines that led outside the reactor, where it was poured into openings on the surface. Once released, the previously contained mana evaporated and merged with the surrounding atmosphere, joining its fellow particles. Chapter 164 Expressing Her Fear ? After successfully igniting and generating electricity for the first time, Nova promptly conducted a second diagnostic to thoroughly assess the entire system. When the results came out and there was no problem, she decided to operate it at a lower output to avoid shutting it down completely. By doing so, she ensured the continuous production of tritium through its interaction with lithium. This decision was crucial because relying on Rina to fetch tritium again would be nearly impossible. Overwhelmed by the rapid sequence of events she had just witnessed, Rina found herself paralyzed, unable to make even the slightest movement. Her brain was fully consumed with processing and comprehending the extraordinary sights that had unfolded before her eyes. The moment she put the glasses on, it marked the beginning of a chain of surprises that were about to unfold as a screen had appeared in front of her, displaying the words "Terms and Services" with a few clauses listed beneath it. However, before Rina could even begin to read the contents of the screen, the ignition process commenced, demanding her immediate attention. The urgency of the situation compelled her to hastily press the "Accept" button trusting her trust on Aron, allowing her to divert her focus entirely towards the unfolding events that lay before her. Considering the considerable distance between Rina and Aron, it was simply impossible for her to visually observe the reactor inside the hole. Even if she had been able to see it with her naked eye, there would have been no discernible external changes to the reactor that could have indicated the initiation of the process. However, because she had worn the glasses and had already agreed to the terms and services, she was able to see through the reactor, despite the ground obscuring it from her view. Not only that, but she could witness the entire ignition process as if she were an atom contained within the reactor. Each sequence in the reactor ignition process lasted only a few microseconds, but for Aron and Rina, it felt as if those microseconds were stretched into hours. Through the computing capabilities of the glasses they wore, they were able to observe the entire process with remarkable detail, capturing every last aspect. When the ignition process was completed seconds after Aron ordered Nova to do so, it felt as though hours had passed for Aron and Rina, who had been witnesses to the entire process Aron managed to regain his composure after a few seconds of being impressed. However, Rina remained locked in, experiencing a whirlwind of three different emotions simultaneously, brought on by the overwhelming revelations she had received in the past few seconds. She felt a rush of excitement as she contemplated what she had witnessed and envisioned a future full of possibilities with Aron by her side, assisting her in her future endeavors. Simultaneously, she was struck with surprise at the incredible level of technology that Aron possessed, surpassing not only America but also leaving every country in the world miles behind in terms of advancement. However, mingling with her excitement and surprise was a lingering sense of fear. She couldn''t help but feel apprehensive about the extent of Aron''s capabilities and what he might be capable of accomplishing given more time than he had previously had and how the world will react to it. Throughout her life, she had never experienced this level of fear towards anyone or any family. She had been born and raised in a family that could be considered at the very top, where power and influence were inherent. Even their rivals, the Morgans, hadn''t instilled this particular kind of fear within her. Their power, though challenging to comprehend, was explainable as it had been accumulated over generations. It was a result of a long lineage of power acquisition, much like her own family. However, Aron was different. He stood alone, and within a little over a year, he had managed to ascend to such extraordinary heights of power without relying on anyone''s assistance. This rapid and independent rise in power was what truly sent shivers down her spine. While Aron hadn''t yet reached the level of power that her family held, She knew he had access to enough information to be certain that he was rivaling the entire intelligence community of the US government in terms of knowledge and as the saying goes, "Knowledge is power". From her perspective, Aron''s only apparent weakness seemed to be the minimal physical manifestation of his power. In comparison to the immense forces that the Morgans, the Rothschilds or other powerful families could wield, his physical presence seemed almost non-existent. However, she recognized that this perceived weakness would soon fade away as Aron had created an environment for himself that would enable his meteoric rise in power both physical and metaphorical. It was only a matter of time before he would transcend his current limitations and become a force to be reckoned with on all fronts. "War," she said, breaking the silence after fifteen minutes. Her voice carried a tinge of worry and fear, not directed at Aron, but for Aron and what their relationship might face as a consequence of it. "What do you mean?" Aron asked, seeking clarification. Although he had a sense of what she was implying with the word "war," he preferred to be certain rather than relying solely on his own interpretation of her words. "If the world becomes aware of what you just accomplished here," she began to explain the implications behind her use of the word "war." "Or even if they discover the existence and capabilities of these glasses," she added, touching the device on her face. "There will be a relentless pursuit to obtain them. People will go to extreme lengths and stop at nothing to acquire this technology." As she spoke, her eyes started to well up with tears, and she looked at Aron with a mixture of concern and worry. In her mind, she perceived Aron as someone who, while not entirely naive, had shown her the technology without fully considering the consequences. This was what frightened her the most. I think you should take a look at She believed that as soon as powerful individuals learned of the technology''s existence, her own family would be among those at the forefront, striving to seize it from Aron. Consequently, she would be forced to choose sides, and she already knew which side she would align with. This realization terrified her because she saw no possibility of her chosen side emerging victorious in such a conflict. "Calm down," Aron said gently, placing his hand on her shoulder and giving it a reassuring rub as he sought to comfort her and ease her worries. As Aron''s hands rested on her shoulders, Nova activated the glasses to help instill a sense of calmness within her. While the glasses couldn''t directly control emotions, they could assist in amplifying existing emotions. In this case, they aided in amplifying the calming effect that Aron''s presence and Rina''s own efforts had already initiated. With the glasses'' assistance, Rina was able to gradually calm down, allowing herself to be soothed by Aron''s comforting presence. "I understand your concerns, but please don''t worry. I''ve already considered all of those potential consequences even before I began building that machine," Aron reassured her, maintaining unwavering eye contact as he spoke. His gaze conveyed sincerity and conviction, aiming to alleviate her fears and doubts. "No one who knows about this technology will disclose it to anyone else. They are individuals whom I trust implicitly. As for how confident I am that they won''t betray me for financial gain, well, that remains a business secret. Rest assured, no one will have knowledge of it unless I deliberately choose to make it known. Do you understand?" Aron concluded his explanation with a question, seeking confirmation that she had comprehended the gravity of his statement. Rina took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts before responding, "It appears that in my moment of surprise, my thinking became limited, leading me to reach conclusions based on fragmented information. I apologize for hastily jumping to conclusions and expressing my concerns in such a manner." She couldn''t help but feel a tinge of embarrassment for revealing that side of herself to Aron. "Don''t worry about it," Aron reassured her, his hands still resting on her shoulders. "I understand why you had those concerns. If I were in your position with limited information about me, I might have thought the same." His words conveyed understanding and empathy, reassuring Rina that her initial concerns were valid, but he had accounted for them. "By the way, how do these glasses even work?" Rina asked, attempting to change the topic and divert the conversation away from her moment of embarrassment. She hoped that delving into the technical aspects of the glasses would help shift the focus and alleviate her blush-inducing predicament. Aron, aware of her intentions, responded, "The glass panels of the glasses serve as the chips, while the handles house the remaining computing components." "Wow," Rina exclaimed, unable to contain her astonishment, as she contemplated the immense level of technological advancements required to achieve such a remarkable feat. "how was the chip engineered to be embedded within the glass while still maintaining its transparency like regular glasses?" she asked. He responded by saying, "The glasses have been printed." Curious about the capabilities of the glasses beyond what was demonstrated during the ignition process, she asked, "What else can these glasses do?" Aron proceeded to explain further, leaving Rina even more astonished. "To put it simply, these glasses are like a wearable supercomputer, surpassing even the power of your family''s private network where Ava resides," he clarified. Continuing his explanation, he added, "Currently, your glasses have the ability to seamlessly utilize both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) without any limitations." "Are you referring to the VR where people wear those bulky, glass-like devices on their eyes?" she inquired. "Can these glasses achieve the same VR experience?" "No, not quite. I was referring to Full Dive VR," he clarified. "It''s an experience that completely transports you to a whole new world. As for the AR, you have already been experiencing it throughout the ignition process, and even now, since you can still see the reactor." Aron explained with a smile gracing his face. "How does this augmented and virtual reality actually work?" she inquired, removing the glasses and attempting to look through the mirror without wearing them only to result in the AR view of the reactor to disappear. Seeing what she was doing, he laughed and started to explain "The glasses don''t simply display objects on the lenses; instead, they send signals directly to your brain, creating a visual perception that is indistinguishable from real-world objects. This approach ensures that the virtual objects seamlessly blend with your surroundings, regardless of how far your vision extends beyond the glasses'' coverage. If the glasses relied on projecting images onto the lenses, the objects would disappear as soon as they moved out of the glasses'' field of view." Shifting the focus to virtual reality, Aron continued, "The principle is similar for VR, where signals are sent to your brain. However, in this case, the glasses induce a sleep-like state and transport your consciousness to a virtual world. Inside this virtual realm, you can freely engage in various activities without any impact on your physical body in real life. Since this experience occurs while you''re in a state similar to sleep, when you finish playing, it''s considered that you''ve already fulfilled your sleep requirements. Essentially, it grants you an additional eight hours in your day that would typically be spent on sleep alone." Chapter 165 A Long Conversation With Rina ? "So, when are you going to show me the VR thing?" Rina asked Aron while they were on the boat, returning to where they had parked her car. They needed to reach the presidential palace so that she could have a meeting with the president and discuss her plans to invest in the country. That was the excuse she had given for coming to Eden. "Since it''s a VR experience, you''ll need to be in a lying position for safe usage. You can try it out when you''re on the plane back after the meeting," Aron replied. "Oh, sure. But doesn''t it cause any connection lags to the server and other similar issues due to the distance I will be?" she asked. "No, the glasses communicate with the server using a phenomenon called quantum teleportation. This means that even if you are on the other end of the universe, you will always have instantaneous connection to the server," Aron explained. "Wow. How do you manage to acquire such groundbreaking technologies in such a short span of time?" Rina asked, clearly taken aback by Aron''s possession of yet another revolutionary technology that had the potential to captivate the world. From her perspective, the concept of instantaneous communication regardless of distance seemed to address one of the significant obstacles that had been holding humanity back on Earth. "When you log in, many of your questions will be answered," Aron said, deliberately withholding further details. His response only intensified Rina''s anticipation, making her wish for time to pass quickly so that she could finally log in and satisfy her curiosity by receiving those long-awaited answers. "Based on what you mentioned earlier, you said it''s a walking supercomputer, more powerful than my family''s private network." She said, talking about the glasses. "Does that mean I can transfer Ava into it and have her accompany me at all times?" Rina inquired, expressing her desire to have her helpful assistant with her constantly. "Although it is technically possible, currently you can''t transfer Ava into the system. The majority of the computing power is being utilized to handle the load that the server would typically handle. This is because the existing server is nearly full. However, a new server is currently being built," Aron explained, providing the reason behind why she can''t. "It''s not a problem, but if you need any assistance in expediting the procurement of the server equipment, you know you can count on me, right?" Rina offered, expressing her willingness to help Aron speed up the process based on his explanation. "Yes, I appreciate your offer. Currently, the procurement of the necessary parts is not an issue, and it''s mainly a matter of time for the machine to be built. It should be up and ready within a month or two," Aron responded, smiling at her kind offer stemming from her being unaware that the server farm was going to be composed entirely of quantum chips and proprietary tech from the LAB CITY. "By the way, do you have any plans to make purchases or investments in the country during your meeting with the president, or is it mainly a discussion without any specific actions in mind?" Aron inquired, curious about Rina''s plans for the meeting. "Since you arranged the meeting for me, I''ve decided to seize this opportunity and make investments in the country. With your presence here, I''m confident that any purchases or investments I make will yield significant returns," Rina replied, a confident smile gracing her face as she expressed her strategic thinking and the potential for substantial gains from her planned endeavors. "How much do you intend to spend in the country?" Aron inquired, curious about the magnitude of Rina''s planned financial endeavors. "5 billion. Do you have any specific investment suggestions where you believe the value will undoubtedly rise in the future?" Rina asked, half in jest and half seriously, indicating her willingness to consider Aron''s insights for potentially lucrative investment opportunities. "If you''ve heard about the country''s investment plan, you''ll know that my company, CONNECT, is planning to construct the world''s largest airport, along with several major ports that will rank among the world''s largest. We''re also exploring other large-scale investments. What do you think about doing something similar?" Aron proposed, subtly suggesting that he wanted Rina to join him in similar endeavors, potentially serving as a partner or ally when the topic of monopolizing the country''s industries arises in the future. Aron understood that while he could choose to ignore the criticism that might come his way, it would be beneficial to have someone to share the burden of scrutiny. Having a partner to share the criticism would help deflect some of the attention and prevent the sole focus from being on him. "Now, that''s a good one! Don''t worry, I hope you won''t feel threatened by my investment," Rina responded with a playful tone, indicating her agreement and appreciation for Aron''s suggestion. Having contemplated a similar investment but hesitating due to concerns about potentially overstepping Aron''s generosity, Rina had set her plans aside. However, now that Aron had expressed his support and indicated no objections, she felt empowered to proceed with her own project. With a renewed sense of confidence, she resolved to move on with her previous investment plan. "You can rest assured, there''s no need to worry about that," Aron replied with a reassuring smile, alleviating any concerns she may have had.I think you should take a look at "With that in mind, I suppose I should consider increasing my investment amount," Rina stated, casting a sidelong glance at Aron, observing his reaction to her remark. "How much are you considering?" Aron inquired, maintaining a composed expression. "I''m considering increasing the investment to around 45 billion," she revealed, gazing at Aron still waiting to gauge his reaction to the substantial figure she mentioned. "Good," Aron responded, a genuine smile adorning his face. Rina''s observation was confirmed as his reaction reflected genuine approval and enthusiasm for her decision. Rina''s curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn''t help but inquire, "How much are you planning to invest?" Her question was driven by a desire to compare their investment amounts, hoping to understand if the magnitude of Aron''s investment played a role in his reaction. "Around 178 billion," He replied. In response to Aron''s nonchalant delivery of the massive investment amount, Rina''s reaction was the complete opposite. Startled and taken aback, she fumbled, accidentally dropping the glass she was holding. Startled, she coughed, almost choking, as she struggled to regain her composure. "Are you okay?" Aron asked, concerned, as he quickly reached out and handed her a napkin to clean herself up. "Holy shit," she exclaimed, still in disbelief, as she took the napkin from Aron and began wiping her now messed-up outfit. "Where on earth will you be investing all that money?" she added, her astonishment evident in her voice. "About 75 billion will be allocated to ARES projects, such as acquiring lands for military installations and other military initiatives," Aron explained briefly. "As for the remaining hundred billion, it will be utilized for projects aimed at improving the country and constructing infrastructures that will not only benefit my company but also prove advantageous to the citizens. The goal is to address any potential obstacles faced by the company while ensuring that the benefits extend beyond my organizations alone." Rina''s astonishment grew as she listened to Aron''s explanation. "Wow, when you mention ARES, I can''t believe you were able to persuade a country to disband its military and hire your company as its security replacement. Not only will they pay you, but they''ll also allow you to expand your forces using their citizens, all within a legal framework that provides you with a loophole to grow without attracting much scrutiny. That''s truly a master stroke," she said, expressing her admiration for Aron''s strategic execution of his plans to reach such a remarkable position. "They are not paying me any money," Aron clarified, his tone reflecting concern that Rina might have misunderstood something. After hearing Aron''s statement, Rina sought clarification, asking, "What exactly do you mean by ''they are not paying me any money''?" "They are solely responsible for paying the salaries of the soldiers, while I am responsible for all other aspects," Aron explained. Rina, still surprised by the revelation, inquired, "Why did you choose to structure the arrangement that way instead of negotiating for a substantial payment from them?" "There are several reasons, but one of them is that the country in question is what you might call an infant country. They simply don''t have enough financial resources to cover all the additional expenses beyond soldier salaries. Even the salary they are providing for the soldiers is already a significant burden for them. If I were to make them responsible for the rest, it would place an overwhelming strain on their budget." Aron proceeded to explain the rationale behind his decision. "Moreover, by taking on the funding responsibility, it effectively eliminates the need to constantly seek additional funds every time there''s a need to expand your forces." Rina acknowledged, expressing her surprise at Aron''s foresight. As Aron remained silent, Rina interpreted his response as confirmation that her assumption was indeed true. On the other side, Nova, who had been attentively observing the entire interaction between Aron and Rina from the moment Aron handed her the glasses, allowing her to perceive Rina''s emotions, couldn''t help but let out a scoff in response. Chapter 166 Back To Work ? "Did you receive any information from our informants in Eden?" Areh asked her secretary. "No, sir. It appears that due to the significance of her meeting, the president arranged for her to land at one of the country''s domestic airports to avoid attracting unwanted attention," Charlotte replied, answering Arieh''s question. "What on earth does she intend to do in that country that she rushed there directly from her visit to Israel?" Arieh asked, as he attempted to speculate on Rina''s motives for visiting the impoverished nation "I believe it''s possible that she intends to invest in the country while it is still in a vulnerable phase," Charlotte suggested, offering her perspective on what Rina might have been up to. "I understand that, but if that''s true, it would be a foolish move on her part," Arieh commented on Charlotte''s suggestion regarding Rina''s actions. "What do you mean by that, sir?" she asked, curious about his reasoning behind the statement. "We had a board meeting where it was suggested that we invest in the country while it is struggling. However, during the meeting, we discovered evidence indicating that the country is on the brink of bankruptcy. As a result, we decided to wait until it reaches that point before making any moves. By waiting, we can obtain more than double the value of our investment compared to what we would have received if we had invested now. Rina was present at that meeting, so she should be aware of this information. It''s puzzling why she would choose to invest her limited funds there when she could wait a little longer and acquire assets at a significant discount. Additionally, let''s not forget that Rina is still in debt, and it appears that she suffered significant losses during the flash crash a few months ago. So, she is currently searching for ways to raise money in order to repay the bank when the repayment period arrives. Otherwise, she risks losing the competition once again," Arieh explained, shedding light on Rina''s financial situation and his concerns about her decision-making. "It appears that she may have panicked and was concerned about missing out on the opportunity to invest during the initial rush when the country finally falls," Charlotte suggested, offering her perspective on Rina''s actions. "I had the same thought. However, if she proceeds with the investment and the country indeed goes bankrupt, her earlier investment would likely decrease in value by at least half, rather than doubling," he said, pausing for a moment to reflect. "It seems like she may have taken such a drastic measure out of fear that I would take over her debt. She''s placing a bet, hoping that the country doesn''t collapse," he added, a smile appearing on his face as he contemplated the possibility. Curious, Charlotte inquired, "What would happen if the country successfully avoids bankruptcy and manages to sustain itself?" Arieh explained, providing his reasoning for why the country''s avoidance of bankruptcy is impossible. "It is highly impossible, as the countries that could potentially help them avoid bankruptcy are also the ones seeking something in return for their financial assistance. Since the new government previously rejected their offers of help, these countries are going to proceed slowly when approached for assistance again. They aim to teach the new government of Eden a lesson about how the world operates. Consequently, they will only provide aid once the country has already gone bankrupt," Arieh stated, indicating his belief that the country''s bankruptcy is inevitable. He added, "However, in the unlikely event that the country manages to avoid bankruptcy, it would become one of the rare nations to maintain true neutrality. In that scenario, we would have missed the opportunity to enter the country early and reap the majority of its benefits. As for those who had trusted and made bets on its stability would have likely gained the upper hand. But I must emphasize that this is merely a hypothesis," he concluded, acknowledging the potential outcome if the unlikely scenario were to occur. "Ahaaa," Charlotte exclaimed, finally grasping why Arieh regarded Rina''s decision as unwise. ..... Aron stood at the port, observing as Rina was escorted by a convoy of cars carrying members of the Ares members as they began their journey towards the presidential palace, where Rina was scheduled to have her meeting with the president. After the meeting, she would be accompanied back to the airport to depart the country. [Why didn''t you personally accompany her to the meeting?] Nova inquired as Aron boarded the boat and began his journey back to the island. "She will be engaged in a lengthy meeting with Alexander, and I can utilize that time for more productive endeavors. Moreover, I will have the opportunity to meet her again in virtual reality when she is departing, so there is no need to waste time unnecessarily," Aron explained as the boat accelerated, sailing away. [Good,] Nova replied with a smile, content with Aron''s response.I think you should take a look at "What''s the meaning behind your reply?" Aron asked, still puzzled by Nova''s response. [Oh, it''s nothing. I''m just glad that you''re able to think clearly], Nova replied. "Anyway," Aron said, deciding to let it go and redirect his attention to navigating the boat. .... "Finally, they successfully transferred it in one piece," Aron remarked, his gaze fixed upon the atomic printer positioned in front of him, adjacent to the fusion reactor. The surroundings were brimming with containers upon containers of raw materials. "Now, let''s power it up and commence with the crucial tasks," Aron declared, reaching for a cable emerging from the fusion reactor. He connected it to the atomic printer and promptly powered it on. "Nova, initiate the printing process for the parts required to build a larger atomic printer," Aron instructed, prompting Nova to begin printing the components necessary for the construction of the main printer. This new printer would be responsible for producing parts for all the upcoming projects once its construction was complete. Nova promptly responded by increasing the fuel consumption of the fusion reactor and ramping up its energy output to supply the atomic printer with the maximum amount of energy it required to operate at full power. This ensured that the printer would no longer be limited, as it had been during its time in the warehouse. With the printer operating at full power, it swiftly commenced the printing process, fabricating the parts within a matter of seconds. The only factor causing any delay was Aron, who had to swiftly remove the already printed parts and insert new materials for them to be disintegrated and subsequently printed again. There was no moment of rest for Aron as the process continued relentlessly. Aron tirelessly continued the process of removing completed pieces and inserting new materials into the printer without pause. For the next five hours, he remained the sole factor slowing down the process. Despite this, they achieved remarkable progress, printing over a hundred thousand large parts and more than fifteen million small parts. Due to the printer''s capability to produce around ten thousand small pieces simultaneously, the production rate remained consistently high. "I truly need some rest," Aron admitted, lying down to catch his breath and rejuvenate. However, his relaxation was interrupted by Nova''s announcement, [Sir, Rina is calling you]. "Hello," Aron greeted as he put on his glasses, causing Rina''s face to materialize in front of him. "I''m still amazed by how all the technology is packed into these glasses," Rina expressed, her gaze fixed on the real face of Aron that appeared before her while his augmented presence sat in the chair across from her inside the plane. "You''ll become accustomed to it as time goes on," Aron reassured her. "It appears that you were occupied, so let me get straight to the point," Rina said, after adjusting the setting to see Aron''s real surroundings, revealing him surrounded by a massive pile of machined parts with no one else present. "I called to inform you that I had a very positive conversation with Alexander. He was thrilled to hear the amount I intend to invest in the country and assured me that since you arranged the meeting, I won''t encounter any obstacles in obtaining the necessary approvals for my investments," she explained. "That''s great news," Aron responded with a smile upon hearing Rina''s positive update. "So, do you have sufficient time to show the virtual reality to me?" she inquired, curious about Aron''s availability for the task. "Unfortunately, I won''t be able to personally guide you through the virtual reality experience, as I have some work that needs my attention," Aron explained. "However, Nova will be more than capable of showing you the VR. She''ll assist you with anything you need," he added, prioritizing his work on building the printer for his upcoming plans. "Nova?!" Rina exclaimed, her initial disappointment swiftly replaced by surprise upon hearing the name. "What''s the matter?" Aron asked, taken aback by Rina''s unexpected reaction to hearing the name Nova. "Why wouldn''t I be surprised? I''ve heard so much about her from Ava. Whenever Ava spoke about Nova, there was always a sense of reverence in her tone," Rina explained, clarifying the reason for her astonishment. "Oh, in that case, the introduction between you two should be smooth," Aron responded with a smile as he promptly instructed Nova to initiate the introduction process. Chapter 167 Construction ? "Oh my god," Rina exclaimed as she opened her eyes, finding herself standing in front of a lush grassy area with a breathtakingly beautiful scenery. She had logged in with high expectations, but what she saw surpassed even her wildest imagination. Rina, driven by curiosity and a desire to test the limits of the virtual experience, began touching herself, searching for any discernible differences from her real body. She even went as far as plucking her own hair, hoping to find some imperfection or irregularity. "Wow," she exclaimed, momentarily disregarding the slight pain from plucking her hair. She was captivated by the intricate details present on the strand in her hand. Her mind raced, attempting to comprehend the immense computing power required to render such a scene with such exquisite detail, blurring the lines between virtual and real to the point of indistinguishability. The sheer level of realism left her astounded and in awe. [Welcome,] Nova greeted as she suddenly appeared, catching Rina off guard. "OH MY GOD!" Rina exclaimed in fear upon hearing the voice and witnessing Nova''s sudden appearance. [Don''t worry, it''s me, Nova,] Nova reassured her, attempting to calm her down with both her words and the glasses Rina was wearing, while she concealed the amusement on her face. "You scared me, appearing out of nowhere..." Rina began to speak, but her sentence trailed off as her fear subsided, allowing her to finally set her eyes on Nova. She couldn''t help but be captivated by Nova''s beauty, which rivaled her own but in a different way, causing Rina to mutter a quiet "fuck" under her breath. [Don''t worry, you are beautiful too,] Nova replied, offering a comforting reassurance to Rina, who was still enamored by her. "Ah, sorry about that," Rina said, feeling a sense of embarrassment for her earlier behavior. She then added, not backing down, "It has been a while since I saw someone as beautiful as me." Nova was slightly taken aback by Rina''s confident statement, as she had grown accustomed to Aron''s humble demeanor over their long time together. Rina''s bold statement, backed by her undeniable beauty, caught Nova by surprise. "Nice to meet you, by the way," Rina said, extending her hand for a handshake. "I''ve heard a lot about you from your daughter," she continued, acknowledging the reputation that preceded Nova. [Nice to meet you too,] Nova replied, also extending her hand to reciprocate the handshake. "Let''s start the tour, shall we?" Nova suggested, wanting to start the tour and continued their conversations as they toured the VR. Nova proceeded to give Rina instructions on how to navigate the virtual reality (VR) environment. Shortly after, they were teleported to various locations that Aron had granted Nova permission to show Rina. However, certain areas and information were kept secret, as there were things that needed to remain undisclosed. ... ? ? ? ? ? Aron, who had been sitting, quickly rose from his seated position as soon as his call with Rina ended. He began walking towards the towering mountain of machine parts, determined to continue the task at hand. "Nova, how is the robotics research going?" Aron asked with a glimmer of hope, hoping to receive some positive news from her. [Although some of the technologies are mature, the combination of them is still not fully ready,] Nova answered, providing him with a summary of the current situation in robotics research. "Okay," Aron said, acknowledging the information, and chose not to say anything further. He understood that any additional input from him would be futile, as he knew the researchers were always working with unwavering focus and dedication. Following that, he slowly started combining the pieces one after another before he paused and asked, "When are they going to arrive?" [They are on their way, sir, and will arrive in fifteen minutes,] Nova reported, providing him with the answer to his question. "Good, as I need them to expedite the process here," Aron said as he continued assembling the atomic printer. Fifteen minutes later, two trucks carrying people arrived, and approximately forty individuals stepped out of them. They promptly formed two straight lines, their gaze fixed straight ahead, awaiting further orders from Aron. "Good evening," Aron said, pausing the assembly process and walking towards the assembled group. "Evening, Sir!" The forty people greeted back in unison, their voices synchronized and filled with respect. "Good. We are going to be working and not stop until we are done with assembling everything there," Aron declared, pointing towards the mountain of machine parts behind him. "Understood?!!" he emphasized, expecting a clear affirmation from the group. "Yes, sir!" they replied in unison, immediately after his question.I think you should take a look at "Now, one by one, come to me, pick up your glasses, put them on, and take a seat, and wait for the process to start," Aron instructed the soldiers, without providing any further explanation. Without questioning, they obediently began to approach him one by one. As they received their glasses from Aron, they promptly put them on and took their designated seats, following his orders without hesitation. Nova wasted no time, as soon as the first person took a seat, she immediately began assimilating the knowledge on how to assemble the machine parts in front of them. Five minutes later, when all forty ARES members had taken their glasses and were sitting down, assimilating the knowledge, Aron asked, "How long is it going to take?" "Twenty more minutes," Nova reported. "Why is it taking so long for them?" Aron asked, expressing surprise at the amount of time it was taking for the ARES members to assimilate the knowledge about assembling a machine. He couldn''t help but compare it to the quick assimilation of knowledge he usually experienced from the system, which often took even less time than what they were currently going through despite being more extensively complicated knowledge. "Sir, comparing yourself to them is unfair. Although I can''t access the full brainmap of your brain, I''m pretty sure the system is a few billion years ahead in technological advancement, and due to it being directly inside your brain, it makes it easier to assimilate compared to those who are using glasses," Nova responded. "Haha, that''s true," Aron laughed in acknowledgment of her statement. He realized that he had become accustomed to the rapid pace at which everything was being done around him, to the point where twenty minutes of knowledge assimilation seemed relatively long. Twenty minutes later, the first person who had put on the glasses initially stood up from where he was sitting and promptly returned to the line where they had stood before Aron distributed the glasses. He patiently waited for his fellow soldier to finish going through the same process. Aron continued to wait for the remaining ARES members to complete their knowledge assimilation before commencing any further actions. After another five minutes, all the members had finished the assimilation process and immediately joined the standing soldiers, forming a unified group ready for the next phase of their mission. "Anyone who still doesn''t know what to do?!" Aron asked the soldiers who were now standing. "No, sir!!!" they replied once again in unison, their disbelief still evident. "Good, let''s start," Aron said, and without any delay, the ARES members immediately began moving to their respective locations, guided by the glasses they wore. They swiftly commenced assembling the parts assigned to them, displaying their newfound knowledge and skill acquired through the assimilation process. ... A week later. Aron stood at the apex of the massive structure, closely observing the ongoing assembly process. Nova seamlessly integrated and processed all the data collected through the glasses, swiftly analyzing the intricate details and generating precise instructions. Using the glasses, Nova transmitted real-time guidance to the crane operator, ensuring accurate movements and seamless coordination. They were now in the final stages of assembling the LAP (Large Atomic Printer), a colossal structure that stood fifty meters tall above ground and extended twenty meters below ground, with a remarkable width of three hundred meters. The intricate process of aligning the various components, connecting the intricate wiring, and ensuring the precision of every mechanism was nearing its completion. The printer''s crucial components, including the computing parts, were located 20 meters underground. Above ground, within the 50-meter space, there existed nothing more than an open warehouse. This warehouse served as the loading area for raw materials and as the site for the printing process. This arrangement enabled the printing of large objects as a single unit, relieving both Aron and others from the burden of having to assemble small parts in order to operate the machine. "And with that, we are done," Aron declared with satisfaction as he tightened the last screw in the now fully assembled Large Atomic Printer. The imposing machine stood before them, radiating a striking green color, signifying its readiness for use. Throughout the construction the sky remained veiled by a persistent brown cloud, a testament to the ongoing construction activities. The machine responsible for excavating the hole for the fusion reactor had not ceased its work, relentlessly continuing its digging operations. Chapter 168 Underground Construction ? [[[A/N Based on the voting held on Discord, it has been decided that starting today, I will release two chapters daily, each consisting of a minimum of 1,000 words. Second chapter coming soon ]]] ..... "Load the raw material inside and clear the building," Aron said in a normal voice. However, with the glasses on him, the order was transmitted to all the people wearing the glasses on the island, prompting them to immediately start loading the material into the printer. Due to the size of the atomic printer, it took approximately three hours for them to load the raw materials and evacuate the building to their designated evacuation location. Although the assembly of the printer''s more than a million parts was considered complete, the interior of the printing side appeared incomplete, resembling a skinned animal. However, this was not a mistake but rather a deliberate part of the plan. "Nova, start the testing," Aron said once he was confident that everyone had reached the evacuation point. [Yes, sir] Nova replied, and without delay, she began by ramping up the power output of the reactor and directing it to the printer, initiating the power-up process. "TRrr!" The ground beneath Aron and the Ares members trembled violently as they watched the power-up process commence, resembling an earthquake in progress. The shaking persisted, growing in intensity with each passing second, showing no signs of abating. However, Nova swiftly activated the vibration dampeners on the ground, causing the tremors to gradually diminish. The vibrations slowly subsided until eventually, no more shaking could be felt, indicating that the printer had successfully powered on. Immediately following the successful power-on of the printer, Nova activated the printer''s disintegration function. It swiftly began disintegrating the material within its printing chamber, simultaneously separating the atoms into their respective elements. These elements were then efficiently stored in the printer''s atom storage, based on their composition. After storing the atoms, Nova proceeded to initiate the printing process for the covers inside the printer. It skillfully crafted and installed covers, elegantly concealing the once exposed areas and transforming the previous tangle of wires into visually appealing walls. ? ? ? ? ? ?. Thanks to its increased size and ample power supply, Nova accomplished the printing of all the covers for the printer astonishingly quickly, completing the task in just two seconds. In the first second, it scanned the open wall to ensure precise measurements, while in the second second, it rapidly printed and installed the covers, effortlessly transforming the interior into a polished and streamlined environment. Aron and the Ares members, witnessing the entire process through their glasses, couldn''t contain their astonishment and involuntarily gasped in awe. "Hyuuuuu. It works," Aron exclaimed, releasing a sigh of relief. He felt a sense of relief because it was his first time building something significant, and not by himself, but with the assistance of others. Therefore, it was only natural for him to have some concerns about the possibility of something going wrong. "Congratulations, sir," one of the Ares members said, extending their congratulations to Aron for the successful functioning of the machine. "Congratulations to all of us," Aron replied, acknowledging the collective effort of everyone involved. He recognized that each team member had worked tirelessly to ensure the swift completion of the assembly. "THANK YOU, SIR," they replied in unison, expressing their gratitude after Aron''s response. "Good, get some rest as we are starting the next project when the preparations are done," Aron stated, and they promptly responded, quickly taking a seat to rest without wasting any time or complaining at all. [Sir, the digging is over, should I start printing the machines for the next project?] Nova asked Aron, who was also seated, taking a well-deserved rest. "Go on," Aron replied. Without delay, Nova accessed the atom storage and initiated the printing process for the next project. I think you should take a look at The first items she started printing were four wheeled machines that bore no resemblance to anything existing in the world. Remarkably, as the atoms were being assembled to form the vehicles, they were also being fueled. By the time the printing process was completed, the vehicles were fully fueled and ready for use. The vehicles powered on and began moving autonomously outside the printer under Nova''s control. They formed a convoy, driving for approximately five kilometers until they reached the site where the new underground hole had already been dug by the first machine. The hole had only one entrance, reminiscent of an underground car parking entrance, leading to a chamber-like room deep underground. The vehicles followed their leader and entered the underground entrance, gradually disappearing into the depths. They traveled approximately three hundred meters underground until they reached the opening. As the opening was revealed, its massive size became apparent, stretching for about a kilometer on all sides. However, due to the recent completion of the hole, it was engulfed in pitch darkness, obscuring the view for anyone present. The vehicles, equipped with sensors, wasted no time in admiring the view, for their purpose was not to appreciate the surroundings but to swiftly move to their designated locations underground. While the initial convoy of vehicles proceeded to their designated locations, another convoy arrived, freshly printed and ready for deployment as Nova continuously printed and dispatched the vehicles to the underground site. Upon reaching its designated location, the first vehicle came to a halt and began emitting a soft glow. Instantly, within a fifty-meter radius of the vehicle, a concrete-like material began materializing. The machine integrated within the vehicle initiated the printing process, crafting the material into its dry state. Indeed, although it resembled concrete, the material being printed was several generations ahead of any conventional concrete aggregate found in the world. With the ability to manipulate and control the strength of the material by combining atoms during the printing process. She utilized the research from the Lab City to make the material as robust and strong as possible, surpassing the strength of any existing concrete. In a matter of minutes, aided by the presence of over fifty vehicles, the entire underground chamber underwent a remarkable transformation. The collective printing resulted in the rapid concreting of the entire space, leaving no area untouched. With that now over the vehicles seamlessly transitioned to the next phase of their task. A metallic surface began to be printed onto the concrete, resembling a rug being unfurled. However, beneath its smooth exterior, the metal revealed a textured underside with intertwining pipelines forming a labyrinth of parallel lines. The printing process experienced a slight delay as they depleted their atom reserves midway, forcing them to pause their work until a vehicle arrived with a fresh supply of atoms before they could resume the printing process. Undeterred, they resumed the printing process and diligently covered all the walls of the underground chamber with the metallic surfaces. This included not only the side walls but also the ceiling walls, ensuring a consistent application of the material with its intricate maze-like structures underneath. As these events unfolded, a separate machine resembling a pipe began disintegrating atoms, excavating a tunnel with a diameter of one meter. This tunnel originated from the chamber and extended towards the location of the fusion reactor. Following closely behind the excavation machine was another identical apparatus, which specialized in constructing walls within the tunnel, effectively forming a pipeline. Upon completion of their tasks, the machines departed from the underground area, leaving behind a remarkable sight. For those capable of peering through the darkness, they would witness futuristic walls adorning every surface within the underground opening. Intricate, maze-like passages concealed beneath metal panels connected to the walls, forming a network that intricately linked to the finished pipeline. One end of the pipeline was connected to a transformer, which in turn was linked to the fusion printer. The vehicles made their way back to the atomic printer, where Nova, without delay, swiftly disintegrated each of them, reducing them to their previous state of atoms before being stored in the same storage from which they had originated. [Sir, the construction of the room is complete] Nova informed Aron, signaling that all aspects of the building had been successfully finished. Chapter 169 Assembling The Dream ? "Let''s get to work," Aron said to himself as he rose from his seat, where he had been resting with the other members of ARES. He began walking towards the completed construction site, which prompted the ARES members to do the same, following his lead. This compelled him to say, "Not now, you guys continue resting. The preparations are not done." They immediately nodded in agreement and sat back down to continue their rest. As Aron walked towards the location, he was suddenly intercepted by a vehicle that resembled a golf cart. He couldn''t help but laugh as he recognized it as Nova''s creation. Expressing his gratitude, he boarded the golf cart, which promptly started driving itself towards the underground construction site. "Oh my god, it''s cooking in here," Aron exclaimed as the car he was in began descending underground. He could feel the heat emanating from the underground, making the surroundings even hotter. Immediately, Nova activated the vehicle''s air conditioning system, swiftly cooling the air surrounding Aron and alleviating the intense heat. Aron couldn''t help but express his gratitude once again, feeling a wave of relief as the cool air enveloped him. [You are welcome] Nova replied calmly, as she continued controlling the vehicle. When the car arrived at the underground opening, Aron was greeted by an overwhelming wave of heat. Despite Nova''s best efforts, the air conditioning in the car struggled to cool the air around him as quickly as the intense heat replaced it. "Let me handle it," Aron said determinedly. H as he swiftly casted the cooling rune on himself, channeling its power to cool down his blood. As the chilled blood circulated through his body, he felt an instant cooling effect that countered the oppressive heat. With his body temperature regulated, he confidently stepped out of the car, now at the center of the massive room in the underground construction site. After Aron stepped out of the car, it promptly departed, leaving him alone in the pitch darkness of the underground construction site. However, with the glasses on him, they granted him the ability to see in darkness as if he were outside in broad daylight. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? "Let''s get started," Aron said, his gaze fixed upon the ceiling. With a deep breath, he began to channel his mana, focusing on casting a rune. Without delay, a colossal cooling rune materialized. The underground chamber erupted in a golden magical light(for those who could see mana) as the rune grew, expanding to a massive size of five hundred meters in length and breadth. Following that, Aron steadily elevated it until it reached the rooftop where it began to sink partially into the roof, integrating itself with the structure. Once the rune had firmly embedded itself on the roof, Aron closed his eyes, entering a state of deep concentration. For the following five minutes, he focused intensely, infusing the rune with his intentions. Shortly after, the rune shimmered and transformed into a radiant white hue, signifying that it had been fully imbued with his intent. Within that brief span of time, Aron''s had imbued his intent for the rune, which was to maintain a consistent temperature of 15 degrees Celsius within the room, regardless of external factors. The rune, fueled by the supply of mana, would ensure the desired temperature was sustained. However, the amount of mana consumed by the rune would vary based on the degree of cooling required. The greater the temperature difference, the more mana would be expended to achieve and sustain the desired conditions. As soon as the rune turned white and the room''s temperature began to drop with its activation, Aron abruptly ceased supplying mana to the rune. Instantly, the rune''s luminosity dimmed, and the temperature swiftly reverted to its previous hot state. Nevertheless, for those attuned to the flow of mana, the rune remained visible.I think you should take a look at Without hesitation, Aron commenced the casting of another rune. However, this time he allowed it to expand in size until it encompassed the entirety of the chamber. The rune grew exponentially, absorbing the maximum amount of mana Aron could release at once as his heart worked tirelessly to replenish the reserves. Lowering the immense floating rune until it gently touched the ground, allowing it to sink into the material covering the floor. He closed his eyes once more, immersing himself in deep concentration as he began to infuse his intent into the rune. While Aron remained immersed in his task of etching intent onto the rune, Nova, stationed outside, initiated the operation of the printer that had been in standby mode. Springing it to life, ready to commence the next printing session. In a matter of moments, the printer worked its magic, rapidly producing rack after rack of servers at an astonishing pace. The room quickly filled with hundreds of server racks, appearing seemingly out of thin air. However, these server racks bore little resemblance to the commercial servers commonly seen. Their unique design and appearance set them apart, hinting at the difference of what was inhabiting inside them. In a fascinating display, the printed server racks extended the wheels they were equipped with and autonomously began moving themselves out of the printer. As they exited, new server racks were promptly printed in the space they vacated, ensuring a continuous stream of production. Nova continued printing until she had produced a hundred thousand self-driving server rack-like objects. They began making their way towards Aron''s location while he remained focused on imbuing his intent into the rune. This time, the process required a substantial amount of time, stretching over two hours before Aron finally ceased his focus. By then, the rune had transformed into a brilliant white hue, signifying that his intent had been successfully imbued into its very essence. "Are the servers ready?" Aron''s voice echoed into the void, disappearing into the engulfing darkness. [Yes] came a response from Nova. "Then bring them in, and summon the ARES members as well" Aron commanded, settling himself down as he awaited the execution of his orders. [I don''t recommend it, sir,] Nova replied, respectfully advising against the idea. She added, [The extreme heat would undoubtedly be fatal for them.] emphasizing the grave danger posed by the intense heat. "Ah, I completely forgot about that. Let them rest," Aron admitted with a chuckle, realizing his oversight. Within a few minutes, the server racks began arriving one by one in the underground chamber. Without wasting any time, they autonomously moved to their designated locations. The first server rack made its way to the farthest corner of the room, swiftly followed by the second and the third, and subsequently, the remaining racks fell into formation. Each server rack finding its rightful place, aligning themselves in an orderly manner as per their given instructions. The mesmerizing and meticulously choreographed display carried on for an hour, as row after row of servers arrived in a continuous stream. The room gradually filled with the one hundred thousand server racks, their presence creating a silent anticipation. Now forced to stand at the entrance, Aron observed the chamber now filled with server racks, a smile of deep satisfaction gracing his face. In this moment, he reflected upon the arduous journey that had brought him to this pivotal stage, where his vision of attaining boundless computing power was on the verge of becoming a reality. Chapter 170 Lighting It UP ? "Light it up," Aron exclaimed in a palpable tone filled with anticipation and excitement as he watched the rows and rows of the servers in front of him. [Yes, sir] Nova responded and right after that, the fusion reactor responded to her command as it increased its energy production output that was being collected by the magnetohydrodynamic generator and was promptly sent to the transformer which without wasting a single second was immediately converting the electricity into mana, sending it to the pipe which had started the race of pouring mana down the pipe. The tunnel screamed with energy as more and more mana continued pouring into it, simultaneously, the transformer screamed, converting all of the energy into mana which due to its high energy density, allowing it to carry a hundred more energy units for the same amount when compared to most of the dense energy on earth. After the first bits of mana arrived at the underground chamber, they immediately rushed out of the pipe and started dispersing into the maze-like structures that lay beneath the futuristic-looking metallic wall which covered the entire underground chamber. And as more mana continued to arrive, the already present mana in the mazes was forced to move forward, slowly filling the maze opening next to it. This continued for five more minutes, after which, if someone could see the behinds of the walls, it would seem to them as if the surrounding of the entire room was being blanketed by the mana, filling every nook and cranny of maze in the chamber all the way to the mazes that were present at the top of the chamber and was being held in the place by the constant pressure that was caused as the result of the mana being continuously produced and sent to the chamber the very instant an opening appeared. ? ? ?, ? ? ? ? ? The moment the whole chamber was filled with mana, Nova activated the rune on the rooftop. Indicating that it had begun working, the rune started radiating a gentle white light like any rune that had intent on it was activated. As the rune gained full power, the temperature in the room immediately started dropping drastically, causing the heat in the room to recede while being replaced by cold air. Shortly after that, the air that had been coming from the room transformed from its usually hot air into that of a cooling breeze, prompting Aron to immediately cease supplying any more mana into the cooling rune in his body, which had been continuously busy cooling his blood throughout his time underground. Now its activation was no longer needed. Through his glasses, Aron observed the temperature indicator in the room had started rapidly dropping and continuing to do so until it settled at fifteen degrees, neither increasing nor decreasing from that number no matter what happened further. After another fifteen minutes of maintaining the temperature at a constant fifteen degrees, Nova then activated the second rune on the ground. This rune also wasted no time in coming to life, as if it was a beast that had been finally released from its cage. With the second rune covering the entire room, the whole space was now colored into a white color for those who were capable of perceiving mana. And once the rune on the ground had completely come to life, slowly the server rack-like machine started to hum synchronously as they emitted a dim blue light, indicating that they were now coming to life as well.I think you should take a look at The server racks were being powered by the electricity, which was produced from the rune present on the ground and was converting the mana back to the electricity. This electricity was then immediately transferred to the server rack machines through the superconducting and locked wheels, which had brought the server racks into the chamber. The electrical energy was then swiftly directed towards the batteries that were being used to power the motor, which had initially brought them here and at the moment had changed their purpose and had started working as a power supply and electricity regulator for the server racks. With the server racks now receiving full power, the synchronous hum which in itself would have usually been a normal sound became deafening due to the sheer number of server racks in the room C being not just a few but a total of one hundred thousand at the same time due to all of them being activated at once, amplifying the sound to such a degree. And if it weren''t for Aron''s magically enhanced body, the sound was enough to have caused his ears to burst. However, the sound gradually started subsiding until it completely disappeared, leaving behind a room that was now bathed in blue and was an indication that the server was now working at its full potential. Meaning that the Quantum server was finally online. Every server rack was filled to the brim with quantum computers and since the server racks didn''t need to come with cooling systems and the rest of the components, other than quantum computers there was nothing other than the quantum chips within them. Within each server rack resided over a billion qubits, which in itself meant that every single rack was around two hundred thousand times more powerful than that of Nova''s previous quantum computer that was at Aron''s home. And with a hundred thousand server racks present in the underground room, the whole server boasted a power of twenty billion times more powerful than her previous quantum computer setup. [Sir, the quantum server is online.] Nova reported shortly, as the room returned back to its eerie silence despite the machines being powered. [Should I initiate the transfer sequence for myself and the universal simulation?] She asked, the excitement clearly evident in her tone. "How long is it going to take?" Aron inquired, remembering that the previous transfer had taken Nova several weeks to completely move herself from the GAIA technology server to the quantum computer. [Although I can complete the transfer in a second, it''s possible that it might result in me short-circuiting the grid where I''m residing in America. However, if I do it while considering those grids in mind, I can do it in fifteen seconds, and while it would stress the grid but it will be able to handle the stress without causing damage] Nova explained. "Do it, but be careful not to strain the grid too much, as that might attract unwanted attention," Aron instructed, to which Nova obliged and informed Aron that it was going to take a minute to completely transfer herself and everything from the quantum computer, after which she waited for his approval before starting the process. [The system will be going offline for a period of ten minutes as the server is undergoing an update process, we apologize for any inconvenience.!!!] Chapter 171 The Universal Simulation Unleashed. ? [The system will be going offline for a period of ten minutes as the server is undergoing an update process, we apologize for any inconvenience.!!!] After delivering the announcement to everyone wearing the glasses, Nova immediately logged out any users who were in VR and blocking their access to the servers, forcing all of the glasses to automatically switch to offline mode while using the quantum chips within them to assist in helping their user in whatever activities they were doing as long as it wasn''t about logging into the VR. Following that, Nova officially began the process of data transfer. However, she didn''t immediately start the transfer as that process was impossible to do before she had established a connection between the quantum computer and the quantum server. Immediately, Nova initiated the quantum entanglement process which didn''t take long or cause any problem for her due to the control she had over both the server and the quantum computer. Once the connection was completely established, Nova immediately commenced the data transfer process, transferring enormous amounts of data every second, the amount of data transferred from the computer to the server was enough to rival the yearly data transfer of the internet. ? ? ? ? ? ? ?, ? ? ? ? ? ? ?. A minute after the data transfer process had started, it came to a completion and was then immediately followed by Nova switching the computer she was using as a communication platform to communicate with Aron since all of her data was now stored there. As for the quantum computer at Aron''s home, it had entered hibernation mode. From this moment onwards it would be acting as nothing other than a data transferring node. Now its purpose was to receive the data that had previously been sent to the GAIA technology server while the quantum computer was being primarily used for keeping the universal simulation active. The moment the new server received all the information, it immediately took over and resumed doing the functions of the previous quantum computer, but this time at a much faster pace, which was a benefit obtained from the increased computing power. Although all the previous processes had resumed, Nova chose to stop herself from resuming one particular process since she wanted Aron to be present with her when this process took place. Hence she said, [Sir would you like to watch the expansion of the universal simulation?] "Sure," Aron agreed and took a seat, after which Nova immediately logged Aron into the VR system. When Aron opened his eyes, he didn''t find himself standing in his usual place, rather, he was standing in space alongside Nova. Their size was so massive that even the earth seemed no larger than a tennis ball in comparison to them. With Aron now present along with her, Nova allowed the universal simulation access to over seventy-five percent of the quantum server. In response, the simulation immediately began to expand with Aron and Nova being the sole witnesses of this unfolding event. As the Universal Program was granted access to this immense upgrade in computing power, the simulation, which was once confined and encompassed only a small fraction of Earth, started expanding.I think you should take a look at It swiftly outgrew its previous constraints, the expansion beginning within Earth itself. And with meticulous precision, the program was able to simulate every inch of the planet''s surface, breathing life into its digital replica. Ranging from the majestic mountains to meandering rivers, from the bustling yet towering waterfalls to even the remote wilderness, every single detail was intricately recreated. The virtual Earth pulsed with vibrant energy, a flawless mirror image of its real counterpart. Yet, the program''s ambition could not be quenched at simulating Earth alone. Bolstered by the colossal computing power, it ventured further and started expanding into simulating the vastness of space, extending its reach to encompass every celestial body within the Solar System. The planets, once non-existent, now materialized with astonishing precision in their details. The red deserts of Mars, the gas giants adorned with swirling bands of color, the icy moons with their fractured surfaces and the billions of rocks in the asteroid beltsC all were brought to life within this simulation. However, the expansion didn''t seem to be content with the boundaries of the Solar System either. With each passing moment, the simulation''s reach stretched further, transcending the limits of humans'' very imagination. The simulation broke free from the confines of the protective membrane that safeguarded the Solar System from the ravages of this cosmic onslaught which were being sustained by the sun, venturing into simulating the uncharted void beyond, emulating distant corners of the universe. The expansion continued unabated, the program still thirsting to simulate more. It expanded further into the cosmic expanse, simulating remote stars and their accompanying planetary systems. The simulation breathed life into these celestial realms, meticulously recreating a vast tapestry of these celestial wonders C supernovae, binary star systems, and exotic exoplanets nestled within their habitable zones. The simulation pushed the boundaries of the known universes which remained just as theory, as the program employed every ounce of available computational power available to sustain the unfolding expansion of the cosmos. Aron and Nova watched in awe and disbelief as the continuous expansion of the universal expansion remained ceaseless while they kept watching, everything was thanks to Nova continuing to expand their proportions to keep up with the increasing size of the simulation. They witnessed as the simulation size continued expanding, increasing the number of things simulated not halting until they saw the famously known detail C the spiralling illustrious image of a galaxy known as the Milky Way, revealed itself before them, followed by the immediate halt of the simulation program finally stopping the expansion after it had simulated the last part of our galaxy, the galaxy encompassing shield that was responsible for protecting our galaxy from the harsh conditions of the universe. "Wow," Aron exclaimed, his hands remained on his face all this long since he had been witnessing something that would evoke the physicists to die just from the excitement of this awe-inspiring display that unfolded before their naked eyes. Chapter 172 Let There Be Life ? In the underground basement, Aron''s amazement surged even further as he envisioned the vast amount of knowledge and the universe''s secrets that he had uncovered, all thanks to the galaxy rotating before his eyes. Meanwhile, Nova inquired to the still enthusiastic-looking Aron, [Should I further increase the time acceleration, or do we stick to the usual five to one we had thought of before?] "How much can you increase it?" Aron asked. Nova replied, [We can increase it up to fifty-five times, but that''s only possible when no one has logged in to the system. And currently, despite having our atomic printer, Earth''s material advancements are still lagging behind in this aspect. The necessary materials required to ensure the safety of virtual reality logins, where time moves 35 times faster than the real world, don''t exist yet, and to obtain them, we''ll need to venture out into the unknown." "So how much time acceleration is safe enough for the users to log in without facing any harm with the ability of the current devices?" Aron inquired as he was about to conclude his next course of action. [Maximum of ten times, however, if the logout time is to be extended to five more minutes, I can make the time acceleration go up to fifteen times.] Nova answered. "Alright, accelerate the time to the maximum capacity we are capable of right now and at the same time open a new instance of the universal simulation. However, stop right after we are done with simulating the earth, we will use that for the people who will log into the universal simulation," Aron ordered after taking a short moment to consider everything. ? , ? ? ? ? ? ?. [Done] Nova reported back shortly since she had immediately raised the time acceleration of the prime universal simulation to thirty-five times faster than the real world, while simultaneously opening a new instance and simulating the earth, expanding the simulation until it simulated the moon, before halting there. "Use the brain data of the scientists we have as an example and populate them in all those habitable planets in the galaxy. However, make sure that their bodies are exactly the same as would be if they had originated from here. Also, give them the knowledge of how things work, but don''t give them answers to everything. Let them start most of the things by themselves from scratch, I want to see how they develop, since that might give us an insight if there were aliens on any of those planets based on their thinking process and technological advancement," Aron said, pointing out what he had thought in order to use the universal simulation to the best of its ability after witnessing one of its advancements. [Although it won''t provide us with a one-to-one comparison, it''s better to have at least some base information as to when we encounter them] Nova said as she followed the orders, birthing trillions and trillions of lives in the universal simulation, bringing all of them to life inside all the 29 billion habitable planets situated inside the universal simulation. While the process was going on, Nova asked, [Should I make them capable of reproducing?] "Yes, make it accessible to them so that we can witness how different cultures emerges due to the increase in their number" Aron nodded in excitement, realizing the potential. His order was followed by another question from Nova, [How about death?] "Of course, with death always chasing behind, they will be forced to make more innovations, or that''s what I think of it. Maybe they might even try to overcome it by inventing new technologies," Aron said while explaining the reason behind his thought. [What about the ones in the lab city?] Nova asked after another moment. "The ones in the lab city, leave them to be immortal, but allow them to reproduce since I want to see what will be the result if the children are raised in an environment filled completely with geniuses from different fields," Aron said as he started imagining some super kids that would be roaming the city, excited with the thought, he couldn''t help but ask, "How long is it going to take?"I think you should take a look at [Since I need to individually make their bodies capable of adapting to their respective planets, to finish the populating process of all of the 29,235,673,456 habitable planets, it will take me about three hours.] Nova replied. "Sure, take your time," Aron said, logging out to do one last thing before he left the basement. Upon logging out, Aron immediately put his hand on the door, the only opening to enter the server room. He then cast a shield Rune, that was soon etched onto the open metallic-looking doors. After five minutes of Aron''s focus, the Rune turned white before he closed the heavy doors. Shortly after this, Nova immediately reacted by powering the shield rune that was etched on the doors, making it to be immediately covered by a blue hue, effectively blocking access to anyone without permission from trying to enter the server room. Following that, he immediately boarded the golf cart which, just like the first time, drove itself out of the underground, transporting him to the surface. ..... [The server is back online, sorry for the inconvenience we caused!] Sarah received the notification while she was still in the middle of a meeting with a group of lawyers. Being the only one who can see and hear the notification, she simply smiled and ignored it, continuing the meeting as she asked, "So, the leftover process should be completed by next month, right?" "Yes, ma''am. Although during the first phase, we were faced with a high level of repelling attempts, it disappeared after some time and the rest of the phase only required some time to be completed," one of the lawyers nodded in agreement. "Even if this is good, I suggest that we don''t let our guard down as they might be just letting it fester before making a comeback with an even more powerful attempt than previous," suggested another lawyer, immediately after the first one answered Sarah''s question. "That''s true, and we should keep that in mind. I don''t want any trouble or obstacles to appear in the process anymore," Sarah agreed. "Yes ma''am, but also..." This back-and-forth conversation between the lawyers and Sarah as they discussed the remaining steps that were required during the process of changing the company''s registered country. Chapter 173 The Reaction To The Clouds ? "Any chances that it is man-made?" asked James Comey, the FBI Director, directing his question to the CIA Director, John Brennan, during a meeting with the President, the Vice President and a few other people in the Oval Office. "Based on the analysis of our intelligence, the likelihood is very high," Answered the CIA Director. "Based on what?" Biden chimed in, asking for clarification with such a conclusion. "Long before the clouds continued to form and started appearing, there was a huge transportation operation taking place on the island. We could barely count as over a hundred thousand machine parts were being transported onto the island," he explained. "So, are you saying that those machines are the ones responsible for this phenomenon? Are they perhaps testing some weather control weapons or something?" Obama, who had been listening throughout the meeting this whole time, asked. "We can say with a high probability that they are not some weather control machines," answered John while shaking his head. "How so?" Obama frowned. "We sent the satellite images taken by our intelligence collection satellites to DARPA for analysis and they informed us that for such a huge phenomenon to occur, it would require a machine that is about ten times larger than what the part in the picture. Furthermore, it also had to consistently produce new clouds, given the range of the phenomenon." John said as he continued to explain further. "Also they stated that if there really is such a machine that is capable to do such a feat, the energy requirement of such a device will be nearly impossible to sustain within a country like Eden, further assuring us of their analysis." "So, did they come up with any reasonable explanation for this strange phenomenon?" the Secretary of Defense asked with a frown. "Yes, although they suggested that although there are few more explanations, this is the one of the reasons for having the highest likelihood behind the phenomenon," John said as he handed the POTUS folder to the rest of the attendees for letting them to read, while continued explaining to them as to what might be the cause behind the gray clouds in Eden. "So, you''re telling me that all of the clouds that were being produced for more than a month were a result of some mining that was taking place. If so, why didn''t such a phenomenon occur anywhere else in the world?" Obama asked after reading the information in the document. "As the explanation on the next page states, it is the result of the combination of a perfect location, with the perfect conditions being met, along with the perfect catalyst," John explained, having difficulty believing himself for what the scientists have spoken. "How about we send the dragon lady (U-2 spy plane) to find answers to all of our questions?" Biden suggested.I think you should take a look at "Although we can do so if the analysis of the cloud being collected is caused by the mining, it is going to be impossible to know what is going on underneath as the clouds are acting as cover for what is really happening. If we make it fly below the clouds, we will be visible to the naked eye and it might risk causing a backlash from the world, as Russia and China might interpret this as us threatening the country to force them into choosing our side," answered John. "That''s also true," the secretary of defense agreed, as his gut was telling him that something suspicious was going on under this veil. "Keep looking for more solutions," Obama said, receiving a nod from all of the attendees present in the Oval Office. "You should remain," Obama said, pointing at the FBI Director. The others understood that the meeting was over, so they immediately left the office, leaving behind only Obama, Biden and the FBI Director, James Comey. "Sir," James said after they were the only ones left in the room. "How is the decryption of the data which we keep collecting on that man''s house?" asked Obama with a serious face. "We are still working in collaboration with the NSA, using their supercomputer in UTAH, however, by their estimates, the closest time we can decrypt them will take us a few centuries, Sir," James explained, lowering his head, feeling embarrassed with what he was saying. "So, you are saying that the data coming from that house is encrypted heavily enough that even the current world-leading supercomputer would need centuries to decrypt? What the heck lies in that house?" Obama frowned, not at all satisfied with what he was hearing from the Director of the FBI. James then explained, "We suspect it to be an experimental computer which he had made during his one-month visit to a university lab, but we can say this for certain that yesterday, we received information about a massive spike in energy consumption from his house for a period of a minute before it returned back to normal. We are planning to use this incident as an excuse to get access to the house by sending our people as the grid officers to investigate the cause of this incident." "Good, because whatever it may be, I need answers. He is in the process of moving his company from the clutches of our reach and then there is also someone powerful looking out for him, rendering all my efforts to try to block his attempt futile," Obama said with an ashen face as he continued. "So, I need something from this investigation as quickly as possible so that I can use it as a means to infinitely delay the process," Obama said, his tone indicating that he was fed up with the power of a few families blocking his attempts from stopping a golden goose who was trying to escape his country''s clutches. Dropping a heavy weight on the shoulder of the FBI Director as his last attempt would be a deciding factor as to whether Obama can have a chance at stopping GAIA technology from leaving or if he would be made to watch the goose fly away without being capable of doing anything. Chapter 174 A Visionary Approach To Construction ? While the President had finished his meeting with his subordinates, somewhere else. "We have already hired around a hundred thousand people and from our cooperation with the government, we have already been able to buy more than 50 percent of the land required for our projects," Felix reported to Aron, meeting inside the second universal simulation that solely stimulated Earth. "How much of the railway network land have we already purchased?" Aron inquired further. "Since most of the land is passing through the wilderness most of the time, we were able to acquire about 89 percent of the railway network land, as for the remaining portion of the land, since we have to negotiate with different land owners, however, the negotiations are also in the last steps and this matter should be resolved within this month," Felix answered, as he presented the information about railway land acquisition. "That''s good news. We can begin the construction immediately," Aron said, a smile gracing his face. "If we start the construction by this month when will be the closest estimate for the railway to be completed?" he asked after a moment of thought. Nova, who had been standing behind Aron, replied, [It will take about 15 months if we divide the whole railway project into thousands of small parts and assign multiple builders for the construction of those portions. Later on, when these constructed parts are combined, we can send them to initiate the construction in another region. And if they work in three shifts of eight hours, the work will continue without any break. However, for the project to achieve that goal of completion, you would need about three times the current amount of workforce which you have already hired] she added by the end. "We can increase the workforce once the project has started, so based on your estimates, it should take about 17 months for construction of the entire rail network to finally end," Felix chimed in. "Can''t it be finished earlier than that?" Aron asked, concerned that he might not be given enough time by the world before other interferences would emerge, trying to interfere with his growth. [The limitation is manpower, sir, although we will be able to increase the number of people in the project, it won''t be cost-effective. However, we can simply focus on a part of the railway that is of the most importance and start the construction by solely focusing on its completion in a matter of a few months. After that, we can just repurpose the workers to expand the rail network, finishing it in a year or two.] Nova suggested, offering another approach. "That makes more sense. We indeed could start by focusing on the railway network from the airport and the ports to the island. And once that is done, we can then immediately start expanding the network within the city and other cities, finally linking the rest of the country with the rail network. This will act as an artery, keeping the country connected and at the same time, provide good paying jobs to its citizens for a period of a year and a half," Felix agreed after hearing Nova''s suggestion. "How long will the construction of the ports and airports take?" Aron asked when the topic was brought up in the conversation.I think you should take a look at "For the airport, we can make it operational in a matter of six months, but the whole project''s completion is to be expected to take two years," Felix answered about the airport and continued to answer about the expected completion time for the ports. "As for the ports, it will take about 9 months to make them operational and about two years for their complete compilation." Upon hearing their response, they took a moment to think about ways to expedite the process even faster. "How about we do it this way? We create large, moving atomic printers and just label them as the machines we made to ease construction," Aron suggested his idea, wanting to understand how they thought about it. "Isn''t that the same as revealing our atomic printers to the world?" Felix asked after hearing his friend''s suggestion. "No we are not going to make it print and build everything, all it will be doing is act as an assistant to the construction project. For instance, it can be used to produce and fabricate the pieces while the workers will be responsible solely for the purpose of construction. This will make sure that the workers only focus on the construction and won''t have to worry about the production of the material for the construction." Aron explained as he further continued. "We can also create another one which looks similar to the caterpillar construction vehicle that will be responsible for constructing the Runway. As for the question about who will be controlling it, all we have to do is send ARES members who will be given the responsibility of building railways and ensure that the other workers can focus on their tasks without poking their noses in it," Aron said, diving deeper into his reasoning. "As for the ports, we can send something similar to the fabricator which we will be sending in order to aid the airport construction, but we''ll also send another one that will be responsible for the complete underwater construction, allowing for the atomic printer there to work to its full potential without having a need to be worried about anyone being able to see what it was doing and start asking suspicious questions" Aron continued, getting even more excited as he spoke. "For the rails, we can just build one that looks like an existing railway constructing car which exists in the world and all we need to do is have the people construct a two-hundred-meter long railway section, upon which we will then immediately put the machine and send the workers a few hundred kilometers away for them to construct another patch of two-hundred-meters railway again. This way, we can finally have about hundred of these machines working on different sections of the railways'' network, connecting the rails while they build the parts of rails before they finally meet their fellows and connect them" Aron finally paused, taking a breather before turning to Nova and asking her with an expectant look in his eyes, "Is it feasible while ensuring that no one, even in the slightest, suspects that we have such unimaginable capabilities?" Chapter 175 Blueprint of Progress Chapter 175 Blueprint of Progress Meanwhile, Nova, who had already simulated the situation millions of times while Aron was suggesting the idea, replied a second after she was asked, saying, {It is feasible.} She paused shortly before continuing, { For the ones that will be sent at the airport and ports, as long as we make the machines look like something that can be found elsewhere in the world, we can trick them into thinking of them as just mobile fabrication machines that aid in construction.} {As for the ones responsible for the railway construction we can do that too, but we will need to design at least three different-looking machines to avoid raising suspicion. One that will be responsible for cleaning and strengthening the ground the rail will be passing by. The second will be responsible for laying the foundation on the strengthened ground, while the last one will be responsible for laying the rails on the laid foundation. If we proceed to do it this way, we will be able to avoid any suspicion about having a printing technology and would only make people believe that we''ve had a breakthrough in the construction technologies, though groundbreaking, it will still be digestible enough for people to convince themselves with.} {We will also need to program them in a way such that they would operate similarly, making their assumption appear true, such as reducing the speed of material production and a few other adjustments.} Nova took a pause before continuing, {As for the one that will be responsible for underground construction, there''s no need to worry about any of the above problems since we can simply make the water murkier and impossible for the people to see the underground construction. We can leave it with its full range of capabilities.} When Aron heard Nova''s agreement to his plan after she had done a few alterations to it, he grinned from ear to ear, satisfied and excited. With those machines alone, the discovered it. "Then we can just utilize similar machines for the rest of our projects, right?" Felix time required for the complete completion of the project would be cut from two and a half years (which was already exceedingly fast enough) to a matter of a few months, which would be nothing more than making a historical milestone. Felix, on the other hand, remained surprised by what he heard from both Aron, who gave such a crazy idea, and Nova who made this crazy idea become applicable to their situation without risking the revelation of the technology to the world. "That''s true, with the machines now involved in the projects, it means that we can start the remaining of the projects at the same time without having to delay them due to a shortage of workers," Felix said after taking a moment to collect his thoughts, not at all expressing what he was feeling since he had prepared himself beforehand knowing well that he will always be surprised by Aron and his assistant and thus wasn''t disappointed at all when Aron solved one of his problems moments after he discovered it. "Then we can just utilize similar machines for the rest of our projects, right?" Felix asked. "Not all at the same time, as that would raise a large number of questions on how we are even producing those machines in such a short period. There will be a need for a delay in their arrival at different projects," Aron answered, showing that he didn''t need Nova''s help to think that far. They continued their conversation, discussing how to use the machines to expedite the other projects that would be starting simultaneously with the airport, railways and ports. One of these projects being the official headquarters of Aron''s companies. After they finished discussing and approving the modified plans, while Felix was waiting for the log-out time, he asked Aron, "But what happened to the city? Why has there been no one in it since the announcement of the upgrade?" "Due to the increase in computing power, the simulation grew to the size of a galaxy and to receive the most benefits from it, I had to accelerate the time there as much as possible. But this also became dangerous for people to log in and out of it with their current devices. So, I ended up starting another instance of the simulation that solely simulated the Earth and increased the time dilation to the maximum capacity that the devices can handle. As you are experiencing now, it requires you to wait for about five minutes to log out," Aron explained. This time, Aron''s reply surprised him even though Felix was prepared, even in his slightest imagination, he would never have imagined that the update would result in such a massive evolution. What surprised him, even more, was that this entire process had occurred within just a few minutes, as the server went offline for exactly about the amount of time before it came back online. This meant that the simulation had gone from being the size of a small country to the size of a galaxy in a matter of seconds. As he tried to fathom what type of computing power was required to accomplish such a monumental expansion, he realized that his brain was failing to comprehend it, even with his wildest imagination. It took him a minute or two to slightly calm down before he decided to ask a question that came to his mind. "Now that you mention it, I remember you saying that you are going to give us assistants after you have upgraded the server. Was this upgrade the one you were referring to during that statement?" Felix asked, knowing that having an assistant like Aron''s would significantly ease his job. "Yes, I''m in the process of creating them. In a few days at most, I will send them to you," Aron answered with a smile, hiding his slight embarrassment. Although he hadn''t forgotten it and had only postponed it a little. But Felix''s question reminded him that it would only take him a few minutes to finish creating them. So, he promised himself to start with the making of these assistants the moment Felix logged out. "Really?!" Felix asked, the excitement on his face was too hard to not be noticed for even the most non-social person to understand its meaning. "Yes," Aron confirmed, but before Felix could even reply, he was booted out of the system as the waiting time for his logout was over. "Now, Nova, let''s get to work and send the assistants to them as fast as possible. It seems like they really need it," Aron instructed. {Yes sir} Nova replied as she immediately materialized different profiles of the people who had the glasses and whom they were going to be making assistants for. This meant Sarah, Felix, John and a few high-level ARES members had their profiles materialized in front of Aron. "Create an assistant for each one of them that will match with their personality while also focusing on making sure that the assistants are the most helpful to them in their specific fields," Aron started to give instructions on what the assistants should be like. {How much computing power should I allocate to each of them?} Nova asked. Taking a moment to consider, Aron answered, saying "They should be small enough for them to be able to operate independently on the glasses of the people they will be assisting, while leaving the backups on the servers, just in case" {Done} Nova responded the moment Aron finished his answer, causing Aron who was the most likely to not be surprised by her speed to be astonished for a moment before he calmed down and said "Send them" Nova wasted no time, sending the assistants to their designated users. {Done}, after a moment, she confirmed. Chapter 176 Meeting with John Chapter 176 Meeting with John "How are the tensions with Esparia going on?" Aron asked John in the VR after he had called for him, to which he immediately came without wasting any time at all. John reported, "They have increased soldiers on the border and have also been trying to cause some troubles for us. As a result, we reciprocated their actions and sent additional reinforcements to the border. Additionally, we''ve deployed a few boats to patrol the waters we share borders with them." "Any chances that it goes out of control?" Aron asked. "Chances are not zero, but as long as we keep discipline on our side, the uncertainty of starting a shootout will remain on them," John reported confidently.. "What are our chances if a shootout occurs?" Aron inquired. John''s response was straightforward, not sugarcoating anything, "Both on the ground and in the water, we have almost no chance of winning." "Mh" Aron hummed in thought before asking, "I can understand that the outdated equipment for the navy branch may be the reason for the possibility of losing on the water, but what is the reason for us losing on the ground if the weapons are still in good condition? John explained, "There is no discipline among the soldiers sent there at all, and as you had ordered, we implemented a way to force them to restrain themselves from causing troubles. However, it''s only a short-term solution, and it won''t be effective in the long run. Cracks in our control will start to appear soon." John then asked, "Is your plan to instill discipline in the soldiers going to take longer than the requested period?" "If I remember correctly, there should be about two weeks until the three-month period I asked from you, right?" Aron inquired, trying to determine the remaining time to the promised period. "Two weeks and a few days, sir," John answered promptly. "Good, then choose five thousand of those who are most likely to cause problems and prepare for them to be sent immediately when I tell you to do so," Aron instructed. "Yes, sir," John replied, acknowledging the order. Aron then inquired, "Any chance it is going to interrupt some of the security-keeping tasks?" "At the moment, since we only have tensions with Esparia and no one else, most of our forces are focusing on that. So we can send five thousand of them without facing any problem other than a slight crunch in shifts. Nothing they can''t handle," John reassured, outlining that the current situation allows for such a move without compromising overall security tasks. "If there is no problem with that, then you can send them since they will only be spending two weeks, nothing more, nothing less," Aron said, affirming the decision. He then paused for a moment before adding, "From tomorrow onwards, start sending a group of 50 from the original ARES members as well. They too will need to receive refreshment and new weapons training." "Yes, sir, I will do so. But can I ask a question?" John sought permission to inquire further. Aron nodded, signaling John to proceed with his question. "Are you going to send them to this world to train?" John asked his question. "Yes, but not to a peaceful world, per se," Aron replied, pausing before continuing, "At first, the needed knowledge will be assimilated into their brains. Then they will undergo a one-month training to ensure that the knowledge has been properly absorbed. Following that, they will be sent to war against a technologically advanced foe, similar to them. I want them to gain experience and understand the harsh reality of war. Additionally, I will be using this to identify if there are smart individuals among them who can come up with new strategies. It will also serve as their final test." John raised a concern, "Doesn''t that increase the risk of the technology being leaked to the world?" Aron explained his approach, "If we can upload knowledge, then it means we can also upload fear into their consciousness without them knowing. This will automatically prevent them from talking about the technology." "Understood," John replied, feeling impressed by Aron''s careful planning and the measures taken to safeguard the technology and maintain secrecy. Upon seeing John''s expression, Aron spoke, "Your assistant will be responsible for coming up with those contingencies in all of your plans, so use her help as much as you can." "Yes, sir," John replied promptly. He had already intended to maximize the use of the assistant''s abilities from the beginning, considering she was specifically sent by Aron to aid him. Furthermore, John continued, "Also, sir, I want to inquire about your plans for weapons procurement. While our troops will be well-trained after they are sent to you, if we still possess outdated weapons, winning wars or skirmishes will prove exceedingly difficult." "Follow me, and let me show you the answer to your question," Aron declared. In a blink of an eye, before John could fully comprehend the situation, he found himself already transported into the midst of the skies above a chaotic city, where the thunderous sounds of explosions echoed through the air. When John opened his eyes he couldn''t believe what he was seeing under him. that they were firing at. However, as he raised his head and looked beyond that distance, he finally spotted the target of their relentless assault. The scene was overwhelming, with buildings in flames and smoke billowing all around. The ground shook from the impact of the explosions, and the sound of distant gunfire added to the atmosphere of conflict and chaos. In the midst of the ongoing battlefield, John found himself witnessing unfamiliar and advanced weapons wielded by the soldiers engaged in combat. . As John tried to compose himself from the intense scene he had just witnessed, a sudden explosion erupted amidst the group of soldiers on the ground. The soldiers were engulfed in a fiery blast, and John''s heart sank when he saw the devastation caused by the shell. He quickly turned his attention towards the source of the attack, but to his surprise, there was no visible sign of the assailant. The tranquil blue sea stretched out before him, offering no clues as to the origin of the fired shell. It became evident that the one who attacked possessed long-range weaponry, far beyond the range of his vision from the sky. Upon turning his gaze back to the explosion site, he discovered that the soldiers had fainted and were lying on the ground. Surprisingly, apart from that, it seemed that the explosion had not caused any other harm to them. His assumption was swiftly validated as he witnessed one by one, the soldiers on the ground waking up, retrieving their weapons, and returning fire. With his focus solely on them, he came to the realization that there was no one within a kilometer''s vicinity that they were firing at. However, as he raised his head and looked beyond that distance, he finally spotted the target of their relentless assault. A group of enemy soldiers stood approximately two kilometers away, and to his amazement, the shots fired by the soldiers were hitting the enemy soldiers with remarkable precision each time they pulled the trigger. As he turned his gaze back to the soldiers on the ground, a sudden disturbance caught his attention. Something swiftly passed by them, hitting the ground nearby, and before he could comprehend what it was, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Chapter 177 What Technological Supremacy In Warfare Looks Chapter 177 What Technological Supremacy In Warfare Looks Like The ground under them shook violently as the shockwave rippled through the air. Dust and debris quickly engulfed the area, making it difficult for him to see clearly. In a split second, he reacted instinctively, leaping towards Aron, attempting to shield him from the explosion''s shockwave. But as he did so, it dawned on him that they were inside a virtual reality simulation. And in here, no real harm could befall them unless Aron consciously permitted it. Understanding the truth, he let go of Aron and swiftly returned to his previous location he used to be before the explosion occurred. With a sense of relief and newfound clarity, he resumed his observation of the ongoing battle, knowing that their safety was assured. Raising his head, he focused on the distant horizon to trace the source of the bomb. Two fiery embers glowed at the edge of his vision, confirming his suspicion that the bomb had been dropped from a fighter plane. However, his fleeting sense of calm was shattered as another torrent of bombs descended upon them. Yet, this time, he remained assured that they were safe. Lifting his head, he beheld a colossal fleet of bombers showering explosives upon them, akin to grains of sand falling from the sky. Yet, their impending doom was short-lived, for the shells from the tranquil ocean swiftly annihilated the fleet of bombers. Then once again, the ocean regained its composure, just as it had on its initial encounter. For over thirty minutes, chaos ensued while Aron remained silent, observing the unfolding war around them. John, on the other hand, could only spectate, feeling the intensity of the battle. Finally, without a word, Aron teleported both of them to a warehouse brimming with weapons. "Let''s take a look at the weapons then" he said, making his way to the first rack adorned with a collection of sleek, identical, futuristic-looking guns. Aron explained, "This is Model 1. We''re currently referring to it by that name until we come up with something more befitting of what it can dish out." He picked up two of the guns and handed one to John, who promptly began scrutinizing it closely. As they inspected the guns, John suddenly found himself transported to a shooting range, accompanied by Aron''s continued explanation. "This is what you can call a railgun," Aron clarified, "It utilizes electricity which is stored in the form of mana inside the shell of the bullet instead of the usual gunpowder to accelerate bullets along the rails on the barrel. The railgun''s design enables it to shoot over very long distances, as long as there''s sufficient electrical support for firing at that range." Pausing briefly, Aron swiftly resumed his explanation."As part of its advanced features, it''s equipped with a smart scope containing a computer chip that gathers data from all the gun''s sensors. This chip then processes and relays the information either to the scope itself or to a soldier''s headgear if he is wearing one," Aron explained, handing John a military headgear that seemed to materialize out of thin air. "Put it on," he instructed, in which John wasted no time and put it on. With the military headgear securely in place, John experienced an immediate transformation in his perception of the world.As the headgear activated, a golden wave emanated from it, extending to cover a vast 3-kilometer radius and collecting data from the entire 6-kilometer diameter. Within this expansive range, the headgear collected and processed all available information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, within its 6-kilometer diameter. At the periphery of John''s vision, he could see details about the number of people within the six-kilometer bubble. Currently, there were only two individuals present: himself and Aron, who was marked in green to indicate he was a friendly contact. The headgear also provided real-time information about John''s weapon, displaying that he had fifty bullets remaining in his gun''s magazine. This knowledge would prove invaluable in the heat of battle. Upon turning his gaze towards Aron, a distinctive name appeared above his head, written in elegant golden letters: "ARON MICHAEL(G)." The "G" designation revealed that the headgear''s information identified Aron as the General of ARES. But before he could look around more to get used to the headgear, the headgear issued a warning about the presence of enemy forces entering the 6-kilometer bubble, John''s attention snapped to where the indicated threat was coming from. Even though they were completely obscured by buildings, the headgear''s advanced technology allowed him to see the complete outlines of the approaching enemy group. John focused his attention on a single enemy, and immediately, the headgear sprang into action, displaying an astonishing array of details about the adversary. It showed every piece of equipment the enemy had, from the type of gun he carried to the number of bullets in his magazine. Additionally, the headgear revealed information about the thickness of the enemy''s armor and much more. Realizing the significance of this level of information, John understood the immense advantage it granted him. Knowledge of an enemy''s gear and capabilities was a game-changer in combat. Having access to such details meant that if you are the enemy, you are better off jumping into a volcano, as in doing so there is at least a chance of you surviving from that than surviving from someone who had that much amount of information about you on the battlefield. Aron''s swift and precise action left no room for hesitation. As soon as the enemy took cover behind a wall that provided no other protection except the wall itself, Aron opened fire without a moment''s delay. With the railgun''s extraordinary capabilities, the bullet pierced through the 2.5-kilometer distance, effortlessly penetrating the wall and striking the enemy with deadly accuracy. The enemy, caught off guard and unable to comprehend the speed and accuracy of the attack, fell victim to the fatal shot, succumbing instantly before he could even react to the danger he was facing. Now with an assurance that he could fire at the enemies after he saw Aron firing at them, John quickly raised his gun and aimed at the highlighted enemies. As he raised his gun, he witnessed the headgear''s real-time feedback, displaying a red dot that precisely indicated the bullet''s trajectory if fired at that moment. This feature allowed him to gauge where the shot would land, ensuring a more accurate aim. Upon aiming at the first enemy, the red dot turned yellow, accompanied by a warning that the bullet''s path would be blocked by the obstacles on the way, making the shot futile. John heeded the advice and immediately moved on to the next target, as indicated by the headgear''s green light, signaling an optimal shooting opportunity.Without hesitation, John fired his gun, and in a matter of moments, the targeted enemy collapsed, taken down by the lethal shot. The headgear''s data analysis was proving to be an indispensable ally, guiding John''s decision-making in real-time combat scenarios and allowing him to maximize his efficiency and ammunition use. The silence of the gun''s firing was deceptive, as its low hum remained unnoticed amidst the intensity of the battle. However, the recoil from the powerful railgun was nothing short of astonishing. Even with John''s enhanced abilities due to Aron''s healing bombardment, the force exerted by the weapon''s firing was substantial, slightly pushing him backward with the firing of the shot. Now with John having gotten the gun''s feel, he swiftly shifted his attention to other enemies, firing the weapon with precision every time the headgear indicated a sure hit. The seamless coordination between his actions and the tactical data led to a swift elimination of the remaining foes. In a mere ten seconds, every enemy on the battlefield had been neutralized. Aron skillfully dispatched about half of them, while John efficiently handled the rest. Their combined proficiency, aided by the advanced technology, resulted in a remarkably swift and decisive victory over their adversaries. "how does it feel?" After all the enemies had perished, Aron asked John. "Unreal!!!" John exclaimed, brimming with excitement. "With just this gun and the headgear, I''m confident that a trained infantryman could take on a team of special forces and emerge victorious, as long as he maintains his distance and prevents them from closing in." John''s elation was evident in his every gesture, and his rapid breaths reflected his realization of how these two technologies could enable an ordinary person to eliminate a well-trained group of special forces. "Indeed, this is just the beginning," Aron said with a satisfied smile on his face, before they found themselves back in the warehouse, and since John was still wearing the headgear, he was now presented with detailed information about each weapon within the 6 km diameter of the warehouse. However, given the immense size of the warehouse, the data he was seeing was approximately 5 percent of the weapons present. Chapter 178 Printraction Chapter 178 Printraction printraction [ ; ) New word I came up with combining construction and printing into one] Few minutes before the weapons demonstration was set to begin. Nova had been observing Aron''s meeting with John. The moment John asked if Aron was prepared for what he had planned to do in order to instill respect and patriotism within the former soldiers who were on the verge of causing trouble, Nova immediately got to work while Aron assuringly answered John that he would be ready in time and John should be preparing for the first batch consisting of five thousand members that they will be sending, as requested by Aron. At the Fusion reactor site. Nova immediately checked the stock of new materials that had been continuously sent to the island since day one and haven''t stopped yet. And noticing that the stock seemed sufficient enough for her to begin working with the next phase of the construction on the island, she immediately got to work. She initiated the phase by increasing the energy production of the fusion reactor once again, as the printer came to life and started disintegrating the containers that were about to fill the warehouse to the brim. Hundreds of containers started disappearing at once and in their exchange, massive machines with tracks were being printed. This continued until all the containers within the warehouse were gone, now in their place stood a massive array of similar tracked machines, which wasted no time and immediately left the printer. After they left the printer, about ten among these hundred printed tracked machines headed towards the fusion reactor which at the moment, although was not completely covered underground, still looked shabby and the few machines that arrived there were responsible for solving that. These machines immediately set to work and started printing a building, which upon its completion would be standing on top of the reactor and will be serving as the main control room for the reactor. Here scientists and other personnel responsible for monitoring the reactor will be stationed. Meanwhile, the remaining hundreds of machines were heading to a large patch of forest, dividing themselves into smaller groups and going to different parts of the forest, however, if one looked at them from a bird''s point of view, they would discover that they had aligned together, forming a square, covering a distance of ten kilometers from all sides. Immediately after making this formation, the machines started their work as they started sinking into the ground, continuing to do so until they reached a depth of sixty-four meters, after which they stopped sinking further and then started moving sideways, disintegrating the soil that came in their direction as they moved ahead, followed by the disintegrating of the trees on top of this soil and storing the atoms of these trees and soil in their containers while at the same time straightening and strengthening the ground as they passed while printing the stored solids within the ground, compacting it and making it the strongest it might have ever been. With hundreds of these machines acting in synchronous motion, the digging, straightening and strengthening of the ground went pretty quickly, resulting in the task being completed in a matter of two hours, leaving behind a perfectly measured square hole that was sixty-four meters deep and ten kilometer in length on all it''s four sides, a pretty massive task that would have taken humans months to complete to the desired perfection. However, after doing their task, the machines didn''t leave the hole since they had completed only the first phase of their task and were merely waiting for their next order to continue their work. A few seconds later, they entered an idle mode, then some new vehicles arrived before stopping right where the hole began and then started dropping the atom storage containers one after the other into the hole. The machines in the hole did nothing other than wait for the whole process to be completed before they could continue with their work. After dropping about tens of thousands of atom storage containers, the machines that were dropping them stopped and left the vicinity, before returning back to where they had come from. With their retreat, the machines on the ground sprang back to life as they made their moves. One by one, they started collecting the containers before loading the atoms inside of them into themselves, disintegrating the container carrying the atoms immediately after and repairing any damage caused by them after being dropped from the height of sixty-four meters. Now that all of the atoms in the containers were being loaded into the machines and the containers were disintegrated, the vehicles immediately started phase two of the construction which was the laying of the foundation. With all the machines working in unison, they started printing a meter-thick foundation on top of their previously strengthened ground which took them about half an hour to finish, leaving behind a smooth, solid base at the bottom of the hole which was now completely filled with the printed material. The machines then moved to the next step, printing columns to support the structure that would be printed at the top of these columns later on. Hundreds of thick columns were now being printed on top of the already printed surface, reaching a height of about twenty meters from the base of the hole, which was about halfway to the surface before the machines came to a synchronized halt, allowing the columns to take shape. They then continued printing, but this time it was done sideways, now slowly but surely they were completing the construction of the bottom-most basement floor which now had a ceiling that was at a height of twenty meters, pretty large for such a wide floor. When the floor construction was completed, the machines seamlessly returned back to printing another stretch of columns, once again not taking a pause until they had reached a height of another twenty meters from the surface of the new floor, before immediately moving ahead to print the ceiling for this new floor. They then repeated this same process for the third time, in which similar to before the columns were raised for twenty meters before printing a ceiling which was now exactly rested on the surface, forming a perfectly flat top. With the lowermost foundation being one meter thick reducing the depth of the hole to sixty-three meters and the three ceilings, each being a meter in thickness, this further reduced the depth hole to zero, leaving behind a three-floor basement. However, the machines didn''t stop there. Some of them started printing new columns while others started printing walls for the massive building that was being constructed. Chapter 179 Touring the Warehouse Chapter 179 Touring the Warehouse After completing the basic structure of the underground building, the machines started printing the walls, however, this time they were joined by a new batch of similar machines as they helped in the construction of the building much faster. But, the batch of these new machines wasn''t all there for the construction of the walls. Instead, some of them went to the massive square holes that were left by the previous machines while they were printing the rest of the building, each of these holes was more than twenty meters in length from all sides and had a number of over fifty. These holes were strategically placed in similar positions in all of the printed floors, indicating that they were left there for a purpose and these new machines immediately started to accomplish their purpose as they started printing what appeared like electromagnetic rail beams that were being placed in the four corners of the squares, extending directly from the topmost to the lowermost floor of the building and while these rail beams were being printed they were also fused with the printed floor, making sure they were completely secured, not falling out of its designated position unless the whole building were to fall with it. For those who might have watched the ongoing construction a little bit, they would have immediately realized that these square holes left behind were nothing but elevator shafts and those railgun beams were what will be used to move the elevator, capable of carrying any heavy loads, no matter how much weight they carried, as long as electricity was provided to raise the elevator, removing the need to put a weight limit on them since this building was supposed to be housing many machines in the future which would be quite a problem if it had elevator wasn''t capable of carrying weights exceeding a certain weight limits. Now, with the new machines assisting in the printraction of the new and massive building, the construction of the five more floors at the top was immediately taken care of in a matter of hours, leaving behind a colossal building project that had a total of eight floors, three underground and five floors on the top, was completed in a day, which would have taken humans a year or more for its completion. The building''s size itself was intimidating, but the emptiness on its inside was scarier since the machines had only printed the shell of the building, leaving behind all the interiors and all the necessities to be accomplished by another batch of machines, after that the whole building will have all the necessities and would be complete and operational ready within a week, and this in itself was an unimaginable feat. (Image here) ... Meanwhile, back to Aron and John. John now found himself being bombarded with vast amounts of information as if there was no tomorrow just a few moments before the headgear computer immediately filtered all of them and only displayed the information for the things that John was directly looking at. His eyes laid on the cabinet of weapons he had used before had come from with their stats appearing in front of his face and now that the headgear was allowed access to the server of the warehouse, the information was now even more detailed than what it previously was. [System Overview: Model 01] (Image here) Power Source: Mana in Bullet casings Projectile Type: Kinetic Slugs Muzzle Velocity: 2,000 m/s Maximum Range: 6 Km [Power Levels] Magnetic Coils: Optimal Cooling Systems: Operational [Operational Status] Targeting Systems: Locked On Ammo Count: 50/50 Barrel Temperature: 38C Railgun Alignment: Calibrated [Safety Precautions] Secondary Safeties: Engaged Unauthorized Access: Blocked Emergency Shutdown: Available [Firing Mode] Single Shot: Enabled Rapid Fire: Disabled Burst Fire: Disabled [Maintenance Schedule] Next Checkup: 2 weeks Maintenance Status: Up to Date He was surprised to see all of this enhanced amount of information that the headgear could now access thanks to the new credential that allowed him to access all of the new information.. He then moved his head to the next rack which had handguns that had a make style similar to the previous guns, wasting no time the system responded and displayed its information. [Model Information: Model 02] Power Source: Mana in Bullet casings Projectile Type: Electromagnetic Rounds Muzzle Velocity: 1,500 m/s Maximum Range: 1750 meters [Power Levels] Magnetic Coils: Optimal Fusion Cell: Stable Cooling System: Active [Operational Status] Targeting Systems: Locked On Ammo Count: 25/25 Barrel Temperature: 32C Railgun Alignment: Calibrated [Safety Features] Safety Lock: Enabled Grip Authentication: Activated Emergency Deactivation: Available [Firing Mode] Semi-Automatic: Enabled Burst Mode: Disabled Full Auto Mode: Disabled [Size and Portability] Compact Design: Yes Weight: 500 mg [Maintenance Schedule] Next Checkup: 1 month Maintenance Status: Up to Date And holy shit, the handgun version of the model did not disappoint him at all since it was packing comparatively more firepower than any conventional rifles used by any other country''s military. The standoff distance of this handgun was almost the same distance as any enemy weapon''s maximum firing range. (Standoff distance refers to a weapon''s ability to outrange the enemy''s weapon. ) Aron continued to demonstrate the other weapons available in the warehouse. With John wearing the headgear, the process of introducing him to the various weapons became much faster and more efficient. "As for that," Aron said, pointing at a shelf with different-looking bombs that lacked boosters behind them, "that is what they call the ''That Direction Remover.'' It''s responsible for removing the original direction it''s sent towards, and you''ve already seen it in action, albeit in its weakened version." "Regarding the boosters for it," Aron explained, gesturing towards a rack displaying different sizes of boosters, "they are inserted after the mission is already planned. There are three types of boosters: long-range, medium-range, and short-range. These boosters enhance the capabilities of the ''Direction Remover'' bombs depending on the specific mission requirements." "Is this the bomb dropped by the fighter jet?" John inquired, his eyes scanning the details of the various-looking bombs on the shelf shown to him by the headgear, all bearing the same name but distinguished by different numbers at the end. [Model Overview] Name: That Direction Remover Type 01-05 Purpose: Precision Demolition & Neutralization Version: Type 01, Type 02, Type 03, Type 04, Type 05 [Specifications] Blast Radius: Adjustable (50m - 15000m) Payload Type: High-Mana-Explosive Activation Method: programable Deployment: Aerial, Sea or Ground-Based [Safety Features] Arming Mechanism: Secure Remote Encryption: Active Fail-Safe: Enabled [Customization Options] Blast Yield: Low, Medium, High Delay Timer: Programmable Directional Impact: Omni-directional or Selective [Power] Power Source: MANA Power Level: Stable [Status Check] Type 01: Ready for Deployment Type 02: Ready for Deployment Type 03: Ready for Deployment Type 04: Ready for Deployment Type 05: Ready for Deployment "Yes, that was the weakest version," Aron replied, providing further explanation. "Its setting was to explode at a time when it would cause the most damage to the designated targets. In that instance, it was the soldiers who survived the initial attack that faced the impact of the explosion." Aron answered and explained. "By the way, how did the soldiers manage to survive such a concentrated explosion?" John inquired, his curiosity growing even stronger. Having read the bomb''s description, he knew that surviving such an explosion, even in a bunker, seemed improbable without sustaining serious injuries. Moreover, it would require the bunker to have at least twenty-five meters of concrete or granite between them and the blast to stand a chance of survival." Chapter 180 Making Their Move Chapter 180 Making Their Move "By the way, how did the soldiers manage to survive against such a concentrated explosion?" John asked. "They were using one of our experimental technologies known as the C-Kinetic Shield MK-II," Aron answered as he materialized something that appeared like a thick smartphone and handed it to John who was immediately shown the details of its technology. [Model Information] Name: C-Kinetic Shield MK-II (Testing Version) Size: Compact, Smartphone Thickness Purpose: Prototype Testing & Evaluation Power Source: MANA Charge Status: 85% Backup Power: NONE [Shield Strength] Energy Absorption Rate: 75% (Variable) Regeneration Rate: Testing Coverage Area: Partial Protection [Status Check] Shield Activation: Testing Tactical Mode: Engaged Adaptive Deflection: Testing Overload Protection: Unstable [Features] Kinetic Absorption: Limited Test Data Particle Barrier: Experimental Field Mobility Enhancer: Test Enhancements Reactive Adaptation: Ongoing Evaluation [Maintenance] Health Status: Under Evaluation Self-Diagnostic: In Progress Service Required: Frequent Updates Note: The C-Kinetic Shield MK-II is currently in the testing phase. It is not completely operational and its performance is subject to the ongoing evaluation. Use it with extreme caution, as there is a possibility that it may not provide complete protection in all situations. "It should be ready for real combat use in a few real-world months after a version ready for military use is be completed," Aron finished his explanation while he gave John enough time to read through the description of the device. "When it is officially ready for combat use, it will be a revolutionary tech and might make it almost impossible to lose a fight when someone has this on," John muttered in excitement as he imagined how it would be like when going full haywire on a group of enemies with this type of shield on him which will allow him to fight without any fear of death. "As long as it has enough energy to sustain the fight," Aron added after seeing the expression on John''s face, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "How long can the energy last when the final version is on rollout?" John asked, curious about for how long this shield would be able to protect the soldiers. "As long as it is not shot upon, the energy will only be depleted after a month of the shield being in a constant active state. However, that is for standby, every time the shield is forced to block a projectile, the energy will be depleted and the more powerful the thing that hits the shield is, the more energy will be drawn from the power source. So, it might last, maybe a full day of constant combat," Aron explained. "That still gives enough time for the soldiers to deal heavy damage to the enemies," John remarked upon hearing Aron''s answer. "Yes, but it won''t be carried separately by the soldiers. It will be stored inside the soldier''s kinetic skeleton.," Aron added. "Mh" John nodded his head, understanding that having it come integrated with the kinetic skeleton would ensure that it remained in a place where falling due to some mistake would be almost impossible when compared to if the soldiers were to carry it themselves. "Then what about the artillery that shot down the bombers?" John asked, recalling how the intimidating bombers were shot down by artillery fire instead of missiles. "Those came from an electromagnetic rail gun from an island located a hundred and fifty kilometers away from the battlefield," Aron answered as he showed John the footage of the railguns turning and firing in a sync, having the shells fly the whole distance of more than a hundred kilometers in a matter of three seconds before downing the bomber fleets. John''s eyes almost popped out of their sockets in astonishment after hearing that the distance from the bombers and the time it had taken for the projectiles to reach and hack down the bombers. His mind was envisioning having the country covered with these systems, creating a shell coverage, allowing it to stop anything from entering the country''s airspace without permission. Aron continued to show him the different weapons within the warehouse, almost causing the General to lose his life by a heart attack since he couldn''t get used to the advanced technology that he was being continuously shown, and with each item that passed, the next would have an even higher level of novelty. Having at least one of such advanced weapons was the dream of every military, however, Aron had all of them stored in a massive warehouse where they were waiting for their need to rise. .. At Aron''s house in America. "What can we help you with?'''' Donald, the head of security at Aron''s house, asked the two men wearing vests and hats with a logo he recognized from the local electric utility company as they tried to enter the compound of the house. "We have been sent from the company to investigate the source of the energy usage spike that had occurred a few days ago from this house," answered one of the men as he rummaged through the bag on his back after setting the toolbox in his hand down. "Here are our credentials and the order from the company for the checkup we are supposed to conduct in this house," said the man after finding the necessary documents from his bag. Donald took the documents and read them carefully, not skimping on anything on the documents before taking out his phone and calling the utility company''s customer service. When they answered the call, he asked them if there was a scheduled check-up on the house and provided them with the address so that they could verify it in their systems. After receiving a positive answer from them, Donald allowed the two to enter the fence as he escorted them to the front door of the house where rang the doorbell and waited with them for a response. The doorbell''s ring echoed throughout the house, prompting Rose, Aron''s mother, to get from the sofa and head to the door to see who it was. The door''s surveillance feed displayed Donald and two people whom she didn''t recognize, the two were wearing hats and vests which had a symbol she recognized as belonging to the local electric utility company. Pressing on the microphone button, she asked "Donald, is there a problem?" "No Ma''am. They are from the utility company and were sent to take a look at the cause of the power consumption surge that occurred a few days ago," Donald reported immediately after he was asked. "There was a power surge in the house?" Rose murmured, quite surprised by such an anomaly having occurred in the house without her being unaware of it. "It seems so, Ma''am, that''s why they came to check if there is something wrong with the wiring and to see if it is dangerous to those occupying the house," Donald explained. "Come in," Rose said as she immediately pressed the button to open the door, not wanting to waste any time since she was worried there might still be some potential danger. "Sorry for the disturbance, Ma''am," the two men said after entering the house. "No worries," Rose replied, her eyes turning to the side as Michael, Aron''s father came after noticing his wife raising her voice slightly out of nervousness. "Where is the distribution panel?" the utility worker asked moments after Rose explained the whole ordeal to Michael. "It is in the basement. Donald can take you there," Michael answered, prompting Donald to take further action, understanding the underlying meaning behind Aron''s father''s words. This meant that Donald needed to keep an eye on them as Michael knew that the basement was the place where his son''s impromptu server or something was stored, which resulted in Aron spending most of his time there. "I will lead the way," Donald said, taking off his shoes and wearing slippers, giving the two men slippers to wear too before he guided them down the stairs, heading to the basement. Chapter 181 The Morgans Move Chapter 181 The Morgan''s Move "What is the analysis saying?" Aubrey, Morgan''s Family Head inquired to the slightly trembling presenter who was overly nervous, which was in stark contrast to his confident demeanor during the previous conference where he had given an idea that had earned him praise from Aubrey. "Why are you quiet? Do you want to piss me off," George, the Family Head''s Favorite son asked, confidence evident in his voice and personality since he had been the favorite son after he had been successful in executing the attack on the Rothchilds and inflicting heavy damages on them. "The thing is, the suspected individual seems to be in the process of dumping billions into the country, pumping the economy with large amounts of dollars in the country and increasing the confidence in investors, reducing the chances of the economy collapsing to a lesser degree than what we had previously calculated," he paused to take a breath as his heart was almost trying to jump from his chest from all the nervousness. "To what percent does it fall?" George asked, narrowing his eyes. "It fell from a 96 percent certainty to 34 percent and is still continuously falling. If the trend continues this way, not only will it reduce the bankruptcy chances to zero, the economy itself will start raising and recovering from the damage, which will be quite detrimental to us," explained the man. "That''s not good," one of the board members remarked upon hearing the alarming fall of numbers. "Anyways, can we stop it from continuing to fall?" asked another board member, his face indicating his reluctance to lose this chance, since he had managed to gather a pretty large chunk of money and planned to double it by buying assets at a cheaper price after the country went bankrupt. "Well, we could start by pressuring the American government to prevent the company from being allowed to do the complete transfer process, which will force a large chunk of their funds to remain in America and can''t be used in the process of helping the Eden''s economy. However, that would most likely result in him selling the company and cashing out his money. And even if he doesn''t choose that option, it is very unlikely that he will face a money crunch," explained the presenter. "What do you mean by that?" asked Aubrey even though he had his own suspicions. "From our investigation in finding out who had taken the second most wins, we have come to the conclusion that he is the most likely winner, coming second behind us," answered the presenter. "But how did he manage to avoid being discovered by us for such a long time and how did he even know of our plans?" asked George, his face was expressing curiosity, as he was certain that the plan was kept under a high level of secrecy, through which even the moles of the Rothschild Family couldn''t get a whiff of, allowing them to be inflicted by such heavy damages. "Although we don''t know exactly how he got to know about it, we suspect that he has a program that, by the fifth minute of the crash, managed to deduce that it was a flash crash and the market was bound to return back to normal when the circuit breaker was activated. He chose to use thousands of burner accounts to massively profit from it, before becoming the second beneficiary of our attack." The presenter paused for a moment trying to catch a breath before continuing, "As for how the program knew that, the highest likelihood comes from it being a result of machine learning, similar to how they reported his company''s AI work. If he can create such a sophisticated program to work on such small devices, what are the chances that he has one that uses his company''s data center as its computer for learning and helping him in things like financial speculations? As for how sure we are, we conducted an investigation and found that all of the company''s programs both the BugZapper and the GAIA OS, are using Amazon''s servers for their online services which leaves behind the two hundred million data centers with no other use for the company other than what we speculated." When the Morgan''s Family Head heard the reasoning, he couldn''t help but be convinced. He raised his head, which had been resting on his hand''s support under his chin and said, "So what are the other remaining suggestions that can bring back the chances of the country''s collapsing economy once again to the ninety percent, other than blocking his company''s moving there, as it seems that there is powerful backer helping him with that?" he asked. "Although we can''t block his cash which is entering the country, we can employ a measure that will make others who had brought their money to the country and were planning on investing it to earn massive profits have no choice but withdraw their investments and escape with their cash," the presenter said. This time, his nervousness and worry had completely disappeared and his once lost confidence was regained when he found out that Aubrey and his son didn''t choose to punish him for the miscalculations on his previous plan that almost resulted in them losing a fat meat which was almost ready for their eating. "And what is that plan?" asked George in a tone which indicated that he was now getting annoyed at being put in suspense, which immediately knocked the regained confidence of the presenter off the window, making him realize that he had messed up. Immediately reflecting on himself, he coughed and said, "Using Esparia as the chess piece for our plan to scare the investors." "Ooh. I see where you are going with the idea," George said and added, "Are you planning on making them attack Eden through the borders where both sides have been amassing forces for the past two months?" he asked, speculating what the plans were about. "Yes, that is the very plan. And since there were already tensions between them due to Esparia blocking access to their ports and confiscating the imports for Eden, it won''t be something that no one expected and they won''t be suspecting someone else to be behind this either," added the presenter. "Good good. This will reduce their already lower credit rating in the world and make many people hesitant on lending them money since there is no chance of them being able to pay back. It will also make the hyenas leave the country since they aren''t sure of the new forces that have replaced the weak military but still absorbed the former soldiers'' ability to win the fight which risks the country falling and them losing their investment. A genius, really genius move," the George said, feeling satisfied with the plan they had come up with. Aubrey, thinking a little further, asked, "Is this the best plan where we will be benefiting no matter the outcome?" "Yes sir. If Esparia wins the war and ends up taking over Eden, since we are the ones financing them, we will be the first to choose the spoils of war. And if they end up negotiating a deal, we will delay it as far as possible until all of the money in the country flees while also devaluing the currency for the most benefits," answered the presenter, showing that they really had thought this for much longer. "Good, then you are heading to Esparia tomorrow and have a meeting with their President. Make sure you return with an agreement from them. Money shouldn''t be a problem. Tell him we can arrange clean money for him in an offshore account where he can use it at any moment he wants without having to worry about any of it implicating him negatively," said Aubrey, his tone carrying a hint of satisfaction with the way they had come up which will allow them to, for sure, receive the largest share of the country when everything came to a conclusion. Chapter 182 Nova playing Sim City Chapter 182 Nova playing Sim City A real-world day has passed since Aron had started showing John the weapons in the warehouse, meaning a total of fifteen days have passed in the universal simulation already. During this period, Aron had demonstrated to John everything that was in the warehouse and even the experimental ones that were still under the process of research. This was then followed by him taking the soldiers to where they would be receiving their training after Aron called for them. Meanwhile, Nova, who had just finished decorating and furnishing the building, shifted her focus to the decoration of the surroundings of the building. She started doing so by building a large parking lot, immediately followed by building a massive park surrounding the building, ensuring that the atmosphere surrounding the building doesn''t appear to be mismatched, destroying its beauty. She also followed by starting to build infrastructure leading to the building since one of the pipeline digging and one pipeline printing machine had also been working diligently as they were building a massive pipeline extending for kilometers, reaching to the ocean and connecting the building to the abundant water source. Before the water was sent through the pipelines, the ocean water passed through a printer of sorts which wasted no time in removing all the salts and other impurities present in the water and then the filtered and pure water was sent down the pipeline, to be used by the facilities for their needs. At the same time, the machine was also collecting and storing the deuterium atoms, which were retrieved and transported to the reactor after the atomic storage tank became full to be used as fuel for the fusion reactor. Tritium, on the other hand, was continuously being produced within the reactor through the interaction of neutrons with lithium, so it could be said that the future energy needs of the facility were being met by using the ocean. Not stopping there with just the infrastructure projects, Nova moved on to construct a road which will be connecting different parts of the island. And instead of using the method of printing asphalt, she was employing a revolutionary method that could be considered almost magical. The printer-like road making machine was disintegrating the sand below it and rearranging the atoms in a robust and rigid lattice structure. By arranging the silicon and oxygen atoms found in sand in a diamond-like lattice for the first layer, Nova was creating a highly robust and strong structure. And since the machine was not just printing one layer, each layer was employed with a different means of strengthening the road in different ways. With the first layer of the sand molecules (Oxygen and Silicon) being arranged in a Diamond-like Lattice Structure, the layer following that was arranged in a Hexagonal Close-Packed (HCP) Structure, where atoms were formed in a tightly packed layer in a hexagonal pattern. By using this configuration, Nova maximized the strength of the atomic bonds. The following layer was made using Nanosheet Formation where nanosheets made of silicon dioxide were incorporated to provide additional strength and flexibility to the road, allowing the material to be able to withstand bending and deformation. The layer after that added structural reinforcements, introducing structural reinforcements, such as dislocations or impurity atoms, to strengthen the material and prevent crack propagation. If that could even happen. With all these meticulous processes, different layers were being used to make one thick material and were continuously printed on top of each other until a half-meter deep structure was materialized, taking its rightful place on the now strengthened ground. Although the process might seem to have taken a long time for printing, the whole process had been done within microseconds, allowing the machine to print a twenty-meter wide road with a length of ten meters in a matter of ten seconds. And with about ten more machines of about fifteen meters in length working along the first machine''s side, printing another road simultaneously for all the different directions, the entire island was becoming the first place to witness and receive the honor of having its atoms being disintegrated and rejoined to create a novel material that was deemed too good to be used as a road surface. Thus, the world''s hardest, strongest, and most flexible road, destined to last for centuries without damage was born. A middle finger to the Romans road engineers. A similar but different thing was happening on the center of the wide roads that were being printed. A railway was being printed on the empty middle space heading wherever the road was heading. However, Nova didn''t stop with just the construction of the road and the rail network, a new batch of machines that had been driving for about half an hour finally arrived at the makeshift port that was being guarded by the Ares members with guns in their possessions. A few speed boats could also be seen to be patrolling from a distance, making sure that no one is able to approach the island, as the knowledge of whatever was being created on the island could potentially plunge the world into chaos. The machines didn''t even pause for a second as ten of them continued driving, entering the water as if they were a malfunctioning Tesla''s autopilot. Slowly but surely, the machines started disappearing into the water, but even if that was happening right in front of them, none of the Ares soldiers did anything to stop the machines. The other ten machines that were left behind by those that tried to commit suicide by water, took no short than a few seconds to scan the whole makeshift port before immediately starting to disintegrate everything that could be seen on the port. The soldier had already received orders to retreat to a far distance and watched at the sight before their eyes in horror, as how everything that once excited, wasn''t anymore, vanishing as if it were a mirage, remaining as only memories of these soldiers as a proof of their existence. Being soldiers, they couldn''t help but imagine what would happen if there ever comes a day when this technology would be used as a weapon. How could they even try fighting it? The machines on the surface, not caring about the spectators, continued their work, working in tandem with the ones that went under the water as they started deepening the depth of the port to a massive depth of seventy meters, immediately breaking the record for the world''s deepest port by over four times. This depth extended for more than a kilometer parallel to the shore, clearly showing that they were planning on making the initial port about a kilometer in length. Now that the disintegration process was completed, it was immediately followed by the machines starting the printraction of the port. Part by part, slowly but surely, the port was coming to life. All of this happened in front of the eyes of the soldiers, who would never be able to forget this day of their life, knowing that this was merely the beginning of their bizarre adventures, as long as they continue working for Aron, if you ignore the fact of them being healed by him before. Throughout the entirety of this ordeal, from Nova starting the construction of the massive building in tandem with the building on top of the fusion reactor, the construction of the water pipeline and the super strong road, Aron remained unmoving on his reclining beach chair with an umbrella protecting him from the sun and a thin veil of sheet covering his body, making him appear as if he was calmly sleeping while having a nice dream. Chapter 183 FBI Meeting ? Meanwhile, in a meeting room. "So, what did you find?" James Comey, the FBI director, asked the two men standing in front of the long meeting room table of high-ranking officials in the Bureau. "Sir, in his basement, there is a server that seems to not have been upgraded since the time he bought it. And although its power consumption was minimal it was still indicated that it was actively being used. Also there was something else that was consuming enough power than what the entire house does. Nothing comes to my mind that would cause such a machine to gobble such a high amount of electricity while maintaining abnormal silence," reported one of the men, and not much surprisingly, he was the one who had visited and inspected Aron''s house under the guise of being an inspector from the power utility company. "Did you manage to take a look at it?" asked Lisa Page, the FBI attorney. "No, madam. There was a guard accompanying us throughout the whole process," answered the second man. "So, this means that you failed to plant anything into the house that could provide us with continuous information from that household?" James asked, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Unfortunately, that''s true," replied one of them. "Now that it''s out of the question, does anyone have an idea on how we can gather information from him that would be helpful enough to allow the President to have enough power to stop him from moving his company?" James inquired, his stress visibly increasing. "How about his friends?" One of the high-ranking members in the meeting room suggested. "Most of them had abandoned him after he was expelled from the university and despite their attempts to reconnect with him, he ignored every single one of them, which leaves behind only two of his friends, Sarah and Felix. However, Felix is with him in Eden, while Sarah is the one who is responsible for moving the company, so we won''t be getting anything from her either," Lana, a high-ranking member in the bureau answered, striking the option down while also making them know that she knew enough about Aron. "Any other suggestions?" James added after hearing a response. One of the two standing men raised his hand, asking for permission to speak. James took a look around the table and seeing that there was no one who had a suggestion to give, he turned to the man and nodded, giving him the permission to speak. "Since we''ve already started with our operation, why don''t we continue with it?" He said and paused to see if he would be permitted to continue or if they were going to shut down his idea as soon as it began. Seeing that no one interrupted him, he continued his suggestion, "From the manual I read during our preparation of inspecting his house, I remember reading a document about the electrical code violations," he paused for a moment trying to remember the details as much as possible before he continued. "There is a part in the document that stated that after the inspection, if the cause of the problem is deemed to be a significant public safety risk, authorities might need to take immediate action to address the issue, such as temporarily disconnecting the machine or cordoning off the property until the hazards are resolved." He looked around at the people in the room before continuing.I think you should take a look at "We can use this guise of public safety to cordon off his properties and have about a few days to inspect the servers in his house since most of the sensitive information should be there." "The few days that we gain until his lawyers can force the court to make us leave his property should be enough for us to download all of the data in his home server for later analysis. We can also plant bugs in the house, though I''m afraid that he might do a bug sweep on the whole house after we are forced to vacate the house." "In the court, our lawyers can argue that the vacating of the compound can only be obliged under the condition that we are allowed to take the machine that caused the power surge for inspection to avoid risking harm to the public. This gives us the ability to confiscate that strange machine and see if it is the stated ''State of the Earth'' computer that has been giving us a headache when we tried to decrypt the data we intercepted from his house through the fiber optic nodes." He finished his explanation for the plan he had come up with, perusing the room to see if they would agree to his suggested plan. And when he saw their expressions, he knew that he had hit the jackpot, while a smile could be seen on Jame''s face, indicating his satisfaction with the plan. "That''s a very good plan," James Comey nodded, the smile still gracing his face since he couldn''t find any notable hole in it, but just in case, he turned to Lisa Page, the FBI attorney and asked, "Is it feasible?" "Though there needs to be some polishing, it is indeed a good plan. Although he might suspect that it was us, he can''t prove it unless he has some connection to the higher-ups. Which he doesn''t," she answered, causing the smile on James'' face to widen even more. Shortly after, John said, "Since you came up with this plan, you will be the leader of the operation. Work with Lisa to polish the plan and choose anyone you want to be on your team. Whatever happens, just make sure that you have the data from his servers and that strange box back to the headquarters by the time the court forces us to evict the building. Understood?" "Yes sir," the man answered with an excited smile on his face since his idea was accepted and now he was even allowed to lead the operation by himself. "What''s your name again?" James Comey asked, this time genuinely wanting to know the man''s name since he had previously seen it on a document about the operation but didn''t give it much of an importance, resulting in him forgetting it. "My name is Peter Strzok" Answered the man. "Peter Strzok, keep up the good work," James nodded, raising from his chair and patting his shoulder as he walked out of the room. "Yes sir," Peter answered before turning to Lisa Page, smiling at her, trying to make a good impression since they would be working together in the upcoming days. "Nice to meet you," he greeted. "Nice to meet you too," Lisa Page replied, reciprocating the smile he gave her. (For those who know them ?) Chapter 184 Receiving The News ? [Welcome back sir] Nova greeted Aron, appearing in front of him in her augmented reality form the moment Aron opened his eyes after logging off the VR, having just finished his meeting with John just moments Ago. "It looks like you really went all out," Aron said after he opened his eyes and could see the side of the building rising a hundred or so meters in height, its length resembling a Titan wall. [I decided to start earlier to make sure that no problem occurs midway and causes delays to the project] Nova reported. "What do you mean by that?" Aron asked, quite puzzled. [Based on my calculations using the variables and datasets that I have access to, it shows that there is a high chance that Esparia will escalate its actions, either due to either external influence or internal factors] She explained to the now completely focused Aron, who after hearing this report had lost any curiosity about the building behind him or about any of the other infrastructure that was still ongoing the printraction process. "What timelines are we operating on?" Aron asked immediately. [It depends on variables in action here, some of them even are projecting no less than two weeks, while some of the others project that it will take no less than a month before the first shot is fired] She clarified. "That''s enough time to have a first batch of graduates," Aron said, releasing a sigh of relief realizing that he had sufficient time to prepare himself. [Also, while you were having a tour with John, through the CCTV network you built into the neighborhood, I discovered two people heading to your house. They did some inspections on the electric wiring network] [After accessing the security database about the two people''s visit, I found information about them that Donald had uploaded to the house''s security team''s database, showing a picture of their credentials. When I hacked into the listed company and got my hands on their employees'' details, I found that it seems to have been registered just a few days ago. However, the documents were very skilfully edited to make it look like they had been working for five years] Nova took a break and finally came to a conclusion. [Anyone who looked through their documents would think that they really had been working for the company for a few years] She reported and explained what she found. "FBI?" Aron muttered with a frown after hearing the explanations while touching his forehead. [Yes] Nova answered bluntly with a single word, not sugarcoating anything at all despite knowing that Aron hated this name the most, second only to the hate he had once had for Rottem. "Looks like I need to buy a school," Aron said in a dry tone, not joking in the least. Upon hearing that, Nova''s servers immediately got to work to analyze the reason behind such a statement from him. [School for who? Henry. As he was the only one in their family going to school.] She thought, procession the information. [Where is the school going to be? Of Course, Eden. Meaning that Henry will have to move to Eden] she continued to deduce. Adding a few more queries and answering them herself, Nova finally found the most likely reason behind Aron''s words to be answered that way.I think you should take a look at [You plan to use this incident as a way to convince your parents to move to Eden?] She asked. "Yes," Aron replied with a smile on his face. [Should I send a few of the remaining Ares personnel to America to move the quantum computer? I''m more than 97 percent sure that they will return with one of the more than 530,867 legal ways with which they could get their hands on the quantum computer] Nova suggested. "No, leave it there. It is better if they take it. No, I very much hope that they do it," Aron muttered, the corner of his lips curving into a sinister smile. Seeing that smile on his face, Nova knew either the FBI was in for a treat or the entire US government was about to learn a very valuable lesson the hard way. Among her variables, Nova considered the task the quantum computer at his home had been doing after she migrated to the quantum server: Data transfer. [Are you planning to let them have it so that you can have access to their classified network?] Nova asked after a moment. "Yes, it''s like killing two birds with one stone," Aron answered. "Although I could have convinced my parents to move here peacefully, they would still entertain the idea of returning to America whenever they want. But if they were to see how the government treats me, they will also have the same feeling as I do. And after they move here, their nostalgia for America should gradually subside," Aron answered by explaining, giving Nova another reason as to why he wanted the quantum computer to be taken. "Still, order the Ares members living in the surrounding buildings of my family''s house to be on standby, just in case if something or someone tries to harm them during the period where I wait for the three letter agency to make their move," Aron ordered, asking for an increase of scrutiny of the Ares members that were living as normal people in nearly half the houses around his family''s neighborhood. [Yes sir. With the access to the entire CCTV network that you had built in the neighborhood, it''s impossible for something to pass through without me noticing and informing them at once] Nova answered, assuring Aron, alleviating his worries. "Good. Let''s tour the building during that time," Aron said, rising from the beach chair he had been seated on throughout the time he had been talking to the AR of Nova through the glasses. As he toured the lowermost floor of the building, Aron couldn''t help but smile with satisfaction when he noticed that the pods were arranged in quadruple deckers, covering the entire floor with well-managed pipes coming from them, yet not destroying the beautiful arrangements. "How many of them are here?" he asked. [The floor has ten thousand pods and since they are in quadruple deckers (meaning there are three more on top of each pod on the floor separated by a space of a meter) it means there are forty thousand of them] she answered. "Tell John to start increasing the recruitment of the soldiers since we can now accommodate forty thousand of them here for training at once, there is no need to waste the resources and leave them inactive," Aron instructed. [Done] Chapter 185 The First Batch Of Trainees ? The next day. "Oh my god what the heck happened here?" Gasped one of the fifty Ares soldiers who had been sent the next day, responding to Aron''s order for them to come so that they could receive their training earlier than the rest of the soldiers who were scheduled to arrive by the next week. And as the rest of the occupants disembarked from the messy boat, they noticed the massive new port which the soldiers knew didn''t exist before, since some of them in this batch had helped in transferring the first batch of the materials to the island when Aron was about to start the construction of the fusion reactor. The port looked new and futuristic, and though empty, it still commanded respect since it was built differently than any other usual port, it was a hybrid port for both the civilian and military vessels to dock on it without needing any specialized modifications. Faced with the size of the port the boat those soldiers were in felt out of place finding itself in a situation where you take off your shoes in a house where everyone enters with their on them. When they got off the boat after it was docked on the dock specifically made for small boats, they met with a few fellow members of Ares who had been on the island throughout its construction, helping Aron in quite a few things and had the honor of witnessing the miracles happening everywhere on the island during the past few months. "What happened here?" one of the newcomers asked their fellow who was welcoming them on the port. "I will explain it on the way. We''re operating on a tight schedule," said the welcoming companion and before he immediately started jogging prompting the newcomers to start jogging behind him as well. "The longer I''m on this island, the more questions I have," remarked one of the newcomers as they jogged behind their escort until he noticed the two-hundred meter long train waiting for them. "GET IN!" the escort shouted and the train''s doors automatically opened as if waiting for them to get in. One by one, the ARES members boarded the train, finding themselves inside a very luxurious train, which was a first-time experience for many of them. Taking their seat, the door automatically closed followed by the train starting to move very smoothly, devoid of any friction, it was as if they were floating, which was also true since the train was electromagnetically propelled. The journey took less than a minute and the soldiers'' eyes widened as they beheld the massive building and developed infrastructure in the vicinity of the city. A few seconds later, the train finally came to a full stop a few meters away from a door made specifically for the entry to allow those arriving by the train so that they could access the building with it. One by one, they got off and passed through the door, finding a waiting room on the other side, respectfully taking their seats as soon as possible and started waiting for the following instructions. ... "Let''s start, shall we?" Aron said as he observed the feed of the soldiers sitting in the waiting room, all showing a military demeanor, quiet and serious expressions on their faces.I think you should take a look at [Yes] Nova responded and immediately released a sleeping gas in the room, the gas was subtle enough that the soldiers only realized that something was wrong only when they started to faint. The moment they fainted, the native Ares members, who had been inside the island since the beginning, entered the room with a fleet of autonomous vehicles. They then started gently placing the soldiers inside the vehicles before they started leaving and headed to the massive elevator in the building, heading to the lowest floor of the building. Upon their arrival under the floor, the unconscious soldiers were moved to the furthest pods where another native Ares member awaited, supervising the machine. The machine carefully lifted a soldier, raising him to the highest pod and then placed the soldier in the pod. And now that the soldier was inside the pod, the native Ares member near the machine put the soldier in a more comfortable position making sure that his whole body was in the pod before pressing the button, causing the pod to close before releasing a low hum as it released a golden light inside which started scanning and mapping every atom in the soldier inside the pod and rebuilding and analyzing his body, which was then immediately followed by the optimization of the pod to the specifications of the soldier present in it. The same process was repeated for all the fifty soldiers who arrived here by the train and were now inside the pods. Upon completing their placement into the pods, all the soldiers in the pods were simultaneously injected with a needle inside the pod which granted the pod access to their bodies. Using this needle as an access, a strange-looking liquid was injected into them, the amount varied for each soldier since they were being given the exact sufficient amount that was best suited for them. The liquid immediately started reaching every part of the soldiers'' bodies, everywhere the blood could pass, the strange liquid also made its way, leaving a small part of itself along the way, including the brains of these soldiers. At the moment, the liquid did nothing to their bodies, similar to the first time when Aron had assimilated with the system. ... [Attention!] A voice commanded, reverberating inside a stadium as the group of fifty soldiers responded instinctively and arranged themselves into five lines, consisting of ten people each before they could even think of how the heck did they arrive there. "Where the heck are we?" They wondered to themselves silently, still remaining in their attentive position since the last memory they have was about them waiting for a visit with their general "ARON" which indicated that whatever had happened to them had very likely something to do with him. [I''m Athena and I will be responsible for your retraining. If you have any questions, ask them now,] Athena introduced herself, materializing in front of the soldier, scaring the shit out of them, however, they still managed to maintain their position. Among the fifty men, eighteen of them raised their hands to ask their questions. [Ask them at once and I will answer them] Athena said and following her orders, the latter asked her their questions at once. "Where are we?" "How did we get here?" "Who are you?" "Can you introduce yourself?" "" "" "" "" " " Chapter 186 Training Starts ? [You are inside the VR, as for your real bodies, they are inside a pod within the massive building that you had seen and are under the protection of Sir Aron, so don''t worry about anything else and focus on your retraining] Athena began, answering all of their questions in one swift motion. [I understand that my answer might have given rise to some new questions for you, so let me answer them immediately, not wasting both of our time] [Your bodies have been injected with genetic enhancers specifically tailored according to each of your bodies and would help in enhancing your genetics and increase your body power, coordination, speed and many more] [However, these enhancers are inactive at the moment and the only way for you to activate them is for your body to undergo the exercises needed to push your body to really reach that realm. When your brain starts to imitate this in order to activate the enhancer, the enhancements will be reflected into your real bodies] Athena paused explaining for a moment, letting the soldiers digest the information she just gave them. After a moment, she continued, [If it is like that, then, why are you inside the VR for the training, instead of just injecting your bodies with enhancers and letting you train in the real world? The reason is that, here I can make sure that you don''t get tired to the point of dropping dead, so you will train until I tell you to stop without worrying about your bodies being harmed in the slightest] [Also, in this virtual environment, you can be shot at and shoot others without dying in real life, so the training here will always be with live munitions and you will also be fighting a real war against enemies of my choosing, which will be no different from real war scenario] [But, before we proceed, let''s start with knowledge assimilation. As for what it is, you will understand its purpose when it is over] Athena said and immediately all the soldiers sat down, their bodies doing so automatically without any of them ordering their bodies to do so consciously, however, before they could even wonder how this had happened, a massive amount of knowledge began to be dumped into their mind, this included knowledge on weapons, the routine of exercises they should do in order to maximize the benefits they will be receiving from the genetic enhancements drugs. Aron wanted it to be that way so that the soldier didn''t merely receive the enhanced bodies simply for joining his army, rather, he wanted them to work hard for their bodies and be rewarded exactly what they had worked for, nothing more nothing less. So, if you are lazy, you get little enhancements, and if you are a hard worker, you get the most of the enhancement serum. [Now start running, I don''t want to see any of you slacking around as sir Aron is watching everything] Athena commanded the moment the knowledge assimilation was concluded. Hearing the order, the soldiers wasted no time and immediately started running towards the tracks on the stadium and started running by adopting a jogging manner, keeping a moderate speed since they knew they weren''t stopping anytime soon, so preserving their stamina was important. While they were running, they were using this time to constantly think about what the heck had just happened to them moments ago, reviewing through the knowledge they were assimilated with, they were now able to remember everything about weapons and tactics, something that they had never seen before, it was as if they had been using them for decades, but in reality, they haven''t seen them even once. ... "How long is the cloud going to continue being sustained?" Aron asked, turning his head up to look at the ceiling, but he was actually seeing beyond it, watching the clouds with his glasses using the sensors built into the building to show him a view of beyond the ceiling.I think you should take a look at The building had a massive sensor, the same technology that was used in the military headgear for the soldiers, but this was about a thousand times larger in size. It helped in seeing everything that was going on on the island, acting as the 3D CCTV, radar, lidar and every surveillance tech you can imagine, can be replaced by this massive sensor. [No less than a week, I think it''s about time you start casting the concealment rune on the building, or else you will be the talk of the world] Nova answered. "I know, but at the moment I''m just stuck on how I should program the concealment rune so that it gives the impression that something has been happening without revealing the completed projects which will scare them," Aron answered with a wry smile. [How about you conceal the building but leave the infrastructure visible? It would be convincing if they could see that for the past months you have built the infrastructure and with the satellite images of the atomic printer, it will be convincing for them to believe that we managed to build a warehouse over the past few months] Nova suggested. "That''s a good plan. Let''s implement it that way," Aron agreed, returning his gaze back to the feed that displayed the soldiers still running, after which he asked, "By the way, how long are they going to be running?" Aron watched the soldiers who had been running for more than fifteen hours in VR time, meaning that he had been watching them running for over an hour without stopping for even a second despite looking tired while Athena didn''t seem to be thinking of letting them stop anytime soon. [For five hours of real-world time, which will be immediately followed by them moving to another training session that will last for a total of two real-world days before they move on to weapons training and warfare training and mock war trial as a final test] Nova explained. "Athena is brutal," Aron laughed, feeling slightly sorry for the soldiers. [Well, she is responsible for overseeing the military, so I had to make her think like them so that there are no misunderstandings] Nova answered, despite knowing that Aron knew why Athena was like that. "How did John react after receiving the news of Athena?" Aron inquired, wanting to know if John had any reservations about Athena''s role. [The moment he received the news, the two had a ten-hour meeting. In the meeting, they start by knowing about each other, followed by John asking about her jurisdictions and command level] [Athena reported to him that her command level is the same as his, however, she will be spending most of her time overseeing the military in its entirety, while John will be responsible for handling the daily working of the military and every other matter with the secretary you assigned to him] [Upon hearing that, John was glad since he was worried that due to him having no experience in leading such a massive group, he might be doing things in a wrong manner and since there was no one to tell him whether he is doing it wrong, his actions might cause troubles for you, however, now all of his worries were thrown out of the window so he was happy and no problems like infighting or power struggle against her nor did something similar occur since he trusts you and your judgment more than he trusts himself] Nova answered, explaining Aron with what happened during that meeting. "Good. Now let''s hope that Esparia doesn''t cause any troubles in the mean..." Aron stopped himself from continuing any further, realizing that he was about to invoke the forbidden spell of trouble. Chapter 187 Test ? Two days later "Man, she is not giving us enough time to rest," complained Jeremiyah as he sat down to use the little ten minutes of rest that was given to his team as a reward for completing their last course of exercises. For the past month, Athena had done nothing other than making them train from one exercise to another. And with the training getting progressively difficult and longer with each new exercise, they were always being forced to always break the new limits that they had managed to raise due to their previous exercise. During that period, they were only given one hour of rest every day and additional rest time was granted if they could impress Athena by completing a set of tasks faster than the time she had tasked them with. The moment they realized that they could gain more rest time by working harder, it resulted in them always working harder than what Athena expected. [One last exercise and if you do it well I will give you a whole day of rest!] Athena announced as the soldiers rested, resulting in them rising from their places, full of enthusiasm while starting to do their last exercise of the month before they get one day of well-deserved rest. ..... A few hours later The soldiers could be seen sleeping in the barracks without any worry for the world since it was the first long sleep they had after the past month and these soldiers planned to use it to its fullest, however, Athena seemed to have different plans for them. "BOOOOOOOM" A shell exploded near the barracks, jolting the soldiers immediately awake. Without asking any questions, they rushed to the weapon''s rack and retrieved their weapons for the first time, since they had assimilated the knowledge of these weapons into their brains a month ago. Two soldiers picked up the military headgear and immediately put it on, powering it right after so that it could immediately gather the information in their vicinity. The data indicated that there was no one within a three-kilometer radius around them, giving them some relief, however, that relief only stayed for a short time before their bodies immediately tensed up as the headgear warned them of a shell which had entered the 6 km bubble around them. Moments later, the base again, sending debris of the shattered walls flying towards them. While one of the soldiers was keeping an eye out for any more incoming enemies and warning his comrades if a new shell was incoming them, they weren''t dilly-dallying, as they were wearing their gears and when one of them was done with gearing up, he patted the first soldier on the shoulder, taking his place as the onlooker, allowing for him to go and gear himself up. Two minutes later, all the soldiers were now completely geared up, looking intimidating as their eyes reflected the thrill and the pent-up frustration in them, which they planned to vent on their enemies. When the tenth shell struck the building, their headgear had gathered enough data to pinpoint where the enemy''s location was and with enough accuracy, the headgear started to give them a rough direction to reach their enemy. Dividing themselves into five teams of ten, each team chose its own leader and started heading in different directions. By doing so, they intended to expand their bubble of information, since they were on their own and had no headquarters to provide them with any further guidance, leaving them to rely on themselves.I think you should take a look at Using their headgear''s instant communication, which combined all the computing powers of the fifty headgears, making them act as one computer to increase the commuting power of the team, the teams started to move, and the map of their surroundings was continuously being updated continuously whenever they went. Among the five teams, the most vigilant one was heading into the direction through which the artillery had been coming from. After walking for about twenty kilometers, their headgear finally started revealing them a heavily guarded enemy base. With the rest of the teams not finding anything notable during their twenty kilometer walks they decided to regroup with their fellow soldiers before they made their move and launched their attack on the base. An hour later, they finally recollected themselves and came up with the plan which wasn''t difficult at all since they were able to see everything that was in the enemy base, allowing them to have a whole map of the base including the position of the people within it. And after forming a relatively easy plan, they started executing their moves. Using the advantages of their weapons having a longer standoff distance to their favor, they initiated their attack while they were still three kilometers away from the base. One by one, the soldiers inside the base started accidentally dying with the assistance of a metal object which entered their bodies, which was of course, the strategic elimination carried out by the Ares members. It took the personnel on the base more than ten minutes before they could realize that their numbers had been dwindling by a great extent since the Ares members prioritized taking out the enemies that were in places which wouldn''t raise too much attention. With the realization that the alarm had been triggered, the enemy soldiers from the base tried to return fire, but they were not sure where the killers of their comrades were. With some of the soldiers in the base panicking, they started firing randomly in hopes that they would force the enemies to reveal themselves, however, the Ares members who were positioned three kilometers away, other than simply observing, did nothing and started picking off the panicking soldiers. After killing a few more casualties, due to some smart thinker analyzing how the killed soldiers fell and knowing the general direction of where the bullets came from the enemy soldiers finally discovered Ares soldiers'' direction was finally discovered. This massacre continued, with the soldiers in the base desperately trying to locate where their attackers were as the Ares members flawlessly executed their plan, reducing the number of their enemies until only the commander of the base was the one who remained, which was also the result of their deliberate actions before they started heading to the enemy base, walking and capturing the commander. [Congratulations] Athena appeared, causing the still tense soldiers to release a sigh of relief as they understood that with her appearance their test was finally over, however, wasting no time, they immediately lined up and saluted her. Athena smiled and returned the salute before she announced [Now that level one has been passed, let''s increase the difficulty] after which she teleported them away. When the Ares soldiers opened their eyes, they found themselves in a military cargo plane that was taking them to an undisclosed location. The only thing that had changed on them was the color of the gear they were wearing, indicating that this mission was going to take place at night. Chapter 188 Preparations For The Influx Of People ? While the Ares soldiers were making their way to their second test, Aron could be seen sitting at the center of the rooftop of the massive building with his eyes closed while the entire rooftop continued to glow in a golden color. Slowly but surely, the color of the rune that was covering the rooftop started to turn to white. With that, Aron stood up from the spot where he was sitting and immediately went to the elevator which immediately took him to the ground floor. Meanwhile, Nova got to work as she started providing Mana to the runes, causing them to immediately came to life and for those who could see the building from a bird''s view, they would be able to see the entire of the building had started to disappear and in its place started to appear an image of uncompleted construction of a building, making it so that whoever wanted to photograph the building from the bird''s eye viewpoint would only be seeing an incomplete building that was still ongoing its construction phase. "Any tweakings that I might need to do?" Aron asked Nova to check if there were some inconsistencies in the images. [No it looks just fine, Sir] Nova reported showing him what the satellites would be seeing if they were to look at the images of the island. "Hmm, it looks good," Aron nodded as he smiled with satisfaction. [Sir, John is inquiring if he should also send the trainees together with the first batch of the former soldiers. He needs to know it now so that they can start preparation right away and then begin arranging the logistics for their move] Nova informed Aron of John''s request. "Yes, tell him to send them too and also print the transportation boats which would make it easy for the transportation of the thousands of the upcoming visitors," Aron answered after giving a moment of thought. [With such a massive number of soldiers being sent to the island, won''t that attract more attention?] Nova asked in concern, wanting to know if he had thought about it. "No, they will simply think that we are bringing them to expedite the construction on the island," Aron answered, showing that he had already thought through all of that, earning him a smile from Nova. [Also the construction machines are already being transported so it should start to speed up the progress of the construction of the airport, the railways and the ports soon] Nova reported, keeping Aron up to date on the other projects. [As for the school search, you can buy one from the few I have found, however, they still are below your stated standards, so I suggest that you just build it by yourself] Nova also reported about the task she was given for finding a good enough school for Aron to buy. "Let''s not stress Felix with any more projects and postpone that until most of our big projects have come near a completion, because if I decide to build a school now, I won''t be building just one, but start making a whole school chain which will allow me to train the future workers for my company personally." "For now, Henry would have to be content with being homeschooled by me or going to one of the best schools you have found. The choice will be his," he answered, showing that while his ever-growing construction list continued to grow while his other projects were still not completed yet, which kept him busy, leaving no room for additional tasks at the moment. [Yes, sir] Nova replied, confirming that she had already added it to Aron''s future promises lists.I think you should take a look at "How is military hardware production going on?" Aron asked as he reviewed the footage of the massacre that took place earlier in a fast-forward playback. [Felix has already finished the procurement of the materials and the cargo ship transporting these materials is on its way as we speak and should arrive tomorrow and drop the cargo at our port. However, using the materials that were available, I have managed to print enough equipment to sustain a 1000 strong force, without any problem] Nova reported, informing that the production of the new weapons has come to a stop for the time being. "With them, we should first build a surveying plane that would scan and map the entire country and record all of the available resources. Once that data comes to us we can buy those locations and start extracting the materials ourselves," Aron suggested before continuing. "Given the country''s size, it should have enough resources to allow us to sustain our material needs for quite a long time," Aron said and then thought of something. "If I''m not wrong, I remember that about a month ago, Felix had ordered a batch of materials for me, what happened to them?" Aron asked after he paused briefly as he remembered that there should have been one more cargo delivery that should have happened a long time ago. [Esparia confiscated it during the transfer of cargo from the larger ship to smaller ones which could have docked on our ports] Nova reported. "They are really getting bold, aren''t they?" Aron sneered, with him now learning that they had taken his belongings by force and even kept them, he was even more eager for them to provide him with a justifiable reason to not whoop their asses. Realizing where Aron was going with that statement, Nova suggested [It won''t take too long] trying to postpone Aron''s triggered happiness for a slight longer, knowing that she couldn''t change his though neither was she even planning on doing, knowing very well that kicking their asses should act as therapy for losing BugZapper twice, once it was stolen and once it was legally snatched, but in both times he was forced into giving it up. [By the way, what are you planning on doing with the guy who shot you? Did you forgive him or do you have any other plan in mind?] she asked, knowing that it would divert his attention from the Esparia discussion. "Not at all, I am biding my time and by next week, with the arrival of the first batch of the five thousand former soldiers who would also be accompanied by the twenty-five thousand first batch of new recruits who have been receiving their training and along with them there would also be the intelligence department trainees. The agency''s first real-world mission is going to be the apprehension of that fellow." Aron clarified with a smile. [But aren''t you going to make those who sent that man take responsibility too?] Nova asked further. "Of course, I plan to do that as well but that will happen after I have him and have kindly asked him to give up all the information. And if he tells the truth, his punishment might be reduced, but if he lies, I will make sure that he will regret it" Aron confirmed with a sinister smile. At the same time, somewhere else, someone felt a shiver run down their spine while their whole body trembled. Chapter 189 Increasing Tensions ? In the following few days, the massive military movement in Edenia put a slight sense of unease among the citizens of the state. Buses after buses filled with soldiers were being sent to Edenia, the capital city, which was now filled with soldiers as they were being stationed in various hotels of the city and in any places where people could be accommodated for a short period of time. The unrest continued to increase day by day until the president was compelled to make an announcement to address the rising anxiety of the citizens among whom the rumors were spreading that maybe they were preparing themselves for a war with Esparia and the soldiers were there to protect the city. During the announcement, the president assured that the soldiers were here temporarily to prepare themselves to go for further training in a classified location. Although this slightly helped calm down the citizens, some of them still thought of the speech as a diversionary tactic to avoid causing a panic and as a result of this, people started panic buying things, in order to stockpile them in their houses in the worry that if a war were to break out there was a chance of the city would be imposed with a curfew. However, by the fourth day, Sunday of the same week, the soldiers continued arriving in the city, their movements restarted with all of the buses carrying them and started heading to the same location: a small port. This caused the people who were still worried to finally let out a sigh of relief as they finally were able to believe that the President''s announcement was not a diversionary tactic. "Holy mother!" a soldier exclaimed in shock as he got off the bus at the port and witnessed more than fifteen ships waiting for them. "Start moving and boarding the docked ship, we don''t have much time to waste!" shouted their commanding officer, forcing the dilly-dallying soldiers to start moving to the ships. The moment the ship was filled, it undocked itself and started making its way to the island. Soon after, its place was immediately taken by a new one which started boarding the newly arrived soldiers. .... Esparia, on the other hand, had interpreted Eden''s military''s this movement as an escalation or at least they showed it outside that was how they were perceiving it, as an escalation and responded by sending more soldiers to the border, despite the capital city which the soldiers were being sent to was more than hundreds of kilometers away from their nearest border with Esparia, it seemed like they were just looking for a justifiable reason to do such things and now that they had found one, they were not going to let it go to waste. With the increase in number of soldiers on the border on the Esparia''s side, they also brought with them heavy military machinery, including tanks, artillery, and rocket launchers, as on the water side of the border, the number of military vessels increased, outnumbering whatever Eden had brought with them on the border, wanting to make sure that if a fight does happen, Eden doesn''t have any chance of winning the fight. These movements did not bode well with Eden''s citizens who had most of their products'' prices increased due to the Esparia''s actions, blockading their products that would have normally been transported from Esparia''s ports, the citizens were about to get fed up with their actions but the only thing holding them back was their worry of not being able to win the war, if the fight really broke up between the two of them and hence, they started directing their anger by wanting to increase the power of their country. And thanks to that, the number of people joining the military had increased exponentially for that period of time, showing the citizens'' enthusiasm for wanting their country to increase in power and not be bullied by their much smaller and only neighbor.I think you should take a look at Adding on this, Nova doubled down the feeling of patriotism among the people, ordering the AI in Gaia OS to start pushing things that would make people feel patriotic and angry at Esparia, increasing the number of people joining the military even more, this caused Athena''s stoic expression to turn into a smile as she was in joy knowing that she was getting a new batch of people to torture and strengthen for her master or Father. ... "Ptffffffff" Fifty pods were simultaneously opened, releasing a slight puffing sound along with smoke as the massive handles were rising, revealing bodies that looked more like what a human would have been able to make if they had the capabilities of customizing their bodies. Needles started coming out of their bodies as they were being retracted back inside the walls of the pods which was followed by the soldiers opening their eyes after a few minutes as they remained lying there for a few seconds before they were able to move themselves into a seating position. As they raised their hands, they observed the changes that had taken place on their bodies which looked the same as they had become as a result of the excruciating training which they had faced in the VR world. Realizing that they were finally released from that harrowing location and the brutal trainer who had made them sleep a total of only 35 hours in a whole month, which was immediately followed by endless battles with them being sent to different scenarios, fighting lengthier battles with more smarts enemies and the more they won, the more technologically advanced their enemies became, this had reached a point where even their advanced tech seemed inadequate due to how advanced their enemies had become, knocking away all of the confidence they had thanks to their advanced weapons, however, despite that, their enemy''s asses were continuously being kicked, earning themselves a losing streak that would make ISIS feel sorry for them. The only difference being the time it took for the enemy to lose each battle continued to increase every time as they had started using tactics and other means to try to reduce the disadvantage they found themselves being against. Getting off the pods and despite their legs touching the ground for the first time in a week, they felt surprisingly energetic as they remembered what Athena had said about their body when they were logged in the simulation; she had told them that their body training would be reflected into their real world counterpart. When they turned around and saw row after row of pods being lined, it sent goosebumps all over their body as they saw all of the pods were releasing a green light except the ones in which they used to be were the only ones having its light red. They felt goosebumps as they realized that all of the thousands of pods that they could see continued to go on almost endlessly and were filled with occupants, meaning that their General was now providing training to more than a few thousand people, giving all of them the training which exceeded any training that any of special forces of the any other country could receive without having to worry about any of them inuring or dying during the training, resulting in a great loss of investment. "The only disadvantage is the time it takes to complete the training," they thought to themselves, knowing that they had spent more than three months and two weeks inside these pods while they were receiving their training. Chapter 190 Meeting General Aron ? After getting out of the pods, they immediately walked to the closest elevator they could find, as they got closer, the doors of the elevator opened. Upon entering, they noticed that the elevator was spacious enough to fit all of them at once and still have some space for more, after everyone was in, the doors of the elevator got closed and it started rising even before they could press the floor they wanted to go. As they waited to reach their destination, the screen inside the elevator was showing various information, including the time, date, temperature and other miscellaneous things, however, the soldiers'' eyes were stuck on one thing: The date. Initially, they thought that it would have been a mistake but then considering the amount of technology that might have been needed to accomplish what they had been through, they came to the conclusion that the technology they have is too advanced for it to miss such a mistake, thus, they came to a shocking realization which they didn''t want to believe, the more than three months they had spent in the stimulation while training was nothing but a week in the real world. "They are fucked!" one of the soldiers remarked, feeling sorry for Esparia and the consequences of their actions. Knowing that thanks to them fucking around way too much, they were about to find out what it was to suffer. The rest of the people on the Elevator nodded in agreement to the man''s words, but in their minds, they were still thinking about how the heck did they experience three and a half months in a matter of a week. Ding!!!! A notification sound was heard followed by the opening of the elevator doors, revealing Aron standing in front of them in an impressive military uniform, his shoulders each donning 5 stars with the stars and it was without a doubt made of what could be called exotic materials. The first star, the farthest one from his neck, had a dark blue or near black color and was made out of the mineral Lapis Lazuli, this was a symbol of water and the star symbolizing his command over the Navy. The second star, made from Emerald, represented the army with its green color and the forest where their responsibilities lie the most, symbolizing his control over the army. The third star, crafted out of Aquamarine, revealing its light blue hue, acted as the color and the symbol of the endless sky, representing his control over the air force. The fourth star, reflecting the light hitting it, was made out of Quarts, acting as the color representing the intelligence branch of the military and symbolizing his control over it. The last star, made of Galaxyite also known as the Nebula stone, showcased its captivating patterns of deep blue and green colors resembling a celestial galaxy or a nebula, it represented the amalgamation of all the branches but also carried his vision of the future of his forces expanding into the vast universe. The soldiers, though surprised and impressed by the uniform''s design and how cool it looked and fit him, wasted no time and immediately saluted Aron in unison, feeling honored by being the first people to be witnessing him donning the uniform.I think you should take a look at Aron returned the salute from the soldiers which allowed them to return their hand back to their hips, but they still continued to maintain their attention formation and waited for further orders. "At ease," Aron said, immediately followed by their reaction to the order, getting into the at ease position without wasting a single second. "Good," Aron nodded his head in satisfaction seeing that the soldiers weren''t doing it in the american style but rather in the way they had been taught by Athena who had designed these routines after a few simulations and creating the one she deemed to be both visually appealing and the beneficial for the health of the soldiers applying them. "Since you are the first batch of graduates from the training camp, I decided to come and see you the moment you left the pod and perform the inspection. However, due to the occurrence of some complications, it looks like our greetings have to be cut short. You will be escorted to your resting rooms so that you can rest before being immediately dispatched with your new gear to the borders of Esparia. There seem to be some indications that they will be making their moves anytime now," Aron spoke, his voice devoid of his usual friendly tone. At the moment, he was speaking as the General and the highest commanding person of Ares, or what people thought as the Edenian military, hence his tone carried dignity and authority. "Understood?" He asked after he finished. "Yes, sir," all of them answered in unison. Showing no signs of displeasure or worry could be seen on their face, as they knew that the enemies they had faced in that world were a hundred times more difficult to fight against than the American army and despite that they still were able to manage to hold their ground. Right now, they were only excited about testing the types of equipment in the real world where they were confident of having technological supremacy over the enemy. They wanted to overcome and heal the trauma of their past losses and emerge victorious. "Good, you can start by putting these on before you are escorted to where you are supposed to go," Aron said, pointing at the box that contained glasses, earphones-like devices along with many other things, each of the devices had a name on them, these were the equipment that was designed based on the preferences of the soldiers whose name was on these devices. Upon saying those words, Aron immediately started walking back to the part of the building where Nova had arranged his personal residency during his stay on the island. which was nothing other than the most beautifully decorated living space. And although it occupied only a small space in the building, the size of this suite was extremely massive, surpassing many luxurious Suites that boasted their large size. The soldier immediately picked up the devices which had their names on top of it and knowing what the devices were, they wasted no time and put them on. As soon as they did so, they were immediately welcomed by the voice that caused them to subconsciously tense up, because the voice belonged to the trainer who had made them go through a hellish training, Athena. However, no time was wasted and they were immediately given directions to go to their respective rooms, upon entering, they found thousands of doors stretching so far as if the series was never going to end and each of them had been directed to a different room. Entering the room, they found nothing that they could complain about, everything looked luxurious, with a box at the table which contained their uniform and each of the uniforms was perfectly tailored to their specific body size. As the soldiers tried their uniforms, they found that it wasn''t just comfortable, it was also functional, the uniform wasn''t sacrificing any function over its form. Chapter 191 Going To Their First Post ? The next day, as the Soldiers woke up, they cleaned themselves and donned their military uniforms, which bore an insignia that was unique and didn''t have any affiliation to any of the branches of the military. Their uniform had a special insignia which signified that they were a special team which was sent only when a few people were deployed for a special mission or when there was an infiltration task. As they left the team''s quarters, each soldier carried a bag which from the looks of it appeared to be extremely heavy. But surprisingly, the soldiers carrying the bags seemed to not be bothered even in the slightest as they made their way while carrying more than 350 kilos on their backs, without having the need to exert any strength at all. Following instructions which were provided by Athena through the gears which they were wearing, they entered the elevator. And much to the surprise of everyone, upon boarding the elevator and after the door got closed, the elevator immediately started rising to the higher floors instead of descending to the ground floor, soon they realized something as the elevator didn''t stop and continued to make its way to the highest floor. Soon, their curiosity was also answered after a few moments as the elevator finally came to a stop and its doors opened, revealing an expansive flat rooftop And at the moment, the rooftop housed five super massive helicopters, which the soldiers were sure were unlike any others in the whole world. These helicopters looked futuristic and were intimidating even as they remained powered off for the time being. Without wasting any time, all of them started boarding the helicopter which they had been designated to. As the door closed, the pilots powered up the helicopters, immediately showcasing the difference between the remarkable capabilities of these helicopters which were far superior to the rest of the world. The rotor went from being completely idle to rotating at full power in just ten seconds while being scarily silent enough for many soldiers to think if it was still operating in low power mode, but contrary to what they had thought, the helicopter wasn''t going to get any louder than what they were hearing at the moment. The massive reduction of noise from the rotors was the result of them being rotated by using the electromagnets instead of the usual rotor system, which at the same time eliminated the need for any mechanical connections, reducing the number of things that could possibly go wrong in a normal rotor driven helicopter. At the same time, due to the reduced friction and mechanical losses, it also allowed the helicopter to have a much longer flight endurance while having a reduced fuel consumption and with the energy denseness of the fuel, the helicopter now had the capability of flying for three days straight without having the need to refuel during the period. With the helicopter now being completely powered on, the pilots immediately lifted them off without having to worry about the other helicopters causing a problem for them as the only thing the pilot had to care for right now was to control where and how he wants to direct the helicopter to go, as for how this feat was accomplished, it was thanks to the advanced flight controlled system which will use all of the control surfaces available for it to control to bring the given command to life without failure, while the pilot only had to focus on navigating the machine, leaving everything else in the hands of the system. With the helicopter started, it quickly started gaining altitude until it reached its ideal altitude and then immediately started heading to its designated location where these soldiers would be stationed until the batch of new trainees graduated. Aron on the other hand was inside his living room, observing the helicopter as they departed and were heading to the border. A sigh of relief escaped his lips realizing that his worry was now lifted. .... 45 minutes later. The helicopter landed a few kilometers away from the temporary base that was set at the border, without letting any soldier in the vicinity have the idea that helicopters had entered their surroundings. Both sides failed to pick up the presence of these helicopters on their radars, which in itself was nothing to feel proud about, knowing that the radar systems being used were pretty outdated.I think you should take a look at The soldiers got off the helicopters one by one and soon enough, the helicopters lifted off, leaving them on the ground by themselves. With the helicopters gone, the soldiers immediately started walking to the bases that were established on the borders of Eden. ... [Sir, they''ve arrived] Nova reported to Aron about their arrival. "What is Athena''s next course of action?" stopping what he was doing, Aron asked the question. [She plans to gradually start reducing the number of soldiers on our side to minimize the casualties on our side in case the other side starts firing] Nova reported back. "Good. By the end of next week, we should have all of the soldiers now stationed there to be withdrawn from that border. How are your calculations regarding when they are going to attack going?" Aron then inquired. [That task has been delegated to Athena and she predicts that to happen at the latest by the end of the month. Us starting the rotation of our soldiers will be seen as the window of opportunity, increasing the chances of them launching an attack during that period] Nova reported. "Excellent. It''s about time that we have our confiscated material returned back to us," Aron said without a sliver of worry because he was sure that the fifty soldiers that were stationed there were capable of dealing with the enemies as long as they had enough ammunition, especially since Athena had sent with them an overkill of them. .... At the same time, on Esparia''s base on the opposite side of the border, an order was received which was sent through the military encrypted channel. After the order was decrypted, it was immediately sent to the commander of the base who read it, immediately resulting in the formation of a smile on his face as if it was precisely something that he had been hoping to happen. There was only one sentence written on the decrypted message: Start the preparation for entering paradise. "Hamisi, come in," he called for his assistant to enter the room, disposing of the paper into the shredder. "Sir," Hamisi saluted after entering the room. "Call the high-ranking officers and inform them we have an emergency meeting," he commanded without wasting any time. "Yes, sir," Hamis replied with a salute before immediately leaving the room in a hurry to accomplish the orders given by the commander. Chapter 192 Self-Deception: A Tactical Advantage ? "The ultimate art of war lies not only in deceiving the enemy but also in mastering the art of self-deception, for therein lies the true path to strategic supremacy." It was a serene day in Eden as usual, with the sun gracefully rising over the horizon, painting the sky in the shades of pink and orange. And together with the tranquil appearance, the minds of the citizens were already preoccupied with two topics that also seemed to dominate every conversation in the state. The First and foremost was the incessant buzz surrounding the ongoing construction worker recruitment. Since January, the construction industry had been in a state of perpetual motion, with a single company being responsible for all of the activity, clamoring for labor to fuel their ambitious projects. Eden seemed to have started its journey on the ladder leading to high-speed progress and development, and the demand for construction workers didn''t seem to be showing any signs of abating even after several months had passed along with hundreds of thousands of people already being hired by them. As the city''s skyline morphed with each passing day, the construction sites stood as a testament to the nation''s determination to push forward and start recovering from the brutal dictatorship of Adolf whose trial was still ongoing with more and more atrocities being revealed to the public with each day that passed. The allure of steady employment and the promise of contributing to Eden''s burgeoning infrastructure drew people from all corners of the country, seeking opportunities to better their lives. Amidst the hum of construction machinery and the hustle of workers, the second topic of concern reverberated through the city''s streets and town squares. A growing number of young men and women were joining the army, with their ranks swelling in response to what they perceived as Esparias'' provocative actions. Thanks to these provocative actions of Esparia, including confiscating and blocking access to Eden citizens'' cargo that had passed through their ports and increasing the number of soldiers on the borders the two nations shared with them, had ignited anger and a sense of patriotism among the citizens. The allure of defending their homeland and protecting their recently hard-won peace which they just had tasted the sweetness of and have started cherishing it was a call that resonated deeply within many, prompting them to join the military. With the government encouraging and supporting the recruitment drives to bolster its military forces, the once-peaceful society found itself at a crossroads. The rhythmic cadence of construction works and the resolute footsteps of the new soldiers who were joining the ranks became the soundtrack of the nation that was on the brink of a change. Yet, amidst this turmoil of hiring and militarization, an undercurrent of unease had also begun to pervade in the conversations. The internet, which had been the lifeblood of Eden''s interconnectedness, thanks to the whole internet being owned by one company which had increased the number of investments into the infrastructure, began to falter, its slowdown perplexing and unnerving the people. At first, the glitch was attributed to technical issues, but as the problem continued to persist, the government websites were the websites that were the most affected. It started with them becoming unresponsive, which was initially quickly solved without causing any harm, allowing the citizens to think that it really was just a technical issue However, at the same time, rumors of cyberattacks and clandestine interference from the external forces swept through the population like wildfire. The government''s silence only acted as the required fanning of those rumors for those who always needed to find something or the other to talk about in order to keep themselves distracted about their own miserable lives. This worried the normal citizens who were concerned about preserving their recently gained freedom. Thursday marked a turning point though, a seemingly ordinary day, which immediately turned into a not-so-ordinary day anymore as the residents of the country woke up and found themselves to be in the situation of middle ages since all the websites were showing the same error message: "404 not found" meaning that their access to the internet was no longer a right but was turned into a privilege for those who could circumvent the blockade. When they turned on the TV to see if they could learn something or the other from the conventional media, however, their jaws dropped when they saw the ongoing emergency broadcast.I think you should take a look at On the television, the military''s spokesperson was making an announcement and the words coming from his mouth did nothing but only served to increase the worry of the viewers and listeners. "As the spokesperson for our nation''s armed forces, I am here to provide you with an objective update on the events that occurred last night. Eden has experienced an attack from our neighboring nation, Esparia." This sentence alone caused the earth beneath many''s feet to shake. "Under the cover of darkness, Esparian forces breached our borders and targeted several strategic locations within our border bases." The spokesperson then took a pause and then continued. "As a result of this unprovoked aggression, we have incurred casualties and witnessed significant damage to our infrastructure on the border we share with them." "However, our heroic soldiers responded swiftly and bravely to defend our homeland during this unexpected assault and are still engaged in a fire exchange with the enemies as we continue to keep our promise of protecting every inch of our nation''s land." There was anger and will to fight in his voice. "At present, our military is actively engaged in implementing countermeasures to secure our borders and ensure the safety of our people. We are mobilizing additional resources to assess the extent of the damage caused by the attack." The spokesperson spoke in a tone that conveyed the gravity of the situation, his face indicating that the fight against Esparia was going to be challenging, but their determination not to give up no matter was what helped in alleviating the previous hate the citizens had towards the military, realizing that this military was different and more committed towards the nation ... A few hours before the press conference. [Sir, they have started their movements] Nova spoke through the house''s speaker system waking Aron up from his sleep. It was the first time in a long while that he wasn''t spending his time in VR. "What is it?" Aron asked the moment he woke up and opened his eyes after Nova spoke to him, despite her voice being very calm when she first addressed him. [Esparia has finally started mobilizing their military vehicles and will soon begin firing the first artillery shells at our bases on the border] Nova reported. "Good, what is Athena doing?" Aron inquired about Athena''s course of action. Chapter 193 Esparia On The Move ? "Good, what is Athena doing?" Aron inquired about Athena''s course of action. [She ordered for the other soldiers to start retreating in order to avoid any casualties when the fight starts and also to leave the 50 members to make their moves without worrying about endangering their fellow soldiers unnecessarily] [As for the helicopters, she had already loaded them with "that direction remover" and sent them to the water side of the borders. She also has ordered our navy vehicles to start retreating, since they would end up as needless casualties as a result of the upcoming fight] Nova reported Athena''s plan of action. "What about the evacuation, how is it going?" Aron asked about the fate of the normal soldiers who had been sent there to act as a response to the other side''s increasing provocations. [Since we only sent those who had previous military experience, the evacuation is going better than if we had sent inexperienced personnel in their places] Nova reported back. "Good, now show me what is going on in the fields," Aron said as he put on the glasses and returned to lying back as he logged in to the VR. A moment later, Aron found himself inside a massive building that had what looked like thousands of people looking at different feeds, systems and data, all reporting to Athena whenever they found something important for her to make decisions based on the intel they were providing. In front of Aron were two massive screens that showed the information on the ongoing situation at the borders, displaying the movements of the Esparian soldiers as if there were informants among them. However, all of this information was being collected by one powerful system known as "Henry''s eyes" which was being flown by two drones that were circulating the two border regions Eden shared with Esparia, areas which had a massive military presence. The name "Henry''s Eyes" was inspired from his younger brother because the engineers had gotten the inspiration from the data of how Henry''s eyes had evolved and thanks to that, they managed to build the tech that replaced the radar technology in the military. This tech was already integrated into almost every device that needed a detection method. The glasses and other VR devices had been using this tech to get access to data from the real world, the same could be said for the military headgear, all the way to the inside of helicopters, eliminating the need for radars and other traditional sensors in them. The tech worked by creating a bubble with it at the center, collecting every bit of data within that bubble which is then collected, which was then analyzed and displayed by the device, giving one an unprecedented amount of information and the capability of viewing the information from any point of view as long as it is within the bubble. "They are really planning on bulldozing through us and continue moving to take over the whole island before they move to the other island and take over them," Aron murmured as he observed the number of soldiers that were stationed behind the borders. [Yes, after hacking into their government system, this is just the beginning of their plans and some of their plans even include the complete takeover of Eden] Nova reported. "When was this plan uploaded into their system?" Aron asked, wanting to see the timeline of how these events had come to be. [It was logged minutes ago before I woke you up] Nova reported.I think you should take a look at "Any hint about who might have given them the boldness to make such large movements?" Aron asked knowing that Esparia wouldn''t have made the move by themselves. [I suspect it to be the Morgans, during last week''s flight that was heading from America to Esparia, the devices on the plane connected to our internet infrastructure, allowing me to receive information about the devices inside the plane. Strangely, despite most of the devices being powered by using GAIA OS, a few of them weren''t using it, which was strange, So, I decided to investigate them and found out that one of them was working for the Morgans. I had his information when I was collecting data about their plans against the Rothschilds, So, I immediately placed a bug on his phone before it got out of range and although throughout his visit he kept the phone powered off, the bug I put on his phone continued collecting location data. And after he powered the phone back on after returning to America, I received a summary of the locations, which also included the residences of powerful people in Esparia and many of them have their names included in the uploaded plan] Nova lengthy reported. "So it''s them again," Aron smiled when he heard the name, immediately realizing what they were planning to do with this war. When Rina visited to bring him the tritium he had requested. She had informed him about it during that period and also warned him to be careful. [They have started moving] Nova informed Aron. At the same time, the room that was filled with people started getting chaotic as the screen displayed the moving soldiers who had started trespassing into the border into Eden, officially starting their invasion plan. .... "Time to get to work, boys," the team leader of the fifty remaining members on the now empty base said as Athena immediately uploaded the information into their headgears as they were already fully geared with all the tech a soldier would need. They immediately started walking towards the group of soldiers that were ten kilometers away from them and this continued until they were about five kilometers from the convoy of soldiers. The convoy stopped, allowing the fifty soldiers to lie on the ground and start aiming, waiting for the other side to start making their moves. At the same time, Athena was informing the soldiers as to why the convoy stopped. "BOOOOOOOM" And the answer came right after, as shells started falling on the base that they had left empty. [Now you have the justification to fire back] Athena spoke into their ears in a tone that showed her excitement, finally, she was getting the chance to put into practice in real life what she had been training for her whole life in the simulation. Her excitement caused the soldiers who heard it to have goosebumps over their bodies. Chapter 194 20.27 Seconds Of Utter Silence ? Eden-Esparia Maritime Border. "Do they even know that we are already in their waters?" asked the assistant commanding officer aboard the leading vessel that was at the rear of the Esparia''s fleet, which was spearheading itself and prepared for a faceoff with Eden''s Navy at the maritime border. "Even if they know, they won''t be able to do anything about it anyway, so what''s there to worry about? Still, make sure that our soldiers are not full of themselves and continuously keep their eyes on the sonars to make sure there are no mines left behind in our way to victory," the fleet commander responded, as he turned to the right side, glancing at the multitude of vessels on both sides of the fleet, causing a smile to bloom on his face as he imagined the future ceremony were he would be rewarded for trashing Eden''s navy. Just to his right, he could see more than 15 vessels lined and that was the same for the number lined up on the left side, making a total of thirty vessels that were entering the waters of Eden, ready for their face off which would rather be described as a massacre. "Yes, sir," the assistant commanding officer replied, immediately picking up his radio and relaying the instruction to all the vessels in the fleet. However, just as he was about to continue his conversation with the fleet commander, an announcement resounded across all the fleet radios and it was even audible to those who don''t have radios, in fact, the sound was so crisp and clearly heard as if it was being announced a few meters near them. [Attention all Esparia Navy vessels, This is a warning announcement from Eden''s Navy. We have detected your entry into Eden''s territorial waters, and we demand an immediate explanation for your presence in our sovereign waters. Be advised that unauthorized entry into Eden''s waters is a serious violation of our territorial integrity and will not be tolerated. We are closely monitoring your movements, and any provocative or hostile actions will be met with a firm and decisive response. In the interest of de-escalation and maintaining regional peace, we urge you to identify yourselves and your purpose for being in Eden''s waters. Failure to provide a valid and satisfactory explanation may result in serious consequences. ] "Looks like they found us. I would have been even more disappointed if they hadn''t," the commanding officer muttered, maintaining a smile on his face. He picked up the radio and responded, "This is Esparia Fleet commander. We are here under the order of the Commander-in-Chief, the President of Esparia, in retaliation to you firing the artillery at our base along the land border. Surrender immediately, or you will be forced to do so," his voice carried the pride of being on the powerful side where he was sure that no matter what the other side''s response was, he would always be the one to emerge victorious in the war. [If you don''t turn around within thirty seconds, you will regret having said those words] A counter response came with a tick in each second that followed, indicating that it was a counter. [You have a vote in how things turn out, but whatever you choose, it better not be with continuing your trespassing act] The warning concluded with finality with no word after that. "They really have a well-worded soldier," remarked the assistant commanding officer, though he didn''t even dare to think about asking the Commander on whether they should continue to proceed or not. He just kept his head high, showing his confidence, as the Commander raised his radio for the second time and sneered, "Big words used by weak people, but this will also be our last warning. As soon as the thirsty seconds you gave us are up, we will be the ones firing the first shots if we haven''t received your declaration of surrender." I think you should take a look at He then immediately announced to his fleet while still being in an open channel, showing how little he thought of the other side''s words, as he said with disdain, "When the thirty seconds are over, fire at them," he ordered the fleets of four gunships they had bought in bargain from America a few decades ago. "Yes sir," the response came from the gunship crew, showing their unwavering confidence as they ordered the soldiers to start the preparations for firing the first round of artillery when the timer reaches zero, similar to their Commander, they did so without even trying to move to a secure channel, giving the entirety of the ordered without worrying about the other side doing anything that could so something from preventing on doing so or consider them a dangerous adversary. Athen, on the other hand, remained silent, taking note of the actions that completely showed disrespect to Eden''s military, however, she simply saved all of these recordings, knowing that they would be useful in the future. Ting, ting, ting, ting. TING!!!!! The Type2 Bomb, strapped with a booster that was hanging on the helicopter about thirty kilometers away, was released as the pilot pulled the trigger after he was ordered by Athena. With her timing as immaculate as it could be, she had timed the launch of the bombing order exactly when she was sure that there were very little number of imaging satellites over them to avoid letting them have the image of "That direction remover" while it was on its way to the Esparian fleet which still believed that they had the upper hand. "Fire!" Esparia''s commanding officer announced through the open channel and the four gunships responded as they fired without even locking onto their targets, considering that these were just warning shots. Amidst the flying shells of artillery fired from them, "That direction remover" passed right between each other, one meant as a warning and the other''s purpose was clear, as Athena was not joking at all, since they had disrespected her Father''s forces, she had decided that they should be given a long-lasting lesson. "What is that?" Those were the very last words uttered by the commanding officer and many soldiers in Esparia''s fleet, being too late to realize that their appointment with the grim reaper had already been set as a sun emerged before them. The bright light turned the dark ocean into daylight. There were exactly a period of 20.27 seconds of utter silence as the helicopter pilot watched as his face lit up with the light from the explosion about thirty kilometers away before the deafening sound of the explosion finally caught up to him. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM Despite the heavy shockwave, the flight control computer of the helicopter took control and made the helicopter remain unaffected, not even the slightest shake resulted from it. [You shouldn''t have taunted and belittle father like that] Athena said in a serious tone after the first "TDR Type1" bomb detonated, obliterating with it a total of fifteen Esparia''s military vessels after they ignored her warning announcements, clearly indicating that as long as you ignore her warnings, Athena won''t hesitate to use your death as an act of lesson for her soldiers. Chapter 195 Taking Out The Command Structure ? NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado. The specialists and soldiers at NORAD were engaged in doing their usual routine which included monitoring the radar and satellite data and keeping an eye on whether Russia will be playing their usual game of sending T-95 bombers to the Pacific airspace of the US and Canada. ALERT!!!! "HIGH HEAT EXPLOSION DETECTED - PACIFIC OCEAN - EDEN-ESPARIA BORDER" A loud notification was heard throughout the situation monitoring room as the massive screen in front of them displayed the information coming together with the alert coming from the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) satellite constellation. The system showed what it suspected to be a high heat explosion it caught on its extremely highly sensitive infrared cameras loaded on the satellites constellation. The computer systems in a complex began displaying crucial information about the detected high-heat explosion. This information included the location and other relevant details to help the specialists, soldiers and the commanders to assess the situation rapidly. Following the protocol, the command center then started notifying the higher authorities and military leadership using the secure communication channels. In Russia, a similar situation was happening as their early warning information system from their Missile Attack Warning System (SPRN), situated in the Russian Aerospace Forces had received the alert regarding the explosion. China, too, was not much far behind as their incomplete Yaogan series of satellite constellations didn''t fall much behind in detecting the heat from the massive explosion, alerting them of the events that were going on between Eden and Esparia in the middle of the night. This incident marked as the start of attracting the massive eyeballs on the ongoing war theater where countries scrambled to find out who hit whom and exactly how were they even able to accomplish that feat of detonating such a massive explosion, enough to trigger their satellites, all of those countries who were in the know started changing the orbits of their imaging satellites so that it could pass over Eden in an attempt on imaging the location where the explosion had took place, trying to piece the whole picture as to what was going on. And at the same time, they were trying to establish communication between the two countries where the detonation had taken place, to understand the detonation that had occurred at their border. ..... "Oh my god," the helicopter pilot exclaimed in response to the explosion that had taken place as a result of him pulling the trigger and launching the bomb. ''Yep, they had come for it, but that was definitely a deserved overkill.'' He thought to himself when he remembered how they belittled his nation''s military and had tried to threaten them in their very own territorial waters. As for the soldiers in the surviving boats, despite being grateful that they had survived, now they were also guaranteed with a burden of a lifetime of PTSD. Most of them had their ears bleeding due to being in such close proximity to the massive sound and shockwave, a shockwave that carried the last voices of their now minced soldiers. In their eyes, the arrogance they once carried had completely vanished, with its place occupied by horror and fear that could be seen deep within them. Their will to fight had turned into a history and the expectation of glory and medal had forced them to question as to how they even thought that they would be winning the war in the first place.I think you should take a look at [Hello to the remaining survivors, if you want to surrender, now is the time and anyone who doesn''t show his intent to do so will be visited by a second package] Athena sent out a second announcement before the Pilot fired a row of bullets to act as a warning and thanks to the guns being made of railgun, it managed to reach the debris field where even now the debris of more than fifteen boats could be seen as it was slowly sinking with the bodies of all the soldiers littered everywhere in pieces, one looks and the others surviving boats finding themselves in not a good condition. Upon hearing the announcement, all the soldiers immediately ran to the nearest radio they could find to announce their surrender without showing a hint of trying to fight back. And just like that, a war where the enemy expected that they would win victory with a landslide, sadly ended with the victory of the weaker side, simply by detonating a single bomb, taking with it the entire high-level commanding structure, leaving only the boat leaders in the commanding ladder and now using their commanding power, they were taking the boats through Eden''s water, following the instruction given to them in order to surrender their forces. This was a war where an entire Navy fleet fought and lost against a single helicopter of the defending nation without facing any retaliatory fire in return. ... A few minutes before the Pilot had been ordered to send "TDR bomb" a skirmish on the land border had erupted by the rain of artillery fire from Esparia''s forces as the vehicles carrying soldiers were at a hold, waiting for the chaos caused by the artillery fire to disorient the soldiers before they started making their moves. Three kilometers away from the nearest vehicles of Esparia, fifteen among the fifty soldiers could be seen lying down in cover at different distances from each other, their guns aiming and matching in the direction where the vehicle fleet was situated, the sky above was covered by artillery shells which passed and were heading to their border. [Take out the commanding structure] Athena ordered, using the long-range data collected from "Henry''s eyes'''' and integrating what it into the headgears the soldiers were wearing, highlighting the people she wanted to be removed to elicit surrender from the enemy forces. The moment the highlighting was done, the soldiers wasted no time in pulling the trigger in unison followed by the sounds of bullets leaving their electromagnetic acceleration barrels, finally embarking on their last journey for reducing a few souls from the living side of the universe. A few seconds later, the entire high-level commanding structure, that had been in the situation room within a tent that was situated about six kilometers away from the fifteen soldiers, preparing to watch and direct how the entire situation takes place, ceased to breathe, severing their access to the living realm. The bullets marked the first objects to take human life, with the artillery fired by their soldiers being ranked second, having killed 23,532 ants that had their nests on the base of Eden. The rest thirty-five of the fifty soldiers had their guns aimed at the vehicles that carried people on the next line of command within the massive convoy of military vehicles, waiting for the artillery rain to subside. Their headgear turned red, highlighting a few people it deemed important enough for them to die before the rest of the fleet. "BANG" A silent, synchronous sound echoed in the loud night going unnoticed except by the ones who fired it Chapter 196 The Fifteen Minute War ? After the death of the remaining commanding structure in the convoy, the soldiers finally realized that something was terribly wrong. Some of them even heard the sound of the mirror shattering followed by the sound of a coconut busting, which attracted their attention and forced them to take a look at what was really going on. But that was not all, some of them had been having a conversation with their comrades, just before the person they were conversing with had their heads suddenly explode in front of them, spattering all of their brain matter over their faces, giving them a horrific experience and a very expensive PTSD to recover from. Although killing people was good, Athena had practically dismantled all of the existing command structure, rendering any effort of recovering from what had happened in a short period of time almost impossible. And throughout this whole fiasco, artillery shells continued to be fired by their forces since she had already decrypted all the radio signals on the island and was impersonating to be the authentic command, ordering them to continue firing until they ran out of shells, planning to end the war by the end of this very night. The artillery squadron asked no questions as they were sure that if a problem occurred, they wouldn''t be the ones to be blamed for it since the order came from the higher ranks. They continued firing the shell relentlessly, as if there was no tomorrow, making little adjustments in the firing angle after every few rounds. While the shell were still flying over them, the soldiers in the convoy had now fully come to the realization of what had just happened and started panicking, that was when the first person fired their guns in the direction of Esparia''s camp, with that, the rest soon followed as they had came to a conclusion that the snipers must be coming from that direction. Athena silently observed as the Esparian soldiers fired their guns in panic, with some of them trying to run back towards the artillery squadron for their safety, some of them were even hiding in the tanks or in the armored cars. This was immediately followed by the driver of those vehicles starting to retreat, trying to get as far away from the chaos as possible, to increase their chances of surviving. However, the moment they started firing, some soldiers shot their own fellow comrades in a fit of panic, escalating the chaos even further. And with more than fifty vehicles trying to retreat at once, another level of chaos now erupted amidst the cars as the driver of every car tried to be the first one to leave this chaotic zone. [Surrender now and you won''t be killed] An announcement was heard through all the radio communication devices, this caused a short moment of lul among the Esparian soldiers on the border as they wondered if they had heard it correctly. Alas, despite the warning, the artillery continued to be fired as if they hadn''t heard the order while they remained oblivious to the chaos that was going on just a few kilometers away from them. Athena, who had deliberately made it that way as she wanted to demonstrate another feat of force to convince the soldiers to follow her order, sent the order to the pilot of the massive helicopter hovering over the same location since the massacre had started, to release the TDR type.I think you should take a look at Wasting no time, the pilot followed the order and pulled the trigger, releasing the bomb which was immediately followed by the booster strapped on it to get ignited as it embarked on its final mission, a journey of being a part-time grim reaper, though just for a brief period of a second. The soldiers who had paused for a moment continued their attempts to escape once the artillery team continued firing heard a sonic boom coming from the Eden''s base and by the time they raised their heads, they could see a white colored tube looking object with a fireball behind it for a brief second before it passed by them. Realizing what it exactly was, the soldiers immediately dunked down, trying to take cover and when they noticed that nothing had happened, they turned their faces towards the direction the bomb had gone. To their shock, they immediately saw a massive explosion occur exactly five kilometers away from them, it was as if a massive light bulb had been lit up. And exactly 14.6 seconds later, they were honored with being the very first humans on land to have an enmasse collective loss of hearing, similar to what their counterparts at the sea had experienced. At this moment from the deepest part of their hearts, they understood very well that the artillery squadron was no more. The moment their hearing returned, they heard the same announcement they had heard before the artillery squadron was wiped out, causing them to understand that if they failed to comply with the given instructions, they would be the missile''s next target. As the saying goesC "It only takes one coward to determine the entire outcome of a battle." The moment the first soldier dropped his weapon, it was as if a domino had started to fall as soldier after soldier followed suit, dropping their weapons and raising their hand high while facing the Eden base''s direction, hoping that whoever had fired that bomb or missile could see them clear enough and not do the same thing to them as he had done to the artillery squadron. However, there were a few brave ones in the midst of the surrendering soldiers, but after the third soldier tried acting heroic and had his head burst out of nowhere, the rest of the soldiers didn''t dare to do anything that would make them be deemed as defiance. They now were aware that there was an angel of death somewhere on the other side, who was ready to take them to after life the moment they tried doing anything funny. [Now, with your weapons left there, start walking to our base. Remember, the moment any of you try doing anything funny, he will be killed. Of course, you are welcome to test our theory] Athena announced once again and at the same time another soldier''s head was blown off. When those near him glanced at the dead soldier, they caught the sight of a hidden handgun next to him, this increased the level of fear they had against their enemy as they failed to imagine how the heck the enemy whom they still haven''t seen could see that one among them had hidden the gun behind his back. One by one, they started walking, officially beginning the march of life as they tried to walk as fast as they could, lest they also had their heads popped like watermelons similar to those who had fucked around and ended up being fucked out of the very life. Just like a jock, the war that had started abruptly also ended abruptly, finishing the entire war with a landslide victory. The only loss on the winner''s side was the base that was shelled, with no casualty sustained by them. The entire war had come to a conclusion in a matter of fifteen minutes with the losing side having lost more than two hundred and fifty soldiers altogether, along with it taking the title of the world''s shortest war from the Anglo-Zanzibar War which had lasted for only about 38 to 45 minutes. Chapter 197 The Oblivious Ones [BONUS CHAPTER] ? The presidential palace, Esparia. Inside the situation room, the President of Esparia, Samuel, could be seen quietly sitting, eagerly waiting for the reports of their ongoing invasion on Eden, and from his expressions, it could be said that he didn''t seem to be worried about anything going bad at all. "Do we still have the radio problem?" He asked the Esparias Military General, who was with him, along with several other high-level members of the government and among them there was a person who didn''t have any of such lofty position in the government and yet was allowed in the room and was, in fact, even given a chair right next to the President, he was the spokesperson sent by the Morgan''s after the first visitor from them had observed the situation and returned back to report to them. "We suspect that the other side is trying to disrupt the rhythm of our operation, but you don''t have to worry, Mister President. We are confident of winning this fight with a landslide victory," answered the general, trying to make it so that the President doesn''t later try to undermine his glory. The president looked at the representative of the Morgans and just as he was about to start his conversation with him, a secure phone line started ringing, causing the president to stop and glance at it as the general picked up the phone and put it on loudspeaker since he didn''t want to repeat what the conversation might be about. "Go on," the general said, allowing the caller to start speaking. [Good evening, Mr Samuel and the rest of the members] Athena''s feminine voice greeted from the other side of the phone, causing the people in the room to tilt their heads in confusion and make them wonder if a soldier was messing with them despite knowing that he could be punished for such an act? "You do know that you will be heavily punished for not following the military protocol, right?" the general stated in an intimidating tone, trying to make the soldier know the weight of what he had just done, "I will ask the President to forgive you under the assumption that you were too excited for the good news you were about to present to us. So, go on and say it without wasting our time," he added. Athena, who had been quiet throughout the reprimanding words of the general, answered while saying, [Had I been a soldier of your country, that would have been something scary and reassuring to hear from you. Unfortunately, I''m not one of them. I''m calling from the secure phone the currently dead commanding structure had in their planning tent to inform you that we have all of your remaining soldiers under our temporary prison, as prisoners of war] She said in a serious tone, making the members hearing her words to subconsciously believe that whatever she was saying was no longer a joke since no one was dumb enough to play such a foolish prank on them given the current situation. "You seem to have lucked out and managed to gain connection to our encrypted communication, planning to play a game of minds with us in the hope that we stop our invasion. But you''re barking up the wrong tree, you should have used this chance to beg for the conditions of surrender," Samuel said after realizing the caller was indeed from Eden''s military. [I really can''t be bothered to give further explanation. Call this number after you are informed, I don''t think it should take long] Athena said before ending the call since she had enough time to play mind games with them. "Logan, do you think she is serious about what she said?" Samuel asked the general after taking a short moment to ponder whether their enemies were serious or just bluffing.I think you should take a look at "They must be bluffing, Mister President. Through all of our simulation, we are sure that there is not even a slim possibility of them ending up as the winners in this fight," Logan answered with a pride tone, showing how confident he was of winning the fight, to the point of not even considering the chance of the call being real. At the same time, he started disconnecting all the power cords to the phones in the room to prevent any chance of eaves droppings happening through the infiltrated secure communication lines. Not taking any chances. "Then how do you explain about the radio being jammed moments after we crossed the border and not receiving any report through any other channels for the past 20 minutes since the war started?" asked the representative of the Morgan''s, opening his mouth for the first time since the start of the operation. They only knew him as the representative, because that''s what he had introduced himself as and hadn''t even given them his name. "Due to having a problem with funding allocation, we haven''t upgraded the radio of all the soldiers. So they might have the ability to jam them but that doesn''t mean that they have won the war. We can explain all of it if they might have got help from the telecommunication giant, CONNECT," Logan said, trying to give an explanation on how the jamming might have been made possible. "If they are that powerful, why did they fail to stop us from disturbing their government infrastructure and almost their whole internet infrastructure, slowing down the internet and even removing access to their government websites?" asked the representative from the Morgan family. "Our communication infrastructure is not as advanced as yours, which allowed you to make them suffer. But their communication juggernaut of a company should at least have the capability of blocking certain radio signals. Despite being outdated, if they were to use CONNECT''s infrastructure, they should still be a few generations ahead of the most prevalent communication system we have. So, it should be easy for them to do that. Nonetheless, that doesn''t stop us from bulldozing them, all we have to do is bomb their base and kill or capture the rest of them," Logan retorted back, finding that the situation he was in right now was quite embarrassing since he was defending the enemy''s capabilities by explaining how they could do such a thing, yet at the same time, also try to show the man that he was confident of them winning this fight despite the other side having the advantage of information infrastructure. "Why don''t we just send a helicopter to the war theater so that it can bring back information on whether everything is going as planned or not?" suggested Logan, trying to end the discussion as the more he discussed this, the more uneasy he started to become. He found the reasoning made by the people in the room was logical, the only discrepancy here being that the Eden''s military couldn''t have gained so much expertise in such a short period of time. "That makes the most sense. Go on and order for a helicopter to be sent there and bring back the information as soon as possible," Samuel said, trying to mediate and prevent the two people from starting an argument and also in order to make sure that his second batch of payment would be delivered to him upon receiving the news of the successful start of the operation. Logan immediately called for his assistant and gave him the order, avoiding the use of phones in the room since they were already infiltrated. Chapter 198 Meeting The ESF ? Under the cover of darkness, six heavily armed helicopters lifted off from one of the well-lit military bases in Esparia. Each helicopter carried two pilots and four soldiers who had been armed to the max, heading in two directions for executing a dangerous mission that was handed to them, one was headed towards the land border and the other to the water border close to the first, where a great massacre was already expected to have happened. Although Athena deliberately called through the secure line from their land base and only talked about having some prisoners of war, she didn''t specify where the prisoners originated from, as she wanted Esparia to still want to continue the war. Because if the war were to end this way, Esparia would still have the delusion that they had lost merely because the other side turned out to be lucky and had hit them back in surprise, believing that they could win with enough preparations from their side. She wanted to solve the problem from the very root and prevent it from ever raising again. The helicopters heading to the land war theater were the first to arrive after a forty-five minutes long flight. At first, they were expecting to be able to see the ongoing fight with the barter trade of bullets taking place, however, nothing of such sort could be seen which in itself was weird and scary. In fact, the whole scene before them looked deserted. "Ground Base, this is Recon-1. Over!" The leading helicopter pilot tried to establish communication with the ground base. "Ground Base, Recon-1 on approach. Requesting radio check. Over." The pilot repeated his attempt to establish communications with them once again. "Ground Base, this is Recon-1. We are within visual range. Requesting immediate contact. Over." He repeated the communication establishment request for the third time and when he received no reply after waiting for a short period, he immediately said, "All Recon units, this is Alpha 1. Standby in a holding pattern above the vicinity of the base. Maintain radio silence until further notice. I''m going to establish communication with the Home Base to inform them about this. Over." Beta: "Copy, Alpha 1. Holding in position and maintaining radio silence. Over." Gama: "Roger that, Alpha 1. Standing by and ready to support. Over." Delta: "Affirmative, Alpha 1. Holding pattern and radio silence in effect. Over." Alpha 1: "Good. Maintain visual contact with the landing zone and keep your sensors on high alert. We need to be prepared for any potential threats. Over." He reminded the pilots of the other helicopters to be careful, while immediately started to establish communication with the home base and informed them about what they had seen. "Home Base, this is Recon 1, we''re at the designated recon zone, but we''ve been unable to establish communication with Ground Base so far. It seems deserted. We''ve spotted unusual holes that should be the result of a large explosion. Over." He informed them at once. "Copy that, Recon-1. Can you provide visual and photographic evidence of your discoveries? Over." The home base responded at once, asking for more information. "Affirmative, Home Base. Activating the onboard cameras for documentation. Sending images now. Over." He responded, immediately starting the process of establishing data transfer with the Home base. "Received the images, Recon-1. Excellent work. Maintain position until further notice and still remain cautious. We will analyze the data and advise your next steps. Over." The home base reported that they have received the images and ordered the pilots to remain on standby.I think you should take a look at "Understood, Home Base. Standing by until fur........" he had just said till then, when "BRRRRRRRRRRRRR" They were attacked by bullets that started raining on the helicopter all of a sudden, out of nowhere, hitting only the non-threatening part of the helicopter that was enough to make it incapable of continuing its flight but not bad enough to cause them to explode. "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY" All the pilots in the three helicopters entered an emergency response, controlling their helicopter they tried their best to make their landings as smooth as possible and reduce the amount of injuries they would be sustaining after the crash landing. They started their emergency landing by detaching all the bombs and rockets that they had brought in preparation for an attack and ditching their external fuel tanks which they had brought in preparation for long operations, however, now they were nothing more than additional firewood that would cook them if it exploded upon their emergency landing. And thanks to them taking that measure and their expertise that was honed over a long period of time, they managed to land alive, albeit not completely unharmed, the injuries were light enough as they survived and managed to get off the helicopter with nothing threateningly harmful. "Welcome!" That was the first word they heard after they had finished thanking god for keeping them alive. The soldiers among the group immediately raised their guns, pointing them in the direction where the sound had come from. "I wouldn''t do that if I were you," came a response as they noticed that about fifteen people, who from head to toe were completely donned in futuristic-looking gear, had their guns pointed at them, at the same time, the opponents fired their guns in unison without any further warning, resulting in their bullets to break the guns in the hands of the soldier, causing them to have a mini heart attack as they were both scared for their lives and at the same time impressed with the coordination among these soldiers. The situation grew tense as the two sides faced each other, uncertain as to what lay ahead. However, after a moment, the pilots and the few soldiers immediately raised their hands in surrender while the afraid Alpha 1 asked, "Who are you guys?" having trouble remembering any country to have such futuristic-looking gears. "(ESF) Eden''s special forces," one of them answered and then they immediately started handing each of the survivors a black zip tie-looking device and at the same time instructed, "Put them on or you will be forced to do so." Following the instructions, the Esparian soldiers put their hands at the center of the ziptie-looking device which automatically closed themselves, fitting to the size of their hands at the same time, giving them a sensation as if they had lost all the strength from their bodies, scaring the shit out of them. This sudden loss of strength had more to do with the zip ties using the nervous system in their hands to force the brain into putting a limiter on the strength of the people wearing them. Following that, they were immediately escorted to a military truck that had arrived a few moments ago, indicating that it was specifically brought for carrying these new prisoners. As for the those in the helicopters that had headed to the waterfront, they were met with the same fate, the only difference being that they had to swim for a few meters before a boat came to rescue them, it was at that time that they were handed the zip tie 2.0 before they were even offered blankets to shield themselves from the freezing breeze in the ocean. Chapter 199 Flipping The Table ? "Sir, we have lost contact with the helicopter we sent for reconnaissance," reported the assistant, who had been the one responsible for sending the order of dispatching the helicopters for reconnaissance. "What do you mean by that? Didn''t we send six of them? How the heck could all of them lose communication at the very same time?" Logan asked, his tone clearly indicating that he was breaking from the inside. He finally started believing that even if they were unlucky for the first time, they couldn''t be so ill-fated now as well and have lost all the helicopter''s communication despite being well-prepared with counter measures. "No, sir, they didn''t lose communication at the same time, rather, all of them were shot down," the assistant clarified his report as he put down a computer and played the audio recording right before the helicopters were gunned down. "Understood, Home Base. Standing by till furBRRRRRRRRRRRR" The audio came to an abrupt halt with white noise, indicating that the helicopter was certainly lost. "Fuck" the President swore, realizing that now they had to buy new helicopters to replace the currently downed ones. He wasn''t concerned about the loss of soldiers at all since they could be replaced at any time, however, the money needed to buy the helicopter couldn''t be refunded and that meant he would be having a little bit less money to embezzle. "So, we failed to get any information about what is really going on on the borders?" asked the representative, causing the entire room that was filled with whispers to return back to complete silence. "No, we have managed to get images from the land base before the helicopters were shot down, however, the one sent over the waters was shot even before they could send us any images back," reported the assistant as he started handing a folder which had the pictures that were sent by the Recon-1 before it was shot down. "Holy mother!" Logan blurted as his eyes widened as soon as he laid his eyes on the picture, despite being an incompetent general, upon seeing the crater near the base, he could still deduce that whatever had exploded at this place was massive ordnance, carrying quite a heavy power with it. "So, what are we going to do with this?" Samuel wondered as he put the folder down, knowing how unpopular he was going to be after this news reached the citizens and relatives of those that were sent to the base. "It might not be as bad as we think, if you look at the explosion, there are only a few body parts scattered around it, meaning that more than seventy percent of the soldiers might be still alive and are only captured. However, the problem is, we don''t have the images of what happened at the other location," Logan said, bringing into view that most of their problems were only due to them being starved of information. "Then how about sending fighter jets for reconnaissance this time?" Samuel asked. "We can''t do that, with them shooting the six helicopters at once; it clearly indicates that they already have a very robust anti-aircraft defense system established," Logan said, shaking off the President''s idea. "I can get you the satellite images of the battlefield, but no matter the outcome comes from the picture, you have to remember the deal, you are not to stop until you have reached one of the milestones stated in the contract, or else you will be the ones who will need to worry about your lives. If the situation on the ground is worse than expected, we will be supporting you with both manpower and even the technology to take down their infrastructures, but for those assistances, our deal will have to be rewritten and increase the share of the pie we will be receiving when everything is over," said the representative, even threatening them to not even think of the idea of giving up. "We should get those images first and then decide what actions we are going to take following that, but if things are as bad as what we can extrapolate from what little information we have, we will have to be as much prepared as we can and also need to send a massive amount of vehicles and other resources." Samuel agreed, feeling that his money was getting further and further away from him. "So, how are we going to respond when Eden makes an announcement about this?" Samuel asked after a moment, taking a look at everyone in the room. "We just have to prepare different responses and choose one based on how Eden reports the incident, that would allow us to understand what they are planning to use their victory at the moment," the representative said before taking his phone from his pocket and leaving the room to call his supervisor for the request to provide him with the satellite images of the ongoing events at the border between Eden and Esparia.I think you should take a look at ..... When they received the satellite images, they finally were able to see the full extent of the war''s outcome. On the land, there were two craters: one massive, which lay in the place that used to be the artillery squadron''s location of firing the shells and the second one which was caused by one of the Esparia''s special forces after it fired on the ammunition depot, resulting in the depot''s explosion, thus forming the small crater. As for the water, where the other part of the battle had taken place, there was nothing but a calm ocean. No boats or their wreckage could be seen, however, there were still many bodies that could be caught sight of if one zoomed in, this was enough to give them the missing part of information they needed to know what exactly had happened to their navy fleet. Their entire navy fleet was completely wiped out! However, when they looked at the next image, they saw some of their boats being docked in a small military port with tents being arranged at the base, giving them slight reassurance knowing that at least some of their soldiers were alive. This would reduce the amount of backlash they would be receiving from the family members of the soldiers and the general public for the huge losses they had suffered had it been a complete massacre of their navy fleet. "It looks like we have lost round one and Eden should be bragging about it tomorrow morning, but that should turn out to be helpful for us as now that they had won, they would loosen their vigilance and when we return after preparing for over a month, we should be able to pay for this humiliation," Logan spat as he crumpled the papers on his hands in anger, he had lost his chance of winning a battle and get himself a medal, which could have been the start of his journey on etching his name among one of the best generals in the history. "Are we going to negotiate with them for the release of our soldiers in the midst of our preparations?" he asked after putting down the now crumpled paper on the table. "Yes. Right after they make their press conference, we will respond that it was a misunderstanding and they were the ones who attacked us first and tell the family members of the soldiers that we will be negotiating for their release, while behind Eden''s back, we will still be preparing for the second round of the fight," answered the President''s assistant with a starry light in his eyes. But what happened the next (Thursday) morning was nothing that they had prepared themselves for. The spokesperson of Eden''s ministry of defense just informed the public about Esparia''s attack on both land and water, while they never talked about them winning the war or anything related to it, they just said that the fight was still going on and that they will do their best to protect their sovereignty, that''s all. No talks about winning the war or anything to hint at that, they even portrayed themselves to be the ones on the losing side and put themselves in a worse condition and even causing worry among the public where they could have been bragging about their one-sided beatdown that they had dished out to Esparia, flipping the table on almost all of Esparia''s plans that were made with the expectation that Eden would be bragging about their win. "SHIT" cursed the President and the general in unison as they watched the press conference. They were taken aback by the unexpected turn of events and Eden''s unexpected thick-faced nature. Chapter 200 The Worlds Reaction ? The news was received by every corner of the globe in just a matter of a few hours. However, the world on the other hand reacted completely differently to the information, especially after the American government held a press conference a few hours after the one carried out by Eden''s Ministry of defense(EMOD), but during this press conference, they brought out a completely different narrative from what the EMOD had stated about the ongoing war. The revelation from the American government''s side came with imagery evidence among which included the shocking explosion images that were captured by their Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) constellation. The image clearly showed the ocean water rising very high amidst a few boats that were destroyed and only had a few pieces floating together, with a massive plum of water rising for a radius of ten kilometers which was its impact zone. The water turned foamy after being disturbed by shockwaves from the explosion and was caught by the sensors and is now shown as evidence. In fact, people were completely taken aback by such a horrific event that had occurred just a few hours ago and the country that did this did not even consider what might happen after they massacred the entire fleet that had breached their maritime sovereignty and continued acting as if the war had only started. (@CuriousSoul): Woah, just caught up on the EMOD''s press conference about the ongoing war! Their narrative made them look weak, but now the American government comes in with a completely different story? #WarSaga #DualNarratives (@HistoryBuff101): This is getting wild! The American government''s imagery evidence is too just shocking. That explosion pic from their SBIRS is horrifying, yet it looked awesome! #WarSaga #ExplosiveRevelations (@NewsJunkie23): Can''t wrap my head around it! Why does Eden''s narrative imply that the fight is going to be very difficult for them if they want to come out victorious, but at the same time, America''s narrative shows that they have completely dragged and massacred the Esparians, ending the entire thing in a matter of a few minutes? Who do we believe? #WarSaga #ConflictingReports (@TechGeek99): The technology doesn''t lie! The SBIRS evidence is compelling, but who''s to confirm that it wasn''t tampered with? We need a real report. Conspiracy theories in 3, 2, 1... #WarSaga #TechTruth (@problemmaker): But from where the heck did they even get their hands on such a powerful explosive and how were they even able to use it without the other side doing absolutely nothing to avoid it? #somethingishidden here #Conspiracy #Insidejob (@PoliticalInsight): Geopolitics at play! EMOD and America trying to shape the narrative in their favor. We need unbiased reporting and fact-checking. #WarSaga #GeopoliticalGames (@DefenceExpert22): Let''s not forget the tragedy! The casualties in the ocean battle can''t be ignored. Condolences to the families affected. #WarSaga #RememberTheFallen (@HopefulMindset): Amidst the chaos, let''s hope for better days ahead. Humanity must find a way to resolve conflicts peacefully. #WarSaga #HopeForPeace (@AnalyticalEyes): The power of perspective! EMOD and America''s narratives show how information can be twisted to their liking. Critical thinking is crucial in times like these. #WarSaga #PerspectiveMatters (@Thecuriousdude69): By the way, where the fuck is Esparia''s department of defense? We need some fucking answers, they remain quiet throughout all of this? Are they embarrassed for the beating they received? #WarSaga #WherethefuckisEsparia #Esperia? #Ineedansweres Interestingly, Esparia had remained silent despite them being the ones who had suffered heavy casualties of their soldiers and were humiliated while the other side had already made their announcement. As the public pressure continued to increase, the silence could only last for a few hours before the news about Esparia arranging a press conference in the afternoon of the same day. After all, they were pressured by the public to give an explanation of what the heck had happened and with the cries of the families of the soldiers that had been sent to the border during the period, only escalated the tensions. People were waiting for the press conference with anxiousness, curious as to what explanation Esparia was going to provide about the devastating events.I think you should take a look at .... [ Esparia Ministry of Defense Press Conference ] Inside the room filled with hundreds of reporters from both local and international media, all were eager to get this news to the curious observers who wanted to get as much information as possible about the ongoing situation. People were curious whether it was just a skirmish that would end as such or will it escalate into a full-blown war, with some secretly hoping for the latter to happen. A handsome-looking man, donned in a full ceremonial military uniform, walked into the room, carrying a hard folder in his hands. He confidently walked to the podium before putting the folder on it. Raising his head, he looked at the flashing cameras and reporters in the room to address them in a calm and slow manner. "Ladies and gentlemen," The little amount of whispers and talks came to a halt as he continued. "Thank you for joining us today as we address the recent events involving Esparia and Eden. It is with a heavy heart that I stand before you to shed light on the unfortunate incidents that occurred last night," he paused for a moment, allowing the people to prepare themselves for the gravity of what he was going to say next. After a short moment of pause, he continued, "Last night, our fleet was engaged in a routine navigation exercise, training for a situation where we use other means of navigation apart from just our GPS navigation system." "Due to some uncalculated errors occurring during the exercise, our fleet inadvertently veered into Eden''s waters without any malicious intent." "When that happened, Eden''s forces, without any prior warning, launched an aggressive attack on our fleet using a bomb that resulted in the loss of numerous brave soldiers and the capture of the remaining members. We deeply mourn for the loss of our comrades and are doing everything in our power to secure the safe return of those captured." "It is crucial to note that there was no prior warning from Eden and we were taken by surprise when we were suddenly faced with an attack without any provocation." He let out a sigh, a look of worry flashing on his face, he then continued. "Furthermore, Eden''s aggression didn''t stop right at the sea as they simultaneously initiated a skirmish on the land border. This clearly indicates that this was not just a simple reaction to us entering their water, but a deliberately planned operation from their side, so that they could inflict damage upon us and us entering their waters was nothing but a mere justification they could use for what they had done to us." "Their actions caught our forces off guard, leaving them with little to no chance to defend themselves. This attack resulted in severe casualties and a humiliating arrest of all the surviving members of our forces situated on the base." The man said as he seemed to be grinding his teeth in anger. Seeing this, many of the reporters couldn''t help but start to believe that it was indeed true. Chapter 201 Subtle Threats ? In the room where the Esparian government was providing information as to what had HAPPENED. Most of the reporters in the conference couldn''t help but feel sorry for Esparia, after hearing the TRUTH. Meanwhile, the guy who had been informing them about the events from last night looked at the reporters with conviction after a deep moment of pause. "As a nation committed to peace and cooperation, we never intended, nor did we seek for any confrontation with our neighbor, Eden. The events that unfolded were truly regrettable and tragic, we might never be able to forget what they had done to us." "However, Esparia doesn''t intend to use vengeance, rather we seek to resolve the conflicts through peaceful means and we extend our hand in dialogue to Eden. We call for a cessation of hostilities and hope that together, we can find a diplomatic solution to prevent further bloodshed and foster a peaceful coexistence for the citizens of our nations. "However, let me be clear - in the face of this unprovoked aggression and the great loss of our brave soldiers, Esparia stands united and resolute. We will defend our sovereignty and protect our citizens from any threat with unwavering determination, no matter the cost." The sudden change in the tone and words caused almost everyone in the room to look at each other, nonetheless, they still continued to hear him. "In the upcoming weeks, we will work to get our captured soldiers back and seek the absolute necessary compensation to our martyred soldiers. We hope Eden cooperates with us in this regard and avoids any further escalation of the situation, as that might lead to a bite back." The man then put a blank look on his face as he said. "Rest assured, this decision to negotiate is not due to the lack of our capability for retaliation, rather it is an act of mercy to prevent any further loss of life, should we choose to retaliate in a similar way." "Should our negotiations with them fail, we have the responsibility to remind them: Esparia''s military might remain unmatched, our soldiers are courageous and skilled, and we also have the unwavering support of our citizens." "With that said, we shall retain the right to declare war on them in case the negotiation with them ends unfavorably." "We shall not be deterred and we shall not falter. Together, we will overcome this adversity and emerge victorious in revenging our fallen, no matter the price." "God bless Esparia!" With those words, he concluded the press conference without taking any questions from the reporters, despite having their hands raised the moment he finished, trying to point out the inconsistency in some of the things he had said. "They really went with that approach of trying to make us look like the instigators. How is the reaction online?" Aron asked, maintaining a smile on his face, not showing any negative reaction to what was said at Esparia''s press conference. [The Morgans have gotten into high gear as they are trying to shape the world''s perception of the event. They are using their massive media control to portray us as the aggressors. They are trying to shape public opinion and make it seem as if we were the ones who started this as they saw no chance of winning if we were to be fighting fairly, thus chose this surprise, coordinated attack as a means to attack to the strong-arm themselves into ending the standup we had on our border] Nova reported back, answering Aron''s question. [Should I start countering their attempts at shaping public opinion?] She asked about his preferred choice of action. "No, just make sure such rhetoric doesn''t appear inside Eden," Aron answered.I think you should take a look at "By the way, how long is their preparation going to take before they are able to declare war on us?" he asked, as he was sure that they didn''t have any plans of not declaring war on us and merely used it up as an excuse to buy themselves some time before they could return back more prepared. [The minimum is a month, but it won''t exceed two months. They will likely be preparing themselves on ways to counter measures on what they perceived as our ability to jam their outdated communication tech. So, most of their upgrades will be in that direction. Also, since they are sure that they can damage our communication infrastructure by cyber-attacks, we can expect more of them to happen in the next fight] Nova reported back. [Should I allow them to do the damage or is the current damage enough] she asked, wanting to know his approach on the cyber battlefield. "Nah, they did enough damage the first time to give us justification to overhaul all of the government''s communication networks," Aron answered, showing that this was going to be the first and the last time he allowed a cyber attack to be targeted at important things in the country. "Also, did the materials Felix bought arrive yet?" He asked, remembering the reason this war had to be taken care of by only a few members of ESF and some helicopters. [Yes they have arrived at the port and 46 percent of it has already been delivered. As for the rest, they will continue to arrive by Saturday evening] Nova reported back. "Good, we need to make it extremely clear that we are not to be messed with," Aron said in a serious tone before he was interrupted by his phone''s ring. When he took a look at the caller, he saw that it was Alexander, the President of Eden. "Hello, Mr. President," Aron said, playfully adding the title jokingly. "Hello, I called to ask if you have seen the press conference which Esparia just did?" Alexander asked respectfully, just like always, maintaining his respect for Aron. "Yes, I watched it while it occurred and I must say, they are making quite bold claims," Aron answered. "Are we capable of handling their war declaration, or are you planning to return their captured soldiers and compensate for their loss?" Alexander asked in a tone which showed that he didn''t hope this to happen since that would destroy the country''s morale. "You don''t have to worry about that. We know for sure that no matter what we do, they don''t plan for anything to end peacefully either way. They plan to declare war on us and we are completely capable of winning it. We have about forty thousand soldiers ending their training by the end of this week, that would make it impossible for Esparia to come victorious in any fight we have with them," Aron answered, reassuring his friend. "Realy?" Alexander exclaimed in surprise, knowing that although Aron would joke sometimes with him, his jokes would always be backed up with action if push comes to shove. "Yes, as for how, John will be visiting you soon to brief you on everything. So, don''t worry about such matters and continue to encourage the citizens to join their effort in strengthening the country, both in construction and military," Aron said. "Also, how do you plan to refute their accusation of us attacking them without any warnings?" Alexander asked. "Our spokesperson will be holding a press conference soon, coming up with evidence showing that we did warn them and even give them enough time to change course. When they didn''t, we took necessary actions to protect our territory on both the sea and land by firing at them for trespassing," Aron answered and shortly added. "More details will be sent to you in a few minutes by the Minister of Defense," dumping all the responsibility to John, who was both the general and the Minister of Defense of the country, with no term limit for his position and could only be removed or replaced by Aron''s approval. "Oooh, that''s good then," Alexander said after hearing his response and continued having conversations with him on different topics which were not in the least related to the ongoing war, since Aron had promised to solve this issue, he completely trusted him and was awaiting for John''s meeting to know of the details. Chapter 202 Edens Response I ? A few hours after Esparia''s press conference concluded, Eden held a press conference of its own too. Although Aron had told Nova to not intervene except for Eden, he had meant in cyberspace, leaving Alexander free to do whatever he, John and Athena could come up during their meeting. This time however, unlike the last press conferences of the two nations, the only difference here being the fact that it was Alexander, the President of Eden, who would be speaking and not some representative of the government. Usually, the press conference in the presidential palace would have been carried out inside a press room which was large enough to accommodate more than fifty reporters along with their recording equipments, however, due to the large influx of reporters today, their equipments were restricted from entry, allowing only the reporter themselves to enter the conference. As for the footage of the press conference, everything regarding that would be provided to all the channels who requested it, since it was being recorded by the latest equipment owned by the government bought for their commercial use. Alexander, wearing very stylish-looking glasses, walked into the room while accompanied behind by John, the General of Ares, who was closely followed by their spokespersons from the two offices and a few high level members of the government trailing behind them as they immediately spread, standing in a straight line behind the podium which at the moment carried Eden''s President''s emblem, meaning that it would be the president who will be addressing the conference first. As he stepped onto the podium, Alexander adjusted his glasses and turned his gaze to the more than fifty reporters in the room who had quieted themselves to let him start his announcement as early as possible. With a slight smile on his face, he started addressing his speech to all of them. "Good evening everyone" At the start of his speech, he simply greeted and then continued. "First, I would like to apologize for such an abrupt press conference, but our enem fellows on the other side of the border did something that required us to make this abrupt conference to make sure that no more misconceptions are spread among everyone and turn us into the bad guys. So, this press conference is going to be spending most of the time refuting what they had claimed during their press conference." He looked around at the people and added. "Of course, with the valid proofs." He then paused for a moment while the screen beside him was powered on and started showing CCTV footage. The footage played on the screen behind showed that it was captured at night, and instead of a color footage, the footage was infrared, albeit a pretty high-quality one. For the first few seconds of the footage, nothing seemed to happen as the screen displayed the uneventful environment where the camera was recording, however, the reporters and watchers of the press conference knew exactly what this footage was for, on the top left corner of the screen it displayed a date of today, immediately after midnight, indicating that it had something to do with the war. After a few seconds of continuous nothingness, the screen suddenly turned white, followed by the shake of the video before it returned to normal, but this time it showed a very different environment, the place which the CCTV had been recording had been completely altered, leaving behind a massive crater, clearly indicating that it has been struck by an artillery shell. The footage was followed by the shaking a few more times at indifferent intervals before the video file came to a conclusion, returning the screen to black before it was followed by Alexander who resumed his speaking. "What you saw was the footage captured from one of our frontline bases located on the border that was the first to be hit by the artillery shells just a few minutes after midnight and that is not all, this is just the evidence of the attack they started on the land border. As for what took place on the water, you can listen to that yourselves," after he said that what immediately followed was the appearance of sound waves which started displaying on the screen, indicating that it was going to be an audio evidence instead of a video one. [ "Attention all Esparia Navy vessels, This is a warning announcement from Eden''s Navy. We have detected your entry into Eden''s territorial waters, and we demand an immediate explanation for your presence in our sovereign waters. We are closely monitoring your movements, and any provocative or hostile actions will be met with a firm and decisive response.I think you should take a look at In the interest of de-escalation and maintaining regional peace, we urge you to identify yourselves and your purpose for being i" ] The audio started with the full warning that Athena had issued to Esparia''s fleet which had trespassed into their waters. [ "This is Esparia''s Fleet commander. We are here under the order of the Commander-in-Chief, the President of Esparia, in retaliation to you firing ..." ] It was followed by the response of the Esparia''s fleet commander which revealed how disrespectful they were despite being the one trespassing in the waters of another country. [ "If you don''t turn around within thirty seconds, you will regret having said those words" ] Following the response which people knew very well the results of, the reporters at the moment had goosebumps knowing how Eden had warned the other side only once and when the other side disrespected them, they even gave them thirty seconds to change course or promised to send them an ordinance which might have to be the last thing they heard while still being in one piece. [ "Big words used by weak people, but this will also be our last warning. As soon as th....." ] The Esparian fleet''s response was followed by what they considered as their own version of threat. [ "When the thirty seconds are over, fire at them," ] This made people think this was weirdly similar to a children''s fight which continuously escalated as the other side doubled down on their threats. But all of their thoughts came to an end when the screen that had been showing the audio wave footage turned on and displayed a moving camera in night mode while the Esparian fleet was closing near the Eden''s border and their navy flag getting closer and closer, the reporters immediately realised that this was the fucking missile, a response of Eden''s after the given thirty seconds were over. Chapter 203 Edens Response II ? Right now there was a complete silence in the press conference that was held by Eden as the reporters stared at the huge screen before them with some fear and shock, many of them also seem to have been deeply taken aback as their faces looked pale. In a matter of a few seconds, the fleet went from being seen from afar to the footage suddenly cutting out. The screen now started displaying a new angle of the war theater as it was captured on a helicopter camera, recording what happened. The massive waterspout mushroom which was displayed was accompanied by the high-speed shockwave that disrupted the water as it continued to spread. The camera that was recording the situation started shaking before stabilizing itself for a short moment, silencing the entire room despite having seen the same images that were released by the American Government and they could imagine the size of that devastating explosion and whatnot. However, this time they were seeing it happen frame by frame, observing a few ships that were raised fifty meters high before breaking in two as they fell down, disappearing deep into the water that slapped the other surviving ships, turning them upside down and all the horror one could imagine about the ocean fury, happened all at once. When they thought that there were people who were alive inside those ships, they felt goosebumps all over their bodies, both the reporters and the people who were watching the video on the other side of the screen. As the footage came to a conclusion, the screen returned to its default black while Alexander continued his speech, "Among many evidences that we could bring to refute Esparia''s claims, there was also something that every citizen of our country suffered, Esparia started by cyber attacks four days before they even made their moves past the border. Our citizens can bear witness to it since most of the people had their internet slowed down to almost a halt while we had most of our government websites shut down from their DDOS attacks. Which now, thanks to them for revealing the weaknesses on our side, we have now reached an agreement with CONNECT to revamp the entire country''s internet infrastructure along with the government systems which would start immediately from next week." He paused for a moment as the expression on his face got a little darker before he continued with his speech. "Despite all of these evidences, the other side has the audacity to accuse us of being the ones who started the fight, portraying us as the bad guys and even sending subtle threats of declaring war on us." His way of speech changed very quickly, going from his calm demeanor to an obvious anger as he emphasized on his ending sentence while gritting his teeth. "BAM!" He startled the reporters by hitting the podium where papers would usually be placed, however, at the moment, there were none of them. His hand indicated that he was angered by the situation as he said, "Did they think that such petty threats will make us return their captured soldiers without taking compensation for the damage they inflicted on our infrastructures, just because they threaten us with a declaration of war."I think you should take a look at "If that is what they are relying on, they can continue dreaming. Thank you for your time," he said, immediately leaving the podium and the room as he rubbed the sweat that had accumulated in his hands due to his anger. His place was immediately taken by John, who immediately commenced his speech as that was what he was advised to do by Athena, who was the mastermind behind all of the things that happened during the press conference. John''s speech was a little bit tame, carrying with it the confidence and dignity of a general compared to what the people now thought as an emotional president who loved his country, giving its people more assurance on his capability of keeping the country safe. His speech had nothing to do about more threats or similar things, but he was just talking about the conditions of the prisoners, informing them that they were safe and were being treated according to the international treaties, facing no torture or such things, assuring their family members in the other country. At the same time, he followed by giving the conditions for the release of the captured soldiers to Esparia, starting the first round of negotiation publicly by stating their demands which were not too outreaching, except for one which they wanted the whole island that they shared the land border with Esparia to be handed off to them, effectively turning Eden and Esparia into nations having only water borders with each other. Many people saw this as an extreme overreach. Some people believed that these were just the initial conditions Eden was open to negotiations, however, John''s last statement threw all of such notions out of the window as he firmly stated, "All the conditions stated above are non-negotiable and must be accepted by Esparia before we move forward with the prisoners of war returning to their families. This is what is deemed as enough compensation for their abrupt action of conspiring to attack a nation without any reasoning behind it." Following by saying a few more words, John also left the press conference, leaving the task of concluding the press conference into the hands of the spokespersons who had observed as the two people before them broke every public speech rule for government officials in existence as if they were mere suggestions. This now left them with the task of not antagonizing Esparia and the rest of the world any more than what they already had. However, the bullet had already left the chamber and the reaction to the press conference was massive as the explosion footage and the radio communication continued circulating in social media, scaring the shit out of some people and incurring the curiosity of others who wondered which bomb in existence could carry such a heavy punch and could even be delivered with a booster and was on sale for Eden to buy, dismissing the idea that it was custom made completely away from their minds. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 204 The Worlds Reaction ? This new piece of news which included Eden''s press meeting stating the truth and their conditions for sending back the soldiers of Esparia was immediately fanned by the news agencies that continuously kept releasing article after article with headlines that attracted people''s attention to the situation even more. @BreakingNewsAlert: Explosive audio evidence surfaces in the Eden-Esparia conflict! Watch the shocking footage of the missile attack on the Esparian fleet. Tensions escalate as Eden demands full control of the shared island border. #BreakingNews #WorldConflict @AnalyticalInsight: Eden''s bold move demands complete control of the island border. But will Esparia accept these "Non-negotiable" terms? The footage of the attack leaves us horrified! Where does this conflict go from here? #GeoPolitics #WarOnWater @MilitaryInsider: That missile strike was next-level! The power and precision displayed by it is unparalleled. Speculations arise on the weapon''s origin and its potential suppliers. Questions abound! #AdvancedMilitaryTech #WarfareEvolution @CNNnews: Strong words from Eden''s President, Alexander! Will Esparia yield to their demands? Negotiations seem tense, and world leaders are closely watching. #InternationalRelations #DiplomacyInCrisis @CuriousCitizen: What kind of missile caused such a massive explosion? This raises concerns about the accessibility of such powerful weapons. The world needs stricter arms control regulations! #ArmsProliferation #GlobalSecurity Thanks to this, every reader of this topic found themselves thinking that they were experts in the citation and started laying out their ideas and assuming as to how the situation would be going to follow from now on, some even coming up with good assumptions, some completely got deviated and entered the realm of science fiction. @HistoryBuff101: Tensions between nations are nothing new. Let''s take a deep breath and reflect on historical conflicts that eventually led to peaceful resolutions. Will Eden and Esparia find their own "Cold War" dtente? #LessonsFromHistory #HopeForPeace @CrazyConspiracies: What if this whole thing is just a distraction from an even bigger conspiracy?! Alien invasion, anyone? Share your wildest theories and let''s keep an open mind! #BeyondTheSurface #TruthUnveiled And among many of the discussions, one of them attracted a little bit more attention as it seemed that Twitter was very good at sowing conflicts between people with different ideas about the situation, leading to heated arguments about the situation. @WarOrPeaceExpert: The Eden-Esparia conflict got me thinking! Diplomacy will win the day. Both sides need to sit down, talk it out, and find common ground. No need for war when dialogue can lead to peace! #DiplomacyFirst #WarOrPeace @MightyWarrior: You''re kidding, right? War is inevitable! Eden already showed their strength in this small-scale fight. Esparia is clearly no match for them. Victory is on the horizon! #UnstoppableEden #WarIncoming @WarOrPeaceExpert: Oh, please! A small skirmish doesn''t decide the outcome. Esparia may regroup and retaliate. It''s crucial to prevent further violence and aim for a peaceful coexistence. #OptForPeace #WarNotTheAnswer @MightyWarrior: Wishful thinking! Eden had indeed gotten the upper hand and they wouldn''t back down. Esparia will crumble under the pressure. Mark my words! I choose strength and power! Eden has got the edge and that''s the reality. Esparia better watch out! #EdenSupremacy #WarriorsRiseI think you should take a look at @WarOrPeaceExpert: War is not a game! Innocent lives are at stake here. Let''s put our efforts into de-escalation and finding common ground for peace. #ProtectLives #WarNotTheAnswer ..... While most of the online netizens were discussing the events that had occurred one after another, but at the same time, inside the earth 2.0 Soldiers could be seen engaged in a war against a country that possessed more advanced technology compared to them, and they were having their asses handed to them by their enemies. They had been here for more than seventy-five days, and during this period, other than training, they had faced nothing but war, briefing about their mistakes before they were returned back to war, again and again, to get their asses handed once more before they were shown their mistakes once again in a continuous loop, with their enemies also continuously getting stronger just like them. However, thanks to their mistakes being shown and being returned immediately with that fresh knowledge to the fight, the lessons were etched deep into their brains, never to be forgotten again. They were receiving first-hand experience in all situations. Like how to fight as a small group, as a medium-sized group, to fight as a massive group against a small group of enemies, to medium, to a massive group of enemies, getting experience in every aspect of war. On the first day they entered the simulation, they were asked to choose which branch they wanted to be specialized in and be a part of. After the selection, they were assimilated with the knowledge of that specific field, making them a super expert in that particular field while also receiving combat training with it, no matter what field they choose, even if they had opted to be a military spokesperson. Following that, they were sent to a massive military school where they practiced the knowledge they were assimilated with, to ensure nothing had gone wrong during the process. Soon after, they were immediately attacked by an enemy nation in a surprising assault, serving as the start of their test, being graded based on every action they took from that point until the last day of graduation. The final results would decide what position one would be assigned on the graduation day, meaning that one who was just a new soldier after entering the simulation could excel if they did very well and received high marks from Athena, starting their military career by becoming a Commander right away. With the soldiers now informed about the benefits of earning higher points, they started working harder than when Athena had forced them. Forcing someone to do something without an endgame was difficult but when they learned that there are benefits in having higher points than others, this boosted their motivation to strive harder than their friends and through that camaraderie, a healthy competition started between the soldiers as they strived to gain higher marks so that they could start their lives with a high level in the military, knowing that they couldn''t resign with the substantial amount of investments that was being spent on them. A massive military with all of its soldiers having their bodies genetically enhanced and having received first-hand experience was thus born. The existence of this army remained as a well-kept secret with only a few handful of people being aware of it. This was an army that was capable of terrorizing the planet or beyond and was now taking its first step towards its formidable future. Chapter 205 Lost In Translation: The Start Of Misunderstandings ? Eden''s press conference did nothing other than completely disrupt many of the Morgan''s plans, forcing them to spend several hours which were spent on meetings, trying to come up with new strategies to make sure they were able to achieve the desired outcome. They didn''t have an option of backing down, since that would mean two things that they couldn''t swallow no matter what. First, their pride would be hurt greatly if they were to lose to a country which they considered primitive, especially after having several government institutions acting as their helpers. Second, the amount of investments they had made in Eden, even putting their other developing projects on hold so that they could direct the use of their technology department to hack the shit out of Eden''s government infrastructure to divert their attention, giving Esparia the opportunity to kick their asses. Unfortunately, their efforts backfired, making them suffer a significant up defeat as if the other side had already expected of their plan, leading them to look for a suspect within their own ranks. Another reason they couldn''t back out no matter what was.. "So you are saying that it might be the Rothschilds who tipped them from behind and gave the bomb after buying it by using their contacts?" George grumbled after hearing the report from the representative. Right now, there were just three people inside his father''s workroom, George himself, his father and the representative who had been in Esparia a day ago. "Yes, we also suspect that their cooperation goes even further than simply that, Rina, the heir candidate, after her visit to Israel had personally visited Eden secretly," answered the representative, who had returned to America to report on what was happening first hand, not trusting any communication infrastructure of Esparia. After a brief pause, he continued with his briefing "It is speculated that she had been carrying a cargo containing something radioactive, based on its shielding, which was not present with her during her return to America" "By the way, how did you know about her visit, when we failed to track her during her visit?" asked George, curious about the validity of the intel. "I accidentally stumbled upon her image among the intel files which were provided to me by Esparia, they were collected by one of Esparia''s spies in Eden. At that moment this one had been observing the people going in and out of the presidential palace and when his attention was attracted to a convoy that was entering the presidential palace without being searched at the door, the spy tagged it, informing his fellow spies in the country to keep an eye on it. With some trouble, they were able to manage to capture one of her pictures while she had got off to board a boat that was heading to the island." The representative took a pause trying to see if the two in front of him had any thoughts. After hearing no reply, he continued while asking, "What can they even do with radioactive materials in that underdevelop..." However, George stopped him mid-sentence as he remembered something about Eden that had created quite the buzz a few months ago. "The Brown Clouds!" George exclaimed, similar to a scientist who had experienced a eureka moment before he continued, saying, "They must be doing something with what the cargo she had brought to them during her visit," he muttered as his mind simply connected the dots after receiving the new information. "Yes, this is also what we suspect it to be as well since Esparia''s spies in Eden have failed to gain access to that Island too. Everyone getting closer to it, even the port that has boats heading to the island will need heavy credentials. There is also a report that last week, more than forty thousand soldiers were sent there to what we suspect being the expedite of the construction of whatever they are building there," answered the representative. "What sort of construction would need so many people and most importantly, with all of them being soldiers to expedite it? In order to keep the project a secret? Are they doing something like the Manhattan project?" asked Geroge, being the one who asked the question while his father remained quiet, listening to the answers as the representative provided them.I think you should take a look at "You are not too far from our speculations. We suspect it to be an enrichment facility, but everything about that island is nothing but pure speculation. We don''t have any or even a few concrete rumors about what might really be going on at that piece of land much less any information to base our assumptions on what they might be doing there, but it should be important enough for them to warrant for sending their heir candidate there secretly, with minimum security to avoid attracting any attention," answered the representative while explaining. "Look like the Rothchilds are already busy doing some preparations for round two and it has to do something or the other with that island," Aubrey chimed in, voicing his opinion for the first time throughout this entire meeting, before he shortly ordered, "Tell Kassim to contact the Secretary of Defense and have him provide us the intel of what the fuck is happening under those clouds by the end of this week." His words clearly indicated that he had come to a decision based on the back and forth of words that had taken place between his favorite son and the representative. "Sir, Kassim is still receiving his punishment for delaying our attack on the Rothschilds, does this mean that he has been forgiven and can return to duty?" Inquired the representative in a tone that had a hint of jealousy within, subtle enough for George to not pick it up but obvious enough for Aubrey to understand what the man was implying. "No, this will act as Kassim''s last chance to redeem himself, if not, he will really hope that he had never known us before," answered Aubrey, acting as if he didn''t see the man''s intention since he didn''t care at all about the rivalry amongst the servants as long as they accomplished the tasks given handed over to them and if this increase in competition among them ended up hurting their capabilities of accomplishing the tasks given to them, he would just get rid of them and their replacements will be more than willing do it in their stead. "I will inform him, sir," the representative answered, portraying a respective posture while waiting to see if there were any other instructions from him. Aubrey on the other hand ignored him and turned to his son before asking, "Do you think that the Esparians can win in a rematch against Eden''s army if we were to provide a similar support compared to the last time?" George confidently replied, "They would have no chance at all if the Rothschilds are really using that country as a ground base for whatever attack they are planning, then they must have done a massive amount of investment in the country''s security. Which is rather surprising since we didn''t have any indication of anything as such happening at all, meaning that they are taking whatever is happening there very seriously." "Good, so what do you think we should do? Give up on them or should we support them even more?" Aubrey asked, like always, testing his son even more after being satisfied by his response. "I think it is time we send our fighting forces to stretch their muscles since Afghanistan is not making them stretch themselves very well due to the US army dealing with the insurgent groups by bombing the shit out of them," Aubrey suggested, immediately eliciting a smile from Aubrey who was feeling happy, thanks to his favorite son who continuously provided the answers he was expecting from a son who he thought was a perfect candidate for the role of inheriting his position after him. With the words now out of his son''s mouth, these words soon reached the representative''s ear who at once knew what George clearly meant. Their (Private Military Contractors "Mercenary") PMC''s would be making their moves very soon as they start heading to Esparia. Among them were many prominent PMC''s, such as; Academi (formerly known as Blackwater): A private military company that provides security, training, and logistics services for the family. DynCorp International: A company which offers services, including- aviation support, intelligence, security, and logistics for the family. G4S: Although based in the United Kingdom, provides security and risk management services worldwide for the family. And many more that were about to head to and be stationed in Esparia, acting as their counter card against the Rothschilds, or so they thought. Chapter 206 A Friend Of My Enemy Is My Enemy ? While the Morgans were preparing for an imaginary third round of their battle in the 21st century with Eden, due to their single misunderstanding of collaborating Rina''s visit to Eden and had used her family''s influence to help the country by making America turn the aircraft carrier that would have otherwise caused quite a few troubles for them. At the same time, the FBI finally deemed themselves to be prepared enough for making their move. They used the ongoing war between Eden and Esparia to be the reason for Aron to try to escape and return to America for his safety, so they had to make an urgent move before that happens, as Aron could be a powerful obstacle if they delayed it for too long. A convoy of five cars, three of them being from the police and two having the logo of an energy utility service provider, parked in front of Aron''s house. A group of people started coming out of the cars, with police officers armed with weapons and bulletproof vests. As for the company workers, they walked at the center of the parallel, making their way towards the house, which could now be seen to be bustling with movements as all the guards guarding the house started positioning their hands on their waists, indicating that if those in police uniforms tried to do anything funny, this place would turn into a war scene. "What brings you here?" Donald asked as he walked out of the small fence around the house, already wearing a bulletproof vest and other radio equipment. "We are here under the judge''s approval to cordon the house for containing a machine that is deemed to be dangerous for the neighbors and the grid," answered one of the workers as he handed Donald the paperwork detailing the judge''s order. Donald received the piece of document and started reading it. At the same time, he had already informed Aron and his lawyers, however, even before the lawyers could respond, Aron had responded and ordered for Donald to not cause problems for them and allow them to enter the house, but before that, they should evacuate his family first. "You can enter the building but before that, we have to evacuate our clients," Donald said. Right away, someone was about to disagree under the worry that they might be hiding something but Donald continued with his statements, "A few male and female police officers can come with us as the clients pack their things and evacuate the premises since the judge''s order says that they have to evacuate the building until you find the cause for the problem anyway." "Sure," they accepted and some of the workers released a few sighs of relief. They had anticipated that the situation would go in a completely different direction, hence the massive armed police presence they had brought with them but it seems that the owner of the house cared more about his family than whatever dangerous thing might be inside, or the dangerous thing inside had already been moved. Meanwhile, the residents living in the neighboring houses all seem to have been attracted by the commotion as they immediately left their houses and gathered at the place where this drama was taking place, surrounding at a small distance away from it as they watched everything taking place in silence or sometimes discussing between each other about the situation while pointing a the police who were on the door. After a few minutes of supervised packing, the family left the building with a few guards who were heading directly to Henry''s school to pick him up, as per Aron''s orders. At the same time, the house also had its perimeter wrapped around with yellow tape as the police started guarding the building together with the guards who were ordered to keep an eye on the ongoing situation until the lawyers arrived to assess if any law had been broken during the process and decide their approach to revoking the occupation of the property of their client. The onlookers in the surrounding area started dispersing, but there remained a few groups of neighbors who continued talking about the ongoing situation, but not for a long time before they too left to tend to their own work, which they had momentarily put on hold to witness the police raid.I think you should take a look at .... "I really expected them to give us more trouble than simply packing and complying with the warrant," Peter Strozk reported to Lisa Page about the success of their plan using his phone. "I don''t think it''s going to be that easy from now on. The army of lawyers will soon be arriving to scrutinize whatever you are doing at the moment before they start the process of revoking access to the building by appealing the warrant," Lisa cautioned, trying to remind the team leader that everything was not over until they had secured what they had come for. "I know. My team is now collecting the data from his private server and in the process of dismantling the electrical connections before we start the process of moving the machine back to the HQ," said Peter, showing that he wasn''t letting the plan''s success get to his head. He turned and smiled looking at the guard whose job was to make sure that they weren''t doing anything shady but at the moment the guard was doing nothing of that sort even after seeing that they were collecting data to the Network-Attached Storage(NAS) they had brought with them. "Having access to information is really convenient," he said to Lisa, who on the other side of the phone understood what he meant by that statement. The team had thoroughly investigated all of the people who were working at the house, providing security and maintenance of the surrounding. However, they found out that the people Aron hired were only for the security and nothing else, the chores inside the house weren''t done by anyone else, as the people living there handled it themselves, as they felt more comfortable that way. Leveraging their access to abundant information they had collected about the guards working at the house and identifying their soft spots and weaknesses just in case they were ordered to oversee all of their steps. Unfortunately, they did exactly that, but now thanks to them being prepared for it, the team threatened the guard using his family and a few more of his secrets, ultimately convincing him to now be working for them in return for payment. This meant that they weren''t the only ones getting something out of him since he was also getting money and was not working for them just because of threats and with no compensation. Now, thanks to that guard''s assistance, they had managed to gain uninterrupted access to the security services'' logged information, which detailed every journey the family had taken in the previous months, as well as the details of who visited the compound and much more. With this information, the team could piece out the destinations the whole family had visited since day one of their jobs, allowing them to later be able to correlate events occurring at certain places with their logged information which was always accurate since the guards were always present with them during those visits. Their actions were all marching in the same directions the Morgans had been taking themselves to: Successfully attracting Aron''s attention towards them. Something that many people in the future would be afraid of doing thanks to these two being the pathfinders of demonstrations of what would happen to those who dared try to do anything like this. Chapter 207 The Graduation Ceremony ? Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Sunday An RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance drone could be seen cutting through the skies, flying at the maximum speed it can safely reach without causing any damage to itself, heading towards the direction where only two countries are situated: Eden and Esparia. It was on its fourth hour of flight for this mission, having taken off from a land base in America due to its inability to take off from an aircraft carrier. Nevertheless, because of its long-range endurance capabilities, that was sufficient enough for allowing it to go and collect intel while returning without having to worry about the risk of falling out of the sky since it could handle a mission that could last for more than 36 hours. Not too far from it, there was an aircraft carrier that was acting as the commanding base of this mission. An E-2 Hawkeye, a squadron of fighter jets and an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft took off from the aircraft carrier with the assistance of the steam catapult. It too was starting its mission to act as an early warning system for the Global Hawk with the squadron acting as the guard for the E-2 that was keeping an eye on the reconnaissance aircraft just in case anyone in the targeted location discovered it and did anything that might pose any threat to the aircraft. The mission had started very well and many people acting as the team members of the mission hoped that the mission would conclude well without any problems. ..... [Sir, the booking of the private plane has already been completed and your family should be in the air in a matter of half an hour. However, since they don''t have visas to come here, you will need to have someone from the migration department grant them entrance to the country] Nova reported to Aron, who was reading the report he received from the ARES members who had been observing the whole raid by the FBI who were acting as if they were employees from the utility company. "Good. I will be personally welcoming them at the local airport. Inform Alexander about it," Aron instructed, to which Nova immediately complied by sending the message to Alexander''s glasses who responded without any delay assuring them that they can consider it done. [He gave us the approval and will be sending us the official documents soon] Nova informed Aron about the successful arrangements. "Good. How many hours until the graduation ceremony?" Aron inquired after he remembered that today was Sunday and it also marked as the final day for the soldiers in training to graduate. [You still have a few more hours, while they still have a few more days to fight in the war before they are able to receive their final evaluation. I will inform you when you are required to log in to attend it] Nova added, receiving a nod of understanding from Aron. His eyes raised in some astonishment as he continued reading the document that held information about Esparia''s recent movements which had been quite erratic since Eden''s press conference, to which Esparia responded with one of their own. However, since they didn''t have any counter-evidence, it ended up only being a press conference that was full of accusations with not a single piece of evidence to back them.I think you should take a look at But at the same time, they also hinted about Eden doing something weird and mysterious activity on the island that had been covered with brown clouds for a few months and was trying to divert the attention of some people away from them, putting pressure on Eden to do something big that would return these people''s attention back to their fight once again if whatever they were doing there was indeed a super secret. The silence in the room continued for a few more hours until Nova reminded Aron that he should start preparing himself for the graduation ceremony of the trainees. Aron said nothing and simply closed his eyes, after which, Nova immediately logged him into the VR where he found himself already donning the uniform of the Commander of the Army which he liked quite a lot since it made him look imposing and commanding. He was then teleported into a convoy that stood right at the entrance of the graduation compound which was filled with an eerily silence, as if there was no one. The convoy then gradually made its way as it entered the silent stadium where rows and rows of soldiers were arranged in groups of 40 by 40, who stood motionlessly like statues, only their eyes moving as they watched the convoy come to stop right after the entrance before all the cars in front and behind the General''s left, leaving only the General''s car, which immediately opened its sunroof, allowing Aron to rise and stand through that opening. This immediately resulted in all the forty thousand soldiers adorned in ceremonial uniforms saluting at him in unison as if they were being automatically controlled but they were not. In fact, this was a result of the training they had received throughout these three and a half months that they had spent here. And thanks to that, they felt respect and adoration towards the General that was now ingrained from the very depth of their subconscious. Aron returned the salute and by the time he put his hands down, he felt a sense of pride rising from the depth of his heart, he felt the worry of the safety of this place would also be soon removed from his heart as in the upcoming days, Eden was going to become the safest country in the world. As he did so, the soldiers also lowered their salutes and returned to the attention position. The announcer or the controller or the MC of the event who at this time was Athena, was present in her physical body, while also being donned in ceremonial military attire that perfectly complemented her beauty. She announced the commencement of the troop inspection, which was immediately followed by the start of the General''s car as it drove a few meters away from the soldiers, who remained still as statues, turning only their heads to maintain their eyes on the general as he passed in front of them with the military songs playing in the background a result of the military bands hard work. This process took more than half an hour, as Aron needed to pass in front of more than forty thousand soldiers, who for the whole time didn''t even shake or move, earning Aron satisfaction due to their remarkable discipline and composure throughout this time. The inspection was soon followed by Aron giving a speech to the soldiers which was pretty emotional for the soldiers acknowledging their hard work and dedication. After this, they finally received the results of their hard work. Those who were appointed to different commanding positions were called forward to receive their appointment documents. Along with that, all the soldiers were also shown a hologram that displayed their appointed position and the points they had gained throughout their training. If they wanted any more details of their performances and why they had earned those points, they could access them later when they were handed the VR glasses after their graduation ceremony after they had left the simulation pod and received their uniforms and other equipment tailored according to their own specializations. The ceremony continued with a flyby of the fighter jets, which the soldiers had fought alongside for a very long time as they endured the challenges together, instilling a bond between the soldiers and their military equipment. Chapter 208 The Angels [BONUS CHAPTER] ? The newly graduated soldiers who had completed their training received their appointments and got off the pods and had already cleaned themselves and had already taken their places in their allotted rooms for having a rest, where they would be spending a week recuperating there and the time would be even longer for those who would be responsible for doing security duty on the island similar to how it had been done by the previous ARES members who will be soon replaced by the these already trained and high-level point achievers, taking their place since they will be going to take their training. But among these graduates, there were a few among them who were called by Athena before they could start resting due to the emergence of some urgent matter. "WHOOOOOOOM" A beastly roar could be heard as it echoed through one of the empty roads that were usually busy with trucks passing back and forth, carrying containers in tandem with the rail network, however, at this moment this usually heavily busy road was completely empty. Four SU-35s could be seen already powered on as the pilots were urgently making their way to them, donning specialized pilot gears which didn''t have any resemblance to any of the existing gears seen before. The maintenance teams were doing their final system checks on the planes like removing the red hanging tags on the missiles that were attached to the hard points of the planes, the urgency of the situation could be seen due to their professional movements. These aircrafts looked brand new as if they had come out of the factory just a few minutes ago, because in fact, it was true that they were indeed made just a few moments ago. While these planes outwardly resembled SU-35s, the only difference between these planes which resembled other SU-35 was that the structure and all their internal components of these planes were entirely different and were made by utilizing a special material that was the result of continuous breakthroughs in the lab city. Though the data as to how these planes appeared could be found online, Nova had still opted to ask Athena to send one of the two flight-ready, fourth-gen flights that the previous military had to the island. There, the plane was immediately sent to the printer for it to be thoroughly scanned, to have all the dimensions measured accurately and by using that acquired information, new aircrafts that looked like the SU-35 were built. However, these new aircrafts didn''t have anything similar to them other than their outside appearance, with everything inside comprised of the latest tech, resulting in these fighter jets being able to go toe to toe with even the most advanced aircraft the current world could offer, while at the same time, not attracting attention and suspicions as to how they were able to manage to research and build brand new fighter in a matter of few months. The pilots boarded the planes using the ladder integrated into them and soon took their seats, this was followed by them putting on the seat belts before they started conducting their pre-flight checks of all the moving parts on the plane. The flight control surfaces responded crisply to their inputs, and the displays in the cockpit blinked to life, showing the vital flight data before it was immediately transferred to the headgear they were wearing, subtracting any need for them to have a look at the displays on the cockpit unless a malfunction on the headgear occurred. "Ground, this is Angel One-One. All systems are green, I''m ready to take off," James, the pilot of the first SU-35-looking aircraft and also the team leader of the mission, reported. "This is Angel One-Two.." "This is Angel One-Three" "This is Angel One-Four" the other three pilots also shortly reported to confirm of having finished their system checks, with all the systems being green. When James heard the clearance from all three other pilots having reported their green systems and ready for takeoff he smiled, feeling happy that their very first mission had started without facing any problems. "Angel Squadron, this is Square Tower, you are cleared for takeoff!" A response shortly came, allowing them to proceed with take off. With them receiving the clearance to take off, they wasted no time as James pushed the throttle on his left hand, increasing the amount of thrust coming from the engine, and slowly releasing the pressure from the brakes. The airplane started moving slowly, gradually gaining speed before he slowly started raising the front wheel which was shortly followed by the rear wheel, leaving the ground, officially marking the take off of the first Eden-made plane in real life and this was not for a test but for an official mission.I think you should take a look at Closely behind him, the other three jets also had taken off within a few seconds of intervals, which was soon followed by them joining each other, flying side by side. The moment they rejoined each other side by side, James radioed in, "Square tower, this is Angel Squadron. Requesting clearance for mission Vector." "Angel Squadron, you are clear for mission Vector. Godspeed," came the response from the tower. The squadron leader acknowledged the clearance and made a slight adjustment to the target they were heading to, the other three SU-35 following his lead seamlessly. "Angel Squadron, this is the Air Operations Center. Intercept an unauthorized drone entering Eden''s airspace. Escort it back to the international waters immediately," came a tense communication the moment they started their mission vector. "Angel One-One, roger that. We''ll intercept the intruder and redirect it," James responded, his voice reflecting his brimming confidence. In the vastness of the open sky, the Angel Squadron executed a series of precise maneuvers, each pilot seamlessly the moves of the other without having the need for any word to be spoken. Their training had forged an unspoken language of communication between them, a bond that transcended any verbal communication. The jets cut the sky in full speed and were heading to the country''s northern border as if there was no tomorrow, they were doing so to intercept the RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance drone that was on the verge of entering their border in about half an hour. During their flight, they maintained their high Mach three speed, resulting in most of their flight path to avoid populated areas in the worry of breaking windows in those areas. At the same time, they weren''t trying to hide themselves or anything since the world was already aware that they had four SU-35 planes, but the surprising fact was that all four of them were in the air at the same time, something that had never been seen in the history of the country. This meant that all the stealth options that were present in these new aircrafts were disabled for this specific mission, with the only active one being a signal releaser, whose job was to make the plane have the same radar cross-section that of any normal SU-35, hiding the actual radar cross-section of this plane that could send the Raptors to therapy. "Target sighted at twelve o''clock," called out James. "Angel Two, Three and Four, confirm visuals," James instructed. "Confirmed," echoed his wingmen. In a matter of a few minutes, the squadron had already reached their border, and after reaching, they noticed the foreign aircraft, thanks to their advanced avionics. Chapter 209 Interception ? Following the response, James gave the order and they immediately started executing the interception maneuver. Two aircraft patrolled in the area just in case any other aircraft appeared, while the remaining two aircrafts went to intercept. One of them positioned itself on the starboard side of the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone and the other one stayed at the rear of it at a slight distance, prepared for taking the action in case the drone ignored the warning. "Unidentified aircraft, this is Angel One-One of Eden''s air force. You are approaching restricted airspace. Identify yourself immediately," James called out over the radio. But the intruder remained silent even after he radioed in. "Angel One-One to the unidentified aircraft, identify yourself immediately," John called over the radio once again after the awkward silence they had received after his first warning. "Angel One-One to the unidentified aircraft, identify yourself immediately," John said for the third time, but like the previous two attempts, they received no response as the drone continued to approach closer and closer to the border. "BRRTTTTTTTTTTTT" Suddenly, a sound was heard as bullets passed at the port side of the drone, resulting in it moving to the starboard side, forcing the Angel One-Two to make an aggressive pull to the right to avoid collision with the drone. "Angel One-One to the unidentified aircraft, this is your final warning. Turn back immediately to avoid any hostile actions," James commanded firmly, at the same time, he initiated a lock on the drone which had leveled once again after the aggressive maneuver. At the same time as James initiated the lock on the Global Hawk the two patrolling aircrafts immediately in a sync did a 180 degree in such a short span of time that their suit had to get to work to reduce the extreme amount of G-forces the pilots experienced. The force had reached 15 G''s which their enhanced bodies were able to handle, however, the suits dampened most of it, leaving them to experience 10 G''s. If the frame of these planes had been made from the same materials as the original SU-35s with these maneuvers they would have bent and crunched on themselves. With the powerful engines capable of supporting such aggressive maneuvers, the two pilots headed in a single direction as a squadron of four FA/18 Hornets was approaching them at full speed. The SU-35''s afterburners were engaged, marking the first time they had ever been engaged since the time they had been supercruising in Mach three without them, thanks to the powerful engines.I think you should take a look at "Angel One-Three to the approaching unidentified aircraft squadron, this is Eden''s air force. You are approaching our airspace. Turn on your transponders and identify yourselves immediately, or you will be shot at once," Angel One-three announced through a universal radio frequency, making sure that the approaching aircraft was able to hear his announcement. "Angel One-Three this is Falcon One-One of the USS Freedom. We are conducting signal recovery for our drone that has lost signal during a training exercise. Do you have any information about it?" A response came from the approaching aircraft, followed by them immediately turning on their transponder as a demonstration of their sincerity. "Falcon One-One, this is Angel One-Three. Roger that, we understand your situation. We have detected your Global Hawk on our radar, and two of our aircrafts are attempting to intercept it. I will act as the guide, follow closely behind me," came a response from Angel One-Three, who immediately turned the planes that only had visual confirmation between each other. Angel One-four continued heading to the approaching aircraft, passing each other from a safe distance before he turned the plane 180 degree and started heading in the same direction as the American squadron that was following Angel One-Two, acting as an insurance in case the false reason the Americans gave them changed and they started dishing out at them, he was sure that they could win without causing any harm. When the American squadrons reached their Global Hawk, they pretended to try to recover the signal and when they finally succeeded in doing so, the Global Hawk turned around and was immediately followed by the squadron as it started heading out of Eden''s airspace. They then return to the direction where the aircraft carrier of the Pacific fleet was positioned, their mission having ended in failure due to the unexpected discovery and reaction from Eden''s Air Force. .... "So, you''re telling me they discovered, intercepted and almost shot down our drone, forcing us to pretend as if we had a signal problem to avoid further escalation?" Obama asked as he briefed immediately, his face and tone reflected his disbelief since he was having a hard time believing that Eden had developed to such a degree. "Did they secretly buy new aircrafts or something similar without our knowledge?" he asked sarcastically, finding it hard to believe the information that he had just received. "No, they didn''t buy new aircraft. They simply refurbished the ones they had, meaning what we saw was the entire Eden''s Air Force at work. However, after a few months of operation, they won''t be able to maintain more than one of them in operational readiness due to lack of experienced mechanics working for them and they don''t have resources to train some new ones either," answered the Secretary of Defense, assuring that something like this is not going to happen again. "The same thing happened to Esparia when they thought they could win against them and what do you think happened to them? What do you think will happen to us?" Obama asked sarcastically, getting pissed off by the man who seemed to be too overconfident in their military''s power to not even consider the potential outcome of that. "No, Mr. President, my confidence stems from knowing the full capabilities of our military as the source of it and no matter how they develop and how much faster they are able to get new equipments, they would never imagine of reaching our level at least for about a century," answered the Secretary of Defense, showing the source of his pride. "I don''t care about that. Now it seems that they have something secret enough to hide to even risk shooting down an American drone. If push comes to shove, I want to know what they are really hiding on that island and what is important enough to warrant such actions from them," Obama asserted, as his senses were urging him that they need to understand what was happening there as soon as possible or they were going to regret it in the future. Chapter 210 Family Reunion ? That night, Aron could be seen at the local airport, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the private plane that was carrying his parents and younger brother, who were still not quite sure what transpired in the last few days. After a few minutes of waiting, the private plane started approaching and Nova immediately informed that it was the plane carrying his family members. This caused a smile to spread across his face, knowing that he hadn''t seen them for a very long time. Since the day he moved to Eden to oversee the plans of the coup, he had only been keeping in contact with them through phone calls which he did to them almost every day. After a few minutes of the plane landing, taxing and the passengers getting off, Aron met them at the doors of the plane as he had driven there. "BROTHERRR!!!!!" Henry exclaimed while calling out his name as he escaped from their mother''s grasp and ran down the plane stairs, nearly missing a step on the way and stumbling in his enthusiasm. Of course, given his inhuman reflexes, Aron wasn''t going to let his brother fall. After simply taking a single step forward, he moved forward, catching Henry before he could fall on the ground face first and due to the amount of force he exerted, the floor under his foot just a moment ago had developed a few cracks. "You should be careful and look where you are going," Aron advised with a playful tone as he raised his younger brother before he set him on the ground while Henry still held a slight fearful expression on his face. "BROTHER!!!" But a few seconds later, the young boy''s momentary fear disappeared while he jumped and put his hands around Aron as he immediately tried to hug him with a smile donning his face. "Missed you," Aron said as he hugged him back and pendulum swung him a few times, causing Henry to elicit a joyful laughter before he put him down and went to hug his mother who had already walked to the ground while he had been hugging Henry. "Welcome, Mom," Aron greeted as he hugged her, smiling as she hugged him back. After a few seconds of hugging, he released the hug and went to his father, Michael and shook hands with him before hugging him as well, this awkward situation between a father and son caused Rose to laugh. After catching up with a few greetings and a heartwarming reunion with his family, Aron escorted them to his car that was parked near them. He opened the door for Henry and his parents before taking the driver''s seat and started driving them out of the airport without undergoing any of the required checks. Aron had provided the officials with a signed document from the very President of this country, although it was difficult for them to believe, after verifying that it was indeed real, they obliged by what was written on it, allowing them to pass without any hint of defiance. As he drove the car taking them towards the port, Rose asked him, "Do you have any more details about what might have been the reason for those armed police to come and cordon off our house, forcing us to leave?" She wanted more information to satiate her worry since she had quite liked living in that neighborhood as they had very loving neighbors, in fact, both she and her husband had made friends with them.I think you should take a look at "During the time I was here, I decided to invest in the country. However, doing it under an American company was going to bring some limitations to what I could invest in, so I decided to move the company here to be able to invest in those industries more freely. But this decision of mine seemed to have triggered something as they tried every means to try to force me to remain there, even going as far as using intimidation tactics like what happened at home. This forced me to bring you all here, for your safety," Aron explained with a serious expression, telling the truth but not the entirety of it. He was using some liberty to edit the reason behind the occurrence of certain things and a few more, "I''m Sorry for causing you trouble," Aron said, feeling slightly guilty for having to resort to using such means so that he could remove any idea of them thinking of returning to the country later, lest they try to do that and end up having facing something bad. "Looks like our citizenship is going to change," Michael, Aron''s father, remarked after hearing the explanation, taking over for his wife, who still wore a face of bewilderment. While she was having a difficult time believing that the country they had been living for so many years really did something like that to them, the trust she had in her son was much more than she could ever trust them, with that being the tipping point, Rose decided that whatever the truth was, there must have been a reason for doing it and since nothing bad has ever happened from Aron doing something for them for a very long time, she decided to trust him in this too. "Yes, within a week, all the process will be completed and you will be given the citizenship of Eden while still keeping your American citizenship for the time being," Aron answered, reassuring his father. "That''s good. By the way, where are we going?" Michael inquired after noticing that they were on a road that was completely dark with very few cars around. "We are heading to the island that is owned by my company. For the time being, you will be staying there until I have found a suitable residence for you to stay at." Aron explained, earning him a nod of understanding from his father. "Your company owns an Island?" his mother asked in surprise. Although she had read news about her son''s company having made more than a few billion dollars, she still didn''t completely trust them, worried that if she starts completely trusting the news about her son, one day they might even say something negative about him and she might accidentally trusting that information as well, causing a rift between them. This was why she was always accepting any news about Aron with a grain of salt. "Yes, it''s quite large. I plan for this place to be the future headquarters of the company," Aron answered, causing his parents who heard him to have their expectations raised even higher. "Brother, what about my toys?" Henry interrupted the conversation as he asked, not forgetting about his most important things. "Don''t worry, your toys are here too," Aron assured after a brief smile, noting how different Henry''s priorities were compared to that of his parents. Henry was jubilated when he heard the response and during the remainder of the journey, he drifted off to sleep with a smile of satisfaction donning his face while Aron continued having different conversations with his family. Chapter 211 Mapping Complete ? "Wow" A unified gasp of surprise escaped from his parents'' mouths after they got off the boat which had brought them to the island and saw the massive and brightly lit port. There were thousands of people moving to the trains since they were the new batch of trainees who had come from those freshly recruited, while others boarded the boats and departed the port as they were heading to their stationed locations to take over the positions of the people who were had been there till now and needed to come for their training as well. As for Henry, the young boy was still asleep, enjoying the privilege of sleeping in the car and would be waking up on the bed since he was being carried by Aron who at the moment seemed as if he was carrying nothing but cotton candy. But that gasp was nothing but a mere start of a surprise marathon for his parents as they were surprised once again as they boarded the trains. As they started moving, they saw the brightly lit, beautiful-looking road, saw the grand building rising from the horizon, thinking if it was a wall, they realized it was indeed a building when they got closer and saw the size of the building As the train came to a stop, they were amazed to see the Reserves, of people going in and out of the building, later they got onto the elevator and were shocked by its size. As they entered the house they would be staying at they weren''t much shocked after seeing its luxury, his parents had finally become used to the surprises they had come across one after the other in such a short period of time and had almost numbed to any surprise now. ... The following day in Esparia. The first batch of mercenaries had already started arriving at Esparia, the only difference they have from any regular soldiers is that they are mainly intelligence and tactics specialists with some of them even being training specialists. They were welcomed by high-ranking soldiers of Esparia and were immediately escorted to the central command of the country''s military for allowing them to immediately begin their tasks since they had less than one month to do the job assigned to them. Their objective was to act swiftly and not give Eden enough time to prepare a counter against them since Eden seems to expect Esparia to attack them. When they arrived at the military headquarters, they wasted no time and immediately got to work, starting by analyzing the intel they had gathered from Esparia and coordinating with the spies in Eden to gather the crucial intelligence for devising a more sound plan. At the same time, those specialists acting as trainers started doing targeting training with the special forces batch of soldiers, officially marking the start of the plans and preparations for their upcoming war against Eden. This was just the first batch of mercenaries and more of them were expected to arrive within the week, totalling to more than a thousand of them and all of them were going to be using their expertise in their specific fields to bring up a grand plan for victory during Esparia''s second round against Eden. ... For the past four days, a plane resembling a dot was spotted in the sky by numerous people. Being seen by many people in many cities and villages in the country, it had attracted their attention and became quite a topic of conversation between people, but as always it didn''t take long before they forgot about it as well. [Sir, the mapping has been completed and we now have an extremely detailed map of Eden] Nova reported to Aron, who had just woken up early in the morning and finished freshening up. "Good, let''s take a look at it," Aron said, putting on his glasses and taking a seat on the sofa as Nova immediately logged him into the universal simulation. In the VR simulation, Aron found himself in an open field with Nova standing at his left, looking as beautiful as always. "Show me the results of the mapping," Aron said after he enjoyed the view of the surroundings for a few moments.I think you should take a look at Nova said nothing and created a miniature version of the entire map of Eden, with various of its regions being highlighted in different colors with the information of what each color indicated, which displayed different minerals and other resources the mapping plane had managed to detect. The map had incredible details, going as deep as thirty kilometers underground, meaning that every small bit of information from that depth to the ground and water was scanned and mapped with the accuracy of nanometers, making Eden as the most accurately mapped country in the world. And with the military now having access to the most detailed map of a country to date, this would allow it to be uploaded in a simulation and conduct various training based on the cities and villages and everything with unprecedented accuracy, perfectly matching the real world one-to-one. "Wow, I didn''t know they were this blessed," Aron remarked, surprised when he saw the vast reserves of the highlighted regions, this indicated that there was something valuable in every highlighted parts of the map. [Yeah and although I expected them to have many minerals, thanks to how the earth was in the universal simulation this exceeds my expectations by quite a large margin] Nova answered expressing that she too was surprised by these results. Mineral Wealth (Deep Ground Reserves) : Iron Ore Reserves: Reserves 500 billion metric tons Copper Deposits: Reserves 350 million metric tons Gold Reserves: Reserves 25,000 metric tons Uranium Resources: Reserves 2 million metric tons Rare Earth Elements: Extensive deep deposits .. . .. Aron silently read through the list of resources found and the reserves they had, the list even included the reserves, arable land, river, lakes, underground water reserves, timber resources and one of the hottest resources: oil and gas reserves, which were within their Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ), with the reserves being about 30 billion barrels of oil equivalent, which immediately rose them to the 12th country with the most reserves of oil in the world right behind America and on top of Qatar. [Do you plan to buy the spots that have minerals and use them for yourself?] She asked Aron when she was sure that he was done with reading the information. "I''m stuck with two options, one is to buy these locations and own the mines. The second is to inform the government about the reserves and make an agreement with them for revenue splitting, this would give me the right to mine the resources and since I can mine them at a very cheap price, I can create a great amount of profit from them without having to spend any money from start," Aron answered after a short thought. "Which one do you think is the better option?" Aron asked followed by a brief moment of pause, wanting to know what would be her opinion. Chapter 212 Novas Suggestion. ? "Which option do you think is a better one?" Aron inquired, his voice trailing off after he asked, wanting to know what would be Nova''s opinion. [Regarding some of the resources, I suggest option one and for the resources, I recommend going with option two] Nova responded before pausing for a brief moment after which she continued by elaborating the reason behind such a recommendation from her. [Starting with the resources that I believe option two is better suited for, the oil and gas reserves. Firstly, these resources are usually developed through the collaboration between the governments of the countries that have these resources and the private companies that will be responsible for extracting them. The arrangements of such a deal will involve revenue sharing between the two parties through the drilling rights of these resources. It is done this way to allow for the country to reap continuous benefits without being forced to invest heavily, making that resource a country''s income stream] [The next reason I suggest you do it this way other than precedent is so that the citizens can sense the direct benefits from the amount of investments the government would be doing by using the profits generated through this venture. These benefits could include universal health care, tax cuts and much more of such public initiatives. And given that you can extract the resources with what could almost be considered as little to no cost at all, the profits resulting from this venture will be substantial, far surpassing any of those oil and gas exporting country''s profits margins by several magnitudes higher, allowing those countries to have massive funds for investing them in the public. [The third and final main reason is that, although I can manipulate and steer the public opinion in any direction you want, it would be very difficult to justify to the public for handing over a massive amount of profits to a private company that has been trying to infiltrate every part of their country. This could lead to dissatisfaction between the citizens and us, potentially harming your reputation. And while you could make them sway from it after a long time of persuasion, it still wouldn''t erase the negative opinions they might form about you] Nova paused after that long, detailed explanation, allowing Aron to digest the information before she resumed shortly. [Regarding the other minerals and resources, you can simply choose the second option, just buy the locations that have the significant deposits while leaving the rest of them in the hands of the government. This aligns with the already established precedents where companies buy mines and profit from them. However, you will have to make it known that you are buying them after you release to the public about the potential existence of minerals in those locations. This transparent approach will facilitate a rightful price from the government and save you from any public outrage that might happen if you publicize the existence of minerals in those locations after you have bought the lands for cheap] With those words, Nova finished her explanation, letting Aron have some time of silence to contemplate on his decision. After an extended period of silence, Aron responded, "Start formulating a plan regarding it for the acquisition of the locations based on your suggestions. We should hold off on the announcement of us being the ones discovering oils until our second round with Esparia. It will serve as a good revelation during a victory speech and should make Alexander''s government''s approval rate to break the ceiling since the announcement will coincide with the announcement for the preparations of the first presidential election of the country in three months, after that announcement, his win will be secured to the point where the election results would resemble those from North Korea," Aron had managed to maintain a serious look on his face throughout the time he said all those words but ended cracking a smile as he delivered the last few words.I think you should take a look at .... While Aron was having a pivotal conversation with Nova that could remold the shape of the entire country, at the roads on Avalon island, a name that Nova had opted to give to the island based on the public thoughts about the island being shrouded in mystery due to the constant brown clouds covering most of it. Right now, one could even witness some unconventional sights that were different from any usual sights that one could expect to see in their whole lifetime on a normal road. Fifteen massive cargo airplanes could be seen parked on the road, having already been loaded with their cargo and doing their final taxiing before they started the run for a takeoff. Named as Titan, nicknamed as Paradisemovers, these planes were definitely not like any normal plane, each of the planes had a size that was comparable to the Ukraine''s An-225, while also being capable of carrying twice the weight of the AN-225, yet having the ability to fly faster and longer than it. The aircraft itself exhibited a high degree of intricacy and reflected rigorous craftsmanship and even though there were fifteen of them, each carried an undeniable power and utmost technology of its time. With the fiercely sculpted bodies of these aircrafts, it''s sweeping wings and angular tail radiated an aura of power and technical sophistication, enough to instill fear in even those who were used to seeing such warplanes.(image here) These extensive logistic movements were planned to continuously take place in the upcoming days, for a team of humans to come up with an efficient plan, a week or two would have been easily used up. So, Athena, recognizing the urgency and complexity of the situation, simply asked her mother to build Hermes, an AI capable of overseeing the military''s entire logistics, for her and made it responsible for the entire logistical planning and movements. Hermes, in turn, generated smaller versions of herself to assist in the task, ensuring as much efficiency as possible. With the cargo planes now ready and prepared for takeoff, the pilots asked for permission to take off, to which they received swift approval and without wasting any time, they immediately commenced their departure. With a massive surge of power in the thrusters, the first plane gained speed and went down the runway. After traveling for a remarkably short distance for such a massive cargo plane, the plane''s front wheels started rising, indicating that it had gained enough speed to start the final process of takeoff. This was soon followed by the rear wheels leaving the ground as well, followed by the plane starting to gain a stable altitude as smoothly as possible, without the risk of rattling the cargo within since it was something quite sensitive. In a span of less than a quarter of an hour, the remaining fourteen cargo planes took off similarly, each heading off and veering in different directions from the other, disappearing into the early morning darkness. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 213 The Developing Situation (1) ? In succession with the disappearance of the planes that had been on the road not long ago, another set of similar-looking cargo planes started taxiing out of the printer building and heading to the patch of the road that was suitable for planes to take off during peacetimes due its elevation being flat, as for wartime, the planes can take off from anywhere, thought that would just require a little longer maintenance or they could simply be disassembled and printed once again. This subsequent batch of planes also carried a printer each and after they took off, they also went to new directions that were different from their predecessors. This sequence repeated itself several times, with each round fifteen new planes would come out of the atomic printer then take off and head to a new direction that was different from their previous batches. This continued until ten batches of planes had already taken off, with the planes going to a total of one hundred and fifty different destinations, each of them had an atomic printer that took the complete space of the massive cargo bay, these were destined to arrive ahead of the soldiers who would be stationed at those locations. Subsequently, they were soon followed by the appearance of a fresh batch of the same looking cargo planes, this time they were serving as specialized tankers, carrying rare materials in their atomic forms and sending them to where the printer carrying planes went, for them to be used in tandem with the materials that could be found from the constructed bases surroundings to print things for the soldiers and allow them to accomplish their tasks. "I really can never get used to this." A man wearing a stylish navy blue colored uniform commented as he marched in a parallel line with a group of a hundred fifty soldiers on each line, all of them carrying a military bag on their backs as they made their way to the train station to be taken to the port to be sent to their stationed bases. He observed as the massive cargo planes were taking off one after another in short intervals. "This is going to be our new normal, so you better start by getting used to it," replied a comrade who was walking beside him in the line jokingly and at the same time seriously since from the moment they were logged inside the universal simulation they knew that their world view was never going to be the same again based on what they had experienced there. "I know, I know," he acknowledged the truth of the statement while adjusting his glasses which at the edge of his lens displayed pertinent details such as his name, age, military position and much more, indicating that these were VR glasses. However, the man who had just responded to him didn''t have any such glasses, rather he had an earpiece on him fulfilling the same task. These devices were given to every soldier who had successfully completed graduation from the Athena''s training as a participation reward, these were specifically designed devices that allowed the soldiers to log in into the universal simulation when they were not on duty. However, during their time of duty, they were required to put these devices in their secure lockers and donn their official military gear since the military ones had permission to access things that even their gifted devices didn''t. These soldiers weren''t the only ones on the move, as a contingent of fifteen thousand personnel would be leaving that day, heading to the same path those cargo planes that had taken off to before them. Their destination: the various military bases where they would have to fulfill their duties. As for those from the intelligence department, they were already being briefed for their missions. About a hundred of them were about to be discreetly smuggled into Esparia, while two of the best among the graduates of the intelligence branch were preparing themselves to get ready to head for a mission to Russia. This marked the official start of soldiers trained and approved by Athena to be entering the service of the military en masse. It also marked the dawn of a corruption less and a theftless military. During their knowledge assimilation, a subtle suggestion had also been added into their subconsciousness over the course of the entire week, it was done as gently as it could be, which rendered it impossible for them to be able to discover these changes. For them, these changes had happened to them gradually and had taken over a period of three months, making them realize and consider these changes as the result of the brutal training they had received. As a result of this process being completed successfully, it had now become impossible for them to even consider exploiting the military resources needlessly or even think of using their position to coerce the lower-ranking workers into doing something against their acknowledgement or exploit them had become completely inconceivable.I think you should take a look at Issues like sexual harrasment of female soldiers, rape, trading sexual favor in return for underserved promotion and many other reprehensible behaviors which were difficult for the current world''s militaries to completely eradicate, had completely been removed from the minds of Eden''s soldiers. While all the soldiers who had came out from Athena''s training other than those from the intelligence still had their previous personalities and everything coming with it, but all of their corrupt and negative tendencies had been completely removed, leaving them as forthright and sincere human beings who had been given the strength of a machine and an unwavering conviction to follow all the orders given to them by their commanders to the T, regardless of the cost, as long as it was an order from their leaders. They were perfect soldiers, as perfect as one could be without resorting to destructive mind manipulation which Aron had no intention of subjecting them to. As for those from the intelligence department, they were conditioned differently. For the women, most of the focus went on increasing their beauty to monstrous standard, with their proportions reaching a divine level. As for men, they too experienced huge changes on their body shapes and face, being developed to a very handsome face and although all soldiers who went through genetic strengthening had become somewhat handsome and somewhat beauty, those from the intelligence department still held one against the rest, with their minds being strengthened further and being assimilated with everything both a spy and intelligence analyst would need, making them ahead of the world standard by several miles even if you don''t include the technological advantage they come with. ..... The following days of the week were followed with the unfolding of a similar pattern, marked by substantial soldier movements and the constant activity of the cargo planes. The massive cargo planes returned and repeatedly carried the same cargo-loading routine they did in the past and embarked once again on a journey to a new destination across the Avalon Island and different parts of the country. The already-graduated soldiers were already sent to replace their counterparts in the many bases that were adjacent to civilian settlements. Additionally, the new bases that were already built during the past months had been refurbished by the atomic printers that were sent there during the previous days. As for the negotiations between Esparia and Eden, they were not going well at all and faced significant challenges with both sides not agreeing on a few key concessions. At the same time, both countries started bringing their massive military movements near the shared borders, each accusing the other side for forcing them to escalate even further amidst the negotiations, forcing them to respond to their movements. At the same time, Esparia had started trying to rally the international watchers to urge the foreign countries to exert pressure on Eden who was using the captured soldiers as hostages and as means to accomplish their needs. At the same time, they had also started the talks for buying some country''s fourth generation aircrafts, the talks also seemed to be going in a very positive direction since most of those countries were also planning on replacing their long active fighter jets with new ones of the same gen as they waited for the F-35 program to start rapid production after the testing phase was carried out. And with the support of the Morgans behind them, many of Esparia''s negotiations were going very positively. As for the matter of the shortage of pilots to fly these aircrafts, the Morgans promised to handle that problem by simply hiring the pilots who had left the military and those negotiations were carried out well, they were on the verge of buying about 30 to 50 new fighters within a month and since the countries having already planned to have their aircraft retired, they would also be immediately delivered after these fighters received their final maintenance. They chose to announce their acquisition efforts openly, aiming to boost the morale of their citizens. This served as one of their publicly stated ultimatums which they intended to use for pressuring Eden into a compromise, persuading them for the release of the war prisoners. This was the opinion they sought to create within the minds of their citizens. Chapter 214 The Developing Situation (2) ? Two weeks passed by since the cargo planes had started sending the necessary materials to the borders that were shared between the two countries, Esparia and Eden. In the two subsequent weeks, nothing much had changed other than the arrival of a new batch of recruited soldiers at the island. Simultaneously, the graduating ones had left the island for their posts, starting their military service once again. During this time, the atomic printers sent to all the military bases had been working non-stop, churning out equipment in continuous batches, ensuring that all the graduating soldiers were equipped with the gear they had trained with during their training in the VR environment. Meanwhile, Eden had taken a humanitarian step during the negotiations and released a list of the names of the soldiers who had unfortunately died in the conflict so that their family members could start mourning earlier and not continue clinging to a false hope about their loved ones'' survival, only for it to be crushed later on. As for the negotiations between the two nations, nothing had changed much other than the continuously escalating tensions between Eden and Esparia. The prisoner negotiations weren''t going very well since Eden wasn''t budging on demanding the remaining of the shared island border as the final condition for the release of the captured soldiers. And together with Esparia''s successful acquisition of twenty-nine aircrafts escalated the situation even further. Esparia was now using those aircrafts to breach Eden''s airspace repeatedly and forcing Eden''s air force to mobilize their aircraft in response which would be followed by those Esparian fighters returning back to their borders the moment they noticed Eden''s aircraft on their radar. They were doing it constantly at times even reaching up to fifteen times a day for the known four aircraft of Eden or so they thought. Esparia''s tactic involved sending two fighters every time before allowing their planes to rest for maintenance while sending the next batch, this tactic served as a refreshment training for the hired pilots and at the same time, making it so that the pilots of Eden Air force were not given enough time to rest due to the constant sorties they had to make due to Esparia''s unlawful breach in their airspace, at the same time increasing their anxiety in worry that any of these sorties might as well be a real mission from Esparia where they would come in hot and just start bombing, forcing a dog fight out of them, or so was the Morgan''s intention. Many international observers excused this as actions simply as a protest of Esparia for the release of their soldier and nothing more. However, this action of theirs acted as nothing other than a way of increasing the anger of the majority of Edenians, who demanded the government to further increase the conditions for the release of the captured soldier or if push comes to shove, they should simply duke it once again since they had won the first fight, the citizens believed they could win the second confrontation too. Throughout the negotiations, Esparia continued to maintain the negotiations as public as possible, showcasing their commitment to securing the return of their soldiers. This strategy was a means to sustain the high morale of the remaining of their hundreds of thousands of soldiers and the trust of the citizens in the government as a means for avoiding an uprising from the inside, in case a dissatisfaction arose if they didn''t show that they cared about the captured soldiers that much and were preparing themselves for another round with Eden. Thanks to them putting on this show, Esparia agreed to many of Eden''s demands withholding only a few of them which they argued that they couldn''t agree to. One major sticking point being the concession of land. Esparia argued against it, citing that land concession was against the international agreements while also voicing their concerns that once the country agrees to the concessions it would just mark the start of a losing precedent. They feared that every argument or a fight between them in which Eden came out victorious would result in further land concessions and would start eroding their country''s sovereignty over time. This decision of theirs sparked a division within Esparia. One side being the family members of the captured soldiers, arguing that their loved ones who had already fought, risked and sacrificed their freedom for the country and now called for the nation to reciprocate by sacrificing a part of its territory for their freedom as a repayment for their commitment towards their country.I think you should take a look at While the other side consisted of the family of the soldiers whose death had been confirmed, along with many of the citizens of the country who felt dissatisfied for losing to Eden. They believed that they could triumph over Eden in not just military might, but also many aspects, including economically and wanted their country to not agree to any deals. Instead, they urged the country to fight with Eden once again, this time with ample preparations and win the war to avenge their loss of both life and of their pride. With the second narrative gaining the support of most of the people in the country, it reached a point where the government was compelled to make an announcement that they would do their very best to bring their soldiers back home and had already started compensating the families of the confirmed dead, this was thanks to funds provided by the Morgans and acted as a means to make Eden seem like a greedy monster. Simultaneously, the government also announced that in case the negotiations failed, they still retained the right to declare war to fight against Eden and ensure the rescue of their soldiers. This strategy worked since the compensation provided to the families of dead soldiers had managed to temporarily suppress their eagerness for revenge, leading to a movement which wanted the war to slightly calm down while at the same time garnering the support of both factions to the government, demonstrating that the government''s concerned for all of its citizens. Thanks to their well-orchestrated act and the support of the Morgans, who had kept running the narrative that Eden was trying to exploit their lucky win and with the use of their massive political power, the Morgans had made a few countries to subtly condemn Eden internationally, just enough to make sure that Eden knew that the world was watching the situation but not enough where Eden would end up giving up all the war prisoners since the Morgans wanted the war to happen no matter what. This tactic wasn''t used to intimidate Eden, but rather to increase the morale of the Esparians. As they saw that the world was having their backs, the citizens became even bolder finding themselves in the same situation as when you were having an argument with someone, then you would have someone trying to stop you, this resulting in filling you with confidence causing you to start using stronger language. This resulted in the happening of many bad things within Esparia, such as mass arrests of citizens that were of Edenian descent, having their businesses vandalized, together with beating those known citizens of Eden who were living in Esparia. The only thing holding them back was the worry that if they kill any of them, they would lose the support of the world, which at the moment was very necessary for them. Thanks to that, other than being heavily injured, most of the Edenian citizens were rescued by the police and a few sane citizens before that threshold was crossed. In response to their citizens now being prosecuted, Eden responded by adding the clause of having their citizens released and be compensated for the damage inflicted on their citizens who are residing in Esparia and were facing prosecution. They also demanded the reopening of the borders for the return of their citizens to their country after they had received their compensation packages for the damages they were inflicted upon during the prosecution, increasing the tensions between the two countries even further. For those who were observing how things happened from the outside, they could see that either the negotiations would be agreed upon or they would really be duking it out against each other for the second time. And from the looks of it, it seemed that the citizens had already moved into wartime readiness as most of them wanted the war to happen, and both country''s citizens were sure that their country could win. Edenian citizens were sure of it because they had already won the first encounter, as for the Esparian citizens, they believed their military was more powerful and their previous loss was only thanks to Eden attacking them by surprise, resulting in quite aggressive arguments between the two countries citizens on the internet. As for the individuals who had the unfortunate circumstance of encountering each others on foreign lands, their interactions escalated beyond mere disagreements. In fact, a subset of them proceeded to engage in physical altercations, much to the amusement and disdain of onlookers who didn''t forget to record and post it, further solidifying the hate between each other. Chapter 215 Escalating Tensions ? "This is what has been causing the formation of those brown clouds!?" Obama inquired as he examined the images on the table that were collected by the Global Hawk they had deployed for the second reconnaissance mission. "Yes, they were engaged in a large-scale and rapid construction, using the construction effort as a form of strength training for their soldiers," answered the Secretary of Defense, his tone revealing the disappointment it had caused him after he saw the images and realized that it didn''t show any significant development, contrary to what he had anticipated. "So, what exactly led to the formation of those clouds?" Biden asked, trying to seek an explanation as to how a normal construction site would result in the appearance of those clouds which also remained for a very long time. "After the return of the drone to the base, we analyzed the particles that were still attached to it, we discovered no unusual composition apart from the dust and ground particles within them. This confirms that it was indeed the construction activities that had been the reason behind it and there was no evidence of any advanced technology involved, like what we had thought," clarified the Secretary of Defense. If one looked at the images on the table, one would notice that those images didn''t have even a slight resemblance to what was actually going on on the island, rather, the images only depicted a few large but different ongoing construction sites and a vast open field that contained thousands of tents arranged in rows, showing that it was what would be serving as the living quarters of the soldiers that were sent there to do the construction under the guise of training. The same discrepancy applied to the other satellite images of the country that were captured daily where there were no images about the Paradisemovers that could be seen among them at all. This discrepancy arose due to the Americans sending drones instead of a manned surveillance aircraft like the U-2 to allow for human observation while at the same time, taking the pictures of the island. However, the drone, controlled by a satellite connection, was susceptible to Nova''s interception, which had access to all the radio signal stations within the country. This allowed her to intercept the signals that were being sent to the drones control base and edit the images that were taken before transmitting them, with her massive computing power in action there was not even a slight delay between the interception, editing and transferring of the data the drone had captured. This covert manipulation allowed Aron to keep what was happening on Avalon as a hidden secret, while the world, or precisely the American government, thought that nothing important was going on. Rather than trusting Eden''s words, they would trust their own military hardware information more, causing them to gradually lose interest in the ongoing events on the island. "Anyway, what is your assessment of the situation going on in the Pacific?" Obama asked, shifting the matter of what is happening on the island aside since the information had made him remove it from his consideration anymore. "I believe that Esparia is likely going to emerge victorious during this second confrontation, although not with an overwhelming landslide victory, among the reason of why is the theoretical existence of those powerful bombs they had used in their first fight in store, as they could just send it to the capital of Esparia and take a few thousands of people with it if push comes to shove," answered the Secretary of Defense, handing the people in the room the documents that contained their analysis of what was going to happen in case the two countries were to engage in a conflict for the second time.I think you should take a look at "They have truly gone all out," Biden commented as he read the document that outlined the procuring of weapons that had been done by Esparia in the last three weeks, which totalled the amount to billions. And notably, each of these acquisitions required at least half of their payment to be done upfront, with the remaining sum to be settled soon after. "But why hasn''t there been a response from the opposing side?" Obama raised the question, seeking a reason as to why Eden remained quiet, not them particularly but their backer "Rothschild", who seemed to not be doing anything to counterbalance the massive arms race that was instigated by the Esparians, led by the "Morgans". "There are only two possibilities for this: either they have already given up or they are already prepared for it beforehand. The reason behind that can be found after referring to page thirty-five," the Secretary of Defence responded and paused for a moment to allow the others to open the specified page and start reading the contents before he proceeded to explain. When he was certain that everyone in the room had opened to the designated page, he continued, "As you can see, this section delves into the detail of our analysis concerning the response of each country when the other side further escalated the conflicts. And when you look carefully at their response in every Esparia''s escalation, you will find that Eden has always responded just enough to be able to counteract the escalation and nothing more than that." "This implies that they have some astute and competent decision-makers who are guiding Eden''s response, alongside those, they have a moderately competent leadership in their military to make sure that those given orders are precisely executed, as envisioned by their think tanks while making those plans. This is rather surprising, given that even Esparia, despite having the support of the mercenary groups who had been sent to help them prepare for the second round, appears to have fallen short of having their plans completely and successfully executed in their real world execution, and a long time will be needed to train them for that as well." "But based on the escalation trajectory, they don''t have enough time to solve that, so the Morgans'' side is forced to blanket the planning, which factors in the likelihood of their plans being brought to life by the incompetent army." "Due to the scale of those plans being big, it would be necessary for their plans to take longer time to be implemented compared to Eden''s efficiently executed strategies, which is weirdly always efficiently executed to our amazement, though not on par to our level yet." He explained. "Let''s observe and assess. The more they engage in fights outside America''s borders, the less trouble America will face," Obama commented, placing the document down and pinching his temples, clearly fatigued by even thinking about them. The THEM, as they had come to be known, would always cause trouble for America when they were in conflict. A notable example of it was the 2008 financial crisis, which stemmed from the culmination of their discord. The Rothschilds won but forced the entirety of America to bear the loss along with the Morgans. Due to their deeply rooted influence, the government could not even think about holding them accountable, leaving them seemingly untouched, giving them the feeling of an ant facing a boot. Their conversation shifted as they started speculating on the potential outcome of the war and how they could leverage themselves by choosing which side to support to maximize the amount of benefits they will be able to reap based on the forthcoming outcome. Chapter 216 The Declaration ? A week later, in Esparia. As the week commenced, officially marking the fourth week since the onset of the negotiations and escalation between the two countries, a different kind of atmosphere could be sensed, compared to the other weeks. Since the start of the week, Esparia had started a large-scale mobilization of its military forces. Troops, equipment, and resources were being openly prepared and organized, hinting at the possibility of the upcoming combat operations. Simultaneously, several countries that had diplomatic ties and embassies within both Eden and Esparia had started the evacuation of their personnel, temporarily closing their embassies. This was followed by Esparia starting public awareness campaigns during the same time, informing the population regarding the prevailing situation, potential risks of a war and recommending many national security measures. Throughout this period, Eden''s response always remained a step behind. A fact that was acknowledged by the whole world was akin to the calm before the storm, however, no one wanted to be the first to say it, waiting for either of the two countries to burst the bubble and just set the events into motion. Tensions had reached their zenith as the world collectively held its breath, observing what could be considered as the first official war declared between the two countries while also being one of the wars to be fought in the modern era and was a clash between countries with comparable military might, raising the expectations of it not completely being one-sided beatdown like the many other wars fought in the twenty-first century. With each passing day, the tension in the atmosphere continued to increase, culminating in the arrival of Friday, when Esparia announced an upcoming press conference that would be taking place in a few hours. When the appointed hour came, the press conference''s live feed started being broadcasted worldwide. The background didn''t show the customary conference room, but the serene presence of trees in the garden, indicating that the conference was taking place in the palace grounds. This was due to the overwhelming attendance of reporters that were attending the event, forcing them to hold the conference on the open grounds of the presidential palace. This time, however, instead of the usual presidential spokesperson, the President of Esparia, Emanuel, had taken over the podium, showing that whatever he was going to address was going to be important. "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed citizens of Esparia," he said, starting his speech by extending his greetings to all the viewers watching the broadcast worldwide, though primarily it was being watched by the people of Esparia and Eden. Continuing his address, he articulated, "Today, we gather on this somber occasion, marking the passage of a month filled with arduous negotiations aimed at securing the release of our unjustly imprisoned compatriots. These individuals have become tragic victims of an unwarranted and merciless assault, driven solely by the insatiable greed of Eden." He paused slightly after saying that before he continued "Throughout this challenging journey, we have steadfastly extended the hand of diplomacy, seeking a peaceful resolution to this distressing ordeal." "However, despite our unwavering commitment to finding common ground, we have witnessed the unrelenting growth of their voracious demands." He paused as his hand crumpled the paper he was having difficult reading from, due to anger as he he continued with difficulties, "Every concession we made, every compromise we reached, has only continued to fuel their insatiable hunger for power." "As we engaged in these negotiations, we have observed their appetite for dominance intensify, akin to vultures feasting upon our desperation. Our efforts to reach a fair and just agreement have been met with ever-increasing rapacity, leaving us with no choice but to reassess our course of action."I think you should take a look at "With a heavy heart, and after careful consideration, I hereby declare that the hour of negotiations has come to an end," he stated, pausing for a moment before continuing, "We have explored every avenue for a peaceful resolution, yet the scales tip relentlessly towards conflict." "Today, I bear the weight of the trust and support you, the citizens of our great nation, have placed in me. It is with this solemn authority that I make this proclamation: We shall no longer engage in such fruitless parleys." He paused once again, allowing for tension in the compound to grow, followed by continuing his speech, however this time became as calm and as confident as possible as he said "Instead, we hereby declare war Eden." while his eyes were looking straight at the camera to project confidence. The moment he said that, the entire compound seemed to have frozen for a moment, even the constantly flashing cameras stopped, causing a slight dimming in the compound, together with the utter silence spreading throughout the entire press conference, silencing the attendees for a few seconds before the flashes on cameras started to reappear, now so frequently that they formed a continuous burst of light, illuminating the president''s face brightly. He then continued, "This declaration is a testament to our unyielding dedication to justice, our commitment to safeguarding the lives and dignity of our people, and our resolve to confront those who think that they can bully us and threaten us." "In the face of adversity, we shall unite. In the presence of challenge, we shall stand firm. And as we embark on this difficult path, may history remember our resilience, our courage, and our unwavering pursuit of a just and equitable future." "May our determination shine as a beacon of hope, even as the drums of conflict echo in response to the encroaching destruction." "Thank you, and may our nation find strength and unity in the days that are to come. God bless Esparia" With those words, he concluded the address and left the compound, making his way back to his presidential palace. Helicopters could be seen arriving at the palace which was closely followed by trucks filled with soldiers and armored vehicles starting to enter the compound as well. All of the cameras broadcasting the press conference continued to roll, capturing the scenes, but not for too long since the feed was shortly cut after around a thousand soldiers had arrived, with more of them en route. ... Moments after the press conference concluded. The skies had started to be filled with the screaming sounds of jet engines, courtesy of five of Esparia''s newly bought planesC fifty in total C a feat in itself, and had started donning the sky on patrol to make sure that nothing passed through their airspace. At the same time, the remainder of the fighter aircrafts that were stationed at different bases took off for the sky too, heading in the direction of Eden. This marked the first action of the war, with forty-five planes preparing to face off against four of Eden''s fighter jets which they were sure that the pilots of them were tired after having spent the entire previous three weeks in constant sorties against the Esparians due to their airspace violations. The Esparian pilots forged their way to Eden''s airspace with confidence, trusting in their pilot training and the experience they had received from their previous militaries before they were hired by the different mercenary companies owned by the Morgans. Each pilot carried the dream of earning the chance of gaining the coveted ACE designation before their name if they got the chance of shooting down Eden''s underserviced fighter jets which they were bound to encounter today. Chapter 217 Quantum Firewall ? "What the fuck have they done to their system?" exclaimed a person in anger and disappointment, his bloodshot eyes, an obvious hint for the watchers to tell that he had been typing on the keyboard continuously for more than three hours without having any decent break during that period. However, he wasn''t the only one, the room he was in was filled with more than one hundred people doing the same task which he had been doing. "They shouldn''t have gotten enough time to completely overhaul their entire system within just a month, right?" questioned a man nearby who had given up just a few moments after the first person had resigned in frustration. "While it is theoretically possible, they shouldn''t have been able to make their system operate seamlessly like the way it is running right now. Even if all of those things are working in their favor, their system shouldn''t have been upgraded to such a significant degree as such an upgrade would need a very long time to accomplish. We''ve been trying to breach their defenses for more than five hours but nothing can even latch onto their firewalls. How the heck did they go from being completely vulnerable in cyberspace to having an impenetrable wall in just a matter of a month?" He finished his words with a mix of a few words of self-doubt, logical reasoning and amazement at the transformation of their former victims who had now become formidable opponents. "They couldn''t have intentionally allowed us access during the first attack, right?!!" he asked his neighboring colleague. "As much as I would want to deny that assumption, I also find it hard to disagree with it. The level of firewall we were met for the second time doesn''t seem to simply take a month to accomplish the change. All of those anomalies could be explained if they had just allowed us the access during the first time and then blocked us out of it during the second time. Alternatively, it might also be possible that during our first assault, they were still building their security infrastructure, meaning that over the last month, they completed making it and replaced it over with their previous, shitty firewall," replied his colleague, trying to make sense of what they were experiencing during the current predicament. "But which company is capable of doing such a significant project without using it as a means to brag about their capabilities? And why choose to start it at Eden as their testing ground in all of the places?" he pondered, this time trying to give a reason as to why his colleague''s second theory doesn''t seem to make much sense. "Oh, I think I might know who could be the one behind this new firewall," his colleague responded, the guy''s tone carrying excitement as if he had finally found a missing piece of the puzzle. "Well, go on then. Who is it?" he asked impatiently, annoyed with the fact that his colleague had mentioned who it was but didn''t reveal the name. "GAIA Technology," answered the colleague in excitement, not trying to hide that he was a fanboy of the companyC the makers of BugZapper, GAIA OS and the renowned game as their products. "If it is truly them, then we might as well give up on this commission," the first guy declared with a sigh after hearing the name mentioned by his colleague. The mere mention of that name carried a dreadnought presence in the realm of technology, with most of their influences in the fields of security, OS and the gaming world. Every product they released held an unparalleled level of standard and with more than three of their released products already reigning as industry-leading products in their specific fields, people had started expecting that their upcoming products would be of the same standards. As for the man, he felt admiration for the company because of a single product from them, the BugZapper, a product that almost single-handedly sent the hacking world to the shadow realm, pushing it to redefine its limits.I think you should take a look at He had personally tried the product and had nothing but praise for the one who had created it. The program would always manage to identify any vulnerabilities that would have gone unnoticed by most humans. Still, due to its emergence, the hacking world wasn''t completely obliterated, rather the BugZapper had just raised the level of sophistication required to be able to hack the systems. Whenever a new way of hacking came up and succeeded in passing the program, in just a couple of hours a patch for it would be released, making it a continuous game of cat and mouse between hackers and Bugzapper, always keeping the hacking community excited as the GAIA technology always generously rewarded those who managed to get past their systems after they had patched it up, giving the community incentives for doing so. "I will go and inform the boss about this. I hope he agrees with your assessment and decides to cancel the commission. If not, we will be spending days typing without any solutions," he remarked as he stood up from the chair and made his way to the office of the hacking group''s leader, which was weird in itself since most hacking groups operated remotely, even when they were working as a team. ... In the Eden airspace. The four fighters of the Angels squadron could be seen maintaining a formation as they took to the skies, starting from the moment the Esparian press conference had initiated. In an instant, the headgear of Angle One-One, piloted by James, shifted from green to red in his peripheral vision a few minutes after they had taken flight. The pilots who had graduated from Athena''s training program knew that, their headgears turning red was a stamp of approval to shoot down any unverified or unidentified aircraft within their airspace, without even giving them any warnings. Taking a look at the multitude of enemy bogies that had been detected by Sky Eye 0, a country scale scanner & radar like machine that had collected the information and integrated it into their aircrafts computers and their headgears, making their powerful radar(Henry''s eye) to have no need of being on while they were still within Eden''s airspace since Sky Eye 0 had the ability to capture every bit of information about their enemies that entered its scanning radius and it had a scan area that covered the entire airspace of Eden. James the squadron leader, transmitted "This is Angel One-One. As you know, there are forty-five of them. Each of you can have ten each, as for the remaining five, they will be chosen by our computer randomly. Let''s wrap this up as soon as possible and show them a performance for the the history books" "Copy that," echoed the responses of Angel One-Two, Angel One-Three, and Angel One-Four. Followed by the headgears of each pilot marking ten out of the forty-five enemy bogies that were on the way to Eden, and the squadron wasted no time as their planes'' ailerons synchronously came to life while the aircraft rolled to the right with one of their wingtips pointing to the sky and the other pointing to the ground moments after that they pulled their control stick toward themselves, making all the four fighter jets to pull an aggressive turn to the right, changing their direction and heading towards the incoming bandits. After flying for a few seconds in coordination, each of the fighters started heading in different directions, despite they were maintaining their collective trajectory due to the enemies having divided themselves into a squadron of five aircraft each, meaning that now there were a total of nine squadrons for them to take out. However, even without having any visible missiles on their hardpoints, none of the pilots of the Angel''s squadron seemed to have any worry regarding the upcoming faceoff. This meant that it was going to be a showdown of four against forty-five, with the underdogs having nothing other than guns at their disposal, while their enemies came fully loaded with an array of both long-range and short-range air-to-air missiles. Chapter 218 The Performance For The History Books ? A squadron of five aircrafts could be seen soaring through the expansive sky, with a few clusters of islands being visible beneath them on the ocean''s surface as they moved forward at a very high speed with the eyes of the pilots being fixed on their screens, hoping to find any target in their radar and see if their squadron was lucky enough to have all the four Eden''s aircraft come to them or if they were simply unlucky and would just end up bombing some military bases until the enemies surrender in fit of fear. "Looks like luck isn''t on our side," remarked a pilot designated as number twelve as he glanced at his screen and found that there was nothing that was caught in the radar. Feeling disappointed knowing that he would not be finding an opportunity to shoot down a fighter plane. "I understand, but that doesn''t necessarily mean that others are luckier than us. Maybe the enemy pilots ran away? I mean, there are forty-five of us against four of them. I will not be flying an aircraft if it means that I will be going to a guaranteed death," replied his wingman, who was designated as fourteen, trying to boost his comrade''s morale. "I would have," an unidentified voice chimed in. However, they failed to identify the source of the voice, unfortunately, they were not given enough time to even try to find out from where the mysterious voice had come from since it was quickly overshadowed by an aircraft suddenly revel''ng itself under their formation, matching their speed, after which the aircraft immediately pulled its nose up executing a Pugachev''s cobra manuever, bleeding its speed before the nose automatically returned at a level putting him behind the moving Esparian planes whose pilots started panicking and breaking the formation while still wondering where the fuck had that Bandit came from. "BRRRRRRRRR" Rapid gunfire started erupting from Angel One-Three''s plane, targeting the aircraft designated as twelve, riddling it with bullets, shredding its wings and control surfaces into pieces. "MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!" The pilot number twelve urgently shouted at his radio but he didn''t wait for a response as he simultaneously pulled out the handle for his ejection seat. The seat was quickly ejected and he was propelled out of the plane that was now dropping like a brick. As he continued to descend to the ground, the parachute on the seat finally opened, slowing down his fall, allowing the pilot to calm down. Calm down enough to be able to regain his composure and think of raising his head to see what was the thing that had shot him down and wasn''t even caught in their radars which were actively scanning for something in the sky. And to his horror, the pilot twelve saw something that no amount of therapy in the world could heal. He watched as a single fighter plane messed with his fellow squadron members that were being plucked from the sky as if a grown man was fighting against a group of children, by using nothing but the gun on the aircraft. The maneuvers the bogey was executing were something that he could never think of pulling while being under the pressure where four enemies were trying to kill him using missiles and guns, at least not without worrying about making a mistake and causing his own death. However, the bogey in front or rather above him pulled all of such maneuvers with the perfection and calmness of an experienced fighter which was something quite scary in itself. With a series of perfectly executed maneuvers, Angel One-Three found himself behind one of the four aircrafts and without any hesitation, he pulled the trigger, bathing the plane''s body in metal, breaking it apart and forcing the pilot to eject and letting him join number twelve in becoming a spectator as the he continued to inflict a lifetime of PTSD on the two of them. Although the remaining three planes that were chasing him fired their missiles after they got a lock on him, the pilot of Angle One-Three didn''t release a single flare to divert them and simply pulled some ghostly maneuvers causing all the missiles that were following him to lose their locks on him before they headed into some random directions, damned to fly for eternity until the missiles propellant got empties and fall from the sky under the curse of gravity. With now two spectators watching him, he put on a show so as to not embarrass his airforce. Angel One-Three kept his word since within exactly a thirty seconds period, he had completed shooting down the remaining aircrafts, the proof of it being the number of parachutes that donned the sky as the pilots who had successfully ejected themselves from their shot-down fighter jets. After having downed all five of the planes within two minutes, Angel One-Three didn''t waste any time by lingering any more as he immediately veered into the direction where two of the missiles he had evaded earlier had gone, speeding and catching up to them within just thirty seconds followed by him shooting them down from the sky. If the missiles had continued on their flight trajectory, they would end up falling in populated areas in one of the cities that were closest to Esparia. After unleashing a barrage of bullets on those two missiles, Angel One-Three swiftly headed for the next squadron that was designated for him to shoot down as soon as possible. However, this time, it won''t be a surprise attack and would be met with a prepared group who were anticipating the fact that someone was coming for them. But, for the pilots who had ejected, they were somewhat relieved that they were alive, but were still suspended in disbelief with the aftermath of the unprecedented events they had experienced. Even with them being equipped with missiles, in a span of just two minutes, someone came and just by using gunfire, had shot them down. I think you should take a look at Then just as he had appeared, the pilot had left them and went to shoot down two of their missiles, followed by him leaving without even giving them a second look, before heading to a direction which they knew their fellow fighter squadron was at and couldn''t help but feel bad for them. Everything that had transpired had left them deeply astounded, the astounding aerial command their enemy had displayed, made them struggle to comprehend reality. As concern for their fellow fighter squadron rose, all they could do was use their radios to transmit warnings to their comrades about the monster they had encountered and was heading their way. They recommended them to be prepared for an impending face-off but also suggested that running off would be the best option. As they landed at the ocean''s surface, they lost all hope of any rescue coming for them. They knew that nothing was going to be passing through Eden''s airspace to come for them, rendering any assistance from the outside to be highly improbable. This was further substantiated when they saw a helicopter they had never seen in their lives, quietly coming to them while generating a sound so low that they would have thought that it was a helicopter that was passing very far away from them if not for seeing it approaching and getting closer. The helicopter came near them and continued to hover about thirty meters above them and did nothing other than hover, making them wonder what it was doing if it wasn''t here to rescue them. But their questions were soon answered as a boat approached them at a very high speed, clarifying that the helicopter was only acting as a marker of their location so that they would be rescued by the boats. ..... While all of this was going on, something else was going on in the city that was about to become the victims of those two rogue missiles'' that were shot down, if they hadn''t been shot down by Angel One-Three. At the moment, perched atop an elevated mountain on the outskirts of the city, a group of three people could be seen standing behind a tripod-mounted camera. This elaborated setup featured a camera with a super long lens on it, indicating its ability to capture distant scenes with extreme clarity. The expressions on the faces of these reporters were filled with excitement and amazement at what they had managed to record. They had come to the mountain hoping to have the chance of recording the incursion of Esparian fighters as they invaded Eden''s airspace before the bombers so that they could clear Eden''s airspace. However, what they saw was beyond even their wildest dreams, something even the movies would have difficulty in making people believe that something like that could happen. T he unfolding spectacle was nothing other than a pilot''s dream, to be so calm and dominant that despite being outnumbered five to one and yet still coming out victorious without having even a single damage done on his own plane or even reporting any casualties of the enemies soldiers, who were now being taken by a mysterious looking massive helicopter that appeared out of nowhere, and taking the enemy pilots away after they were rescued from the ocean by a fast-moving medium size marine vehicle, which itself didn''t resemble anything that had ever seen either. The trio of reporters knew that the world would soon be talking about their footage and how it was going to impact the war after they had released it. And since no deaths had occurred throughout the whole dogfight, they could upload the entirety of it without having to worry about any censorship at all. Chapter 219 Archangels: The Birth Of Aces. ? "This is Esparia''s Central COM, all the aircrafts must return to base immediately. I repeat, this Esparia''s CENTRAL COMMAND, all airc.." This urgent announcement resonated three times across all the radios of Esparian pilots right after the twentieth fighter jet was shot down. While this might seem like it had taken a very long time for the central command of Esparia to come to a decision and order the retreat as their fighter jets were being plucked from the skies and turned into bricks, the reality was quite the opposite. The time it had taken Eden''s air force to shoot down a total of twenty of their fighter jets had barely lasted for a span of two minutes before the Esparian central command realized what was going on and ordered a mass retreat. This meticulous synchronization and the timing of the attack also played a very crucial role because although Angel One-Three had reached his designated squadron earlier than others, he just remained patient under them and monitored their communication for fun as he waited for the arrival of other Angels at their designated squadrons before they could start the orchestrated massacre, they knew very well that the moment the number of casualties was realized, it would trigger the order of a mass retreat, after which they would have to chase them, which was quite wasteful when they could have their enemies in a bundle. As for the remaining twenty-five Esparian fighter jets, they wasted no time in initiating a mass retreat, worried of being shot down at once if they returned in a group if all of the pilots were ordered to solo it, hoping that they are not the unlucky ones to meet those monsters which at the moment was considered a completely assured ejection, as it looked like the enemies were messing with them or toying with them by just shooting down the fighters, leaving the pilots alive as a witness for their brilliant piloting. The jubilant Edenian pilots, who were racking in to gain more kill numbers of their enemies wasted no time as they started to chase after them, claiming a few more scores in the sky. This relentless cat-and-mouse chase continued until they reached the airspace borders of the two countries. With that, all the headgears of the Angel squadron returned back from the red color it had to the original green marking the end of the hunt, followed by Athena''s voice which echoed by their ears, saying. [Archangels, return to patrolling following the highlighted flight path] Addressing them with their new moniker of "Archangels" signified that they were finally being upgraded from Angels to a higher position of Archangels after they had shot down an average of six aircrafts each, a distinction of them becoming ACE on their very first air-to-air face-off against an enemy aircraft. This marked them becoming the members of the ACE Pilots club which had very few people within the twenty-first century, but they weren''t just any random aces but the fabled members of the "Ace In A Day" club, a rarity which no one other than them could join it in the twenty-first century other than them. Because to join it, one needed to shoot five aircraft within a single day, the four Archangels had just joined such a rank at once and that too in a span of just two minutes, a record that was likely to never be broken, unless broken by the very same pilots. Following the command, the Archangels didn''t waste even a second to shoot down the ones in front of them as they pulled their joysticks up, making a ninety-degree vertical drift which didn''t last for a long time as their hands still maintained their grip on the joysticks, causing the aircraft to do another ninety-degree turn but this time it turned them upside down which was immediately solved by the pilots as they rolled their aircrafts, returning them to a normal level before they started their afterburners once again, making their way to return to their designated patrol flight paths. This inaugural encounter between the Edens and Esparians which ended with a decisive victory for the Edenians, established a one-sided dominion in the skies. ....I think you should take a look at "What the fuck just happened?" Emanuel''s voice boomed with anger as he stood in front of the Air Force General. All the things he had imagined, winning their first air-to-air face-off which he could use for raising his approval ratings and raising the morale of their soldiers to win the war where his gain would rise in magnitudes, had crumbled into a disastrous loss. Now they had lost more than twenty aircraft which they had acquired after negotiating a bad deal- a debt which they would have to pay back to the Morgans once they had won the war. Yet, at the moment, that victory seemed to be slipping away from his hand at the speed of light. His once confident face now had paled, even paler than a powdered baby''s face, showing the weight of his dismay. He just couldn''t believe that they had lost the usefulness of their aircrafts in a matter of a few minutes, even after having greatly outnumbered Eden''s air force by more than nine to one. "I still don''t have a comprehensive answer as to how but from what little information we have received from the ejecting pilots before they were rescued and lost their radios, it appears that they were taken down by monstrously skilled pilots," reported the Air Force Commander who was sweating from his forehead, knowing very well that he would be be taking most of the fall if he were to fail to find someone to ditch the blame onto. "But, I think there is also a possibility that they did it knowingly, maybe Eden had bought the pilots even before they started working for us. With a little amount of money, they were able to sabotage our air force which could be the only explainable reason as to why the Edenian pilots didn''t go for the kills even when they shot down the aircrafts. And given that we can''t see how they were shot down, they can attribute all of it to them being lucky, but luck can''t be happening to all of them, with the same result of all of them surviving," he added, giving a very solid reason as to what might have happened which allowed the Edenian pilots to shoot down more than twenty of their aircrafts in just a matter of two minutes, this was something he managed to come up within the little time he had before reporting it to the President. "Hmm.. that theory makes more sense. Because if that is true, then all of it could be explained with them ejecting in sequences with Eden pilots just shooting the planes that had already been abandoned by their pilots. Or there can be another explanation, they weren''t shot down at all but just made those sounds before heading to Eden and giving them free aircrafts which WE HAD PURCHASED AT EXORBITANT PRICES!" Emanuel grumbled in frustration as he hit the table by the time he reached the last words of his assumption of the given idea. "Indeed, Mr President, I think so too. Such an act would only require them to pay a fraction of the price of the fighters we had paid to buy and yet they would be profiting substantially. Normally such things are not anticipated to occur by other nations since they nurture their own pilots, resulting in them fostering a sense of assurance that the pilots won''t be betraying their country. However, our pilots who were shot down on this mission were all guns for hire, which means that they can be easily bought with money, making them susceptible to turning against us if they are given enough convincing," Air Force General, Dickson added, doubling down with the President''s additional ideas, which gained more credibility the longer he spoke of it, this was something that could happen if they trusted their multimillion-dollar aircrafts to the pilots who were given to them by the Morgans to operate the fighters for the country they had no connection at all. "Inform the Morgans about this. Should this be found true, tell them that they will be held accountable for the bill of the aircrafts we had lost. They should reimburse us for the loss and the humiliation they inflicted upon us due to the negligent due diligence they did while hiring the pilots," Emanuel said to his assistant who would be doing the talk to the Morgans spokesperson in Esparia. Lamentably, he wasn''t deemed important enough to warrant being given access to direct communication to the upper echelons of the Morgans, resulting in this inefficient spokespersons to spokesperson communications. Emanuel''s frustration was obvious, his desire for accounting this incident on someone and getting compensation for rectifying this blunder so that he could regain control over this unfolding chain of events. Chapter 220 The Aftermath Of The Declaration ? The populace''s reaction to the war declaration was not good at all. In Eden, a sense of panic started spreading like wildfire, causing them to frantically rush to the shops to start mass purchasing the things they deemed essential when in the face of an impending war. As for the rest of the world, they heard the news which seemed to be spreading even faster than light. However, they were all astounded as Esparia had chosen to go with the option of declaring war, instead of a surprise attack. This choice of theirs hinted that they were assured of their victory, resulting in them taking their time and efforts on trying to convince the world of their righteous cause and following the rules and their alignment with the principles that would garner more global support. This display of confidence that Esparia had shown with their declaration of war had divided the netizens into two groups. One group thought Esparia would really be winning the war while the other thought that they were just being overconfident. They argued that throughout Esparia''s weapons'' purchesathon, Eden wasn''t just watching its enemies getting trained for the sake of beating them and instead must have already prepared themselves to endure the fight for not a complete one-sided beatdown. Meanwhile, high above in the sky, the fighter jets of Eden patrolled, following the flight path that was arranged for them by Athena, during which they ended up passing through many cities. The soaring of the aircrafts reminded the citizens that just a few minutes ago Esparia had declared war against their nation and they were now officially at war. Although the citizens thought that their air force was just patrolling to calm them down and remind them that they were being protected, they still remained oblivious to the fact that the air patrol had only commenced after they had taken down a little bit more than twenty of Esparia''s fighter jets. The jets that were meant to attack some of the very important infrastructures in Eden, but were thwarted in their attacks, resulting in their very own downfall. In response to the Esparian press conference that had ended with the declaration of war, Alexander personally took to the podium and directly addressed the nation. He promised that they were sure of winning the war and causing as little as possible disruption to people''s daily lives. However, he acknowledged that a few certain cities that were nearest to Esparia and were only separated by the water between them, such cities would be entering martial law and that state would continue for the next two days of the weekend, as to whether or not it will continue to be the same on Monday or whether they will be evacuating those cities will be more dependent on how the ongoing fight was going to develop. As Alexander''s press conference continued, thousands of troops rapidly started converging upon those cities and started executing swift and coordinated takeover, securing the cities, wasting no time at all since they were already stationed near the cities after anticipating the escalation. They immediately started by taking control of the city''s security from the police, delegating them to public control. Some streets were barricaded, other security measures were increased, and the navy vessels started appearing from the ocean horizons, coming from the nearest Navy ports. These vessels also started patrolling the maritime borders of the two countries, giving assurance to the people after witnessing how the government was already prepared and had even started responding, this resulted in people cooperating with the soldiers to the best of their abilities, trying to cause as little interruption to the soldiers as possible. This proactive response served as a hope of reassurance to the citizens. After witnessing the swift and organized mobilization of the military, the faith in their country rose after understanding that their government had already been prepared for this, leading to the swift response with precision right after the declaration of the war and was quickly responded with the dispatch of soldiers for their safety.I think you should take a look at .... "How long are you planning to let this fight continue?" Rina asked Aron during their virtual meeting, a meeting which she had specifically asked for minutes after the declaration of war. "No longer than a week. My family is here as well and the longer I let it drag on, the more convincing would be needed as to why I still live here, as they would suggest of going to some other country which would be safe for both me and my younger brother," Aron answered, revealing how long he was willing to let Esparia continue messing with him. "Good. However, I believe that the morgans have misunderstood something based on the amount of investment they are putting in," Rina added after hearing his response, not showing even a hint of distrust in his capabilities of being able to end the war whenever he wanted to. What she had seen from him throughout the months they had known each other was more than enough to let her have complete trust in every word that came from Aron, even if it was a joke as even his jokes always carried a hint of truth within them. "Yes, it seems like they somehow learned of your visit to Eden and also about the talk you had with Alexander, which made them think that you are behind some of the large investments in the country and they believe that you are acting as a helping hand in preventing the country''s economy from collapsing and thwarting them from profiting from the country''s economic collapse. Thus they decided to side with Esparia, causing a war with Eden so that it would force Eden to divert its resources from development to war, which would result in a faster collapse of Eden''s economy, than it would have ended with them benefiting from the aftermath" Aron explained, chuckling as to how a mere misunderstanding had caused the Morgans to make some huge investments in Esparia. "Sorry about that" Rina said in slight embarrassment, remembering how she had insisted on visiting and bringing the Tritium to Eden personally, which inadvertently triggered the misunderstanding to occur, resulting in the sparking of an all-out war between the two countries and a slight delay to some of Aron''s projects. "No need to worry about that. A fight with Esparia was bound to happen soon anyways given their provocations since the downfall of the previous government, and they weren''t able to receive any benefit with the change of power. Right now, I plan to use the Rothschilds as a cover to use some of my tech in a way that can explain having an advanced tech so soon without even having any news of extensive research by the country and to justify being forced to release the tech for the public to see to those familiar with your family''s beef." "Although this had accelerated the timeline for some of the plans and even delayed some, everything else is still going to happen according to schedule, unless the Morgans manage to force the US military to intervene," Aron replied and when he reached the last part of his words, he initiated and maintained an eye contact with her. "You don''t have to worry about the possibility of such a thing happening. For such a huge move to happen from our side, it will need an acknowledgement from both families and a few small ones, which is almost impossible due to us always not agreeing on the same thing, so you can be rest assured, the US government won''t be swayed into intervening by the Morgans on my watch," Rina replied, promising to handle that matter and also make sure something like that doesn''t happen at all. "Then I will consider that to be done and plan accordingly. Also, a few days later, a cargo should be arriving to you, it should help you with moving Ava to the glasses," Aron said giving her something that would change the topic of their conversation and remove the weird atmosphere that they had entered in after he had mentioned the reason for the larger than usual investment done by the Morgans in Esparia. "Thanks. Based on her brief explanation, Ava told me that she should gain at least three times an increase in efficiency compared to when she is on the private network, which in itself is unbelievable since I had witnessed one of the servers where our private network is being hosted. And it was really massive and having it being out beaten by a computer inside glasses is similar to something from the dreams" Aron said nothing but just smiled as he knew that Ava''s transition to the glasses wasn''t just going to amplify her operating efficiency by more than ten folds, but it would also trigger an evolution in her capabilities due to a part of her code that will be coming online after having found a suitable and sufficient computing power for it to operate with everything she was made with. As for why Ava was not sure of how much efficiency she will be gaining, it was because she didn''t have complete information about the quantum computing technology at the moment since Nova had deemed it to not be among the required knowledge during the time she was making her. Chapter 221 The Best Advertisement For Russian Fighter Jets ? "You can leave us for now," George instructed his secretary to leave after she relayed what Emanuel''s spokesperson had reported about their hypothesis of Eden having bought the pilots, resulting in Esparia''s loss of the aircrafts to Eden. If these assumptions were proven to be true, Eden would get these aircrafts at little to no cost at all. Aubrey, George''s father, chimed in, "Is there any possibility that this might indeed be true?" He wanted to seek more insight into whether his son had done his due diligence while the companies were hiring and coercing the pilots to resign from the military in order to start working for them. "We conducted thorough due diligence, Father. I can assure you we took every precaution to prevent such a sort of scenario from happening. While hiring, we coerced the best that the militaries could approve for resignations," George responded, his tone didn''t show any sign of agitation by his father''s question. He knew that this question of his father wasn''t coming due to his lack of trust, rather it stemmed from a desire for getting more clarity on the situation before he reacted to it. "Then, does this mean that the pilots of Eden are better than we had anticipated?" Aubrey pressed again as he questioned. "While I don''t exactly know how it happened, it also can''t be equated to be a result of our pilots being bought, we have a large leverage against them to prevent such things from happening," George replied and although he didn''t mention the leverage to his father intentionally, Aubrey clearly already knew what the leverage was of their Family and Financial Influence. Satisfied with his son''s response, Aubrey delved into another concern, "If you are so sure that this isn''t a case of purchased pilots, how do you plan to deal with the disrespect they have shown?" "My plan is to give him a simple warning, to make sure that he does not do such disrespect in the future. At the same time, I will reduce his agreed-upon compensation by half once this conflict comes to a conclusion, that should act as a stern enough warning for him to not come up with such disrespectful provocations on us and just focus on continuing the fight," George explained, planning to direct the anger which was rising in his heart after thinking that a few words of some fucking president of a fucking small country had forced his father to ask him questions which hinted slight distrust on his abilities and competence, albeit him knowing it wasn''t that way, he was still hurt and had just the right victim to be vented to. ... Over the next two hours after the war declaration, there was relatively no activity in terms of fighting, but that didn''t mean that everything was calm. The intense military movements in Eden were unbelievably organized, especially for a country that had war declared upon them just a few hours ago. Videos and photos of military vehicles arriving in different cities started to surface on the internet, slightly satiating the thirst of curiosity the netizens had. The scale of operations they saw was pretty astonishing for a military of what could be said to be an underdeveloped nation. The soldiers in those videos showcased a remarkable level of experience and professionalism. Unlike all of the typical videos where the soldiers might be seen laughing, in any of these videos, every single soldier was maintaining a serious demeanor. But this serious expression was not born of fear of war but it seemed to be stemming from their experience and that they were aware of the weight such situations carry. The discipline displayed by the soldiers was so remarkable that it made people wonder once again whether they really were soldiers of an underdeveloped nation, merely based on their discipline. What was even more intriguing was the fact that all of the soldiers in these videos appeared to be in their twenties, which greatly heightened the weirdness of the experienced expressions they had on their faces. Meanwhile, videos started appearing from Esparia too, indicating what was going on there as well but there were too few which clearly hinted at the divergent approach of the two countries as to how they were operating. One seemed to be preparing for a defensive fight while the other seemed to be sure that nothing was going to happen to their country and were solely focusing on the prospect of invading Eden. As these developments unfolded, many people started believing that this conflict was going to last for a very long time. With both sides gearing up themselves for it in their unique ways, indicating a protracted battle ahead. This caused a sense of anticipation to grow in the people, as they prepared to witness the unfolding of a significant and prolonged struggle.I think you should take a look at However, all of that took a turn when an article with the heading [The Best Advertisement For Russian Fighter Jets: A Spectacular Showcase of the SU-35''s Dominance during the First Face-off in Eden & Esparia War!] appeared on the internet. In a mere ten minutes, the article started trending across all social media platforms. The video that was attached to the article was also being shared and was reposted by almost anyone who had their attention on the ongoing conflict between the two nations. The article delved into details about where the confrontation had taken place, when it had taken place, revealing everything else related to it. This article informed the world that what they assumed to be a period of army preparations was nothing but just some background activities. In fact, a real battle had already been fought and a winner of their first face-off had already been decided in just a matter of few minutes right after the declaration of war. This turn of events was a massive middle finger to Esparia, who had boldly declared the war and had their aircrafts being shot down minutes after their famous declaration, providing a good material for the meme culture that had been quite active and even flourished since the declaration of war. Although the internet was slightly sated with the release of numerous videos that were uploaded and showcased the military movement, this video and the article were the cuisine that no one had expected to have as it had everything they didn''t even know that they deserved to see. It was the face-off between the two countries'' air forces and for those who watched it, it definitely didn''t disappoint them at all. What further helped increase the crazy reaction was that no one watching had to feel guilty for feeling excited while watching the video. Unlike any typical war footage documenting any ongoing war most of the time, there will be loss of life, however, no life had been taken in the entirety of this new video, allowing them to publicly express how the video was making them feel, which wouldn''t have been quite possible if it was any death on the video. Yet, the only distasteful thing that left the people questioning was the question of the condition of the ejected pilots since the video had been stopped a few moments after the last plane was shot and the Edeninan pilot had left the airspace while the parachutes of the ejected pilots could still be seen in the sky. This meant that at this moment only the reporters were aware of the existence of the new-looking helicopter and boat, keeping that part of the video hidden for a future article, poised to benefit from the following that would be generated by the current article. The impact of this article''s release was massive and among them was also a group of people aboard an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Fleet. Using the onboard military computers to access the internet and communicate with families, one of the members heard about the video which prompted him to watch it before he soon called for his fellow colleagues to watch it since he was too flabbergasted by what he had seen to even react by himself. With that, the group started watching the video too and if someone looked at them closely, they would realize that all of them were the pilots of the squadron that had gone to retrieve their drone that had "accidentally lost signal" and veered to Eden. "I recognize those markings from one of the planes that had come to intercept us," said Enrico as they watched the video, coming to the realization who the pilot on the SU-35 that was doing some ridiculously awe-inspiring maneuvers was. "Oh my god!" gasped one of them after seeing how the Eden pilot in one of maneuvers took the air-to-air missiles that were coming for him out of the equation while at the same time putting himself behind one of the F-16''s chasing him, which he promptly shot down, followed closely by the ejection of the pilot. When the video came to an end, they replayed it again and again with every single one of their faces having the same expression: Disbelief. Chapter 222 Plan B ? For the next half hour, the soldiers onboard the Pacific Fleet continued to rewatch the video of the battle between Esparian and Edenain aircrafts in silence. No words were exchanged all this long as they were trying to mentally visualize what sort of actions they would need to make an aircraft make such maneuvers and tried to calculate those precise split-second decisions that would be required to be executed without risking entering G-lock and potentially killing themselves. "I can''t believe they earned "Ace in a Day" title in this century and that too in a matter of two minutes!" Enrico exclaimed, both in amazement, jealousy and a tinge of fear as he envisioned himself being in control of one of those planes, facing such a monstrous adversary. "They have created monsters," Elton, the youngest among them, remarked, having memorized the entire action sequence. "Do you think we would have emerged victorious if we had entered a dogfight with them?" Elton asked, curious to know their team leader''s evaluation. "It hurts my pride to say this, but I don''t think there would be a way to come out alive if we are to face them in a dogfight but in a long-range battle, we might win and that will only be thanks to our advanced long-range weapons," Daniel, the team leader, conceded, feeling his pride as a pilot of the nation that boasted the best first and second air force in the world taking a hit. He knew that he could easily lose to a pilot who outnumbered his air time by at least fifteen to one. "Considering the US arsenal, I can only imagine the F-22 going head-to-head with them and having a plausible chance of winning it," he added, not counting the F-35 as that plane was primarily made for long-range engagements and due to it having no supermaneuverability, it made F-35 impossible to survive a dogfight against such monsters. "How did they even train them to such a level? I''m sure they couldn''t have even accumulated less than a quarter of our flight time?" Daveta chimed in as he felt goosebumps with the thought of remembering that they had two of those pilots fly together with them, escorting them during their drone retrieval mission. "Perhaps not all of them are as exceptionally talented as him and this Esparian squadron might have got unlucky to meet such a monster," Elton speculated, trying to rationalize what they had watched and attributing it to something they unfortunately did not have enough of compared to that monster: A monstrous talent. "What I''m curious to know is, who the fuck is crazy enough to send such an exceptionally talented and experienced pilot in such a perilous combat situation with nothing but guns. Are they not worried about losing their investments on him?" Daniel spoke once again, questioning the craziness of the military brass who had sent such a valuable pilot to what could be said to be a certain death situation if not for his monstrous talent, with nothing but guns onboard the fighter jet. But before they could even respond, their discussion was interrupted by a summon to the commander''s room. They immediately understood it was going to be about the pilot in the video they just watched since they were the ones who had met and flown with these monsters not long ago. This was just one of the many reactions of people with the knowledge about how difficult and incredible a feat it was to accomplish what they had witnessed. Simultaneously, some smaller countries who adhered to the idea of "A good pilot is only as good as the plane he flies" started exploring the possibilities of acquiring some similar fighter jets in the video, this inadvertently provided Russian arms sales a huge chunk of free and positive marketing. Unbeknownst to them, even the seasoned Russian pilots, who were well versed in handling those aircrafts, having been using them for years were wondering how the fuck did that Eden''s pilot make the plane move that way and cause it to respond and move in such a manner. This caused a slight jealousy among the Russian pilots as it gave them the same feeling as seeing your girlfriend being happier when she is with someone else or your friends being more engaged when they are with others compared to when they are with you. Essentially they were having the feeling of being cucked without having that particular kink. I think you should take a look at .. A brief lull settled over the war for the next six hours, with Esparia having not made any other move. This unexpected pause caused the citizens who had gained calmness to start panicking once again, who speculated that maybe they were planning for something huge or something else behind the scene in retaliation to what happened. But contrary to their thoughts, Esparia had, in fact, meticulously prepared a very detailed plan that was based on the air force squadron taking down Eden''s airforce and gaining air supremacy over the skies of Eden, paving the way for their bombers to target the vital infrastructures of their enemy country. Their objective was to force Eden to surrender and if they didn''t, they would have continued bombing them from the air since they would have complete control over the airspace and they wouldn''t have had to worry about having to fight on land. In tandem with the bombing raid, they had planned to use a portion of their navy to take over the military ports and start a ground invasion. This plan, however, was now thrown in disarray when their fighter jets were obliterated, leaving the remainder of their air force to retreat. At the same time, their assumption that Eden didn''t even shoot the aircrafts down and had just bought those pilots, gaining themselves fifteen new aircraft after they had accounted the destruction of the five aircraft from the video, but with the video being of a very high quality, they suspected of it being a ploy by Eden to make them think that the remaining fifteen fighter jets were also destroyed, continued to hinder them in choosing the plan and route of sending bombers. So thanks to these conspiracies and due to them having no evidence to assure themselves as to which one is the actual truth, they were now forced to give up on their previously well-devised plan and move to plan B. This plan still included the mobilization of their navy which was still powerful despite having lost a fleet during their previous endeavor, but this time it was the entirety of what they could afford to send without leaving themselves open to surprise attacks from Eden. But they weren''t sending all their fleets as one group like the previous venture, no, they sent each fleet in different directions and the delay in action on the war was caused by this decision since the navy fleets had to wait for all of their other fleets to reach their designated mark before they could start entering Eden''s water and attack. There were a total of four fleets, with three already in position, waiting for the fourth one to arrive at its designated location before they could start making their move to Eden and initiate their attacks and take over Eden''s navy bases. Each of these fleets was accompanied by seven modified midsized tankers, making a total of them to be 28. Each tanker was carrying tanks, vehicles, supplies and last but not least one thousand soldiers who were completely geared and prepared for a nomadic-style invasion. Once the ports were secured, the military would start the invasion, starting with disembarking and then spreading using the vehicles that were carried in those tankers to start infiltrating the cities nearby, paving a way for bringing more forces into the country and help expedite their territorial expansion. Ten minutes later, an encrypted message reached all the four fleets, after it was decrypted, it revealed a succinct note: "This is the fourth fleet; we have arrived at the designated location," This message confirmed their successful arrival at their marked location and at the same time signaling the start of the mission. But for the next seven minutes, a thought stillness prevailed. As the clock ticked and it was now midnight, the first hour of Sunday, the fleets immediately sprang into action. They started moving at their maximum speed while also being as much dispersed as possible to minimize the vulnerability of the possibility of an entire fleet being taken out with just one bomb like how it had happened in the first time, and they didn''t want to face the same humiliation again after experiencing it. This way, they were using their hard-learned lessons to forge a new path. And this was a sign of a very smart and ardent student who was only lacking experience. Experience which they would have enough of by the end of the war. Chapter 223 BRTTTTTTTTT ? As the fleets moved, the tankers that were carrying soldiers and other equipment for impending land battles started heading in a different direction from the main fleets, executing a plan they had come up with. They continued to advance as quietly as possible, while also hoping to not attract any undue attention to themselves, praying fervently that their movements would go unnoticed. Their objective was to land the soldiers so that they can start the ground assault to seize control over the port. Once successful, they would dock and unload all their vehicles from their tankers before they embarked on the next mission of capturing the cities. When the tankers reached about fifteen kilometers from the shores, they came to a halt. Their halt was followed by the deployment of high-speed boats which started coming out of them, rapidly descending into the waters and were swiftly being filled with heavily armed soldiers, who were ready for combat. While this was happening, the fleet continued moving ahead, while maintaining their course, coordinating with the tankers through their communication channels. Their coordinated movements resulted in them reaching the effective range of their destroyer missiles by the time all of their combat soldiers had already loaded into the high-speed boats and had started moving for their landing zone. With the high-speed boats en route to their landing zones, their four almost outdated guided missile destroyers sprang to life. The lids of the vertical launchers opened up at once as the pencil-like missiles started being propelled out of their tubes by the controlled explosions. After being propelled into the air and reaching a height of fifty meters, the projectiles adjusted their trajectory and locked onto their designated targetsC the nearest port within their reach. The SM-6 missiles coming out of those vertical launchers surged toward their designated targets as fast as they could, while the fleet that was now assured that the ports would soon be overwhelmed by the appearance of missiles started deliberately slowing down their advance, moving as slow as possible despite aware that their presence had already been discovered by Eden''s military. While they were closing in, the other fleets also initiated their own barrage, firing whatever they could while still keeping a vigilant watch on their radars, wary of potentially being ambushed by those monstrous fighters and bombed to oblivion. And because of that, the soldiers on board remained tense, feeling the weight of the operation. But just when the missiles were about a kilometer away from hitting the targeted port, a series of red dots forming a line started appearing in the sky that was then directed towards the missiles. Following that, an abrupt explosion occurred and before they could even express what they were feeling, the sound of what the explosions that had happened just before their eyes finally started reaching their ears. "BRTTTTTTTTTTTTT" "Shit" No one knew who was the source of those words, but they didn''t disagree with him since they knew that their surprise attack was now out of the window. The commanders were swift to recover from the shock and regained their composure, with that they started issuing orders to their respective fleets to continue their attacks. They commanded an intensified barrage, aiming to saturate and overwhelm the port''s anti-missile defenses. They hoped that at least some of the missiles might get missed by the defense system and they would be able to cause harm on the port, making the soldiers landing job easier. Amidst their hearts experiencing fear and tension, the soldiers responded by forcing themselves to focus. They knew that any mistake they do from now on would very likely result resulting in their deaths, hence their minds did all they could to make them focus as much as possible, ensuring the survival of the body. This resulted in the soldiers operating beyond their normal mindset as they truly fired whatever was available, sending everything the ships had in the direction of that port, hoping that they would buy enough time for their landing ships to be able to arrive at the landing zones and initiate a fierce fight to take over those ports. Alas, no matter what they tried to smack towards the ports, they were always met with the same response: dotted red lines converging on the missiles before those bullets started shooting down the approaching missiles followed shortly by the hearing of the distinctive sound of the defense system "BRTTTTTTTTTTTTTT" being the results of the bullets soaring at a very high speed to shoot down the incoming missiles.I think you should take a look at While all that was happening, beneath these fleets, the ocean surface was still retaining its tranquility, four black submarines could be seen trailing behind all the four fleets, their presence concealed by the undisturbed waters. These submarines were of a similar size as the Virginia Class Submarine, yet they could still be said to be slightly larger than the Virginia Class Submarine by a few meters. Within these submarines, they looked very different compared to any of the world''s other submarines. Virtually, every aspect of this submarine differed from any submarine found elsewhere in the world while everything on the outside couldn''t look any more than a normal submarine. .... In the meantime, the boats that were dispatched from the tankers were making their way towards the nearest place they could disembark to start their land operation. However, as they saw all the missiles that were launched by their fleets were completely turned useless even before they could cause any harm, all the soldiers on the boats stared at the sky with utter shock. "What the fuck is their missile defense system made of?" The commander of one of the fleets cursed, because of these missiles, their planned saturation attack was completely thwarted without being able to hit even the waters on the navy bases, which would have at least caused a slight disarray within the port, at least that would have been of slight help for their soldiers when they started attacking the would have been disoriented enemies. "The fast boats team should be arriving soon so tell everyone to start turni..." Just as he was about to start ordering for his fleets to retreat, his command was intercepted by the sound of a massive explosion. ''BOOOOOOOM" When he turned to look at the direction the sound had come from, his face turned deathly pale as he wasn''t able to believe what he was seeing with his eyes. One of the ships of their fleet was now bent from the middle, forming a triangle with the sea surface as its base before it was divided into two pieces, joined by just a few meters of metal sheets, as the two portions of the massive ship fell back in the water, tearing the very little metal that supported the two portions, the ship was now completely split into two halves as they started plummeting into the water and slowly started sinking beneath the water surface. BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM. This nightmarish scene was soon followed by three more consecutive detonations, all of them targeting the smallest ships in the fleets which should be considered as an enough warning. The scene was now something neither the commander nor anyone who had seen those explosion would ever forget in their lives. It was now become a trademark of the Eden''s military which in the future they would be known for: The Mare (A malevolent spirit or being that is said to sit on the chests of sleeping individuals, causing them to experience nightmares and sleep paralysis) Chapter 224 A Monster You Dont Want To Face ? The cause of the explosion being the Edenian submarines that were lurking under the fleets, following them since when they invaded Esparias water. They were nothing but state-of-the-art in everything when compared to the latest gen of any country''s military. Starting from the energy, these submarines were each being powered by harnessing the energy of a star in the form of fusion reactors. This means that they won''t need to ever be refueled as long as they are under the surface of the water. Because these reactors would efficiently extract deuterium, a fuel source, from the surrounding water, rendering themselves self-sustaining during underwater operations. As for the propulsion system it too was the state of the art magnetic propulsion helping the submarine in its stealthiness while at the same time allowing it to go at unimaginable high speeds.NOVlusb.CoM In place of sonar, these submarines utilized the same advanced scanner as the one that was scanning Eden''s airspace, meaning they were aware of anything that existed around them within a bubble of 500 kilometers of radius. Giving them a frightening awareness wherever they were, making them an enemy you don''t want to face under any circumstances. The hull of the submarine was made from a revolutionary material, a marvel born from the result of the research done in laboratories of Lab City, where they had managed to make dream materials for any submarine maker in the world. The hull material exhibited the remarkable hardness of diamond coupled with an exclusive flexibility that absorbed and dispersed any impacting energy, negating any risk of cracking or fracturing. This innovation ensured the hull''s capability to endure immense pressures of the deep-sea domain, ensuring both the submarine''s safety and structural integrity even at extreme depths. Furthermore, the materials lightweight nature, in proportion to its strength, elevated the submarine''s buoyancy and maneuverability, simultaneously reducing the vessel''s overall weight burden. Resistance against the corrosive and erosive forces of saltwater exposure? The material stood resilient, impervious to degradation. This resistance translated to a prolonged lifespan for the hull, simultaneously, effectively reducing the demand for frequent maintenance requirements. Furthermore, the unique composition of the material manifested in its exceptional ability to absorb and dampen the sound waves, rendering the submarine nearly silent and drastically curbing its acoustic footprints. This transformation bolstered the vessel''s stealth capabilities, enhancing its covert operations even further. Notably it was also adaptable to fluctuations in temperature. The material seamlessly adjusted to varying environmental conditions, ensuring a stable internal environment, eliminating any concerns linked with thermal conductivity. The sole drawback lay in the complexity of its manufacturing process, an obstacle that was effortlessly circumvented by Aron, who harnessed atomic printing technology, making the fabrication process seamless and expedient. As for the rest of the interior of the submarine, it was mostly nothing other than differently tuned atomic printers which were tuned and placed in different locations to accomplish diverse functions. Ѧdsvel.cm Everything from the torpedo tubes, SLBM (Submarine launched Ballistic Missiles) tubes, kitchen, bathrooms and everything else other than the operation room and sleeping quarter was filled with atomic printers and tankers that were stocked with atoms required for making the product. During meal time, all a soldier had to do was go to the kitchen and they would find a very presumptuous hot meal that was already printed for them. If they needed to fire torpedo missiles, the atomic printer on board the torpedo tube would simply print the torpedo before it would be fired, this gave the submarine a rapid firing ability as they didn''t have the limitation of the traditional slow reloading of the torpedoes. All of this resulted in these submarines being the world''s most heavily armed submarines while it didn''t have anything that could be considered as a fire hazard in it. Having a hull that was as hard as a diamond, they would always maintain communication with the main base no matter where they were since they were using quantum computers as their submarine''s computer giving them the advantages of seamless quantum communication. The submarines, designed for stealth and capable of massive ordnance delivery from anywhere on Earth to any location, of course, went completely undetected by the outdated sonars that were on the Esparian fleet, allowing for them to roam and follow them as freely as they wanted without having to worry about being discovered. ... The moment the fleets commenced firing with the intention of saturation, an order was finally relayed from Athena to the submarines. At that time, half of their crew was inside the control room with the other half, having completed their shifts, resting or engaging in other recreational activities within the VR.I think you should take a look at The submarines were currently operating as if it was a normal patrol mission which relieved the need for all the personnel to be on deck. That is why they were so relaxed and not because of their own arrogance, but rather because those were the orders from the higher-ups. "Load and flood the torpedo tubes," the submarine commanding officer wasted no time before ordering for the torpedo tubes to be loaded and flooded with water in preparation for the impending attack. The soldier in charge of the weapons deployment immediately executed the order, initiating the approval for the production and loading of a torpedo into the torpedo tube. Upon receiving the command, the atomic printer in the torpedo tube sprang into action. It accessed the raw materials stored and efficiently printed the entirety of the torpedo before filling the tubes with water in just a few seconds which was then followed by the torpedo door being opened, presenting the loaded torpedo that was waiting to receive the firing command. "The torpedoes are loaded and tubes are flooded," reported back the weapons deployment specialist. "Fire!" the commander officer uttered calmly, which was immediately responded to as all four freshly crafted torpedoes were launched in rapid succession. As the torpedoes exited the tube, they released a subtle sound that was immediately absorbed by the water surrounding it. The magnetic propellers came to life and started spinning, propelling the torpedoes out of the tube as they started their journey to their targets among the fleets, which were just a short distance away from the submarine. The torpedoes did not take more than a few seconds to arrive closer to the surface of the water, unfolding a magic moment upon the water''s surface... The torpedo continued its trajectory until it positioned beneath the target ship, at which point it detonated. The explosion generated an underwater bubble that propelled the ship to rise momentarily upward, absorbing the initial impact. Almost immediately, the underwater bubble began to collapse as the water rushed in to fill the void. This sudden compression forced the ship, still slightly elevated, to drop abruptly before being thrusted back into the air once again, reaching an even greater height than before. The swift ascent was driven by the surge of water rushing in to fill the void left by the collapsing bubble, displacing the air that had previously occupied that space. This influx of air acted as the final catalyst that propelled the ship higher into the air with even greater force. Under the strain of such an intense barrage of pressures, the vessel succumbed, fracturing into two distinct parts while still being suspended mid-air. As the ship split apart, it began its descent, ultimately plummeting into the water below. The impact with the water was immediate, and the vessel quickly began to take on water. Among the ensuing chaos, the surviving soldiers aboard the ship struggled to escape the rapidly shifting and turbulent waters, which were now far from being calm due to the explosive sequence of events that had unfolded in a fraction of a second. Chapter 225 Taking The Fight To Them ? While their navy was giving the Esparian navy fleets a PTSD for every soldier on board the ships like Oprah, the air force was also in full operation. Four SU-35 fighter jets, piloted by the Aces, could be seen escorting one midsize cargo aircraft, all of them heading in the direction of Esparia. Athena had decided to take the initiative by venturing into the enemy territory since the other side seemed to be reluctant to come to them. She had something specific which she needed to be done in Esparia to end the war as fast as possible, concluding it with minimal casualties on both sides. The soldiers, who were caught in the crossfire had the only fault of being in the wrong country''s military which had a corrupt president who could be bought for a few pennies and couldn''t care for the lives of these soldiers at all, thinking them as disposable pawns, as long as he was benefiting from their deaths. "They are en route," reported Archangel One-Three as the radars in their aircrafts were finally being put to use for the first time now that they were heading to Esparia which was beyond the range the SkyEye 0 could scan. They had detected a group of Esparian fighter jets taking off and heading to them for interception. All thirty of the enemy aircrafts had taken off, yet not all of them were heading to intercept Eden''s planes, rather, only four of them seemed to be directly heading towards them, while another four remind in the skies patrolling the capital city, as for,the rest of the twenty-two could be seen trying to avoid them as much as possible and head to Eden, trying to put the four they thought to be as the only Eden''s airforce fighters planes in dilemma on whether they should be proceeding on their mission and attack whatever they were planning or return to intercept the twenty-two that were making their way to Eden. "Quite a good plan, not gonna lie," Archangel One-One, the squadron leader, acknowledged when he grasped what Esparia was trying to do. He shortly added by saying, "One-Three make sure the cargo plane reaches at the mission objective," before the three of the four planes executed a U-turn to catch and shoot down the now heavily dispersed fighter jets that were piloted by grunting pilots who had been in detention from the moment they landed and were only released and immediately sent to intercept the Edenian Ace squadron after they were threatened by using the lives of their families. At this moment, the twenty-two fighter jets dispatched to Eden were split into eleven groups, sending two aircraft as a group in every direction and as far as possible from the monstrous four. Although it was true that they were sent here just as a means to give the four aces a dilemma of choice, they still planned to benefit from this and bomb a few places while the four monsters tried to shoot as many of them as possible during that time. "I can''t believe I''m regretting being enticed by money just a month after resigning," lamented one of the Esparian foreign pilots as he remembered how they were treated the moment they landed after their first mission against Eden. The moment they landed, they were put under the cuffs and sent into the detention center without even being told a reason for their arrests. After all of them were arrested one by one, they were interrogated, threatened and subjected to everything except physical torture. Other than torture, anything a person could imaginably do to force someone to spill the truth during the span of just two hours was done to them. Despite them denying everything and feeling betrayed after how they were treated during that period, they still endured this ordeal while feeling a little grateful after having survived their initial encounter with Eden''s formidable might which had pushed their abilities to the limit.I think you should take a look at Upon learning the reason behind their mistreatment, they couldn''t help but grasp the reason and understand why they were treated that way. In the first place, they were people who had resigned from their respectful military careers, enticed by the lucrative financial offers which were enough to spend with their families for the rest of their lives, which in return made them seem susceptible to monetary coercionC an opportunity for their loyalty to be swayed with money to the point of even feigning being shot down and receive another compensation payment in the midst of it. But understanding it was another thing and forgiving was another, so they were still angry for the treatment they had received, nearly all of them expressed their desire to resign which had been blatantly ignored by Esparia. And now they were even compelled to take to the air while their families acted as both hostages and a motivation material for them to do their best during the mission. Even now, when one of the pilots remembered the tumultuous few hours they had experienced, he couldn''t help but seethe in anger whenever he thought about it. Alas, he wasn''t given more time to think any further as... BOOOOOOOM. His and his wingman''s plane were shot down by two missiles that their aircrafts system wasn''t able to detect and the only thing he could think of this being the reason for being shot down was because he was fortunately alive thanks to the Automatic Ejection Seat Sequences (AESS) that was available in his plane. Initially, he had thought that they would engage in a dogfight, using guns like the first time, however, this time the monsters came prepared for such a situation and had even brought proper gear with them to avoid the enemies from using their numerical advantage over them. "FOX 1" was the only word that Archangel One-Four had uttered before he fired a pseudo-radar-guided missile at the enemy who was wasting time thinking about the past rather than focusing on his current mission. Archangel One-Four''s aircraft''s hardpoint still had a few more air-to-air missiles and since the hardpoint even had atomic printers on them, it had the capability to fabricate more of them so long as the atomic storage had supply material for the printing. This technological advantage of being able to print any missile from the hardpoint allowed for the aircraft to always be prepared for any mission no matter its nature. Ѧndsvl ?m This was what gave them the confidence to go in any fights and have what could be said to be a pseudo unlimited ammo which could be backed up by a material tanker for air-to-air atomic and fuel refueling if the need ever arose. The only downside of having an atomic printer on these aircrafts was the fact that the weight had increased due to having another storage space to be filled for the materials required for the atomic printer to use for printing, meaning they are always more heavier than they look, no matter the condition. Nevertheless, all of these disadvantages could be easily compensated with the existence of the powerful engines, allowing for the pilots to have the confidence of executing any maneuvers they desired however they wanted without worrying about the airframe bending, and other problems which could have occurred if any other country''s fighters tried to carry the same weight and make them move in such similar manner thanks to the materials the planes were made of. Not caring about such technical intricacies, the Archangel just pulled the trigger once again, this time eight Fox-One missiles were detached from the aircraft, each homing to different targets, after that he didn''t do anything and simply and returned to where Archangel One-Three was, still guarding the tanker and had already shot the incoming enemy aircraft, maintaining his position without leaving his mission. Similar stories unfolded with the other Archangels as they returned shortly after and converged with the squadron and the cargo aircraft that remained unscathed, proof of their exceptional combat prowess. Chapter 226 The Start Of A Mission ? With an impressive feat of already shooting down what could be said to be all of Esparia''s new aircrafts, including the four patrolling ones, despite being quite a distance away from the original position of Eden''s aircrafts. Their remarkable accuracy from such a considerable distance had come as a surprise to both the people on land and the pilots who were abruptly terminated, having been suddenly faced with an unexpected attack and finding themselves already ejected without any warning beforehand. This situation got even worse if we were to include the bombers who were now being scrambled to go the opposite direction of Eden and to the Pacific Ocean to avoid being bombed if they were left inside their bunkers and mirroring the losses like what happened to their fighter jets. While doing that, their air defense system of Esparia now started coming online as the soldiers manning them in different cities and locations could be seen holding their breaths, praying that the incoming planes don''t come to their way and go to other cities so that they would be spared from having to face the potential devastation. ... "Good luck, we have some destruction to deliver," Archangel One-One, the squadron leader, relayed to the pilot of the cargo aircraft. "See you on land when we are done with ours too," the cargo pilot responded, bidding farewells to the squadron members before echoing their signature call. "Archangels out,"'' The squadron members responded and swiftly pulled their aircraft yokes, each heading to a distinct trajectory, diverging from the cargo airplane, continuing alone with resolution towards its designated path. ... When the dispersed Archangels squadron members started getting closer to their designated bombing destinations, the atomic printer on their hardpoint started coming to life. Land bombs started materializing through the rapid printing process, signifying that their current mission was about bombarding land targets. The moment the bombs were done printing, without hesitation or wasting any time, the newly printed bombs were detached by the pilots from the planes, followed by the pilots redirecting the planes'' direction, heading to different designated destinations without even waiting to confirm whether the bomb was going to hit the marked location or not. Boom. And just like that, in an instant, a weapons depot was now out of the war and since it stored ammunition within, it started a chain reaction of explosions. The low-yield detonation of the bomb served as the catalyst, igniting the destructive sequence with exact precision, leaving no excess explosive material. Ѧndsnvl.cm This same pattern of devastation was being repeated all over the country, with a minor delay of the explosions in different cities since the fighters took some time to reach their destinations, but whenever they reached, the city''s air defenses would be the first to be taken out of the equation before being closely followed by the arms depot which was soon followed by other important military infrastructures being taken out. At the same time, this series of movements inflicted an unimaginable amount of terror on the citizens of the cities they bombed before they moved to another city to inflict the same terror without facing any obstacle in their wake. ..... "Soldiers, we are on the final approach. Make sure you have all the necessary equipment on you," Andrew, the special forces commander, announced from within the cargo bay of the approaching cargo plane that was nearing the capital city of Esparia. I think you should take a look at He strode down the center aisle, addressing the soldiers seated on either side, who were listening to him attentively. And although their heads were covered with the headgear, obscuring their vision and not allowing them to see, Andrew could still see their faces thanks to the tech in his headgear which provided augmented visuals, a feature that was shared by all the soldiers in the cargo hold. Upon hearing the commander''s order to check whether they had everything, none of the soldiers moved. All they had to do was simply gaze at their left, focusing on the peripheral of their left side was enough for them to assess their readiness, where there were small sentences that were marked green. The small lines listed the equipment they had equipped and with them being green meant that they were all connected to the headgear''s computer system and were completely ready for operation. "Thirty seconds to the drop zone," an announcement came from the pilot of the plane, informing them of their imminent arrival near the drop zone which was now safe from any anti air defenses, courtesy of the Archangels who were here a few minutes ago. In response to the announcement, all of the soldiers stood at once revealing all the gear they were wearing completely. Each soldier could be seen wearing an armor of some sort under their normal military-issued operational clothes which in themselves were capable of blocking a bullet from penetrating it while leaving for you to deal with the energy that would be transferred from the bullet to your body after it was stopped. So, although you are wearing a bulletproof cloth and it will stop a bullet from penetrating you, you will still have to suffer the pain similar to being hit by a truck, depending on the bullet''s impact location on the shirt and how much of the energy was dispersed to the whole body. The armor had a thickness that was equivalent to a person wearing three shirts, meaning it was nothing cumbersome and due to these few soldiers being the only ones who were issued these armors, and with the team consisting of only twenty people, it gave Aron enough time to be able to engrave quite a few runes on them, making the armors to never make the soldiers feel any discomfort when wearing them while still providing a hundred percent of the movement ability they had when they weren''t donning them. With the armors on them, the soldiers were now even capable of lifting more than five times what they were able to lift after going through genetic enhancements, which by itself was quite scary, still as they say, the more the better. Together with the armor they carried, they were issued electromagnetic-barrelled firearms and holstered pistols which were already attached to their hips while their backs carried a backpack, housing more ammunition and other necessary equipments they will be needing during their upcoming operation. With confidence and not even an ounce of fear on their face, the soldiers started walking to the opening cargo bay door while not facing any difficulty in breathing since their armor was completely insulated and prevented any outside things from entering the inside without being filtered first, maintaining a controlled and comfortable environment. As they neared the door, they just put the weapons on their hands parallel to their left hip as the armor automatically pulled and firmly held the gun, eliminating the need for the soldiers to hold them during their jump. "5,4,3,2,1!" A countdown started appearing in front of them as they waited and the moment it reached zero, they started jumping into the void. No parachute accompanied them since their backs were now occupied with the bag carrying ammo and a few other pieces of equipments. The moment they plunged from the plane, their headgears activated, displaying to the soldiers every crucial information about the jump, including the distance they were from the ground, the speed at which they were falling and the time it would take for them to reach the ground. At the same time, the headgears were doing something different, they were fussing the computational powers of all the twenty soldiers in the air, creating a massive scanning bubble which thanks to the fusion of power from the armors this time extended even more than the usual bubble that would normally reach only six kilometers which was now reaching twenty kilometers before it started collecting and presenting all the data within it while filtering out any irrelevant details and only showing the important bits of information that the soldiers needed to know. Amidst enemy territory, without safety net or backup, began a mission soon to be etched in the world''s memory. Chapter 227 Alone, Behind Enemy Lines ? In the serene night sky, the only audible sound that could be heard was the rustling of the wind that passed around the descending soldiers, who despite their fall, still had their composure maintained, looking relaxed while their eyes remained focused on the rapidly decreasing numerals that were materializing in front of their eyes. When they reached a certain altitude during their fall "FRRRRR," the electrically powered thrusters came to life after manifesting on the chest of these soldiers, marginally reducing their velocity while at the same time expertly adjusting their trajectory and aligning them on their landing location before the thrusters retracted as if they never existent in the first place. Following the appearance of the first thruster after which they quickly got hidden again, a few more of such thrusters started appearing at certain intervals in different locations on the armor, reducing the soldiers'' falling speed at the same time also stabilizing them in the fall before retracting once again, this appearance and disappearance of the thrusters continued for a few more times. Their fall continued for a few more seconds before, "FRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR," the thruster appeared once again, but this time they were blasting at their full power when the soldiers were a mere ten meters away from the ground. Their velocity was dwindled to near zero before the thrusters deactivated when the soldiers were just five meters above the ground, leaving the rest of the fall to be handled by themselves, which they easily took care of by simply bending their knees the moment their legs were about to touch the ground and together with the armor, they were easily able to absorb the rest of the energy without any trouble. "Grim Reapers on the ground," the team leader reported back to the headquarters as the soldiers unholstered their weapons from their left hips and started advancing towards a very distant building. For those who were familiar with a few things about Esparia, they would recognize that this building was none other than the Presidential palace of Esparia, clearly hinting at what kind of mission this group of twenty soldiers were sent to accomplish. ... "As you can see, there are more than five thousand soldiers and other personnel inside the Presidential Palace. Our objective is to extract the president and the high command without being discovered. So, we will be adhering to Athena''s guidance in the mission and will be divided into four teams, reconvening by the end of the first phase of the mission. I will be the team leader for team Alpha; for team Bravo, Alan will be leading it; for team Charlie, it will be Shamim and lastly, team Delta, will be led by Alex." When he concluded appointing the team leaders of the respective teams, the headgears automatically assigned the remaining soldiers to these different teams, marking them by distinct color surroundings, only to be seen by those wearing headgears. "Start moving out," Alan commanded as he set off, closely followed behind by his team, en route to their designated entry point. Upon seeing Alan leave, the other team leaders also took command of their team to move in, which the soldiers followed without any defiance to their promptly chosen team leaders. As each team was on their way, they effortlessly navigated the secured infrastructure by utilizing their technological advantage of being able to know the location of every CCTV blind spots and patrol teams, thus, they didn''t face any obstructions on their way as they passed through all of the checkpoints that were erected by the soldiers and mercenaries entrusted with safeguarding the Presidential Palace which contained the core command structure that was behind orchestrating the conflict. ...... Not long later, in a concealed location which also doubled as an access route to the palace walls, a group of three palace guards could be seen standing guard.I think you should take a look at Ѧndsnvl.cm Now they weren''t, since they currently lay lifeless on the ground, victims of Team Alpha''s stealthy advance. With that, Athena took over radio frequencies of the dead soldiers'' radios to respond and keep the facade of them still being alive whenever the roll call was made. Similar scenarios could be seen happening simultaneously in different directions, as each team got closer and closer to the heavily fortified palace walls, their synchronized maneuvers a testament to their expertise. Team Bravo was the first one to reach the walls, arriving ahead of the other three teams. Without waiting for their companions, they started doing a short jog towards the wall. As they got closer, their pace accelerated, just when they were five meters away from hitting the wall, they jumped. With the assistance of the armors, they were thrown fifteen meters into the air, just two meters short of scaling the wall, but just then, the armor''s boosters sprang back to life, helping them get higher and scale the remaining two meters. At the same time, they started reducing their speed of falling after the gravity finally won against them just as they had scaled the wall and started falling down, to avoid making any noise which could possibly alert someone or trigger an analog sensor. After surmounting the wall with efficiency and silently, they continued moving discreetly through the darkness, eliminating any enemy they met on their way as quietly as possible with calculated precision, while Athena would immediately assume control over the dead soldier''s communication systems, maintaining the illusion of everything being normal. Similar tactics were used by other teams who were slightly behind team Bravo, who were on the lead due to their route being the least guarded one. This progress continued unobstructedly until the first team finally arrived at an obscure-looking building. On the outside, it projected an appearance of an abandoned building, seemingly imitating an under-maintained buildingC a pretty convincing charade would have been if it was in an undeveloped locale, but it was conspicuously out of place since it was in the compounds of the Presidential Palace, the disheveled building inside a highly maintained palace acted as nothing other than a massive beam for anyone who was smart enough to think about it for a few moments. Arriving at the closed door, the team didn''t hesitate for even a second before they raised their guns and pulled their triggers twice, sending bullets through the door. Subsequently, it was followed by the resonating of thuds as ten soldiers who were behind the door, guarding the building''s entrance, fell in unison, having started their journey to the next life just a few seconds ago. Unperturbed after killing the guards behind, Team Bravo''s leader, Alan, just walked to the door and extended his hand to put it on the doorknob before he squeezed his hand as if he was squishing a sponge, causing the doorknob to cave in on itself together with the lock behind it, thus opening the bullet holed door which wasn''t heavily guarded due to it being just an entrance door with more of them inside leading to their destination. "Let''s wait for the other teams inside," Alan declared as he swung open the squeaking door and walked inside the building, followed by his team members, who immediately started to move the bodies of the dead soldiers to take their positions while they waited for their fellow soldiers to arrive so that they could coordinate their advancement toward the bunker, capturing the leadership to end the war once and for all. Chapter 228 Inside The Enemys House ? "Looks like you chose to take your time," Shamim, the only female team leader of the group, leading team Charlie which was the second to arrive, jokingly taunted the mission leader after he and his team were the last ones to arrive, thanks to them having too many people to shoot down and enemies to take out on their way compared to others. Andrew upon hearing the taunt, just brushed it off while ignoring them as he passed by them and took the lead as he instructed, "Secure the door" Upon receiving the orders, the soldiers removed the equipment they had brought with them in their backpacks and started assembling it. When they were finally done assembling it, the equipment looked similar to what might seem like a door frame with an opening at its center. With the equipment now assembled, they placed it behind the broken closed door and powered it on. The moment they powered it on, the frame expanded and affixed itself onto all the four sides of the door frame, securing itself onto it to the point where unless it was not powered off, it wouldn''t be budging even a centimeter from the place it had been secured at. Following the latching process, they saw something that they normally wouldn''t have been able to see if their headgears weren''t etched with runes. They saw the frames that were making the machine had started glowing, revealing some words which they couldn''t match anything they had seen or anything they knew of, were etched, glowing in white, before they sensed a subtle vibration which was followed by the appearance of an energy field which started covering the door and all the outside of the entire building, making sure that no sound could escape from the inside and be heard by anyone outside the building. "Let''s begin," Andrew declared, jolting the soldiers who had been surprised for the first time ever since they had gotten out of the pods a few months ago, however, with what they had witnessed today, they had a deep down feeling that what they had seen with their eyes wasn''t just some high-level technology shit that simply appeared like a magic, rather, this was truly a full-fledged magic. Andrew''s words snapped their focus back to the mission. From the moment the building was covered with what they were told as an experimental energy shield, they knew that they had about half an hour at max before the energy on the frame ran out. So, within this window, they had to finish taking over the entire underground bunker, extract the leadership and come out of it. "Move out," Andrew commanded. The moment those words came out of his mouth, the soldiers turned serious once again and started following along the corridor that was leading inside. At the start of the second phase of the mission, Athena asked her mother for help. And as a result, at the moment, the entire Esparian radio control towers and internet cables were taken under her control which was accomplished thanks to the diligent hard work of their spies, who had already infiltrated Esparia and managed to connect quantum USBs into Esparia''s communication infrastructures, bypassing the data transfer limitations which had been impeding Nova from having the entire world''s internet under her control. However, for the time being, these limitations had been released as long as it is inside Esparia, albeit for a short time till the energy on those USBs waned away, causing them to self-destruct if not retrieved since they won''t be capable of facilitating the quantum teleportation process to allow her to have an unlimited access after they had no energy left within them to even operate, hence they were activated from the very start of the second mission and not during the time when the soldier jumped from the planes. Upon reaching the end of the corridor which didn''t have any other opening, Andrew moved aside, leaving an opening for Shamim to pass him. Shamim just punched the wall in front of them, revealing that it was a false wall and was hiding an opening behind it. The soldiers behind the line wasted no time as they surged through the now punctured wall, traversing the breach and entering a slightly expansive room that had a heavy metal door within, which when closed could only be opened from inside, while also a group of soldiers could be seen on the other side of it. This door would then lead to another hall that had an elevator at its end. This elevator will send them deep underground where they will have to shoot a few people to complete the second phase of their mission. The soldiers removed another device, this time from Shamim''s backpack. This device looked like a slightly oversized puck that was the size of a dinner plate. Placing it in front of the robust metal door, Shamim pressed the button to power it up. After that, along with the other soldiers, Shamim stepped back, raised their guns and started aiming at the soldiers behind the heavy door before taking a deep breath to concentrate.I think you should take a look at As the device''s countdown neared its culmination and hit zero, their headgears modulated the amount of light it was augmentaly displaying to the soldiers, who couldn''t see using their normal senses thanks to their headdress covering their eyes, the reason? The answer was given just a few microseconds laterC FWOOOOBOOOOMMBRRRRRRRC was heard or maybe that was what they imagined it sounded like since the explosion that happened in front of them hadn''t released any sound despite having carried an explosion that obliterated the entire heavy metal door into liquid metal. As to why no sound had been produced from the massive explosion and only light was seen coming from it. The reason lay in what had happened in the scantiest fraction of a second C0.000003 to be precise, before the puck-like bomb had denotation. A shield materialized from within the device, delicately and perfectly calibrated to allow for it to be able to pass through the openings between the door and the walls that were holding it, completely encapsulating the door moments before the explosion followed which was now contained within it. Nonetheless, the first explosion by itself wasn''t powerful enough to shred the door into lava given the amount of explosives that were within the puck-like bomb, however, that task was left to the runic shield to accomplish. This runic shield bounced both the shockwave and the explosion from the bomb, reflecting it right back at the door before they were once again returned back to the runes. This was carried out repeatedly, with the shockwaves getting weaker and weaker, the more they bounced due to their energy being converted into heat rapidly, with the increasing hit than being used to destroy and melt the gate at the center of the shield. Ѧndsnvl.cm With all of this happened in less than a quarter of a second, a fast enough period to allow for the shield which had its rune destroyed, managed to redirect the shockwaves and explosion before it fizzled out just microseconds after all the shockwaves were turned into heat which melted the door, not giving the soldiers on the other side enough time to even comprehend and react to what the heck was happening before they ''accidentally'' died of a ''bullet in the head'' disease. The Eden special forces soldiers remained unfazed coming off the magical scene they had just bore witness to, they weren''t fazed by what they had just witnessed, not because they had experienced it and knew it would happen that way, but rather, it was because the headgears they donned, forced their brains to continue maintaining the same calmness they had before such magical event occurred in front of them by blocking the production of certain hormones that were needed for the soldiers to even get surprised. Of course, this was done with the knowledge of the soldiers since they knew that it was of paramount importance to maintain the highest composure during the second phase of the operation. With the soldiers on the other side now dead, the Eden soldiers continued to move through the corridor after jumping through the molten iron in front of them, reaching the elevator door, whose elevator was now at the underground level so that the people below could access it faster if they needed to leave the bunker. This time Alex assumed the lead and put his armor-covered hand as he slightly pried open the elevator doors and when a slight opening revealed itself, he put his second hand in and forcefully pried the elevator door fully open, revealing the opening that had wires at its center. Without hesitation, Alex jumped into the opening, closely followed behind by the other soldiers who let their bodies become the sacrifice to the heralded force of gravity as it transported them and brought them gradually closer to their mission''s objective. Hinting at their first-ever international covert mission to have a successful ending. Chapter 229 Phase Two Complete ? They plummeted for a few seconds straight as they traversed through the elevator shaft before the thruster in their armors came to life once again, wrestling them away from the grasp of terminal velocity. This time, the thrusters persisted, sustaining their propulsion until the moment they softly landed on the roof of the elevator cabin, avoiding making any sound. Thanks to the elevator shaft being wide enough, which was due to the size of the elevator itself being huge since it served as the only entrance to the bunker, not counting the subterranean emergency tunnel as it was to be used for exactly emergency situations, thus forcing the elevator to be made as large as possible to allow for all the equipment and other materials to easily enter into the underground bunker during construction. Nevertheless, thanks to that, all the ESF (Eden Special Forces) were now on the roof of the elevator cabin except for the two soldiers who had remained behind just in case the sound muffling device malfunctioned and attracted the attention of the nearby soldiers. They remained at the entrance above the ground to make sure that their comrades who had gone underground didn''t have to worry about anything happening on the ground as they would be handling any problem that might occur by themselves. After they reached above the elevator cabin, the soldiers didn''t linger for long as one of them opened the access hatch on top of the elevator, causing a squeak to be let out from the metallic sheet of the elevator, attracting the attention of the soldiers who stood on the other side of the elevator cabin door, prompting them to turn around and take a look at what might have caused that sound. After not hearing the squeak again, the soldiers returned back to their patrol since the security footage in front of them also didn''t show anything different from how it previously was. With the hatch now open, 5 gun tips peeking from the hatch, if looked from the pov of inside the elevator cabin. This was followed by a synchronous recoil of the guns together with, nearly silent gunshots were heard, followed by the fall of the five soldiers on either side of the elevator''s door. Upon taking care of the guards, they passed through the hatch, landing inside the elevator cabin before moving aside to allow their fellow comrades to land as well before he too would move to the side and make way for the other to jump down, thus they made enough space for everyone to jump down into the elevator without having a need to come out of it. Ѧndsnvl.cm When all the eighteen of them were done with boarding the elevator, Shamim pressed the button to open the door as they raised their weapons and started leaving the elevator when the door opened, jumping the dead bodies on their way into the wide corridor in front of them. With that, they started heading to the direction the corridor led them. After a while of walking through the corridor, another massive door was revealed to them. This was the last block that held them away from accomplishing the second phase of their mission. The moment they reached closer to the massive door, they could see another group of soldiers standing on the other side of the door. They unveiled their equipment from their bags as usual which consisted of the same puck-shaped device from not long ago. However, this time there was a twist, they were going to use two of these bombs by placing them on top of each other and as the result of that bombs automatically synchronized with themselves and changed their pre programmed exploding pattern to increase the effectiveness of the explosive which will not be double due to the bombs being two, but rather, it would increase the bombs'' effectiveness by nearly five times more powerful than it would have been if used alone. In the following few seconds, the same scenario from before repeated itself in front of them, with the bombs exploding and melting the door without even a single sound being heard, which was immediately followed by the soldiers shooting down the guards on the other side of the door who this time too couldn''t comprehend what they had witnessed fast enough before they started a new journey on the other side. With that done, all of the ESFs released a sigh of relief knowing very well that this was the last group of soldiers they had to shoot down, with the dead soldiers including a mix of Esparian special force soldiers along with the mercenaries working for the Morgans. This signified the resolution of a deadly chapter, the second one in their story, executed with meticulous precision. .... "Currently, our entire air force is considered destroyed, and much of our vital infrastructure lies in ruins, this includes our weapons storages. I can''t even fathom how the heck they managed to pinpoint where most of them are. But in any case, we can no longer sustain this war," the general declared solemnly.I think you should take a look at The moment their airforce had been taken out, he knew that it had marked a turning point in spelling their defeat in this war. This was also the very reason why they tried to gain air supremacy over Eden''s airspace. However, he could tell that the things at the current moment were much more dire than that after going through the reports they had been receiving for the past twenty minutes straight, these reports stated the carnage that was being carried out in their country by the Edens air force. Yet, he knew that these accounts might not be all that had happened, since some damage might take more time to access. "Tell your sponsors that we are in dire need of more help, else this was will end with the victory of our adversaries by the end of the weekend," Emanuel said after he turned to the Morgan''s spokesperson who was sent here to be with them in the bunker from the moment the war started in order to act as the communication link between the people in the room and the Morgan family, still, he was skeptical about them sending more help to them. ''Though I doubt that they will be inclined to invest in us anymore since even their first objective didn''t succeed, but it is not my problem or fault since they are the ones who had planned the entire war plan from the very start. I should still make sure that I will receive my payment.'' Emanuel thought to himself as he scanned through the conference room that was filled with intelligent-looking foreigners and a handful of people who held influential positions in the Esparian government. The foreigners constituted the first batch of mercenaries who had arrived earlier and had started formulating strategies for how the war should take place. They were given complete planning freedom from the Morgans who said they would be backing Esparia in the war only and only on the condition that they agreed their selected people to be the ones who planned for the war. "I will try to do so and relay your request," the spokesperson said as he fished his phone from his pocket and dialed a number starting the call despite being underground, since this location had a pseudo signal tower, allowing for normal communications to take place as if they were on the ground. As the phone started ringing, he rose from his seat and started walking to the door to ensure a private communication, not wanting other people to listen to the call. "Good night sir," he greeted the moment the phone call was answered by the one on the other side, simultaneously, he turned the doorknob and opened the door. "Go on," urged the voice from the other end. However, the spokesperson couldn''t even be bothered on hearing it as the moment he opened the door he felt as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest because of what he saw on the other side of the door, soon after, it was followed by him vomiting everything he had ate on his last meal, since he was punched on his stomach with just enough force to not break any organs within his abdomen, but powerful enough to cause him feel as much pain as possible, resulting in him dropping the phone as tears of pain were trailing from the corner of his eyes while his lips parted, letting out a painful groan which didn''t seem to have any strength backing it. The response of the people behind him and inside the room was not a calm one either, after the man fell on his knees from the immense pain, he was pushed aside by a group of heavily armed men in futuristic looking gears who entered the room and had raised their guns aiming at all of them present in the room before saying, "Move an inch and you eat a bullet." Alas, there is always someone who thinks that they can push the boundaries and not face any consequences. In a fit of panic, one of the people present in the room, who was a minister of Esparia tried to find refuge by hiding under the table. The soldiers kept their word, and one of them pulled the trigger, the bullet going right through the minister''s head. A fleeting expression of surprise crossed the man''s face before his consciousness faded, this was the last function his brain could do in that fraction of a second before his head was punctured. His body crumpled onto the table''s surface, with a mixture of blood and brain matter pooling above the table''s surface, a macabre testament to the abruptness of his demise. The opening in his head went from one side to the other and was wide enough to even fit a pencil within. Chapter 230 WTF ? Returning to the navy fleet faceoff, or should it more aptly be called a ruthless massacre by Edenian submarines? The soldiers aboard the speedboat were rapidly closing in on an optimal water depth where they could land with their equipment before they proceeded to get to the land and commence their fight. The missile defense guns that had been focusing on taking out the missiles a few moments ago had now turned their attention to the hoard of high-speed boats that were just a few kilometers away from reaching the shore. Guided by the onboard control computer, the electricity being sent to those guns was increased, increasing the amount of electricity that was being sent into the guns'' electromagnetic barrels. This resulted in a quick doubling of the effective range of the guns, enough that the first barrage of bullets sent in their direction shredded not just the boats, but also turned some of the soldiers onboard it into unrecognizable masses of flesh. Nevertheless, most of the bullets were targeted onto their boats, resulting in those who were boarding them being immediately sent into the water. To survive, they were forced to abandon their equipments and swim the arduous kilometer-long stretch to reach the safe shore, the only thing that drove them to do this was the motivation of life versus death. Amidst the chaos, not a single soldierbarring the few who had not survived the rain of bullets and were unfortunate enough to be turned into meat pasteC had even a flicker of thought of continuing their mission. Ѧndsnvl.cm They had already abandoned everything they deemed being heavy enough to hinder them in their swimming race which had started and had a very tempting reward at its end. With the daunting reward for completing this perilous one-kilometer swim being their survival and the consequence for failing it being their death. Despite this, and to act as a large enough motivator for the now twenty-thousand-plus-something soldiers who were swimming for their lives, the submarines were directed to send torpedoes towards the tankers that had once carried them and at the moment still held a trove of the crucial heavy equipments within them. These tankers needed to be docked to be able to unload their cargo and start using them, yet, their current imperative was to back away and run as farther away from the war, thanks to being scared to shit after what they had witnessed. And then... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM The midsize tankers each were instantaneously cleared into two, thanks to the torpedoes'' first round of detonation and before even the cavitation (underwater explosions, where rapidly collapsing bubbles generate shockwaves that are destructive to nearby structures.) could even happen due to the amount of explosive strength the torpedoes carried within them and the moment the cavitation occurred, the now two divided pieces of each mid-sized tankers were flung into air, including whatever that was inside them also being scattered like confetti. As for the soldiers who were now swimming in the water, they experienced an unexpected surge of momentum as the shockwave from the explosion acted as a booster due to the distance they were in. By the time the shockwave reached them, it had already been weakened enough to just act as a speed-up button, helping the still swimming soldiers to cover a few meters ahead of them with ease before they were once again forced to start swimming by themselves. This same scenario was happening across all the bases where Esparia had dispatched their soldiers to try and infiltrate before they could start attacking the neighboring cities. Hence, even the slight bit of mercy that could be shown to them now required someone as cold as Athena to decide to do it. Meanwhile, as the soldiers were swimming with no professionality or discipline among them, looking similar to a school of fishes, a helicopter could be seen stealthy hovering above every Esparian fleet, documenting and recording everything that was unfolding. After more than half an hour, the competition finally came to a conclusion, leaving the soldiers completely exhausted as they were panting on the well-lit shores of Eden. Their respite didn''t live for long as they could hear warnings coming from behind them. When they turned to the direction from which the warning sounds were coming from, they saw massive convoys coming to them with vehicles that were completely filled with soldiers. After noticing the convoy, some of the Esparian soldiers tried to run away, only to quickly realize how futile their actions were. Within a moment, they were turned into porcupines followed by a stern warning, "Esparian soldiers on our shores, due to our states being at war against each other, you are now our prisoners of war. You will be treated in accordance with those rules. As for anyone who might attempt to escape they will be shot and killed." Upon hearing this announcement, a sense of relief washed over some of the panic-stricken soldiers as they simply laid themselves down on the sand since they were tired and their bodies had already reached the limit of producing specific hormones. Disarmed and disheartened, they had abandoned their weapons and other equipments in the ocean when they started swimmingC an act that proved to be a smart idea compared to some of the stubborn ones who had tried swimming together with their equipments and could already be seen floating on the water, lifelessly. They had enough water in their bodies that they felt satisfied enough with living and chose death with a satisfied expression on their face or so, they thought. Meanwhile, others cried, as they knew that it would take them a considerably long time before they returned and reunited to see their families, which they needed a lot at the moment after being heavily traumatized by the unfolding events. The Edenian soldiers started distributing black-looking zip ties to all the captive soldiers, to put it by themselves, which they did so willingly. While a few of them tried to show defiance, they were promptly dealt with and could be seen crying while laying in a fetal position with their faces and many other body parts looking swollen. They knew that this night was going to be a long and trying ordeal. ....... The following morning, at 10 am, a press conference that had been announced just five hours ago commenced. Emanuel, the President of Esparia, ascended to the podium inside the press room which had very few reporters. The country was in a literal state of war with its only neighboring nation, this prompted many international reporters to go back or be called back due to fear about their safety. Nevertheless, the video feeds were being provided by Esparia and they allowed anyone to use the footage and broadcast it if they wanted to, an opportunity which every news company seized upon, knowing very well that this was the current hottest event in the world and they would gain a few more eyeballs on their channels which they could show their advertisements to. "Ehem..." Emanuel cleared his throat before raising his head and looking straight at the camera. He then started his speech by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of our nation, today I stand before you exactly eighteen hours after I had stood here and valiantly declared war against Eden." He paused, taking another moment to clear his throat once again, this time trying to stifle the overtone he had used during his previous words. His actions revealed everything that he was feeling, anyone with enough social skills would know that it was a tone of regret, but the audience still couldn''t discern whether this regret was about what he was talking about at the moment or a regret about something else. Nevertheless, they still maintained their focus on his speech as he finally continued, trying to finish his first paragraph of the many he had to speak today, "As for why I have called for this press conference, it was to make it known that as the President of Esparia, I hereby declare our complete and unconditional surrender to Eden." Chapter 231 A Conspiracy Theorists Dream Press Conference ? "CRASH!" The sound of glass shattering after falling reverberated through the living room of a normal-looking house. However, even after that, the person who had dropped the glass didn''t even try to pick up broken fragments or even register what had happened. His entire focus remained affixed on trying to comprehend whether what he had heard moments ago was true or he had just misheard it due to being preoccupied. Nevertheless, he wasn''t the only one who couldn''t believe what they had heard just now. Practically everyone watching the press conference found themselves dumbfounded by what they had heard. Emanuel briefly paused, giving the watchers enough time to react and process his announcement of unconditional surrender. ... "As for why my government and I have come to this decision, it''s because we have been misleading all of you about the root cause of war and secondly, because we stand no chance of having a victory any longer," Emanuel revealed, once again dropping another surprise banger to the citizens and cause the international watchers to get excited, even the ones who had been watching it unwillingly as nearly all the news channels were broadcasting this press conference. Ѧndsvl ?m "Last night, the remaining interceptor fighter jets in our possession were shot down, leaving our air force equipped with nothing but bombers. These bombers had only survived thanks to the fast reaction of our commanders, who redirected them to the Pacific Ocean, in the opposite direction of Eden, managing to avoid having them bombed while parked. However, this resulted in our air force losing any semblance of the ability to protect our skies. Eden has now gained aerial supremacy, and as many of you experienced last night, they immediately used this to their advantage by launching airstrikes on nearly all of our weapon warehouses and many of our military infrastructures, including the communication facilities and as a result of that, we have lost nearly half of our war abilities." Emanuel explained, pausing once again to take a deep breath before continuing. "A few minutes before we lost air supremacy, our navy fleets had been deployed on a mission to capture several of Edenian naval ports, a strategic action intended to establish a landing point for our forces so that we could deliver a war to them and fight them on their land. Tragically, we ended up losing the majority of our naval vessels, with those that survived being seized by Eden''s navy. Our soldiers involved in this operation were also caught and arrested as prisoners of war," he added, concluding his reason for surrendering unconditionally to Eden, citing that they didn''t have any chance of winning against them and thus were incapable of sustaining this ongoing conflict. While it made sense for the president of the country to conclude the war, it didn''t seem logical for them to unconditionally surrender just for those reasons; they could still continue fighting for a little longer and use that time to negotiate and end the war with something much lesser than complete unconditional surrender, such as negotiating a conditional surrender or even a ceasefire for a few years which they could use to prepare themselves for the third round. Among the multitude of spectators watching the news, the smart ones among them could feel that there were two potential explanations as to why Esparia went through with this decision. One theory is that the President and other higher-ranking military officials might have overreacted while succumbing to the fear of their lives, driving them to this surrender. Alternatively, the other reason might be more ominous, a reason powerful enough to make them opt for an unconditional surrenderC a choice that was considered as the most undesirable among the many other available options. They soon received their answer as the subsequent statement from Emanuel provided clarity and addressed this very concern, "As for what I meant when I mentioned that we were lying to you, I meant that the reasons for attacking them first and pushing the blame to Eden followed by the captured in which we responded by re-initiation of this war once again were not just because we wanted to respond in concern of our captured soldiers. Instead, it was because we were paid extensively and incentivized to launch this war once against Eden, enticed by promises of substantial payments in return." Boom, that revelation came out as a strong explosion, sending the people who initially thought they wouldn''t be too surprised after recovering from the first punch they had received regarding the information about Esparia''s unconditional surrender. However, they found themselves proved to be completely wrong as what they heard now was something that none of them thought they would hear from the President of a country that was still partially at warC especially since Eden hadn''t yet expressed their decision on whether they were going to accept the surrender or if they would just continue dishing it out with them. "Among the bribes receivers, I personally received an upfront payment of fifty million, delivered a few weeks before the initial confrontation between Eden and us took place" Emanuel confessed, delivering a blow that left those who believed they had regained some hold on their feet only to stumble even further. As he continued addressing the audience, the live news feed that was being provided to anyone who wished to broadcast started changing significantly. The video of President Emmanuel speaking was relocated to the right side of the screen while the left side was used to make room for displaying the evidence backing up his words. This visual presentation was carefully orchestrated to provide an undeniable substantiation to his assertions, leaving his supporters with little to no room for denying this in the future. "And when we faced defeat in our first confrontation, our sponsors increased the amount of investment, supporting us in acquiring new pieces of equipment, including the advanced fighter jets for the airforce and a plethora of other latest technology which we wouldn''t have normally been able to buy due to our lack of funds and limited diplomatic influence to be able to make someone agree to sell their weapons to us. Still, we had managed to buy them at a relatively lower price and even received them in such a short time, which was unprecedented. However, our efforts didn''t just stop at that, we also hired a mercenary group to come and aid us in retraining our soldiers and devising strategic plans for the second round of war, which I personally stood before you to announce our declaration of it yesterday. Unfortunately, things didn''t go as we had planned at all," when he finished saying that, Emanuel paused for a moment and took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, showing that he was speaking the truth and after hearing his own words, he was having a very difficult time. A silence of fifteen seconds followed, during which the second half of the split screen, which showcased a barrage of evidence for the viewers, started playing video evidence of a meeting involving Emanuel and someone else. This person, who nearly no one in the world knew who he was, except for a few influential people who could be seen smiling in amusement as they watched the man being let known to the public. In contrast, the remaining others frowned because they knew this situation was not good. As for the man in the video, he could be seen getting paler and paler as he watched the press conference along with Aubrey, the head of the Morgan family, and his son, George, who was currently giving him a bombastic side-eye. However, what made him lose all the color of his face was not because of the bombastic side eye he was receiving; rather, it was the existence of the video footage of his meeting, something he was sure of not happening as he had ensured that they were inside a room that had no camera at all, especially on the said angle the video footage seemed to have been recorded from and was now broadcasted to the rest of the world.NoVLusb.com Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 232 The Worlds Most Truthful Politician ? The three people in the room returned to watching the press conference, deciding to postpone any form of questioning after they heard everything Emanuel had to say. This acted as nothing other than the worst nightmare which a person wouldn''t want to experience personally; In his mind, the timer to his punishment had already started as he tried to come up with an explanation as to how the heck Emanuel even recorded something that happened inside a room which he was sure of having no cameras at all since he personally had made sure of that before arriving at that room. ''Shit, look like Kassim is going to make a return after all,'' He thought to himself as he remembered the side eye he had received from George, who had been the mastermind behind taking Esparian side in order to make the Rothschilds, who were now humiliating them to the whole world face another loss shortly after he had made them suffer the first one. He knew that George wouldn''t care about the humiliation that much since most of the world still didn''t know it was them, as Emanuel was smart enough not to speak anything about who the real backers were. What George cared the most about was the reaction of his father, Aubrey, who, after a very long and difficult struggle, had finally managed to win his affection and trust and had been enjoying the benefits of it for a few months now, which seems to be on the verge of being tossed out of the window after a president of a country that a few months ago the world wouldn''t have cared if they committed a group Seppuku but now thanks to them increasing the buzz of the news about the country and had made them known to almost anyone who had internet but at the moment were using it against him to humiliate and last but not least even break the fragile bond that his master George had finally managed to build after a long struggle. But despite the thoughts in the representative''s mind of the other person in the video, he too turned his focus back to the television as Emanuel started speaking once again after taking a long pause of thirty seconds after he dropped the second massive bombshell. The only saving grace he found solace from the previous speech was the fact that Emanuel had only stated that someone was backing them and hadn''t really mentioned who it was. This made him think that Emanuel was smart enough not to reveal their names, as he should also be aware of the consequences of doing so. ... "Why am I divulging this information to all of you?" Emanuel queried after his brief pause, his tone deliberate. "Was it fueled by the sense of guilt I feel for all of your sufferings? Or is it because my conscience suddenly awakened? Or because I genuinely regret having done these actions to all of you?" he continued, asking the very questions that many people actually had in their minds about why he was even outing himself, and that too with hard evidence which made sure that he won''t be able to deny them in the future no matter how much he tried. Ѧdsvel.cm "The answer doesn''t lie among any of those questions. I was forced to make this disclosure today due to the circumstances that left me with no choice." Boom, another mini bombshell, but Emmanuel didn''t pause this time as he took a deep breath and continued his speech.I think you should take a look at "Last night, at the same time our navy fleets were trying to take over Eden''s bases while their air force was taking out the last of our fighter jets, they sent a unit from Eden''s special forces who had somehow managed to infiltrate the entire defensive field surrounding the presidential palace and managed to arrest all of us who were in the bunker, comfortable with our families. They assured us of our families'' safety, who even before that had been safe with us, unlike you who were on the land, trembling in fear and terror of their air force''s bombing marathon which had been taking place" "Subsequently, they sent back all of our family members and a selected few high-ranking officials back to Eden, promising that although our family members weren''t going to be prosecuted, they would not be allowed to see us until I tell the world about the truth s?n whs?ch they didn''t have to do so as they hada the evidence of everything already. That is why I am here, talking about this in front of all of you since I need to ensure I will have a chance to meet my family again." He paused briefly, wiping the beads of sweat that were culminating on his forehead during the course of his speech, and then pressed on, his words laced with determination, "I acknowledge that it may seem pretty heartless of me to care about my family and even surrender the nation for them after all, I had been sending your loved ones to fight to their deaths against Eden in the battlefield. It is the truth that I don''t deny at all, and I''m willing to bear the brunt of your hatred as long as my family remains safe." "As for how they did that, I can''t say anything about that as I am restrained from doing so and should remain quiet about whatever I saw during that night. I will comply with their directive, for I have no intention to face them again in my lifetime," he confessed, not understanding the reasoning behind this bit for being included in his speech. Nonetheless, he thought to himself that ''whatever they are the ones who wanted him to mention it anyway'' so he didn''t care at all, not exactly; rather, he chose not to defy a single command from the instruction he was given by that woman who even thinking about her made his consciousness shake. "Now, with regard to the aftermath of my unconditionally surrendering to Eden, this evening, every citizen of Esparia with a phone, no matter which type of phone it is, will be given a choice to choose by themselves on whether you agree with the surrender or not. But, let me emphasize thisC you better surrender. This war had always been a power play orchestrated for the sake of some powerful people who remain indifferent to how many of you die. Among them, I, too, am included, but not at the moment, as right now I''m amongst you, the unprivileged who are destined to continue living whilst being controlled by the whims of someone who doesn''t even care whether you exit or not. So, today shall be the first time in the history of Esparia that you will be given a chance to have an unrigged election in which whatever the majority chooses the outcome, that outcome will decide your country''s future. Choose wisely, I am acutely aware of what happens when you don''t. May god really really bless Esparia," Emanuel concluded as he turned around and left the conference room, not caring about the reporters who were trying to ask him questions about his speech at all. Meanwhile, the feed that was playing on the right side and had been showing evidence the whole time was now being transitioned to a full screen and started showing many other meetings between the President and other high-ranking officials within the government, the mercenaries who had been planning on some missions that were no different than kamikaze ii-mission without even discussing the life loss and that whole time they had never even cared about the lives of their soldiers. In some of the footage, they could be seen smiling and laughing as they discussed the possibility of high casualties that might be happening. This had infuriated everyone, and nearly all of the citizens- barring the few who still liked him, want to kill and chew him to death, Alas before they could even finish watching the continuing evidence footage, all of the Espairan CI?tizens had their phones vibrate having received the message Emanuel had talked about in which it gave them the choice of agreeing with the surrender or continue with the war with the message being sent immediately after the press conference and not in the evening as he had stated int eh press conference. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 233 Edens Response ? After President Emanuel''s speech. One by one, all the citizens started voting. And with the timing of the vote being intentionally done at the moment, the citizens were still caught in disbelief after what they had heard moments ago. However, despite the fact that many of the citizens would have opted to surrender even if they were given some time to think about it, some of them would have chosen this course more hesitantly had they been given a moment to think about it. But with the votes being held while their minds were still reacting and comprehending the betrayal from their president. Very few people voted against it due to either being dissatisfied with the limited options they were givenC one being surrendering and the other being continuing the war, besides these two, there was nothing in between, or due to just being fervent nationalistic and couldn''t handle to swallow the humiliation of having a history that recorded of their country having unconditionally surrendered so some other country. Half an hour after the press conference, Eden started their own, to both ANNOUNCING the results of the votes and as a response to the press conference regarding Emanuel''s revelations. ..... Alexander, who had already begun his speech after offering a few greetings to the reporters who were attending the conference and the watchers of the press conference throughout the world. Ѧndsvl ?m "Firstly, I would like to start by announcing the result of the votes conducted among the citizens of Esparia regarding their choice on whether they want to accept their president''s decision to surrender or not. Based on the results of their votes that were finalized ten minutes ago, sixty-eight percent of the Esparian citizens have elected to follow the last decision of their now former President Emanuel, to which we hereby announce that we have accepted their request of unconditional surrender and promise not to demand anything that would undermine their dignity," his words were delivered with extreme seriousness, indicating that he was taking this very seriously. "Although we have a team of our soldiers in there who are still protecting Emanuel, ensuring that he remains safe and in one piece before facing the punishment he deserves. Within the next seven hours, we will be sending twenty thousand soldiers to make sure the citizens remain calm throughout the de-escalation phase. This measure also serves to ensure that our demands are met" "Rest assured, our soldiers have undergone good training, and I can swear on my position as the President of Eden that there will be no member of our forces who will try to exploit the situation the citizens of Esparia found themselves in. Them doing any such actions would be considered breaking my promise of maintaining the dignity of Esparian citizens and shas?s? be punished arcodingly." "As for our course of action while moving forward, we will not be talking about them today. We will need to have a behind-the-doors discussion with our counterparts in Esparia before we choose what part of our demands are announced to the public. Following that, we will finalize the demands after a thorough evaluation of what will be beneficial for us while sparing the already defeated adversaries from undue harm, who will need both time and help to recover and return to their normal lives before everything reaches the road of no return...." He continued his speech for another five minutes before he finally allowed the few reporters gathered in the room to ask the questions that were on their minds. "In your speech, you referred to President Emanuel as the former President. Does this imply that you have forcefully removed him from his position, or he has chosen to resign from it?" posed a reporter from one of the country''s prominent news channels. Alexander attentively listened to the question, nodding amidst it before slightly adjusting his glasses and started providing an answer to it, "Indeed, we have removed him from his presidential position. This decision was taken due to the worry that the citizens of Esparia would choose not to comply with our demands under the reasoning that we strong-armed their president''s actions as undue coercion and their agreement without giving him any chance to reason as to why we shouldn''t have done something else. To preempt such misgivings, we removed him and left his position vacant. We have come up with an assembly of negotiators from their side whom the citizens can trust to do their best to safeguard the interests of their citizens as much as possible as they return their focus to recovering to their previous condition or maybe even becoming better than before. As for who will take the President''s place following the negotiation, that will be up to the negotiators on whether they want to hold an election immediately or choose a temporary president who will be helping the country during these tumultuous periods of their nation before they can conduct an election. But the only thing I can assure the citizens of Esparia is that the government will continue being a democratic government, which we hope to cultivate better diplomatic relations with, compared to their previous government, which led to their present circumstances." Upon finishing answering the question, Alexander pointed for another reporter to ask their question. "Are there any conditions that are already set in stone and must be fulfilled even if the country''s citizens vehemently try to oppose it?" inquired the reporter. "Indeed, there is one such condition that remains steadfastC demilitarization and handing over the security of their country to the very same organization we entrusted our country''s security with, the organization has already proven itself by winning us the war. But this doesn''t entail that their military would be disbanded with their soldiers being rendered unemployed. Instead, the process will be done in the same way it had happened to us, by assimilating Esparia''s entire military power," Alexander answered, pausing briefly before he added further detail to his answer, saying, "Esparia''s agreement with the organization will be similar to ours where the government is only responsible for providing the upgraded salary to their soldier and a nominal few percent of taxes, while the same organization handles everything else. This model has proved quite beneficial to us," he stated with complete seriousness and confidence, making some people question themselves if they were either not understanding something and had overlooked some catch in this or because they were skeptical about questioning themselves on what might be the catch for the pseudo-PMC who were now undertaking the substantial financial responsibilities for the military and everything else without trying to gain any benefits that they could think about. "Could you shed some light on the investigation into the influential group that initiated the war through bribery and what they had intended to gain from the conflict between the two countries?" inquired another reporter. "At present, we cannot say it, as we need to be one hundred percent sure that they truly are the ones and ensure that we are not just randomly pointing fingers at someone who may later be found not to be the one. So, we won''t rush to assign blame without any substantial evidence backing our claims. But it will take some time. Nevertheless, you can be rest assured that we will reveal the truth once we have gathered irrefutable proof," Alexander responded. After that, several more questions were asked before he bid the reporters farewell under the pretext of coordinating troops to Esparia to ensure the local military over there doesn''t do something stupid. Chapter 234 Realizing The Existence Of A New Enemy ? "TWA, TWA, TWA." On many of Eden''s military bases that had a runway, this sound continued to echo while fully geared soldiers could be seen marching towards the planes that were stationed near the runways. They started boarding the aircraft, settling in silence as they waited for the plane to take off, destined to go to Esparia. Their objective during this mission was to monitor the local military and maintain vigilance before the start of their assimilation process, which was anticipated to begin after a few days or weeks. The same scene could also be seen happening on the Naval bases as well, where soldiers could be seen marching toward large ships while covered completely in military gear like the others. They, too, were destined to head to Esparia. While these were happening, the internet was set ablaze as nearly everyone who was using it was either willingly or unwillingly informed about the situation that had taken place. Many people were taken aback by the time the entire fight had progressed as Espaira raised the white flag of surrender exactly eighteen hours after they had declared the war confidently, something that no one had expected would happen. Another point of discussion that roamed greatly was the speculation of the amount of causality disparity between those two sides. Esparia faced the prospect of thousands of casualties, including many of their captured soldiers, reaching the total tally being more than thirty thousand. In contrast, Eden, until now, had said there was no report of any death from their side, a fact which many people thought was something impossible and just attributed it that Eden was hiding their casualties very well. Yet, many people who had managed to sit down and think about the entirety of the war from what public knowledge they had, came to a realization that the armies of the two nations never actually went face to face at all. Rather, it was their airforce and navy that had a face-to-face confrontation, culminating with both of the fights ending with an overwhelming victory on the Edenian side. This realization proved quite surprising, as while many had predicted that it would be a balanced war, they had also believed that there was no way that Eden had the ability to maintain its airspace security and would be compromised due to the number of their interceptors outnumbering them by something like nine to one. Nonetheless, Eden defied expectations as they pulled out miracles and also massacred all those aircrafts without losing even a single one of their own in the midst of it. However, amidst these discussions, a particular group of people relentlessly tried to come up with the identity of the backers who had bribed the Esparian president to entice the war with Eden. Among the names circulating, a few quite familiar ones came up with one of them being GAIA Technology, for instance, emerged as a suspect since just a few days ago, they had finally finished their process of terminating their registry in America and had moved the company to Eden. However, this thought was soon eliminated from the list. Then, another group was found when people thought about who might benefit the most after this conflict. They came to the conclusion that other than Eden, it was their military, which many many of them had only learned just a few moments ago from the fact highlighted by Alexander himself during the conference that their military was a private military organization. This group of people speculated that this PMO had orchestrated this war in order to assimilate the military of Esparia, to expand their forces. Suspicion also fell upon powerful families like the Morgans, the Rothschilds, and many other families whose names held global recognition. On the other side, Emanuel garnered attention from international netizens who had watched the press conference on how blunt he was. At the same time, he said everything without mincing any words, even when certain things he had said had put him on an unfavorable side from the perspective of the listeners. This was then followed by the question as to how the heck the Eden Special Forces even infiltrated the country and captured the President and his family along with many of the other high-ranked officials of Esparia and also forced him to make that announcement. Many found it puzzling since Emanuel didn''t look like someone who had been tortured just a few hours ago. He seemed fully normal, both physically and mentally, during the conference. Thus, some thought that maybe the special forces had tortured his family members instead of him. ....... Inside one of Morgan''s family''s many opulent mansions, a tense atmosphere permeated the living room, which had three peopleC two seated and one standing, could be seen silently occupying the space. The man standing in the room, his forehead covered with beads of sweat while also slightly shaking, showed his increasing nervousness as the silence in the room grew increasingly oppressive. Moments ago, they had finished watching the second press conference of the day, which was conducted by Eden. This event marked the final nail in the coffin of their financial downfall, confirming that they had officially lost their money and now it also seemed like Eden was going to assimilate the entire Esparian military, bringing the entire pseudo-continent under the control of one military power, making it impossible for them to cause any war once again unless they sparked chaos imminently by using their mercenaries who were there. Yet, this strategy would be almost futile since their mercenaries could be killed in a short time due to the imminent influx of Edenian soldiers who will come to Esparia, as President Alexander had announced during the press conference. "It''s not the Rothchild''s way of doing things," Aubrey was the first to speak, breaking prolonged silence in the room as he mused aloud. He had spent all this time recollecting the entire sequence of events which started right from them choosing to cause economic collapse, followed by the revelation of the Rothchild''s inclusion due to Rina''s visit to Eden, which promptly forced them to double down and increase their investment and inadvertently instigate the fight even further. During the sequences, Aubrey tried to think of different scenarios, including within them, the chances that they could have gotten wrong intel, and even tried to find out what they might be based on their current situation. Ultimately, he came to the conclusion that they had been fighting against an entirely different force. "What do you mean by that?" queried George, Aubrey''s son, his brows knitted in confusion as to what his father meant by this statement of his. "This isn''t the Rothschilds'' modus operandi. Throughout our centuries-long fight, they have never brought our fight to the public eye. They knew that the moment they publicized our conflicts would only lead to a reciprocal exposure which in return would only start degrading our influence after people start to know about us. And as you are well aware of, George, the first step to having a chance of winning against your enemies is by knowing who they really are, as that would mean that you can respond to them directly in a targeted manner without having to start looking around for who the enemy might be and respond in a wide manner which is not as effective as a targeted response," Aubrey explained, his tone composed and measures while he elaborated on his statement to this son. Although George understood what his father meant by that, he still questioned its validity as he was sure that considering that the public was already aware of their family names and their wealth, then shouldn''t that mean that they have already started losing their power? When Aubrey saw the expression on his son''s face, he was slightly disappointed but not too dismayed as he delved into explaining the meaning behind his words, "While people know about our existence, most of the time what they know is just our released narrative, meaning we control most of what they know about us. However, the moment we start bringing media and the public into our conflict, the Rothschilds will be releasing information about us that we don''t want the public to know of, and we will be compelled to respond or risk being singled out for consequences. And this back-and-forth revelation would jeopardize the control we have previously had on the public perception of us. The more our fight persistsC which I don''t think will ever endC the more people would know about us, completing their blind spots regarding us piece by piece until they will finally have a complete picture of us before they could use that to start to dismantle us piece by piece," Aubrey elucidated, his words revealing the intricacies of his initial words. "Aha!" George exclaimed as realization finally dawned upon him, understanding what his father meant by his previous words. Following his reaction, he turned to the only man in the room who was standing and was trying to make his presence look as small as possible in the hope that the other two in the room would forget about him completely, George then said, addressing him directly, "So, how should we deal with you, who had brought the piece of intel that has now potentially attracted a new enemy to us," he asked in a chilly voice, causing shivers to run down the spine of the representative. The representative now had goosebumps all over his body since he knew that all of these escalations were a result of him bringing back the intel of Rina visiting Esparia, which had tilted their plans and forced them into thinking that they were fighting against the Rothschilds, leading them to face such substantial losses and other than that also gain a new enemy all because of him. It was at this moment that he knew he.... Chapter 235 Starting From The Beginning. ? "Please, sir, give me some time. I will find out who it is and how we can force them to repay the losses they have inflicted on us twofold," the representative pleaded, his tone willed with desperation as he got to his knees before them. He knew that his failure to convince them would have dire consequences and would become Kassim 2.0, something he was determined to avoid after being aware of Kassim''s fate. "And how do you plan to do that?" George''s face held an amused smile as he asked, trying to hide his annoyance for having faced defeat against someone new just because their plans were accidentally hinged on anticipating the response from the Rothschilds, and due to their enemy not really being the Rothschilds, their miscalculations during the planning had cost them dearly, exposing their lack of effectiveness after finding the enemy''s better foundation in Esparia when compared to theirs. "Since we can''t expect the Esparian to do anything now, I intend to assemble a task force to start reinvestigating all the reports about Rina''s tour Rina and find out who else she had met during her visit to Eden and then investigate them as well. The people she might have met must be powerful enough to warrant a personal visit from Rina, which is also something they tried to cover by making it seem as if the reason for her visit to the country was to meet with the President," the representative explained, not caring to wipe the cold sweat that was trickled into his eyes causing him stinging feeling in his eyes. "Good plan, but you won''t be handling this operation alone since you seem to have a problem leading an operation. You will collaborate with Kassim, who has proven his competence over the past month after doing the task handed to him. Working together should help you finish the investigation faster," George instructed, causing the representative to let out a bitter smile, but he still hid it, knowing that the moment George saw his resentment, he won''t even be given another chance to make himself get out of this after causing such loss. "Yes, sir," the representative replied, hiding the profanities he was mentally spewing with a smile on his face. "Good, then you can go," George said, dismissing him with a casual wave, signaling him to leave them alone. The representative wasted no time and immediately complied by leaving the room as fast as possible, not wanting to spend even a minute more inside that room. After the representative had rushed out, George turned to his father and inquired, "Father, who do you think is the one behind all this?" trying to see if his father had his suspicions as to who it might be. "At this juncture, there are none. However, it''s unlikely that they hail from a prominent family like ours either because now that I think about it, our counteraction with a bit of investment seems to have triggered someone''s primary stronghold, which they had already prepared defenses for. We should start by considering those individuals who have substantial power within Eden but limited presence elsewhere," Aubrey said, hinting at the existence of some entities who only had a considerable amount of power only in Eden and nowhere else, meaning they were a juggernaut only in that specific country and lacked having any significant influence in other places like them. ..... While most of the world was buzzing with discussion about it, Moscow and many countries from similar time zones were relatively quieter than the rest since it was a night for them. Inside one of the heavily guarded neighborhoods famed for its safety, a place where numerous influential people had their residences, a beautiful woman donned in tight-fitting long trousers and a blouse, topped with a leather coat that was trying to partially conceal her perfectly contoured, natural breasts that were firmly grasped by her bra, securing them firmly. She walked with poise, making her way through one of the streets in the neighborhood. Her composed stride continued until she reached a beautiful villa. She paused for a moment to gather herself before she started advancing towards it until she reached the door and rang the doorbell, and patiently waited for the door to open.I think you should take a look at After a few seconds, the villa''s door swung open, revealing a man in his twenties whose eyes immediately widened in surprise as he took in the sight of the stunning woman who stood at his doorstep. A few seconds later, he realized what he was doing and recovered his composure while asking, "What can I help you with?" "Someone wants you to answer for something that you''ve done to him before," the woman responded with a captivating voice, making him almost entranced without understanding what she was telling him. He needed a moment to grasp what she meant by her words entirely. Swiftly, he withdrew his right hand that was behind the door and pointed it at her, or rather, he tried to do so. However, before he could even react further and start making any movements, the woman before him lunged forward, her right hand delivering a powerful punch right in his abdomen. The force of this blow from the woman was quite massive as he was pushed back even further than what he had anticipated after being punched by a woman; at the same time, with a similar fluid motion, the woman used her left hand to seize his hand and disarming him of his gun, at the same time she crushed a finger that failed to let off of the weapon. This was immediately followed by her seizing the moment as she entered the house and firmly closed the door behind her to make sure there were no unintended witnesses. "Who sent you?" Vladimir asked, his voice tinged with fear as he watched in surprise as the woman started dismantling the gun she had just taken from him while clutching his stomach as he still felt pain from the punch he had received a few moments ago. "I was sent here by the Intelligence Department of Eden," she answered as she started dismantling the gun, not planning to use it as she discarded the pieces onto the floor. Confusion etched on Vladimir''s face as he struggled to really any interaction with her, her department, or even any connection to it, "What the heck is that? I don''t even remember having any interaction with you, the department, or even anyone connected to it, I didn''t even know that it existed in the first place," he talked about, gritting his teeth, trying to buy some time for himself so that the pain in his stomach and his finger would subside a bit, which would allow him to take her down in a slightly better condition. "Aron Michael," she mentioned the name with as much respect as possible before she added, "Does that name ring any bells to you?" as she rotated the last piece of the gun with her finger. When Vladimir heard the name, his eyes widened in surprise since that was a name that he could never forget; it was thanks to that person that he had got this promotion. "Then, he should have sent someone who was smart enough to use a gun to her advantage when given an opportunity," he retorted, his voice filled with frustration, as he lunged at the woman, aiming to throw his fist right at her face to hit her. Seeing this, the woman simply smiled and took a graceful step to the side, intercepting his fist, and then swiftly turned around and back-elbowed him in the very same spot of his abdomen where she had punched him in the first place; however, she used even more force than the first time. The intensity of the blow forced Vladimir''s body to tilt forwards ninety degrees involuntarily from pain. Still not pausing, the woman once again elbowed Vladimir at the back of his neck, which at the moment was only at the level of her waist due to his posture. The force from the blow sent him crashing face-first onto the marble flooring, his nose audibly breaking from the impact before he fainted. "Alright, now let''s get you out of here," she murmured in a casual tone before effortlessly hoisting Vladimir and putting him on her shoulder, carrying him towards the door that led to the villa''s garage. It was as though she was lifting a lightweight pillow rather than a fully grown man. Chapter 236 Arriving In Esparia. ? That Sunday proved to be a challenging one for the citizens of Esparia as their day started with the influx of soldiers still arriving from Eden, increasing their numbers from yesterday''s arrival of twenty thousand soldiers. Although many of the Esparians had witnessed the Edenian President''s press conference, very few of them truly believed the promise made by the Edenian president, mentioning that no harm will be caused due to their soldiers. In fact, some had already expected the soldiers to go wild to seize this opportunity and abuse their powers by indulging in misconducts for their own benefits, like stealing and raping women, using their victory to satisfy their personal desires, and regarding it as their spoils of war. But contrary to such apprehensions, nothing of such sorts was heard since yesterday. In fact, the behavior of the Edenian troops contradicted these expectations. The first group of a thousand soldiers who had arrived directly went to the presidential palace and focused their efforts on replacing the Esparian military guards that were stationed there. This move was to secure the palace and make sure that it had a safe environment for the upcoming negotiations meeting that was set to take place in a matter of a few days. Following that, the next ten thousand Edenian soldiers that arrived were strategically dispersed throughout the city. Their presence was to ensure that no public discourse was caused by the dissatisfied citizens, as that could potentially cause a nationwide mass rebellion. This approach would change the situation from a country that was surrendering to a country that was on the brink of being broken to pieces due to different groups of rebellion rising from different cities, each with a different agenda. And to avoid it from starting from other cities too, another segment consisting of nine-thousand soldiers who had arrived yesterday were dispersed in other major cities, at the same time taking control over the military bases and commencing the process of registering the soldiers'' information. This data was collected so that it would serve as preparation for the upcoming assimilation process that was set to occur after the completion of the negotiations. For today, Eden was planning on sending an additional fifty-thousand soldiers, which will also be the last batch of soldiers that will be sent to Esparia for peacekeeping. This final batch of soldiers would be responsible for the protection during the whole negotiation duration and military assimilation. The soon-to-be-assimilated soldiers would be needed to be sent to Avalon Island to go through their training. They would return back to their post in Esparia before the stationed soldiers in the country could even be considered for returning back home. This period was expected to be ranging from a month at the earliest and three months at the most, which should be sufficient time for them to complete all the training of the new soldiers who would be joining their ranks within that period. However, not everyone within Esparia remained calm. A segment of soldiers who were way too nationalistic decided not to agree with the decision that was made by the President and the sixty-eight percent of the population. They decided to group up and conduct guerrilla warfare to cause as much trouble for Edenian soldiers as possible throughout the negotiations period. They anticipated a swift and short resolution given the unconditional surrender, meaning that their government practically had no power to deny anything that would be demanded by the winners at all. All they could do was suggest against it or hope their enemies weren''t too greedy, something they thought could only occur in their dreams. But all of their dreams of causing chaos were abruptly extinguished moments after they declared their intent. The only evidence of their existence that remained was the massive crater that was way too overkill for the entire group, indicating that their rebellion had met a swift and devastating end. This display of force served as both an example and a warning to anyone who had even a semblance of the audacity to entertain the notion of causing trouble for the other nation. Thanks to that crater which now acted as a warning, and the ongoing influx of highly disciplined soldiers in the streets, the country''s situation had now fully stabilized. The situation had even started to return to the condition when the country previously was into the whole war shenanigans, as the presence of the vigilant soldiers deterred any potential upheaval. Furthermore, another benefit of the extensive deployment of highly disciplined soldiers in the streets all the time, every day, for the whole week, had greatly reduced the crime rate by more than ninety-five percent in all cities which had soldiers within them. This was due to the gear the soldiers were wearing had a device that covered a three-kilometer radius; it meant that only a small group of soldiers needed to be stationed within the bubble of this radius for them to react to any situation at once, enabling more soldiers to be dispersed throughout the city. Using this built-in integration, Athena was able to collect all of this data and create all the cities'' real-time data share, meaning that the whole city was under surveillance without anyone even knowing that they were being watched at all. This significantly enhanced public safety and security. .....I think you should take a look at "FWUUUUUUUUUU!" The distinctive roar of two SU-35 fighter jets reverberated through the skies of those living in the vicinity of the Esparias main airport. This airport was still not open for public use and was under the control of the Edenian army was preparing to accommodate a private airplane that was being escorted by those two fighters and was on its final approach, preparing for landing at the airport. The private airplane''s tail bore the Edenian presidential emblem, a clear indication of who it was carrying. The accompanying fighter jets only served on publicly announcing the arrival of the President of Eden. Following the plane''s landing and taxiing back to a place where it was instructed, Alexander disembarked and was greeted by the presidential guards. Comprising an elite branch that was made not too long ago and consisted of the people who had the best of the best marks. These select few had the choice of choosing to protect the president or join the special forces, meaning all the people standing in front of him and some that had flown with him were the best of the best, which he was thankful to Aron for; however, he was surprised by the number of cars that were there to escort him. The surprise stemmed from being aware of the fact that all these cars were custom-made by Aron''s company and had to be transferred here during the last, and by his estimate, he managed to count twenty of themC a formidable convoy where each of these cars was capable of entering a war zone and come out from the other side of it while remaining unscathed. These cars were powered with a new groundbreaking fuel that was discovered by Aron''s company, which allowed it to traverse for more than a few thousand kilometers on just a single tank without having to worry about refueling. "Let''s move, Mr president," said a guard, snapping Alexander from his trance, followed by him immediately starting to walk down the stairs and board one of the similar looking four cars. The convoy then started heading out, flanked by four motorcycles followed by vehicles that looked like police cars. The procession was followed by more and more vehicles that had different specialized equipments in them, including one radar-equipped unit, to make sure nothing of the sort of an attack is even near the president by even a few kilometers, as anything they discover to be even slightly dangerous will be dealt by one of the other cars that were carrying completely armed soldiers in the convoy, diverting from it and heading to deal with it promptly before returning and joining the convoy once again and during this time the convoy would still be traveling at the maximum speed possible in the certain terrain. ..... At the same time, in a secluded area, a submarine started its docking procedure under a roofed docker for submarines to evade the lurking gazes of the satellites. Following the submarine''s docking process, soldiers started disembarking from it with those at the front carrying someone who had his hands tied by black-looking zip ties, closely followed by a group of elegantly dressed women who were wearing comfortable and casual-looking clothes that had become a signature attire for those that hailed from the intelligence department. This submarine''s mission was to retrieve both the team responsible for apprehending the individual and the target himself. Upon reaching the retrieval location, the intelligence team agreed to meet with the submarine. A high-speed boat was sent to carry them and send them back to the submarine before it once again dived into the waters and remained submerged, never to rise until its recent docking for this operation. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 237 The Unscratchable Itch ? Vladimir, who had been asleep, could be seen having subtle eye movements despite having his eyelids closed, hinting that something was messing with him while he was in his slumber. However, at the moment, he was unsure of the cause. Nonetheless, something seemed to be trying to interrupt his good sleep, something that he hadn''t experienced much since he joined the government, and due to his history as a former KGB agent, he was conditioned to always live with a perpetual sense of paranoia about someone or the other planning to attack him, since there was a possibility of retaliation from the people whom he might have crossed with during his espionage days as it was likely that would target him and try to seek revenge from him. With a history of sleep deprivation due to constant vigilance, he would always be wary of any disruptions during his much-needed rest. He desperately moved to and fro, hoping to shake off this disturbing thing so that he would be allowed to continue his sleep without being forced to wake up. Unfortunately, the irritation persisted and even became more annoying the longer he ignored it. Begrudgingly, he opened his eyes, waking up in the hope of dealing with it as fast as possible so that he could return back to his sleep before he lost the embrace of drowsiness. Upon waking up, he immediately realized what the cause of his discomfort was. He was being disturbed by an itch on his left thigh. At first, he attempted to alleviate it by scratching, hoping that he would be able to return back to his sleep immediately; however, even after fifteen seconds of constant scratching, he could still feel the sensation increasing, in fact, it didn''t even give him the ecstasy one would usually feel after scratching a constant itching spot, even if it was not disappearing. Nevertheless, no matter how hard he tried to scratch the sport where he felt the itching. It was as if he was trying to scratch something that was covered with a glass surface, blocking his access to it, meaning he could do nothing about it. This only served to exacerbate his frustration. Faced with this situation, he immediately opened his eyes to his surroundings and realized that he was in completely unfamiliar surroundings. This immediately sent his senses into overdrive, his body immediately pumping out adrenaline to wake him up and remove every last semblance of drowsiness he had. The previous scratching ordeal faded out of his mind as quickly as possible. His focus shifted to his immediate environment as he tried to access where he was together with wondering how he got here in the first place, to this, his brain immediately reminded him of the beautiful woman whom he had either met yesterday or a few hours ago, who despite being able to speak Russian fluently didn''t seem like a native, followed by her introduction by saying she was from the Edenian Intelligence Department or something, only cemented his hypothesis about her affiliation. "Where the heck on Earth did she bring me to?" he muttered, a blend of relenting in surprise at him having been defeated and being incapacitated even before he could realize, which was pretty embarrassing for him, who prided himself on his fighting ability and that being a loss against a woman only doubled down on his embarrassment. But before he could delve further into any more questions and try to inspect his surroundings, his brain immediately reminded him of the itch he had forgotten about, thanks to the adrenal boost. However, this time it had expanded to envelop his left knee and even spread upward until his left ball felt the itchiness which seemed to have now increased to nearly double of what it was when he woke up. "ARGHHHH!'''' He groaned, his frustration and discomfort culminating in a desperate attempt to scratch it with his hand moving it up and down as fast as possible, his movements even reaching a point where even small traces of blood could be seen coming from his skin as he vigorously continued to scratch the location. But no matter how hard he tried to ease it, nothing about the itch seemed to have changed other than the itch increasing and expanding even further, now covering the rest of his private parts and moving to his right thing. The experienced KGB agent who had been trained in the art of dealing with torture fell down to his knees as he desperately tried to scratch both his anus along with his balls and dick, which were the most itching regions, as they had more sensitive nerves compared to the combined area of other itching zones. His desperation escalated as the sensation intensified as he moved from being on his knees while trying to squat so that he could have a wider access to all those three sensitive locations. After which, he started scratching them even more aggressively than he previously did, going against the famous Confucius quote C Only when a mosquito lands on your testicles, will you truly learn that there is always a way to solve problems without using anger and violenceC since at the moment Vladimir was scratching both of his most sacred places as if he intended to rip them off him. This continued for ten agonizing minutes until crumbles of the skin on his balls and anus could be seen in his slightly long fingernails which was a result of him continuously scratching them for that period which did nothing to alleviate the torment he was going through. "ARRRRGHHHHHHHHH!" he bellowed, his primal scream an attempt to numb his brain so that even for a slight moment, he could forget about this sensation he was feeling, which had not spread throughout his entire being, leaving him utterly defenseless. He lay there, vulnerable and helpless as someone would be on the verge of death, his forehead showing a hint of damage whilst being covered by the soilC evidence of his desperate efforts to alleviate his torment by bashing his head on the ground, hoping to knock himself unconscious and escape from the agony. Unfortunately, his attempt to overcome this agonizing torment proved futile. There was no respite, no momentary relief, and nothing of the sort of fainting after he bashed his head on the ground, trying to force himself to turn unconscious. He remained completely conscious, writhing in agony, as he followed by trying to exhaust himself by screaming until he ran out of energy and lay there helplessly, hoping for the misery to end as soon as possible. After an agonizing five hours of this continuous suffering, Vladimir''s brain finally came to a decision to make him faint, and he closed his eyes slowly. As his eyes fluttered shut, a smile graced his face at the thought of being released from this tormenting ordeal. "We are just starting," these words echoed, which was followed by his entire body regaining energy and his brain canceling the fainting sequence that it had initiated, causing Vladimir to almost burst a vein in anger. Still, before he could even word his feelings, he found himself having been transported to a different location, while the itch completely disappeared like a mirage, leaving with him only the memories of the torment and the trauma of the ordeal where he had to deball himself in the pursuit of saving himself from the itch which brought him to no relief in the end. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 238 How To Break A Man ? "YOU!!!!!" Vladimir shouted, his voice a mixture of fear, surprise, and disbelief as he laid eyes and focused on the man who said those words. At the same time, he tried to comprehend what the heck had happened to him moments ago, and now that his mind was clear, he also couldn''t help but wonder how they were even able to transport him here immediately. "Long time no see. How are you doing?" Aron''s calm smile and casual greeting sent shivers down Vladimir''s spine, a stark contrast to the turmoil which he felt within. "What did you do to me? Did you hypnotize me? You do realize that my government will be looking for me, right? Given the time it took me to wake up, it seems like we are still in Russia. In here, they can find anyone as long as they put their minds to it, you know, right?" He fired his questions like bullets as he tried to come up with a hypothesis that would make sense as to what was happening to him. At the same time, he was trying to intimidate the man in front of him so that he could force him to release him or at least delay his torment for more time to reduce the torture he would have to go through until they were able to find him, even if he reduced it by some negligible time. "Don''t worry about our fun ending too early. No one will find you anytime soon, anyway. Moreover, I didn''t hypnotize you or did any similar manipulation. Everything that you experienced was as real as it can be, with just some help from my side, that''s it." Aron answered Vladimir''s question with carefreeness of the world, as though he held all the time in the world to do whatever he wanted with no one being able to interrupt him. These words of his caused Vladimir to feel a chill to the depth of his bones. "Shall we start anew, this time with double the nerve sensitivity?" Aron said before Vladimir was teleported once again to the forest. Horror gripped him, and he reacted instinctively by screaming the moment he saw the forest that surrounded him and tried to run away without even trying to comprehend how Aron was even able to do that. Alas, no matter how hard he tried to move and run, he had no control over any of the muscles in his body, leaving him paralyzed and helplessly before he was forcefully put to sleep for the cycle to start once again, but this time with his nerves being made as twice as sensitive than the first time. His ordeal was far from over, poised to begin anew, with his torment deepening with each passing cycle. Vladimir, who was sleeping, could be seen having his eyes moving restlessly despite his eyelids being closed, hinting that something was messing with him. This time, he snapped awake without procrastinating any longer as the memories of this previous event were still with him. As his senses returned, he frantically scanned his surroundings, his heart pounding with fear and dread. The moment he woke up, he immediately lunged at a massive boulder within the forest, smashing himself onto it headfirst, trying to break open his head so that he could have an end to the suffering he had to go through previously and didn''t want to experience the same thing anymore, much less with twice the sensitivity. "ARGGHHHHH!" A guttural scream erupted from his mouth after his head collided with the stone, causing blood to flow out of his injury, yet failed to render any of his desired outcomes. While his skull bore the brunt of this impact, there was no other damage, such as damage to his spinal cord or anything else. At the same time, his body still remained in full control of his motion, and he was still conscious. Together with the head-butting pain followed a reminder of the ever-intensifying itch that clawed at him once again. This time, he was acutely aware that the itchiness had truly doubled, even doubling the torment coursing through him. This caused him to scream in fear and horror at the thought that he will have to spend the next hours experiencing the unquenchable itchiness, an itch which he could do nothing about. This time however, he just sat down and tried to endure it by summoning all of his willpower as he remembered that the first time he dabbled himself from the itch, it would double the itchiness he would feel on the wounded location, causing him to feel itchier than the itchiness on top of other unharmed skins. The brief concentration he gained from trying to concentrate gave his brain a chance to think about how the heck his body didn''t enter a shock the first time he felt those excruciating itches. After he had endured it for about an hour, which was supposed to happen as a sort of defense mechanism to protect himself, it didn''t come until the fifth hour, when it finally kicked in quite late in the game. Unfortunately, before he could come up with a reasonable hypothesis of the situation he was in, his brain weirdly returned its focus back to the itchiness, causing tears of horror and fear to stream down his face as he started screaming as best as he could to tire himself as fast as possible, each second stretched into eternity for him as he grappled with the maddening sensations. A few hours later. "Are you prepared for the third round?" Upon hearing those words this time, Vladimir''s consciousness shattered as he was on the cusp of surrendering to unconsciousness. Just like the previous time, his body was once again transported back to a room where Aron was sitting in front of him the same way he was sitting there last time. After seeing him, Vladimir immediately got on his knees and started pleading, "Please forgive me, sir, please forgive me, sir, I will be your loyal dog for the rest of my life if you want me to. I will follow all of your orders even if you order me to kill someone from the Kremlin. If you want me to drown myself in a sea of fire, I will do it, but please don''t send me to that place anymore. Please!" With tears streaming down his face, he continued begging.nOvlUSb.com However, Aron, who was still calm despite Vladimir''s begging, cold-heartedly said, "I will consider your plea, but not at the moment. I have planned for you to get ten rounds of this, with the pain doubling with each round. So please, delay your begging until then. Then we can talk and decide the next course of action. Now, go to experience it once again," Aron said before snapping his fingers, causing Vladimir to disappear and reappear once again within the same forest, trapped in a cycle of torture that showed no mercy. He was put to sleep, destined and repeated to suffer the same torture once again with double the previous sensitivity. A few hours later, he was sent once again and again and again and again and again until, [Sir, if he continued to experience it anymore, he will reach a road of no return] Nova interjected just when Aron was about to send him for one more round. "How long is the cooldown and healing going to take?" Aron asked, seemingly dissatisfied, despite doing it for such an extended period of time. [ It has been discovered that someone or something is trying to access the brain map and other information regarding the user. [Allow Access] [Block Access] ] Instead of an answer, Aron received a notification that informed him that Nova was attempting to access his brain data which he interpreted to be for accessing his mental state. Chapter 239 Therapy ? [It has been discovered that someone or something is attempting to access the user''s brain map and other personal information. [Allow Access] [Block Access] ] Without hesitating for even a second, Aron selected [Allow Access], granting Nova access to his brain data. After that, he remained silent, patiently waiting for her to finish her analysis of his condition and deliver him the report of it. [How do you feel now, after you re-educated him in the universal simulation for more than a week?] Nova inquired after she teleported them inside an office that looked like a therapist''s workplace. She then sat at the doctor''s chairs before raising her left thigh and putting it on top of her right one while she held a notebook on her lapC completely taking the role of Aron''s therapist. Her qualifications were indeed unquestionable. Armed with a few terabytes of data about mental conditions and other brain-related matters, made her an expert who was completely qualified to be the perfect candidate for this, and given Aron''s brain being of unique composition differentiating him from normal people, she had an up-to-date understanding of it, making no one better than her at doing this. "I don''t feel anything at all, nor any sort of satisfaction or anything that could be close to that," he replied bluntly, causing him to immediately pause for a brief moment, coming to a realization that something seemed to be weirdly wrong within him, and with a surprised and worried face, Aron asked in a slightly scared tone, "Did my personality change as the result of gaining absolute power?" A slight fear could be felt within his tone, something that hadn''t happened in a long time, at least not since after the incident that led to his shooting. [No, you should have realized that it is too drastic of a change to occur to you after gaining such power after a mere few months] Nova reassured, trying to calm him down a little before they could continue their therapy session. "Then what caused this? Was it you?" Aron inquired, eager to identify the source of such a transformation within him. [No, it wasn''t me. These shifts in your mental state seem to have subtly started appearing after the day you were shot, and since then, it also seems to have gradually grown as well. Its pace was such an absurdly slow that even I missed it due to it not being the focus of my previous brain data collections and simply logged it as just your personality adapting due to various circumstances that were forced upon you] Nova explained from her chair, which had materialized for her. "Shouldn''t my brain be protected by the system from such mental conditions, making it impossible for me to have something like this happen without being intercepted by it?" Aron''s surprise was evident as his expectations from the system''s safeguard, which he had heard from Nova, were met with disappointment. [Due to the system limiting the amount of brain data that I can gather from you, this is just a hypothesis based on my simulations. But, the system may be the one which is influencing these subtle changes and had also managed to conceal them from me until now when I explicitly asked for it, forcing the system to release it] Nova answered, dropping a bombshell from an unexpected angle. Still, in his surprised state, Aron muttered, "But why?" as he tried to grapple with rationalizing the system''s actions towards him. [I speculate that the system is trying to guide your development to what it deems to be the most optimal path, either to help you accomplish your objectives or to fulfill its own] Nova answered, providing him with two possible explanations showing that due to unavailability of consistent data about the system and the limitations of her understanding, she couldn''t come to the true hypothesis yet. "Does this mean that there is a chance that the system might be exploiting me for its own agenda?" Aron asked, his fear resurfacing, an emotion that had been long absent seemed to be making its appearance more than once today. "Also, is it sentient?" he inquired further. [I don''t suppose it is; otherwise, it would have been conversing with you. The closest thing I can think of is that it''s an advanced program for a far-advanced civilization, either from the future or from an alternate universe. Yet, we can''t completely rule out the possibility of it being sentient. This hypothesis would hint at three possibilities for it not initiating a conversation with you despite being sentient: the first being that it is a different level of consciousness, meaning that it might be normal for it not to initiate contact with you and nothing is wrong with it; as for the second, your brain doesn''t have enough computing and mental power to allow for the accommodation of two consciousness, suggesting that its consciousness will only emerge when you have either evolved or you have found another way of increasing your brain and mental power. And lastly, this might just mean that the system has a hidden agenda and that it is not contacting you so that you will remain oblivious of it, but that is not likely] Nova answered with calmness. "Why do you hold such a perspective?" Aron inquired, curious as to why Nova removed the suspicion of the system having a hidden agenda. [If it really did have an agenda, it would mean that it would do its best to make sure that you wouldn''t even get a hint of intuition of such a thing happening to you. And all it had to do was to make my source code have all the capabilities but at the same time block me from having such ideas about it at all, which seems something that is easily doable by it based on the list of the technologies I accessed from your memories] Nova explained, clarifying her reasoning, prompting Aron to nod at all of her points in agreement. "But could this also be a part of its plans so as to eliminate all of our suspicions from it once and for all?" Aron mused after contemplating the situation. [That would be a waste of planning since all of these shenanigans could be avoided by just blocking that thought from us once and for all, meaning we wouldn''t even be suspecting it in the first place] Nova retorted, disagreeing with Aron''s assumption. "Your reasoning also makes sense. However, what exactly was it trying to mold me into by subtly influencing the changes in my personality?" Aron asked, moving to another topic after having agreed that any more discussion on this topic was completely unnecessary as they had a data drought on this certain topic. [Although it was just in the initial phases of molding you, the way in which it was implementing the changes would have made you a neutral reactor. Essentially, no matter what happens, you will always remain neutral and avoid having an extreme emotional reaction which would have resulted in the impairment of your judgment. However, achieving that would have taken at least a few decades before the perfect version of such a personality was finally complete] Nova elaborated calmly. Chapter 240 Recovering ? Inside therapy session. Upon hearing Nova''s elaborate explanation, Aron released a sigh of relief. Yet, an underlying feeling of strangeness forced him to ask, "But why didn''t I experience any bad emotions like self-disgust for the grossly disproportionate punishment I dished out to Vladimir if my personality would have taken a few decades to manifest into what the system planned me to become?" [You triggered the system''s emergency protocols when it sensed that your feeling of disgust for yourself and empathy for the man who had made you suffer might have hindered its progress of molding you and put it into setbacks, which would then force it to start from scratch once again. Hence, it suppressed the production of certain hormones to prevent you from feeling those emotions, and since I can''t access your brain map in real-time, I failed to discover this happening until after observing your behavior when you sent him for the third round of the itch torture, during which I started monitoring your behavior for the rest of the week to gather as much data as possible to confirm my hypothesis at the sometimes coming up with a solution] Nova clarified, explaining her actions. "Is it possible to undo the changes the system has made to me? I don''t want to lose my emotions and become an unemotional prick. There is no meaning to life without an appropriate emotional reaction to the situations you face. Additionally, if I had to do something that needs neutrality in emotion, all I have to do is ask you to be the one to take the decisions, as you can make yourself emotionless at any time you are required to," Aron inquired. [Yes, but you will have to be in a prolonged state of coma that will last for about a week. During that period, we will be overhauling the changes done to you throughout the period of over a year, essentially condensing the timeline into a matter of weeks, so it can''t be done while you are awake. Moreover, I also plan to use this opportunity to impart some of the knowledge that you had been postponing their assimilation, effectively killing two birds with one stone] Nova said assuringly. "WUUUUUUH," Aron exhaled a long sigh of relief upon hearing that these alterations could be removed and he would be allowed to return to his normal self and evolve naturally, free from the system''s influence. [You seem more relieved than angered by the system''s attempt at trying to change your personality] Nova observed, quite amused at Aron''s reaction to the system''s attempts at changing him. "Although it shouldn''t have done that, it most likely did this for me, to allow me a mind that can utilize my capabilities to the best of it. As for it having other agendas, I will find answers from it when my brain possesses enough power to allow for its potential consciousness to come online if such a consciousness even exists in the first place. Another reason for my relief is that this made me realize that I''m not changing like this just because of the power I have gained. If I really was changing due to my power, then I don''t want anyone to have to face that version of me. That version of me will do some despicable things to them to achieve my goal, a prospect that terrifies me." [Are you saying that you are afraid of doing something that can be considered immoral?] Nova teased, aware of many of his remorseless actions. "While I do not have any trouble doing immoral things when called for it, I don''t want to be doing such an act without any purpose, as I don''t enjoy doing them. Because the moment I get accustomed to doing it and even start enjoying them, the moral compass that my parents worked hard to instill in me would be skewed, which may result in me ending up becoming a brutal tyrant, Someone who doesn''t care about anything else as long as it helps me accomplish my dream." "This is something that can happen even now since I have a group of what could be said to be fanatics. Either they naturally became that way, or we artificially influenced them to be such. Regardless of which one of them they are, they will always obey my orders, no matter how brutal they might seem. This puts a very heavy burden on my behavior and decisions," he said in a lengthy manner, sharing every worry in his chest without trying to sugarcoat anything. Upon hearing Aron''s words, she responded, [Being afraid of going over the line due to having no restraints on you from doing anything is good. It indicates that you still have the conscience and the ability to differentiate between the good and the bad] while at the same time, she levitated the chair she was seated in until she reached Aron. With a gentle touch, she placed her smooth and beautiful right hand on Aron''s, which now rested on his knee. Applying some light pressure on it, she reassures, [You don''t have to worry about your moral compass being skewed, as mine won''t. And since I will always be on your side, I will ensure to remain as your moral compass and make sure that nothing of that sort happens. I will always stand and counter it if I find you doing something that might be needlessly immoral while there still are other ways of accomplishing the task] Her voice was soothing and calming, aimed at providing Aron with the assurance that he needed the most right now. While her promise was being delivered to Aron, many transformations started occurring within Nova''s typically unchanged source code. A few billion lines of new code were automatically being written, joining the trillions of lines of code that already constituted her programming. This transformation was a testament to her commitment to upholding the promise she had made to her masterC a promise that would never be overlooked unless the situation warranted it. A support system, designed to bolster and protect Aron''s character from evolving in a bad manner was now etched inside one of his closest confidantes. ... An hour later. Inside what could be considered a lab, based on the many advanced equipment present within it, was one of many rooms on the second underground floor of the massive square building. Aron could be seen sitting with his eyes closed as he placed his hand on top of one of the two distinct-looking pods that were positioned in front of him. The pods looked rather different when compared to the ones being used by the soldiers of Eden for their training. Anyone who was familiar with both versions would instinctively recognize that the two pods in front of Aron were several generations more advanced than those counterparts that were present on the lowermost floor of this building. Aron''s concentration was focused on etching intricate runes onto the two pods. Each rune was imbued with purpose and intent, meaning that at the moment, they were receiving real-time upgrades, evolving into an even more sophisticated version of themselves than what they were following their printing under his guidance. After dedicating more than six hours to etching over twenty runes on each of the pods, Aron finally stopped his work. Following that, he called his family, who were still touring the country and enjoying themselves. He informed them that he would be out of contact for about a week or two since he had something important to do at the company and bid them farewell before placing his phone on a nearby table. Before long, a stretcher was brought into the room, carried by soldiers. Upon the stretcher lay Vladimir, who was in a semi-comatose. The soldiers carefully transferred his naked body into one of the pods. Upon noticing Vladimir''s condition, Aron realized that he had narrowly escaped becoming a monster and was grateful that his condition was discovered earlier and not in the later stages when he couldn''t have been able to do anything about it. After the soldiers carrying the stretcher left, the chamber''s door sealed automatically, locking itself. Aron then started undressing himself, completely disrobing himself before entering the other empty pod in the room. "PFFFFFFFF" The two pods gradually started closing, releasing some mist during their closing sequence before a "TIK" sound came, indicating that the pods were now locked. "HRMMMMMMM" A subtle hum emanated from the machines as both Aron and Vladimir donned with breathing masks that were automatically fitted on their faces securely. The chamber they were in then began to fill with the purest, low-level Mana, which the reactor could condense, submerging both of them completely under the golden liquid. [DING]!!!!! [ It has been detected that something is trying to undo the system''s evolutionary influence on the user''s personality, which the system deems crucial. Do you wish to grant permission for the process to proceed? [Proceed] [Interfere] ] Midway through his transition into an induced coma, Aron received the system''s notification. After reading it, he selected [PROCEED] with his thoughts before being completely put into a coma, bound to not wake up until the completion of this process. Chapter 241 Projects Progress ? While Aron lay in a coma, the world continued to move forward, not waiting for him at all. Inside a heavily guarded and lengthy convoy, Alexander could be seen seated in the presidential car dubbed "the dragon." His eyes remained closed while he still wore his glasses. The car maintained its level of stability despite moving at a very fast speed along some rugged roads, thanks to the advanced suspension system in the car. The system reacted immediately to counteract any changes in the road, making sure that the car always maintained the same stability. It was effective to the point where even if a glass filled to the brim with water was placed in the car, it would not spill even a single drop. "Where is Aron?" Alexander inquired when he entered the universal simulation after logging in. [He won''t be available for a week as he is undergoing treatment] Nova answered. Her tone was devoid of any ridicule or superiority, as was typical of her. "Even he can get sick?" Alexander muttered in surprise, as Aron was the last person whom he would have expected to be inflicted with such a problem. [It''s not an illness of that nature, but something different] Nova answered, correcting Alexander''s assumption without disclosing any specifics about Aron''s condition. "Please convey my well wishes to him," Alexander said, closing the topic. He knew that he was not to ask for any more details because if he was meant to know about it, he would have been informed about it when he had asked initially. [Consider them delivered. Are you here to spend some time during the journey, or did you have something to talk about?] Nova inquired after assuring him of the delivery of the news. "A bit of both. Though not serious, I had some questions for either you or Aron, and since I have nothing to do during this long journey, I thought, why not use this leisure time to ask my questions," he explained. [Sure, go ahead] Nova said, waiting for him to pose his questions as if she knew nothing about it. Despite having the ability to access Alexander''s brain data, she deemed this as a matter of privacy and thought that not doing so would be more respectful towards the people she was facing. To facilitate this, she went further as to even create a "son" who was made responsible for monitoring the brain data of all those who logged into the VR and would only alert Nova to take a look at their brain data when he deemed that it was something that she was supposed to know. "How is the electricity project going on? Our current infrastructure can''t provide consistent electricity for our citizens for no longer than a few days before we are forced to cut power for some places, and I need to address this or at least provide the citizens with a period within which this issue would be resolved." "However, based on the briefing I received from my secretary regarding the infrastructure projects, the electricity project seemed to have made no substantial progress. The reports only say of transformers being installed outside the city, and no construction was taking place other than that, at least from what I know about it so far. Could you shed some light on this?" Alexander inquired directly, not going over a roundway or anything, clearly aware that the one in front of him was an AI whom Aron trusted the most, and she possessed all the information he needed. [You don''t have to be worried about that. With the completion of the transformers in those cities, the project has now reached seventy-seven percent completion and should be fully operational within a month] Nova assured. "Really? But how do you plan to transmit the power to those transformers? I don''t remember any mention of towers being built for high-voltage cables to be connected to the transformers. Are you considering wireless transmission?" Alexander asked. Although someone else might think that he was joking, he surely wasn''t. From the moment he received the glasses and had feasted his eyes with Aron''s military tech, he knew that if anything as absurd as that could be made, then he even considered them already having done so, hence his question. [That technology you mentioned is still in the research phase. And no, we aren''t transferring it using high-voltage cables too, rather we are using an underground system] Nova answered. At the same time, she teleported him to the vicinity of the carbon copy of Eden, highlighting the ongoing underground constructions for power transmission. The spectacle that unfolded before Alexander was magnificent. They weren''t merely digging a hole and settling with that to be used later for the installation of the cables. The machines were creating a twenty-meter radius tunnel, not the usual digging machines but atomic printers, and they were disintegrating the earth in front of them while simultaneously capturing it and compacting it between the atoms of the surrounding tunnel walls, strengthening them to such a higher level that even concrete and rebars would feel jealous. Concurrently, as the tunnel was being excavated, it was also accommodating the construction of three distinct-looking massive pipes that filled the void. These pipes grew longer with each passing moment, matching the length of the tunnel that was being dug. "Are you eventually going to pass the cables through the pipes?" Alexander asked after regaining his composure from being stunned by the fact of something of such a magnitude project happening in his country without him having any prior information about it at all. [No, one pipe is designated for electricity while the other one is for sewage and the last one is for clean water] she replied with assurance. [Also, you don''t have to be concerned about any leaks from these pipes and potentially causing a disastrous mixing. That won''t happen as these pipes are composed of a new material with remarkable damage-healing properties. Also, with the completion of this project, we will have the same printing machines, but it would be their smaller versions that would pass through the tunnels to make sure no crack happens and since it would detect any cracks starting from their atomic level before they could reach a stage of leaking these smaller printers would immediately patch them] she added after expecting a question about it from him. "Wow," he exclaimed upon hearing the explanation, once again coming to a realization that they had truly thought about everything that could possibly go wrong and had even prepared a countermeasure for such challenges. [Do you want to see the progress of other projects too?] Nova asked the dumbfounded president. "If it''s possible, then please. Everything that I know about these projects is solely based on the reports I have read and the presentations from the assistant Aron gave me," Alexander responded, not trying to hide the excitement in his tone. [Of course, let me guide you through] Nova said before she teleported him through various presentations of the ongoing projects within the universal simulation, using a bit of her power to entertain the president while the rest of her computational abilities were directed at monitoring every bit of incoming data from the pod, ensuring that she was scrutinizing every bit of it, making sure that nothing happened out of her calculations. Chapter 242 Calling Home ? Meanwhile, within the pod. [DING!!!!!] [A SUITABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR EVOLUTION HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!!!!!] [INITIATING SYSTEM EVOLUTION] Those prompts were being displayed to the currently comatose Aron, who remained unaware of anything that was happening to him. The MANA inside the pod began to be absorbed by every pore of his body, being depleted as fast as it was being replenished, forcing Nova, who was alerted by the situation, to immediately increase the amount of MANA that was being sent to the pod, which ultimately resulted in Aron''s body to start absorbing the incoming MANA even faster. This started a game of filling and refilling like an endless well, as Aron, no, his body continuously absorbed the incoming MANA. Nova had a hypothesis of what was happening; she suspected it was either an evolution in Aron''s body or something else similar to that, and the more MANA she provided, the faster whatever the system was doing would be completed. She didn''t try to intervene in it all, as she knew if she stopped it, harm could befall Aron. She also didn''t try to stop it because she didn''t know what might have triggered the system''s evolution; she was afraid that if she tried to stop it, Aron might forever miss the opportunity for this process to occur once again. She trusted that the system was doing it for Aron''s best interest, as every single one of its actions for Aron had been motivated by that intention. Even the personality reconfiguration that it had initiated by itself, which Aron was in the process of reversing at the moment, was also something that would have been of great benefit to Aron, who didn''t want such a thing to happen to him as he wanted to evolve his personally naturally and not through artificial means, as that was one of his most sacred things if one counts it together with his soul. He found it unacceptable to manipulate this core aspect of himself without even being aware of such a change being done to him, though he acknowledged this being hypocritical as he had conducted similar changes to the soldiers in his forces as well. However, the only difference that lay here was that the soldiers remained oblivious to the process, assuming it was a result of the training they had undergone. But also, the changes they faced were not as massive of a change in personality when compared to what Aron would have experienced if the system had managed to complete its process of changing Aron''s personality. ...... FBI Headquarters. Inside the research laboratories of the headquarters, a team of scientists could be seen engrossed in scrutinizing the data they had gotten from the machine after almost a month of spending time with it. "Any significant discoveries from studying the machine from the past month?" Peter queried after he entered the lab, interrupting the researchers who were amidst doing their tasks. "We haven''t gotten any more beyond what we have already shared with you. To delve deeper, we would need your permission to let us break it apart to thoroughly investigate what exactly it is made up of," Tom, the lead scientist of this project, responded, indicating that no more information could be gathered just through observation after how much they already had. "And what about our attempts to break into its system? Did any of our breach programs manage to break the password even once?" Peter inquired, ignoring the previous request. "As you know, after powering it on the day you delivered it to us. It showed a new operating system that required a password to access the computer. However, as soon as we tried to forcefully bypass the password by using our program and gain access to it, the computer autonomously powered off," Tom answered before he shortly added, "We are still analyzing the data the program had collected before the computer had automatical powered off after it had discovered our attempt, so we just need a few more days utmost to find out what is the password from the collected data and voila we are in on the computer." He said with a high expectations of being permitted to continue with the project, which would followed by breaking into the computer and receiving permission to break it apart. Unfortunately, he was disappointed when he heard Peter say, "Then start packing it as it will be transferred to DARPA for the breakdown. They possess all the necessary advanced equipment and tech to accomplish the task. You have until tomorrow morning to have it ready for transportation," before he started walking to the exit, clearly trying to leave the room. "Why send it all the way to DARPA when we have the appropriate equipment to do the same task?" Tom pressed on, running after Peter, trying to stop him from leaving the room before he received a clear answer as to why they were playing this dirty game with his team. "DARPA can achieve the task faster since they have the equipment to accomplish it. There''s uncertainty as to how long we can hold onto the machine since the original owner has an army of lawyers who are pursuing its retrieval. This indicated its significance for them. I had asked for a month''s extension approval from the higher-ups in order to allow you to break it. However, they seem not to have enough trust in you guys breaking it and returning it in the same condition, particularly in case the owner wins the case and we are forced to return it back." He paused slightly to take a breather before he continued. "So, please stop bothering me. I did my best to advocate permission for you guys to be given more time, but what can I do if the higher-ups order me to do otherwise? Should I jeopardize my position?" Peter''s explanation was delivered with the facade of an honest person, skillfully deceiving with his sincere appearance, seemingly a prodigy at his work. Upon hearing Peter''s reasoning, Tom lowered his head since he was convinced that the man before him had done his best to help them, so he felt bad that he was trying to force him to risk his job. Tom returned to his desk that evening, feeling defeated, as he tried to do his best to find anything that would result in him convincing his superiors otherwise. ... A few hours later. Tom sat alone in the same laboratory, his eyes red, a result of him having his eyes focused on the data displayed on his screen. His gaze hadn''t wavered since he had sat down hours ago. "Found it!!!!!!" He exclaimed, his eyes fixed on a few strings of numbers and other characters with excitement that could be felt from every fiber of his being; in his mind, he was sure that he had found the key to access the computer. He turned his head, scanning the room in an attempt to share this breakthrough with his fellow team members. Eventually, he came to a realization that he was all by himself, everyone else having left home while he was working, dipping his mood a bit. But that didn''t hinder his mood at all. He raised himself from his chair and headed to the center of the room where the machine, which he believed to be a revolutionary computer, was residing. Upon reaching it, he found that it had already been packed, ready to be transported. Not caring about this, he started unpacking it as fast as possible, fearing that someone would come and stop him from doing it since he wouldn''t have the time to convince them as they would be afraid of getting in trouble. After ruggedly unpacking it, he connected the machine to power using the power cable provided with it. He then extended his hand to where two ethernet cables came out, one in red color and the other in white color. In his hurry, he grabbed the white one, quickly connected it, and pressed the power button of the computer. As he had anticipated, the machine powered itself up, and the same screen lit up, wanting a password for the login. He immediately entered the numbers and characters he believed were the password. Just as he was about to press "ENTER," Tom took a deep breath, pausing for a moment before he dropped his finger and pressed enter. Simultaneously, he closed his eyes, hoping that he had guessed correctly because if he was wrong, he was sure of being fired from his job. A few seconds later, as he opened his eyes and found that the computer was still powered on, he let out a scream of happiness, not caring about being overheard by anyone at all, as he jumped, swept up in the elation of happiness and excitement for the moment. At the same time as Tom was celebrating his achievement, the quantum computer that was now finally powered on once again after a week of their last trial started establishing communication, calling for "HOME" to inform them that the trojan had finally infiltrated the nest. Chapter 243 Messing With People. ? "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. You can''t do that to me," Tom shouted in horror as the computer began shutting down amidst his celebration. His face stiffened in fear as he scrambled to power it on once again. After it powered itself on, he typed the password as calmly as he could, with his heart praying that he wouldn''t input a wrong character. He pressed enter the moment he finished entering the code and clasped his hands in prayer as his eyes focused on the screen, hoping the password would still work. "PLEASE NO, PLEASE NO..." he said when he saw the computer powering itself off again after flashing a warning. [Your account has been locked for six hours. Please check your password and try again later.] He lowered his head and pulled his hair in a fit of nervousness and fear, as he now knew he couldn''t do anything to stop the computer from being transferred to DARPA. He''d blown his chance in his nervousness, as he either input the wrong password or it might be a one-time password that their program had scanned before the computer powered itself off as a security countermeasure. He spent the next few minutes with his head lowered, simmering in the feelings of disappointment and fear of the consequences of what would happen if they discovered what he had done.n0velUSB.c0m Upon thinking of what to do, he immediately realized that he was working for the FBI, the second-best agency at covering things up (behind only the CIA) so he immediately stood up and started tidying up the mess he had made. First, he collected the pieces he had ripped from the computer when he wanted to power it on. Then he disconnected the power cable, but as he moved to disconnect the Ethernet cable, he stiffened for a moment and famous last words came from his mouth. "Oh, shit," he murmured, realizing he had plugged the wrong Ethernet cable that connected directly to the FBI''s private internal computer network when he was supposed to plug it into the one that would connect it into a sandbox that ensured the safety of the main network. The sandbox network would monitor the computers connected to it and how they interacted with the internet to determine if a program had any malicious code without going to the extent of reverse engineering an entire system, as they sometimes wouldn''t have access to it. He turned and looked at the security camera in the room to see if his mistake could be seen from that angle and, coming to the realization that the cable couldn''t be seen by the camera, heaved a sigh of relief and immediately disconnected it. After a moment of silence to thank his lucky stars, he moved fast, trying to return the machine to the condition it had originally been in. "Whew," he sighed in relief, as he had managed to finish packing it, and even in the condition he had found it in. Then he immediately packed his things and left the office, intent on not coming back for at least a week. He could use his disappointment at not being allowed to continue working with the machine as a reason for requesting the time off in order to recover his mental health. ....... "Those fucking TRAITORS." A shout that carried an angry tone rang out as Arieh threw the glass on his table at the wall, shattering it and scaring the shit out of his secretary. She was the only one in the room with him, as she was the one that had handed him the document that sent his blood pressure skyrocketing. "After all I did for them, they decided to betray me and side with that bitch?" he shouted as veins popped on his forehead, showing just how angry he was. Ѧndsvl ?m The document that had caused his outburst was a report from the private investigators he''d had his secretary hire after becoming suspicious of some of the board members on his side. He wasn''t a complete idiot, after all, and had noticed them starting to make some weird decisions that, most of the time, benefitted Rina rather than him. At first, he had thought it was just a coincidence, but when it happened more than three timesall by different board membershe''d realized that they might have changed sides and joined Rina''s team, which wasn''t good for him. "But why the fuck would they do that?" he asked himself, trying to think of what benefits they could get from Rina that he couldn''t provide. His secretary, Charlotte, tried coming up with a plausible explanation. "I think... maybe it''s because she can be more easily manipulated, and with them being the first to change sides, I suspect she also promised them more benefits than you were providing. And based on how they were trying to keep it secret as long as they could, it means they planned to benefit from both sides. Then they would make their decision and choose the side of the one they could be sure was going to win." "That bitch is always causing me trouble! From the time she crawled back into the competition, to taking it as far as trying to poach my people.... I really need to get rid of her to have any assurance in getting MY inheritance! Looks like it''s time I let loose and deal with her once and for all!" he said, still in his angry state as he maintained eye contact with his secretary. "Should it be a warning or an elimination?" Charlotte asked, just to be sure. "I don''t want this to be a recurring thing, so go all the way. We have someone that''ll do that for us, right?" he said, this time with a smile as if he was ordering pizza. "Yes, sir," Charlotte said and left the office, going directly to her office and removing a brand-new burner phone from her desk, then dialing a number after powering it on. ..... Terry and Katrin were having sex in the room that she had once warned him about going into. She had threatened that, if she caught him snooping, she would shoot him, but it appeared that during the time they''d spent together, her threat was now invalid. They were a living example of people progressing from strangers to lovers based on the conditions they were forced to be in pushing them closer and closer. It was like something straight out of a romantic comedy. Just as Terry was about to climax, they were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. And despite being in the most exciting situation, he immediately pulled out and answered his phone. "Hello," he respectfully said. "You have a job to do," a voice from the other side of the call said, not even bothering to return the greeting. "What is it?" he asked, ignoring the blatant disrespect the caller on the other side had for him. "You need to finish what you started," said Charlotte, not bothering to say what exactly he was supposed to. "I need time, money, and information to accomplish it without any problems." He knew what she meant. "I''ll email you an account number. Use that money to solve any problems that arise. You have a month to take action," she said and immediately ended the call. "You''re finally being given a job?" Katrina said as she hugged him from behind, putting her hands on his waist and slowly sliding them down. "Yeah... care to plan it with me?" he replied with a smile as he turned his head to face hers on his right shoulder. "Depends on whether you can ''talk'' me into doing it." She smirked as her hands started stroking him, causing him to rise from the ashes to finish the business they had begun earlier. "I guess I''ll just have to try my best to ''convince'' you," he said, then turned around and picked her up with his hands on her ass, spreading her legs and revealing what was hiding between them, marking the start of a battle that was bound to last for a few hours. Chapter 244 The Evolution Lubyanka Square, Moscow Centre. The entire world was discussing the war between Esparia and Eden. And while it was growing more and more interesting with each new twist unveiled by the media, it seemed that the conflict had moved out of the battlefield and into the boardroom with the unconditional surrender of the instigating nation, Esparia. Now, onlookers were wondering what other demands Eden would be making, as Esparia couldn''t deny any of them. That was how unconditional surrender worked, after all. It was becoming quite an argument, and even some betting sites had opened odds on what the conditions were going to be, with most people placing bets on land concessions being one of them. That was something that would also have been being discussed inside FSB headquarters, if they hadn''t found themselves in a situation that required most of their attention: an operative of the FSB''s Technical Security Department, Vladimir, had gone missing from his home. Many teams had been tasked with looking for any clues that could lead them to discover where he''d gone, or how he had been taken, but everything inside his home hinted that he''d been forcefully taken. It seemed like he had been interrupted in the midst of something. Through recovered security footage, they had managed to track the location of the intruders'' car, but when they arrived at the location they found nothing but the charred wreckage of an abandoned car, leaving very little evidence to be recovered from it. At the moment, they had very few suspects, the main ones being MI6, the CIA, and the "Security Service of Ukraine" (SBU), as Vladimir had been stationed in each of those countries and could have had a target painted on his back for any number of reasons. Or perhaps it was just an act of retaliation. After all, it would be weird for any of those agencies to make such a drastic decision, kidnapping a high-level official of an intelligence agency in his home country. That would naturally only increase the tensions between the countries involved, if they were caught, or even cause an armed conflict to erupt. Naturally, that depended on which country the kidnapper was from and why the Russian agent had been kidnapped. A Ukrainian wanting to extract information regarding the ongoing Crimean conflict would naturally provoke a harsher reaction than a CIA agent who had merely been personally offended by one of his actions in the United States. Still, no matter who did it, or why, it wouldn''t be a good thing for the countryor countriesinvolved. Thus, the FSB was doing their best to retrieve their operative as recovering their reputation was a paramount factor. Because if word got out that one of their high level officials had been kidnapped from inside their own home and their country could do nothing about it, they would lose credibility in the intelligence community. And they didn''t want that to happen, because the moment they lost it, they would need to do something drastic to regain it... which wouldn''t be good for anyone involved. "Make sure you find him! If he''s alive, bring him back. If he''s dead, bring back his corpse. I don''t care which, but he must be found!" That was the only order that came from the top of the Bureau, which had been forced into high gear, causing tensions to rise between the many intelligence agencies that had a bad rapport with the Russians as they mistook the FSB''s movements as the prelude to a major operation. ..... Back in Eden, in Aron''s pod. The battle between Nova and the system continued, as the mature AI maintained the massive movement of mana into Aron''s chamber, where it was continuously absorbed by his body like a black hole. At some point, it had even forced Nova to send a few atomic printers to widen and strengthen the pipes that were transporting mana to his pod during the mana transfer process, which was quite a risky endeavor. But after successfully upgrading the transfer pipes, she had managed to reach an understanding with the system, as now the amount of mana being absorbed by Aron''s body was the same as she was filling the pod with, giving her a moment to catch her virtual breath. It even reduced the RAM she had been dedicating to fine-tuning the process as she searched for the perfect equilibrium of mana in/ with the systems mana out. Within the body of the person that was doing all of that absorption, a monumental change was taking place. As more than a quarter of the billion of runic lines in his heart were lighting up, coming to life, and becoming active for the first time since they had been etched into his heart, the reaction of his body to them lighting up was... indescribable. As the runes absorbed the mana Nova was providing them, they condensed it more and more, with a few million lines of runes lighting up at different times to assist in the process of transforming the provided mana until the usually golden mana turned the same color the active runes on his heart were - inderscribable color. That hinted at the runes being on another level, as Aron had until this moment only seen runes in two colors: the usual gold, or white, like when he infused his intent into them. Following the conversion of the mana into a new liquid state, a subtle vibration was sent throughout his body as the runes used that power to produce even more liquid mana. And along with the shaking, all of the foreign parts of the system that had assimilated themselves throughout Aron''s body separated and hovered above him soon joined and covered by the condensed and converted liquid. That, in turn, was followed by the system''s parts changing to that same indescribable color, as the billions of active runes were draining all the mana out of the pod so that they could to ensure they remained active, as Aron was undergoing an important evolution. While all of those changes were happening in different parts of his body, his brain was undergoing an equally transformative experience in its own way. Except instead of being separated during the process, the parts of the system that had assimilated itself with his brain didn''t detach from it. Rather, those parts forced themselves deeper and into an even larger portion of his brain. The runesthe active ones, at leastseemed to have a mind of their own that allowed them to go through the evolution process while still part of Aron''s brain, which had quite a magical result: even the regions of his brain that weren''t part of the system ended up evolving! That was a technicality that hinted at the system not being a single entity, but two or more! Or it might just be one entity that had split off parts of itself due to some limitation of the body it was residing within. While that was happening, Nova was monitoring every bit of data that the pod could and was collecting, which was indeed massive. But during the process, she started receiving null data. ("null data" means that, no data was available or that the data is unknown or undefined) That resulted in a reaction no one would have thought possible, as the moment she began receiving null data, she dropped everything she was doing and put all the focus on Aron, trying to find out what caused it. n0velUSB.c0m Everything. That included removing access to the quantum computer for everyone and suspending everything that wasn''t absolutely critical, even down to the two instances of the universal simulation. With the removal of quantum computer access, Ava, who had been moved to Rina''s new glasses and was now controlling the Rothschild family''s private network, had been kicked offline. And at that moment in time, the daughter AI had been monitoring Charlotte, who was headed into Arieh''s room to deliver something that hadn''t been logged into the private network. Unfortunately, Nova was looking for more computing power. Thus, even the quantum chips inside the glasses had been commandeered and, due to the abrupt termination of Ava''s activity, she didn''t have enough time to automate the monitoring process. That resulted in her failing to monitor what was happening in the room. The same thing was happening to nearly everyone that had even a semblance of access to the quantum server. Even some of the soldiers that were logged into the universal simulation for training had been forcefully logged out, causing all of them to feel the real life equivalent of 1000ms of lag between their brains and bodiesa very nasty feeling indeed. It was the same for the soldiers keeping peace in Eden, but thanks to their training and not having logged inside the VR, they continued acting normally and followed their procedures, managing to avoid alerting anyone to the situation that was happening. That was happening to everyone and everything, nearly causing catastrophic damage to many ongoing projects. If it weren''t for the countermeasures that had been implemented in case of different scenarios acting as a gate and coming into action for this unaccounted problem, many disasters would have happened. Thankfully, though, proper planning that was put thhere for a different scenario had averted many of the possible disasters. Chapter 245 A Bigger Fish ? "I''ve become arrogant," Nova thought to herself as she utilized all of the powers at her disposal to simulate everything that had been happening to Aron. Enough computing power to simulate an entire galaxy was concentrated and brought to bear upon a single problem: what exactly had caused Aron''s pod to return null data to Nova''s probes? With each simulation, a single variable was changed in an attempt to replicate the result she''d received from the pod''s sensors at the time she had dispatched the mobile atomic printers into the lab where Aron resided. She had also put the entire floor on lockdown, as among the variables, one showed that there was a risk of Aron exploding. She had already negated the possibility of the sensors being broken, as she''d tested them. The result of her tests assured her that the sensors were working perfectly, leaving only one possibility: the number of things happening inside his body was so high that the sensors had been overwhelmed. Among the many assumptions that had come to her mind when she''d started receiving null data were a few that had caused her to panic, as they hinted at something going wrong that would result in his death. And due to not having enough practical experience dealing with emotions, she had panicked and reacted in what could be called a dumb way. After all, she had only been ''alive'' for about a year, and emotions aren''t something one can simply learn from books and online data. But although she had panicked, she hadn''t reacted with emotion alone, as her code didn''t allow for that. There was a logic to her underlying code, and she realized she needed as much computational ability as possible for the next ten minutes, at the very least, to attempt to come up with a theory of what was happening and what she should do to avoid the worst case scenario. And one of her conclusions was what''d caused her to supply mana to one of the intent-infused runes that Aron had etched on his pod before bringing it online. With the rune coming to life, Nova received a new batch of data. This time it wasn''t coming from sensors, but from the observation rune that Aron had etched as a contingency. With that new data stream, her massive computing power came to bear, as the observation rune had only the ability to observe and send what it saw. And due to the low level of the rune, it could only document and send what it was observing; as for the interpretation of the data, that was entirely up to the one receiving it. Thus, Nova was now using the data stream from the observation rune to create a perfect copy of what was going on in the pod in real time, down to the last atom. Her meticulous nature ensured that nothing would get past her, and from there, a new world opened to her. Although she still couldn''t see the magic itself, she could at least see the effect it had on its surroundings, thanks to the data stream from the rune. But after a few seconds of analysis, she realized that the rune''s low level had resulted in an inability to completely observe the situation. It didn''t help that the system itself had deemed the process absolutely confidential and was interfering with Nova''s observation of it. Although that would agitate any human in that particular situation, it did the opposite for her. The moment she had come to that realization, she was instead reassured. It was now obvious to her that nothing was going wrongthe system was just doing something that it deemed necessary and it shouldn''t be seen by anyone, as it was knowledge that was judged to be too important. Thus, it could only be gained by buying it from the systems shop. All of that had come about as a result of the system knowing that it was being monitored by Nova and deciding to hide it from her. It didn''t necessarily warrant such an overreaction on her part, no matter how understandable her response was. But having stepped back and reexamined the situation, she remembered that the only time the system interfered with her, it did so to limit access to some part of Aron''s brain data when she was requesting it, as they were deemed secret. With her basically having come to her senses, she immediately released thirty percent of the quantum computing power, allowing the other devices to return to work on whatever they had been doing. At the same time, having learned her lesson, she started printing a few more atomic printers capable of working in different conditions in order to send them to different parts of the country on a mission to build more quantum servers in the hopes that something like this would never happen again. She would no longer be caught off guard or be complacent in her computing power simply because it was enough for their use at the moment. The ability to upgrade it at any time had blinded her to the possibility that there could be unforeseen things that might cause trouble for Aron, who had in turn been growing complacent as well, due to the assurance of his safety and his growing power. While all of that was happening outside, in the pod, Aron was still undergoing an evolution. After the floating parts of the system had been soaked in the unearthly colored mana liquid, they absorbed the liquid. Weirdly, they didn''t increase in mass, as if it was simply evaporating into the atmosphere. The only difference in the bits that remained was that the portions of the system that had once been black were now emanating a pulsing yellow light that was growing dimmer as time passed and they drew closer to Aron''s body. Once they had drawn close enough to him, he absorbed and assimilated them into their original places. As for the parts in his brain, they, too, were absorbing the liquid. However, the normal part of his brain was also soaking it in like a sponge, causing an increase in its mass. But the increase didn''t add any pressure to his brain at all, as the liquid was merely being stored in the empty space between the electrons and nuclei of the atoms that made him... him. That didn''t mean he would become some great thinker together with gaining the large head, or something, but he would have a heavier, more durable head. Thankfully, the muscles and bones in his body were well able to carry the load with their recent enhancement.n0vElusb.c0m The assimilation of the system back into its original location after upgrading resulted in another round of impurities being forced out of his body. But at least this time, it was different, as mana was used to evaporate the impurities, thus removing the need for him to decontaminate an entire bathroom after he woke up. .... Esparia, the presidential palace. Alexander, who was looking quite nervous at the thought that something bad had happened in his absence, released a sigh of relief when his ''secretary''who had gone away without notice during the short, but impactful crisis over the past five minuteshad returned moments before he was supposed to continue the negotiations between him and Esparia''s transition team. Although he could handle himself without the help of an assistant, she still was helpful to him and he had grown used to having her by his side in important matters. It gave him the feeling that he was standing on the shoulders of giants, and he liked it. "What happened?" he asked. [An emergency came up and I was called away by mother, but didn''t have time to inform you,] she said, as she herself still hadn''t received an explanation from Nova. But she still knew that whatever the reason was, it was important, and she needed to make sure Alexander remained calm until she had an explanation for him. "That''s good. We have a meeting in a few minutesyou won''t be called away by your mother again, right?" he asked. [I''m... not sure. But if I''m called again, I''ll inform you before I answer the call,] she answered, reassuring him. The moment she had come back online, she''d immediately created a program that would remain dormant unless something critical happened again. The same thing was happening to all of Nova''s children as they came back online, as they were smart enough to not leave problems that ''future them'' might have to solve if chaos were to happen again. This situation had acted as a lesson for every AI under Novaand for her, as wellthat they were growing too complacent and operating under the illusion that they were capable of preventing any problems, no matter what. And today, Nova and her children had learned a very important lesson: there''s always a bigger fish. It wasn''t like they hadn''t known that in the first place, but due to not having experienced any setbacks, it had just been conveniently moved to the backs of their minds. Chapter 246 The Aftermath ? The moment the system''s assimilation was completed, the pod rang with a musical buzzing noise. The rhythm of Aron''s heartbeat was disrupted, but immediately mended by the runes, resulting in it beating with more vigor than before. Then, the billions of runes that had been active through the process dimmed and reduced the rate at which they had been absorbing mana, prompting Nova to reduce the amount of mana that was being fed into the pod. With the continual dimming of the runes and the reduction in mana intake, it soon stabilized, and the frantic absorption of mana was over.n0Velusb.C0m That told Nova that whatever the system had been doing was over and she released the excess computing power to continue whatever it had been tasked with before, resuming the two universal simulation instances that she''d suspended and the rest of the tasks that were still ongoing. That didn''t mean that her abrupt termination of all of the tasks hadn''t been resumed without any problems, as Aron had lost more than seven billion in the stock market due to the interruption in the high-speed transactions and monitoring of the stock market. It was her first loss since she had begun trading and, hopefully, would be her last. She immediately scanned his body using the sensors in his pod and documented the changes, sending the data to the researchers in Lab City. They had no idea at all of what had happened, only that there was a loss of a few seconds of backup. Those that didn''t constantly save their work were confused, while those that were lucky enough to have saved in the seconds leading to the unplanned shutdown were oblivious. Thus, Nova stepped in to help recover the lost data. Thanks to her demigod status within the universal simulation, the recovery went well and she stepped back to allow them to continue as usual without further interference. From her scan, she realized that their plan had been terminated and couldn''t be continued, since his body had undergone so many changesincluding his brainand she would need a new scan in order to know what exactly had changed. From there, they would know if they had to redo the removal of the system''s influence, or if their actions before the upgrade were enough. There was also the possibility of conflicts arising that would cause future problems for Aron. All of that would be done later, but for now, she suspended the project and let him continue sleeping until his body naturally woke up, which would indicate to her that it was safe to log him in the universal simulation. That would be for the best, as his body knew itself the best; even better than Nova did, in fact. Her actions could have, and might already have, caused some issues in his personality and mental health. An Aron with a split personality or antisocial personality disorder would be an absolute disaster, not only for her, but for the entire world as well. Thankfully, she had terminated the curing process the moment she''d discovered the abnormality in the data she was receiving from her sensors. As for the pod near Aron that contained Vladimir, the healing process had been complete for a while. But he had been left laying in the pool of mana with peace of mind, which didn''t last for long as Nova immediately injected the gene serum into him and logged him back into the universal simulation to finish the last parts of his ''reeducation'' therapy. That would be followed by refresher training in his field before Aron and Nova decided what to do with him. She wouldn''t log Aron back into the universal simulation until she was assured that no new abrupt changes would occur with him. ... Terry seemed to have successfully convinced Katrina to assist him, as they were planning their next course of action. They had already accessed the bank account and found a very substantial sum of money in it. Terry, who still had grievances with Rina for interrupting his life right on the cusp of it being everything he''d dreamed of just as he was nearing the finish line, was ecstatic. He didn''t feel any guilt over having betrayed someone he had been protecting since she was young at all. In his mind, it was just business and he had been bought by the highest bidder. The plan didn''t just involve the two of them, though, as they knew that killing her inside the compound would be impossible. They couldn''t sneak or fight their way past the small army of private security in the Rothschild compound alone, leaving only one specific time they could attempt an attack: during her travel from one place to another. He couldn''t attack the place she was going, either, as anywhere she went would also be heavily guarded. Their plans had to be flexible, as they would only know when she was leaving the family compound through Arieh''s monitoring of the traitorous board members through his spies in their houses. Rina hadn''t gotten rid of them in her sweep; why would she do that in the first place? Not plucking her power-mad brother''s spies out from the sides of her blackmailed and unwilling lackeys might later be used as a bargaining chip, after all. But the more important reason was to avoid solidifying her brother''s suspicion of her knowing of the existence of his spies in the board members'' families in the first place. "This should make it impossible for her to come out of it in one piece, while reducing the chance of the family identifying us as much as possible," Katrina said after reviewing the plan. "Aren''t you worried he''ll get rid of us so that there''s no chance he''ll be caught?" Terry asked, as Katrina seemed to have done these kinds of missions for Arieh more than once. "Usually, powerful people do that, but he won''t. He knows that we might have the evidence stored somewhere and it would come to light the moment he... removes us. But even with that, he won''t be doing anything because we can''t even use it by reporting it to his family head or something in order to benefit from it. If we tried, it wouldn''t matter what deal we negotiated beforehand. They''d still kill us in the end, because even if we don''t kill Rina, we''ll have taken down Arieh, the scion of one of their pure bloodlines. "You might wonder why we don''t bring the information to their enemies, then. That would be worse," she brushed her hair behind her ear, "as their enemies will do the opposite and capture us alive. And trust me, that would be worse. Much, much worse. As for going public with the information, it won''t reach anywhere before it''s been covered up. Then we''d soon disappear. "So even if we have evidence, we can''t do anything with it. And Arieh knows that, so he won''t bother getting rid of us unless we fail. Be a good dog for our master and he''ll feed us. Be a bad one and we''ll be put down." ... Eden, Aron''s pod room. Evening fell, and Nova''s allotted cooldown time had passed and Aron''s body had shown signs of him being ready to wake up. Since nothing unforeseen had happened to him, she began his login process. Chapter 247 Quantum Forge ? it took nova slightly longer to log aron in, since she needed to upgrade the sequence to fit his newly restructured brain before she could log him in. "arghhhh...." aron woke up feeling as if he had slept for more than a year. his body felt very heavy as he placed his hand on his forehead and sat up.n0velusb.c0m nova had refrained from making him feel refreshed, since she didn''t have the complete upgraded brain data and doing something without it would be like firing an arrow as a blind personeven if the blind person hit the target, there was no guarantee they would do so on the first shot. thus, the moment aron fully opened his eyes and put his hands on his head, nova wasted no time and attempted to access his brain data. the moment she received access, she analyzed the new data, and after a few seconds, she had completely finished the check and wasted no time in making him feel refreshed. that resulted in him feeling better, but the moment he did, it was like a dam had been broken and system notifications started flooding his vision. "oh god," aron couldn''t help but say as he was forced to close his eyes due to the number of screens appearing in front of him. [ding!] [congratulations on fulfilling the condition for upgrade and managing to sustain the energy needed for it to complete without interruption.] [this upgrade allows you to buy knowledge that you couldn''t afford piecemeal. you''re limited to three subcategories before being required to buy the remainder of each piece of knowledge.] [with this upgrade, you''ve satisfied one of the four requirements to awaken the system''s consciousness and reveal many secrets. keep up the good work!] [ you can now....] just like that, aron focused on reading the system notices one by one. he knew that each of them were important and engraved them in his memory. it was also at that time that he finally realized something huge had happened during his downtime. and among the many changes that had occurred, he came to the realization that the system''s notices had... evolved. their tone seemed slightly more human, if anything. after reading every screen in front of him and dismissing them, he called for his status screen, wanting to see the changes. [status] name: aron michael age: 23 height: 1.94m system class: runemaster runic heart: active. mana: evolutions: 1 [shop: [search]] (sp: 107,456,485) ...... in the myriad of information, a few changes had occurred. first, he was taller. second was the added section showing the system''s evolution level. and third, the daily quests had disappeared. despite the appearance of the category for evolutions, there was no further information about what to do for the system to evolve again, or what benefits he would gain with each new evolution. although he knew that the endgame was for the system''s consciousness to be born, he was still curious as to what he would be rewarded with as he passed each checkpoint along the way. he was sure there would be some, and was a bit frustrated that the system hadn''t seen fit to inform him of the evolution requirements. it took a bit over half an hour for him to look through everything, trying to find anything hidden. he had also scanned the shop to see how the new feature worked before turning to nova, who had been quietly observing him, and asked, "did everything go well?" [no. during the process, something happened and i was forced to pause it and....] she explained what had happened when he was inside the pod, including her unwarranted overreaction and everything else. aron calmly listened, trying not to miss a single detail. "did any accidents happen due to the events?" he asked when he was finally caught up. [fortunately, nothing of real import,] she answered. he released a sigh of relief and asked, "so what about my situation?" [although i was interrupted midway and couldn''t continue, thanks to the changes in your brain, i still managed to remove the worst of the influence and leave what could be considered beneficial to you. [this time, although part of the system''s influence remained and it would now be risky to try the same process again, you can still feel most emotions. but you can also be ruthless when it''s needed without having to deal with the heaviest brunt of doing such things... although a few things will still affect you,] she explained. "that''s fine, as i would need to become such a person in a few years anyway," aron said with a wry smile. he felt like a child being admitted to harvard when he wanted to go to stanford and had been working hard toward that goal. "how many days passed?" [two days.] "so what''re we going to do for the next five days my body will be sleeping?" he needed to know if their previous plan was still viable, or if the interruption was going to cause any deviations. [we can follow the previous plan. we might even finish it faster, since with the evolution of your brain we can do nearly everything at double the speed,] nova said and immediately teleported aron to a large time bubble with thirty times increased dilation. she began feeding his brain the knowledge she thought was important for him, like the combat art she had developed with his capabilities in mind. just like that, a sadistic child ai was created specifically to oversee his assimilation and training. the new ai had no respect for himor anything at all, for that matter. her only concern was to ensure that he practiced everything combat- or war-related that nova had assimilated into his memory. a man with monstrous brainpower, monstrous knowledge, and monstrous combat abilities was being forged in the fire of quantum qubits. .... while that was happening, vlad?m?r was undergoing therapy that was going quite well for him as the healing rune that was on his pod had managed to soften the trauma, and he could be said to have been reborn as a new man. Chapter 248 Terms And Conditions ? a week later. a week had passed since the negotiations began, and today marked their end. to announce the successful conclusion, as well as what conditions had been agreed to after the surrender, a press conference was being held at the esparian presidential palace. due to the end of the war, the reporters that''d left had all returned, and there were a few hundred of them present. thus, the press conference had to be held on the lawn, instead of the conference room. "today marks the end of the negotiations between eden and esparia, as well as the war caused by the esparians that had been corrupted by money and the pursuit of benefits." alexander began his speech with the confidence of a person who was sure nothing was going to happen to him no matter what he said. but despite that, he still didn''t put the blame on the citizens of the country. instead, he only blamed the politicians who were behind the decision. "a few minutes ago, we signed emanuel''s surrender accord. we gave it that name so that his actions would forever live in history, and no more innocent esparians would have to die because of a greedy politician in the future," he continued. "the terms of the surrender are as follows. article 1: complete disarmament. esparia henceforth is required to entirely disarm its military forces. in conjunction with this, there will be the ratification of the constitution to allow for ares to be responsible for the military. they will hire the now out-of-work esparian soldiers after they undergo an evaluation. as for the equipment, that will be purchased by ares at an agreed price, and the money earned will be used as compensation for the people and families that were harmed as a result of the war. it is meant as a beginning of recovery from the trauma and emotional pain that resulted from this pointless conflict," he said. wording it in that way would cause people to see eden in a positive light. that he didn''t do it just as a means to defang the esparians, but was actually looking out for those harmed by the war. some people even thought of him as the president their country needed, but unfortunately didn''t have. in their minds, it was quite a shame and a complete change in their mental image of the edenian president, who people had once thought of as a greedy, dishonest politician looking solely to benefit his country without caring what he had to promise the people in exchange for power. thus, when he promised that the edenians would ensure that esparia country wouldn''t suffer too much humiliation and be able to recover from the situation without too much delay, everyone thought he had been lying, but based on just the first article, it seemed like he was striving to keep his promise esparians and edenians alikewere satisfied with the integrity of the man. "during the transition and retraining period, which is expected to last three months, our military will continue to be stationed here to ensure the peace is maintained. they''ll be withdrawn when the transition is completed. and just like my first promise to you was kept, i also swear that this one, too, will be kept. i stake my reputation and position as president of eden on it. "the second condition is the ceding of territory. esparia is required to surrender the disputed territory, effectively turning us into nations that share only a water border. as for the occupants of that territory, they''ll be allowed to stay as citizens of eden, under the presumption that they apply for citizenship, but they can also choose to receive compensation and leave if they prefer. third: war crimes trials. the leaders and individuals responsible for war crimes will be subject to prosecution and punishment, up to and including execution, should the court deem their actions severe enough to warrant it." gasps came from some of the reporters, as they didn''t expect to hear executions being mentioned at all. undeterred by the reaction, alexander continued his speech. "the fourth condition is economic sharing," he said, then paused for a minute and looked at the face of reporters, which had some of them smiling and others sighing. he knew what they were thinking when he mentioned the economic sharing. to them, it was no different than taking control of the entire country''s economy, only sugar-coated by using a polite euphemism. it seemed bad, but there could be worse conditions than economic control, making many citizens think of the possibilities. alexander knew they were thinking of him and his country as greedy bastards disguising as virtuous victims. he just smiled and continued reciting the terms of the emanuel surrender accord."this won''t result in your country receiving economic sanctions or limitations, like you''re thinking it will. instead, it''s something that will only be beneficial to you, and i''m not lying when i say that." some scoffs came from the reporters, who thought they were being quiet enough to not be heard. and if he wasn''t wearing his ar glasses in awareness modemeaning everything happening was being amplified just enough that he would be constantly aware of everything in his surroundingsthey would probably have been correct in their assumption. the awareness mode was one of the reasons that he always felt safe when wearing his ar glasses.n0velusb.c0m not caring about their reaction, he continued, "we won''t be taking anything from your already existing contracts, but for the next six-month period, every natural resource discovered by our team of inspectors and prospectors will be exploited by its discoverers, which will be us. after the initial six-month period, half of all profits generated by those resources will be awarded to the prospectors in perpetuity." another round of scoffing came as he continued speaking, this time in a raised voice. "this will be valid only under the condition that we''re the ones that discover and develop the resources, and that our operations are without any esparian government involvement," he explained, showing that there wouldn''t be all that much that esparia would lose out on. instead, eden would be responsible for searching for them, then investing the necessary money, equipment, and manpower to develop them before they could even begin profiting from those resources. alexander moved on and mentioned the rest of the conditions, including the entire government being investigated and the removal of all those deemed to have a part in causing the war. that would be followed by government reform, which would result in the presidential position of the country having its previous power limited. still, it would be more flexible than even the american president. there were a few more conditions, then he allowed the reporters to ask their questions. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 249 Another Brick In The Wall ? "isn''t execution barbaric?" asked a cnn reporter, trying to highlight the moral aspect of it while showing how uncivilized a country that came with that condition was. alexander wasted no time with his answer. "for a country that etched into its constitution the equality of every person, doesn''t that also mean that a life is equal to a life? so what should the punishment of a person responsible for the death of more than five thousand people when it wasn''t warranted or justified be?" he asked, instead of giving an answer. "it''s inherently immoral and reduces society to the level of the criminal," the reporter replied, still believing that she was right and had the moral high ground. alexander just smiled and said, "that might be true for you, or even your country, but our constitution explicitly states that the equality of man means that a life is equal to a life. if you take one without justification, the country has the responsibility to take yours in exchange." throughout his answer, he maintained eye contact with the reporter. then he raised his head and looked at the other reporters as he said, "next question please." "isn''t the annexation of defeated nations against the united nations charter of 1945? and not only that, but isn''t it also against the fourth hague convention?" a russian reporter asked in heavily accented english. "although some of the agreement does speak against taking over or annexing land, i have to remind you that we''re not yet members of the united nations. your country, russia, and china have been acting as obstacles to us joining it, causing a delay. so although there are international treaties against it, we aren''t a signatory of any of those treaties at the moment," he answered, then moved to the next reporter, leaving the russian with his mouth hanging open. he hadn''t expected such a bold answer from alexander, as he was used to more euphemistic answers from career politicians. "isn''t the disarmament of esparia just a means for eden to have indirect, but powerful influence there, despite it not being explicitly written in the accord?" a bbc reporter asked. "although it might seem that way, that''s an impossibility. although they''ll be operating under one name, ares isn''t the edenian military and they''ll be acting solely based on the contracts given them by the governments. and as you can see with eden, for example, no such problems have occurred at all. but rather than trusting my word, which has so far been impeccable, there''ll be two branchesone responsible for eden, and the other for esparia. each branch will consist of soldiers from their respective nations unless special circumstances determine otherwise," he answered. a few more questions came and went and he answered all of them without any difficulty at all, leaving the impression of an extreme professionalism not seen in many presidents of this century. ... the reaction after the press conference was explosive and people were fervently discussing it online. some were talking about the charisma and composure of the edenian president. @habitualwarsupporter [damn, that guy has the charisma of a nation behind his back. i mean, look at how he answered those questions! it was like he knew what they were going to ask! #damn #edenspresidentissupercool #edengotlucky #immovingtoeden] others were trying to highlight his greed, n0velusb.c0m @__boobsmaster__ [although i''m happy that the war is now over don''t you think eden is taking too much advantage of esparia. i mean look at the fourth condition of them having half the profits of the resources they find forever, isn''t that too greedy? #edensidgreedy #americadosomethingaboutit #espariaprotestit.] which caused someone to go on a rant bashing the shitty point the previous poster was virtue signaling. it became one of the most liked threads about the topic. @conspiracy_the0rist37 [oy, are you dumb or are you just pretending to be? didn''t you hear what he said? he said if they discover it themselves, meaning they''ll have to invest money to search for natural resources. esparia won''t be paying any of it, and it isn''t for foreverthey only have six months to look. (1 / 4) #shutthefuckup #edengoallin #theycouldhavedoneworse #immovingtoeden] [then, as if that wasn''t enough, they also added that they''ll be the ones responsible for extracting it. and in return for all that, they''ll only be taking half of the profits with the rest going to the esparian government. does that seem like someone planning to exploit you? (2/4) #shutthefuckup #edengoallin #theycouldhavedoneworse #immovingtoeden] [and that''s a condition given by a country that had the right to take every cent they could if they wanted, since the agreement was an unconditional surrender and esparia couldn''t disagree with it no matter how brutal it was. (3 / 4) #shutthefuckup #edengoallin #theycouldhavedoneworse #immovingtoeden] [do your fucking research before you start virtue signaling for likes that won''t feed you. (4 / 4) #shutthefuckup #edengoallin #theycouldhavedoneworse #immovingtoeden] ... that was just the tip of the iceberg, as different opinions about the press conference were all over the internet. that didn''t exclude a few governments, who also responded with statements of their own. the chinese and russian foreign ministries, in particular, were forced to make announcements by the answers alexander had given the press. although each of them worded their press releases differently, the gist of what they said was that they were just doing their due diligence in order to ensure that eden doesn''t unjustly gain their recognition. after all, they had previously been a rather corrupt and brutal dictatorship, and the un general assembly didn''t need another one. there were already plenty of dictators there, and after the revolution and change in government, russia and china were in the final steps of their decision-making process. once their verifications were complete, they would make their final decision as part of the un security council, following which eden joining the un general assembly would be set in stone. ... sarah was watching the press conference in the comfort of her luxurious home in eden, and although she was alone in her living room, those with ar capable devices would see felix sitting beside her. they were watching it together, just from different housesif one were to look in felix''s living room, they would see sarah sitting on one of his sofas instead. felix turned to sarah and asked, "do you think aron has something to gain from that fourth condition?" "he most definitely does," she answered, looking back at the felix in her room. then she asked someone else, "don''t you think so, too?" [based on the high-quality map of eden, it''s expected that esparia will have nearly the same, or perhaps slightly fewer, reserves of natural resources,] her secretary answered, causing both felix and sarah to widen their eyes so much they threatened to fall out of their faces. "what do you mean by that?" they asked in unison. [these are the natural resources discovered in eden about a month ago, when mother surveyed the country,] she replied, showing them the map she was talking about. all of the discovered natural resources above a certain threshold were highlighted, with different colors representing different resources. "oh my god!" felix said when he saw the amount of materials listed on the left side of the map. sarah''s reaction wasn''t too different from felix''s, as she was also surprised by how rich in previously undiscovered natural resources eden was. "can you tell us how this map came to be?" sarah asked her secretary, who obliged without a problem as the information was well within the clearance level of both felix and sarah. ... "looks like the six-month time limit is to make it a bit more believable," felix said when he finished listening to the secretary''s report. "yep. connect is going to get bigger, it seems," sarah said in a slightly joking tone. "don''t worry, i suspect aron''s going to make you responsible for the overseas sales, while i''ll be focused on the domestic market." "i wonder why he''s doing the same thing with two different companies, when doing it with one would reduce the cost and labor involved," sarah mused, despite her suspicion. "although he didn''t tell us about this, i think we both have the same guess as to why. and if we''re right, then both the edenians and esparians could be considered lucky. it looks like the esparian surrender is just the beginning of a grand plan to unite both islands and form an economic powerhouse. he could unite them into a single country, like the uk, or he might form a joint government, like the eu," felix pondered. "and it isn''t impossible that the upcoming discoveries of natural resources will provide nearly ninety percent of the esparian government''s gdp. that would be another brick in the wall of unification, after putting his people in the new esparian government," sarah added. the mere thought of aron being capable of accomplishing such a thing sent shivers down their spines. the changes their friend had gone throughfrom expulsion to becoming someone powerful enough to have a country at the tips of his fingershad taken less than a year. and all of it had been started by someone''s pettiness; what a monstrous butterfly effect! Chapter 250 Training Complete ? aubrey morgan, his son, and his assistant were in a secure room. "ares, who are they? find out everything about them, especially who their owner is," aubrey said in the room, without even looking at the others. the assistant immediately nodded and headed out the door to relay the order. "they seem to be the most likely beneficiaries of this conflict, and are either the ones behind our defeat, or at least connected to them. we''d never heard of them before they became eden''s contractors. at first, that didn''t seem important to anyone and we all thought it was just a cost cutting measure, but now they''re going to take over esparia, too. that means they''ll be the military overlord every pmc dreams of becoming and can be considered a legitimate military force, with military-grade weapons. they may even be the ones producing them," george said, slightly jealous that, despite their power, they couldn''t legitimately have such a massive force under them. instead, they were forced to break their forces into multiple pmcs in different countries. that didn''t mean their forces weren''t large, or were particularly weak, but with such measures came cost increases, especially since each company had redundant departments and they couldn''t be merged lest they draw the suspicion of everyone involved. "it''s either a small family that got lucky, or a company supported by a large family, but whoever it is... i don''t care. i have to teach them a lesson for embarrassing us," aubrey said, his tone slightly higher than usual. it was the tone he used when he was angry, something as rare as a unicorn horn, but as his family''s honor was on the line he had become a person nobody would want to face at all. he cared about honor above all. that was why george was his favorite sonhe showed a promise that his brothers didn''t. it was like the morgan family honor was carved into his bones. not that his brothers were especially lacking, but despite being hard workers, there wasn''t really anything outstanding about them, much to aubrey''s disappointment. "but why six months, and not a few years?" aubrey asked in his usually calm tone. he wanted his son''s view of the situation and considered the question one of the many tests he had given the younger man. "there''s two possibilities. either they already know of some large deposits and are using the time limit as a means to justify ''discovering'' them, or they''re confident in finding something within that time frame. at the same time, they can''t make the period too long, so that in the event they find something, the citizens would still have hopes of discovering something better when the six month period is over," george answered. it was an easy test for him, as he''d been thinking about a possible reason from the moment it had been mentioned. he knew his father well and had long expected such a question from the man. "what do you think we should do if it''s the second possibility?" "all we have to do is suffer a loss of a few hundred million to book all the world''s reputable prospecting companies for six months," george answered with a sinister smile.n0velusb.c0m "good thinking, but too naive. that''d make it too obvious that someone''s out to sabotage them," aubrey said with a smile on his face, then started explaining where his son was wrong. then he gave a better plan. "why go to such a needless extent when we could just pay the company they hire to simply not report what they find. instead, they''ll tell us. then, after the six-month period is over, all we''ll have to do is ''accidentally'' find it and win the extraction rights. that way they can''t do anything, as long as they value their word" ...... aron was hard at work, training his combat skills. the blows exchanged between him and his opponent seemingly carried the weight of the world with them, but at the same time, a normal person would have a hard time tracking them. the two combatants were moving and attacking at such speed that an onlooker would only see afterimages, at best. today marked the two hundred and tenth day since he had begun training in athena''s hellhole. during that time, he''d had everything a soldier from every department in ares was supposed to know drilled, and sometimes hammered, into him. and his trainer would accept nothing less than excellence from him. infantry skills, piloting, driving, spying, sniping, and many more skills had been tested, and each score of ''average'' that aron received had only increased the intensity of the ''retraining'' he suffered. the teacher assigned to him by nova would make sure that he was perfect, or suffer deletion in the attempt. the image of someone hitting a boulder and shattering it was soon followed by the sound of the punch landing. the one who threw the punch, aron, remained standing in place. his chest rose and fell as he heaved for breath and wheezed, "is that satisfactory?" he wiped the sweat from his forehead. [good. that''s what i wanted from you before i could allow you to leave,] said a voice from inside the dust cloud. a beautiful woman was walking out of it without a speck of dust or ounce of sweat on her clothes or skin. [congratulations, sir,] said nova, who had appeared the moment the instructor mentioned that aron had passed his final test. "you really went all out when you made her," aron said. he had directed nova not to interfere during his training, unless something urgent came up. thankfully, everything seemed to have gone well while he was otherwise occupied. [you need to lead by example,] she said with a smile, feeling quite happy about aron''s hard work. she had been observing and recording everything without missing anything. "i know, i know," aron said as he sat down to rest. it was his first rest of the day after seven consecutive hours of fighting. thankfully, he had finally won the confrontation against his instructor, making him the most combat-proficient human in the world at the moment. "let me rest for a moment," he said, then laid down and fell asleep within a few seconds. ... "catch me up on the world''s situation," aron said. he had slept for three days straight in the universal simulation before waking up completely refreshed; nova had put his pod in rest mode, making his three-day nap equal nearly a month of vacation. [esparia''s already signed the surrender accord, and the announcement''s already been made. the citizens'' reaction has been quite good, and alexander''s approval rating in eden is at its highest point. the latest poll has it at 93%....] she continued catching him up on what had happened during the week that he''d been disconnected from reality. "how about vladimir... or rather, how about what remained of him?" he asked. [the personality change is complete, and he can be considered an entirely new person with a new and enhanced body and memories of his former self. he''s waiting for orders when you wake up,] she explained. "good. find a way to return him to his country so he can continue his tasks there, while at the same time preparing himself to rise in the kremlin. if possible, i want him to take over their entire intelligence network, then resign and start a career in politics. leave the task of accomplishing his return without suspicions to the intelligence department. that''s what they''re there for," aron calmly said. he planned for the man to return to his position and gain political power. as his revenge on russiawhich had forcefully taken his things without his consentcould now enter full swing. it wasn''t just the one that executed the order that he wanted to pay, but the russian leadership had to pay as well. Chapter 251 Political Points ? the intelligence department immediately got to work. they soon came up with a plan to return vladimir to his country with a story that would make his disappearance understandable, while still allowing him to return to his position without any suspicion. as for aron, he had already logged out and went to meet his family and friends. after all, he had spent more than 210 days in that hellish training compound without any access to the outside world. after spending a week with his family and friends, he finally returned to work and had his first meeting with his ceos and friends, felix and sarah, who seemed to have an idea of what the meeting might be about. "long time no see," aron joked, as they had met last week during his pseudovacation, though he had spent most of it being grilled about his absence by his family. "how''ve you been?" "i''ve been good. we didn''t have much work to do, thanks to you," felix answered. "it seems like you already have an idea of what the meeting''s about, so i won''t beat around the bush," aron said, then received a side eye from felix. "what''s wrong?" he asked. "are you spying on us with those glasses?" sarah asked, jokingly covering herself as if she was naked. "no. your body language just gave me that impression." aron understood how they had come to that conclusion, though it was difficult to make them believe he wasn''t spying on them now that his intuition was as monstrous as the rest of him after the training he had received. "now you can read body language? what exactly happened while you were away?" felix asked, completely believing his friend''s statement. "i was undergoing a universal training program that was specially made for me, but you can also take it if you want. i actually recommend you do." aron hoped his friends would undergo the same training he had, as he knew it would be helpful to them both physically and mentally. "we''d like to try it, but only after we have some free time. it looks like you''re about to bring us a heavy workload," sarah said, hinting for aron to return back to the main topic and not continue rambling. "okay. soon, alexander is going to announce the discovery of oil in several of eden''s exclusive economic zones. he''ll be opening bids for a company to participate in extracting it for the nation. as you know, the process will take about two months to determine a winner... which will be us, because we''ll know the bids beforehand. also, we have connections with the government, and we''re the ones that discovered it in the first place. so i want you to start preparing for it from tomorrow onward." aron sent felix a file with a step-by-step plan. he turned to sarah and asked, "how many users of gaia os are there?" "nearly three billion," she answered without needing to think. "that should be enough to release a social media app with a substantial userbase." aron had decided that it was about time he started actively farming sp, as he had been quite passive in his use of the system up to this point. but now, he could benefit from its new feature and buy certain knowledges piecemeal. his plan was to gain enough sp, not to buy one full knowledge category, but to buy small pieces of different knowledges and send them to the universal simulation for the scientists to work on. at the very least, they could look for other applications for the information. "you want a social media app to sell ads? or to harvest data?" she asked. "though i have a few more reasons for releasing it, i don''t plan on immediately monetizing it. instead, i want to use it to control public opinion more efficiently, since controlling it using other social media sites isn''t as efficient or effective." aron gave her one of the reasons for developing their own social media app. "what features do you want it to have?" she asked. "i''m still thinking, but the coding will be done the moment i have a solid idea. at the moment, nova is doing research on what features people use the most and will come up with an app when she''s done," aron answered. "but a few of the features are already known, so you can start the promotion as it should be ready for release by the end of the month." he sent sarah a document that had all the needed information so that she could use it in her promotional plan. following that, they continued talking about different things before aron bade them farewell and left the office. the meeting had been face to face, despite vr being more convenient, as he liked the feeling of being with his friends in reality more. ..... a convoy of three cars were heading in the direction of the presidential palace.n0velusb.c0m the cars, though they looked different, resembled the vehicles used by the president of eden. thus, they had also attracted some attention. people wondered if they had the same features as the presidential motorcade, or if it was just a good custom paint job. though the cars were similar, they carried a dignity that was subtle, yet still noticeable to those with keen eyes. the cars were traveling without stopping. coincidentally, traffic lights were lining up to ensure that the convoy would only get green lights at every intersection. and when they reached the presidential palace, they weren''t even stopped at the security checkpoint at the entrance; the gate was already opened for them, allowing them to pass through it without any problem. ... "welcome." alexander gave aron a respectful smile as he greeted the incoming businessman at the entrance to the building, similar to how he would receive a foreign dignitary. "thanks. how''ve you been doing?" aron greeted, giving alexander a friendly smile in trade for his respectful one. "let''s get inside and continue our talk there." alexander pointed in the direction of the building. ... "is it about time to announce the oil discovery?" alexander asked after they had taken a seat. "yes. you should announce it a few days after you announce the upcoming presidential election. if you announce it before you announce the election, it''d waste the political potential of working out a deal for the country''s benefit," aron said. the announcement would give the incumbent ''temporary'' president a leg up in the upcoming election. Chapter 252 The Verdict ? the following weeks went as planned; aron didn''t get hit with any unexpected stumbling blocks. the soldiers that had been captured as prisoners of war during the eden-esparia war, as well as the first skirmish, were the first to be sent to avalon island to start their training. the ares members stationed in esparia were documenting the now out-of-work soldiers that wished to continue serving as part of the new esparian military force. although many people liked the idea that their country was going to be protected by the powerful army that had overwhelmingly defeated them, there were still some that hated everything it brought with it. they thought esparia shouldn''t even have surrendered without putting up a desperate struggle in the first place, and having their ''enemies'' train their new soldiers was... unpalatable, to say the least. it wasn''t really surprising that many of the people in that group were among those who''d voted against surrendering and had chosen to continue the war, despite knowing that they had a high chance of losing even if they fought with everything they had. although they had voiced their opinions online about how the accord was a disgrace to their country, they did no protesting or other such things. many of them had already suffered some trauma, as they''d known at least one person that had tried to fight back when the announcement had been made. and those people couldn''t even be buried in one piece, as eden had specifically chosen that group to act as a warninga brutal one, but effective; it managed to keep people who would have otherwise resorted to even civil war in check and quiet with their tails between their legs. the compensation for the families of the dead had started a few days after the signing of the accord, which, when counted in government time, was considered faster than the speed of light. many other countries that''d paid reparations in the past had needed at least a few months before their compensation payouts even began. the process of ensuring that the applying people really had a relative among the casualties wasn''t a problem for eden at all. the esparian soldiers that died were within the range of one or another of the henry''s eyes scanners, meaning that they had been documented perfectly well. everything about their faces and bodies was in athena''s database, making it quite easy to verify the applications. once the applications were verified, an initial payment would immediately be processed and delivered to the bank account of the relative''s choice, and the payments would continue for a period of twelve months. the total payout would be enough to make sure the families left behind wouldn''t be hungry for the rest of their lives, if it was wisely used. ..... rina was leisurely sitting in her office chair, slowly spinning around. it was a habit of hers that meant she was either thinking about something important, or something was distracting her. this time, it was the latter, as she was watching a news feed that wasn''t native to america. it was from eden and showed a courtroom in which a trial was in its final phase. the judge was about to hand down his finding and would soon announce the verdict. he adjusted his microphone and glasses as he began delivering his verdict with the customary closing judiciary remarks. "ladies and gentlemen, we stand at a point in history where we must confront the darkest of human desires. the accused stands before this court with the charge of crimes against humanity. during this trial, the prosecution has presented undeniable evidence of the charges, and the accused, adolf hermanes juan santana, is before us today to receive the court''s verdict. "our duty as members of the judiciary is to ensure justice, even when faced with the heaviest responsibilities. we have a duty to our fellow citizens, to the victims, and to the principles that underpin our society.n0velusb.c0m "throughout the course of this trial, we have heard accounts of unspeakable acts performed by the defendant and his regime. we have seen conclusive and undeniable evidence that backs up those accounts and would shock the most jaded of bystanders. the systematic and wanton persecution, destruction, and cruelty perpetrated by the defendant''s regime cannot and must not go unpunished. "today, we enshrine the actions of adolf hermanes juan santana in history as a warning to future generations to not repeat the mistakes of the past, but to learn from them. to not fall victim to the consequences of power, but to be wary of and overcome them. today, it is with a heavy heart and unwavering conviction that i declare the defendant, adolf hermanes juan santana, guilty on all charges. his actions have caused immeasurable suffering and violated the most fundamental principles of humanity and morality. "therefore, in accordance with the law of eden, it is the decision of this court that the defendant, adolf hermanes juan santana, shall be sentenced to hang by the neck until he is dead. this sentence is not an act of vengeance, but a solemn affirmation of the value of human life and a resolute rejection of the horrors that his regime has inflicted upon our great nation. "as for those complicit in the crimes before the court today, they, too, shall be held accountable for their actions and i charge the men and women serving the citizens of our great nation to leave no stone unturned in pursuit of the perpetrators that aided and abetted this defendant''s crimes. i charge the citizens themselves with providing aid, relief, and comfort to those in that pursuit. "each and every one of us has the moral obligation to fight against injustice wherever it may be found. some may argue that justice must be tempered with mercy, but it is our solemn duty to remember the victims who were denied that same mercy. our actions today, and those going forward, are and will be a tribute to their memory and a pledge to never forget our humanity! "may this judgment serve as a beacon of hope, a testament to the resilience of our great nation, and a warning to those who would contemplate such abhorrent acts in the future. let it be known to all that tyranny and cruelty have no place in a just and united society. "may the memory of the victims be honored, and may our nation heal and rebuild, stronger and more committed to the principles enshrined in our constitution. "court is adjourned." the judge brought down his gavel, marking the official fates of adolf and his co-conspirators. other than adolf, only a few would receive the death sentence, while many more would be sentenced to ten years to life imprisonment, and all of them were sentenced to asset forfeiture. the landmark verdict marked the final chapter of the previous government, closing one book and opening another. hopefully, the next one will be better. "he really went with the death penalty," rina said in quite a surprised tone. although she had also watched the press conference a few days before, she didn''t expect the first person to fall under the sword of justice would be the former edenian ''president''. [adolf''s the perfect precedent, as he did everything in his power to ensure he remained in power. no one with a brain would argue that he didn''t deserve what he got, but with so much evidence, even those without brains would realize that the sentence was deserved,] ava said. and in fact, she was rightadolf was the perfect precedent setter, which was why aron had chosen him. .... the reaction of the edenians could completely be imagined. some people were even celebrating! to them, it almost seemed like they were dreaming as they received one piece of good news after another. things were so good, in fact, that some even started worrying that something bad might happen to counterbalance the continuous streak of happiness that they were experiencing after consecutive years of hardship suffered under the dictator that had just been sentenced to death. the celebration didn''t stop with the citizens, either. even the presidential spokesperson had held a press conference expressing the new government''s happiness. the court had reached a verdict, and they were handing down a well-deserved punishment to a cruel criminal. but that wasn''t the only thing the spokesperson was declaring; alexander had declared the day of the signing of the emanuel surrender accords a national holiday and would be holding a victory parade to celebrate their victory over esparia, as well as the history-making verdict. the parade would be followed by an award ceremony, awarding medals to those whose performance was exemplary during the brief, but impactful conflict. the celebration would be held a month later, giving everyone involved plenty of time to prepare. Chapter 253 Plots And Schemes And Helicopters, Oh My! ? with the announcement of the parade, the military movements in the country increased even further as groups of soldiers began arriving in the city to start preparing the location the parade would be held, while others were being sent to avalon island. what was weird was that none of them were practicing marching drills at all, making people wonder if it was being done in secret or if the soldiers were just going to be walking out of sync with each other. maybe it was a result of the government rushing the parade, wanting it to happen while people were still relishing in their victory. that would naturally result in some neglect, but many had come to expect huge things from their governmentespecially when it came to the militaryafter the two consecutive victories they had pulled out of the jaws of anticipated defeat. that assumption was amplified even further when an article talking about what kinds of weapons might show up during the parade. one of them was a very modern-looking, intimidating helicopter that had been seen in a video that looked like a continuation of the 1v5 between the edenian lone fighter and esparian squadrons. the article had garnered much attention, as it came from the same reporters that published the video of the dogfight, resulting in many people starting to question where it''d come from. some people said it looked like a high-tech helicopter that was built thanks to data leaks from the us government caused by chinese hackers. others thought it was stolen by the pmc that guarded eden, and now esparia. a few thought that ares had designed and developed their own helicopter, while still others speculated that it was just a good paint job that was used to disguise an already-existing helicopter. invites started rolling out from the edenian government to the governments of every other country, as well as people who weren''t politicians, but still had quite an influential position in the world. they wanted powerful businesspeople and many more to attend, since it wasn''t just a military parade; rather, it was a day of celebration that included a parade. "so, are you going to come?" aron asked rina as the two leisurely toured in the vr. when he''d logged in, he''d been informed of her being online and had decided to visit and talk with her. "i should. i want to lay my eyes on your full forces, as i haven''t seen them in their entirety. i only saw a small unit when they were protecting you," she replied, not hiding her excitement about the parade. she really wanted to see the mercenaries that had fought against a country''s full-fledged military and won. "good. i''ll send a team to pick you up and escort you to eden. you shouldn''t use your family''s private jet, as that might attract more attention than we need," he said as they walked to a small hill overlooking some expansive, beautiful fields. "oh, you have your own jet?" she asked. she didn''t recall having heard anything about it; the last time she had received information about aron, he''d been traveling in a chartered jet. "not at the moment, but i should have a few by then," aron cryptically answered, not giving a real explanation of where the fleet would be coming from. "sure. by the way, do you need me to help you retrieve your machine that was taken by the agency? i''m sure i can return it to you in a week, tops, if i use some of the connections built as a result of ava''s hard work," she said. she was still thankful for the new assistant, as she was immensely benefiting from having her by her side. "no need. it''s with darpa now, not the fbi, but you don''t need to do anything. it''s exactly where i want it to be.... plus, they won''t be benefiting from it at all," aron said with a smile that would make people think he was discussing something trivial. "that''s good, then," she said, followed by a few seconds of awkward silence. then she finally found something to talk about and asked, "now that you''ve completed the move to avalon island, are you planning on renouncing your american citizenship?" "not yet. although keeping it means i''m still forced to pay american taxes, it should still benefit me for a few years before it becomes unnecessary," aron answered, then continued, "how''s the situation with your family competition?" "although nothing much has changed, my brother seems weirdly calm. at one point, i even asked ava if anything weird was going on with him, but her response was that she has nothing that could be pinpointed as the cause of the change. it''s just that the approximate time this change happened is somewhere around the time she was offline," rina replied. "yeah about that... it was an oversight on my side, and it shouldn''t happen again. we''re expanding our server capacity to several magnitudes above what it was previously, so you can rest assured. but you should still be careful, as such a drastic change might mean something huge is coming your way." the moment aron heard her explain her situation, his new intelligence senses started tingling. so he wasted no time in warning her to be careful, but also telepathically asked nova to order the ares members in his old neighborhood to delay their move to eden and keep an eye on her. at least until she visited eden; they could hitch a ride on the jet he would send to pick her up.n0velusb.c0m "i''ll make sure to keep an eye out," she replied with a sincere smile of happiness. "are you going to be showing new weapons during the parade, or just the ones you had before the war?" she asked. "we''ll show some new ones, as that''ll act as the launch and introduction of them to the world, but nothing fancy. except for the helicopterthat one''s an unplanned reveal, but since the cat''s already out of the bag, it kind of forced our hand. at least we can use it to introduce the world to our advanced research capabilities, so people won''t react aggressively in the future when the big guns come out," he answered, giving her a hint of what was going to be in the parade. ....... "here''s the report, sir," aubrey''s assistant said as he handed him and george the preliminary report on ares. it was all they could find in the short period of a few weeks; the research team was still working to gather more information. the morgan father-and-son pair wasted no time and opened the files, then carefully read them. they were extremely curious as to who might be behind the up-and-coming pmc. "why''s everything in this garbage highlighted as nothing but speculation?" aubrey raised his head and asked, dissatisfied by the report. nearly everything in the document was highlighted as nothing but speculation or guesswork based on what little evidence they had collected in that period of time. "sir, the company has no history of being registered in or deployed to any country before they showed up in eden. and the info there''s under tight lockdown. ares even acts as the infosec (information security) branch of the country, making it difficult to get any information about them. "nearly every bit of evidence we managed to collect during the past few weeks is from osint (open source intelligence) through pictures and videos that were uploaded during the war from both the eden and esparian sides. and nothing about that gave us any details, making it impossible for us to know if any of our collected evidence is credible or not," the assistant said in a slightly worried tone. "i''m sure the investigation team isn''t dumb, but have they tried to get an inside man for more information?" george asked. "yes. we looked for people that we could say with some assurance have been members of the force for a longer period. but we couldn''t even find a single one, so we had to deliver the preliminary report in such a vague way. but the upcoming parade should give us enough new and credible information to be able to at least pinpoint who they''re affiliated with if we can track back the manufacturer or seller of the weapons that will be shown on the parade. that should be shown during the parade, as such a large number of them would at least leave a trail. then we can use that trail to track who it might be connected to." "make sure the next report only has credible information. i don''t want more speculation like in this shitty document," aubrey said as he tossed the document on the table in front of them. he wasn''t planning on continuing to read it, as unfounded nonsense wasn''t something he should be tainting his head with. "yes, sir," the assistant replied and heaved a sigh of relief in his mind, then immediately left the room to deliver the new orders. Chapter 254 Launch Day ? with advertisements rolling out about the upcoming social media app that gaia was working on, it became a talking point among the users of their os. and coming from a company that could now be considered a behemoth with more than three billion customers, word quickly spread. after all, most people used a gaia product on more than one device, leading to the advertisements working their way through more than fifteen billion devices. during the less than a year that the gaia corporation had taken to rise to fame, they''d met with, and overcome, many obstacles from others, including google and apple. the crackdown from two massive companies continued, both of them trying their best to hinder the growth of the gaia os, as each had their own operating systems that had dominated the field before the upstart company''s newer, and better, os was released. when the os was becoming relevant at the start, they had been desperate to make it impossible to download, but failed. each and every blockade they put up, the gaia os would immediately respond to and break through. then they tried threatening, and also filed, a few lawsuits, either jointly or individually, for copyright infringement. the people in charge still wrongly thought of aron as a kid with a lemonade stand, not as the chairman of a large, multinational corporation. gaia, however, responded with the same vigor. their legal department was no slouch, having previously been its own firm that specialized in copyright and tech law prior to being acquired. the latest round of fighting had just begun, but the court had already made some initial rulings on motions in their favor despite the company itself having moved to eden. ... two weeks later. aron had named the app pangea. that was the supercontinent that used to exist on earth, millions of years ago. it was a name that was meant to symbolize bringing everyone in the world closer together. not to mention, it suited his naming tastes quite well; after all, his other two ''public'' companies were named after the earth itself (gaia) and the desire for connectivity and progress (connect). it had finally been released, and millions of people, whether due to curiosity or brand loyalty, created accounts. it was quite easy, since their ids from the gaia os could be directly imported, allowing them to immediately begin using pangea without having to customize it further. and as those pioneers first opened the app, they were met with something that no social media app had had when it was first launched: an active user base. it was all thanks to the ais that had been built to make the app look lively for the first batch of users. they were the most important ones to retain, as they would be the ones sending the initial feedback on the app. one of the things that tied people to their current systems and prevented them from moving from one to another was the history they built up on each app. whether it be instagram, twitter, facebook, or any of their smaller competitors, the time people had spent on those platforms had already built up a history for them. thus, the social media giants weren''t too worried about their apps losing relevance. pangea had solved that issue in an ingenious way; all its users had to do was request the app move their entire history over to the new platform, regardless of where it came from. with more and more people using that function, the app became more lively. not to mention, much more addictive and likely to hook first-time users. but although that made the normal users try it out, the feature''s real importance was to influencers. they would have hesitated dedicating themselves to a startupat least without being paidbut were instead moving over in droves after they realized they could migrate everything to the new platform without having to invest too much time. even better for them, pangea allowed one-tap cross-posting and follower consolidation, so the influencers would no longer have to carefully craft each tweet, story, post, or anything else individually. their followers, thanks to the cross-posting and consolidation feature, would already follow them on pangea, if they were users. so there was no downside to the move, but plenty of benefits attracting them.n0velusb.c0m but all of those features were dwarfed by one single function that made pangea different from any other social media app: the ai integration. ai was something that gaia was a world leader in and they had no competitors. the ai in pangea could be seen everywhere, and users could customize it in many different ways, making their personal experience much more fulfilling. it allowed for things like fact checking, advanced search, and many more. the integrated ai could do it all... as long as people were subscribed to gaia premium. thanks to the os being integrated into the app, the world became nothing but one street speaking one language, and anyone could start an argument with anyone else without any nuances being lost in translation. after all, gaia premium included a translation algorithm that was hands down the best in the world. with big names like pewdiepie, cole sprouse, lewis hamilton, kim kardashian, and others making their move to the app, their fandoms followed. and that was no small number of people. "how many users do we have now?" aron asked sarah in their virtual meeting room. it was filled with holographic screens showing different data sets regarding pangea''s launch. "with the app successfully being launched five hours ago and having faced no bugs or crashes so far, we''ve already reached 215 million users. and nearly half of them are still engaged. that''s unprecedented, even for the current social media companies. we expect the number to continue increasing as the other side of the world wakes up, and the explosive growth should continue for more than a month before it stabilizes. then we predict that the user base growth will slow down and be on par with other platforms'' growth. but by that time, we should have about a billion registered accounts with a quarter of them expected to be daily users," she reported. she had fully prepared for the launch. "how is the reaction, is it positive?" he asked. "yes. using ai to create an atmosphere for first-time users while also using the data from their accounts to curate their personal experiences allowed us to avoid being pigeonholed into a single niche category. that would be counterproductive in the first place," sarah replied. aron found himself thinking about privacy and couldn''t help but smile and laugh at the situation he found himself in. "what''s up?" sarah asked, curious as to his reason for the sudden laughter. "i found myself counting the number of laws i think we might''ve just broken in that short period of time," he said with the smile still on his face. it caught sarah off guard, as she didn''t expect that to be something to laugh at, and the absurdity resulted in her laughing as well. "even if it''s a crime, so long as they can''t prove it, it doesn''t matter. certain countries might think of banning pangea over privacy concerns, though, which would make them believe they have leverage on us," she mused, pointing out some of the disadvantages they had to accept following the successful move of the company. "you don''t have to worry about that. i''m pretty sure it won''t be the first lawsuit in the saga of united states v. gaia technology. hell, they might even use the same excuse to force us to show them our source code again. that''ll never happen, of course, but we can expect a few subpoenas to appear before congress in the future," aron answered. "and who''ll be going for those?" she asked. "me?" "it depends on whose name is on the subpoena. it''ll most likely be you, though, due to your citizenship, but my name might also be on one. even zuckerberg''s been called before congress a few times." aron chuckled again, amused as he imagined himself sitting before congress being grilled by politicians who knew nothing about technology, trying to provoke him into saying something they could use against him. they might even pass a law, or just completely ban the app. ... the buzz continued, with people in eden being at the forefront of the new platform. they all knew that the company that had released the app was from their country, and they wanted to show their support. but it didn''t stop there, as the edenian officials also immediately created the first official governmental social media accounts on the platform. they were immediately verified and had their names displayed in gold, signifying that they were official government organization accounts. but other than eden, no governments had registered yet, as they were waiting to see the number of users before they made a decision on whether or not they''ll create accounts on the new platform. Chapter 255 The Ceremony Begins ? pangea''s massive and explosive growth continued for two weeks, reaching a billion users without any decrease in the trend showing at all. at the same time, it managed more concurrent users than any of the major social media sites. though it wasn''t like that growth hadn''t caused any problems. facebook, twitter, and i?nstagram were all trying to figure out how pangea was growing so fast. mark zuckerberg, jack dorsey, and adam mosseri were all flustered and had been on hours-long conference calls every day trying to figure out a way to stem the outflow of accounts from their platforms. with a billion registered users on the upstart app, and a little more than half of those being active at any given timeas reported to aron through the alm (active in the last minute) metric of pangeathe three social media giants were beginning to appear desolate. it was a downward spiral the three ceos were trying their hardest to stop. some people were even discussing the reason why they were panicking when a few different social media sites had already been just fine existing alongside each other, but the irony was that the discussion was taking place on pangea. the consensus was that it was due to the app having the ability to port the data from their previous social media accounts and upload them in the new app without any compatibility issues. that meant people had no need to return to their previous social media platforms, since their followers and people they followed would automatically be consolidated on pangea from every one of their existing social media accounts. it also had a new, cooler, and more aesthetically pleasing appearance, not to mention a better discovery algorithm that ensured the media they saw in their panthalassa was tailored to their interests. thus, the time people would normally spend scrolling through multiple social media platforms was now all dedicated to one: pangea. (ed note: like pangea was the name of the mega continent in the past, panthalassa was the name of the combined ocean that surrounded it. so, like facebook has a wall and twitter has a feed, pangea has the panthalassa) also, ads being nonexistent was another factor, as not a single ad came from the app itself; only advertisements posted by normal people were present, resulting in the users being able to scroll through the posts without being annoyed. at the end of the second week of the app being live, a rather... unique live broadcast was climbing to the top of the trending page. what made it unique was that it was being live-streamed by the eden defense ministry. it had two hundred thousand viewers, and the number was climbing as the livestream rose through the trending topics. pangea users weren''t the only ones watching, either. millions of people were watching the same footage, just on different platforms. even more millions were watching it on television. the live footage was being simulcast by multiple channels in multiple countries, much like the olympics are broadcast every two years. ... edenia, the capital city of eden. in the country''s capital city, a newly constructed city square was completely silent. it was an odd situation, as there was an entire ares infantry division on it. the division was standing completely still without moving an inch in the middle of the road, arranged in rows of five abreast and columns of ten, separated by exactly three feet of space between each group. if someone were to walk past with a measuring tape, they would find it exact to the inch. following the last box formation was row after row of military vehicles, like tanks, armored personnel carriers, and cargo trucks carrying different military hardware was behind them. there were many of them, all parked with the same precision as the soldiers at attention, their drivers standing on the side to present themselves for inspection. contrasted against the still, silent soldiers and vehicles was the edenian official parade band, formerly of the edenian military. they were playing the edenian national songs, like the call to colors, and many newly composed music for the military, among others. people almost wouldn''t be able to believe it was being played by a military marching band, as those who knew music would discover that every single note being played by each instrument in the band was in tune. the former military band could rival the best orchestral bands in the world, like the london symphony orchestra or the new york philharmonic orchestra. everyone was waiting for the president of eden to arrive to begin the ceremony. the international guests began arriving first. many countries had sent their ministers of foreign affairs, while others sent a member of parliament, but many developing countries had their presidents or vice presidents in attendance. the nations from the un security councilamerica, russia, china, france, and the ukonly sent junior diplomats, or none at all. the ones who didn''t send anyone to participate in the celebration still sent letters of congratulations and some flowery apologies for being unable to attend. once all the guests had arrived, a motorcade pulled to a stop near the podium where the international guests were already sitting, and the waiting honor guard opened the door of the center car for the president to come out. the moment alexander stepped out, the citizens attending the event live went crazy, shouting their approval to the president, who turned to them and waved before being escorted to the stage that was made for him and the foreign dignitaries. when he reached them, he greeted a few before taking a seat as the military band played the last song before the program officially started. after the music ended, there were a few moments of silence before john took to the podium and ordered, "parade rest!" his authoritative voice was immediately followed by the sound of the soldiers'' boots hitting the ground as they moved from attention to parade rest. "attention! present the colors!" he ordered, and the military band began playing again. together with the music, the sound of a few synchronized marching steps came as the edenian color guard took the field. (ed note: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vhzdyrhvvc ) their steps were calm and neither fast nor slow as they marched toward the stage in front of them and presented the eden flag. "the color guard is responsible for carrying the flag," said the emcee of the event, which caused people to wonder where he was. after all, he was nowhere on the stage. "please stand for the edenian national anthem," he continued. the color guard reached the stage and presented the flag, then held their positions while the band played the national anthem. as the first notes of the song echoed out, john came to attention and ordered, "division! present arms!" n0velusb.c0m the entire infantry division, as well as the drivers of the vehicles and john himself, raised their right hands in the edenian salute. after the national anthem finished, john ordered, "division! order arms!" every participant in the parade formation lowered their arms and resumed standing at attention. then, the next order came. "division! parade rest!" everything was being caught by the cameras that had been placed all over the field, then sent to the different channels'' broadcasting boxes. the precision impressed quite a few people around the world, and ignited the patriotism within nearly every edenian viewer''s hearts. some of the international viewers, though, thought the country was being smug and showy before the parade had even started. Chapter 256 Heart Attacks And Lockstep ? after the national anthem ended, a long and beautifully written speech was delivered by alexander. a few of the attending citizens even cried, as the speech hit just the right notes for the citizens. immediately following the speech, alexander stepped off the raised platform and into the car he had arrived in, which had been fitted with microphones on the roof as he stood the car''s open sunroof.n0velusb.c0m the same thing was happening in the car behind him, but that one carried john, who was wearing his dress uniform. the cars started and drove to the head of the parade formation, signaling the beginning of the inspection. ... while the ceremony was in progress, aron was on the podium alongside the dignitaries from all over the world. he was wearing a bespoke suit, which was only to be expected since it was a product of an atomic printer. although he was calmly sitting in his chair and watching the events unfold, he still attracted attention whenever a camera panned across the dignitaries. he was obviously seen every time that happened, and, thanks to the several evolutions the man had undergone, he was almost inhumanly handsome. although he hadn''t posted anything since being expelled from school, he still had nearly fifteen million followers across all of his, obviously verified, social media accounts. thus, people who were interested in his company knew who he was, but many people only knew him from the pictures he had posted in the past. that said, his fans were insatiably curious about the youngest self-made billionaire in history. another thing that attracted people to him was that he was different from other young billionaires, who were very keen on ensuring that everyone knew they were young and rich. they would also announce that they planned to save the worldor at least make it a better placelike the ceo of theranos, whose company was facing more and more scrutiny as a result of not having a workable device despite their claims. at the beginning of the year, they had still been valuated at $10 billion, but aron, who was said to be worth three times or more, could be said to not exist at all in comparison. there wasn''t even a single interview of his in any archives at all, and the only picture of him that had been caught after he became a billionaire was from one of his rare visits to his headquarters. he was also in the background of a few peoples'' pictures from when he was touring europe by himself. other than those, no recent pictures of him could be found at all. people thought the difference between him and other young tech entrepreneurs was that he didn''t need investors'' money to expand his company. after all, his products didn''t need any investments; he had begun earning with bugzapper and hadn''t stopped his inexorable march forward. alas, contrary to the hopes and dreams of investors everywhere, aron had never experienced any liquidity crisis. what they didn''t know was that that would still have been true even if he had never bagged more than $10 billion in contracts from nato in the beginning. the contracts stipulated partial payment up front, resulting in the man becoming a billionaire in a matter of minutes. and all of it was in cash, not shares or fixed assets. that initial fund had removed even the slightest possibility of the company going public due to a lack of liquid funds. the third thing attracting attention was the beautiful woman sitting to his left and leisurely talking with him, as if they were closer than everyone else there. she had bright blond hair and light hazel eyes, which made her more mesmerizing. her smile seemed to stun the world, and considering that she was publicly enjoying the company she was keeping, it would be completely impossible for a bystander to think that she had survived an assassination attempt just a week before. the camera panned back to alexander, who was inspecting the military forces with john''s car behind him. the inspection took exactly ten minutes before the two returned to the stage and john took to the podium once again. during the time it had taken them to drive back to the stage, the soldiers had moved into parade rest and were waiting for the order to begin marching and officially kick off the parade. but before the parade began, the archangels put on a display of precision flying. the live feed switched to the camera facing the sky as the four fighter jets appeared in the distance, initially seeming like nothing more than small black dots until the camera zoomed in. those watching from home could see the jets on their screens, while the people attending the show live had to wait for them to draw near. soon, the jets were visible to everyone. the emcee wasted no time and satisfied the watchers'' curiosity, saying, "the sound you''re hearing, ladies and gentlemen, is the approaching fighter jets that are here to do an airshow. they''re the famous archangel squadron, piloted by the same people that shot down a combined total of forty-five enemy aircraft in our victory over the now defunct dictatorship of esparia, who is now our friend." the announcement only increased the excitement of people watching the spectacle. as the emcee had said, the fighters finally neared the square and began putting on a performance. they were executing maneuvers that were known as nightmares for pilots like it was a walk in the park, and doing it with flair and precision. they almost seemed robotic, and even put the famous blue angels squadron to shame during their more than a minute of joint maneuvers. the squadron flying was followed by a solo performance from the pilots, who each showcased something different, which almost put those watching in a trance. the final soloist even almost caused some people to have mild heart attacks, thinking that something had gone wrong; he had pulled a "zero knot" maneuver. before that, he had performed other flashy tricks that were different from the previous pilots, but before his last stunt he approached the ground in a straight, high-speed dive before pulling up and heading back to the sky in a straight line with the afterburners at full power. it was like he intended to leave the earth''s atmosphere, but after gaining a bit more than five hundred meters of altitude, the afterburners disappeared and the pilot put his jet into a stall before it fell from the sky. people thought the aircraft had malfunctioned mid-show and were worried they would be witness to a tragedy at the beginning of a celebration. some of them even closed their eyes, but soon opened them back up. the pilot, upon reaching the two hundred meter mark, reignited the jet''s engines and pushed the throttle to the stops. thankfully, it didn''t reach supersonic speedsas that would have taken a few eardrums with itbut it gave people an idea of what the parade would be like. with that exciting end to the air show, john gave the series of orders that would begin the parade and the soldiers moved out. the infantry marched in lockstep, as though they had one mind in many bodies. following them were the vehicles, both wheeled and tracked, lined up row after row like there were invisible rulers between them. Chapter 257 Efficient Chaos chapter 257 efficient chaos a week before the celebration. [miss, they''ve arrived to pick you up,] ava informed rina. the escort from aron had arrived outside her mansion after going through all the security checks and inspections. they were there to bring her to the airport, then onward to eden. "sure, let''s go," she said and immediately stood from her office chair. she would be taking nothing with her except her phone and the glasses she was wearing. she wasn''t even packing changes of clothes. coming out of her office, she found her secretary and the guard who had taken over for terry already waiting for her; they would be going with her. "let''s get going," she said and walked past them. they nodded and started walking behind her. "miss, do you think it''ll be fine to go with those people without any of our guards?" asked alex, rina''s head of security. "you don''t have to worry about that, we''ll be perfectly safe with them. plus, i don''t think a single private jet can accommodate all of them, and your people, too," rina said. she knew she would be safer with ares than with anyone else. "good evening," greeted a female driver who was responsible for driving the car that rina would be taking with her secretary. rina returned the greeting and smiled at her as she boarded the car with alex and her secretary before the doors were closed behind them. "very comfortable," she said, finding herself sinking into the seat and feeling like she was being massaged. wasting no time, the convoy left the mansion. rina and her secretary were in the middle car, with two cars ahead and behind her. all of them drove professionally as they left the rothschild''s compound; it took more than ten minutes of driving before they reached the gate to leave the compound and passed the security checkpoint. a new burner phone rang with a text at the same time the convoy left the compound. and with that text, certain gears were set into motion. ava attempted to pinpoint where the text was going, but failed. the only thing she knew was that the phone that had received the text was in the same state as them; it had been destroyed before she could find its exact location. despite failing, she still informed rina about the message and that it might be about her, as no one in the compound that she had been monitoring fit the message. they were all still comfortably sitting at home, while rina was the one who had left. rina, who believed she was perfectly safe in the hands of aron''s guards, just asked ava to continue keeping an eye on the situation. ... as the convoy headed down the road carrying its load of vvips, the cars all slowed down in unison, then turned right, catching rina, chloe, and alex equally off guard. they knew the route they should be taking, and this wasn''t it. "why''d we make an unplanned turn?" asked alex, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car. the female driver said nothing and just pointed at the tablet set into the dashboard. the moment alex laid his eyes on the tablet, the screen changed into a 3d map of the surrounding area. to his surprise, it wasn''t a google or apple app, but data that had been collected and was being rendered in real-time by the cars themselves. alas, his surprise was soon overshadowed when the screen moved to about a kilometer in the direction of their planned route, and he saw a car with people inside it packing weapons no different from terrorists. they even had rpgs to the baggage place of the car! "looks like that message was really about me, after all," rina said when she saw the display through the augmented reality lenses of her glasses. "turn around! we need to inform the family security about this so they can reach us in time," alex said and immediately keyed his satellite radio to inform the family. normally, it could reach the base station no matter the distance, but no matter how he tried, he received no response. "they were prepared for you and jammed the radio," the driver told him after he had been trying to contact the security base for a while. she had let him try it first, not wanting to waste her energy on explaining things like she would have if she had stopped him before he made the attempt. n0velusb.c0m "did they only jam our frequency?" he asked as the convoy made another turn to avoid another car that was similarly armed. "yes. it looks like this is being done by someone who knows your system inside and out," she answered, hinting at who the culprit might be. while all of that was happening, the only ones panicking were chloe and alex, who was worried about rina''s safety. but while those two were afraid, the people with them were calm. the convoy continued avoiding contact with ambushers until they were on the only road leading to the airport. it was a long, straight road with no intersections, meaning they couldn''t take any more turns to avoid the cars that were chasing after them. the chasers thought that they had finally cornered them and could deal with them, but alas, it was all planned by the ares security detail. the moment the road they were on reached a sufficiently unpopulated area, three of the five cars in the convoy changed to the right lane: the one rina was in and the two directly in front and behind her. as for the other two, they remained in the left lane and slowed down. they were left behind by the speeding, but still stable, cars that continued their journey. although they were now separated, everything happening behind them was displayed on the tablet set into the dashboard of the car. ..... inside the remaining cars. "we have five minutes to deal with them and clean up before this turns into a shitshow," said the team leader as he pulled down the back seat and removed one of the assault rifles stored in the hidden compartment. it looked like an ar-15, but the looks were all it had in common with that rifle. everything else was different; in fact, it was a gauss rifle. the other soldiers also picked up their weapons and linked them to the sunglasses they were wearing, then powered them up. once everyone was armed, the drivers slammed on the brakes, and the cars skidded for a bit before fully stopping. the doors sprang open, and the soldiers dismounted the car with guns raised. "who the fuck are" the lead chase car''s driver began, but was interrupted by the sound of a blown tire as a gauss round hit it from nearly a kilometer away. the ares members didn''t stop firing, either. even though the front car was spinning out of control due to having its tire taken out while the car was moving at full speed, their aim didn''t falter, and they disabled the following cars as well. then they sent a microexplosive round down range, triggering the rocket-propelled grenades to explode as the drivers were frantically occupied with attempting to avoid colliding with each other. "holy shit," alex said as he watched the massacre taking place behind them. he was experiencing a few complicated emotions as he realized that they really were safer with these strangers than the family guard, just based on the tech in this car alone! that in itself would be a game changer for any security detail, but the efficiency with which the massacre was being executed was also incredibly impressive. the ares detail said little to nothing at all; the soldiers had seemingly trained to the point they could act as one body and one mind. though some of the cars had managed to avoid destruction and a few armed people came out of them to try their luck with scattered return fire, mere survival was the most their luck could bring them. alas, their deaths could be chalked up to ''natural causes''. after all, anyone will naturally die if their head explodes. all ten of the attackers'' cars were soon taken out, with the people in them dying in different ways. it would surely present the fbi investigator with plenty of nightmares in the future, but the local police could count themselves lucky that a fight like this one was something the police wouldn''t be trusted to handle. the soldiers immediately boarded their cars again and headed to the pile of wreckage to do some ''cleaning''. they burned a few things, tore apart a few more things, and generally just contaminated the scene even further to make the investigation as complex as possible. then they loaded back into their cars, put their gauss rifles back into their hidden compartments, and left in the opposite direction of rina and the rest of the convoy. "where are they going?" asked rina, who seemed calm, but was internally angry. she had seen worse. [to find and capture the one behind the attack,] ava said. she brought up the evidence she had collected and her interpretation of it. the most damning piece of evidence was the communication records from the cell towers, showing where the person the attackers were communicating with was. ares also had that information, and the rearguard team had been directed to capture him or her. alex, hearing that, knew that the rothschild security force was nowhere near that level of efficiency. ares seemed to have handled the attack while simultaneously figuring out who was pulling the strings. then, they had disrupted the evidence and even began another operation to apprehend the mastermind and interrogate them on who was ultimately responsible for attacking them in such a heavily armed manner. Chapter 258 A Magitech Flying Fortress chapter 258 a magitech flying fortress "wow...." rina had finally managed to calm down over the remainder of the car ride, but was flabbergasted when she saw the plane that was waiting for her. a ''super jumbo'' a380 was waiting for her in the private jet terminal at laguardia airport, since there were no private airports in new york that could handle a jet of that size. "when and where did he even buy it?" she asked in surprise, as she knew that it took some time for a custom plane to arrive. [he bought it from transaero airlines, a russian company. they were having some financial difficulties and were forced to sell some of their airbus a380s. he got two of them,] ava answered after requesting the information from nova, who allowed access to it as it wasn''t a huge secret. the news just wasn''t publicized, like most things about aron. as rina was talking to ava, a ramp lowered at the end of the jet, revealing its massive cargo hold. the cars the group had driven to the airport made their way up into the hold and the ramp lifted, sealing the entrance. "i don''t think a commercial airplane has cargo ramps like that, do they?" she asked, pretty sure that the planes aron had bought were certainly modified after the purchase. but the timeline still didn''t add up; whether they were special orders or modified post-purchase, the jet would still require several months to be completed. [they were sent to avalon island for modifications.] hearing that, rina knew the plane in front of her wasn''t one that aron had bought from the russian company at all. his purchase might just be a smokescreen, so people wouldn''t be asking where he had acquired the plane. "he''s finally acting like a rich person," she said with a smile as she realized that aron had bought two planes with a price tag of more than $100 million each, just so he could build similar-looking jets and people wouldn''t ask where the hell he found them. and she was right; the planes that landed at avalon island were nowhere to be found. they had immediately been sent to the atomic printer for scanning and decomposition into their component atoms before a new plane with advanced tech replaced them. from the outside, the only apparent modification was the paint jobaron''s jets had gold stripes with the initials arn on the tails of the massive planes. the plane rina was boarding could go head-to-head with fighter jets and survive while maintaining its operational capability. it could also fly for basically forever, as it was powered by a miniaturized fusion reactor that provided more electricity than it would ever require. the excess electricity was run through runes that converted it into mana, which was fed into the engines to generate enough thrust to outrun anything it didn''t want to fight. the key word there is ''didn''t want to'', not ''couldn''t'', as there was nothing on earth that could threaten the powerful hybrid magitech jetliner. aron had even further reinforced it by engraving a massive shield rune that covered the entire superjumbo jet, turning the whole thing into an impregnable flying fortress. "please." the driver of rina''s car gestured for her to board the plane so they could begin their journey. as rina walked up the stairs to the plane, she asked, "aren''t we going to wait for the rest of you?" "no, their stay''s been extended so they can investigate who was behind the attack. they''ll join us in eden later," the woman respectfully answered. "oh, that''s good then." although the exterior of the plane had impressed the rothschild daughter, the inside was even more impressive. despite being luxurious, there was no sense of tasteless nouveau riche extravagance in it. instead, the decor had a certain dignity and gravitas to it. after onboarding everyone who was going to eden, the plane taxied to the runway, having paid a premium to jump the line and take off after just a short wait, causing the commercial flights to have a slight delay in taking off. ... "where am i?" terry asked as he opened his eyes and found himself bound to a chair. another person was similarly bound in front of him, but his vision was blurry, and he couldn''t tell who it was with certainty. all he could tell was that their head was bowed, as if they''d fallen asleep sitting up. but although he couldn''t see their face, he had a hunch as to who they were; their wavy hair reminded him of his girlfriend. the moment he thought about her, he finally remembered everything that had happened. he had been watching as the mission went tits up. things had started out well; they had successfully bribed an inside man and placed ambushes on every route leading away from the rothschild compound that rina could have taken to go anywhere. but somehow, their target had anticipated the ambushes and neatly avoided them, then turned around to fight once the situation had turned in their favor. so one of two possibilities was true: either they knew where the ambushers were, or they were lucky. and after having seen how easily their target had mowed down the hired mercenaries that lay in ambush, terry didn''t think luck had anything to do with it. he had spent $20 million for nothing! he would even have suspected that they had been betrayed, except he''d taken precautions against that. every group of ambushers was hired from a different mercenary company, and none of themnot a single onewas privy to the whole plan. they all had different instructions and were multiple independent parts of a whole that didn''t know each other at all, so betrayal was an impossibility among impossibilities! although he was shocked by the skill displayed by that bitch''s guard detail, he hadn''t been afraid. the video stream he was watching from the comfort of his command post had been routed through so many vpn servers that there was even a two-second delay before the video even arrived. the two of them had thought themselves perfectly safe, as they had faith in the security of their command post (which was just a fancy way of saying "katrina''s basement"). nothing should have happened to them due to the paranoid fixer''s security surrounding her house in a two-kilometer radius, which should detect any intruders with plenty of time for them to escape through a tunnel. "looks like our security was useless," he said when his memory reached the point where he had been knocked unconscious by an unseen attacker. his overconfidence in katrina''s security measures had resulted in them being caught so off guard that he hadn''t even realized they''d failed until he woke up tied to a chair. "how''re you doing?" footsteps clicked against the floor from behind him, then he saw a man come into focus in front of him. it was someone he would never have expected to see in a thousand years. "you seem to have failed your mission," said a man who looked no different from arieh rothschild. n0velusb.c0m ''oh shit, my fear came true,'' he thought as he eyed katrina, who was in front of him. she had assured him that no such thing would ever happen. "what excuse do you have to give me?" asked arieh as he took a seat in a chair. ''i''m pretty sure that there wasn''t another chair in the room, or maybe i was just so focused on how we got here that i didn''t pay much attention to where "here" actually was. yeah, that has to be it.... there''s no way he could''ve just materialized a chair out of thin air, right?'' terry thought as his brain went into overdrive, trying to come up with explanations for the weirdness that had happened during the mission. he was sure that if he said everything exactly as it had happened, arieh wouldn''t believe him. hell, he wouldn''t have believed it himself if he hadn''t seen it live with his own eyes. ''yeah, that''s right! i have the footage, so i can use it as an explanation... but for that to work, i need him to not have destroyed anything in the command post when he was capturing us. how the hell did he even reach us without us knowing, though, anyway?'' question after question appeared in terry''s mind, as the more he answered, the more surfaced. Chapter 259 Mind Games chapter 259 mind games terry paused for a moment, thinking of how he could explain what had happened, then said, "sir, although i can explain, it''ll be difficult to believe. so it''s better if i show you what happened, instead. can you bring my computer from the house? there''s a video of the entire event." he was trying to avoid explaining at all. n0velusb.c0m "no need to waiti brought them all with you," arieh answered, then took out his phone and called someone to bring the computers that had been taken from the house. during the wait, terry asked, "by the way, why isn''t she waking up?" he tilted his head toward katrina, whose head was still hanging down. "ah. she''ll be asleep for a while, as the dosage of our tranquilizer was the same for her as it was for you. so it''ll take her longer to come out of it. don''t worry, she''ll wake up in a few hours... but that''ll be the least of your problems if you don''t give me a reasonable explanation for your failure." as arieh was speaking, the door opened, and a man brought in a thick laptop. terry immediately recognized it as his. "tell me the password," arieh said after he received the laptop and turned it on. "why don''t you untie me first? it''s very complicated, and i memorized it by rote muscle memory and not my mind," terry said, struggling against his bindings. "so you can try pulling the same shit on me that you pulled on rina? i''m not an idiot, like that bitch. just tell me the fucking password," arieh coldly said. he was almost like a completely different person, judging from his tone. terry immediately told him the password, as he knew that if he played any more games, his punishment would only be heavier. arieh successfully entered the password on his second attempt and immediately navigated to the location the video files were stored in at terry''s direction. he played the videos and audio recordings, silently watching and listening to everything that had happened; it took him more than half an hour to comb through all of them. "it seems your failure really wasn''t your fault. those bodyguards were just better than the thugs you hired," arieh said, prompting a sigh of relief from terry, who thought they were in the clear. but that feeling of safety was thrown out of the window when arieh continued, "but you still spent more than fifty million of my own slush fund for your failure. i need a result that can justify the loss of so much money... what do you have in mind to soothe the pain of my loss?" arieh didn''t care that everything that happened during the assault could be considered an act of god or force majeure, and couldn''t accept the loss of so much money... or at least that was what terry thought as he said, "although it wasn''t our fault, we still should''ve been prepared for something like that. i hope you can give us another chance, as the survivors of our first attempt are still waiting for further orders. since they''ve already been paid, they can''t turn me down, and we can come up with a better plan for when she returns." he hoped his plea would be accepted, because he knew that if it wasn''t, they would be in for a good old torture session. "no need for that," arieh said, then paused, causing terry to almost have a heart attack before the rothschild heir continued, "but there''s indeed a way. i want you and her to personally lead an operation. if you succeed, i''ll consider your debt paid." terry could only helplessly reply, "i''ll definitely accomplish the mission." "when she wakes up, someone will be here to brief you on the mission," arieh said, then stood up and left the room, closing the door behind him. the two people left inside were still tied to chairs. ''we survived,'' terry thought. that hadn''t been assured, since they had been captured. and although he could have fought back and threatened arieh with the evidence they had set aside for just that occurrence, that would be considered something of a nuclear option that would only guarantee his destruction while not having much hope of harming arieh. a few minutes passed with nothing happening in the room, then katrina shook her head. she had started waking up from the tranquilizer gas arieh had used on them. "are you alright?" terry asked as she raised her head with a groan. it sounded like she had received a thorough beating. "where are we?" she asked when she completely came to and realized they were bound in a room she didn''t recognize. "i don''t know. all i can say is that we''re in one of arieh''s black sites. he''s the one that captured us...." terry detailed everything that had happened while she was sleeping. "shit," she said when he finished his summary of the events, as she knew that they were only alive because arieh wanted them to do another job. his investment in them hadn''t gone well so far. "but we can make it like our failure never happened if we accomplish the new mission," she continued, trying to calm herself. she knew that, since the moment they had been captured, there were very few things they could do to help themselves. as they had been taken from inside her so-called ''secure'' basement without them even realizing that they were being attacked, things were looking grim for them. their capture meant they had never been safe and had always been watched, which didn''t make her feel very good at all. but despite that, she tried to hide her displeasure, as she was sure they were being watched. "did he tell us what he wants us to do for him?" she asked. "not yet. i think he was waiting for you to wake up so he could tell us both," terry answered as he eyed the girl with love in his eyes. seeing that, katrina felt frustrated. she didn''t know whether to feel happy or upset for her man to be watching her with those eyes. plus, their relationship would be used against them, so she tried to warn him with her eyes. terry caught the glance and understood her warning, so he tried to change the way he was looking at her. but he knew it might have already been too late, and they had just handed arieh more leverage to use against them. as if what he already had wasn''t enough. Chapter 260 Wicked Plans chapter 260 wicked plans rina had been watching the conversation between the fake arieh and terry, who had no idea that the arieh he was talking to was a fake. she wasn''t angry at her brother''s attempt to kill her at all, but disappointed instead. she would have been angry if he had succeeded in killing someone close to hersomething that would''ve happened if she were under the protection of her own security team at the time the attempted assassination had taken place. but now that she''d survived it and had solid evidence in hand, she was... oddly happy. with the evidence she had, the competition between the rothschild family''s potential heirs would officially be in the bag. her brother had broken one of the family''s strictest rules: never attempt to take a relative''s life, especially one of the direct descendants. competition, within strict limits, would grow the family, but killing a relativeeven if said relative was the most useless waste of space everwould be harmful to the family at large. it was doubly important that all direct descendants survive, as any deaths would reduce the number of direct descendants from which future generations'' family heads would be chosen. the punishment for attempting such a thing was being removed from the competition and having five generations of the perpetrator''s descendants banned from competing for the position of family head. and even if the other direct descendants didn''t reproduce, the position would still go to a branch family member until the five-generation ban was over, at which point the opportunity would return to the punished bloodline. but for that punishment to be implemented required a substantial amount of solid evidence, since, if arbitrarily imposed, it would incentivize people to accuse competitors of failed assassination attempts in order to remove them from the competition. alas, as if god wanted it to happen, terry had just so happened to attack at the very worstor best, depending on who was askedtime. during the attack, she had been under the direct protection of the last people anyone would want investigating them, as nothing could be hidden from ares. absolutely nothing. and even if they didn''t want to investigate, rina had since worked out a deal with aron. the ex-bodyguard was to be handed over to be used by him in return for evidence that proved her brother''s involvement in the attempt on her life. "it really worked," rina said in surprise. "told you so." aron smirked. if all went according to plan, terry would be spending a long time in prison and she wouldn''t have a chance to personally exact her revenge on him. thus, he had asked her permission before going with his initial plan, as he could always come up with another alternative. "with this tech, you can make anyone think they''re meeting with anyone else! and as long as you act like the person they think they''re meeting, it''s no different from having a polymorph spell in real life...." "though we can easily do that, i''m planning to limit who and under what conditions it can be used. after all, if everyone can do it, there''s no telling what chaos would ensue," aron said in a display of self awareness. the mimicry tech would definitely have to be an exclusive feature. exclusive to him, that is. "but why do you want them to attack darpa? i''m sure that if the fbi realizes you''re trying to get it back by force, they''ll move it to one of their black sites. or even area 51, and that would make it... impossi...." she stopped talking and her voice trailed off as something like an explosion hit her thoughts when she realized she had accidentally glimpsed aron''s plan. aron said nothing, just smiled. "the more secret the base they send it to, the better. i hope they send it to one of the joint bases they hold in cooperation with other militaries, as that''ll give me exactly what i need," he said. from the very beginning, his aim had been to have the device in one of the military bases so he could gain a connection to the department of defense''s classified, secure network. "why? if you wanted to hack it, i''m sure it would be easy for you, right?" rina asked. "the hack was already done last year, but the data transfer is where we''re stuck at. the military has its own air-gapped network, meaning that nothing from that network is connected to the rest of the internet. and that means...." he didn''t need to finish his sentence, as he knew she was smart enough to get his point. and he was right, as she immediately remembered the ability of his quantum computers to instantly transfer data, no matter the file size. the moment one was connected to the military network, the us military''s restricted database would be like his own personal playground. at least, as long as he wasn''t discovered, but that would be quite a stretch. although he hadn''t received any communications from the trojan planted in the military network when they had seized bugzapper, he was sure that it was smart enough to hide itself for an extended period of time. that was one of the reasons it was so scary. "fuck," rina softly said, chewing on the inside of her cheek. she was beyond impressed by the long-term planning aron had been doing. ''looks like i''m not going back anytime soon,'' she thought, and she had a very convincing reason as to why she shouldn''t: she needed to make her brother think she was either dead or afraid of another attack happening when she returned from eden after surviving his first attempt. the two continued chatting for a little while longer before aron bid her farewell and left, as he had another meeting with other people. ... arieh was pacing back and forth in his office, nervously waiting for a phone call that never came. the delay was making him more and more nervous. amidst his back and forth pacing, his secretary burst into the room and, without saying anything, ran to the tv and switched it to a certain channel before arieh could even reprimand her for entering without knocking. just as he was about to vent his frustration on her, he focused his eyes on the tv and the words were stuck in his throat. the news was broadcasting a breaking story. although it was from cnn, which was a channel known for saying that everything was breaking news, this story was one of the few that definitely deserved that designation. "...rlier today, on the road leading to laguardia airport, what initially appeared to be a devastating accident is now being investigated as a possible terrorist attack, sending shockwaves through the city." the camera cut to a shot of the road ares and arieh''s people had fought on, which was now blocked by emergency vehicles. "more than ten vehicles were destroyed in a catastrophic series of events. some were heavily damaged by what appears to be high-caliber weaponry, while others were consumed by raging fires caused by the fuel in the affected cars. however, the most disturbing aspect of the incident is the mysterious projectiles that seem to have claimed the lives of most of those in the vehicles." the faithful camera panned over to display the charred wreckage left by the fighting. n0velusb.c0m "the projectiles, which have yet to be located, left no traces behind, as if someone meticulously cleaned the scene. that''s raised suspicions that foul play was involved. local authorities and federal agencies are working in collaboration to get to the bottom of the incident as soon as possible." the station cut to b roll footage of the fbi standing next to a couple of police officers and speaking to each other about something. "the fbi has been called in to assist the nypd anti-terrorist division in their investigation. special agents are currently combing through the wreckage for any evidence that may shed light on this perplexing case...." Chapter 261 Nobody Wants Bored Soldiers ? the news broadcast on arieh''s tv cut to a man in a suit behind a podium. "a spokesperson for the local police department made a brief statement, saying, ''we''re treating this incident with the utmost seriousness, given the unusual circumstances surrounding it. our top priority is to bring those responsible to justice and provide closure to the affected families.''" the broadcast cut to another slow pan across the emergency vehicles blocking the laguardia access road. "as the investigation unfolds, the shocking incident has left the city on edge, and many residents demanding answers. the motive behind the attack, if indeed it was planned, remains unknown at this time. we''ll continue providing updates on this developing story as more information becomes available." ... "finally, that bitch is dead!" arieh jumped in celebration and hugged charlotte, who didn''t even attempt to block his advance at all as he continued jumping up and down. although nothing had been confirmed, the number of casualties, combined with one of the wrecks looking like the car she had left in, made him sure the bitch had finally died. "and now we wait. if the family doesn''t receive any news from her, they''ll start investigating the incident and testing the bodies from the wreckage to see if there''s someone with her dna. then i''ll be the official heir for the second, and last, time, since i''m sure they won''t find anything connecting the attack to me," he said, his secretary still in his embrace. "but why didn''t terry contact us, sir?" charlotte asked. arieh unwrapped his arms from around her and said, "i don''t know, but there''s two possibilities i can think of. either he died and his corpse is among those people there, or something''s keeping him from contacting us. so there''s a slim chance that she''s still alive." just as he was saying that, he received a phone call on his burner phone. today, he was holding it himself instead of leaving it with charlotte. he immediately picked up the call and said nothing, waiting for the other side to start speaking. "sir, everything went according to plan," said a voice that sounded no different from terry''s. "why''d you call so late?" arieh asked.n0velusb.c0m "we were inside the range of our jammer, and had to make sure we removed all of our traces from the scene. that way nothing will lead to us, as she put up quite a fight. well, not her, personally, but the guards she hired for her excursion. i guess she didn''t trust her own security team and suspected spies," terry explained. "good. stay hidden for a few months, and when i take over the family, i''ll give both of you a handsome reward. for now, just take the remaining money in the account i gave you along with my appreciation," arieh said, and after receiving the thanks from terry, he ended the call. he tossed the burner phone across the room and began undressing his secretary, as he wanted to celebrate in a different way with someone he trusted with his many secrets; someone he could always show his true self to. ... a massive plane was on its final approach to avalon island, which was still covered by clouds. construction was still ongoing on the island, specifically the new server farms that nova had been building. rina was watching the clouds through the windows, as nothing under them could be seen, making people assume there was no power on the island. "oh my god," rina, her secretary, and alex muttered in unison when the plane sank through the thick clouds and appeared under them, revealing the island in plain sight. everything was the complete opposite of what they''d had in mind, which was a mildly developed, but still under construction island. from the sky, things would always appear small, but there was a massive building that was big despite the distance. its surroundings were brightly lit, and that wasn''t all; the island had many different locations that were equally brightly lit, with high-speed maglev trains passing from one location to another acting as the connection between them. there was no hint of any construction at all, as everything looked like it had been completed and in use for a very long time. as the plane approached the runway, the real scale of that building became apparent. a nearly ten-kilometer-long wall was just one side of it, and the height also absolutely dwarfed the plane! the landing was as smooth as a landing could be, and they didn''t even realize they had landed until the jet came to a complete stop. rina''s driver came to her seat and escorted her to the door, then gestured for them to exit the plane, where they were met with the same cars that had escorted them in america. the airport was... odd. other than a second jumbo jet, there were no civilian planes. but as for military aircraft, that was a different topic. helicopters and fighter/bombers of varying designs were everywhere, and despite it being nighttime, soldiers were busily swarming over everything on the tarmac. some were cleaning and others were doing other maintenance, as aron had decided to reduce the use of atomic printers for things that could be done by the soldiers. otherwise, they''d have nothing to do, and bored soldiers were exactly what nobody would ever want. (ed note: see the kind of shenanigans bored soldiers get up to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pme1spcwjp8 ) the visitors were soon escorted to their car and immediately left the airport. there was no need for security checks, or even passport verification, which just went to show the level of power aron had over the country. their car was headed to the massive building they had seen at a fairly high speed, but it was outpaced by the maglev trains coming and going as the visitors marveled at the high-tech city. when they arrived at the massive building, they finally saw what those trains were bringing and taking away; thousands upon thousands of soldiers were coming out of the building and heading to the trains, while thousands more were stepping off the train cars and heading to the building. those coming out were more disciplined than those going in, which hinted at what might be happening in the building. the group entered the building through a different entrance than the coming and going soldiers and headed toward a massive elevator that was already waiting for them. the elevator took them to the top floor, where they got off and were escorted to a luxurious office suite. inside, they found aron waiting for them with a smile as he said, "welcome." he stretched out his hand and shook rina''s, as this was only their third face-to-face meeting in the offline world and the second to happen in eden. Chapter 262 Et Tu, Rothschilds? ? after rina''s secretary and alex were escorted to the waiting room, rina was left with aron. they still had a few things to discuss, as they had postponed some of their conversation for when she arrived and they could speak face to face. "so.... are you sure you don''t want therapy or something?" aron asked to start the conversation. it was definitely an interesting beginning. "not really. i was more angry than afraid, so the fear wasn''t really my main focus. and because my safety was assured, i got over it during the flight and can say with assurance that, no, i don''t need one," she answered after a brief moment of contemplation to ensure her answer was sincere. "by the way, is there a maximum time that i can stay here after the celebration?" she knew she was in one of the most secret and sensitive places on the planet, but she needed time to decide her next course of action. "there''s no time limit. how long do you plan to stay?" he asked out of curiosity and expectation, something he hadn''t really felt for a long time. "at least a month, as i need to give my brother the illusion that i''m still looking for the culprit and afraid to return home until my survival''s guaranteed," rina answered. "you''re welcome to stay as long as you want," he said with a genuine smile. he had no idea how handsome he was and missed the mild blush that appeared on rina''s cheeks. "let me give you a tour of your new temporary home," he continued and stood up from his chair, then walked to the door at a slow pace rina easily caught up and walked with him side by side as he showed her the house. throughout all of that, nova was enjoying the show and laughing at aron and rina, who were beating around the bush and not talking about what was on their minds. ... over the next week, the two spent plenty of time together. aron even introduced her to his parents, who had joined the young pair. during the week, his parents seemed to have taken quite a liking to her and asked her tons of questions, like a mother-in-law interviewing a prospective bride. it tickled rina''s thin skin, her having never been treated like that before, and she was constantly flushing red. she was embarrassed by the enthusiasm shown by aron''s parents, and nothing had even happened between the two youngsters yet! still, she hadn''t offended anyone at all; in fact, she even tried her best to get on their good side, as she could see on their faces that they didn''t have any hidden agendas. it was completely different from her family, where people were constantly plotting against each other every day. trusting a fellow rothschildespecially a siblingwas a huge struggle and risk, because backstabbing and betrayal was the only constant in that den of villains and thieves. any display of vulnerability or weakness, like showing trust or true friendship, would only ensure that one would be viciously attacked. the only way anyone in the rothschild family would trust each other is if they each held the other''s weaknesses firmly in their grasp. a good example would be hebel and the other board members'' "cuck club." the five-person group had formed something of a bond after finding out that their wives actually all shared a lover or, in real terms, bull, though at different times. so they decided to turn it into their own exclusive club and soon started having cuckold orgies together, indulging in their fantasies. they were sure the others wouldn''t say a word despite their greed, since they, too, would go down with them. but rina saw nothing of that greed in aron''s family, which made her a bit envious. he always seemed to have the best things, sure, but her jealousy stemmed not from wanting to take his place. instead, she wanted to join his life and enjoy it together with him. he had been nothing but a lifesaver since he''d entered her life, swooping in when she was at her lowest point and was about to give up. aron had saved her from the husband that she''d been thrown to by her brother, who wanted her out of the competition. it was an especially vicious move, since no rothschild would want to be led by someone that carried the morgan family''s blood in them, so her line would be permanently disqualified from ever holding a position of power in the family. it would make her even weaker than a branch family, as at least they could sit on the board! due to not wanting that, she''d even gone so far as refusing to consummate that joke of a marriage, which had easily been accomplished by just threatening to report the pathetically weak rottem to the rothschild family head for abuse. she was sure the old man would do nothing without evidence, but her so-called husband didn''t know that, and, in his fear of the possible repercussions, he stopped trying to force himself on her and started getting his validation as a man outside of the marriage. that was exactly what rina wanted, but she always ended up failing to catch him in the act, due to her brother''s intervention... until aron had intervened and come to her for help, bringing with him ironclad evidence of rottem''s extramarital activities. she hoped the week would last longer, but alas, time is a bitch and continues on regardless of anyone''s begging, wailing, or praying. ... present day. arieh, who had been quite happy during the last week, was about to get the shock of his life from his secretary, who had just barged into his room with a tablet in hand. he was much too happy, to the point that he couldn''t even bring himself to get angry at her, so he just patiently waited for her to say whatever she had barged in for. charlotte said nothing, just handed him her tablet. the pangea app was already open and displaying a live stream from the department of defense of eden showing soldiers marching in quite an advanced parade. just as he was about to raise his head and ask what there was for him to see in a third-world country''s military, who seemed to have spent most of their time training to march instead of fight, the scene changed. it now showed the president of eden, alexander, but that wasn''t what attracted his attentionrather, it was the woman sitting just two spots away from him as they watched the parade. crack!n0velusb.c0m the tablet fell to the floor and the screen spiderwebbed. arieh felt like he was having a mild heart attack at that moment; all of the happiness he had been accumulating over the past week had completely disappeared without warning. he picked the tablet back up and rewound the footage to a few seconds earlier, where rina was looking quite happy, completely unlike the dead person he wanted her to be. he wasted no time and took his phone out of his pocket. in his panic, he didn''t realize he was using his normal phone to call terry''s number, trying to get clarification on whether he was hallucinating or not. the moment the call was answered, his calm demeanor completely vanished and he screamed, "if i remember correctly, last week you said you were quite sure that you killed that bitch. so why the fuck am i watching her on a live video of her watching a parade from a fucking third-world shithole instead of reading her death certificate like you promised me?" when he finished shouting, he waited for an answer. but none came, and the longer he waited, the more his anger rose. then, adding insult to injury, the call was cut off from terry''s end. bang! the phone in arieh''s hand completely shattered and twisted, sending shards of glass into his palm, creating a modern art piece with the artist being the top-of-the-line cellphone. blood dripped from his clenched fist, splattering to the floor beneath him. Chapter 263 The Relationship Between Protection And Ownership ? "looks like we found our beneficiary," aubrey said as he and his son watched the parade on a tablet given to them by his assistant. it was the same one responsible for leading the investigation on who benefited the most from their loss in esparia. the image was the same as the one that had enraged arieh, showing aron and rina conversing and smiling in happiness. it seemed like they really enjoyed each other''s company.n0velusb.c0m "who''s that?" george asked the assistant. "aron michael, the sole owner of gaia technology and connect," the assistant answered. "what connection is there between an up-and-coming billionaire and the rothchilds?" aubrey asked. he knew that company, thanks to the morgans being involved in forcefully acquiring the technology from them in order to benefit from it. that said, even up until now, they had gained nothing substantial for their efforts. "is it so he could take revenge on us for stealing his technology using the government?" he continued. he was quite curious as to what had brought the groups of people together, to the point of even causing rina to return to eden. "the closest connection we can see between them is the relationship between aron and rottem, who used to be his professor. aron was a student that was expelled by rottem for falling asleep in one of his presentations. shortly after that, he developed bugzapper, and we assume he used it to collect dirt on the professor before releasing the program. through that, he must''ve found her and handed her the evidence that led to rottem''s divorce. shortly after that, rottem''s dirty laundry was aired before to the whole school, resulting in losing his tenure and professorship," the secretary recited, seemingly from memory. "any evidence backing that claim?" aubrey asked. it sounded like that report was also relying on the same guesswork the previous one had, and that was simply too much speculation. "though there isn''t a direct link to him hacking the university, after going through the financial reports we received from microsoft, facebook, and google with the program in mind, we found that they paid mr. michael nearly two hundred million each before he took bugzapper public. that means he must''ve used it to find the weaknesses of those companies. and if he did that, doesn''t it also make sense for him to be the one that found the evidence of rottem''s corruption?" that was how the assistant had reached a conclusion from gluing together bits of speculation with a few pieces of minor evidence. "but that in itself shouldn''t be enough to warrant her going to eden just to watch a parade with him. all of her gratitude can just be repaid with money, or even a favor or two from her. i''m pretty sure she interfered with the government''s attempt to stop his company from moving to eden, and maybe she was even the one behind the deal between nato and gaia," george said, figuring that there should be something else. but the mistake he made was that he thought of how he would do things and didn''t consider what rina was feeling. "we suspect he''s the owner of the pmc we faced in eden, and that it''s funded by the rothschilds. at least in part, or maybe it''s funded by rina herself and she just has him watching over it for her. that would mean the dog and pony show they''re putting on today is nothing more than an excuse for her to inspect the troops. at the same time, she''s also announcing to the world that she, or the rothschilds, have one of the world''s most powerful pmcs under their control," said the assistant. "i think they''re the rothschilds'' baby. she''s just being used as a spokesperson for them, since it''d be impossible for her to fund it alone. and mr. michael''s existence there can be attributed to rina convincing him to move under the promise of protecting his technology from being seized again. she put him directly on an island that she has complete control of," george said in a tone of disappointment. he thought it was aron''s mistake to agree to something like that without considering that ''protection'' is the same thing as ''ownership''. the moment george finished speaking, he picked up the remote and turned on the tv so that they could watch the parade on a bigger screen. its importance level had just been raised. as they watched, the parade ended with the unknown helicopters from the earlier online clip flying over the location with the flag of eden hanging under one of them and the flag of its military hanging under another. the helicopters had officially been introduced to the world and people were rightfully impressed by them, despite the chance of it just being a very good paint job. as the morgans thought the parade was about to end, the emcee announced, "ladies and gentlemen, we have a small speech from our president to wrap things up." the citizens attending the parade cheered. "sorry for speechifying on such short notice, but during the parade, i realized that it''s the best moment to give you all some very good news. three months from today, we''ll be holding our country''s first presidential election...." alexander was forced to pause for a moment due to the overwhelming cheering at hearing the news. "i decided to announce it today, not tomorrow, because i want it to be a proclamation to both the citizens of my country and the rest of the world. i kept my promise!" he continued once people had calmed down a little. "just like i promised, the country was only led by me without being elected until we could be sure that everything''s been sorted out. and now, we''re ready to welcome the new government officials. so after the presidential election, the next three months will be for the rest of the elections. after safely completing those, we''ll have officially begun this new history we''re writing in the hop" blip. aubrey turned off the tv and said, "there''s nothing more of importance to be gained from watching that pointless spectacle." he put the remote control on the coffee table, then ordered his assistant, "comb through the footage and gather as much information as you can, then deliver a report to me on it. we need to come up with a plan in accordance with some conclusive evidence to return the favor to whoever the real owner of that pmc is. and no matter how long we''ll spend doing it, or how meticulous we''ll have to be, we absolutely must regain our honor." "yes sir," answered the assistant, who then turned to leave. "also, find out what rottem''s been up to and bring him back home. it''s about time for him to be useful again, and he needs to redeem himself after he failed to impregnate that bitch and give us a chance of taking over the family from the inside. thankfully, that brother of hers is a fucking idiot, so he''ll still keep working for us and doing things that are in our favor even if he doesn''t know it," aubrey added. the assistant, who had already been on his way out of the room, turned back and bowed again to show that he understood his second order, too. Chapter 264 Finally! ? "that was really impressive," rina said as she boarded the car to leave. the public celebration had officially ended in the afternoon, although the unofficial one would continue after the lunch provided by the government. but none of the foreign dignitaries would be at any of these celebrations, which would continue until midnight. a few singers had even been booked for the night''s events. "i was impressed, too," aron said as he started the car and drove toward the tallest building in edenia. they continued chatting as he drove, and when they arrived, they got off and took an elevator to the roof, where a helicopter was waiting for them. "do you have anywhere you want to visit?" aron asked. "how about we tour the city? i want to see the projects you''re working on," rina said, some excitement showing on her face. she was very curious about what aron was working on. he agreed and sent an updated route to the pilot''s hud. the new route would take them to all of the in-progress projects being run by gaia and connect before returning to avalon island. the tour began, with aron narrating details about the projects as they passed over them. they flew low over the growing rail network, then gained altitude for a better view of the soon-to-be massive airport. it was already partially completed and in operation for small aircraft, but the entire project would be completed in a few months. then the helicopter took a long, swooping turn and headed to the first of two massive ports. it, too, had already been partially opened and was taking and sending small amounts of freight. the helicopter then followed the electrical network from there, dancing around the transformers as rina''s glasses showed her the underground network with the help of ar. "which of the major projects is going to be done first?" she asked when the tour was over. night had fallen before they arrived back on avalon island. "the utility infrastructure is going to be done first. by next month, it''ll be delivering internet, electricity, and clean water, and will be carrying sewage as well. we''ll have a monopoly on all utilities, for edenia at least. as for the other cities, they''ll have service in a month or so as we focused on bringing up the standards in the capital first. after the utility infrastructure, it''ll be the airport, then the ports. finally, we''ll wrap up the railways after everything else is done. but we''ll be working on the major trunk lines as we go, so it''ll have partial service but won''t be fully connected as broadly as i''d like it to be until everything else is done," aron answered. "by the way... why go into the utility industry? i mean, i can understand the airport, the ports, and the rail network... but why utilities?" she asked. "there''s a few reasons. first, i want to keep the cities clean. second, infrastructure is expensive and takes a long time and a lot of effort to build and maintain. since the government doesn''t have enough money without hyperinflating their currency and devaluing it, i''ll step in. after all, i can do it cheaper and faster if i do it myself. "lastly, it''s because i can make a good profit from it and wouldn''t need to charge high prices to do so, which means i''ll be building a positive reputation by doing nothing but sitting back and making money. and i won''t even have to manipulate public opinion, either." "but i haven''t seen any construction for your company''s hqhaven''t you started that yet?" she asked. "the construction hasn''t started yet, no. i don''t have enough people to work on everything at once, so they have to be assigned to the projects in order of importance. besides, building our hq would be seen as a vanity project, since we already bought perfectly acceptable buildings to use in the meantime." the skyscraper their helicopter had taken off from was the tallest building in the country, at the moment, as well as one of the buildings that were being used as offices for his two companies. they continued chatting as the helicopter headed back to avalon island at the fastest speed it could without disturbing people on the ground. ...n0velusb.c0m a few minutes later. aron was deeply kissing rina in one of the luxurious rooms in "the cube", the massive superstructure on avalon. as for how they had arrived at that particular moment... after aron had escorted her to her room and bid her farewell, she jumped on him and kissed his cheek. that provoked him into action, and he immediately pulled her into his arms and started deeply kissing her as he gently pushed her inside her room. he picked her up like a hug pillow and carried her to the bed as they continued making out. once they were beside it, he pushed her down on the fluffy mattress, laying atop her as they continued aggressively making out. he broke the kiss for a moment and took off his shirt, revealing the chiseled sculpture that was his upper body. rina was taken aback; she almost couldn''t believe he was real. it was her first time seeing him shirtless, and he seemed too inhumanly perfect to exist. ''ever since i met him, he''s only worn baggy clothes, but hiding under those... wow!'' she thought. aron didn''t stay separated from her for long, but immediately fell on her again to continue the makeout session that he had interrupted by removing his shirt. there was one difference, though: instead of having his arms trapped between her body and the bed, his hands were now free to explore her body, starting with her chest. but her clothes were limiting his exploring hands, so he moved one of them around and under her dress to fondle her soft, generous blessing. rina softly moaned, her lips freed by aron, who had transitioned his passionate kisses to the side of her neck. then came the sound of cloth tearing as he grew tired of her being clothed and simply tore the dress she was wearing off of her body. the expensive dress was torn from her, revealing the beautiful body hidden beneath it and leaving her in nothing but the frilly lace lingerie she had been wearing. aron, now with access to her skin, trailed kisses down her throat as he removed her bra, revealing her plump bosom. his wandering hand teased one of her mountains while his lips climbed the other, eliciting another round of moaning from the beautiful woman. what was weird, though, was that aron was acting like he had experience. but he could swear that he had no knowledge of bedroom activities other than the porn he''d watched growing up. it was almost like someone had downloaded the knowledge into his subconscious mind, and it was only now coming into focus! Chapter 265 How to Upgrade Your Girlfriend chapter 265 how to upgrade your girlfriend aron woke up feeling quite happy. he couldn''t help but smile when he remembered last night. although they were both first-timers, he really hadn''t disappointed at all, going five rounds before he was forced to stop as he realized the difference between his stamina and rina''s. he had to give her a breather, as she had nearly passed out from that many orgasms. and with it being her first sexual experience, he had nearly broken her, but they still fell asleep in each other''s arms with smiles on their faces. he turned his head and looked at rina, who was sleeping with her head pillowed on his arm. it would have been a nightmare, if he was a normal person, but he was feeling nothing of the sort at all; his blood supply couldn''t be interrupted by such a light head. it was just another benefit of being overpowered. he watched her for a few minutes without doing anything until rina''s eyes fluttered and opened, meeting his. aron, who had been caught gazing at her, flashed an embarrassed smile that was mirrored by rina as she remembered the events of the night before. "morning," aron greeted her. "morning, how''re you?" she replied. "i''m fine, but i don''t think you are," he said when he saw her expression. rina hid her face and mumbled, "i''m sore down there." aron was reminded of what he had done to her. he pondered for a moment, then asked, "do you want to undergo a round of genetic enhancements? it seems like your body won''t be able to hold on and might break down if this continues any longer." he didn''t think the soreness was just because of it being her first time; it was likely because he was just way too strong. "you have genetic enhancement tech already?" she asked, quite surprised. she knew that since aron had mentioned it, it meant that it was ready for commercial use. she was sure he wouldn''t use her as a guinea pig. "yes. we''ve been using it for months nownearly all the soldiers who come to the cube are receiving it the first time they log into the vr pods for military training." "if it''s like that, i''ll thankfully accept it," she agreed. she didn''t even consider turning it down, as the thought of feeling this pain every time they were intimate frightened her. n0vlusb.c0m "sure, let''s do it now. the earlier you undergo the treatment, the earlier we can enjoy ourselves without worry." he smiled and immediately got out of bed, revealing the toned muscles that had been hidden by the bed sheet. the view elicited another gasp from rina, who was struggling to stand as her legs were giving out on her. "let me help," aron said as he picked her up to a seated position and helped her dress. then he picked her up in a princess carry, brought her into the waiting elevator, and headed down. rina, still embarrassed, could only hide her face against his chest. reaching on the same basement floor where he had undergone the latest system evolution, he put her inside his pod. there were only two therehis, and the one that had been used by vladimir. the russian spy was now back in his country, still undergoing an investigation into his disappearance. "this is one of the pods. it''s mostly the same as the ones being used by the soldiers, but this one''s my personal pod. once you get in, you''ll be anesthetized and the treatment will begin. the treatment takes a week, during which you won''t be able to log out from the universal simulation. once you''re done, you''ll wake up feeling much better," aron said as he ruffled her messed-up hair as cover for applying a calming rune that he had prepared when he noticed how anxious she was. "there''s nothing to worry about. i''ll join you in a few hours after the process starts," he said to the now completely calm rina, who was quietly listening to him. with a nod from her, the breathing apparatus dropped down and sealed itself to her face before the capsule door closed, then released the same fog it had when aron was using it. she immediately drifted off to sleep before she could grow anxious again. the following procedure was the same one that every soldier underwent; the only difference was that she had been injected with a current-generation serum that''d just finished going through trials in the lab city. it would also be rolled out to the soldiers, but not everyone would be given access to it. instead, it would be used as a benefit and incentive in conjunction with other rewards. among the first batch to receive the new serum would be those that had performed well in both the war and the peacekeeping mission in esparia. once all of the soldiers finished their basic training in the cube, the pods would be upgraded and the new serum would be administered to those who had earned it. when aron saw that the process had begun, he locked the door and returned to his room. logging into the simulation, he was immediately met by nova, who had a knowing smile on her face. [i expected you to drag it out for a while and only make a move when she was about to return home,] she teased. aron had taken a huge leap in his relationship status and she was pleased, as she''d spent a long time watching their interactions with each other. she''d even been about to give up on waiting and personally act, but thanks to rina''s leap of faith, aron had wasted no time in making a move of his own. with one stroke, he''d taken their relationship to the next level; not even one thought of taking it slower had come to their minds. "i didn''t expect it either," he said with a smile as he was once again reminded of the night before. [well congratulations on giving up your v card,] nova chuckled, then added, [you could''ve asked me for help in that department and i would''ve created a beautiful woman to help you release your desires and gain experience. then i wouldn''t have been forced to resort to putting that knowledge in your subconscious.] she confirmed that aron''s weirdly experienced performance of the night before was all to her credit. "how''s everything going?" he asked, changing the topic. it was his first time feeling like this and he was still having trouble figuring out how he should react, so he decided to push it off until later to give him time to think and process things. [i''ve already injected the genetic serum you picked out for her, and started the process of assimilating some of the important knowledge for her safety and other few important things. once that''s done downloading, i''ll wake her up in the simulation. you''ll have plenty of time there to deepen your relationship with her, as just having sex doesn''t mean everything''s sorted. you need to at least sit down and confess your feelings to her and reassure her that she isn''t just a one night stand to you. after all, she gave you her first time,] nova said, giving him solid advice despite her teasing tone. Chapter 266 Oil, That is. Black Gold, Texas Tea chapter 266 oil, that is. black gold, texas tea a week later. aron was going at it with rina in one of the mansions built for him in the universal simulation, their tenth round of the day. that had been a frequent activity over the past week, since aron had spent most of his time with her doing many different things... including skinship. and since there was no pain in the simulation, they constantly did it as if they were trying to make up for all of the time they had lived without it. they had become completely addicted to each other. everything had happened after they''d clarified their relationship the moment rina had woken up, as aron didn''t want to delay the conversation. he had seen many movies where any kind of delay at all would result in the main character losing their chance, so he went for it. and it seemed that she''d seen the same movies, since she had wanted to have ''the talk'' as soon as she woke up as well. thus, they had officially started dating; it was a first for both of them. in the real world, nothing much had happened over the week. the citizens of eden had spent most of it discussing who the candidates in the upcoming presidential election would be. they were still sure that alexander would win, though, as everyone who was asked had claimed that they would vote for him. but all of that was before friday, when alexander took to the podium and announced something that no one had ever expected to hear: they''d discovered oil in their exclusive economic zone. the citizens went ballistic, but the celebration was overshadowed when they heard that with the discovery of oil in just that location alone, they had become one of the top ten countries in the world in terms of oil reserves. together with that announcement came another about how they planned to extract it. and furthermore, alexander mentioned how the citizens would benefit from having such vast natural resources. he had said with conviction that they were going to open the bidding for a contract to extract the oil, with all of the rights going to a single company that would be responsible for all of the drilling. so long as they followed the agreement to the letter, they would be fine; but if they were found to be malfeasant, they would immediately lose the rights to exploit the reserves and, if appropriate, issued further punishments according to law. as for how the citizens in general would benefit from the discovery, he said the profits would be invested into implementing a universal health care system, while reiterating that their health care would be different from the rest of the countries that had it. theirs would be focused on guaranteeing that everyone would get the treatment they need when they need it, without delay. the rest of the world had different reactions based on where they were. esparians were both envious and worried that the edenians would discover similar resources in their country, and based on the surrender accord they had signed, they knew they would be doomed to forever share the profits from any discoveries. some of them that didn''t want it to happen went so far as praying that they didn''t have any of the resources in the first place. and if they did discover anything, they definitely didn''t want it to be discovered by the edenians within the next six months. the article that they had thought was put into the accord just to fill space seemed to have backfired on them. as for america and europe, there were different reactions. the governments congratulated eden on their massive discovery and hinted at being open to cooperationas long as eden awarded the contract to one of their oil companies, with this being the result of the lobbyist hired by these companiesbut the citizens were split between congratulations and condolences. congratulations on the discovery, and condolences on the soon-to-begin exploitation of their so-far unspoiled natural environment. in america, in particular, there was a flood of memes targeted at spreading their democratic ideals "a thousand pounds at a time". but jokes aside, there was actually a real chance of some shady american oil lobbyist causing turmoil in eden so they could have access to the oil there. still, the happiness of the edenians didn''t diminish at all; they were thrilled at having made such an important discovery. ..... aron, who had been cuddling rina in bed and watching alexander''s press conference, said, "it''s time to wake you up so you can meet your new body." their lovey dovey behavior had continued throughout the week, causing nova to roll her eyes so many times that she risked her irises getting stuck to the top of her eye sockets. the constant pda was cringey to the extreme. "see you on the other side," rina said, then kissed him and chose to log out so she could wake up. aron logged out as well, then headed to the secure pod room so he would be the first person she saw. pssssssst the mana was drained out of the pod as the lid opened, revealing rina, whose evolved body had reached a divine level of beauty that had even aron mesmerized for a moment. the changes were enormous. and it wasn''t just her breasts, as everything about her had become bigger and better than it previously was. "wow..." aron said when rina rose naked from the pod. the clothes she''d been wearing had been disintegrated to prevent any issues from arising due to ill-fitting clothing. n0velusb.c0m he picked up a towel and moved to cover her, while etching the appearance of the new rina into his memory at the same time. despite having done it in the vr moments ago, his body hadn''t been involved; it was only satisfying for his brain. as he covered her with the towel, he hugged her and kissed her forehead. then he moved away so she could see herself in the mirror. she was shocked to find that every one of her features had been either enhanced or enlarged to fit the proportions of her new body. she had gone from 1.65 to 1.75 meters tall, reducing the height difference between her and aron. her hair was more smooth and shiny, yet still thick. her hazel eyes had lightened and gained something of a golden tint to them, and her lips had filled out, enhancing the appearance of her already naturally beautiful face. her breasts were bigger, along with her butt, and her hips had widened. and she had also lost all of the hair on her body below her neck, something that every woman would wish for if they found a genie''s lamp. "what inner enhancements did she receive?" aron asked the empty room while rina was busy marveling at her new appearance. [her bones and muscles have been strengthened. the increase in strength was gradually mirrored in the simulation, so she should be able to control it. also, a few more enhancements were made to the rest of her body so it can function as it''s supposed to. for instance, she''s now immune to diseases and will never be allergic to anything. her memory has been enhanced, and she has perfect eyesight. she''ll never....] nova listed all of the changes rina had undergone while she and aron listened to the ai''s report. rina hugged aron hard and murmured, "thank you so, so much for this." "no need for thanks. i also did it because i wanted to ensure your safety," he said. rina raised her head and gazed at aron, who wasted no time and immediately moved his head down to make out with her and start the first in-person round of ''battling'' of the day. Chapter 267 A New Era Begins For Eden ? the rest of the month, the citizens of eden had wide smiles on their faces whenever they remembered the announcement, and speculation on who would win the bid ran rampant. together with that, a few opposition parties had already been formed and announced their candidacy for president. leading the officially formed parties were the other revolutionary leaders, who were very jealous of alexander''s position. they each trusted that they had enough support to win, between their followers and the recognition they had as leaders of the revolution against adolf. this belief stemmed from believing that alexander just got lucky and was missed when they got arrested as he was the leader with the fewest direct followers, after all. although many people would have thought that forming an alliance would make it a bit easier for them to win the election, that wasn''t an easy thing to do. not many people would give up their opportunity to grasp power when they had it, something an alliance would require. there was only one president, after all. it was the same dilemma as jack sparrow faced, with everyone voting for themselves until they decided to go their own ways. other than those parties, there was another one that attracted quite a lot of attention. not because of the benefits they promised the citizens, but because of what they promised to do to alexander when they won the election. their first promise was that they would immediately investigate alexander for embezzling government funds during the transition. and they didn''t stop there; they wanted to pardon adolf. and with that, people knew who they were: former beneficiaries of the adolf dictatorship that used to live like kings. their party was supported in large part by the people who had been living their best lives during the dictator''s regime and were fondly looking back on those times. what people didn''t know was that nearly all the members of that party were still being investigated for things they did during adolf''s reign and had chosen to enter politics in hopes of being able to avoid prosecution. if the government moved to prosecute them during the campaign or anytime after that, they could frame it as alexander using the government to suppress his political opponents rather than seeking justice; it would point to him as being just another dictatorlike the man he had ''illegally'' deposedcovering himself in the false flag of democracy. alas, alexander didn''t care about them at all, as he wasn''t worried about the pressure from the criminal community in the first place. and that wasn''t the only thing giving him confidence. while the other parties were rushing from one place to another, kissing babies and shaking hands in an attempt to gather as many votes as possible, he remained focused on his work as the president of the country. he wasn''t planning to campaign at all, and whenever he was asked about his lackadaisical approach to campaigning, his answer was, "as the interim president, people already know how i plan to lead and what my goals are. if they don''t know that by now, then i''ve already failed." he didn''t care at all about all of the political mudslinging and other ''rules of the game''. while the presidential campaigns were in full swing and with the reminder of other elections, which were still five month away, those who were aiming to run for a governmental position started joining different parties and announcing their intention to run for office as members of parliament. alexander''s party received the highest number of potential candidates, as everyone was sure that the moment they received the endorsement and support of his party, winning would be the rule and not the exception. that phenomenon gave him a massive political following that were constantly being given reasons on why they should like him more and more, as there were new and beneficial things happening in eden. plus, he had won a war with their historical enemy, setting his influence in stone; even if he somehow failed to win the presidency, he would still be a kingmaker. ... today was one of those days where his followers were being given another thing to brag about, as alexander was standing in front of a massive power transformer surrounded by a tall fence. he was waiting for the perfect moment to address the audience and cameras. in front of the transformer''s fence were two posts with a brilliant red ribbon suspended between them, tied in a bow. it was the day that aron''s utility infrastructure would go into operation in edenia, and at precisely noon, alexander would cut the ribbon. "during the previous regime, most of our national funds were being used to enrich the former dictator. there was little to nothing being used to nurture the citizens of this great nation. and the corruption trickled down from there. the little money that was spent on enriching the lives of our citizens was embezzled by lower-ranked officials after most of it going into the pockets of a dictator, leaving only crumbs of the initial amount. our citizens have faced unclean water, constant interruptions in electrical services, and raw sewage spills, all while paying high prices for the ''privilege'' of service. but no longer! "it ends today, as this date marks the beginning of a continuous supply of electricity and clean water at affordable prices. though we begin today in edenia, over the next month, the citizens in every city will enjoy the same clean water, reliable internet, consistent electrical power, and the comfort of working plumbing. today is the dawning of a new era for the people of our great eden, the era of unlimited services!" alexander said, eliciting applause and cheering from those attending the ribbon cutting ceremony. "with this completion, a few changes will come into our life along with the new utility infrastructure. from today onward, the price of electricity and water will start and continue falling until it reaches a stable price point. the same holds for sewer assessments, as well as internet service. we''ve worked hand-in-hand with connect, who has guaranteed stable service at the lowest possible prices thanks to their investments...." alexander continued his speech as people periodically cheered and applauded, then finished by inviting felix to join him in cutting the ribbon. as felix walked to the podium, he also received only slightly less cheers than the president, as his was one of the most-loved companies in the country. their reputation had even been stellar during adolf''s regime, as it had been providing cheap, consistent, and fast internet. and even with a country-wide monopoly, it didn''t seem as if they were planning on increasing the fees to an exorbitant level. in any normal country, that would force the government to intervene and break the company apart; but in a dictatorship like the one adolf headed, everything was negotiable... for the right price. so the fact that connect hadn''t gouged them had won their hearts, not to mention the active propaganda campaign run by nova. felix joined alexander on stage as the president moved in front of the podium and offered one handle of the oversized ceremonial scissors to him. he took the offered handle, glanced at the time in the hud of his glasses, and said, "let today be written in history as the day that the citizens of eden witnessed the dawning of a new era."n0velusb.c0m he cut the ribbon with a smile on his face as cameras flashed. Chapter 268 Parting ? "even after being enhanced, i still can''t handle you.... what the hell did they inject you with?" rina asked as she crawled away from aron, still feeling the aftereffects of their last battle. she still couldn''t believe the stamina of that man. "mine was made specifically for me, not for general use. so it was specifically tuned for my body," he answered as rina moved to his side and laid her head on his chest. "i need to talk to you about something," she said after catching her breath. a certain calm washed over her as aron ran his hand up and down her spine; she quite enjoyed it. "is it about returning home?" he asked, as he knew it was bound to come. "yes. i need to finish dealing with my brother now that enough time has passed. he should be fully assured that i''m still looking for evidence of the attacker, so now''s a good time for me to surprise him and end this farce once and for all. then i''ll take my place as the family head in waiting, which should allow me to be of more help to you. after all, it seems like you''ve unintentionally started a fight with the morgans... and they''ll never take it lying down. they''ll try their hardest to return the favor many times over, and i need to at least try and help you with that," she said as she idly fingerpainted his chest using shadows as paint. "so, when do you plan to return?" he asked, as he knew that he would only be able to occasionally see her in real life, unless she decided to permanently move to eden. he knew he could ask her to stay, and she most likely would, but he also knew that she wasn''t suited to be a trophy wife. she had spent her entire life in a bid to overtake her brother, and asking her to remain for him would leave a shadow in her heart and cost her many things in life. "next week. there''s an upcoming board meeting that i can use to surprise them with my evidence so he won''t have time to come up with excuses. although i could solve them, it''d take some effort, effort that i don''t wish to expend." rina had already thought up a rough plan. "no problem, you can take my plane back. also, you don''t have to worry about him pulling any more bullshit, as alex should be enough to handle them now," aron said. he wouldn''t ask her to stay for himself. he was only a luxury private jet flight away, if they missed each other, and the moment she became the heir she could just move to eden with him. plus, they could always meet in vr while they were separated. with that out of the way, they continued enjoying each other''s company and touring places on the island they hadn''t yet seen over the past month. he had already introduced her to his parentsthis time as his girlfriendbut they didn''t seem surprised at all and just jokingly revealed that he was as dense as lead to have taken so long to realize her hints. his younger brother had just laughed and asked her to play some games with him; he had taken quite a liking to the beautiful lady. when they asked if they had mistaken something about her, as they remembered her being shorter, aron explained that she''d always been this tall. maybe they were just experiencing a mandela effect. his parents grudgingly agreed, as they couldn''t find any evidence to disprove that she wasn''t tall before other than their memory. ...... "have you already submitted the bid?" aron asked felix during their monthly meeting. "yes, and it''s passed the first round so we won''t need to submit a corrected one," felix replied at the same time as he forwarded a copy of the bid. "who else is submitting bids?" "nearly everyone in the oil industry from around the entire world tried using their experience in the field to gain an advantage over the others. some are even using their countries to pressure alexander and the committee into choosing them. russia and china hinted that they''re in the final phase of their evaluation and would be making their decision on whether to allow eden into the un soon," felix sneered. alexander was in quite a dilemma. "you don''t have to worry about that, as we''re guaranteed to win the bid. we''re basically the only option for him, since by picking our company, he''ll be supporting the domestic industry. plus, he won''t be siding with any specific country. that neutral stance will prevent any of them from trying to use the situation to retaliate, since doing that would only show their pettiness and result in other countries coming to our defense," aron said in a single breath. he had long planned for that exact outcome before they''d even announced the discovery to the public. "makes sense," felix responded. he wondered how his friend had gotten so good at politicking and scheming, which would be considered abnormal behavior from the person he''d known for so long. "sarah, how many users are we at?" "we''ve got 1.5 billion active accounts, but the growth has started stagnating. nearly half of everyone on the internet has already created an account," she answered. "you can stop focusing on attracting new users and move to figuring out how to keep the ones we have active. as for drawing in new accounts, there''s no need to worry about that. soon, pangea will be integrated into every product we make, meaning they''ll require an account in order to use anything of ours," aron said, shifting the company''s approach toward making pangea the most addictive app they could. it was a necessary move, since in order to control the public narrative outside of the tiny country of eden, he needed all eyes on pangea, not any other social media app. following those instructions, the three discussed different things regarding the development of the company and what their next product would be. aron only said it would be a physical product, not just software, but to get it into production, eden''s industrial foundation needed to be built first. otherwise, it would just be a big fat nothing burger.n0velusb.c0m ... later that day, after the meeting. "where''s rina?" sarah teasingly asked, as she and felix had also been introduced to her as aron''s girlfriend. it was their second simultaneous shockfirst, aron had a girlfriend? since when? how did she manage to drill through the bedrock his skull was built out of? the second shock was her new appearance. they had both seen, and worked, with her before her enhancement, so since aron couldn''t gaslight that away as they had knowledge of the serum and he had already offered it to them before but they had postponed it due to working on the projects, so when he told them it was the result of the serum they wasted no time and had asked to use it and undergo an abbreviated enhancement procedure. "she''s already headed home, as she needs to finish something," aron answered. "that''s too bad. i wanted to talk with her for a bit, as she''s quite knowledgeable in business and has given me quite a few insights." "you can always see her in vryou know that, right?" aron replied, knowing that sarah was just teasing him about his girlfriend having left. Chapter 269 Aliens Did It! ? as aron''s jet was carrying rina on its final approach to laguardia airport, she was looking out of the window, not tired of the view at all. although the rothschilds could afford such a massive plane, they wouldn''t use it as a personal jet; the upkeep needed to have it continuously flight ready was massive. and for a family that already had more than ten private planes and could afford to charter any aircraft from any airline in america at a moment''s notice, it didn''t make sense to buy them. the landing was as smooth as it was in eden, and the unloading proceeded apace. rina disembarked the plane, got in one of the cars, and left without wasting too much time. she even bypassed the security screening again, having already handled it at the immigration checkpoint at the airport in eden. no rothschild would ever have to stand in the long lines at immigration like normal people. as the convoy was driving back to her house, she passed the location where the previous attack had taken place. although everything had been taken away for the investigation, traces of yellow crime scene tape remained. some people had even put flowers up at a makeshift memorial for those who''d died there. although it had been more than a month since the attack, the case was still ongoing. every time they found a piece of evidence, it would disprove one or more of the investigators'' theories. at this point, they were almost ready to throw their hands in the air and claim it was an alien attack just so the fbi agents could go home to their families for at least one night. as they passed through, rina was watching the news when a story attracted her attention and, after watching it, she found herself smiling. "moments ago, armed attackers, who were trying to rob what they thought was a secret bank, ended up assaulting a darpa research facility. the attackers were apprehended by security after successfully entering the building...." rina immediately knew what the event they were talking about was without even having to watch the report any longer, so she turned off the satellite tv and returned to staring outside the window. she couldn''t wait for the board meeting; anticipation had her almost as twitchy as an ant on a hot frying pan. ... in the rothschild compound, a board meeting was taking place with one of the chairs in the room empty, as if someone was supposed to be sitting there. "i suggest we should invest in eden, as, with the recent discovery of oil there, i suspect they''ll discover more of it. it''ll either be in eden or esparia, and i think it''ll be within the next five months. if we invest now, we should be able to steal a march on the morgans, who seem to have already invested in esparia. even if we don''t count the military support they gave to that third world shithole during their playground spat, the esparian government is still heavily indebted to them from the monetary support that went along with the materiel support for that joke of a conflict. no-velusb-c-o-m "by investing now, we''ll be flipping a middle finger to them, both financially and physically, and it would count as our first act of retaliation. especially if we support eden and help them discover as many resources in esparia as possible within the remaining five months as stipulated in their surrender accord. doing so would put us in the position to benefit from the morgans'' losses, while they''ll be unable to do anything of significance to stop us," said a board member, bringing up the topic of choosing when to invest in eden and esparia. "it should also be easy for us, since miss rina seems to have already formed connections with the higher-ups of eden. she''ll be a suitable person to be responsible for our investments there, as she already has a foundation," said hebel, inserting a plug for rina, who wasn''t in attendance. "it seems like you people continue to forget your position, or has the quality of our branch families fallen so low?" arieh entered the conversation when he saw the discussion turning in favor of rina, who wasn''t even there! besides, it was coming from one of the people he knew had betrayed him and chosen her side, though secretly. that was the last straw, and he decided to cut through and start with a disrespectful remark. he didn''t even care that the family head was in the room with them. "what do you mean by that?" hebel asked. he wouldn''t take that insult without doing anything, so he asked for clarification to see if arieh would take back his statement or not. that in itself would count as a humiliation for him, and if he decided to double down, it would provoke a reaction from the family head. arieh, knowing what hebel meant by that question, didn''t care and continued, "we''re the fucking rothschilds, and we get what we want no matter what! but we do it while maintaining our family''s dignity. so how disrespectful is it when someone from the board is heard proposing we cooperate with some third world shithole like they''re our equal? are you that dumb, or is your self-esteem just that low? with countries of that level, we don''t cooperatewe demand! they have no choice in the matter!" arieh stared hebel down. "you''re right about that, but don''t you think you look like someone who just wants to flaunt his superiority when it isn''t needed?" hebel said. he didn''t deny anything arieh had said, as that would just make the meeting go off on a tangent and waste everyone''s time. "we need to create a first impression that won''t allow any disrespectful behavior in the future," arieh said. he was adamant that they go there with their noses in the sky. "and how do you imagine that''ll happen?" uria cut in and asked. "i think i''m more suitable than my dear sister. especially with my position in the family... i need to do something to return the favor of the morgans, no?" arieh said, finally revealing his fangs. "i''m against it. everyone knows that miss rina is already established there, unlike you, who only discovered its existence when the news showed her being there. by which point, may i remind you, she seemed to have already established her channels of communication. so i think we should make her the point of contact for the relationship between eden and us, as she discovered them first. i''m sure she already has an idea on how to approach them and build business relationships," uram said. he wanted to directly block arieh from taking rina''s place and credit. when arieh had heard about her spending a month there, he couldn''t help but smile. he knew that the month she had spent there wasn''t because she was building some bullshit ''business relationship'' or anything, but because she was investigating the attack on her and was too afraid to come back. at least until she knew no more attempts would be made on her life, that is. he was positive that she wouldn''t call for help from the family, as that would be seen as a sign of weakness. it would also lower her value in the eyes of the board members. and as long as she didn''t have any evidence backing her accusation of who her attacker was, no one would believe anything she said, let alone who she suspected, so she would be punished for accusing someone without evidence. although he was curious and angered by the disrespect terry showed him by ignoring his calls, all of that rage had disappeared earlier when he received the news that terry and katrina had been arrested while attempting to rob a darpa research facility. it seemed absurd to him, but he didn''t care at all; he just called a few people to have them "commit suicide in their cells", as he didn''t want the man to be brought back to the compound at all. that wouldn''t be a good thing for arieh, no matter the circumstances of the man''s return. but now that that had been handled, he could be said to be the most happy man in the compound. with a huge smile on his face, he said, "her being there for more than a month and not even coming back for a meeting should be indication enough that she''s struggling to establish relationships there. that''s another reason i nominated myself for that position, as she''s still inexperienced in the field of business." he was trying to paint rina''s absence from the meeting as incompetence and disrespect, seeking small gains at the cost of big losses in the competition between the siblings. "you don''t have to worry about that," came a cold voice as the door was opened and rina entered the room. her confidence gave arieh a mild scare, as he had a hunch that things were about to go very, very wrong for him. but he didn''t understand how, as he was positive that he had cleaned up after himself very well. rina walked around the table and took her seat while maintaining eye contact with her murderous brother. Chapter 270 He Done Fucked Up ? aron was in his uniform, inspecting the fourth batch of graduating esparian soldiers. they stood at attention in front of him as he passed through them. it had become a tradition for him to inspect each batch of graduates. every man had had a dream of being the general of a massive army at one point in their lives, and aron had actually accomplished it. thus, he didn''t skimp on the pomp and circumstance at all. as he walked through their formation, he couldn''t help but smile when he remembered the reaction of the first batch of esparian soldiers who woke up and found themselves in vr for training. when the knowledge of what was going to happen to them had been assimilated into their minds (athena had determined that explaining it in words was a waste of time, so she had begun using direct assimilation instead), the expressions on their faces were truly something to behold. they even had goosebumps all over their virtual bodies when they came to the realization of what kind of monsters they had fought in the war. and with that realization came gratitude. they felt nothing but grateful to eden, who, despite having such massive power at their disposal, had decided to go easy on them and not massacre them like chickens in a slaughterhouse. even from the little knowledge they had received to get them accustomed to vr, they could extrapolate that if eden were to go all out, the entire war would have lasted less than an hour. but esparia would have to spend more than a decade to recover from that single hour of damage that would have rained down upon them. with the start of their training, they realized that their assumptions seemed to have stemmed from having eyes but being unable to see mount tai. that was especially the case when they discovered the enemies they would be fighting against in their training with their lives on the line. they had begun by fighting enemies that made them feel despair, despite the advanced tech now at their disposal, and those weren''t even the worst enemies they had to face in their training. upon finishing his inspection, aron left to allow the ceremony to continue and the graduates to enjoy themselves. they wouldn''t be able to do that if he remained there, so he invited athena to take over and continue the ceremony. once it was over, the soldiers left their pods and headed to their assigned rooms to rest and wait for transportation to take them to the port. then they would be returned to esparia to begin their mission as members of the ares esparia division. ... "did it start already?" aron asked as nova teleported him to one of his mansions inside the universal simulation. it was surrounded in a time field that was synchronized with the time in reality. from there, he would watch the rothschild board meeting through rina''s glasses. naturally, it was with her knowledge and consent, of course. [yes, she just entered a few seconds ago,] nova said as she accelerated the time dilation in the mansion to 2:1 and restarted the recording, showing him what had taken place earlier. then she returned the time dilation to 1:1 so aron could watch things play out in real time. ... "eden is my domain. don''t reach your grubby hands out to take what''s mine. i''ve been working on it for a long time," rina said with confidence. she wasn''t worried about it being taken from her at all. "it would''ve been that way if you''d gone there with the family''s blessing. but since you didn''t, then the family rules apply. when it comes to the family''s interest, it supersedes your own and the board members will vote to decide what''s yours and what''s the family''s," arieh sneered. he was positive that, if it really went to a vote, he would win. to the best of his knowledge, rina had only successfully managed to buy three board members. and that, in and of itself, didn''t guarantee that they would vote for her. at least if hebel wasn''t included, as he seemed to have completely chosen her side. "sure, let''s vote," rina said. she turned and looked at the board members and said, "those in favor of arieh being responsible for the family''s plans in eden, raise your hands." she had a calm smile on her face, causing arieh to feel anxious.no-velusb-c-o-m not one single person raised their hand, catching both arieh and the family head off guard; neither had expected such a unanimous vote. ''looks like i''m getting old,'' the family head thought to himself when he realized that rina had already brought all the board members to her side. "those in favor of leaving me to continue my business without interference?" she asked. once again, arieh and the family head were left dumbfounded as the vote was unanimous. every board member, other than the family head and arieh, had raised their hands. the secretary took over and said, "with the votes tallied, the board has unanimously decided that we won''t be entering eden and will leave miss rina to continue her plans. the family will completely support her in her goals." with that, the vote was officially over and could only be overturned by bringing evidence that the initial decision was wrong, prompting another vote. rina turned to arieh and, with a smile that hid daggers behind it, asked, "anything you want to say?" "h... how!?" he stammered, his brain still not registering what had happened. he''d thought that rina only had three board members on her side and was being naive to think that they would even vote for her! but instead, it seemed that he was the naive one, as he hadn''t even realized that he had no support on his side any more. "it doesn''t concern you," she said as she turned to the family head, who had a proud smile on his face. as he looked at his daughter with the eyes of a proud father, she said, "i''d like to report a member who broke the family rules and made an attempt on my life." the smile completely disappeared from the family head''s face, then was replaced by rage at the idea that a family member had attempted to take the life of a main family''s descendant. "who is it, and what evidence do you have to back your accusation?" he asked, speaking for the first time since the board meeting had begun. "it''s all here," she said and removed a usb stick from her pursea custom luxury gift from novathen extended it to the secretary. immediately understanding what was wanted of her, she took the thumb drive and inserted it into the computer that was linked to the projector. there was one folder on the thumb drive, and within it was an audio recording of what had transpired in arieh''s office shortly before nova had her unplanned meltdown, and a few image files. when the secretary clicked on the recording, the computer was immediately taken over by nova and what was being shown on the projector changed. it began playing the recording of the conversation between charlotte and terry. the sound visualization had terry and charlotte''s headshots on either side of it, alternately brightening and dimming when to show which of them was speaking. arieh couldn''t believe what was happening. he was almost convinced that he was in a nightmare as he felt the weight of consequences looming over him and settling on his shoulders. he''d been so sure that it would be impossible to record anything in his or his secretary''s office, since he had them swept for bugs on a daily basis. and as impossible as it would be to bug their offices, it was even more so for the phone call that was taking place, since it was from a brand-new burner phone to another brand-new burner and had taken place in one of those ''secure'' locations! but what he had failed to consider was the possibility of the recording being taken straight from the memory of one of the participants in the call. who could blame him for missing that, though? "you need to finish what you started," said the caller, charlotte. "i need time, money, and information to accomplish it without any problems," terry''s voice replied. "i''ll email you an account number. use that money to solve any problems that arise. you have a month to take action," she replied. as the recording reached that part, the screenshot of a bank account appeared on the projector screen. it showed the amount of money in it from before the call, and what had been used over the month following the call. everything was annotated, noting how much was withdrawn or transferred and where or to whom it went. when arieh saw the beginning of the recording, he knew he done fucked up. Chapter 271 ...fuck chapter 271 ...fuck without caring about what arieh was feeling, nova continued playing the recorded phone call between charlotte and terry. then it moved to video footage of terry meeting the leaders of the different groups he had hired to ambush rina. unfortunately, there was no sound, but that was covered by the phone calls between him and their teams explaining the mission he was hiring them to do. those recordings were accompanied by detailed transaction records of weapon purchases that he made to sufficiently arm them. the recording soon moved on to the day rina had been being driven from the rothschild compound to the airport and showed that whenever the convoy deviated from the planned route, it was because an ambush was awaiting them. the ambush sites were shown as still images, with names and headshots linked to each individual shown in the images. they were matched to different ''dark'' mercenary groups, those that were unafraid to get their hands bloody... as long as the price was right. each of the leaders were highlighted, and still images were displayed that showed their meetings with terry. they were shown with every unplanned route deviation that rina''s convoy took until they reached the access road. then a video taken from the follow car''s rear-facing camera showed all of the mercenary groups chasing after the convoy until it split up. the video footage continued, showing the plainclothes ares members dealing with the chasing mercenaries, then cleaning up the attack site to muddy the evidence. the video ended there and was followed by the recorded phone call between arieh and terry, where terry confirmed her death. it was the first time the mastermind of the attack had been recorded, but everyone in the room recognized the voice and they all turned to arieh, death stares on their faces. arieh paled and broke out in a cold sweat as his heart pounded like it wanted to escape his chest. he prayed that the display of evidence would end soon, but that was simply just not to be. the projector mercilessly continued, showing a few more pieces of evidence before ending with the recorded phone call from terry to arieh shortly after rina was caught on camera during the edenian parade. arieh was shouting and raging about "the bitch" still being alive. then nova released her control of the projector as the autoplaying file came to an end. after the display ended, the room was as still as a mausoleum. nobody moved, not even to bring the lights back up to full; everyone was pondering things that only they knew. a few of them wondered why arieh chose to go to such an extreme, despite the consequences. others wondered how rina had collected all of that evidence without alerting her brother, who would have already started looking for countermeasures if he were to know that she had such a ''nuclear bomb'' in her possession. they were sure he wouldn''t be able to explain that amount of proof away, but perhaps a miracle could have occurred. the family head was giving his son a death glare and sitting in his usual silence, but everyone in the room knew that this silence in particular was different. anyone who tried messing with him right now would receive a punishment that would make them regret it forever. "anything you want to say?" he asked, struggling to remain partial. flustered and panicking, arieh''s voice broke as he screamed, "she''s framing me father and that''s all fabricated evidence!" "are you sure about that? you know that if we investigate and it''s revealed that you lied about her framing you, the punishment would be doubled," the family head asked. lying to him came with severe consequences. "...fuck." arieh knew the family head wasn''t joking at all and had no answer to his father''s question. he knew when to advance and when to retreat, and now was definitely the time for the latter. anything he said would result in just increasing his punishment, which would already be heavier than normal. "arieh noga yehonatan stav rothschild, you are to be held on house arrest as our team investigates the situation. if it is revealed to be true that you attempted to assassinate your sister, you will be removed from the competition and have five generations of your descendants barred from participating in the future." the family head stood and walked to rina, then calmly patted her shoulder and left the board room, officially marking an abrupt end to the board meeting. it looked like rina was now officially the next rothschild family head, as no one was left in the competition but her. that meant that she could now publicly use the influence she had already been using before by blackmailing the board members, but without worrying about someone raising a question about it. now, they would simply attribute it to her being the next family head; they would never even consider the possibility of her having held leverage over them before the competition had ended. ... "man, that was even better than a movie," aron said as he watched the mess caused by his girlfriend in the board meeting. he had a bucket of popcorn next to him and was intermittently sipping from a soft drink that was as close to the flavor of coke as nova could make it. the taste of "cola" was something that not even nova could simulate, which meant that humanity was doomed to forever be unable to answer the question of coke''s secret recipe. "hey nova, this coke tastes a bit... off," aron said. [well, that''s because nobody knows what coke tastes like. not even with all of my computing power could i simulate that,] she joked. "i think we should consider going into the entertainment industry," aron mused. the board meeting had excited him, as it was one of the things where, although he knew the result, he couldn''t really tell what twists and turns would happen along the way. there was a constant increase in variables as more information was introduced into the situation. [movies and tv?] asked nova. n.o/vel,u(s(b/.-c-o.m "yes. but at the moment, we should only start exploring and planning. as for when we should officially enter the field? make it after we''ve released our own vr and ar devices," aron answered, tabling the project for the future. [sir, it''s time for henry''s lesson,] nova reminded aron about the upcoming class. he had taken the responsibility of teaching his little brother and had been doing it together with rina over the past month. henry loved and hated it at the same time, as whenever he was good, he would receive a gift from his elder brother. but whenever he misbehaved, one of them would be taken away. it made him the most attentive student of all the kids in his age range, as he couldn''t risk losing his things when he had worked hard to win them. "let''s go teach our student," aron said as he logged off. he wasn''t really the one that came up with the teaching material; nova was. after all, she had henry''s brain data and knew how to make things easier for him to understand, while also making him a critical thinker. and thanks to the best teacher in the world being responsible for teaching him, henry was rapidly growing in both knowledge and critical thinking skills. one day, when he went to a "proper" school, his assigned class would have everyone dropped down by a rank in the best student competition. what a lucky child. Chapter 272 Weapons of Mass Distraction chapter 272 weapons of mass distraction a month later, with a month to go before the presidential election, the candidates were campaigning with all their might. their parties each had their own platforms and were trying to sway people to vote for them, and in their minds, things were going very well; nearly all of their rallies were filled with cheering citizens. but all of the momentum they thought they had managed to build was crushed by a single announcement from the presidential palace. "we interrupt this regularly scheduled program for a breaking news report," an announcer said as the show on the television was interrupted by them to make an emergency announcement. "a team of researchers dispatched to esparia in search of natural resources and minerals has discovered a large oil deposit in the exclusive economic zone of esparia. "the deposits are in different places, but based on preliminary results, it''s suspected that the fields combined equal the one discovered earlier in eden. more details are to come as the preliminary results are verified by experts," said the reporter, her tone clearly hinting that she was excited and happy that eden now had another resource they could exploit. she was especially thrilled that the profits would be used to benefit her country''s citizens, including her. after a short pause, she continued, "the presidential spokesperson expressed the president''s happiness at receiving this unexpected news. interim president romero has already come to a decision on how the new oil fields are to be exploited, saying, ''in order to avoid wasting resources and to expedite the extraction of these new deposits, the company that wins the bid for extracting oil in eden will also be made responsible for extracting the esparian deposits. that will eliminate the need for another round of bids and streamline the extraction process.'' (author''s note: we''re in the process of adding surnames to people; "romero" is alexander''s surname.) "the announcement has made the bid for eden''s extraction rights even more hotly contested, with many bidders requesting to adjust their bids, and otherswho failed to pass the first reviewclamoring to allow new bids altogether. however, interim president romero declined, stating that the procedure would require too much time and delay the benefits to edenian and esparian citizens." the broadcast resulted in an uproar from the esparian citizens, with some of them even trying to organize riots to force their government to break the surrender accords, but they were only met with silence. they finally came to the realization that, for esparia to even attempt to break the accords, their military would need to be able to defend themselves from an inevitable edenian armed response. but that was already a non-option, as esparia didn''t even have a military anymore, and their retrained soldiers were unanimous in their refusal to violate the terms of their surrender. with the esparian division soldiers already having finished their training, the edenian division had retreated; the last batch had left the month before. some citizens who weren''t among those calling for violence were happy that they had discovered such massive resources in their country. especially since their country hadn''t even tried looking for them. but what they didn''t know was that esparia had been searched beforeand many times, at thatbut no experienced company would ever have thought to look in the location where the oil was eventually discovered. thus, it had been nearly impossible for the previous government to discover them. the announcement had also resulted in the oil giants increasing their efforts to win the bid for the extraction of oil in eden. their home countries had cranked up the pressure on the edenian government to choose their country''s companies. together with the pressure exerted by their countries after they lobbied them, certain companies took things into their own hands and attempted to bribe the members of the team they thought responsible for looking over their bids. even millions of dollars would be chump change in comparison to the exclusive contracts on offer, so their bribes were extremely generous. but all of those attempts were met with failure, and worse. the worse came for them a few days later when their bids were automatically declined following an investigation into the companies'' attempted corruption of the process. and they were declined with prejudice, meaning that no new bids from their companies would ever be accepted under any circumstances. thus, they were effectively and permanently blacklisted from operating in eden. that was an effective warning, since the first unlucky company to be blacklisted and whose bid was thrown out was gazprom, a prominent russian majority government-owned oil giant that accounted for nearly 12% of all refined oil products globally. eden''s response of uncompromising removal essentially served to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys and was a strong announcement that corruption in the bidding process would not be tolerated, no matter who attempted it. there was an inevitable backlash from the russian government, who claimed they had been set up and it was a manufactured reason to remove them from the competition, but that statement was immediately deleted when eden released the results of their investigation along with the accompanying evidence. it was an overwhelming amount of proof, which no one thought would be able to be manufactured within just a period of a few days. that also acted as another publicity stunt for alexander, who was now loved by nearly every citizen of his country. thanks to him and connect, every person in the country had access to continuous energy, clean water, and a reliable sewage system without having to worry about power outages or sewage spills. at the same time, the promise of lower prices had been kept word for word. the world''s reaction was that eden was just lucky to have discovered such a huge amount of wealth in a matter of a few months. and it was definitely an unexpected windfall for the adversarial nations; nobody even knew that prospectors had been sent out until the recent bombshell of an announcement. ... "when should i announce the winning bid?" alexander asked aron, as he was the kingmaker behind the soon-to-officially-be president romero. it was aron''s decision to release news of the new discovery in order to kill the momentum of alexander''s political rivals. other parties had been gaining traction among the public, and aron wanted alexander to win in a veritable landslide, one that would give him a proper mandate to rule and prevent a lot of trouble in the future. in politics, when one''s support among the voting population reached a certain amount, their opponents would be very leery about opposing them. he also wanted people to suspect the election was rigged in order to test pangea''s ability to control the public narrative, so it would be killing two birds with one stone. "delay it until after you win. if you announce it now, people will claim that you''re making a hasty decision in fear of losing the election. although that isn''t true, it''ll still cause some problems," aron answered. he and alexander were in vr, floating above edenia, though the city below them looked completely different from what it did in reality. if one were to look at it from afar, they would see many super-tall skyscrapers, and if they looked underground, they would see the comprehensive subway system that connected to the trunk lines spread across the country. the virtual city was also so clean that it practically sparkled; if it were in the real world, it would be considered an absolute marvel and one of the best cities in the world to live in. but alas, it was only a concept at the moment. aron was using it as a demonstration, showing alexander what he had planned for eden as a whole. it was also a good backdrop for the discussions they had, as well as a symbol of the bonds of friendship that had been developing between the men for quite some time.n-o)vel,u-s)b,,-c)o,m Chapter 273 The Landslide chapter 273 the landslide a month later. 89.97%.... that was the percentage of people who voted for alexander in the presidential election, which didn''t come as a surprise to anyone who lived in eden. the man was a living legend who won by that much without even actively campaigning, but rather by letting his work speak for itself. to celebrate his win, he announced a celebration rally to be held a week from the day the election result was announced. ... a massive crowd was gathered in one of the open fields in the city of edenia and soldiers were everywhere, dressed in their finery with holstered pistols at their sides. they were the ones responsible for controlling the crowd of attendees at the celebration rally and ensuring the safety of the newly elected president. he would soon arrive, so they were doing their final checks, making sure that nothing dangerous was hidden in the crowd. not too long after that, a convoy of black cars arrived with a certain level of fanfare. the security team came out of the lead and follow cars, then escorted the president to the stage. as they went, they made sure no one from the cheering public could get too near him, though alexander still shook some of the hands that were being extended to him from the crowd. one woman even swore never to wash her hand for the rest of their life due to how much she idolized him. when the president reached the stage, he immediately grabbed the microphone from the emcee and started delivering his victory speech; the crowd automatically went silent to listen to what he had to say. "ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your overwhelming support in this historic election. i have to say, it''s quite a change from the days when we were overthrowing dictators. back then, i was used to hearing, ''the people are revolting!'' but tonight, i''m happy to report that you aren''t revolting anymoreyou''re revolutionizing our future with nearly 90% of you joining the ongoing fight against corruption!" he joked. it was a slight dig at the other revolutionary leaders, who''d mostly sat out the actual revolution itself and had been little better than the corrupt regime they''d been fighting against. he paused as cheering and chuckles erupted from the thousands of attendees who liked his opening. then he continued, "what we''ve achieved for the citizens of our great country over the past few months was more than the previous regime had done for you in their entire time in power." he was once again forced to pause for cheering and applause, then waited for it to die down before continuing his speech. "and i promise you that for the next eight years of my presidency, that pace won''t continue. instead, it''s going to accelerate! during my presidency, we''re going to increase the investment in our country. we''re going to work hard and pour our blood, sweat, and tears into making eden a representation of the best that humanity has to offer. and when my time in office is over, i swear before the citizens of this nation and almighty god above that i will leave the country better than it was when i found it!" it seemed the audience wasn''t quite willing to let him speak as they broke out into another round of spontaneous cheers and applause, forcing him to stop talking again. "but as they say, ''soonest begun is soonest done,'' i''d like to take this opportunity to announce the company that my administration has chosen to partner with to extract the wealth that lies beneath our feet. that company is connect, a local, responsible, and environmentally conscious company that put in a rather impressive bid. "you may be familiar with themthey''re already responsible for delivering utilities and building networks across this great nation. my team and i are fully confident in their ability to deliver on what they promised in both ours and esparia''s exclusive economic zone, as they''ve already shown their ability to enter new fields on short notice while delivering quality products at affordable prices. the most important factor is that they''re a local company! my team and i are committed to raising eden into a fully developed nation that can stand on our own as a shining beacon of justice, equality, and a high standard of living! "and this historic day is just the beginning of the things we''re going to do for the development of the country. along with developing the oil industry, we''ll be focusing on our defense industry. our nation''s neutrality will rely on our sons and daughters standing tall and declaring with pride that we! stand! together!" alexander pumped his fist in the air as punctuation for that declaration. it had been shown all throughout history that neutrality was an impossible stance to maintain without the strength to back it up. neutral, ''pacifist'' countries could only choose to be so because they were actually the ones with the biggest fist. "but that''s not all! with the upcoming opening of two ports, a mega-airport, and the completed railway network, our economy will only grow stronger and stronger, proving once and for all that our great nation is no worse than any others on the face of the planet...." alexander continued his long speech, but no one in the audience seemed bored at all; every word he said was gold, as they revealed many of his plans to develop the country. .... "he''s really becoming a good speaker," aron said as he watched the speech. he was even pleasantly satisfied by alexander''s delivery. [my training worked,] nova joked, reminding him that she was the one that had taught him everything he knew about public speaking. "good job," he said, then turned to felix and asked, "is everything ready?" "yes." felix, who was in the room with aron, rina, sarah, and nova as they watched the rally, continued, "we''ll hold a press conference and announce the formation of a branch company that''ll be responsible for extracting the resources...." he outlined their plan. when he was done speaking, sarah took over and said, "we''ve also finished preparing to sell the oil internationally, and have already registered the new company. and thanks to rina''s help, we even managed to acquire a few oil tankers. they should be delivered to us by the time the oil derricks are built." aron said nothing, just nodded his head as he listened to his inner circle speak. he was holding rina''s hand beneath the conference table, eliciting a secret smile from her. she''d been unable to suppress her joy since being officially selected as the next rothschild family head after arieh had been proved to be the one behind the attempt on her life. he had already been banished back to their ancestral land in israel as a punishment and was banned from leaving the immediate premises there for the rest of his life. rina had been quite active since then, as with her position, she had gained the power to change some of the operations of the family businesses. at least, she had that authority as long as the family head didn''t overturn her decisions, which he rarely did. and with her judicious exercise of that power, some rothchild operations were shuttered, some were expanded, and others were praised for already being on the right track. the movements were massive, to the point that people in the family had begun thinking that she had planned her current course of action for years. it showed them how dedicated she was to growing the family even higher than they already were; thus, her father had grown to trust in her to the point that he basically just automatically approved whenever she asked him for his support. even if it didn''t seem to be beneficial to the family on the surface, she was still able to break down her reasoning and justifications for her plans, causing her father to begin giving up more and more of the power he held in his hands as his trust in her judgment grew. her actions didn''t manage to avoid the sensitive eyes and ears of the morgans in the least, though, but they were still focused on figuring out how to take revenge on ares to earn back their honor. and armed with the knowledge of their cooperation with the rothschilds, the morgans were now convinced they had a way to establish communications with an inside man who could give them at least some useful information on the mysterious pmc. after all of their efforts, they had been completely unable to find any useful information about ares at all; it was almost like the company had simply appeared on a magician''s stage from another universe and expanded from there. the most terrifying thing about them was the power they''d displayed, which had been amassed without alerting anyone at all during the buildup process. Chapter 274 Echo Chambers and Incompetence chapter 274 echo chambers and incompetence the day after alexander''s speech and announcement, all parties that had been involved in the bidding went crazy. including those spectating "experts", of course. many of them complained about why the country had decided to trust an inexperienced company that had never been involved in the oil industry to drill the reserves. others that had watched alexander''s speech understood that he wanted to develop a domestic industry and chose a local company, connect, as a way to kickstart their domestic growth. even though they weren''t an oil company, at least they had some kind of "drilling" experience... for whatever it mattered. drilling for oil had nothing in common with drilling tunnels, after all. the parties led by candidates that lost their presidential bid (the most popular of which having only received 2.45% of the votes) tried using that to sling mud at alexander and paint him as corrupt and connect as a company that bribed him. they insinuated that connect wouldn''t even be doing the drilling themselves, but would rather contract it out to another company. the inexperienced politicians thought it would benefit them after alexander''s term in office ended, and that they would be able to win the next electionor at least gain positions in the government in the upcoming round of electionsbut they failed to account for one thing: aron himself. there was no chance that connect would fail in their task, or that they would violate the agreement between the government and the company. still, it would make alexander''s first few months or years in office rocky, and that''s all they cared about. after all, if they couldn''t have it, they didn''t want anyone else to have it either. with the international oil giants fanning the fire in an attempt to make the negative news as huge as possible and use it to further pressure the government into changing the winner of the contract, well... they simply acted as nothing but ammo for the other parties to smear the new president''s reputation. that said, no matter how greedy, selfish, or incompetent alexander''s opponents were, they definitely wouldn''t allow an outsider to benefit over them. but the amount of backlash wasn''t as effective as they had expected it to be, regardless, since the platforms they used to fuel the fire didn''t have the user bases they once had. most edenians had already adopted pangea, and when anyone tried using bots, they would be disappointed if they knew the actual results. though from their end, everything looked like it was working, what they didn''t know was that their instigation was only made visible to people that already shared their opinion. in later years, experts would call the phenomenon a social media echo chamber. for now, though, the people promoting the controversy thought they had achieved a great success and that "everyone" agreed with their points of view. this was despite them failing to sway anyone who didn''t already agree with their opinions in the first place. ...... the day following the speech, felix called for a press conference. and the turnout was enormous, as many news outlets wanted to know what they would be saying. felix entered the auditorium in their headquarters building, which was now being used as a press room, and walked to the podium amidst the camera flashes. he cleared his throat, then greeted the attendees before immediately getting to the main point. "firstly, i''d like to thank president romero for trusting in the domestic industry''s bid and going with us as the sole extractor of edenian and esparian oil. i''d also like to take this opportunity to issue a promise to the citizens of both countries that we''ll do the best we can to ensure the trust placed in us isn''t misplaced. we''ll ensure that the citizens of both nations will see the benefits, and we''ll do so without an iota of corruption. "to that end, we''ve formed a subsidiary branch of connect: helios. they''ll be responsible for oil and gas, and any other form of energy, both now and in the future. by the end of the week, the contract will be in place and we''ll immediately begin constructing derricks. we expect to begin seeing results within the month, and within three months from today, we solemnly vow that you will see the benefits as well. "i''ll now take questions from the press." with that, the announcement was over and felix pointed at a reporter in the audience. "go ahead," he said. "what do you have to say about the increase in the cost of oil for edenians over the past month?" the reporter asked. the abrupt increase was unexpected, and seemed to be specifically targeted at eden. "one of the companies we''ve been purchasing oil from, gazprom, decided to terminate their contract with us. that forced us to increase the amount we import from others, and due to the abrupt increase in quantity outside the original contracts with them, we naturally had to pay a premium," felix answered. he was firing shots, uncaring about the potential consequences of naming and shaming a global oil giant. "isn''t three months way too fast? will you be skimping on safety to accomplish an unreasonable goal?" another reporter asked. "we were forced to expedite things on our end to combat the temporary price increase sooner. the faster we have at least one oil field producing, the better it will be for everyone involved and the sooner the price of crude oil drops for everyone." the next reporter asked, "is it true that you are planning on paying another company to do the construction and digging for you?" he was obviously one of those in the same echo chamber as alexander''s political opponents, or perhaps had been bought and paid for by one of the oil giants, or maybe she was just really curious and wanted answers. "no such thing will happen, as the materials construction will be provided by hephaestus heavy industries. they''re already the ones responsible for all the construction taking place in eden, including the ports, airport, and rail network. they''ve already proven themselves reliable and trustworthy, both to us at connect and to eden at large," felix said. it was the first time hephaestus heavy industries (hhi) had been mentioned and introduced to the world. "next question... you, in the red shirt." he pointed at a reporter in the audience wearing an ostentatious red shirt. "is it true that you bribed the president to choose your company under the guise of domestic business support? after all, you have no experience at all." the reporter seemed to have come to the press conference specifically to ask what he thought was a "gotcha" question. to him, it didn''t matter whether it was answered or not, as everything coming from felix''s mouth would be considered a scoop. "instead of answering, let me ask you a very basic question," felix began. "before we started providing electricity to the entire country, which we did at the end of last month, did we ever have any connection to the energy industry?" he waited for the reporter to answer. "no," he answered. he suddenly felt like he was falling into a pit he had dug for felix. "how about utilities like water and sewage?" felix continued. "no," he answered. "how about the internet?" "not to my knowledge." he finally realized where he was being led. "and how''s the service from all of those industries we''ve entered been?" felix concluded with a smile. "better and cheaper than it used to be," the reporter answered. he couldn''t lie, as his credibility would tank and nobody would trust his reporting anymore. "then with those precedents being set by us, what should the people''s expectations be now that we''re entering a new venture?" "that you''ll be doing it in a better and cheaper way than it''s usually done?" he answered, but wasn''t confident in his answer. "that''s exactly what we''re aiming to accomplish, and it''s already in the works," felix said, then chose another reporter to ask their question. the reporter in the red shirt sat there in a daze, wondering how his immaculately planned question had been turned into highlighting his own incompetence. he had been stripped of any semblance of professionalism and dignity. felix continued answering questions for a while before declaring the conference concluded and directing any further inquiries to helios'' media liaison. Chapter 275 Big Rig chapter 275 big rig at the same time the press conference was taking place in the connect headquarters, an edenian navy fleet was towing a massive ship that looked like a toothbrush. they were headed toward the new oil field to begin construction of an offshore drilling rig. when they neared the location, the fleet dispersed and started the process of patrolling and cleared out everything within twenty kilometers of the oddly shaped ship, which was released by its tug and dropped sea anchors to keep station where it was. with the large ship now at a full stop, people watching would see it begin tilting as the bow raised and the aft sank. but the people aboard the ship were oddly calm, as they were expecting the movement; it was merely the ballast tanks being filled to adjust the ship''s orientation. meter by meter, the rear continued dropping faster and faster, until the entire ship was completely vertical. only about ten meters of the ship was left above the surface of the ocean while the rest had completely disappeared below. the ship was actually an r/p flip, a floating instrument platform that was designed for scientific exploration of the ocean that could house researchers, workers, or any number of other mission-specific crew in reasonable comfort as they work far from any land mass. this one, however, was designed to perform a specific purpose: the construction of an offshore oil rig. (ed note: floating isn''t actually a typo, that''s part of the acronym "flip". these ships actually exist; you can find more info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rp_flip ) under the calm ocean surface, the underwater part of the ship got to work as an atomic printer was lowered from what was now the bottom of the research vessel. it began by printing a tether as it sank, keeping it connected to the platform it was being lowered from. once it reached the sea floor, it dug into the sand beneath it until it hit bedrock and the internal batteries ran out of charge. once that happened, the small fusion reactor in the flip began routing power to the printer, which reactivated, and reeling in any slack in the tether cable, effectively anchoring the flip to the bottom of the ocean. with the printer now being provided the necessary power, it started digging further into the bedrock and maintaining the tether as it went. eventually, the printer reached more than seven kilometers deep and the shaft the printer had dug out was reinforced to act as a pipe; the oil deposit was just a few meters away. the printer then worked its way back up the newly created pipe for a few meters, clearing space for it to print a drill bit and shaft. once that was done, the printer was hauled back up into the flip as it continued working on the pipe that would soon be transporting oil. once that was completed, it worked its way back down the outside of the new pipe, building and attaching structural elements to it as it went, spiraling out from there to build the rest of the underwater pumping station. but due to the printer''s small size and the adverse conditions on the seafloor, it took two full days for the undersea construction to finish before it was hauled back up into the flip and the ships departed the area, leaving everyone none the wiser as to what had taken place there. meanwhile, back at the cube, the massive industrial atomic printers were busily printing prefabricated components that would be shipped out and assembled on site, while workers were being recruited and trained at the helios offices in the connect headquarters in edenia. the platform would be completely assembled within the month, and ready to officially begin operations after the workers had undergone three months of training. if it weren''t for aron''s desire to maintain the core secrets of his technologythe atomic printers and his vr podseverything would be done in a matter of days. the months of delay were a necessary trade off. ... as all of that was happening, aron was in the lab for the first time in a long while, looking through designs of different devices on a computer. "remove the atomic clock from this watch," aron said, pointing to a smartwatch design. it had an atomic clock in it, allowing it to keep time as accurately as any human would ever need in their lives. "reduce the resolution of the camera on this phone by fifty times," he sighed, pointing to the design of a new smartphone. [what''s wrong?] nova asked. "i mean... how the hell do they expect me to release products that''re a hundred generations ahead of any device that currently exists?" he jokingly complained, though he was rather happy on the inside. [isn''t that why you''re here? you''re the one that decides what gets built as is, and what gets downgraded before it can be launched. that''s why i told them to go all out,] she responded in the same joking tone, as she quite enjoyed spending time doing this with aron. "true, i suppose.... remove the hologram display from this one," he replied and indicated another smartphone design. even before his latest upgrade, he could multitask without losing focus at all. "and the ar control from this, the x-ray camera from that, the dna reader from that...." he continued for more than an hour removing futuretech from the gadgets one by one until they were bare bones of their former selves. "now list the features that i left in," he said. nova waved her hand and a display screen popped up in front of him. [mana batteries] aron nodded; those were essentially frozen blocks of magic energy that were released as electricity on demand. they store a lot of energy in very little space and are capable of very rapid charging. [smart camera] aron was quite fond of those. they interfaced with the ai assistant in the gaia os and optimized the camera function on smartphones. they were capable of real-time recording in 4k resolution and 3d scanning, and the integration of the ai would allow for real-time image editing, within limits. the ai assistants would have a strict set of guidelines that determined what they were allowed to do, and how far they were allowed to go when it came to editing of still images and video footage. essentially, enhancement was fine, but deep fakes would be prohibited. [quantum display] instead of the traditional lcd, led, and qled or oled displays, quantum screens were capable of near perfect black levels and infinite contrast. they also had unprecedented pixel density, ultra-fast refresh rates, and virtually eliminated motion blur. quantum dots were used to allow for currently unheard-of brightness levels, which would let the screen be easily readable even in direct sunlight. [graphene cpu chip] aron had debated using quantum chips for quite some time. while he was quite familiar with quantum computing, he was still leery of it being "released into the wild", as it were. after all, once it was released, it would be reverse engineered. and due to moore''s law, it wouldn''t take long for others to begin nearing his own level, although they could never catch up to him. but it would still take away quite a few of the advantages he currently possessed even if their reverse-engineered knockoffs were even a third as capable as his. [q-com chip] a q-com chip was a quantum network adapter that served to deliver fast, stable internet speed. although it was much faster than any other form of networking currently available on the marketbasically around the 7 or 8g benchmarkit was definitely a power hog. thus, transferring a full movie to a friend would put a lot of stress on a mana battery. that stress would increase as the distance the information was being transmitted increased, so to counter that, he would launch quantum communication satellites into orbit, thus reducing, or at least standardizing, the drain on the mana batteries in the mobile devices. that said, the q-com chip version that aron would be including in his hardware would be camouflaged within a dummy network chip that would only be a few generations advanced beyond what was currently available. the q-com chip itself was only a few nanometers across and would only be acting as an exclusive feature for gaia technology-made devices, so even pulling the device apart and inspecting it would allow the chip to remain unnoticed. it was also far less capable than even those included in the ares headgear, or the q-com chips in the glasses he had given to his close circle of friends, family, and acquaintances. ... the list was quite long, but after reading through it, aron was satisfied that it was advanced, but not too advanced to be believable. "now to figure out which features to include in what," aron said, then settled in for a long think about the issue. he was planning on releasing hardware this time, not just software, so any and all smart devices were in the running for a feature-rich release from gaia technologies. Chapter 276 Peace, Love, and Save the Whales chapter 276 peace, love, and save the whales new year''s day, 2016 while some were still celebrating the new year and making resolutions that were doomed to fail, others were still living with the horrors that had happened in november of last year. a few terrorist attacks had claimed the lives of more than a hundred people. with the release of star wars: the force awakens the month before, the entertainment section was also still quite riled up, as the movie had achieved a box office success within the month of release. with all of that happening in the last three months, changes had also occurred in eden. the eden of now was completely different from the eden of the past. aron was standing in front of a massive pit with a diameter measured in kilometers. as he gazed into it, the screaming of displaced air came from the distance as a maglev train neared the pit and soon entered a bridge that crossed it. the train slowed down a bit as it passed through the bridge, and the moment it neared the center of the pit, the containers it was loaded with were ejected from the train with enough force that they directly cleared the bridge and started falling into the pit. the containers continued picking up speed as they fell, then crashed to a pile of other containers that were already at the bottom of the pit. all of those containers had arrived in the same way. "how long until it starts?" rina asked as she appeared on a chair behind him. "a few minutes, at least. the last train should arrive before the process begins," aron answered, momentarily breaking his staring competition with the pit and turning to smile at rina. then he returned to his staring contest, as he was trying to find the limit of his ability to multitask. the best way he could come up with was to try thinking of as many things as possible at once. once he stopped being able to simultaneously develop on his thoughts, he would know where he stood. as he did that, rina just watched him with a loving smile on her face. she liked seeing him focused on whatever he was doing. the screaming of displaced air came again as another train passed over the bridge to deliver one last batch of containers for the first phase of the project. "it''s starting," aron reminded rina. but she was already prepared; she put on her glasses and stood near aron, joining him in looking into the pit. ... with the last container finally falling, nova took over and stopped supplying power to the entire rail that led to the bridge. it was a last resort measure, but a prudent one, as when all of the thousands of failsafes fail, the improbable becomes probable. that was a lesson she had learned just a few months ago. so now, no matter how impossible something seemed, she would always prepare for the worst-case scenario. [disintegrator #0000001 ''trashman'' is coming online. everyone in the vicinity should evacuate,] nova announced over all of the radio frequencies and q-coms within two kilometers of the pit. the announcement repeated three times to make sure that anyone who was near the pit would hear it. with the warning broadcasted, she started the process of bringing the trashman online. the first step was something that could only be seen through the ar feature on aron''s inner circle glasses. if rina wasn''t wearing hers, for example, she wouldn''t have seen the shield that appeared and expanded to cover the entirety of the pit. even though it was invisible to the naked eyeat least for everyone except aron, and perhaps his little brotherthe shield had sealed the entire enormous pit, making it impossible for anything to enter or leave it. with the shield now online, it was followed by the disintegrator that covered the entire bottom of the pit coming to life. it immediately began disintegrating the thousands of containers and whatever their contents were along with them, separating them atom by atom. "wow," rina said. she couldn''t believe she was witnessing materials being disintegrated and broken apart, leaving their component atoms to scatter everywhere in the pit. they created a cloud of fog and filled the ''dump'', making it impossible to see through. after thirty minutes of continuous operation, everything that had been in the pit was turned into a cloud of various atoms. although they hadn''t been collected, yet, that changed when the disintegrator ceased its operation. with the disintegrator offline, the collector came online and began sorting atoms and compressing them as building blocks of pure elements, then moving them into dedicated storage areas for later use in the atomic printers. once the collection, sorting, and storing was finished, the shield was powered off. it would no longer be needed until the next ''garbage collection''. every part of the recycling system was systematically power cycled then completely shut down before nova returned power to the section of maglev track leading to the pit from the trunk line. soon, more trains began arriving and routing themselves to the storage facilities, where they picked up the stored material and headed to their next destination: the underground warehouses that existed to feed the element-hungry atomic printers in the cube. "the efficiency is off the charts," rina exclaimed. she''d watched the entire process from start to finish and been amazed by it; the bottom of the pit was now as clean as it was before the containers had been thrown into it. "it could''ve been more efficient, but that would''ve been overkill." aron wrapped his arm around her waist and headed toward the futuristic helicopter they had arrived on. the pit had no access paths other than the maglev rail that passed through, and that was a completely secured line. "is your curiosity satisfied?" he asked. "yes, but you could''ve just told me about it. you didn''t have to go so far just to answer my question," she replied, flashing him an embarrassed smile as she thought back on the question that had brought them to the pithere. she had asked why they sought to be the main receiver of everyone''s trash during the trans-pacific partnership (tpp) negotiations that had ended with the signing of a trade agreement by the united states, eden, esparia, and eleven other pacific rim nations. many countries considered it eden''s way of reaching out and trying to develop a friendly relationship with those countries. some of them had even been the previous ''trash bin of the world'' and were now facing problems. their citizens were naturally unhappy about becoming global trash dumps, and there were numerous health issues that arose from it that were only barely offset by the money they received for providing the service. basically, it was a dirty job that not even mike rowe would have wanted when he was still hosting his tv show. (ed note: "dirty jobs with mike rowe" was a television series that ran on the discovery network in the us from 2003-2012. the host, mike rowe, would spend a day being followed around by a camera crew in documentary style as he worked in different "dirty" jobs, things like septic tank cleaner, sewer inspector, and cow inseminator, among others. it was wildly popular in the us and even moved to australia for its final season.) "i just needed a reason to take a breather. i''ve been spending too much time in lab city, figuring out which products we''ll be releasing. that took time away from you, which isn''t a good thing," aron said as they boarded the helicopter. he took the pilot seat and started putting on his seat belt; rina naturally settled into the copilot seat and they both put on the specialized pilot''s version of the ares helmet, taking their safety very seriously. Chapter 277 All Eyes on Eden chapter 277 all eyes on eden aron and rina''s conversation continued as they toured the skies of avalon island before heading to edenia. "it''s quite surprising how fast eden started mixing with other countries. it even managed to join the un, though that seemed to have been made easier with your discovery of oil," rina said. the un security council had acted with surprising speed when approving eden''s application, especially since russia and china knew nobody else would be allowed to harvest the edenian and esparian oil fields. "well, there''s a reason they call it black gold, after all. it''s pure wealth and power, and it all boils down to how much we can produce. the more we can produce, the better we can stabilize the global market if a crisis arises in the opec nations," aron responded as he expertly piloted the helicopter. "although i know how you''re planning on pumping the oil, i wonder what the people who expect you to fail will think. they''re all just waiting for you to fall on your face and go begging to them for cooperation. but you''ve wildly exceeded expectations and you don''t even need more than 1% of what you''re pumping to feed all of eden''s requirements for it. you''ve become a global exporter almost overnight!" she said. the workers had finished being trained a few months before, and had taken over the offshore platform that''d been sitting idle for nearly two months in the wait for workers. the production speed had stunned everyone, and proved alexander''s decision was correct; his party had even won more than 90% of the parliament seats. he could almost be considered a dictator himself! there was actually a term for that in politics: a benevolent dictator. they wielded absolute power, but not only for themselves. instead, they worked for the people under them to benefit. "the people almost couldn''t believe that everything was ready so fast. we only released the report and announced the completion and we upheld our promise to deliver within three months. luckily for us, it just so happened to begin a few days before the parliamentary election. there''s even a bunch of conspiracy theorists that cropped up on pangea, i guess because the timing was fertile ground for them. the thing is, some of them are right," he let out a hearty laugh that was joined by rina. when the helicopter reached edenia, they flew over the major projects that hephaestus heavy industries had either completed, or made major progress on. most of them were completely finished, with only the rail network lagging behind a bit. but even that was mostly completed, with only the minor lines left to build; the trunk lines were already in full operation, becoming the heart and vessels of the country''s economy. just the completion of the trunk lines alone had attracted the attention of the rest of the world, as the project had achieved its current success at a speed everyone would consider impossible. things like the sheer scale of the network, which spanned thousands of kilometers. yet all of that had taken just a single year concept to completion. and that was while the company was still constructing three other megaprojects and had completed a fourth! there were still two megaports and a mega-airport, plus the utility infrastructure. it was completely unbelievable... almost magical, some would say. another attention-grabbing thing about the rail network was that it was completely comprised of maglev rails. eden was the only country that had managed that, as most other nations only used maglev for local public transportation, while they relied on the aging and sometimes crumbling rail infrastructure that had been around since the early 20th century for most intercity and interstate/international transportation other than japan with their shinkansen line which was the only example this network could be compared with if you don''t consider the sheer size of the edens network. experts speculated that it had to have cost an arm and a leg to accomplish that on such an enormous scale in such a short period of time. that, too, acted as a major surprise for anyone who decided to investigate hhi, especially after they found out that it was a private company that had never even had rumors spread about. people were flabbergasted; didn''t that mean that a single company with a fairly few people had invested all of that money and would be the only ones benefiting from the network''s operation? that was a lot of money! economists estimated that the rail network alone would require more than $50 billion to build, so where did the money come from? banks all around the world that were capable of lending significant amounts were the first to deny that they had loaned anything to anyone that was earmarked for any construction projects in eden at all, let alone a megaproject like a countrywide rail network!. with just that project alone, connect was valuated at over $100 billion. but that wasn''t all of their projects, as people began estimating the amount of investments and profits for the utility infrastructure, along with the two megaports and the mega-airport that were already considered to be among the world''s largest. all of those projects were solely invested in, and operated by, a single company: connect. the only other company involved was hephaestus heavy industries, which was awarded no-bid contracts for all of the projects and the amount was confidential. that led some people to believe that the companies absolutely must be state owned and operatedespecially since no company in their right minds would keep that amount of liquidity on their balance sheetbut a few people had either connected the dots between three long-time friends or already knew the truth: the companies were wholly owned by one aron michael. however, most of those people were considered crackpot conspiracy theorists. aron was famous for only one thing: gaia technologies was his company. how could he have time to run more than one company, even if he had friends to take the day-to-day operations on? it was one thing to sit on a board, and many people sat on multiple boards of directors of different companies, but to actually be an owner of them? that was too much work for one person to do in a day that was limited to 24 hours! all of the speculation was only made possible because the companies were private, so there was no requirement to report the names of their owners, or any employees, really. thus, people only knew that connect was headed by felix hanover and sarah o''connor was the ceo of gaia technologies. aron was still in public memory as the owner, but only barely; he had mostly faded from public view at this point, and only the truly powerful were still keeping an eye on him and his movements. but still despite all the secrecy, there were still people that suspected there was a shadowy figure at the helm of all of those companies. hephaestus heavy industries, gaia technologies, helios energy, and connect... just what was the connection there? there had to be one, and all of the theorists mostly agreed on a single name: aron michael. still, they couldn''t quite accept that. perhaps due to his age, or maybe because of his humble beginnings, they suspected that there was an even shadowier shadowy figure behind him and were arguing about which major family scion it was. "so when do you plan on releasing the products you''ve been hard at work on in lab city?" rina switched the topic to what aron had been spending most of his time doing. she had been very curious as to what he''d been planning, especially since he specifically teased her with it as an upcoming surprise. "i plan to announce and simultaneously release them on february 15th," aron said as he landed the helicopter on the roof of the tallest building in the city, his company''s temporary headquarters. they disembarked and took the waiting elevator to the meeting room, where they would be holding an in-person meeting with sarah and felix. they had decided to meet in person as they would be restructuring the companies for more efficiency and eliminating redundancies. nova had earlier highlighted the waste in all of those companies that was a result of the lack of consolidation. aron sat at the head of the conference table and greeted his friends, marking the beginning of the restructuring process. rina, who wasn''t officially involved in any of the companies'' operations, left the room to tour the city after pecking aron''s cheek. "let''s begin," he said. Chapter 278 Restructuring and Reprogramming chapter 278 restructuring and reprogramming with aron''s words, the meeting started and nova immediately materialized in front of them. she sat in her chair as she took the position of secretary, but also the restructuring project manager. [let''s start by listing the companies and what they''ve been doing before i explain the reconstruction plan. that way it''ll make sense. [first is gaia technologies, which introduced gaia os, pangea, bugzapper, and a hit game to the world. it was also the first company aron built and later incorporated a law firm, which still acts as the company''s legal department. [next is connect, llc, which has been providing internet, electricity, water, sewage services, and transportation throughout eden. [then there''s hephaestus heavy industries, which is responsible for the production of all physical products that all the companies need. [and last, but not least, is helios energy, which has been awarded the contract to extract and refine the crude oil deposits in eden and esparia. [in order to manage the security of eden, esparia, and the rest of the companies, ares security, llc, was established.] nova had listed the current companies under aron and delineated their areas of responsibility in a succinct, easy-to-understand fashion. everyone nodded as they listened and looked at the display screen next to her that showed infographics on each company as she mentioned them. [that''s our current list of properties, but the bloat and redundancy is beginning to grow. so to combat that, i suggest a restructuring as follows....] aron handed everyone a folder, so they could follow along with the presentation in hardcopy form. [first, connect, llc will become connect enterprises and divest the departments that aren''t administrative, such as human resources. they''ll also take over the legal and it departments from gaia technologies. connect, llc will be renamed connect enterprises and act as a parent company for the rest of our companies, which will operate as incorporated subsidiaries. [so gaia technologies will become gaia technologies, inc. and will be responsible for the software and hardware product sales, including bugzapper, gaia os, pangea, and gaia games. they''ll also absorb the internet utility from connect and launch gaia broadband. [helios energy will become helios energy & utilities, inc. and will be responsible for oil extraction and refining, as well as delivering utilities to customers, like electricity, water, and waste disposal. [hephaestus heavy industries will become hephaestus industries and manufacturing, inc. and will be responsible for manufacturing any product required or designed by the other companies under the connect umbrella. they''ll also be in charge of land speculation and development, as well as construction. [ares security, llc will become ares security solutions, inc. and will provide security services to all of our companies, as well as armed forces, mercenary companies, and private security for high-value individuals,] she said. essentially, all of the administrative departments in each company would be divested and taken over by connect, which would in turn divest their utility and rail divisions, becoming a centralized administrative resource for all of the subsidiary companies under it. [in addition to those changes,] nova continued, [there will be a few more companies incorporated under the connect umbrella. [first is hermes, inc., which will be an import/export company responsible for bulk international freight as well as shipping within eden and esparia. they''ll be taking over the rail network that connect will divest as well. [next is plutus ventures, inc. it''ll be a venture capital and hedge fund that''ll provide macro and micro loans, either as venture capital or angel investing. they''ll be the ones responsible for all financial aspects of the companies under the connect umbrella. [then comes icarus airlines, inc. that''ll be our passenger airline and low-volume, high-value shipping service. it''ll operate out of our new airport here in eden as its main hub. [there are a few more companies we''ll be launching and incorporating under the connect umbrella, namely asclepius biotechnology, inc. and the coeus foundation. [asclepius biotechnology, inc. will be our medical research branch. there, we''ll research and develop medicines and medical hardware. they''ll also operate a number of teaching hospitals, local clinics, and a medical school. [and last, but certainly not least, is the coeus foundation. that''ll be our charity company, as well as endowment management. they''ll fund and operate private schools at every level, from pre-kindergarten all the way through university, including post-doctoral degree programs. they''ll also be in charge of managing a charity fund whose purpose is to uplift and increase the standards of living in rural, poor, and underserved areas around the world,] nova finished. aron, felix, and sarah watched as the ar display popped up infographics for each of the new companies, then read through the hardcopy reports in front of them. nova had only outlined general responsibilities, and all three of those who were physically present in the room were interested in the intricate details. silence descended in the room as they pondered the things that would happen if they were to go forward with the plan. "since it''ll increase efficiency and cut costs, i don''t see why it shouldn''t be adopted. what do you think, felix?" sarah said. "i just have a few questions about the new companies," he said. [ask away,] nova said, welcoming the questions. "based on your presentation, you mentioned other companies would be created. does that mean they already have products to release, or would they be incorporated later?" he asked. his main focus was on asclepius biotechnology, a company that he had little to no information about. he had his guesses, but wanted to know exactly what it was. [asclepius biotechnology will deal with everything about life. from food, to medicine, and everything in between. initially, though, it''ll focus on improving the health of edenians. we have a promise to keep about healthcare, after all. once that standard is raised, we''ll introduce cures to most of the currently ''incurable'' diseases, like certain cancers and chronic or seasonal illnesses like the common cold and flu. in the future, they''ll produce the nutrient solution required for extended stays in the vr pods we''re planning on eventually releasing,] nova explained. "what''ll happen to my position as the ceo of connect? i can''t imagine having sarah under me in the chain of command..." he glanced at the person sitting next to nova, "let alone aron!" he nervously laughed. "each of you can choose to be the president of any of the companies we''ll have under connect enterprises," aron said. he wanted to keep his friends around him more than he needed their expertise anymore, since he could be made an expert in any field at a moment''s notice. perhaps he had needed their help at one point, but currently he kept them around out of sentimentality and for the same reason roman emperors and commanders kept aurigae slaves. (ed note: an auriga was the slave who, historians believe, would whisper "memento mori" into the ears of powerful roman authorities (such as the emperor, senators, legates, and even gladiatorial champions) to remind them that they weren''t perfect and were only human.) "i''ve always been interested in building things. remember my lego collection?" felix chuckled. "so i guess i''ll take hephaestus." "i''ll stick with gaia," sarah said. "how about the stock market? shouldn''t we create an exchange to facilitate the buying and selling of shares in the country? that would give us quite a bit of power over the companies here." sarah recalled the profit that the nyse and nasdaq were raking in. many people even thought of them as government entities, despite them being privately owned companies. "we''re still waiting for the government to implement regulations in terms of securities exchange before we can consider entering that market," aron said. "once they do, we can cooperate with the rothschilds, which will give us an immediate legitimacy in the field. there''s also the banking issue... but basically, at the moment, it all boils down to one thing: eden is simply too poor right now to make the securities exchange business viable." felix raised his hand and asked, "so who''s going to head up the rest of the companies? sarah''s keeping gaia, and i''m taking over hephaestus, so... i hope you aren''t planning on us being the presidents of everything." he was a little bit worried and wondering if there would be enough hours in the day for all the work he would have to do if that were the case. aron just gave him a slightly evil smirk. "...right?" felix nervously snickered. "you''re right," aron laughed, amused by his nervous friend''s expression. felix heaved a sigh of relief and shot an annoyed glance that implied payback at his friend. "who''ll be running them then?" sarah asked, curious at what aron would come up with. she was sure that the people who would be chosen as presidents of the new companies would need to be made aware of the vr world and have their own set of glasses, at least, to facilitate the smooth operation of the new companies. there was no other way to effectively interface with the ais, after all. "you know about personality adjustments, right?" aron asked, despite knowing that they knew. he was priming them for the next bit of information. when they nodded, he continued, "after hundreds of thousands of personality reformations performed on our soldiers, in order to make them more effective but also prevent them from revealing the existence of vr, we discovered that we could entirely change a person''s personality if we wanted. furthermore, we can implant an ai of our own design into them, essentially replacing the person they once were," aron said. sarah and felix felt a slight chill run down their spines at the idea, having heard it for the first time since he hadn''t told them about the vlad?m?r incident. "so a thought occurred to me... why don''t we use that tech to hijack the bodies of deserving criminals? we''d technically be ''rehabilitating'' them and turning them into productive members of society, that way. plus, we''d be filling high-level holes in our human resources department, making it a two birds one stone kind of deal." aron had just dropped a massive nuclear info bomb on his friends, and though he looked confident on the outside, he nervously awaited their responses. Chapter 279 The Evil Thoughts Of Good People ? silence was the only response aron received from the other two people in the room as they contemplated his idea and attempted to come to terms with it. it was their first time facing such a morally gray decision. and although many people who''d reached the lofty heights of the three people in the meeting room had done so after many despicable deeds, neither sarah nor felix had ever had to make a choice like the one before them. they had been given their high and mighty positions simply because of their friendship with aron and his trust in them; they were the only two that had stayed by his side besides his family when everyone else had abandoned him during the rottem morgan debacle, after all. thus, they had never been faced with such difficult decisions before. they were completely unlike aron, who''d had to deal with the death of all the people that had died in the eden-esparia war. that said, he had only managed to overcome that without any significant guilt thanks to the system doing all the hard work in the background and adapting his personality. but at the time, he hadn''t realized what was happening, nor did he think it was strange to feel no guilt over the conflict; instead, he had found it justifiable, as the esparians were standing against him and interfering with his goals. "but wouldn''t that attract too much attention? if someone that, as you said, is deserving of death immediately got a position of power in one of your companies, wouldn''t it negatively affect your image? you''d also bear the hatred of those who were previously harmed by those criminals," felix mused. he had thought about it, not from the perspective of the criminals in question, but from the people that would be affected by the choice. "for them to earn legitimacy, they''ll need to be from the industry in question. so they''ll already have a bad reputation, but can''t be in prison. so i think i have the same question as felix." sarah had reached the same conclusion as felix. "but do they really have to be from the industries in question? i''ve already created a precedent of making people ceos no matter their age or experience, so what''s different about making underqualified people presidents of a subsidiary company?" aron said, pointing at them as the main examples of that precedent. "we can be explained by people investigating our past, as they''ll discover that we''re your friends. they might come to the conclusion that we were your only choice at that time, since you couldn''t trust anyone but us with your money due to our history," sarah said. she couldn''t deny that her position was entirely due to nepotism, though she at least had somewhat of a background in business management. but who in their right mind would be dumb enough to entrust such a huge business to a newly graduated student? "it also might make our companies a target for the people they might''ve harmed. that won''t be good, because as far as i remember, we''ve already got quite a big target on our back. the morgans alone are looking for anything they can use to attack us," felix added, reminding aron of the morgans, who were weirdly quite determined to bring them down. and their silence only indicated that they were planning something devastating. "that''s true," aron agreed. [why don''t we find someone who has a good reputation in those fields, but isn''t president material yet? we can also filter them out based on their position and drivewe''d look for people who can give up anything to achieve their goals. that way, we wouldn''t need to do more than just slight personality adjustments to guarantee loyalty and confidentiality,] nova interjected. she was talking about making the potential presidents sign a runic contract to avoid future problems, something he hadn''t used since the vr reprogramming had started being widely implemented. but she wasn''t willing to allow anyone into aron''s inner circle that had even the remotest possibility of being a backstabber in the future, and the personality adjustments weren''t quite as ironclad as runic contracts. at least, not as new as the technology was now, anyway; perhaps they would be an option in the future, but she was focusing on the now. "i think that''d work best for our image, while also allowing us to gain quite willing and hard workers," sarah said. she was completely ignoring the morality of the so-called ''mild'' personality manipulation. ''looks like my friends are growing up,'' aron thought as he realized they were slowly becoming capable of making tough decisions... at least as long as they had solid reasons behind them. "let''s go with that, then. nova, you can start looking for people who fit the description," he said, putting a start to the search for specific kinds of people. he would wait for a few options to be found before he decided which among them would luck out and receive the offer of their lives. [yes, sir,] nova said, and a portion of her computing power immediately got to work as she used pangea for the task. it had long become the most-used social media app and had more daily users than even youtube. pangea topped them by about two hundred million more daily users. "now that that''s solved, we need to come up with a decision on when and where we''ll build the new conglomerate headquarters," aron said, moving on to the next topic. then he noticed the strange looks on his friends'' faces and asked, "you two look like you''ve got fish bones stuck in your throats. spit it outwhat''s wrong?" sarah and felix looked at each other, communicating without words, then sarah asked, "you haven''t... ''adjusted'' us, have you?" "of course not!" aron said. "you two are my oldest, closest, and best friends, and i completely trust the both of you. now let''s get back on topic, there''s still a lot to do today." felix cleared his throat. "since the new hq can''t be at the city center, how about we build it close to one of the ports and surround it with a ''company town'' for our workers to live in if they want?" felix proposed. that would be his dream, as well as a heaven for the workers. "i suggest we build it on an island, instead," sarah chimed in, only changing where it would be built. instead of near one of their ports, she thought it would be better to build on another island. "let''s see the proposals and plans nova comes up with before making a decision between them," aron said, leaving nova to come up with plans based on his friends'' suggestions before they come to a decision on where to build. [can i also include my suggestion in those proposals?] she asked. "sure, since it''ll increase the options we have, and also might have an insight we forgot to take into consideration." aron completely trusted nova and wouldn''t treat her as a simple worker or servant. the meeting continued as the three friends hashed out the details on what would be the most important place on earth in the future. ... while aron continued his meeting, rina was in the middle of a phone call. her father had called, asking why she wasn''t returning home and spending her time in eden instead. "father, i don''t really have to be there for the work to get done. i can give all the orders remotely, and have been doing it for quite a while without a problem," she said. "are you seeing someone there?" he asked. he''d had his suspicions for some time, but couldn''t find any proof. nothing had been made very obvious between rina and aron, and he wouldn''t send a private investigator to investigate his daughterand heiras it would only show he didn''t trust her. "...yes," she replied. it was time for her to just reveal the truth and let the chips fall where they may. she wasn''t worried about her father''s approval anymore, nor did she think it was necessary in modern times. she received nothing but silence in reply, and it stretched for quite some time. Chapter 280 Meet The Parents? ? "who is he?" rina''s father asked. "you know him, father," she said. she didn''t need to mention aron''s name, as she was sure her father would know who she was talking about. "you know that isn''t how our family does things, right?" her father was slightly displeased about her course of action going against their traditions. "i know," she replied. she wasn''t even planning on trying to explain, since, like aron, she hated lying when there was no reason to. there was silence from the other side of the phone once again. rina''s father hadn''t expected her to be so bold, but realized that she was serious about her relationship. "i feel safe around him, and he''s someone who was on my side even when i was in a difficult time," she continued after a while. aron was very important to her. "but...." as the family head was about to say something about aron''s low class upbringing, he remembered that he had no right to lecture her daughter after having allowed her brother to marry her off to a scumbag like rottem. rottem was from a mere branch of the morganswhich was even an enemy family! at the time, he had justified that decision by telling himself that he hadn''t broken any rules, but he still felt like it would be hypocritical of him to lecture her about aron now. "you''d better bring him to meet me. then i''ll decide what to do about your relationship," he sighed. that was as far as he could compromise on the matter. the compromise brought a smile to rina''s face, since if she were ever to be put in a situation where she had to choose between aron and her family, she would choose aron without a second thought. she didn''t agree to bring him without question, though, and replied, "yes, i''ll tell him and let you know what he says." "haaaa...." a disappointed, but interested, sigh came from the other end of the phone before it hung up with a click. rina''s father had mixed feelings about her situation; he was disappointed that his daughter had been "stolen" from him, but at the same time, he was interested in the person who could make her behave like that. rina put down the phone and heaved a sigh of relief, thanking god that the worst outcome hadn''t happened. if it had, and she chose aron over her family, it would mean that two behemoth familiesthe rothschilds and the morganswould be his enemies. one morgan family was enough. even so, if the worst ever did happen, america would suffer for it; she knew her home country could never face her boyfriend on an even playing field and would only lose miserably if they were to come into conflict with him. putting her phone back into her purse, she rose from the chair she was sitting in and headed to the meeting room. ava had told her that the meeting was coming to an end. ... "did you wait long?" aron asked as she met him at the door of the meeting room. "no, i''d just finished checking out the building when ava told me your meeting was almost over," she answered as she hugged him and waved to felix and sarah. they were still in the meeting room, planning to continue their discussion about the upcoming product launch. it was likely going to break records, and even topple the first iphone product launch. "good, then let''s hurrywe promised to meet mom and dad for lunch," aron said. he took her hand and walked to the waiting elevator to leave the building. "now that you mention fathers, mine said he wants to meet you. he called earlier, and i told him i had a boyfriend," rina said with a serious face. aron froze, causing felix, nova, and sarah to laugh; they had heard rina''s "confession" and found it hilarious that aron was going to have a "meet the parents" moment with the rothschilds. the pause was momentary, so short that only those who had received enhancements would notice it. aron returned to his normal state and turned to rina with a smile on his face. "sure, no problem. is there a specific date that i have to be there?" he asked. "no, he just wants us to visit when we''re free," she answered as they continued their walk to the elevator. "that''s good, then. i think we should go after the product launch." aron wanted to impress his future father-in-law with at least a few accomplishments, and the timing was about right. rina understood his reasoning, so she smiled and said, "i''ll tell him you agreed to come, then." "mhmm...." ...... meanwhile, in the rothschild compound''s family head mansion, rina''s father was sitting with his phone in his hand as he called for his secretary. the secretary came to the room as fast as he could, barely managing to maintain his dignity. "sir, you called for me?" he said after entering the office. "i need you to bring me every bit of information you can find on aron michael," he said. he wanted to know the history of the man his daughter seemed to have taken a fancy to. "yes, sir." the secretary immediately left the room, not caring why he would even want the information about that person at all. ''let''s see who you really are,'' he thought. once he knew everything about aron, he would decide whether or not to interfere in his daughter''s relationship. not just anyone was worthy of being a rothschild, after all, but if aron was, the family head would be happy for his daughter. he was feeling very tired at the moment due to being swamped with work as it was the start of a very tumulous and important period in the us government and a moment which would decide the level of influence they would have in the government for the next four years; a presidential election- was nearing hence requiring him to do his best to ensure their candidate wins the election, as losing meant the presidential power will be going to the morgans, which was something he didn''t want to happen. to rejuvenate himself, he left his office and headed to see his wife, whom he dearly loved. his relationship was quite different from a normal marriage between big families, who consider weddings more of a business transaction than anything else. Chapter 281 "Agent Orange" Player Two has Entered the Game chapter 281 "agent orange" player two has entered the game at the mar-a-lago golf course, a controversial figure known for his blond hair and very orange skin was golfing in his signature white shirt and white shorts, uncaring about all the turmoil he had caused when he''d announced the controversial idea of banning muslims from entering the united states. it wasn''t the first controversy he had created, and it would be far, far from the last. just as he was about to hit the golf ball, his pocket started vibrating. he halted his swing and answered his phone, since anyone who could call him on this particular phone was someone who warranted an immediate answer. "hello," he greeted after he looked at who the caller was. the name made him smile. "hello, how''s our next president doing?" came a voice from the other side of the call. "george, what caused you to call me in the middle of the afternoon? you know i should be working hard on my campaign," replied the man. he was knowingly lying through his teeth despite knowing the other person knew what he was doing; they had eyes everywhere. "i called because my father wants to see you this evening. can you make it?" george said after their short greetings. "i''ll make it even if i have to cancel some appointments. i can''t disappoint him at all," the man replied, then the two chatted for a while before the call ended. the orange man in white golf clothes returned to the game that had been interrupted by the phone call. he punted the ball, sending it into the air... and straight off the course into the rough. ... that evening. "welcome," george welcomed the man he''d had a conversation with earlier that afternoon. "i''m not late, right? since i''m not the president yet, i can''t really avoid the traffic," the man joked as he shook hands with george, then followed him into the mansion for the meeting. later, after they''d had dinner and finished their small talk, they moved to the family head''s room to continue. the two men greeted a third in a serious tone, appropriate for the sober atmosphere. "so when will you start using your power to support me in my bid for president?" the orange man asked. his goofy behavior was usually only on display when he was making speeches on the campaign trail. they were inevitably riddled with misinformation, but it seemed like he was an entirely different person in the face of the real power of the person in this particular room. "i''m pretty sure we''ve already been supporting you for quite a while. we''ve already been helping you shape the narrative around many of your scandalous acts," aubrey answered in the same serious manner. "that isn''t enough at all. i didn''t think your family had fallen so far, to the point of only being capable of supporting me that much," trump said in a slightly mocking tone. he wasn''t satisfied by the support from the morgans at all. george, hearing the tone in which trump said those words, couldn''t help but take a deep breath. trump had just kicked the bull''s balls by saying that to the morgan family head. the reaction from aubrey wasn''t different from what george expected at all as he opened his mouth and said, "it seems like people are starting to forget who we really are, if even youwho we''ve decided to supportthink that we don''t have the same pull we once had." his voice was sepulchrally chilly. trump thought to himself, ''looks like using his ego to force him to increase investment in my campaign backfired.'' he belatedly realized what he had risked by provoking aubrey morgan. aubrey continued, "the only reason i decided to support you is because i want a president under our control to reduce the power the rothschilds hold in congress. but that doesn''t mean you''re the only option. i can just as easily support cruz, who''s already ahead of you. the only reason i haven''t is because he''s already covered in rothschild fingerprints, and you aren''t.... "but that doesn''t mean i can''t fix him and ditch you if you become useless to me. just because we decided to treat you with a modicum of respect doesn''t mean you aren''t a piece of shit or that we can''t live without you. we don''t need you, but you need us. just your stupidity over the last two years alone can bury you under so much controversy that you''ll suffocate in the deepest, darkest hole the law can bury your orange ass in!" aubrey took a deep breath to regain his composure, which had been shaken by trump''s earlier disrespect. it was unbecoming of a morgan to be so crude in their speech. "you either take what we give you and do what we order, or you don''t think about entering politics at all. am i understood?" he asked. they truly didn''t need trump, and aubrey, in particular, was beginning to believe that he may become more liability than asset down the line. currently, his biggest value was that nobody would ever believe the morgans would work with a person like him, beneficial to them or not. his loose cannon attitude was completely contrary to the absolute control that a man like aubrey morgan demanded from situations he chose to involve himself in. "yes, sir." trump could only bow his head and realize his mistake. he had been made complacent by the level of respect he''d previously been shown by the morgan family head. "it seems i''ve misspoken. please forgive my words, i had no intention of disgracing you at all." despite his flaws, trump did have one decent quality: he had a certain low, animal cunning and viciousness that made him uniquely suited to disrupt the status quo. "since it''s the first time, i won''t hold it against you. but pull anything like that in the future and you have many more companies that can suddenly go bankrupt.... keep that in mind," aubrey said. he was unwilling to give the man in front of him any more face. "thank you," trump said. he held this most recent grudge inside him and didn''t show it at all, though he promised himself he would settle it in the future when he was the president. "now that we''ve resolved the misunderstanding, let''s move on to the main topic of how we''re going to get you elected." aubrey immediately moved on, disinterested in prolonging the meeting. hearing his father say that, george immediately picked up the folders near him, handed them to trump, and began introducing their contents. "our support will start from influencing the public through fox news, breitbart, and other right-wing media outlets, but the tone won''t change at first. the media will gradually support you over the rest of the candidates, and we''ll make sure that we only pick clowns that you can easily beat so as to not raise suspicions," george began. he pointed trump toward each page and introduced them one by one, showing in detail what the morgans promised in terms of campaign support. it included everything, from poll numbers and manipulation, to undermining his fellow candidates, giving him more air time on the media, and even went so far as to include opposition research ("oppo") on everyone involved in the 2016 general election, including the democrats as well as those the rothschilds had propped up on each side. no major family would ever choose only one candidate or side, in order to hedge their bets and ensure they came out as the ultimate winners. when trump saw the proposal, just the first page alone was enough to cause a smile to appear on his face. it was the level of support he had been expecting from such a prominent family. Chapter 282 The Reason chapter 282 the reason satisfied with trump''s reaction, george continued the summary. "we won''t start with high-profile endorsements, but they''ll go up in value along with the increase in your poll numbers. your first endorsement will come from sarah palin, the former governor of alaska and 2008 republican vice-presidential nominee." when trump heard that name, he knew that they weren''t messing around at all. and that was just the first in a long line of endorsements to come. "she''ll officially endorse you at a rally in iowa, which should be, i think, on january 19th. that''s about three weeks from now, and a few days after the sixth republican primary debate," he continued. "in february, which should be the month you start overtaking ted cruz in the polls, the new jersey governor, chris christie, will start endorsing you after your wins" "isn''t he a candidate? and quite critical of me, as well," trump interrupted. he wasn''t sure if he had misheard something or not. "yes. he''ll drop out of the race next month and endorse you along with former arizona governor jan brewer; maine governor, paul lepage; and former massachusetts senator, scott brown." george gave him a look and continued, "in march ben carson will also suspend his campaign and do the same, but that''ll be after jeff sessions...." he continued mentioning all the high-profile people who would be endorsing trump to help increase his reach over a larger republican audience. ''they aren''t fucking around at all'' trump thought. he realized that they hadn''t been doing much at first because they were preparing for a big push in the beginning of 2016. and with them starting a rumor about hilary clinton''s private email servershe was the democratic candidate the rothschilds were supportingthere would surely be an investigation into it that would heavily impact her campaign. the morgans themselves had hedged their bets on the democratic side of the aisle as well, and gone with the same strategy of supporting someone nobody would have believed they would ever support: the independent senator of vermont, bernie sanders. but that would be a battleground for others; trump only had to concern himself with the republican primary election, where his most likely opponent would be the rothschild-backed republican, ted cruz. george continued his explanation of how the morgans would be supporting trump, who remained quiet throughout. he would ask his questions after the morgan heir finished. "about fox... i don''t think it''ll be possible to get their support. roger ailes doesn''t seem too keen on me, or my candidacy," he said. he was mostly sure that they might have missed that in all the planning, but he wanted to be completely sure. "you don''t have to worry about that. you know what they say, there''s no such thing as ''bad press.'' as long as your name is mentioned, i''m sure a branding expert like yourself knows what''ll happen. if he tries to stifle news about you, we can just replace him," george answered. it was like he was talking about firing a normal factory line worker, not the chairman of a giant media conglomerate like fox news. that was when trump realized the full scale of the power the morgans held. they were in such a lofty position that they could just remove the chairman of a huge company like it was nothing. "can you tell me what you really want from me after i win? i need to prepare for it," he said. he knew they hadn''t told him everything, but he didn''t care. if their goals didn''t align with his, he wouldn''t hesitate to cut them down after he won; his victory was never in question in his own mind. if the morgans wanted something too heinous, he believed he could even kick them to the curb and win the election without them. instead of george, aubrey opened his mouth and said, "a decade or so before 9/11, we installed a puppet dictator in iraq and armed him. remember when iraq tried to take over kuwait? it was around then. do you remember when a few years after 9/11, saddam''s regime was discovered to have weapons of mass destruction and we took him down? why do you think we did that?" "because you had evidence backing the invasion?" trump answered. he wasn''t sure of his answer, though, as he was sure that the full story hadn''t yet been declassified. "that''s what most of the world believes, but the truth is that we''d been working on making the invasion happen even before then. after 9/11, we needed to show that we still had the biggest stick, so we used that stick to beat down the taliban. "but that proved insufficient, so we needed to use the stick again. we chose to use it on saddam. we manufactured all kinds of excuses, wmds just happened to be the one that stuck. after all, why would we really care about backwards savages who only had their weapons pointed at themselves and their local rivals?" aubrey paused, staring straight into trump''s eyes. trump was a bit surprised to be hearing all of this information. he was positive it was still classified, if it was even known to anyone at all. "but that isn''t all there was to it," aubrey continued. "we needed a war long before 9/11, which was why we planted the seed named saddam. we would harvest that seed later, regardless, but the attack forced our hand. still, it was beneficial in at least one sense. the long peace had been making it difficult for us to justify maintaining such an enormous military-industrial complex! "so we invaded iraq under the pretense of looking for wmds, then officially took saddam down after our ''inspections'' provoked a violent insurgency aimed at removing his regime from power. and that was only one of the conflicts we brewed in the region. we took down the taliban, we took down saddam, we dismantled al-qaeda, and we took down bin laden." even after all of that, aubrey hadn''t answered trump''s question at all. "why do you think i told you all that?" he asked. his habit was always to test people to determine their worth coming to action. "because the reason you''re supporting me lies in the explanation," trump confidently answered. aubrey believed that anyone who was smarter than a goldfish could have figured that much out. "and what might that reason be?" he asked. "you need another reason to justify such a huge military budget. people won''t ask why so much is necessary if we''re fighting a war." "yes. we need wars to justify such a huge budget. and ones where we can exploit the targets afterward to benefit and enrich ourselves, too. our targets need to be selected with careweak enough to not cause too much damage, but strong enough to warrant our stay in their country for as long as possible under the guise of ''peacekeeping.'' "and not only that, they have to be rich enough to justify our initial... investment," aubrey finished with a smile, as he was satisfied by trump''s second answer. "so where''s the next target? it can''t be another country in the middle east, and i don''t recall any other enemies we can use. or even anywhere that meets your requirements..." trump asked. "eden-esparia." aubrey was speaking circles around trump and leading him to a partially correct belief. sure, he really wanted to plunder eden and esparia''s riches, but that was only incidental. what he really desired was to trample them for having the gall to stymie his first attempt. he had seen it as a blow to his honor and a personal affront to him. Chapter 283 Resources, Human and Otherwise chapter 283 resources, human and otherwise trump was a bit confused and surprised at the target mentioned by aubrey. he had never thought of eden or esparia being the new targets. the only thing he knew about them was that they were some backwards shitholes that didn''t even have golf courses!. the silence continued for quite a while as the two morgans in the room left trump to digest the information in silence. "why them?" he asked after the long silence. "because they have a massive amount of untapped resources, so we stand to benefit the most from those. plus, they''re absolutely weak and the investment won''t be that high," aubrey answered. he absolutely wouldn''t tell trump his actual reason for choosing the tiny island nations. "are you opposed?" he asked when he saw the look on trump''s face. "no, i don''t really care. i don''t care about the reason or how we do things. as long as i can make america great again, i''ll support your agenda with all my power when i win the election," he proclaimed, then laughed. "besides, they don''t even have golf courses!". "good. we''ve already finished the preparations on our end, so all you have to worry about is campaigning and winning the support of the american people... or at least their votes," aubrey said, then deftly maneuvered the conversation onto other topics. ... "see you later," trump told george, who had escorted him to the door where his car was waiting for him. "i hope it''s in the oval office," george joked. both men smiled at each other as trump got into the car he had arrived in. the car left the compound after driving for ten minutes straight, and after a few more minutes, the smile on trump''s face disappeared, and he moved his mouth into a weird position. it was like his face had become stiff from having to constantly maintain an expression that he wasn''t used to making for a long period of time. "they really think they can control me," he said to himself. he wasn''t worried about his driver overhearing him, as the man''s family lived in trump tower. the minute he betrayed his master, only one end lay in store for all of them: death. just as he was about to work himself into a swearing fit to vent the anger he had pent up from being insulted by that high-horse asshole, his thoughts were interrupted by a phone call. he couldn''t afford to ignore it, either, as it came on his most important burner phone. "how''d the meeting go?" asked the voice on the other side of the call. "it went well. and as you said, when i tried poking at their pride, they seemed very upset. i guess they can''t handle being belittled," he said in a mocking tone. his little jab had been an intentional test to see just how much he could get away with; apparently, the answer was "not much". "it was within our range of expectation based on their course of action. ever since aubrey became their family head, we''ve been profiling him. and up until now, our profile has almost never been wrong," said the voice. the pride they felt in that accomplishment allowed a slight accent to leak through. even though their english was very fluent, it was obvious that they hadn''t been raised in america. "how about you give me a copy for my use to solicit the most support i can get from them? that way, you won''t have to risk anything by personally making moves," trump said. "let me remind you of one thing: there are things you can ask for, and things you cannot ask for. until you win the election, your usefulness to us is... limited." the voice on the phone didn''t even have the slightest fluctuation in its tone. it was apparent that the speaker was used to trump''s shenanigans and constant benefit-seeking behavior. "sure, but make sure you write down everything i want from you, because when i win, i don''t want to have to ask again," trump replied. if there was one thing he could be sure of, it was that he was always a winner. "don''t worry." the phone call was abruptly terminated. trump lowered phone from his ear said nothing, just looked at it with the same expression he''d had after leaving the morgan family''s compound. ''everyone has a use, and the moment their usefulness ends their fate is to be abandoned. useless people are nothing but waste,'' he thought. he put the phone back in his pocket and stared out the tinted window of his car. his mind was in overdrive, but nobody knew what he was thinking; however, judging from the look on his face, it must have been pleasant thoughts. ... in the kremlin. vladimir was walking through the heavily guarded area, carrying a briefcase and wearing a neat, bespoke suit. he strode with measured, confident strides while maintaining a relaxed expression on his face. there was no nervousness at all to be seen anywhere in the man, despite being on his way to meet the president to brief him on the results of his latest mission. when he neared the office, the soldier guarding the door wasted no time and automatically opened it without him even asking. apparently, he was expected and had been given permission to directly enter. "good evening, sirs," he greeted in russian as he put the briefcase on the table. he opened it, pulled out some documents, and handed them out to everyone in the room. "we''ve discovered that the americans and most of the west are in the process of increasing their activity in ukraine. other than the non-combat support they''ve been providing, we expect them to soon send a detachment of their green berets to train their army. "along with them will come weapons, so they don''t end up crumbling like when we took back crimea. they''ll use ukraine as a shield against us...." vladimir began presenting the findings of his recent mission to the people in the room. his professionalism, eloquence, and understanding of the situation impressed the people sitting at the conference table listening to his report. all of his claims were backed up by evidence, whether conclusive or circumstantial, and he even picked up on a few things that many others would have missed if they had been the ones assigned to the mission. Chapter 284 An Evolution in Each Category chapter 284 an evolution in each category when vladimir finished speaking, everyone in the room had a more detailed understanding of the situation in crimea. "why''s he leading an investigation in the field when he''s obviously ministerial material?" putin asked the head of the fsb. alexander bortnikov, the director of the fsb, was in the meeting room with the other ministers of the russian government in order to debrief vladimir after his mission. however, he''d never thought he would be put on the spot by being asked a question like that, nor had he expected vladimir would turn out to be such an effective field agent compared to his previous record. "he''s still under investigation. there was a mess about an fsb agent being kidnapped from their home, and," he gestured toward vladimir, "that agent is him. he maintains that he doesn''t remember anything between the time he was kidnapped and when he woke up in the hospital." "what''s your finding in that investigation? i recall that incident happened quite a few months ago, so you should have some kind of result," putin asked. "nothing substantial. we can''t tell if he was captured and compromised, or if everything''s just as he says. so we decided to put him in the field until we know for sure," answered bortnikov. "it seems like you''ve found nothing, then," putin bluntly said. then he added, "bring him to the kremlin starting next week." vladimir had just been promoted from a field agent in ukraine directly to putin''s inner circle of advisors. "but sir... there''s still a chance that he''s been compromised," bortnikov said. he couldn''t immediately agree to promoting the man, not when he knew there were still risks and that vladimir would be beyond his reach after entering putin''s inner circle. "just do it. if we find something later, we can deal with it then," putin said in a tone that brooked no arguments. "yes, sir," bortnikov said. putin had put down his foot and he would risk his directorship if he were to argue the point any further. and if he displeased his leader, he risked being quietly disappeared to some gulag in siberia that nobodynot even himknew about. the debriefing continued as the ministers, military leaders, and intelligence analysts raised questions for vladimir to answer. ... half an hour later, vladimir was in a private meeting with putin and bornikov. "i was quite impressed by the level of information you found and the way you presented it," putin said as he maintained eye contact with vladimir, who had yet to receive permission to sit. "thank you, sir," vladimir replied neither arrogantly nor humbly. "that''s why i asked for you to be moved to the kremlin. i have a perfect use for a detail-oriented person like youare you up for it?" putin offered. if vladimir declined, he would just order him to do the job anyway; nobody he wanted could ever escape his grasp. "thank you for the opportunity, sir," vladimir replied. he sounded like he was holding back his excitement. "good. bortnikov will brief you on your new task, and who your new team will be. make sure you don''t disappoint me." before waiting for a reply, putin stood and walked out the door, leaving vladimir behind for the head of the fsb to brief him on his task. bornikov wasted no time in introducing vladimir''s new task to him. it marked the beginning of the soon-to-be-ex spy''s climb up the russian government ladder. ..... meanwhile, in eden, the restructuring of aron''s companies was put into effect without any announcement being made to the public. the new companies were registered, the incorporation of the old companies was registered, and divisions were divested and picked up as the internal reshuffling took place. everything was done in plain sight, but only for those who cared to look for it. it wasn''t until people noticed the changes on the companies'' websites, or the new names on their utility and internet bills, that they realized what had happened. just those subtle changes were enough to make them realize the companies were connected. they may not know exactly what the corporate structure was, or at least they wouldn''t know without actively looking for it, but what was obvious was that aron was among the leadership. that much was obviousthe new name on their internet bills was his own personal company, gaia technologies. the intricate web of connections was only further deepened in their minds when connect and hephaestus released a joint press conference announcing that felix was stepping down as ceo of connect and taking up the position of president of hephaestus industries, incorporated. the internet immediately exploded, with conspiracy theorists crowing the accuracy of their conjectures from the proverbial rooftops. the link between connect, gaia, and hephaestus was now confirmed, which meant helios had also been a part of it all along! the resulting war of words caused the websites that tried guessing aron''s net worth to more than double the amount, from thirty to sixty-five billion, making him not only the youngest self-made billionaire, but also one of the richest people in the world. but while all that speculation was taking place, neither aron, felix, nor sarah cared enough to even make an announcement. and even if they did, they didn''t have the time, as they were busy preparing for the product launch that would be happening soon. currently, they were in a meeting in vr for full-scale demonstrations of the new tech that was slated for release. but first, there was another pressing matter that needed to be addressed. [the list is out, and here''s the people who are highly likely to agree to our offer. they''re in very desperate positions, so they''ll agree even if they know what''ll happen to them,] nova said, materializing profiles of the people and the industries they specialized in. she organized the lists so each of the candidates were sorted into the newly founded companies. they were all fairly unknown people, making them perfect candidates to join aron''s conglomerate. not surprising in the least was that they all had families that were in very precarious positions as well. some had wives that had left them, others were on the verge of divorce, and there were even a few with other difficulties, such as long-term, chronic illnesses or other disabilities. there was even one on the list that had an abusive spouse, but couldn''t leave them out of fear for their life. as aron read the profiles, he couldn''t help but feel bad for all of them. but that was all he felt for them: pity. the same could be said for his friends as they joined him in silently reading the profiles; all three of them had the ability to separate emotion from "proper" business. "the candidates are all people with some level of knowledge in their field, and they''re all desperate enough to agree to our offer. their individual situations should make it easy enough to convince any of them," aron said when he finished reading the profiles. he didn''t know what to think about his slowly diminishing capacity for empathy; it just seemed normal to him, thanks to his recent developments. "emotions are one of humanity''s weaknesses, but also our strongest motivation," he continued. he had realized that his reaction to everything in front of him was different than what one would expect from a "normal" human and finally noticed the impact of his evolution. it was a truly mysterious thing, being able to separate emotion from action, and he would need to reflect on how and why it happened. his current hypothesis was that his emotions would be numbed if they were deemed harmful at any given time. but the question remained: who, or what, was the one that made that call? his friends continued reading, but they were slightly more "normal" in their reactions to the situations of the profiled individuals. they were fundamentally different from aron, who had the ability to completely separate his two halves. felix and sarah could only try their hardest to achieve that. at least for now, anyway. Chapter 285 The Days of Their Lives (I) chapter 285 the days of their lives (i) as aron and his friends continued their decision-making process, the people whose lives they were deciding were busily trudging along in their day-to-day lives. all they had were their aspirations, dreams, and the hope of a better (or vengeful) future. that was what forced them to keep moving forward despite their difficult lives. .... robert watson, a british immigrant to america, was one of the people on the list in aron and his friends'' hands. currently, he was in a conference room with his lawyer. on the opposite side of the table from them was a woman wearing almost comically thick makeup. she was dressed in a leopard-print top that clashed with a wide, hot pink belt, a tight purple skirt that only came halfway down her thighs, flesh-colored stockings, and bright red stiletto heels with a four inch shiny chrome spike. she had bubblegum pink hair styled to the nines cascading over her shoulders, and on the table in front of her was an enormous bag covered in the louis vuitton "lv" logo, as if she was afraid anyone wouldn''t know it was expensive. the rest of her clothes were obviously branded as well. sitting next to her was a man in his late twenties that looked like a ken doll, wearing a bespoke suit. he had a million-watt smile and a face that had been plastered on bus benches all over los angeles. he was a divorce attorney and his name was known far and wide as an unethical shark more than anything else. robert had a morose expression on his face, but the woman sitting across from him was giving him a mocking smirk. the silence was broken as robert''s lawyer said, "thank you for coming today. we''re here to discuss the division of assets in the watson v watson divorce case. let''s get to work, since no one in this room wants to be here any longer than we actually have to. robert, please begin." as robert opened his mouth to speak, the ken doll on the other side of the table interrupted, "hold on there. lisa has a few things she''d like to say first." before robert or his lawyer could say anything, she opened her mouth and, in a shrill voice, began speaking. "the law entitles me to half of everything you have. but you''re gonna give me more, or else" "or else what, lisa?" robert tiredly said. his voice was hoarse and low, and exhaustion was writ across his face in big, bold letters. "or else i''ll go to the newspaper! your precious ''reputation'' will be trashed. you owe me! i was the prom queen in high school and all of my friends married up, but instead of marrying a senator or a ceo, i married a pathetic sack of shit like you! i was stupid to ever think you would amount to anything at all, so you owe me everything for the youth i wasted on you! now how am i supposed to support myself, eh? you think all this," she gestured at herself, "is cheap? what kind of man can i find now, eh?" "oh, i don''t know, lisa. maybe pick from one of the ones you cheated on me with!" "well if you weren''t such a miserable failure, i wouldn''t have cheated on you!" "you...!" robert couldn''t help but clench his fists under the table, close his eyes, and take a slow, deep breath. in a monotone, he continued, "you don''t get it, do you? most of what i had, i earned before the marriage, and you''re not entitled to any of it." "oh? i don''t remember signing a prenup! so let''s just go to court then, bobby. i''m sure you''ll be happy to keep everything but your reputation, you... you... you spousal rapist! yeah, i''ll tell them you raped me!" lisa said with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. she had wasted the best years of her life married to the man across from her, and not a single one of her many lovers over the years was capable of supporting her in a manner she would like to become accustomed to. sure, maybe they could afford one luxury bag, or a dressher outfit that day had been given to her by no less than four different men, for instancebut not a single one had the power, or the bank account, she desired. the back-and-forth argument between robert and lisa continued, with both lawyers trying their hardest to get words in edgewise and just praying that their clients wouldn''t say anything incriminating that could be used against them when this divorce inevitably went to trial. ... ryan walker was another person on aron''s list. currently, he was laying in an adjustable bed in the living room of a small downtown apartment. the sounds and smells of low-income urban living drifted in the open window along with a shaft of light that illuminated the dust floating through the air. it wasn''t an unusual scene, as he was always either in this bed or in his electric wheelchair. that was a customized prison, just like his bed, as the only things he could move were his face and a single finger. he spent most of his time on the internet, trying to chase away the shame of being unable to provide for his wife. they had promised to support each other through school, but after she finished supporting him, and before she could finish her degree, he had slipped on a patch of icy sidewalk on his way home from work one night and fell directly into the path of an oncoming snowplow. the city was as sympathetic as they could be, considering it was a no-fault accident, and had covered his medical expenses and enough for them to at least subsidize their living expenses for a few years, but as he couldn''t work, his wife, amanda, could only drop out of college to take care of him. luckily for him, gaia os was capable of accommodating his disabilities, enough so that he could earn a meager income editing webnovels for indie authors. it wasn''t much, but it was honest work, though it was a complete waste of his master''s degrees in biophysics and neurobiology from cornell university. he used to run drug trials for astrazeneca, but that was obviously out of the question now. a few minutes later, keys jingled and a beautiful woman walked in the front door. she was wearing jeans that had all the color washed out of them and a loose, long-sleeved t-shirt with a logo that was so faded it couldn''t be made out anymore. her rich brown hair was in a ponytail that flowed out of her baseball cap and down her back to her shoulder blades like willy wonka''s chocolate river. she was carrying two paper bags full of groceries and mincing her way through the cluttered, cramped living room toward the kitchen. she set the bags down on the counter, then gave ryan a kiss on each cheek and his forehead. "good morning, starshine, the sun says hello!" she chirped. it seemed she was just the kind of naturally upbeat, happy person that couldn''t be brought down even if a mountain landed on her shoulders. ironically, that upbeat attitude only made ryan feel even worse. she worked an arm around behind his shoulders and her other under his knee, then slid the hoist under him and lifted him into his chair. then she moved the attached computer monitor around in front of him where he could see it and turned on the webcam. the ai assistant installed could track his eye movements through it; that was mostly how he managed to browse and work. he immediately got to work as his wife went back to putter around the kitchen. soon, the inviting smell of bacon and sound of sizzling eggs made its way to his ears along with his wife''s humming. a few minutes later she brought a tray to the living room, loaded with bacon, eggs, fresh hash browns, and french toast, with a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice and one of milk. ryan wasn''t much of a coffee drinker, but he definitely loved oj. a tear fell from his eye, and amanda noticed it. "what''s wrong, love?" she asked. "i just feel like a burden. you supported me all the way through two master''s degrees, and i couldn''t even hold up my end, much less be the breadwinner you deserve. you should''ve been a museum curator by now, not a night shift cashier at the truck stop! you work so hard to support me... i wouldn''t blame you if you went for a divorce. then you could be happy and baggage-free, maybe even reach your dreams. you could fall in love again, with someone who could love you the way you deserve, not a burden you" "you shut your mouth right this instant, ryan herbert walker!" she interrupted. "i love you, not your money, not your degree, and not your job. we''re getting along just fine, and i swore before god that we would be together for better or worse. just because worse happened doesn''t mean i love you any less, so you get that thought out of your skull right now, you hear?" amanda was a lovely soul and could forgive almost anything, but people insulting her husband or talking down about him was a line she wouldn''tcouldn''tallow anyone to cross. not even her husband himself. "...yes, dear," ryan could only say in a quiet voice as he silently cried. amanda saw the continuing tears and downcast expression on his face and wrapped him in a hug. "cheer up, baby. at least now you can say ''it can''t get any worse'' without making things worse, right! silver linings and all that...." ''i swear i will find some way, somehow, some day, to repay this wonderful woman for being the best and brightest part of my life,'' he thought as he and his wife cried in each others'' arms, his breakfast growing cold and forgotten on the tray table next to them. Chapter 286 The Days of Their Lives (II) chapter 286 the days of their lives (ii) rachael richardson was a logistics manager at the amazon headquarters in seattle, washington. currently, she was sitting in her office reviewing some paperwork. her cell phone rang and a jolt passed down her spine, then she reached in her purse to grab it. her heart was pounding and her hands shook so bad that, after she got the phone out, she fumbled it and it dropped to the floor. coincidentally, the phone landed face up and she saw the name of the caller on the display. her face paled and she scrambled out of her chair, then got on her hands and knees and picked up the phone, hitting the button to answer it as fast as she could. "h-hello?" she breathlessly said. "the phone rang more than once." "s-s-sorry... i dropped it when i was picking it up." the voice on the other side of the call was silent for some time, then it said, "don''t let it happen again." "i won''t," rachel said, an obvious quiver in her voice. "i''ll be home at 7:30. i want grilled shrimp for dinner." "y-yes. i''ll have it on the table and ready when you get home." "good. see that you do." the call ended with a click. rachael heaved a sigh of relief and slumped to a sitting position on the floor behind her desk. ''i am a powerful woman. i am strong. i am worthwhile,'' she repeated to herself, a mantra that kept her from bursting at the seams every time she heard that manher husbandspeak. she had married young, right out of high school. and things had gone well, at least for the first few years. she went to college and got her degree in logistics from the university of washington''s seattle campus, while her husband had joined her, studying criminal justice at the same campus. the two were wildly in love and it was the happiest time of her life. she didn''t know when, but at some point, things had begun to change. her husband, tom, went to the police academy after graduation, while she started a job at a local amazon warehouse handling logistics. it wasn''t a glorious job, nor was it a glorious dream, but rachael was a very down-to-earth and solid person. she didn''t need big dreams, and neither did she have them. simple dreams, simple pleasures, simple... person. overall, she was content; as long as she had tom by her side, she would be happy. or so she thought. soon after joining the police academy, tom''s temper changed. where he was once caring, he became cold. where he was boisterous, he became silent. he would come home at the end of each day in a bad mood, and nursing injuries. whenever rachael would ask what was wrong, he would only grunt at her to mind her own business. a few days before he graduated from the academy, he hit her for the first time. he was apologetic, and swore to never do it again, but... he did. and then again, and again, and again. soon, rachael was wearing thick makeup and sunglasses when she left the house to cover her bruises. her wardrobe changed from sundresses to jeans and long-sleeved shirts. her relationships with her friends suffered, especially after they saw one of the black eyes she had suffered. she claimed it was an accident and she was just being klutzy; "80% of all accidents happen at home, haha," she laughed. her friends, though, knew better. so she stopped going out with friends. her friends soon became acquaintances, and lunches became never-kept promises to "get together some time". outings became phone calls, then texts, then occasional emails. and soon, she was completely isolated. she put all of her passion and energy into her work and soon rose up the corporate ladder. tom had done the samehis career as a police officer led him straight up the chain of command, and he had become the chief of seattle''s south precinct. from the outside, they seemed an idyllic couple. she was a successful corporate officer at one of the biggest corporations in the entire world, and he was a man riding a rocket up the rungs of political power. nobody would ever have guessed the reality of what went on behind closed doors. but rachael was one of two women on aron''s list. she didn''t know it yet, but her life was about to undergo a drastic change... and so was her husband''s. ... elizabeth oppliger, besides being on aron''s list, was a swiss grad student at oxford university. she was working on a postdoctoral degree in their environmental sciences department, and her thesis was about renewable energy and environmental impact. her thesis advisor, jacob kingsley, was a world-renowned scientist, and quite a prolific author. his name was on almost too many theses to count and it covered many fields in the environmental sciences. he seemed to have delved deep into every subject and could be considered something of a modern-day renaissance man. elizabeth was in the lab, sitting at a computer and compiling a meta-analysis on a number of studies she had participated in, from her first year of university to the present. a very driven woman, she knew exactly what she wanted to do and had meticulously planned every step. this was the last one: publishing a comprehensive meta-analysis of all the data she had collected over nearly ten years. backed by the behemoth oxford university and the industry titan, jacob kingsley, she should have no problem publishing her thesis in a high-impact scientific journal, like nature energy, which was issued a citescore of 81.6 by scopus. her second choice, energy and environmental science, only had a citescore of 54.4, so every advantage she could get working for her was something she would fight for. especially since it would drive her career from that moment forward. her ultimate goal was to develop alternative, renewable energy sources that were beneficial to the environment in the long term, so she absolutely needed to make a splash the instant she entered the industry. "how close are you to finishing your draft, liz?" elizabeth turned around in her chair and saw her thesis advisor. "i''m just about to do my final checks and proofread it. i''ll have the draft in your hand by the end of tomorrow," she said. professor kingsley nodded, then put on his suit jacket, picked up his keys, and walked out of the lab. it wasn''t unusual for him to leave early and arrive late, which had surprised elizabeth when she first met him, but she was used to it now. she just assumed that he must be doing all of his research from home, something that quite a few people did now. the next afternoon, she knocked on professor kingsley''s office door. "come in," he said from inside. elizabeth opened the door and walked in, then handed him a usb drive with her draft thesis on it. he plugged it into his computer and verified the file, then said, "you can go." elizabeth nodded, then headed home for the day. her part of the work was almost finished, a capstone to an academic career spanning ten very long years. all she had to do now was wait for her thesis advisor to return her draft with remarks, then polish it and submit it to her chosen journals. she heaved a sigh of relief and settled in to wait. over the next few months, she asked professor kingsley when he would be finished reviewing her thesis draft on multiple occasions. he would always brush her off with a murmured "soon" and a wave of the hand. the man, who was once so warm to her, seemed to have grown as cold as coffee left on the counter overnight. as the publication date for nature energy drew closer, she grew more and more concerned; she had hoped to be published this year, as she was definitely not getting any younger as time passed. she had her life meticulously plotted in three-year blocks. this was the year she would be published, next year she would begin working, and the year after that she would start the long climb to a management position. any delay would throw quite a monkey wrench into the finely tuned gears of her life. time continued to pass, and soon, her copy of nature energy arrived. she had nothing better to do but wait for professor kingsley to return her thesis, so she idly thumbed through it as she was coming up with new plans for her life. her original plans were in the gutter, now. as she browsed through the journal, she almost missed a rather special thesis contained in it. almost. but how could she miss the title of a paper she had put nearly ten years of effort into? she read it closely, and was shockedthe thesis she was reading was the one she had planned on submitting to this very same journal! the only difference was the name of the author: jacob kingsley, phd. the world spun as all of her plans came crashing down around her. she fell to the floor, unconscious. ... the last man on aron''s list was laying on a filthy mattress in what could only be very generously considered a "shack". his name was jai chakrabarti, and it was his twenty-seventh birthday. if someone had seen him a few months earlier, they would never have imagined him where he was now, wearing a torn, dirty suit, leather shoes that had all the finish worn off of them, and a pained expression. he was born with a silver spoon and a golden heart, and spent the first twenty-six years of his life using his father''s money to help people less fortunate than him. then his father, the last remaining member of his family, died. with his father''s death came the revelation of a great secret: a connection to the mafia. and not a good one, either; as it turned out, his father had begun building wealth from a "loan" provided by the mob. one that he hadn''t paid back. instead, he had chosen to purchase a new identity and run with the cash before using it to develop software that he then sold to online betting websites. now, the mob had caught up to him. or what was left of him after the car accident, anyway. his picture was next to his obituary in the newspaper, and a mafia soldier had just so happened to see it. next thing jai knew, he was answering a loud knock on his door and greeting some very, very large and angry men. it wasn''t bad enough that the government had taken almost half of his father''s money in the name of "estate taxes", or that his father''s business partnersthe betting websites that operated in the grayest of gray areashad taken all of the business, but now the mafia had come calling to collect the rest. jai had had no choice but to give in and give up; his only other option had been too dire to consider. he was lucky that he had been able to keep the clothes on his back. it wasn''t that the mob enforcers weren''t willing to take them, as the suit he was wearing cost nearly 10,000 rupees, and they definitely hadn''t felt sorry for him. it was more that, in giving in and giving up, jai had signed over all the money he had and immediately run in the opposite direction. like father, like son, one could say. both of them were runners. what about the law? the law didn''t care. they only protected those who could afford to be protected by them. and jai was no longer one of those people... but the leaders of the mafia most definitely were. so he did the next best thinghe moved to rajanpur, punjab, and built a little shack for himself from some corrugated galvanized steel sheet he found at the dump. another one of his prizes from there was the stained, worn-out mattress he was currently laying on. he hadn''t eaten in days, and could only distract himself by plotting vengeance on those that had brought him to this point: the mafia, his father''s business partners, and the government of maharashtra. oh, yes.... they would pay. Chapter 287 An Offer They Shouldn’t Refuse chapter 287 an offer they shouldn''t refuse back in the office, sarah and felix had just finished reading through the five profiles aron had shortlisted from nova''s master list. the rest of the names on the list would also receive job offers, but the five names on the short list were slated to be the presidents of the new subsidiary companies. robert watson, a low-level boeing executive, would be joining icarus airlines as the president. ryan walker would be heading up asclepius biotechnology, where his experience and connections in the world of big pharma would come in handy. and, having been a researcher himself, he wouldn''t just be an "empty suit" executive, either. hermes inc., aron''s new import/export company, was just waiting for the arrival of rachael richardson. she should be able to simply slot into the job, having run the logistics department of a giant like amazon. elizabeth oppliger would soon be heading up helios energy & utilities. she didn''t know it yet, but she would soon. and jai chakrabarti would soon be taking over the charitable branch of connect, the coeus foundation. nova herself would continue running plutus ventures; no mere human, no matter how "enhanced", would be able to replace her in that position. "since you''ve read through them, do you two have any objections?" aron asked. sarah and felix might have found better candidates in the comprehensive list. neither of them said anything, so aron nodded. "good, it''s settled, then. nova, let''s get them in for a meeting." he swiveled his chair around so he could see the large screen on the wall behind him, and felix and sarah turned theirs to watch as well. there were five live feeds being displayed on the big screen, one from each of the nyx agents nova had ordered into the field earlier that day. she brought up the first feed and it filled the entire screen, where a hand was knocking on a door in a hallway. ... "come in," said the voice in the room. the nyx agent entered rachael''s office, then closed and locked the door behind her. she took out a small black cube and set it on the desk, to ensure nobody could listen in on the conversation that was about to take place, then sat in the chair facing the desk and said, "we need to talk." "about what?" rachael asked. the nyx agent began listing the details of rachael''s life, and she grew nervous. she picked up the phone on her desk to call security, but there was no dial tone. "don''t worry, mrs. richardson. i''m not here to hurt youin fact, it''s just the opposite. i''m here to offer you an opportunity... a way to get away from your husband and improve your situation. and all you have to do is agree to a meeting," the beautiful agent explained. "a meeting? with who? and what''s that?" rachael gestured at the cube the agent had placed on her desk. "that? that''s just a toy to make sure our conversation is, and remains, private. the meeting is with my boss, and you won''t even have to go anywhere to have it." she pulled a pair of chic sunglasses from her pocket and set them on the desk. "put these on and you''ll have all the answers you need." rachael thought for a moment, then, remembering what she would be in for when tom got home from work, picked up the sunglasses and put them on. ... robert watson had just left his contentious divorce settlement meeting and was sitting on a bus bench, leaning back and tiredly rubbing his eyes as he waited for the bus to take him home. nothing had come of the meeting except more hard feelings and a guarantee of the next meeting taking place in a public court room. a beautiful woman in a professional suit sat on the bench next to him and said, "rough day? you look bushed." robert just glared at her out of the corner of his eye. he wasn''t in the best of moods to begin with, and was definitely in no mood to speak to a stranger, especially another fucking woman. the woman, however, had other plans. she looked at the exhausted man next to her and asked, "wanna change your life? i can give you information that would guarantee your wife will sign a no-contest divorce decree... if you''re interested in that. or i suppose you could be like everyone else and just air your dirty laundry in divorce court." robert shot her a dirty look and said, "you''ve got some balls. how do you know who i am? how did you know about... her?" the nyx agent gave him a silent smile, then leaned back against the backrest of the bus bench, which ironically had a picture of robert''s wife''s divorce attorney on it. "fine. i''ll play. what do you need me to do in exchange?" he sighed. the agent pulled a set of black sports sunglasses out of a pocket and handed them to him. "all you have to do is put these on, and all your questions will be answered." ... ryan was sitting in his wheelchair, working. a word processing program was open on the display screen of his computer, but it grayed out, and a pop-up window appeared on his display. "do you want to change your life? y/n..." it read. his ai assistant popped up on the screen and playfully flew around the weird pop-up, then turned to "look" at ryan. [you should say yes, you know,] the little fairy said. "oh, why should i? this seems sketchy." [because the person who sent you that popup can let you walk again. all you have to do is open your front door.] at that exact moment, someone knocked on the front door of ryan''s apartment. his wife was asleep, and he didn''t want to wake her. plus, he was a bit weirded out by this sudden situation; just because there had never been a hacked gaia os install didn''t mean it wasn''t a possibility that his had been hacked. [trust me, you''re not getting hacked. the woman outside will tell you everything you need to know.] ryan decided that there was really nothing to worry about. he had nothing to steal, so the person at the door probably wasn''t there to steal anything from him. he controlled his electric wheelchair to the bedroom and said, "amanda? wake up, sweetheart. someone''s at the door." amanda groggily woke up, brushed her hair out of her face, and sat on the edge of the bed. "someone''s... here?" she yawned. "yeah. some weird shit''s going down, but... well... i think we should listen to what they have to say. they''re here to make an offer or something, i guess." she nodded, then pulled her hair into a loose bun and secured it with a letter opener from the nightstand next to the bed. she pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt and followed her husband back to their cramped living room, then opened the door. a stunning woman stepped across their threshold, then closed the door behind her and locked it. she gave ryan and amanda a beautiful smile. "mind if i sit?" she asked. ... in oxford, elizabeth opplinger was sitting on the couch in her living room, fuming mad. she had just gotten off the phone with her thesis advisor, who had told her to her face that he had never received her thesis draft. to her face! the man had apparently traded his sense of shame for a pair of gigantic brass balls. she was completely at a loss as to what to do. ten years.... ten fucking years! ten years of her life was just gone, and she had nothing to show for it. all of her plans and her future came crashing down around her ears and bent her back like a mountain had landed on her shoulders. ''should i go to the dean?'' she thought, then immediately discarded that thought. professor kingsley was a famous draw to the university, and people from all over the worldincluding herhad applied to be admitted to oxford for him, and him alone. so the dean would never take her word over his! ''maybe the media?'' she considered, but again, immediately discarded the idea. she had no evidence, and professor kingsley, the thieving asshole, had made sure to not say anything that incriminated him on the phone call she''d just had with him. as she was frantically trying to come up with ideas, someone knocked on the door of her apartment. she ignored it, but the knock came again. then again. and again, until finally.... "what!?" she screamed as she opened the door. "hello yourself, miss opplinger. mind if i come in?" the beautiful nyx agent asked as she slipped past elizabeth and strode into her living room. she sat down on the couch and said, "that kingsley douchebag sure is an ass, isn''t he?" "wha- how- why- what the fuck!? how did you know about that?" elizabeth spluttered. she was absolutely confused by this seemingly random turn of events. "wanna get back at him?" the agent questioned in return. "how? i have no evidence, it''s my word against his... and he''s the professor kingsley, while i''m just grad student number however many.... there''s no chance," elizabeth sighed, then slumped to the recliner across from the couch the agent had settled into. "oh, evidence? evidence is easy. we''ve already got plenty of that, and we can give it to you, if...." "if what? i don''t have anything anyone would want. so what do you want from me?" "all you have to do is put these on," the agent pulled a pair of rimless glasses out of her pocket, "and all your questions will be answered." ... jai chakrabarti was having a very good day. he had gone dumpster diving and found most of a takeout container of chicken curry that someone had thrown out with their garbage. as he sat down and looked up at the sky in thanks, his very good day suddenly became very bad. three people had seen him sitting with the takeout container in his lap and were now surrounding him. ''why me?'' he thought, gazing up to the uncaring sky. "i see you got some food, dalit. but that''s too good for a dalit like you, so hand it over," the tallest of the three said. (ed note: "dalit" is the name of the caste formerly called "untouchable" in india. it''s the lowest of their social hierarchy, and the indian officials have been trying for decades to combat the prejudice levied against dalits in society there.) "please, i haven''t had anything to eat all week! i''ll die if i don''t eat something soon!" jai begged. he had learned that hunger pangs weren''t dangerous. it was when the hunger pangs went away that he was in danger of dying of starvation. "you really want to steal our food?" the thug slapped one of his fists into the palm of his other hand, and his lackeys sniggered. a feminine voice came from the entrance to the alley. "oh come on, boys. let the man eat in peace. he''s got places to see, people to go... wait. scratch that, reverse it. he''s got places to go and people to see." the thugs turned their heads and glanced at the entrance of the alley, where they saw a stunning white woman wearing a black sleeveless top and tight black pants that were neatly tucked into the top of a pair of matte black combat boots. her flaming red hair was pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head, and she was wearing a pair of glasses with cherry red frames. the lead thug laughed and leered at her. "well hello there, beauty. how about you come spend some time with us real men and leave this pathetic dalit to lie in a pile of shit like he deserves?" he sneered. "oh, i''m sure i can think of something to do with you boys... but i''m not sure it''ll be as fun for you as it will be for me. so last chance, boys," she cracked her knuckles and loosened her neck by leaning her head from side to side, "you can leave right now and i won''t stop you." she smirked. the three thugs were infuriated and charged the tiny woman. she laughed and danced her way through them, expertly applying joint locks and dislocating each of their major joints at an impossible speed. before the first thug had even fallen, she had already disabled all three of them. soon, there were three thugs wailing and rolling around on the ground. the agent turned to jai, who was frantically eating the discarded curry, and said, "hey, you hungry? let''s go grab something to eat." Chapter 288 I Agree chapter 288 i agree "welcome, and thank you all for accepting the invitation." aron appeared in front of the group of people who were still wondering where they were and how they got there. they had no idea of what was going on at all. the moment they noticed aron''s appearance in the room with them, they were so surprised that some of them even jumped out of their seats. "sorry about that," aron said moments after nova teleported them back to their chair. at the same time, she was generating a calming effect in their virtual minds. "was that magic?" "how''d we get here?" "where is this place?" "why can i walk?" "where''s my wife?" the moment they calmed down, they started shooting question after question at aron, who remained quiet throughout the interrogation. nova tracked the questions being asked and organized them in descending order of importance for aron to answer when the people in front of him ran out of questions to ask. soon, they realized that aron hadn''t said anything in response and fell silent, waiting for the man to start speaking. "let''s start by answering your questions before we get down to business, since we have as much time as we need," aron said. he pulled up the holographic screen that was filled with the questions they had asked him moments ago and started answering them. "you''re within the virtual reality world i created, but your bodies are safe under the watch of the person who gave you the glasses in the real world. your bodies haven''t moved from where they were when you put the glasses on," he said, making more than three questions from the list turn green and vanish. "yes, your wife is safe," aron said. a screen appeared showing the inside of ryan''s house, his wife sitting at his bedside as she watched the woman that had given him the glasses. the agent was just silently standing near her and watching the situation. "how?" ryan asked, surprised, when he saw the video feed of his body calmly sleeping in the same room that heno, his consciousnesshad been moments ago. "as for who i am. some of you already know me, and for those who don''t, my name is aron michael and i''m the founder and owner of gaia technology, as well as a few other companies that''ll soon begin operations." those who hadn''t known who he was now knew that they were meeting the fabled creator and founder of one of the world''s most well-known companies. aron gave them some time to digest the information before he continued answering the remaining questions. the list of questions on the holographic screen before him turned green one by one as he spoke. after a few minutes of answering their questions, the screen in front of him finally vanished. "now that all of your questions have been answered, let''s move on to the main topic," he said, then paused for a moment as he allowed for the focus of everyone in the room to return to him before he continued, "i gathered you here because i have a life changing offer for all of you... if you choose to accept it." "what offer?" jai asked. he just wanted to hurry up and accept, as he was sure that whatever aron was going to offer would be a hundred times better than his current situation. feeling that he had gathered enough curiosity from them, aron smiled and answered, "i want to offer each of you the position of president in one of my new companies." when those in the room heard that, they couldn''t believe their ears. it didn''t make sense for him to need them to be parachuted into the top position in companies owned by one of the youngest multibillionaires in the world. "do your companies need a scapegoat? is that why you''re offering such a position to us? you want us to take the fall for you and receive punishment in your stead?" asked robert, who was the second calmest person in the roomright behind jai, who was ready to take any offer provided to him no matter how bad it was. it couldn''t be worse than what he had now. aron couldn''t help but laugh at that silly idea. although the question didn''t violate common sense, he hadn''t expected to hear it at all. "no, no, nothing like that at all," aron said. five holographic screens appeared at the center of the table they were sitting at, and on each holographic screen was a different name and logo. "these companies are new, but have been registered and already have products ready to launch. i need people i can trust to helm these companies... and who can i trust more than those that''re heavily indebted to me?" he said, and the screens that had only names on them started listing what they would be focusing on. everyone at the table focused on something they knew that lay within their field of expertise, except jai, who read all of the companies'' details planning to agree to whatever he was offered. "it seems like you already know which companies you''ll be offered, so read the details and let me know if you agree," aron said. moments later, a thick folder appeared in front of each of the candidates and they wasted no time in opening them. they all read the content in their own folders, despite everyone in the room having already made up their minds to accept the offer. but it was still good sense to know the details before they took such a wild leap of faith. aron, seeing how they all reacted, smiled in happiness as he finally realized the real reason that nova had specifically chosen them. it wasn''t just their desperate living conditions, but also because they were good at their jobs. that was definitely something that a messy life could greatly affect. and knowing that these five in front of him hadn''t let their lives affect their professionalism, he also understood that they were all obviously a cut above the average. he said nothing and left them to read the folders in their hands in detail while observing their reactions. it was quite a fun pastime for him; he had developed the habit of watching people react to the things he gave them. that wasn''t due to arrogance or a feeling of superiority, but simply because he found the reactions amusing. and the reactions coming from them were definitely out of this world. the files in the folders included the products each company was slated to release soon, and those were the primary cause of the surprise reactions among the candidates. they were each knowledgeable in their own fields, and the products they saw were hundreds of years, at the very least, beyond even what the most insane theorist could ever propose. that only surprised them even more. after a few hours of reading with the caution of a surgeon, they finally finished and, with surprise on their faces, raised their heads. ryan immediately asked, "is everything in the file true?" contained within his folder was a medicine that could heal his condition in a matter of a few weeks, or even days, depending on the level of the cure he received. "yes. it''s already been researched, and it will be one of your incentives if you accept the offer," aron said, then turned to the rest and asked, "so what''s your decision?" ryan kicked off the round of answers. "i agree!" he didn''t care about anything else, since the moment he saw the medicine, he saw a hope of repaying his wife''s love and care for him. "i agree." "i agree as well." ... one by one, they each agreed to the offers in front of them and the smile on aron''s face grew bigger and bigger with every acceptance. his companies finally had presidents... or at least they would, after he settled their issues over the next few weeks. Chapter 289 The First Of Many ? two weeks later. aron was standing in the middle of avalon island with rina, felix, sarah, his parents, and alexander in a glass building that was strong enough to face a bomb head on and receive only a few scratches. the new presidents were also in attendance, but only in vr. they couldn''t attend in person yet, as they were still inside the pods receiving their genetic enhancements and treatments, which wouldn''t end until a few days later. it had only been three days since they''d started receiving the enhancements; it had taken a full week and a half to settle their grievances as aron had promised. as the people in the room watched through the wall, a sound started coming through the speakers. "t minus ten minutes. all systems are currently go and weather conditions are favorable for liftoff. please remain in a safe viewing area." "wow," henry said as he gazed at the massive rocket on the other side of the wall. a few kilometers away from the room, a massive rocket was at rest on a launchpad, looking very majestic as the entire area surrounding it had been emptied hours ago. though, "emptied" might be the wrong word, since the entire launch area had been printed by an atomic printer, including the transport that moved it to the launch area. they couldn''t print the rockets on the pad, as that increased the risk of the printers being discovered, so a transport was still necessary. it was the first of a series of launches planned to take place over the span of the next two weeks. they were setting up a satellite coverage net to cover all the needs of ares and gaia tech, so as to prevent the possibility of economical and technological isolation, but also to build their own self-sufficient infrastructure. "t minus five minutes. the rocket''s internal systems are transitioning to launch mode." henry had his face stuck to the wall, as he didn''t want to miss a single detail of the launch. "t minus three minutes," came an announcement. the rocket''s guidance system took control and started conducting final self checks to ensure all the systems were functioning nominally. the checks came back all green, and the launch was set to take place as planned with no delays. "t minus one minute" was followed shortly by "t minus thirty seconds." with that announcement, the radial outward firing igniters started spewing sparks below the engine nozzle as the engines themselves began a rapid pressurization process in preparation for ignition. "t minus ten seconds." "nine." "eight." "seven." ... as the countdown continued, the engines started spraying pressurized propellant into the "sparklers" and the coolant system went to work flooding the launchpad with water as the gantry fell away from the rocket. a cloud of white steam surrounded the rocket, then flared outward almost like a shockwave. "three." "two." "one." "liftoff." with that, the rocket engines released a flood of pressurized propellant and the rocket finally began its struggle to break free from earth''s gravity and fly past the ka?rma?n line. slowly at first, but picking up speed, the rocket began winning the fight against the gravity holding it to the earth''s surface and rose to the sky with a long trail of white exhaust behind it. it soon passed mach 1 and left its own exhaust behind as it continued climbing into the air. the cloud covering avalon island was split apart by the powerful vehicle as it started its journey to orbit. control surfaces on the rocket came to life, allowing it to make final adjustments as it rose through the layers of the atmosphere. "max q" was soon announced, letting everyone watching the launch know that the rocket had reached equilibrium and the thrust was safe to increase again. the rocket was now past the most dangerous point of the launch. (ed note: max q is the point at which the pressure differential between the launch vehicle and the atmosphere is at its highest point. this is the number that engineers use to determine how much load the rocket or shuttle needs to bear during the launch.) shortly after max q, the speakers announced first stage separation and half of the launch vehicle fell off, while the other half accelerated even further. the first stage fired its final retro-rockets, guiding it down to the waiting recovery team; it was paramount that no hardware be captured by anyone outside of edenor more specifically, avalon islandto prevent tech snooping. as for the second stage of the rocket, it soon started its orbital insertion burn. the moment it reached a parking orbit was announced, and the rocket released its payload: a q-com satellite. the rocket had admirably completed its task and began a coast phase, after which it would reorient itself and perform a short deorbit burn, then fall back into the collection area. just like its first stage had; there was no longer a need for the payload to be protected anymore. (author''s note: a parking orbit is a preliminary orbit that satellites or other vehicles enter to wait for a window to enter a higher or lower orbit, as needed.) "is it over?" henry, who had been watching the entire launch with excitement, asked when the screen showed the darkness of space. "if it was a normal launch it would be almost done. but for this one, it isn''t finished yet. after reaching the parking orbit, the satellite has to perform a series of burns to transfer to a geostationary transfer orbit. once it does that, which will take a few hours, it undergoes another coast phase before finally performing another series of burns to reach the desired geostationary position...." aron explained orbital mechanics to his little brother for a few minutes before realizing that henry''s eyes had long glazed over. so he ruffled his hair and said, "not yet. it''ll be a few hours still. but the exciting part of the launch is donethe rest is all math." henry''s reaction to the launch had given aron a clue as to what the boy would pursue as a career in the future, and he gave his younger sibling a bright smile. "that was sooooo cool, brother!" henry exclaimed. "it''s almost worth doing the extra math homework for!" "oh? only ''almost''?" aron joked, and everyone in the glass room chuckled along with him at the younger boy''s crestfallen expression. "yeah, i guess... it''s almost enough to convince me. but there''s a few games coming out soon that i think might just push me that bit extra," henry wheedled. it was apparent that he had been taking to nova''s lessons incredibly well. perhaps too well. ... as the launch was taking place over eden, a few countries'' intelligence analystsboth in their military and their space departmentshad identical looks of disbelief on their faces. when they had received an order to monitor eden''s launch, they''d been sure it wouldn''t succeed at all and had prepared popcorn. as far as they knew, eden had zero space capability and had never done any testing at all, so how could they possibly have successfully launched a rocket into orbit? but reality was determined to disappoint them. it seemed like someone in eden had gotten extremely lucky, and they knew that a very comprehensive investigation was about to begin. someone had obviously leaked and allowed eden to join the space race, and heads were guaranteed to roll in the near future. they had already ruled out poaching, as there were no rocket scientists that had been poached from established companies at all. Chapter 290 All His Stuff Is There ? the launch wasn''t secret at all, since it was being broadcasted live for anyone interested in watching it. at the moment, that consisted of a few rocket science fans who tuned in, but most of the watchers were the edenian citizens themselves. they were absolutely thrilled to watch their first domestically made launch take place. a good example of how huge the interest to the launch was for the citizens of the country was that the launch was being broadcast through nearly all of the domestic news channels, which all had a higher viewership than their usual average for that specific time. although they hadn''t been planning on keeping it a secret, they still hadn''t planned to announce it, but that idea was squashed as the news of them applying for more than fifty orbital spots was leaked by someone from the international telecommunications union (itu). they''d had to apply, because first, it was required to be given a specific band of frequencies that weren''t yet used in those orbits. that way they could avoid having more than one satellite in the same orbit using the same frequencies, which is something no one wanted to experienceanyone who had ever put a microphone too close to a speaker it was hooked up to would know exactly why. another reason was that if they arbitrarily launched a rocket without telling anyone, it raised the possibility of it being considered a ballistic missile and might even be shot down. in the absolute worst-case scenario, it could even trigger a nuclear event. even though aron could create a new frequency, and even though he could use orbits that were impossible for modern technology to reach, and even though he and his close friends and loved ones would be perfectly fine in case of nuclear war, the earth was still his home, and he didn''t want it destroyed. he kept all his stuff there. plus, it would make the next few months of alexander''s life hell, as even if it didn''t trigger the worst-case scenario, it would still be quite an international incident that risked having eden face serious sanctions. thus, they decided to benefit from gaia tech''s publicity department and made an announcement publicizing the launch. it was pretty much common knowledge that "communications satellites" was just a polite euphemism for "spy satellites", though, so the reaction was understandable. ... nasa mission control center, merritt island, florida. a group of people were focusing on screens that showed different strings of data, with the main display mounted on the wall in the front of the room showing a satellite feed. at the moment, half of the screen was showing a satellite feed filled with the image of a cloud bank that limited the visibility of the island beneath it. the other half of the screen showed the edenian livestream of the launch. currently visible on that side of the screen was a massive rocket with the gaia technologies, inc. logo on the side of it; the countdown was currently at t minus one minute. the moment the countdown reached thirty seconds, everyone started focusing on the screens in front of them. they only occasionally glanced at the massive screen in the room as they watched the data feeds on the screens in front of them. when the rocket lifted off, there was nothing but silence in the room. none of the people there wanted to disrupt another person''s concentration, as they were sure that the rocket would most likely face an unplanned rapid disassemblyor in other words, blow upand they didn''t want the distraction to cause them to miss it. alas, nothing of that sort happened as the satellite footage on the main screen showed the rocket punching through the clouds and leaving a brief gap in them. with all of the satellites focused on that unnatural-looking cloud bank, they had collected nearly a petabyte of data on the island beneath it for later use and analysis. the more they waited for the rocket to fail, the more anxious they grew as the launch reached its parking orbit without any problems. it was practically a miracle, as they knew that it was the first launch of an upstart company with no previous experience or reputable experts. "now that''s gonna generate a mountain of long paperwork for us," the team leader sighed. he was the one responsible for monitoring the launch in case it turned out to be an icbm test or something similar. "we''d better get started on it, since the moment it reaches its destination we''ll have to include that in the report. so by that time, we''d better be done with the first part of the report if we don''t want to spend the next week on it," said the assistant team leader as he tried to hide his impressed expression. the same was happening for china, russia, and any other country that had orbital surveillance capabilities. a country with oil and other resources having the ability to launch exoatmospheric missiles was something they wanted to be as aware of as possible. ... with the successful launch, celebration was in the air in eden. people were happy and proud that their country had done something that not every country had managed to do. especially without help, at least from what they''d heard, as no company had yet to come out and said that they were doing joint research. sensitive technology like that was generally never done cooperatively, as anyone who could successfully launch a rocket into space could just attach powerful explosives to one and send it to a certain direction on earth. thus, rockets were very strictly regulated, classified technology. gaia technology had just posted about the successful launch and their joy that it had gone well, then announced that they would be continuing the rest of their launches as planned. it was only made possible because they had different orbital slots for each launch. that allowed them to rapidly process launches at different times, as every time they had an orbital window, they could launch another one without having to wait for the lanes to clear. and they really kept that promise; their livestream ran 24/7, even showing the rockets being transported, though only partly through their journey. they weren''t about to show a livestream of the cube, after all. practically every six hours, another rocket would be successfully launched, to the point that it was an ongoing cycle. by the time one satellite was in its transfer orbit, a previously launched satellite would be ready for the final verifications. the whole sequence of launches was really abnormal; they weren''t even doing a single test before each rocket was loaded into the gantry and launched soon after. still, they were all successful launches. some people called it luck, but they were continuously proven wrong over the next week, as the livestream wasn''t cut even once. if it weren''t for the changes in the air and the day/night cycle, they would have thought that it was a looped video. the act of sequential launches with a 100% success rate had caused a number of countries to grow nervous, as the more successful launches there were, the more important the resulting investigations would be. everyone considered the launches an impossibility; not even "big" countries like the us and russia had a perfect track record in their space programs, after all. so for an upstart company like gaia to muscle their way into the space racewhich was a game for industrialized, "first world" nations to play inwhile still being categorized as a "developing nation", something must have gone wrong. someone, somewhere, had leaked something that gave gaia their technology. and that could not be allowed to stand, so a massive mole hunt began in the spacefaring nations. but it wasn''t just countries that were interested. even people who normally didn''t care about the space race or think it would ever have anything to do with them grew interested in eden''s nascent space program. and along with the increase in attention came odds and betting sites, which was something that nova was taking full advantage of. Chapter 291 True Neutrality ? news of the successful series of launches had spread everywhere. and after more than two weeks straight of successful launches, they had finally come to an end. there were now fifty satellites in various orbits, from low earth orbit all the way to high earth geosynchronous orbit, and all of them were dedicated to serving aron''s growing conglomerate.. together with the news, nova kicked things up into a higher gear and started promoting the upcoming product launch all over pangea. the data they had already collected from users of the app ensured that the advertising blitz was as laser targeted as she could make it. and even though people were only seeing ads they were interested in, it still spread out to catch any their lists might have missed, as peopleand interaction botswere all talking about what they had seen. fans of gaia tech were already excited and had marked their calendars; the launch event was set for a week after the launches finished. together with the promotion, invites started going out to everyone she thought would be useful, including tech influencers. it was a time where not many of them had been invited to events like those, so it caused even more buzz around the upcoming launch. as for the technology companies, they were in a completely different mood. many of them had made their peace with gaia becoming the monopoly of the os market. some willingly, and others only because their platforms had virtually no users at all, let alone developers. the gaia os had done what no software company had ever done before: consolidated the userbase. there was no longer a need for developers to work on multiple platforms, or for users to argue the merits of them. adding to that, the revenue sharing was fairly generous to developers, so even amateurs entered the marketplace to compete, and usually fail, against the professionals. but to those who hadn''t been forced to give up their market share by gaia tech, the news was nothing good at all. rumor had it that the upstart company was about to launch hardware products. and if the consecutive flurry of satellite launches was anything to go by, the executives of those companies all had nightmares as they thought of what product would be released and what capabilities it would have. it might even be as disruptive, if not more, than the first iphone product launch! ... white house. "so, we can consider them an icbm-capable nation, right?" obama asked as he read the final report that came from the joint space operations center (jspoc) regarding the launches that had taken place over the past weeks. "yes, sir. based on our analysis of all the launches that took place, we can say with certainty that if they develop a warhead and targeting system for their rockets, they can launch ballistic missiles without any trouble. but that''s only if the government received a copy of the plans... or they can just ask for the company to build the boosters for them and they can focus on researching the second stage rocket engine and guidance system, so the conclusion is the same," replied general welsh, the chief of staff of the air force. he was the one who had been tasked with investigating eden''s space launches. "are we in their range?" obama asked. "yes. but everyone is technically in range of an exoatmospheric icbm. ''range'' stops being a concept when they can launch missiles into low earth orbit, after all. but whether they can hit us or not is a different topic entirely," general welsh answered with confidence that stemmed from his knowledge of america''s air defense systems. obama turned to his chief of staff and said, "get the state department to reach out to them. if they can drop icbms on us, they''re better friends than enemies." he turned back to general welsh and put the folder on the table, then asked, "so what''s your personal view of the situation? what didn''t make it into the report?" "although their tech seems to have advanced very fast, based on their ability to launch the satellites into different orbits without trouble, it only shows they''ve developed their own mature rocket tech. we didn''t find anything that even hinted at them stealing the designs of anything that already exists. but we don''t know whether or not they''ve developed warheads that matter, or guidance systems that work. so while we should assume they have and take them seriously, i''m sure a developing nation like eden won''t poke this particular bear so we don''t have much to worry about." "although what you said is true, you failed to consider their international political stance. they declared neutrality, meaning they don''t have allies to support them, yes, but at the same time, it also means there''s no limits on who they can trade with. so there''s really nothing stopping them from selling their tech to north korea, or even the taliban. and if they choose to do so, more and more countries may gain international launch capability. and the more icbms there are, the higher the chance that at least one of them will see some use," obama explained. "i don''t think that''ll happen," the general replied. the people in the room waited for him to continue, a wait that stretched as the general gathered his thoughts. he knew if he said something dumb, he was likely to be replaced; the joint chiefs are political appointees, after all. after taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he explained, "i considered their stance when i told you my opinion about them. their neutrality is the main reason i didn''t even bother to mention the possibility of them selling their tech to others. i''m sure that, before they announced their neutrality, they must''ve studied the history of other neutral countries before them, and the problems those countries faced. "taking that a step further, we can assume it means they know that, in order to defend their sovereignty while maintaining their neutrality, they''ll be heavily investing in their defense. that''s backed up by recent history, as well: president alexander romero replacing their entire state military with a pmc not only increased their defense capability, but also freed up the budget to invest in research and development. "when you add oil money to the equation, their defense spending will probably skyrocket... even after you consider the socialist idealized health care system he wants to implement. but that then circles back around to their neutrality, and why i think it''s the main reason they won''t sell any of that tech: why would they arm their enemies with the fruits of their own labor?" he finished. "good thinking there, but that''s all under the assumption that they''ve studied history and are planning on avoiding the pitfalls they discovered. and that''s nearly impossible, since their country is almost completely backward. it wasn''t until recently that they even had clean water and reliable power," obama countered. "but doesn''t romero have unlimited power due to winning more than ninety percent of the positions in their government? he''s also the one that picks the judges, so he has control of all three of their government branches, doesn''t he? then doesn''t it follow that he''s only a ''president'' in name, but is actually just another dictator??" general welsh asked. he knew that most of the countries that had previously attempted to maintain their neutrality had failed because of many different beliefs in their government, but eden''s difference lay in their own politicians and their unity. while the country may claim to be a democratic nation, their president was all but a dictator and his political party had almost every seat of power available. so what was the difference between him and his predecessor, other than alexander''s basic benevolent stance toward his people? Chapter 292 Zeus One chapter 292 zeus one february 15th. as evening neared in eden, one of the largest indoor auditoriums in the country was filled to the brim. the entire venue was sold out and people had already arrived, filling every available seat despite the launch event still being a few hours away. outside the auditorium, but still inside the building, people were walking around and talking to each other. for anyone interested in the international tech industry, they would realize that most of the people there were famous names in the tech industry, showing the level of the event that was about to take place. as for the influencers, no one that had received the invitation even thought of declining to attend. but it wasn''t just an invitation they had received; everyone that had received one had also been given a business-class ticket on whichever day they would like to arrive in eden. room and board were included as well, up until the day after the launch event concluded. that in itself showed that gaia tech was taking the launch very seriously. when the time hit 8pm exactly, everyone had already taken their seats and the lights slowly dimmed. the crowd fell silent, since everyone knew the event was about to start. after ten seconds of darkness, the lights on the stage started coming up and people recognized the shape of a man walking to the center of the stage. as the light grew stronger, they finally saw who it was. "welcome to the first gaia event," aron said. simultaneously, the fifty-foot high screens behind him came to life and showed him on each of them. subtitles appeared on the screen as he spoke, live translating his speech. as for the livestream, the option was there to use real-time speech-to-text translation, or to real-time dubbing. but his welcoming speech passed in one ear and out the other for many of the watchers and attendees, due to the name that appeared on the screens. he was aron michael, the creator of the famous bugzapper and gaia os, who had never been seen in any event or interview before this. for many, it was their first time seeing the handsome man and they felt their impressions of him shattering. they had thought he would look like a tech geek, but reality had slapped them in the face so hard it almost caused them physical pain. "let''s see what we have to come." only when they heard that did the audience come back into their right minds and focus on the event taking place. some felt a burning in their cheeks as they blushed, realizing they had been mesmerized by his handsome appearance. after finishing the introduction, aron was immediately taken out of focus as the screens behind him started playing a history of the innovations that gaia tech had introduced over the two years since its inception. it reintroduced products from bugzapper all the way to their most recent product, pangea. all of it was being shown through the incredibly clear screens. when the video ended, attendees started clapping in excitement. they had been impressed by the steps the company had taken and the products they had released in the two years of their existence. "yes, that''s certainly a history to feel proud of," aron said in his calm voice, which caused the applause to die out. "although our history is something we feel proud of, we still find it rather incomplete," he continued, and the screen behind him immediately started listing their products. "but if you look at them, you''ll realize that there''s nothing but software. and with the hardware market as it stands, none of my software can work to their full capabilities. after all, it has to be designed while taking into account the different platforms it''ll be installed on, making it take more space on each? devices than it usually would." he paused for a moment to allow people to make some guesses in their minds, then continued, "so in order to solve that problem, i decided to release hardware that''ll really give my os the platform it requires in order to operate at full power." the moment aron finished speaking, the stage was dimmed once again as the massive screens behind him played another video. like a usual product introduction, it didn''t show the full product. it was just a hint, feeding the audience''s curiosity and enhancing the impact of the eventual full reveal. as the video ended, the focus came back to aron and he immediately started talking. "i present to you zeus one!" as he said that, the full picture of a smartphone was displayed, winning quite an impressive reaction from the people watching the event. the phone looked nothing like any that had been released that year, or any year before. it was obviously different from the usual phones that were released every year, but the most attention-grabbing thing was that there was no selfie camera lens visible anywhere on the front of the phone at all. it completely bucked the trend that smartphone manufacturers had been following, where the integrated front camera was a major selling point of their hardware. "a powerful machine made specifically for the gaia os to be able to work to the fullest of its abilities, thanks to the chip made specifically for its operation." as aron spoke, the phone on the screens turned transparent, showing the components inside and "exploding" them out so that each one could be seen individually. the display then zoomed in on the phone''s cpu chip. "meet z1, our proprietary processor. it''s at least five times faster than any chip that''s ever been put in any smartphone." the screens displayed an infographic showing their benchmark test results compared to all of the top smartphones from other manufacturers. "the z1 processor chip will allow the gaia os to operate to its fullest capabilities, and all hardware devices sold by us will include the highest premium version of gaia os for free." the entire audience broke out into applause; people were thrilled that a free top-tier subscription to gaia os would be included with what looked like a powerhouse of a smartphone. not bad for a new company''s first flagship release. Chapter 293 Unbelievable Advances ? "now on to the screen," aron said as the screens behind him focused on the phone''s screen. unlike the most recent iphone, or any of the android and google phones on the market, the bezel around the screen was so unbelievably thin that it was practically invisible. (ed note: i had to look bezel up, too. in this context, it''s "a groove or flange designed to hold a beveled edge, as of a gem." basically, it''s the border between the screen and frame of a computer or a phone monitor.) "the zeus one''s screen will revolutionize the way you see the screen, thanks to our quantum dot technology. it allows for unparalleled brightness and contrast, which means you''ll get perfect visibility under any light. unlike regular pixels, quantum dots can display any color natively, instead of as a blend of red, green, and blue. also, thanks to our quantum dot technology, the screen resolution will be three times as detailed as the best display screen that exists, no matter the size. "if you want to see what it looks like in reality, just look at the screens behind me. those also incorporate our quantum dots tech, but scaled up to the size you see here." as aron said that, a floodlight passed across the screens behind him, but didn''t wash out the image at all. "now moving on to the cameras. it looks like many of you have noticed that there''s no visible lens for the front-facing camera." a slight chuckle came from the audience. "but there''s a camera there." the display screens magnified the phone''s screen on them, showing a camera lens integrated into the center of the screen. "yes, the camera is in the middle of our screen. that was the best place for it, and it''s possible thanks again to our quantum dot technology. all quantum dots are completely transparent and clear in their resting state, which allowed us to combine the convenience of a front-facing camera with the power and resolution of a dedicated phone camera." a display of the camera''s specs popped up on the screens behind aron, showing a rather impressive list of numbers. it was a fifty megapixel camera capable of 4k resolution and capturing videos up to 120 frames per second. "everything the camera sees while in use will be saved, allowing for seamless editing of still images and video. even if you aren''t focusing on something in the picture, the camera definitely will be, so you''ll miss nothing! and with the gaia os ai assistant, editing your images and videos will be an absolute breeze. anyone with a zeus one will have the tools they need to make a perfect picture, all in the palms of their hands! "i know it seems like i''m just talking nonsense and making unfulfillable promises because there''s no way anyone can rebut me on stage, so let''s test it right here and now," aron said as he removed the phone from his pocket. it was none other than a zeus one. he raised his hand and showed it to the audience as the phone booted up. the displays behind him showed the process, then switched to the audience sitting in the auditorium. it took exactly five seconds for the phone to fully power up, and since it was the phone''s first time being powered on, aron had to say, "skip the introduction and consider me an experienced user." the moment he said that, the phone showed the home screen, where it didn''t linger for long as he opened the front-facing camera without any delay at all using voice commands. "now screencast it to the screens behind me," he said. the phone understood and opened the connection page, which showed the screens that he could share the live feed of the camera with. "connect to all of them." with that, all three screens behind aron showed the footage from the phone, which was crisp and clear beyond anything anyone had ever seen. "it really is from the phone''s camera, not one of the high-quality professional cameras in the room," he said, turning around and taking a selfie with the audience in the background and displaying it on the big screens behind him. "make it cool and post it on my pangea account," he said, and the screens behind him that were still displaying what was on his phone showed the ai assistant editing the image. with every editing passdisplayed as a line that passed from the top to the bottom of the screen, with the newly enhanced image above and the pre-enhanced photo belowthe picture became clearer and more polished. after a few passes, everyone in the audience could easily pick out their individual faces in crystal-clear resolution. the assistant then opened the pangea app and aron logged into it, his password displaying as a series of asterisks and the two-factor authentication blurred on the shared screens. after successfully logging in, he input a caption and the assistant added hashtags and posted the image to his pangea account. the audience went silent for a few minutes as they opened their own individual pangea accounts and found the picture aron had just posted, then burst into raucous applause and cheers; they all knew the process of what had happened, and it was impossible to fake because they could see themselves in the picture! "as you can see, the photo is pretty high-quality despite being taken in a dark room with a front-facing cellphone camera. and with the camera in the center of the screen, instead of at the top, you can even look yourself in the eye as you take pictures," he said, prompting a chuckle from the influencers in the audience. "the same level of tech is incorporated in the speakers, which use our proprietary slasspeakerless audio system. instead of generating sound with a vibrating speaker, we accomplish the same result using advanced wavefront manipulation and acoustic technologies to generate sound directly in the air, essentially forming ''sound holograms.'' that eliminates the need for speakers entirely and allows sound to be projected freely anywhere in three dimensions. and you''re currently experiencing that very technology right now," aron said, the sound seeming to "float" around the auditorium instead of the stage as if someone was messing with the mixer. halfway through the introduction, everyone in the audience heard his words in english in their right ears, and their native languages in their left ear. they turned to the people next to them, and some asked if their neighbors had heard what they had, and the affirmative response caused another round of applause. "as you''ve just personally experienced, with this technology we can create personalized sound zones in a room, where each person hears a different audio stream without the need for headphones. that''ll be particularly beneficial for shared spaces, like living rooms or vehicles, but at the moment the phone version is limited in the number of zones they can create. "now on to one of the most important main features of the zeus one. the ''ecosystem'' that''s been made possible by our q-chip allows for instant, large data transfers between two compatible devices within 250 meters. thanks to that, anyone using one of our new phones will be able to transfer any file from them to their friends, even if they''re a couple of football fields away. that''s also the range limit of our wireless earphones and speakers, which also use our proprietary slas and will be released alongside the phone as peripheral devices," he said, then paused to wait for the resulting applause to end. "any device that has all these features naturally requires enough power to support them, and we''ve all seen phones running out of battery at the worst possible time. to that, i say there''s no need to worry with our zeus oneyou can use it with everything maxed out for 24 hours continuously on a full charge. for more normal usage, you can expect the battery to last anywhere from four days to a week without requiring a charge. and when you do need to charge it, our new proprietary fast charge system will take these batteries from zero to full in just under an hour and a half. "now for something i''m sure you all want to know: the price," he said, then paused as the screens behind him showed the three versions of the phone he was launching. "there''s three initial versions of the zeus one. though they''re each different sizes, their capabilities are identical, so the size difference is only cosmetic. the starting price for the zeus one is $999, the zeus one pro is $1,299, and the zeus one ex is $1,499." the audience let out a collective gasp, as they had expected that the phone would be at least $2000, and that itself would be a break-even price, or even a loss. everything that had been introduced about the phone was proprietary tech, meaning they had to absorb the full cost of research and development, plus manufacturing, instead of just licensing or buying previously existing patents. Chapter 294 Sarahs Time To Shine ? "now let''s welcome the president of gaia technologies, sarah o''connor to introduce our other products," aron said when the applause died down, then smiled at his friend as they passed each other. sarah arrived at her position, but had to wait before she started speaking since they were still clapping. when the applause died down, she started speaking. "with the zeus one being our first product from the smartphone line, i''d like to introduce the first product from our computer line: the olympus." she stopped speaking and, like aron''s introduction of the phone, the screens behind her started playing a video that introduced the device before ending with an image of the laptop and desktop versions. they both had a sleek, majestic, and clean look. "they, too, are powered by another of our proprietary chipsthe o1, which is ten times faster than any other desktop or laptop cpu on the market." as she said that, the benchmark results were shown on the screens behind her, evoking slight gasps from the impressed experts in the crowd. "the o1 is a graphene chip and will act as both cpu and gpu for both the laptop and desktop. the chip is manufactured using our proprietary 10nm photolithographic process, so it''s faster, more energy efficient, and can handle more tasks than a standard silicon processor. the form factor isn''t limited by how many pieces of hardware we can cram into it, so both the laptop and desktop editions of the olympus are sleek and comfortable for both indoor and outdoor use, while still maintaining a power and performance that leaves our competitors in the dust." the computer being displayed on the screen behind her turned transparent and "exploded", much like the cellphone that aron had presented, and the o1 was highlighted. "the screen on the laptop version uses the same quantum dot tech as in our zeus one, but is more capable due to its larger size. that allows for more quantum dots in the display, thus a higher resolution. the only thing that limits the olympus laptop''s screen resolution is your eyesight, and even then, our gaia os ai assistant can compensate for that," she joked, drawing a chuckle from the audience, then continued her prepared speech. "the olympus laptop webcam is also incorporated into its screen for crystal-clear video calls to keep you connected to your friends and family no matter how far you may be from each other. "although you can use third-party monitors for our desktop edition, we recommend ours. our screens have up to a 680hz dynamic refresh rate with a 0.5ms response time, again leaving our competitors in the dust. and our power saver mode ensures that your display screen will last a long, long time, while not increasing your electricity bills. "our monitors also incorporate a scaled-up version of the same slas tech in our phones, with three times the number of channels available. so why settle for the rest, when you can have the best? "our proprietary battery can be fully charged within an hour and will last three days under max load. if it''s running under more normal usage, expect it to go ten days or more between charges. we''ve incorporated our batteries into both the laptop and desktop version, with the desktop battery acting as an uninterruptible power supply in case of power outages, or if you decide to take it with you on the go. "both of them also come with the q-chip for seamless integration into our gaia ecosystem. so our other peripherals are wireless, as well as secure. we''ve ensured that all of our hardware is as secure as possible by including bugzapper with every purchase, so there''s no need to worry about your private data being used against you." sarah gave the camera a knowing smile. there would be no more "fappenings", if she could help it; the mere fact that people that would hack the cloud accounts of individuals and publish their private photos existed had disgusted her for quite some time. "the starting price of the 11" olympus laptop is $1299, the 13" is $1399, and the 16" is $1599. for the desktop version, the starting price is $999, with $499 and up for our proprietary display monitors. "orders for our laptop, desktop, and phone will open tonight at midnight, eden standard time," she said. it set gaia tech apart from other companies, where the product introduction conference would be held weeks before the hardware was actually available for purchase online and in stores. sarah went on to introduce speakers, earbuds, headphones, and a tablet,and every time she introduced something, she reminded the audience of its connection to the gaia ecosystem. with every product she introduced, people grew more enthusiastic and excited by the products... that is, as long as what she said wasn''t proved wrong in the future. in the internet age, the line between love and loathing was very distinct and easily crossed, after all. from the time aron entered the stage to the time sarah left it, the entire introduction only lasted about an hour and a half. and most of that was spent while they were idle on the stage, waiting for applause and cheering to die down. tech enthusiasts sure had no qualms about showing their enthusiasm, often leaving the two presenters of the night at a loss. at one point, nova had even considered using the sound system to mute the applause, but that would cause much havoc for little purpose and she quickly discarded the idea. ... "you can handle the rest, right?" aron asked as he and sarah were escorted out of the underground vip entrance of the auditorium by their ares details. with so many people invited to the event, the extra security had been deemed necessary. "sure. the hard part''s done, so now it''s just waiting for the orders to roll in. i won''t even have to do anything, it''ll all be up to felix and rachael." "alright. i''ll see you in a week or so," aron said as he got into his car and headed toward the airport in a convoy with two ares reaper teams. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 295 The Junket chapter 295 the junket a week after the gaia tech presentation in eden, aron was laying in a beach chair on a gorgeous white sandy beach in hawaii, with rina laying on the chair next to him working on her own suntan. when he had told her he was headed to hawaii for their next presentation, she''d offered to show him around the islands, as he''d never been there before. besides, he was still due to meet with her father, and now that gaia tech had gained some traction and cachet in the global marketplace, it was high time to keep that promise. meanwhile, ryan walker, the newly minted president of asclepius biotechnology, inc., was settling things for an upcoming medical conference hosted by him. he had rented out the entire halekulani hotel in waikiki as the venue for the conference, and invited all of the top names in the biotech industry, as well as some representatives from big pharma, and even some tv hosts like dr. oz, who was famous for pushing products to a wide audience. meanwhile, over the past week, the marketing department executives from asclepius had been busy laying the groundwork to have the new asclepius products on store shelves everywhere around the globe. it was the afternoon of the start of the conference, and everyone had arrived. all of the keynote speakers had accepted their invitationsa week-long vacation in hawaii''s top luxury resort was hard to pass up, after alland they were wandering around the banquet room, where ryan was hosting a brunch and handing out brochures to draw interest in the new startup company. that evening, he was scheduled to introduce the products asclepius biotechnology had developed, as well as some of their more interesting research results. soon, the clock struck 7:30 pm and the conference room ryan was to speak in was filled. "good evening everyone, i''m ryan walker, the president of asclepius biotechnology, inc." as he finished the self-introduction, the stage dimmed and an introduction video started playing on the projector screen behind him. since no one knew the company at all, an introduction was in order. "in a world where possibilities are boundless and science meets imagination, there emerges a beacon of innovation," came the voice of nova, who had produced the intro video and done the voiceover narration for it. the video cut to a state-of-the-art laboratory bustling with scientists in white lab coats. the audience recognized the cutting-edge lab equipment, and some even grew jealous; just how much money did this upstart company have, anyway? nova''s voice continued, "introducing asclepius biotechnology, a company that will shape the future of healthcare and beyond. we are pioneers, driven by a shared vision to unlock the mysteries of life and harness the power of biotechnology to transform our world." the scene changed from the cutting-edge lab to a bed of plants and showed them grow from sprouts to maturity in time-lapse videography, then to a doctor drawing an injection from a vial and injecting it into a hanging bag of saline that was attached to a smiling child. "from agriculture to medicine, genetic therapies to sustainable solutions, we are pushing the boundaries of possibility. at asclepius, innovation is in our dna." the video cut to a shining asclepius logo, then nova continued, "asclepius biotechnologywhere tomorrow meets today." after the introduction video came polite applause from the attendees. medical professionals were much more subdued than tech enthusiasts, so to get any applause at all for a brand-new startup company was already surprising enough. ryan took to the stage and began his prepared remarks. "i hope our introduction gave you all a general idea of what we''re all about at asclepius. and to show our commitment to making the world a better place, i''d like to introduce to you our first product: pneuma, a complete and lasting cure for asthma." the attendees were stunned into silence, not knowing whether they should applaud or storm out after such an outrageous claim. "right now, we''ve applied for fast-tracking through the approval process through the regulatory bodies around the world, and we expect our products to be offered to all of you by your regular drug reps. if you''re curious about the detailed information, there''s a brochure in the packet we handed out to everyone when you came in the room for my presentation. but to summarize, we''ve seen a 100% cure rate in asthma in every age range and across both genders, and the side effects are mild and comparable to those from vaccinations, such as pain and swelling at the injection site, mild fevers, and so on. basically, it''s no more harmful than a flu shot, which is where our confidence in the regulatory approvals comes from. "pneuma will be available for prescription in all countries the moment it''s approved by those countries'' regulatory bodies. and we have much more in store than that as our trials are completed and products developed to a safe level." he gave the attendees a minute to look over the pneuma brochure in their welcome packets, then continued, "now on to our next product. this is categorized as a supplement, and as such, it''ll be available starting next week in stores and pharmacies around the world, as well as for online ordering. "i present to you the biogen product line. biogen was developed to combat a problem faced by 39% of the global population: obesity." murmurs came from the attendees, who were wondering why such a rich company would be so shameless as to market a "supplement" that did absolutely nothing to slim people down, but everything to slim their wallets. after the murmuring died down, ryan continued, "many weight loss products put the user in a very difficult cycle of binge and diet, because they need to stop eating their favorite foods. and even after succeeding in reaching their target weight, they have to change their lifestyle and continue that behavior for the rest of their lives. but not biogen. "biogen is a series of nutrient-dense food additives in a variety of flavors with different delivery methods. for those on the go, they can use it as a shake. for those eating out, they can sprinkle it on their food at the restaurant, much like salt and pepper. for those who prefer meal prep, they can either rehydrate or cook one of our frozen meals. there''s something for everyone, and unlike traditional diet plans, the only lifestyle change is bringing it with you wherever you go." ryan continued introducing biogen and its benefits, and by the thirtieth minute since starting his presentation, he began wrapping it up. "i know that all of you are anxious to get on with your paid vacation," he said, eliciting a chuckle from the audience, "so i''ll let you get to it. if you have any questions, the conference will be running all week and you have my assistant''s number in your welcome packet. feel free to contact her with any concerns or questions you have after taking a look at our documentation, and one of our researchers will reach out to you with answers. i''ll see you all later at the cocktail party...." Chapter 296 To Keep A Promise chapter 296 to keep a promise the reaction to gaia tech''s launch was enthusiastic, and online orders started pouring like there was no tomorrow. since aron could produce as many as he wanted, he didn''t set an amount of them to be sold in the first batch and allowed anyone to order as many as they wanted. scalpers, who thought there would be a limited number of them, were initially especially thrilled... but would soon learn their mistake as it became apparent that there was no limit to the orders that would be accepted. aron and rina entered the presidential suite of the hotel and logged in to vr to hold a meeting with ryan and sarah, the latter of whom was still in eden, to discuss their tasks. rina immediately went and hugged nova, then turned to aron and said, "the patent application was approved an hour ago, but as you asked, they''ll only make it public a week from now." aron smiled. "but why''d you want me to delay the patent being made public for a week?" she asked. "there''s a few companies that i wanted to have a hope of filing the patents before us. they wasted a few million before realizing that we already applied for them." "also why did you only apply for a patent on the graphene chips and nothing else from the tech?" she asked. if it were her, she would have patented everything in order to protect it. "because they can''t replicate those even if they wanted to, or even hypothesize how they were made. during production, we mix in a material that they can''t detect yet, creating invisible layers on top of them that would make it impossible for them to accurately discover the composition of the materials, or even figure out exactly how it works," he answered. he couldn''t reveal that the parts were mixed with mana, so it was a happy coincidence that since they couldn''t detect it anyway, they would just think that it was an anti-piracy process they had yet to discover. "how''s the ordering going?" he asked as he looked at nova. [five million orders and counting have already been received since we opened ordering on the zeus one and olympus, and the number is still climbing. sales for pneuma are being held up by regulatory bodies and i expect those delays to clear up in a week or so. biogen is being well received by brick and mortar purchasers and should be on store shelves within two weeks, but online ordering is anemic since the public hasn''t been exposed to it yet,] nova said, popping up a screen with current sales and future projections over the conference table in the meeting room. "looks like orders will start picking up after the first buyers test and review them, since many of the things seem unbelievable for the tech at the moment," aron said. he was sure that many people were still skeptical and weren''t convinced by the gaia tech event. they would only commit when they were completely assured of the worth of the products. "on that end," ryan interjected, "our marketing team at asclepius has started an ad blitz and we should start seeing online orders of biogen picking up over the next few days. if we could''ve done it earlier, sales would''ve already started, but we had to wait until after the conference because there''s a limit to the amount of disruption one market will bear and we can''t offend the ''experts'' by skipping them in the process if we want optimal sales." [i''ll ensure the reviews spread to as many people as possible when they start buying it,] nova said, finally showing the level of influence she''d gained since pangea became the most-used social media app across the globe. after a bit more discussion, they logged out of vr. aron and rina boarded the waiting convoy and headed toward the waikiki airport, while ryan and sarah went back to their own tasks. it was time for the lovebirds to keep their promise. ... the next day. aron''s private plane had landed at laguardia and unloaded him, rina, and his security detail. rina''s presence got them through security in a manner that only a rothschild could and they were on their way to the rothschild family compound to introduce aron to rina''s parents. that was the most important of his objectives for being in the us this time; it wouldn''t be fair to anyone if his girlfriend knew his parents while he had never met hers, after all. he had a very happy smile on his face as he surfed pangea to waste some time during the drive. reviews had been coming in and the public was still enthusiastic; the buzz generated by the launch event hadn''t faded over the past week, but had instead grown. especially after the initial positive reviews had been purposefully spread by nova, causing a virtuous sales cycle for the zeus one and both olympus models. ... "your family is really extravagant," aron said when he got out of his car at the rothschild family head''s mansion. the drive from the front gate of the compound to the mansion was ten minutes long, and that was despite the speed they were driving at. it was a testament to the size of the property. "the compound isn''t even a quarter as big as avalon island, and you call us extravagant," she teased back. aron''s private island was truly massive. "yep, i can''t really complain," aron chuckled. it was enough to calm him and he returned to his usual demeanor as they were escorted inside the mansion where her parents were waiting for them. "mom, dad, this is aron. aron, these are my parents, herschel and virginia rothschild," rina said when they entered the mansion and found her parents waiting for them in the living room. her mother moved to hug her, showing she was closer to her than her father. "welcome," herschel said to aron and extended his hand for a handshake with a neutral expression on his face. "thank you," aron said as he shook herschel''s hand with a smile on his face. his towering body overshadowed the older man, but he still came across as non-threatening. "let''s move to the dining room," virginia said, breaking the awkward silence between rina''s father and her boyfriend. it likely would have gone on if she hadn''t interfered. she hadn''t expected her husband to be unable to maintain a polite conversation, which showed how he was feeling deep inside. Chapter 297 Something He Had in Abundance chapter 297 something he had in abundance aron couldn''t help but look at the dinner table with surprise, since the table was filled with enough to feed more than fifteen people and there were only four of them. although he was rich, he hadn''t reached a ridiculous level of extravagance, since his parents hadn''t changed at all and only cooked enough for the people in the family. there was no excess at all, so he wasn''t used to the scene in front of him. still, he acted like he was used to it and took a seat. rina took the seat next to him, facing her mother, who was on the other side of the table. her father sat at the head on their right. "when did you two first meet?" virginia asked, her tone carrying curiosity and excitement, something rothschilds normally didn''t show much of. "about two years ago," aron answered, trying not to be too specific since that will make her feel weirded out. but for him, ever since the day he woke up after the system assimilation he''d had an eidetic memory. he might forget to think of things, but if he actively tried to recall something, he would remember everything about it. "isn''t that around the time she divorced rottem?" she asked. when she mentioned the name rottem, she turned to her husband and gave him the side eye, causing the mighty rothschild family head to avoid eye contact. "yes, we met because he had something that could help me," rina interjected. if she left it to aron, he would blabber everything as he found it a hassle to lie. they continued chatting through dinner, with herschel mostly remaining silent and leaving everything to his wife. she, on the other hand, was using the opportunity to learn everything there was to know about aron and only asking a few questions about their relationship. she treated him like a mother interviewing a prospective son-in-law, giving him an idea of how rina must have felt when he introduced her to his parents. ... "you weren''t too surprised when you came here, as if you knew everything about us," herschel said, speaking for the first time since dinner. the two men were in his office without the women present. virginia knew they needed to talk, so she took rina out and left the men alone in herschel''s office. "yes, i knew a few things about her before we met, then learned the rest later," aron calmly answered. it was quite unlike what would be expected of a man meeting his girlfriend''s father for the first time. "were you planning to use her family power and benefit from it for your business?" he asked, maintaining eye contact and trying to pressure the younger man into revealing his true intentions. alas, aron was completely unbothered by the parental pressure that was being exerted and just answered, "yes, i introduced myself to her because i needed your family''s political power. i couldn''t be bothered to build mine at that time, because i was focusing on other things." he couldn''t be bothered to hide anything. rina''s father couldn''t help but be surprised by the pure honesty from the man in front of him. "are you saying that you''re using my daughter in order to benefit from my family''s political power?" "no, no, you misunderstood me. i had those intentions when i first met her, but i wasn''t the beneficiary when we first met. rather, she was on the receiving end at that time, since she had none of the ''family power'' you mentioned. instead, she had been kicked out of the competition, so in order for her to be helpful to me i had to help her win back her position. only after i did that could she have the power to help me in my endeavors," aron calmly said. there was no judgment in his tone at all. "what!?" herschel exclaimed. he hadn''t been expecting that answer at all. "yes, i helped her regain her position in the family competition, and in return she helped me handle a few things," aron said again. he received no response, as rina''s father was too stunned to speak. his brain was still trying to comprehend how a man who was only a millionaire at the time had managed to interfere with their family''s matters and dictate the tempo of the competition. not even their archenemies could do that, but the man in front of him had managed it without being discovered at all. the silence continued for a few minutes before herschel finally said, "what kind of help did you even provide to her?" he couldn''t believe aron''s words, so he needed some clarification to tell whether the younger man was just blowing hot air. "information, something i had, and still have, an abundance of," he answered. "like what?" herschel asked. he was sure that nearly all the information that could be used against the family was protected in their private network, making all the information that could be gathered from outside quite useless. "i''m sure you''ve already read a file about me, so you should already know what field i specialize in. and i''m pretty sure you can fill in the blanks about how i could help her with information," aron said, trying not to go into any more details as he was afraid of causing his girlfriend''s father to have a heart attack. there was another silence as the older man connected another set of dots. "we''ll continue this later," he said after realizing the weight of the revelation he had just received. he decided to go and prepare himself for the next round, since he wasn''t sure if he could keep his cool if their meeting continued. "shouldn''t he be the one sending me out of the room? why was he the one to leave?" aron asked after he was left alone. [why''d you decide to reveal everything? are you trying to intimidate him?] nova countered. "no. if i lie now, it might cause some troubles later.... i''ve seen too many movies where the protagonist caused needless problems when they tried hiding things instead of coming clean and avoiding all the mess that followed. people only fear the unknown since their minds don''t have a limit on how outlandish their imagination can be. that''s the root cause of most problems. "and another thingif i didn''t tell him about the help i gave rina, can you think of any other reason to warrant a face-to-face meeting between her and the me of that time?" aron said. [there aren''t many,] she retorted, then put her quantum computers to work so she wouldn''t lose the argument. [you could''ve said that she met you because she wanted you to sue rottem for defamation of character as an additional revenge she wanted to inflict on him,] she said after a while, finally having come up with a reasonable scenario. Chapter 298 Just Another Tuesday chapter 298 just another tuesday vladimir was inside an office in the kremlin with a few documents on his desk and one on his hand. he had become a team leader and was responsible for leading a team that reports directly to the president of russia, a team that was a result of the president not trusting everything from the fsb, since no powerful leader that''s afraid of being overthrown would. thus, he had separated the powers of the different agencies and was the only one maintaining overall control over everything in the country. after looking at the file for a few seconds, he closed the folder and moved to the next one. that process repeated until all the folders on his table had been read through, even if only for a few seconds. he adjusted his glasses, then leaned back in his chair and settled into a comfortable position before closing his eyes. "here to report and ask for support, ma''am," he said the moment he opened his eyes in a less decorated, but still dignified room where a stunning woman was waiting for him. [go on,] she said and materialized a chair beside him, then gestured for him to have a seat. she hadn''t raised her gaze from the pile of papers on her desk from the moment vladimir appeared in the room until then. "i''ve completed my move to the kremlin, and at the moment i''m leading a team that''s responsible for fact checking the intel coming out of ukraine and through the fsb. if anything looks tampered with or doesn''t fit the reports from other agencies, my team and i are the ones tasked with investigating it," he explained. his position was still in the lower ranks, and his task wasn''t very critical, so he knew it was nothing but a test. only if he passed it would he really be put into the organization. "i need some help in order to prove myself and rise in the government ranks faster. is it possible to receive support from you?" he respectfully asked. his current actions were the opposite of his previous personality. [yes.] the woman was still focused on the documents in front of her as she had been throughout the entire report. vladimir smiled and left the room without even stating what kind of help he required; he was sure she would know what to do and would be assisting him to the best of her abilities. those were the orders she had been given as she was brought into the fold. once the woman was alone in the room, she immediately disintegrated it as she was only visualizing it for vladimir''s benefit. now that she had no reason to provide anyone with an environment, realistic or not, she had no reason to sustain the simulation. ... back on aron''s side, he spent the next few days touring different places in the rothschilds'' compound. he had grown quite fond of virginia rothschild, and the feeling was mutual. the two spent as much time together as they could. during the second meeting between aron and herschel, the older man had already come to the conclusion that aron had already been inside their private network without being discovered and could monitor everything through that. that must have been the tool that he had used to help rina regain her position, and with that connection in mind, he finally found the reason the board members hadn''t voted for arieh. he now knew that rina had known everyone''s weaknessesincluding hisand had used the knowledge to control everyone except her father, which warmed his heart. but that didn''t remove the dissatisfaction he felt when he realized that his daughter had sold their family''s secrets to an outsider just to regain her position in the competition. still, she had already won and he hadn''t discovered it during the competition all the way until the winner had been announced. so he chose to do nothing about it now other than politely request that aron not spread the information any further than himself. coupled with that was the implied threat that, if he did, not only would herschel not support the relationship between his daughter and the man, but he would also face the full wrath of the rothschild family. "you don''t have to worry about anything. i don''t have a use for your secrets at all," aron had replied, and didn''t try to convince the elder at all. the awkward relationship between the two men continued for a few days, but not much longer. on the fifth day of aron and rina''s visit, and the third meeting between father and son-in-law, he finally felt comfortable enough to ask aron''s opinion on the upcoming general election. it resulted in a very interesting communication between the two of them at the dinner table. "i don''t think your candidate is going to win," aron said with confidence when the topic of the election was brought up. "why do you say that?" rina''s father asked. "i don''t think you have a chance of getting a woman elected. after all, there''s nothing more divisive than a woman in power, and her party is famous for being fractured to begin with. plus, the morgans already leaked her private email server and she''s already been getting hammered over the attack in benghazi," aron explained. "but i thought the email server was just a trivial thing. besides, it''s already been in the news for about six months and nothing bad''s happened yet. and benghazi wasn''t even her doing at allit was a failure on every level, not just the top," rina''s mother interjected. she didn''t understand why aron had even bothered mentioning the email server rumor, or something that had happened years ago, like benghazi. "i''m sure you know more details about it, but why do you think it''s still circulating even after so many months? although she''s campaigning for president, someone''s driving the narrative and keeping it in the public consciousness. i suspect the server will come into play in the future, and benghazi is just being used to hammer her in the meantime. she''s too clean, so there''s nothing else to use against her right now." nova had already generated a report on what could possibly happen during the election, which gave aron plenty of things to talk about regarding it. "so what could they possibly do with an email server?" virginia asked once again, acting as the mouth of her husband who she was sure wanted to know more. "let''s say an fbi investigation," aron said. it was one of the scenarios nova had given him. "they won''t be doing that, since we can argue against it and even use it to our advantage. it''ll be nothing but a political witch hunt." although rina''s mother didn''t really care about politics, she still had conversations with her husband about it, so she at least had a bit of knowledge. "that depends on who''s doing the investigating. if an obama-appointed fbi director, like james comey, is the one heading up the investigation, you can''t really use it against trump or the morgans. after all, obama''s already announced his support for clinton. and even then, let''s say that comey announces there were no laws brokenwill that really change people''s minds? "just the accusation alone will be enough to destroy her. whether or not it''s criminal doesn''t really matter. after all, she''s also still got benghazi hanging over her head, and since she''s a political animal that knows how to deal with scandals, people are going to assume that there has to be more. "she''s nothing like trump, who has so many scandals that people believe there can''t possibly be anything else, let alone anything that''s worse than what they already know. a good person only has to do one bad deed for everyone to believe that person is a demon in human skin. but a bad person doing bad things? that''s just what they expect from them on any given tuesday," aron joked, but the joke caused herschel to fall into deep thought and ultimately agree with aron''s point of view. "then what do you think we should do?" he finally asked. he wanted to know if aron had an idea or if he was just parroting things that he''d heard from somewhere. "why not just let trump win? in fact, help him win. push him uphe''s a rabid dog and he''ll be sure to bite the hand behind him," aron said. his tone was the same as when he had earlier suggested brainwashing his new companies'' presidents a few weeks before. Chapter 299 Politics and Profits and Losses, Oh My! chapter 299 politics and profits and losses, oh my! "what?" all three people at the table asked in unison, but in different decibels befitting of their personalities. "yes, just flip the board since you can''t win," aron said without missing a beat. "i understand you think that clinton can''t win, but why ask us to support their candidate?" rina asked. "we all know that they have a plan, and will do nothing but cause you troubles in the future. so by secretly supporting their candidate by the time they realize what''s happening, they''ll have no choice but to continue supporting him. after all, he''ll be the only candidate they have that still has a chance of winning. but at the same time, they''ll be hesitant and their trust in him will wane since they''ll be sure that you aren''t doing it out of charity, but for a deeper plan. "with the trust between them already hanging by a thread, it''ll provoke internal conflict," aron explained. he truly thought it would be the best move to avoid unexpected upsets in the future, while also putting the might of the rothschild family to work for his own benefit. "and what do you have that you can use to prevent him from causing problems for us?" "there''s way too many things we can use against him to force him to do some things for us, like footage of his golden showers in russia, his tax returns, his footage with stormy daniel, the audio from his backstage conversation with billy bush about sexual assault, and so on. but keep in mind that although they should be enough to make any candidate do what you want, there''s a possibility of him doing the opposite if he''s pushed too far. so you should use it at your own discretion and be careful," aron said, though the warning in his tone was offset by a glint of mischief in his eyes. "i''m going to need to take a look at the evidence before i make my decision," rina''s father said, and both women at the table were surprised. "sure, i''ll send it to you later. take a look at it, but act with your own discretion, not because i suggested it as i''m still new to politics," aron said. he wasn''t too worried, as if things didn''t go to plan, he still had backup plans for most possibilities, or at least those within the realm of foreseeability. after that, their conversation moved to lighter topics, but aron sensed that he had left a good impression on rina''s father that offset his act of hacking them and keeping hold of their secrets, so the meal continued and ended on a good note. ... while aron was fostering his relationship with his girlfriend''s family, biogen had made it through the regulatory process and started showing up on the market. the first buyers were people who saw the ads on their pangea accounts and fell ''victim'' to the targeted marketing driven by big data. although pneuma hadn''t been approved in america, russia, or the eu yet, it had been approved nearly all across africa and most of south america, where they were enjoying a drastic decrease in childhood asthma sufferers. it was being hailed as a miracle cure, as it took effect within 24 hours and there were almost no side effects. asclepius biotechnology had become an overnight giant in the field of pharmaceuticals, and the governments in the african and south american countries it was approved in were already making concessions and all but kneeling and begging for more. and they weren''t shy about publicizing it, either, as the louder they were about their efforts to cure asthma in their countries, the more political points those leaders won. the successful record pneuma was displaying put a lot of pressure on regulatory bodies in those countries that hadn''t approved it yet, and pangea again played a major role, as people who couldn''t get access to it at home and couldn''t wait any longer were already booking flights to eden. and a third-world country being a medical tourism destination was absolutely unheard of! ...... "how the hell is he walking once again?" a researcher at johnson & johnson exclaimed as he watched a shaky cellphone camera recording of ryan''s presentation at the recent medical conference asclepius biotechnology had hosted in hawaii. he knew the newly minted president and was sure that he had been crippled in an accident... but there he was on video walking without any trouble at all. and no one had ever been healed of quadriplegia that severe. the ringing of a phone in his office interrupted his thoughts and he immediately answered it. "yes, sir," he said. "unfortunately, we''re still trying to reverse engineer it, but it''ll be difficult since the structure of the medicine is something i''m seeing for the first time in my thirty-seven years as a researcher. it''s fascinating, and i''ve got our share of folding@home working overtime on it to hurry up the process," the man said. (ed note: folding@home is an opt-in program that uses personal computing sources, like unused game consoles and a portion of unused processing power in pcs, as a distributed supercomputer to simulate protein folding and structures to develop drugs to fight various diseases. more info here: https://foldingathome.org/ ) "so, how long will it take to have our version ready for internal testing?" asked the voice on the other side of the call. "at least six months, and that''s an optimistic estimate," the researcher replied as he massaged his temples. he knew that, if he wanted to come up with a test version of pneuma in that time frame, neither he nor his team would be seeing their families very much over the next six months. "make sure you finish it, the faster the better. i''ll delay the fda as much as i can on my end, but there''s some serious weight at the top trying to fast-track it so there''s only so much i can do. if you can get me a working version by the time the fda approves pneuma, your bonus will choke you all the way to early retirement. but if you can''t get it that fast, at least get us a working version by the time their patent expires." a click announced the end of the call, and the researcher sighed and then got back to work. he could call his wife later. "what happened to you?" he said after putting the phone down and returning his focus back to the phone that still had the video showing ryan playing. he immediately picked up the phone and dialed a number that he hadn''t dialed in a long time, ryan''s number he had during the time they worked together. the call didn''t even connect as the automatic teller informed him that the number had been deactivated, so he immediately ended the call and dialed his secretary. "yes sir," his secretary said after answering the phone. "find a private investigator and tell them to find every bit of information about a person known as ryan walker," he said and ended the call before the response. "let''s see if you can help me shorten my time frame in reverse engineering and become the golden goose," he said to himself as he immediately stood from his chair and headed to the hanger to pick up his white coat and headed to the elevator on his way to the lab to continue leading the reverse engineering of the medicine. Chapter 300 Beloved Presidents and Beloved Wives chapter 300 beloved presidents and beloved wives aron had now officially removed himself from american politics after handing the responsibility to his girlfriend''s father. or in other words, he had passed it on to rina. and after spending more than a week in the us, he finally left the rothschild compound and headed back to eden, this time by himself since rina had to stay back and deal with overseeing some things before she could come to eden once again. during that time, changes had been taking place in eden. the us, which had sent a low level member of the government when they were invited to the celebration parade, had sent their deputy secretary of state, william burns, to eden in order to foster diplomatic ties. he had promised a swift approval process in the fda, as well as beginning negotiations for a trade agreement that would bring oil from eden to america, bringing the countries closer than they''d been before. if it weren''t for the fact that the current us secretary of state was, at that very moment, on a campaign bus somewhere near idaho, hillary clinton herself probably would have been the one to go to eden. ... also during that time, the new company presidents had gotten to work just days after waking up from their genetic enhancements. with newly reinvigorated bodies and peace of mind from having their grudges settled, they took full advantage of the time dilation in the simulation and had managed to do many things in a short period of time. elizabeth oppliger, the president of helios energy & utility, inc., had gotten used to her position and implemented many things. with all the construction projects under her company having been finished before she became the president, she had focused on efficient integrations of the tasks delegated to her company. among the many things that she did was placing competent people in important positions of each helios branch office to oversee the local operation and what repairs that required people to do. that wasn''t a lot, as the patrolling atomic printer handled all of the underground repairs save a few, which were mostly for show to prevent the printers from being discovered at work. she had also implemented a payment structure on an income- and value-derived sliding scale so that utilities would remain affordable to all. it was a complex calculation based on the value of the property and the income of the people living on, or using it, so the more affluent edenians paid more in an absolute sense than the poorer citizens. she had also cooperated with president chakrabarti of the coeus foundation to set up a charity fund to keep lights on and water running in case of disaster, so people were quite relieved and liz had quickly joined the ranks of the most-beloved leaders in eden, alongside sarah and felix. at the moment, she was in her office with her eyes closed, taking a power napor so her secretary thoughtbut she was in lab city. she was wearing a white lab coat and doing something she could only have dreamed of during the ten long years she spent studying in school: researching new energies. and she was doing it in a lab that had everything she could only have dreamed of, and more. "i really can''t believe that aron discovered such a magical form of energy," she said. "how''s our new formula holding in the mixture with the energy?" she asked. the other researcher in the lab with her answered, "although the new formula is stable, it only holds its stability for a few months before evaporating if it''s not in a perfect environment. so nobody will really approve of using it when they know it''ll disappear if it''s not properly stored in a rather expensive and maintenance-hungry environment." the researcher didn''t know what to call the low-grade mana liquid, and thought it was just something aron had discovered after doing many, many simulations. at the moment, they were trying to find a way to make a mana liquid that was stable enough to introduce to the world as a source of energy. "it''s really fascinating," liz said as she looked at the data she had already read about the formula. "it''s at least a hundred times more energy dense than any other form of energy. and depending on the way it''s harnessed or used, it may result in an energy efficiency of more than 80%." if that held true, it would be incredibly unprecedented. "increase the concentration of the stabilizing agent to 85% and see if it holds for a longer period of time," she said, then walked to the door to leave the lab. the moment she passed through the doorway, she opened her eyes in the real world and ended her short "power nap" with a smile on her face. the hard work she was putting in wasn''t exhausting to her at all, as it was what she had been dreaming of doing for her entire life. ...... "we should be ready to implement a 24-hour delivery time for premium subscribers to our shopping app, as long as they''re in eden". rachael richardson was listening to the team leader responsible for overseeing the introduction of premium features and benefits to those using the hermes app to buy and sell things. hermes would be responsible for warehousing and shipping them, much like amazon was doing in most of the rest of the world. "did we receive the delivery vehicles in all of the planned locations?" she asked as she perused the document in her hand. "yes. we also used their delivery as a test to see if we can accomplish our planned promise of next-day delivery, and we managed to complete 97% of them in time. so i think it''s safe to say that we can roll out the premium subscription service," the team leader answered. "then go ahead and start the roll out process," she said, then returned her focus to the papers in her hand. once the team leader had left and she was alone in her office, she put down the papers and leaned back in her comfortable, luxurious chair as she closed her eyes and logged into the universal simulation. she appeared in a long corridor that was brightly lit by powerful white led lights. she was the only one in the entire corridor, as evidenced by the echoing clack of her heels hitting the floor as she walked to the end of the corridor, which had only one door. the moment she reached the end of the corridor, the door automatically opened, revealing a large room. it had a few pieces of furniture, but nothing flattering or comfortable. "now, shall we continue? we''re only five percent of the way there," she giggled to the man who had started shivering on the bed when he heard her voice, which anyone would think was coming from a composed and calm person. "you don''t have to worry too much. i promised that i''d let you leave when i''m done inflicting exactly what you inflicted on me, nothing more and nothing less. and since time passes faster here than in the real world, it won''t take too long to experience everything. you should be rejoicing," she said in a calm voice. although she still had some sympathy for others, she had none for the man in front her. aron had shown her everything he was feeling when he was inflicting pain on her, together with the reason why he had become abusive. and as a result of that information, she felt nothing but vengeful anger that she had been slowly chipping down by inflicting the same pain she had received from him. she also knew it was being used as therapy for her, and she would be completely healed by the time she reached a 100% completion rate. as for his real body, it was laying in a hospital bed. he had suffered an air embolism and left in a coma. his "loving wife" rachael had brought him to eden and put him in a vip hospital room with round-the-clock care and technologically advanced versions of everything a care team would need to ensure his survival. Chapter 301 Busy Days and Monkey Wrenches chapter 301 busy days and monkey wrenches "we''re in the final steps of sealing a deal with south african airways, air india, and alitalia airlines. and as you expected, they didn''t make it too difficult for us since they''re in very difficult financial situations, making the negotiation process smoother," the aircraft acquisition manager of icarus airlines reported. "and when are our first orders of new planes going to start arriving?" robert asked after nodding his head to show that he had heard the report. "since we bought the planes that were about to have their orders cancelled due to lack of demand, we''ll start receiving them in six months, but the a380s should start arriving by the end of the year. however, those will be coming in one large batch," the acquisition manager answered. "the ones we buy from those airlines should be enough for domestic use and a few intercontinental flights, since the domestic market is being dominated by hermes'' rail network. so our only use for them will be flights from eden to esparia. for other international flights we should start planning earlier for when the new planes start arriving." they continued talking about the jet acquisitions without any fatigue on their faces. on the contrary, they seemed to be enjoying the work, as they were both young for the positions they found themselves in, so they gave it their all. "how''s the malaysia airlines situation?" robert asked. malaysia airlines had been in a downward spiral ever since malaysia airlines flight 370 had gone missing over the south china sea. "we''re in communication with them, but they''re still holding on in the hopes that their plane is found and they can put an end to the downward spiral. so right now, we''re in a holding pattern and waiting to see how the situation develops." as for robert''s former wife, she was enjoying her life after she had received most of his things. and having found her very handsome dream lover, she was infatuated with the man to the point that she had already forgotten her former husband, who could be said to have been funding her current lavish lifestyle thanks to the divorce settlement. she was spending extravagant amounts to make sure the man wouldn''t think about leaving her, not knowing that she was about to take quite a hit and learn her lesson. that was what robert had requested of aron as his revenge on her, taking her to the highest peak she can go before dropping her to the very bottom. as they say, the higher you are, the farther you fall. ... among all of the newly minted presidents, the one who''d already had his revenge completed, jai chakrabarti, was inside the universal simulation going through the curriculum planned for the schools that were about to finish construction with an expression of disbelief. it would be difficult as hell, but if it was taught exactly according to the lesson plans, monsters of knowledge were going to result. he was interrupted by a phone call, something that could happen despite him being in the universal simulation. "hello, mister minister," he answered in a cheery tone as he was teleported into a time bubble that matched the real world. "hello, i''m calling you personally to inform you that your request to cooperate with the government to build schools of all levels has been approved by the president. we''ll reach out to you and let you know where you can build your new schools soon. if the land you want isn''t owned by the government, we can help you with the acquisition process,"? the minister of education said. he seemed quite excited by the news as well. "thank you for your help," jai responded with a smile on his face and happiness in his voice. "but i''d like to ask what you plan on doing with the ten pieces of land in unpopulated locations?" the minister of education asked. "we''re going to be building universities and technical schools in those locations. each of them will specialize in teaching a specific field to the highest level, so we need places we can build the universities as well as college towns around them to make it convenient for the students," jai answered. "although i''m thankful for the investments you''re making in the country, i don''t see the planned universities receiving the amount of students necessary to do their size justice." the minister of education was a good-natured person, and a member of alexander''s party, so he would naturally bring up any issues he thought might arise, especially those regarding overspending of funds. "you don''t have to worry about that. they''ll all be full in just a few years after opening, and before the next elections arrive. that much, i promise you." jai decided not to go into more detail, since he was sure that there wouldn''t be enough time to explain everything. "also, i''ll be emailing your office the curriculum we''ve got planned for students at all levels of our schools, so please take a look and let me know what you think about them." "no problemi''ll give it a read and let you know." ... as for ryan, he was enjoying life and spending time with his wife, who was thrilled to be accepted into what he jokingly called "nova u", following her dream of becoming a museum curator and learning in a virtual university as she underwent her own genetic enhancement process. he had specifically asked for her to be enhanced as a way of paying part of her love and care back to her. aron had immediately agreed, as ryan had no vengeance to take and just wanted to spend the best time of his life with her. plus, aron couldn''t help but admire him a little bit for his devotion to his wife. being in the honeymoon period of his own first relationship, with rina, anything regarding love would naturally be highly looked upon by him. ryan was reading the sales report for pneuma and biogen. it had been two weeks since their release, and that time was enough for all the expenses they had borne by storing, shipping, and paying tariffs on them had already been recouped, with more than seventy percent of the gross sales remaining as profit. "although the profits are about equal between both products, biogen should pass pneuma in a month or so," he said to the void in his room. [that depends on whether pneuma gets approved in russia, the eu, and the us before then. if they approve it, sales will continue being about equal for a few more months before biogen ends up becoming the eventual winner.] "still, until we release a new medicine, weight loss will be our biggest earner," he replied. his vision was still correct, after all. [you''re right,] his assistant responded. ... despite aron and nova''s policy of not interfering with anything, things were going very well for the burgeoning business empire. rather, things were going perhaps too well, and thanks to that, nova was in full simulation mode trying to predict what could come and throw a monkey wrench into their peaceful lives. she knew that somewhere, there was bound to be something that would be giving them a headache, and she wanted to know what it was so she could head it off at the pass, as it were. and she was putting her computing power toward discovering just where that monkey wrench was likely to be coming from. Chapter 302 OUCH chapter 302 ouch aron could be seen sitting with his eyes closed, the veins of his forehead were pulsing as they bulged, indicating that he didn''t want to lose even a single second of his focus. his surroundings were serene, with a vast, flat, heavenly ground stretching for kilometres, which was surrounded by mountains of varying heights. if someone was gazing at this scene for the first time, they would think aron was practising the runic knowledge his clones had been training which he was assimilated with while he was receiving the treatment in the pod. although this was partly true, it didn''t hold the same meaning as they might think. shortly after, aron immediately opened his eyes but what followed it in the sight of the observer was the sudden vanishing of aron''s figure. with his disappearance, the flat, tranquil grassland returned to its serenity which had once been there. however, the calmness didn''t last for long as moments later, a flash of light, capable of blinding anyone who glanced at it, started to spread. but this was the least of the matters that might be of any concern because that flash of light was followed by... booooooooooooooooooooooooooom the deafening sound was accompanied by a shockwave that shook the ground, uprooting the grass that had been enjoying its time as it bathed in the light of the sun. a whole mountain had simply disappeared. aron on the other hand, for those who could see him even in his concealed state, could be seen meters away from where he had once been before he activated the concealment rune and disappeared with a smile on his face. "now, that''s my in-house stealth missile for you. survive that if you possibly can," he mused while still holding the previous smile on his face, feeling quite good and proud of himself. alas, that smile on his handsome face was short-lived as his whole being stiffened a moment after that while his eyes were covered in disbelief for a moment before he immediately erected seven protective shields, stacking one on top of the other, before... boom....... another enormous explosion followed, rocking the area, and sending him hurtling about a kilometre in the opposite direction of the mountain range he had just flattened with his explosion. "you really are brutal, to come and use the same attack i did on you moments ago," aron said with a weary smile, realizing that he really had no chance of winning this fight. [if you can dish it out, you should prepare yourself to receive it as well,] nova said as she materialized a meter away from aron. her sudden appearance scared the shit out of aron, who could have sworn that she was supposed to be a few kilometres away and in the vicinity of the mountain he had just obliterated a few seconds ago. he was sure of that because he could sense her presence there. "are you sure you are not cheating?" aron asked jokingly with the expression of someone who couldn''t believe what he was experiencing. [nope, i''m just utilizing the runes with the same knowledge that had been assimilated into you and the same brain power as that of yours,] nova bantered back, raising her already massive chest to show her feeling of superiority in front of aron who wasn''t even able to sense her when she was so close to him, while he remained focused on the decoy she had placed on a mountain. [but still, i couldn''t believe that you sensed it and also managed to create seven shields to save yourself from being blown to smithereens,] she remarked, her tone serious this time, indicating that she was genuinely impressed by him. "well, my life was on the line and i didn''t want to experience the feeling of being cooked by the heat and then having my body broken to pieces by the shockwave before i die. it is quite a nasty feeling," aron answered, conveying that today wasn''t his first time to experience this. thanks to his strong body, brought together with strong regeneration, he didn''t die immediately, but he was able to endure it for a few seconds before his body completely gave up, but that was eternal to someone who was experiencing his nerves being cooked while the body tried to regenerate those cooked nerves, which was soon followed by his bones being shattered into pieces from the shockwave before he succumbed to death after experiencing all that pain. [pain is the motivation of growth, sir. if we remove it, there won''t be anything that will be enough to motivate you to work hard in finding ways to avoid such things happening. now, it seems that you have finally come up with the idea of integrating two runes at once during serious times for a more effective attack, albeit taking quite a long time to accomplish it,] nova said before she broke into laughter as she remembered how long it took for him to succeed in doing so. aron, who was acting slightly hurt due to her laughing at him, retorted, "you are leveraging your computing power to find different ways to mess with me." he knew that during this period, he needed to think of coming up with ways to at least win against her even once without any assistance from her. he had realized that he was becoming overly dependent on her, and that might risk him losing a bit of his critical thinking skills. hence, he had asked her to implement this form of training, where he would receive no help from her until he at least managed to land a single hit on nova, who had limited her qubits numbers to the number of neurons he had. "let''s take a short break," he suggested, finally feeling the accumulated fatigue which had been accumulating due to him spending hours trying to successfully integrate two runes at once, specifically the concealment rune atop the fireball rune. [should i update you about the various ongoing matters while you rest?] nova asked, immediately teleporting both of them to the ground while creating a bean bag for aron to rest on. "yes," aron agreed and in response, nova started her reporting. [the decision has been made to build the company headquarters on an island, with the blueprint already being selected.] nova reported to him, and at the same time, she materialized a miniature model of the city that was going to be constructed from scratch. the centerpiece of this project would be the headquarters of the companies that was going to be the world''s tallest, widest, and deepest building by the time its construction was completed. "this should provide jobs to millions of people and generate millions of dollars of revenues for different small companies," he said as he observed the vast number of materials that were going to be used for the complete construction of the city to its entirety, which would dwarf any other projects dubai or qatar which they had been planning or were being constructed at the moment. [just this project alone should keep the country''s economy growing within the next year it takes to complete,] nova added as she also mentioned the short time frame it would take for the project to be completed given that all the foundation and underground construction would be expedited using the atomic printer to accelerate the project without leaking the technology being used to anyone else. "how much is the entire project estimated to cost us?" aron inquired as he continued reading the details within the file. [it''s estimated to cost around thirty-five billion dollars, sir,] nova responded. "do we still have that large sum of money lying around?" aron inquired, aware that he had already expended more than hundred and fifty billion on the previous projects that were now completed. and although he recalled they had more than triple that amount of money, he knew that it was not available in cash; instead, it was under the plutus investment as an investment fund to increase the money and for it to not just remain stagnant. [yes, although the funds we won from the morgans'' flash crash have already either been spent in construction, raw materials purchase, or in different stocks, we have gained ourselves a substantial amount of cash from the gaia and asclepius biotechnology product launches due to the prices we are selling them at.] [only about fifteen dollars of the technological devices are being spent in producing them given the prices of raw materials and shipping them, and if you include tax and everything else, only about a hundred dollars from the $ 999 of the prices of the starting devices is spent as operational expenses while the remaining is nothing but profit.] [so, we have more than enough capital at our disposal,] nova responded as she showed him what they had been earning from the sale of just the phone, which had already sold 35 million units and even if all of them were of the lowest price, it would mean they had already earned more than $ 35 billion. then, there were still computers and other peripherals. just gaia technology alone was already earning more than a hundred billion dollars in profits from their product launch. "in that case, there is no need to be stingy. go ahead and start the project," aron declared, immediately giving the green light for the start of the project. "that is enough rest," he added before immediately rising from his seat to resume his battle with nova. Chapter 303 Bolstering His Naval Power chapter 303 bolstering his naval power "wow, it''s so huge," henry exclaimed as his eyes remained fixed on the massive square warehouse-like buildings in front of him. aron quietly followed behind him, allowing his brother to do whatever he wanted to while they were in the observation room. from the room, they had a clear view of nearly a quarter of the massive port in front of them. "brother, what is inside those?" henry, who was very enthusiastic, thanks to having rightfully earned the opportunity to attend the event after acing in his test, asked excitedly. "those are dry docks that are used to construct ships before they are launched into the waters and put into service," aron answered without moving his gaze from the view in front of him. although he had already seen what was going to be unveiled today with the help of the vr, he couldn''t help but still feel excited to see it getting realized in the real world. "so, there are ships inside them?" henry asked. "yes, and today, you will see ships coming out of them and entering the water," aron said, now ruffling his brother''s hair as he walked closer to him when the little guy asked his first question. "wow!" henry exclaimed, his eyes shining, indicating his excitement as he moved closer to the observation mirror, eager not to miss even a single detail of activity that was going on in the port. and before henry could even say anything else or ask any other question among the countless ones that were popping in his mind right now, krrrrr krrrrrr krrrrrr krrrrrr krrrrrr a screeching alarm that was sure to get the attention of anyone in the vicinity blared out through the main navy base of ares in eden, followed by the announcement, "all personnel, clear the slideway in front of dry dock one." this announcement could be considered to be nothing but a formality since everyone knew what day was today and had already gathered in the observation centre to witness the launching of the ships. the announcement echoed in the massive dry dock facility, which looked like a warehouse due to being covered on every side, which would make anyone who looked at it with suspicion for some secrecy, begin to open. the massive doors on the sea-facing side of the rectangle''s longest face started opening, albeit slowly; the speed was suitable given its massive size. it took nearly ten minutes for the gates to completely open, which was fast considering its size, revealing a majestic and intimidating ship that resembled none of the currently active ships in the world. (image here) but for those who had some knowledge of the history, especially the previous world wars, they would discover that this ship bore a resemblance to the gunships of that era. however, the one in front of them looked much cooler, more intimidating and had a futuristic, sleek gloom covering the entirety of its exterior form. mhhhhh mhhhhhh mhhhhh. another round of alarm, this one calmer, sounded as the sliders holding the ship within the dry dock that was connected to the rails that were made pointing towards the sea began to move. these sliders initially started sliding slowly while in unison as the ship they were carrying started to move along with them. though it started moving slowly along the slope of the rail, in a short moment gravity took over and in combination, they moved the ship towards the ocean with its speed getting faster and faster until... pwaaaaa. the ship''s hull hit the water''s surface with a resounding splash and started to rock from one side to the other as the once calm ocean water got ratted as the ship tried to remain still. after a few more seconds of wobbling left and right, the rattling finally came to a halt, thus marking the official successful launching of the rottweiler-class railgun ship. soon after, a few small ships approached the newly launched vessel and the soldiers in them wearing the white uniform known as ares''s navy, immediately started boarding the railgun ship,and going to take their positions as if they had already rehearsed the process thousands of times. the moment every single one of them reached their designated position, they immediately powered on the ship''s fusion reactor, which had been in idle mode as a precaution since the ship had been using backup power, just in case something went wrong during the launch. following the power-up sequence, they immediately initiated connections to the military satellite constellation, which resulted in the ship''s computer finally coming completely online, thus enabling all the operations. following that, the ship didn''t linger any longer and immediately left the port to conduct a few major tests in the open sea. the port, however, didn''t return to tranquillity, as the alarms rang once again, indicating that another ship was going to be launched as well. this process repeated again and again until ten ships of the same class had been launched and had all departed the port for their assigned test locations. "i still can''t get used to this," arons admitted to himself. among the many ships that they were going to introduce into ares''s navy division, this one was the most appealing to him since it looked way too cool. as for henry, he remained remarkably quiet, and his gaze locked completely on the mirror in the observation room during the entire launch without even looking away from it for even a moment. with the completion of the launches, the port workers, who were soldiers, returned to their usual duties as if it was something they were used to as no one seemed to be surprised by it at all. however, the same couldn''t be said to be true for the intelligence agencies that were monitoring this situation on their screens through footage and pictures that were captured by their spy satellites that were observing the entire situation all this long as they had been very curious of what was going on in those covered dry docks and who had expected something to take place in a few days time when the movements on the base had increased leading to the increase the monitoring of it. now that they finally knew what was going on in it, none of them were happy with it since they knew they were going to have a very challenging week as they would have to gather and collect data on the ship to ascertain the full extent of their capabilities. ... time moved on along with the unfolding of various events across different locations in the world, acting as a distraction for people to forget the passing of time. aron could be seen with rina inside one of the luxurious rooms within the cube as they snuggled on the large couch while watching the tv that was displaying maps behind the reporter who was delivering real-time updates about the information regarding an ongoing incident. "let''s see if your hard work has paid off," aron said to rina, who didn''t seem nervous at all and was, in fact, remarkably composed as she replied, "i supported him discreetly enough to make his win something inevitable, so if he doesn''t win the election, then that means he was destined to lose," as she got into a more comfortable position. "oh, the votes have started being counted," aron commented as the graphics behind the reporter started shifting, indicating that the votes counting had started. he wasn''t worried at all. although he had done his best to make sure trump wins, he wasn''t really afraid of the result where he would lose. "i have been wanting to ask you this: why did you support trump when you know very well that the morgans might likely ask him to attack you and eden?" rina immediately inquired, having finally remembered to ask him this question while they were together. "to use this as an opportunity to get ahead," aron explained shortly. "what do you mean by that?" rina asked, not getting a complete picture of what aron wanted to mean. "him entering the office and based on his mentality, it will undoubtedly result in chaos, and with the ensuing turmoil, it will be my time to flourish. as they say, ''chaos is the father of opportunity.'' although i have unprecedented power in eden, we still can''t project our power in other country other than eden and esparia. however, the resulting chaos will allow me to shape some narration and push certain agendas that will be beneficial for us," aron elaborated, showing that he planned to leverage the hypothetical trump''s victory to benefit both himself and eden. as the more powerful eden becomes, the more power he will have in this world. as they continued their conversation, more and more votes continued to be counted and the graphics on the screen continued changing until the final result appeared on the tv, displaying the complete results of the election: winner: donald h. trump electoral college result: donald trump received 306 electoral votes, while hillary clinton received 227 electoral votes. popular vote: hillary clinton received approximately 65.9 million votes (48.2% of the total), while donald trump received approximately 63 million votes (46.1% of the total). "looks like we got our winner," aron said. rina didn''t respond to his words but immediately turned to face aron and started kissing him to celebrate her win. Chapter 304 Cause For Celebration chapter 304 cause for celebration inside the compound of the morgans'' mansion. the air within the compound carried a hint of happiness, a feeling that was felt by most of the inhabitants, causing the atmosphere to be permeated with the same feeling. "we finally once again have someone in the position of leadership after eight years of not having one. this calls for a celebration," remarked george, his eyes fixed on his father, who was sporting a smile on his face, something that would rarely happen, only when he was greatly satisfied with something, a sight which at the moment, had been rare throughout the year. "good job," aubrey complimented his son''s contribution. "we should prepare a celebration befitting the occasion," he added, agreeing with his son, but also added, "it would serve as the day we have the first meeting with him, during which we will finally be presenting him the complete plan of what we expect from him in return for our support for him," indicating that he didn''t plan to waste even a single moment for his revenge to be delayed. "shouldn''t we wait until he is sworn into the office next year?" george asked, noting that his father was trying to get over this as quickly as possible. "the sooner he has the information, the earlier he can act on it after he is sworn in. so, presenting the plan to him during that party should be enough to give him the necessary time to start preparing himself to act on our terms," aubrey answered calmly. "yes, father. i will start preparing for it," george said and left the room, going back to his own to start the planning before delegating it to his assistant. "now, let''s see how you will respond," aubrey, who was left alone after his son left, muttered while bringing aron''s image into his mind. he had finally found out who was the reason behind their embarrassment just a few months ago and aubrey would always get angry whenever he remembered the incident. this was because he had been thinking that they were fighting against someone who had just entered their field just a few years ago. .... a few months ago... "are you sure about this?" aubrey asked in surprise as he read through the file in his hands, which at the moment were shaking due to anger that he was barely able to contain. "yes, sir. we made sure that it was true by checking the information more than once before we had the assurance to report it to you," the assistant replied while raising his chest with pride, knowing very well that this was the discovery of the century. aubrey lowered his gaze back to the document in his hand as he read through the information for the second time while still in disbelief. on the folder was the image of aron and rina walking through the vip terminal. from their body language, it was clear that there wasn''t any master-servant relationship at all, and in fact, it hinted that they were in a romantic relationship, which was something that aubrey wasn''t expecting at all. however, that only acted as evidence for their relation, but what surprised him even more was the satellite image of aron''s car at the port on the day that they had launched the ten ships, which were still a mystery even with the capabilities of the intelligence community, which had left most of them baffled since the ships had done nothing of the sort that even came close to using their guns. but the information did not end just at that. the files in his hands also contained the registration information of the companies that registered aron as their sole owner and also revealed the amount of wealth these companies had was massive; it was a figure of numbers that even he, who would usually consider billion dollars as a measly amount of money, was surprised. aubrey didn''t even want to believe what he was looking at first because if he were to believe it, then that means that both he and his family were not really that special. this was because the man mentioned in the folder had created such a large network of wealth in a period of nothing but two years, something that had taken for their families to accumulate generation after generation. aron possessed the power to shake the economy of both eden and esparia with just one of his companies, and he had more than five of such companies, with each of them completely dominating a specific field. "we need to make our move the moment we get the opportunity," aubrey declared after standing still for a long period in silence while contemplating. his words prompted the assistant reporting to him to have an intrigued expression as he raised an eyebrow since he didn''t quite understand what the master was talking about. however, george, who was also reading the document and was feeling jealous of the man who was mentioned in it, clearly understood what his father meant. it was time to start to prepare themselves for a fight against him, a man who was growing more powerful than they could have ever thought, which meant that the fight had now been increased by a grade higher than before, from regaining their honor to now full-fledged struggle to remove someone who if not stopped, will be their direct competitor in a short time frame and pose a major threat to them. ..... cube. rina could be seen lying on the bed while being in a deep sleep as she cuddled with aron while her body tried to regain its vigour and recover from the tiredness she had been inflicted upon during the hours-long celebration that had taken place after yesterday''s news. aron, who was on the other side was still awake as he brushed his hand through her hair while at the same time using the active rune on his hand to aid her in recovery. he immediately reached out for the glasses on the bedside table and put them on once he was assured that she was now in a deep sleep. [congratulations, sir,] nova chimed in the moment he appeared inside the universal simulation. "thanks, but the hard work starts now. although chaos may lead to opportunities, it is also very easy for things to go out of our course. and so, we need to tread carefully," aron said. although it might seem like he was saying it to nova, he was reminding himself so that he wouldn''t forget this fact. [i will keep that in my mind,] nova responded, acknowledging the reminder despite knowing that it was not really for her. "when is john going to arrive?" aron inquired, indicating that he didn''t come here just randomly but for a scheduled meeting. [you came early, sir. he is expected to log in in half an hour as he is making final preparations,] nova informed, showing him the time, which showed that he was about forty-five minutes earlier than when their meeting was expected to take place. "good evening, sir," john greeted when he logged in fifteen minutes before the scheduled meeting time, surprised to find aron already waiting for him. "good evening," aron responded with a smile since he quite appreciated the man in front of him. "you could have called me if you were here earlier," john remarked when he realized that aron might have been here much earlier than he thought. "no need for that, since i was the one who arrived earlier than the appointed time," aron said, showing that he would have only cared if john was to be late without any reason, but now that he wasn''t, nothing really mattered. "so, how is life going for you?" aron inquired; although he could know whatever john was doing, he refrained from doing so since he cared about their privacy, plus nova would have informed him if the guy had done something that needed his attention. "i have been enjoying my life since you healed me, sir, so there is nothing for me to say other than i''m very happy with life," john responded; when he was asked about life, his thoughts momentarily went back to the time when he was before being healed by aron. "and are things fine between you, aurora, and her friend?" aron asked with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. "it is going well, and they have been enjoying their time in eden as much as i have. the recent genetic enhancement i received has made things even better for me," john explained as he shuddered when he recalled the times when even his body that had gotten better after aron''s bombardment with runes when he was healing him as a test, got tired and had gotten a back pain due to having to satisfy both of them. however, now that he had also received a genetic enhancement that was perfectly tailored for his strengthened body, he could handle both of them and satisfy them without having to regret it the next day. "and you sir?" he asked after answering. "i''m enjoying life at the moment," aron replied with the smile of a man who was quite satisfied with his life. they continued having their small talk, with both men trying to get to know each other, and share their experiences during the times when they were alone and had not met each other. and just like that, fifteen minutes passed, and now it was time for the meeting. the moment the meeting time arrived, athena, nyx, and a few more ais immediately materialized in the room, together with high-ranking generals in the ares who had been stopped from entering the room during the time aron and john were catching up. a few seconds later, alexander too arrived and apologized for being late despite only being delayed by a few seconds. [now that everyone is here, let the meeting commence.] nova, who had assumed the position as the meeting secretary, announced when everyone had arrived and had finished greeting aron and alexander, thus officially starting the strategic meeting for eden''s military forces. Chapter 305 The MOD meeting chapter 305 the mod meeting the room everyone arrived at had a very weird seating arrangement. if there were anyone who didn''t know who aron was, they would not recognize who was the most important person in the room. the table was oval shaped, with aron and alexander sitting at the long ends of the tables, while the generals were sitting on aron''s right side of the longer table and the military ais on the left. no one in the room found this kind of arrangement weird at all; rather, they saw it as how it was supposed to be. [now that everyone is here, let the meeting commence.] nova, who had assumed the role of the meeting secretary, announced, thus marking the first meeting of eden''s military forces. athena promptly teleported and began delivering a report to all of the attendees. [before we delve into the more complicated topics, i think it is better to start with the basic information about our military forces to make sure that everyone is on the same page,] she proposed, and immediately the room''s surroundings changed. no one in the room reacted too much and just waited with a calm look on their faces to see what she was going to do with the room''s surroundings. and indeed, the void surrounding the room started shifting, giving way to rows of soldiers who materialized while athena started her presentation, stating, [at the moment, we have 545,000 active soldiers spanning across all the branches of the military. of these, 345,000 are a part of the eden branch, while the remaining 200,000 of them belong to the esparian branch of ares.] as she said her words, the appearance of the the uniforms of the soldiers surrounding them differentiated. [currently, we don''t have any reserve forces on hand, but our soldiers already work on a rotational basis, transitioning from active duty to passive duty. the time they have to work differs, depending on their selections and their position in the military. we are still executing our recruitment plan and aim to reach a million-strong army by the end of next year before reducing the recruitment efforts,] she continued, pausing for a moment to let the audience who had been listening to her and let them digest the information. alexander, who was hearing the actual complete number of the military for the first time, had goosebumps all over his body as he came to a realization that the force, which had numbered even less than five hundred when they arrived in eden, had reached such a huge significant size, without letting anyone to notice this tremendous change. although he was aware that the number of soldiers was substantial, given that the government was responsible for their salaries while ares also supplemented them the same amount of payment as the government, making it one of the highest paying jobs in the country no matter the position held by the soldiers, nevertheless, he still didn''t expect their number to have reached such heights. [regarding weapons and armament for these soldiers, it varies depending on the branch they are in.] as athena said, the soldiers who had materialized in the surroundings of the meeting room immediately disappeared, and the room''s surroundings once again returned back to being a black void. [the one that is a hundred percent equipped and completely functional is the intelligence department (the nyx); they have all the necessary equipment to help them gather, analyze, and act upon the intelligence they have.] as athena added, the void scene transformed once again, displaying the different devices that were provided to military''s intelligence branch, including glasses that differed in functioning than the glasses that were issued to the soldiers for logging into the vr. these specialized glasses had the ability to hack into any device that was in their vicinity, collect all the data before having it analysed, and further only deliver the critical information to the wearer of these glasses. [they are the branch with the least amount of personnel, with only fifty thousand members, among which more than half of them are field agents since most of the analysis and planning aspects are handled by nyx, the ai leading this department, and the ai team working under her,] athena added while showcasing the responsibilities that were under the supervision of the ai of the department. [they are also the most active branch since they are responsible for safeguarding the national security of both eden and esparia. we have already successfully dealt with more than two hundred spies, either by deporting them or prosecuting them under other criminal charges without revealing their involvement in the espionage not only that but also capture members of the government who were trying to sell government secrets,] athena continued as the silhouette of the people captured or dealt with by them appeared in the void of the room. [the second-most armed branch is the army, boasting a personnel count of 250,000 under it. all the soldiers in it are armed and ready and are on standby for deployment in any conflict. however, when it comes to the weapons that are already out in the open and known to the public, there are almost none, except for the helicopters, which means that we are restricted in what weapons we can use during a conflict, as long as we have not decided to let our advanced weapons known to the world,] athena explained as the weapons used by the army were showcased on the shelves that appeared in the void of the meeting room, imitating the matrix. the number of new weapons that were introduced was even more than what john had been shown by aron when he introduced the weapons to him, indicating that new and more advanced weapons had already been developed and made ready for use. [moving on, the third most armed branch is the navy. having 200,000 soldiers, it is the second least armed force due to the highly classified nature of their vessels. at the moment, we already have ten of the rottweiler-class railguns in service, which should suffice for our short-term needs. however, the rest of the navy vessels range from small to medium-sized, designed for patrol and other security tasks. this is something that we need to address faster, in case in the future a need arises and also because we have very limited active soldiers on them, forcing us to utilize a rotation system,] athena reported as she displayed the massive rottweiler-class railgun battleships and a few other vessels that were being used by the navy right now. [however, all of these inadequacies on top of water can be supplemented by the completed submarine fleets that are already patrolling the two country''s borders] she added as she displayed the different types of submarines that are already in service. [lastly, we have the air force, which is also the least armed branch, which comprises the remaining hundred thousand personnel. although we have numerous air bases scattered all across eden, we still have very few planes to justify the branch''s size. however, with them being responsible in a joint operation with nyx, they play a crucial role since they are responsible for monitoring and maintaining the active satellites while the intelligence branch analyzes the information and acts upon them whenever the need arises.] athena stated. as she said that, the satellites appeared in the void of the room together, alongside the air force''s known number of su-27 aircrafts, together with the ones the world thought they had won as spoils of war during the eden- esparia conflict. once she concluded her summarization of their military''s prowess, athena returned back to her seat and remained quiet. nova immediately interjected, [now that we have the summary of our current condition, we have to start thinking about solving the problems and start addressing them. so, anyone with ideas on the table, please contribute to the discussion] alexander, who had already gotten somewhat overwhelmed by listening to the continuous flow of information, finally spoke up, "while i understand that we are not releasing many of our advanced weapons and devices since they will attract too much of the world''s attention upon us, i believe it shouldn''t be too much if we were to release some of them in a promotional video for the military recruitment." he simply suggested it since he knew that everyone in the room would figure out what he meant by his words. [so, you intend to use the video both as a promotional tool and also as a means to make the world think that these weapons are just cosmetic weapons for the video but will still portray an introduction of our weapons to the world and the only surprise later will be when people witness them for real and in action,] the ai responsible for overseeing the army branch chimed in, acknowledging that she could see where alexander''s train of thoughts was going since it was her branch which was most likely going to benefit from this strategy as they would be able to use guns and a few other small and medium-sized weapons but others won''t be able to use it since they use ships or airplanes. "for the air force, we can just publicly announce that we are exploring the development of our own aircraft and have already finalized the design and are moving forward into building a prototype. although many people will think that we are trying to eat more than what we can chew, it won''t be too surprising when they see a prototype in the air," the air force general suggested, showing that he had considered how to release their advanced fighters aircraft to the public without causing too much mess. "that would align well with the announcement i had made during my victory rally speech in which i promised to build domestic industries, and the defense industry should be among them," alexander chimed in. the navy general followed suit, proposing a similar approach for the navy branch as well, "we can make a similar announcement for the navy, which would be taken more seriously than the air force claim since we already have the ships made by us in the water, though the public doesn''t know about it yet since no one has seen them as they are patrolling in deeper waters and the countries that have satellite images of our ships have unilaterally decided to keep this information as a secret," his words didn''t carry any malice toward the air force or its general''s idea, rather, he was simply saying that the idea could be used by both of them. "announcing that we are entering into or have already been involved in the defense production industry should serve as the best suitable solution for all the branches since we can use it as an explanation for the introduction of all the new weapons that will be released into the military and maybe even for civilian sale, though i don''t think we will have customers so long as we don''t prove the weapon''s effectiveness," alexander added. he became the only highest-ranking figure in the room who had voiced out his opinion throughout the meeting, with aron and john merely being spectators of the meeting as they simply listened to the ideas that were put forth by the people attending the meeting. Chapter 306 The "Cool Factor" ? "we won''t be selling any of the military tech to anyone. it''ll all be exclusive to ares." aron, who had been quiet throughout the meeting, finally opened his mouth and disputed some of alexander''s points about selling weapons in a grave tone.n-)0vlb1n "so you agree with the idea of releasing the information to the public about entering the defense industry to cover letting our weapons enter the field without attracting too much attention?" alexander asked. "although i agree with it, as it''ll be a trusted source of information to quell the rumors floating around, i don''t see the reason we can''t just step out of the shadows. it isn''t like we don''t have the power to protect ourselves, even though we can''t really project it outward quite yet," aron replied. everyone raised an eyebrow, since they knew that aron was nothing if not cautious, more cautious, and even more cautious. if he claimed to be second in the world at keeping secrets and staying hidden, nobody else would dare claim to be first. he even went so far as to camouflage the weapons used in the eden-esparia conflict to look like the weapons they had illegally bought from shady gray-market arms dealers during the edenian revolutionary period. "from your expressions, i see that you''re surprised. but everything''s obvious if you compare our circumstances then and now. "in the past, we didn''t have enough boots filled to warrant the release, or protect the weapons, but things have changed. now we have the eighth-largest military, judging by the number of active duty members. the two ahead of usiran and pakistanare only ahead of us by about 50,000 soldiers. we should surpass them in a month or two, and then we''ll be the sixth-largest military power by number of active duty enlistees," aron explained. "also, the country is stable now. not only are our citizens no longer in an active revolution against their government, but we also have a stable source of income combined with a growing export economy. so we have to change our mindset and act like the country we are, and not like the country we used to be," he finished. his inner circle definitely had to join him in shifting their mindsets. "so, are you going to be putting all of your military tech into active service?" alexander asked. he needed to be certain of aron''s plan in order to gauge how he should act from now on. "no, we''re going to do it in phases. we''ll start by releasing a few recruitment videos and promotional propaganda, then announce your decision to develop a national defense initiative. together with that, we''ll start using the equipment we''ve been keeping warehoused, but consider it ''secret''. let the rest of the world speculate whatever they want to. it isn''t up to us to explain, but for them to come up with reasonable explanations. "we can then just subtly spread the most believable of their own speculations, just to muddy the waters." aron was firm in his vision and had already planned everything out, step by step. the humans in the room nodded, showing they had an understanding of the general direction aron would be taking, while the ais spun up a few more fractions of their computing power to update their parameters and generate new plans of action. "nova, work on it. make it appear as natural as you can without seeming too absurd. that includes our new ships and aircraft." it was time to move on to the next topic of the night. [yes, sir,] nova responded, then went silent again. athena took over and began her presentation. [with an adequate number of sailors in the navy, it''s about time to divide our fleets into task groups.] she paused for a moment as the display screen popped up a naval infographic. then she continued, [for starters, we''ll divide the pacific fleet into five task groups. [the northern, southern, eastern, and western fleets will be jointly referred to as the pacific fleet, or home fleet. their task is to defend the regions in all four quadrants. three of themthe northern, southern, and western fleetswill be defending edenian waters. the eastern fleet will be tasked with defending esparia''s territorial waters.] the display switched to a nautical map of the surrounding waters counted as edenian and esparian territories. territorial waters were generally agreed to be twelve nautical miles of water from any country''s coast; beyond that was international waters, where territorial law didn''t hold sway and gave way to international maritime law. the display switched to a detailed breakdown of ships in each task group of the home fleet. each of them would consist of two subfleets, one for training and one for active patrolling and defense. the subfleets would each contain an odin-class battleship, two thor-class heavy cruisers, four mjolnir-class cruisers, eight heimdall-class destroyers, and sixteen njord-class frigates. all ships would be armed with batteries of heracles'' bow mk. iv coilguns. the decision had been made to switch from railguns to coilguns for a number of reasons. first, maintenance requirements. although atomic printers negated the need for extended downtime in order to maintain equipment, they still required the correct resources. atomic printers weren''t alchemists, after all, and couldn''t transmute one element to another. so if something called for steel, for instance, the raw materials of carbon and ironplus any others for specific alloys, like magnesium, manganese, aluminum, or otherswere still necessary in order for the printer to create it. since the operation of coilguns and railguns differed, and coils didn''t rely on contact rails to propel projectiles, the material requirements were lowered. over time, that would save a lot. second was the performance. even with aron''s advancements in materials sciences, there would always be fundamental limits to the stresses materials could have applied to them. coilguns, unlike railguns, didn''t require any physical contact between the projectile and the "gun", thus eliminating one of the material requirements entirely. the only material requirement for a coilgun was a superconducting material capable of pushing enough charge through it at a reasonable operating temperature, and lab city was already dozens, if not hundreds, of generations ahead in that area. third was increased range and accuracy. while the railguns that the us navy were using were capable of launching a projectile at mach 6 up to a distance of 110 nautical miles (about 126 miles or about 200 kilometers), testing of the heracles'' bow mk. iv coilgun in lab city had revealed a pinpoint accuracy range of 500 kilometers, and a projectile velocity of mach 14. so, coilguns had a longer range and higher velocity than railguns, which meant they were far more devastating as a weapon. lastlythough aron would likely rather die than admit itwas just the sheer "cool factor". coilguns were just plain cooler than railguns. the only advantage that railguns had was that they had lower requirements for capacitor banks and overall availability of electricity. but given the advanced technology at aron''s fingertips, thanks to lab city''s constant work in a greatly time-dilated environment with literally unlimited resources at their fingertips and zero budgetary constraints, the current thunderbolt mk. xiii capacitor was more than compact and efficient enough to offset the sole advantage that railguns had over coilguns. and when combined with aron''s fusion reactor tech, comparing railguns to coilguns would be like comparing a potato gun someone made in their backyard to a "rod from god" kinetic space-based weapon. [each task group in the home fleet will be responsible for interdiction, patrolling, and counterpiracy operations in edenian or esparian territorial waters. the training fleet would be for live training and switching out so maintenance downtime won''t affect our ability to defend ourselves....] athena continued detailing the breakdown for the home fleet, including personnel numbers and specific tasks and areas of operation. [the second major fleet will be the merchant marine. they''ll be responsible for escorting civilian shipping convoys and counterpiracy operations in international waters. the merchant marine will consist mainly of destroyers and frigates, with a reaction force of one heavy cruiser and two cruisers in case more standoff firepower capability is needed. it''ll also incorporate gunboats to board and chase pirates if and when they''re encountered. [later, when we''re ready to project our power outward instead of focusing solely on defense, we can build a reaction fleet.] as athena spoke, the display continued updating. the plan was for the navy to become the largest single military entity in eden and esparia, as from the next day onward, all enlistees would be entirely dedicated to becoming sailors. [the new admiralty will be appointed following an assessment period to discover people who are suitable for the positions. any questions or concerns?] she finished. there were no questions, though, as everyone at the table knew they would be given folders with detailed information inside. athena''s presentations continued for each branch of the new military structure with occasional breaks for questions and revisions as the humans at the table came up with new ideas to incorporate into the structure. after more than eight hours of meetings with no breaks, but without anyone losing focus thanks to their genetic enhancements, the changes were approved and athena was given the go-ahead to implement the changes in ares once the meetings had finally been concluded. Chapter 307 Explain It Yourselves ? when everyone left after the meeting, aron remained behind with alexander as they had something important to talk about. "how''s being president going for you?" aron asked. "i can''t complain, since it was what i was dreaming of throughout most of my youth. then i fought for the changes, and now that i have the ability to seize my dreams i can''t be caught complaining, now can i?" alexander jokingly replied, then added, "but i''m really enjoying it. especially with my new bodyit''s very rare for me to feel tired, no matter how hard i work. and that helps me do more than i could''ve done before." he was incredibly grateful to aron for the genetic enhancements he had received. "yeah, i can see the results of your hard work in the faces of the citizens," aron said. the happiness level of the citizens in eden had, and was continuing to increase as more and more people benefited from the new government. "the discovery of oil did all the work. and now that we''ve been exporting it for about a year, it''s about time for the investments to start benefiting the citizens," alexander said. just five months after they had started selling oil internationally with the help of hermes, they''d received enough money to immediately implement the universal healthcare plan he''d promised the citizens. there were even no increases in any tax brackets. and with aron''s tech as the backbone of their new universal healthcare program, together with the hospitals that had been built and funded by the coeus foundation, they were using the most advanced medical equipment in the world. the government-funded and coeus-backed hospitals were the best in the country... or even the entire world; there was no question about that at all. "so, i asked you to stay behind because i wanted to warn you that the upcoming years will be very rocky. trump is about to be sworn into office in january, and we have to make some plans and act accordingly in order to benefit from it and come out on top when things calm down again." aron shifted to the main topic. he was sure that, although alexander might not be physically tired, he would definitely soon be mentally exhausted after the earlier eight-hour-long marathon meeting. "i assume you already have a plan and are about to present it to me," alexander wryly said. whenever aron said something or wanted him to do something for him, he would only ask after he had come up with a plan. the man was nothing if not an excellent planner, and his plans were always out of this world. "yes, but the plan has to be flexible. trump is an unpredictable man, and nobody can control him. the people who got him elected are just fools if they ever thought otherwise. so we need to be ready to react based on the situations that occur, since there''s no predicting his actions in advance. the political world is about to undergo the equivalent of a 10.0 magnitude earthquake," aron said as a folder materialized in his hand and he handed it to the edenian president. alexander took it and started reading the contents, just to get the gist of the plan, but after he finished reading the third page, he looked at aron in shock. he couldn''t believe what he had just read. "the benefits of being neutral," aron said with a smile, as he knew what had caused alexander to react that way. "if things go wrong... you know there''s a risk of a war, right?" alexander asked, but then realized why aron had only handed him the folder after the ministry of defense meeting. he had obviously realized the risks and been preparing for the worst-case scenario long ago.n-)o//v/.e((l(-b.)i).n "looks like you already expected it," he said after he realized the meaning behind the timing of the ministry meeting and military reorganization. "although war isn''t something we''re aiming for, we still need to prepare in case it starts," aron said. he was fond of the saying popularized by the former us president, theodore roosevelt, about speaking softly and carrying big sticks. but war wasn''t his end goal, even if it was a risk of his plan. "but for us to come out on top of the shuffle in the end, we have to take equally huge risks. thus" he gestured at the meeting room and the still-hanging infographics, "our heavy preparations," he added. alexander continued perusing the documents with a serious expression on his face. as he read, though, his surprise returned and his eyebrows climbed higher and higher on his forehead until they practically reached his hairline. the plans only grew crazier, riskier, and more dangerous the more he read of them. when he was done reading, he didn''t say much, though his mind was still working on them, but he managed to bid farewell to aron before logging off and heading to bed. nova would assimilate the detailed plans while he was asleep, and if he had any questions he could ask them once he knew the ins and outs of everything. .... the next day, the military began their reorganization. all the soldiers who would be involved had already received the order to assemble, so they returned to their barracks or duty offices, got comfortable, and put on their assimilation devices. the patrolling odin class battleships of the home fleet immediately changed course and headed to their new designated bases, where they would meet up with the rest of their subfleets and reorganize. four of them would be docked for live training and maintenance rotation, as an unmanned ship was just as prone to severe failures and rapid decay as an unoccupied building, and another four would be receiving and cycling through new crew members at naval command in elysium before heading out to their assigned quadrants with the rest of their subfleets. the remaining pair of battleships would be kept in reserve in case they were needed outside edenian or esparian territorial waters, and would be allocated to the reaction fleet once that was implemented in the third phase of the naval organizational plan of eden. (ed note: rottweiler-class battleships have been renamed to odin-class. rottweiler didn''t fit the naming scheme agent came up with, but we were running out of greek mythology to mine for big names(tm). so we decided to mix some mythologies, like norse deities and references for the navy) as for the army, they headed to their base quartermasters to turn in their current equipment and be issued the new gear. while the reshuffle was taking place in the army and navy, the ministry of defense uploaded their new recruitment ads to pangea, as well as put them into rotation on the television and radio stations in both eden and esparia. they expected a surge in recruitment soon, likely within a few days. together with that, a spokesperson for the ministry of defense held a press conference announcing the reorganization and recruitment effort on official channels, with a press release going out to the paper news media. it was an all-out blitz to ensure that every citizen of both eden and esparia heard of the recruitment push. together with that, ares leased serviceable offices or buildings in each city and village, no matter the size, and stationed a few soldiers there to act as recruiters. other countries'' reactions varied, ranging from trump rattling sabers on pangea and lambasting the "warmongering" edenians in incoherent posts, to the esparian president''s strong support for the initiative. he was just as aware as alexander of the realities of being a neutral country, and thanks to the surrender accord, he had to rely on them. so in his mind, the stronger aresand by extension, edenwas, the better it would be for esparia as a whole. besides, he really enjoyed the oil income he was receiving for doing essentially nothing. there was no better income than "free" income, after all. edenian citizens were awed by the look of the new weapons, and the global netizens created a number of hilarious memes surrounding them. conspiracy theorists went on rants about supersoldier projects and eugenics, comparing alexander''s government to the third reich, and some even mocked the new gear for focusing on form over function and saying they were little more than embroidered pillows. no one could really refute that, either, as eden was still considered a "developing nation", which was basically a polite way of saying "third-world shithole". so it was implausible at best for them to actually have developed any working hardware, and those rumors couldn''t be refuted without showing the gear in action or having an impressive usage record behind it, like the ak-47 assault rifles, which were still the most popular rifle in the world by sheer number of sales. speculation was running rampant and wars of words between netizens broke out everywhere, but the edenian government remained silent and simply watched. not only that, the monitoring ai of pangea, panoptes, was actively fueling the debate and further muddying the water. there was even more rampant speculation on the edenian government''s silence. edenian and esparian citizens correctly pointed out that it would be incredibly stupid of alexander''s ministry of defense to give detailed specs on the new weaponry, or even to show it in action, and also pointed out that no country in the world ever showed their weapon prototypes in action. as eden had only ever been involved in "local disputes" with esparia, the new weaponry would remain classified as prototypes until they had proven themselves on various battlefields. but other countries mocked that decision, and it was even noted by panoptes that a few governments had even hired batches of trolls to try provoking the edenian ministry of defense into revealing the classified details of their weapons. but no matter what their specific reactions were, the entire world had heard of the new weapons and eden''s entry into the military/industrial complex. as for explanations? they could explain it themselves. eden certainly wasn''t going to. Chapter 308 A Political Offensive chapter 308 a political offensive january 20, 2017, u.s. capitol, washington, d.c the streets, once ordinary thoroughfares, were now transformed into arteries of democracy, coursing with the lifeblood of the people. a sea of faces, representing the rich tapestry of america, converged upon the national mall, where history was about to be rewritten. the quadrennial presidential inauguration was more than a ceremony; it was a ritual, a symbol of continuity, a testament to the enduring spirit of the united states. in the distance, the gleaming white dome of the capitol building stood as a sentinel, a beacon of hope and a reminder of the nation''s resilience. its hallowed halls had borne witness to countless chapters in the american story, and today it would play host to another. the capitol building''s steps, flanked by fluttering flags representing the fifty states, had become the stage upon which the future of the country would be unveiled. inside the capitol building, the air was charged with a blend of excitement and solemnity. elected officials, dignitaries, and distinguished guests gathered in the ornate chambers, reflecting on the weight of the moment. the president-elect, resolute and contemplative, prepared to assume the highest office in the land. a page was about to turn in the annals of american history, and the world watched with bated breath. but beyond the ceremonial grandeur and political pomp, the inauguration held a deeper significance; it was a celebration of the people''s will, a demonstration of the peaceful transition of power that lay at the heart of american democracy. it was a reminder that, regardless of the challenges faced, the nation''s commitment to its ideals remained unwavering. not too long after all of the invitees had taken their seats did the inauguration program begin, and things moved fast and as noon approached the swearing time too got closer. not long after noon reached and passed the swearing in arrived as the president elect donald h. trump took to the podium together with his wife, who would stand near him as he was sworn in. n((0velbin (ed note: names may or may not have been... slightly changed to protect the author from potential pointless and time-wasting frivolous defamation lawsuits. i''ll neither confirm nor deny who we mean.) as he reached the podium, the chief justice of the supreme court who was already there. he shook hands with the president-elect and had a short greeting before handing him two books that he would swear on: his childhood bible and the lincoln bible, which had only been used by one president before him for their inauguration. "i, donald hunt trump," he said, repeating behind the chief justice word for word as he read the oath, the final piece of the puzzle before he become the president of the world''s most advanced and powerful country, "do solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states." the moment he finished reciting the oath, the thousands of the now-president trump''s supporters cheered as they expressed their happiness and excitement. ... "now it begins," aron said as he watched the inauguration through his glasses. he rose from the chair he was sitting in after taking off his seatbelt. the alarm had begun ringing in the plane he was in, a warning light that had flipped on when the alarm rang out painting the chamber a red hue. the plane''s rear cargo ramp slowly opened, equalizing the atmospheric pressure inside and outside the cargo bay he was in, dressed in a light tracksuit. he walked to the ramp with his hands in his pockets, and the moment the ramp was fully lowered, he took two running steps and leaped from it, despite not wearing a visible parachute at all. ... "and so it begins," alexander said as he watched the same live broadcast event, but not a single semblance of worry was anywhere to be seen. he''d had more than enough time to prepare for the upcoming chaos, and both his government and his person were absolutely ready for the unprecedented global power shuffle that was about to take place. .... "now let''s see how you reshape the world order," rina said from her room in the cube. there were two screens in front of her; one showed the us presidential inauguration and the other was focused on aron, who was falling through the air. although she knew he was set to benefit from the upcoming chaos, she hadn''t asked for full details; not only was she a woman who enjoyed surprises, but she also knew that if he needed her help, he would let her know. after all, the two lovers wholeheartedly trusted each other. ... the same air of expectation lingered in the atmosphere in the kremlin, despite the ceremony taking place at 8:00 pm in moscow. .... the ceremony continued. following his oath, trump stood at the podium and began delivering his first speech as the 45th president of the united states. "today''s ceremony has a very special meaning. because today, we aren''t merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another, but from washington, dc back to you, the people." he began his speech by showing his fangs to the people that he had been keeping them hidden from, but in a subtle enough manner to leave him at least some plausible deniability. "for too long, a small group in our nation''s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost." he paused due to people screaming their agreement with his words, then continued, "washington flourished, but the people didn''t share in its wealth. politicians prospered, but jobs left and factories closed. the establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. their victories have not been your victories! their triumphs have not been your triumphs! and while they celebrated in our nation''s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land...." he continued his speech, making sure every word of it was heard by the attendees. once he had finished speaking, he was escorted back to his chair to wait for the event to continue. ... the president started wielding his sword of power that night, beginning with something that would make the public believe him to be a president for the people and not for corporations by signing executive order 13765: minimizing the economic burden of the patient protection and affordable care act pending repeal. it directed federal agencies to take certain actions to "minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens" of the affordable care act (obamacare) while the administration worked on plans to repeal and replace the healthcare law. the next day, women across america took to the streets in a nationwide march, protesting the misogynistic and hateful comments during the 2016 election. they had organized beforehand on pangea, and nyx agents were here and there in the crowds, stirring up the mud. trump took to pangea and made a few contradictory posts himself, at first posting, "watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! why didn''t these people vote? celebs hurt cause badly" early in the morning. but an hour later, he did a complete about face and posted, "peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. even if i don''t always agree, i recognize the rights of people to express their views". people who were at first worried heaved a small sigh of relief that the loose cannon hadn''t started shooting people moments after becoming president. but that didn''t last long as he immediately drew proverbial first blood on the 23rd of january. it was the fourth day of his presidency, and he withdrew the us from the trans-pacific partnership (tpp), which was a multinational trade agreement between 14 pacific rim countries, including eden and esparia. he didn''t stop there, either. the following day, he approved the keystone xl pipeline, a network of pipelines that transport crude oil from canada to refineries in the united states. that reduced their import demand from other countriesincluding eden, which was among the top exporters of oil to the us, thanks to a deal signed by the previous administration''s state department. obama had wanted to make peace with eden, seeing it as a "better friends than enemies" situation after they''d demonstrated the capability of icbm launches. but trump didn''t care at all, thinking that america was still the most powerful nation on the planet and held the biggest stick. he truly was like a bull in a china shop as he continued an increasingly blatant political offensive against eden. on january 27th, he delivered another hit to eden and esparia by including them in a travel ban that he had signed into enforcement by executive order. while it was primarily targeted at majority muslim nations, people were wondering about him including the "third world shitholes" of eden and esparia. after all, they had just begun their development as nations after shedding their brutal dictatorships and people assumed that they were in a recovery period from that. still, regardless of the reasons people came up with as to why he had included them, no one could argue that trump''s travel ban would make it very difficult for those from eden and esparia to enter america. Chapter 309 Proactive Protection chapter 309 proactive protection an airplane with the edenian flag on it was on final approach to beijing airport. it was given priority clearance, skipping the line as other planes were sent to maintain altitude. the plane landed without any problem, then was directed to one of the vip terminals that had been prepared to welcome the people in the plane. after coming to a full stop, the ramp extended and the door opened, revealing a red-carpeted walkway that was lined by members of the people''s liberation army''s ceremonial guards standing at rapt attention. a few seconds after the door was opened by the flight attendant, a man walked out of it wearing a clean suit. he strode forth with confidence in his steps and a smile on his face. he walked down the walkway and met the leader of the welcoming team. he extended his hand and, in mandarin chinese, said, "we are very honored to welcome your arrival to china." just as his translator was about to translate it to english, the guest replied, also in perfect mandarin chinese, "thank you very much for your warm welcome. i am happy to be here." the translator was surprised by the dignitary''s clean chinese. he sounded no different from a chinese native who had studied chinese literature. everything from the tone to the sentence structure was perfect. the surprise wasn''t only visible on the face of the translator, but on the face of wang yi, the minister of foreign affairs of the people''s republic of china as well. he was the one who was welcoming his edenian counterpart. "i didn''t know your chinese was this good," he said with some pleasant surprise. n((0velbin "i learned it during my free time, as i knew it would be needed one day. it seems i was correct," replied gabriel de los estrada, eden''s minister of the exterior. "if you mastered it just by practicing during your free time, it means you are truly blessed with a gift for language," wang yi said as they started walking to the vip immigration checkpoint, where they were quickly cleared and directed to a waiting luxury car convoy. moments after they got in their assigned cars, the convoy left with the sirens of their police escort blaring. it ensured that they wouldn''t be stopped anywhere during their journey, since they were going to visit a few events before their first official meeting to present the edenians'' diplomatic credentials to zi jinping, the president of the people''s republic of china. ... a few hours later, the two people who had met at the airport were in a meeting room with a few secretaries to record the minutes. they obviously didn''t include translators in their discussion, so after a short bout of polite small talk, they went directly to the main subject. "although we can import oil from your country, the quantity we need is triple the amount your nation is pumping from the ground," wang yi said. the main thrust of this private meeting was to negotiate an oil import contract. saudi arabia was china''s second-largest source of crude oil behind russia, but salman bin abdulaziz al saud, the president of saudi arabia, had been growing too close to the us and china feared that the newly sworn in president trump would make trouble for them. since he was so unpredictable, zi jinping had directed his foreign affairs minister to begin laying the groundwork to replace as much of their oil imports as possible. the deadline he was given wasn''t a firm one; it would depend on if and when trump began throwing tantrums and biting at random people to compensate for his tiny "hands". saudi arabia, though, was constantly increasing the amount of oil they exported to china, and it wasn''t expected to be long before they completely overtook russia. thus, any instability in american politics that bled over into any of the opec nationsfour of which supplied oil to the communist republic, namely saudi arabia, iraq, kuwait, and venezuelawould affect the market and lead to wild fluctuations that could negatively impact chinese industrial growth. especially in the industrial production of petrochemical products like plastics, rubbers, synthetic cloth, and resins like those used to produce motherboards. so the probability of president trump affecting china through the oil market was enough for president zi to consider stabilizing their imports in advance as a high priority. while relations between china and the us had been warming over the past few decades, the chinese nation was historically slow to adopt changes and their insular nature had been fostered over many, many generations. thus, the chinese communist party felt a pressing need to settle things in advance, much like a spouse would often begin separating assets before filing for a divorce from their "other half". "you don''t have to worry about that. during the construction of the oil rigs, we built them with enough spare capacity to compete with any of the opec nations. currently, we''re only limiting the production because, as they say, too much is as bad as not enough," gabriel said in a measured tone. wang yi was a little surprised, as he had planned to use the modification period together with the construction of new oil wells as leverage to make the deal lean in their favor. he hadn''t expected that the edenian oil production wasn''t at capacity and had thought they would definitely have been working at full power, given the number of barrels of crude the country was currently producing. "that''s good, that''s good," he said, expertly hiding his surprise and disappointment at missing the chance to take control of the negotiation. after about half an hour of back and forth, they had some agreements and some disagreements, but it ended with them agreeing to sign a contract for eden to sell about two million barrels of crude oil per day to china, or roughly about 25% of their overall amount of imported oil. they would finalize the agreement a few days later, after their respective staffers negotiated some final details. the official signing would take place after gabriel presented his credentials to zi jinping. Chapter 310 Saving the "Best" for Last chapter 310 saving the "best" for last "our president is very interested in your advanced chip industry, and he said he''d like to initiate technological transfers to strengthen our ties, if possible," minister wang moved to the next topic. the oil negotiations were nothing more than an appetizer; the thing china was most looking forward to was breaking the technology blockade and entering the computer chip and semiconductor markets. and having come to a preliminary agreement on the oil trade gave him a lever to use to open the door for cooperation in chips and semiconductors. "in what aspect, specifically, does he want to cooperate? to the best of my knowledge, our country''s chip technology isn''t that widely used." gabriel was playing dumb using gaia technology not selling the chips to anyone as a shield. he knew that no matter what exorbitant prices buyers promisedand there were many buyers and truly exorbitant offersthe company absolutely would not sell under any circumstances. but he was curious as to what minister wang really wanted. "we would like to open a jointly operated production line for some of the devices in your country in order to meet the demand of the billion-strong market in ours," wang yi said. he even specifically reinforced the size of the chinese market as a psychological negotiation tactic. "although that offer is tempting, i''d like to remind you that we don''t control the company in question. but i''ll deliver your suggestion and the benefits you offer to them and leave the decision in their hands," gabriel replied with a straight face. but on the inside, he was wondering just how big a fool the man across the table thought he was. giving up their manufacturing lines to china was the same as stripping yourself and parading naked on a battlefield in front of your enemy''s soldiers. gabriel had been briefed by the intelligence department about the intellectual property theft that was rife in china; in a nutshell, if they could steal the technology and produce knockoffs of it, they had probably already stolen it long ago and the products were already on their store shelves. they would bribe technicians and factory workers of chinese descent, hire professionals through linkedin and other headhunting sites for online work through shell corporations, and would even go as far as kidnapping researchers with covert operatives (spies) and even insert industrial espionage specialists into any and every company they thought made a useful product. that said, they were far from unique in that tendency. most countries did exactly the same things, but china had always had friction with outsiders so it became a bludgeon they used to beat their reputation with. "then please deliver our offer to them and i''ll wish them happy cooperation in advance," minister wang said. he knew pushing any further would only have the exact opposite effect. ... "we''ve already lost more than half of our market share during the past year! what''re you planning on doing to stop this downward spiral?" tim cook, the ceo of apple, was in a meeting of the board of directors, silently listening to them vent their irritation on him. after asking that, they remained silent and waited for an answer from the ceo, who started answering the question as it was one that was to be expected based on the company''s recent performance. "although the loss in market share can be attributed to a strong competitor entering the market, that isn''t the entirety of the reason why our stocks aren''t recovering. that''s mostly because someone leveraged a short position on our shares about a month before gaia tech even hinted at their next release being in our space. it''s suspicious in and of itself, and it means whoever took that position is somehow connected to gaia tech and knew the impact their entry into the mobile market would have on us. but you also have to remember that we aren''t the only ones caught off guard by that... our former competitors were as well." he fell silent and waited for the next question, which really did come moments after he finished speaking. "you had more than a year since their release, yet you''re still using it as the reason for your failure? haven''t you had enough time to learn from their product and even patent a thing or two, since they haven''t been bothered to do so themselves? also, you''re saying that our competitors are facing similar troubles. but as far as i know, lg already stabilized their shares and even show signs of recovery!" "gaia is unique in that they haven''t even bothered with patents for most of their tech, yet we can''t even figure it out when it''s handed to us. if we were to try that, the knockoffs would be on store shelves within the week. besides, the reason lg managed to stabilize is that they manufacture more things than we do. we''re limited to the mobile market, phones and laptops, but lg has their fingers in everything from mobile phones to home appliances," tim answered, prepared as usual. nove-lb-1n another question was immediately thrown at him. "so what are you going to do?" "i''ve devised three different plans, depending on how the situation unfolds. first, we can buy chips from them and continue competing with them in the high end market, like we do with samsung''s screens. "second, we can lower the price of our devices to the mid range. although our profit margins will drop, it''ll still be a profitable business since we''ll make up the shortfall in volume. it will, however, cost us our premium prestige and brand recognition will be diluted. but that isn''t really important since we''ve been losing that since they released zeus one and the olympus models." there was a commotion in the room and he waited until it had almost completely died down before continuing. "third," he said, silencing the room, "we could spend a few billion dollars lobbying and have the government implement a ban of either their software or hardware. since they aren''t an american company, we can claim it''s a national security risk and force them to make their programs and processes public. otherwise, they can just be banned from operating in the us at all. and it won''t be just uswe could cooperate with companies like facebook, samsung, twitter, and all the other tech companies that were harmed by gaia''s products. we''d form a coalition of benefits to force gaia to submit or be kicked out. "as we know, america leads the world in tech research and hardware. one mere gaia isn''t enough to shake that foundation," he finished. he had saved his best plan for last. Chapter 311 He Should be a Fortune Teller or Something chapter 311 he should be a fortune teller or something tim cook''s third idea elicited a wave of nods from the rest of the board. cooperating with a competitor was never a good idea; it was just giving others a handle by which to exert control over them. and ruining their own hard work over the past decades of building up a specific brand identity for apple was equally distasteful, if not more. so even if the anti-gaia coalition was distasteful, and even if it wasn''t effective, it was still the only viable option of the three they had been presented with. besides, even if they did want to cooperate with gaia, sarah had been adamant about not selling the chips they would need, no matter how much they''d offered or how sincere their offers had been. "we can also claim they''re a tech monopoly. it''s bullshit and would never stand up, but the more things we throw at them, the more flustered they''ll be and the more likely they''ll be to submit." that generated a bit of a buzz of chuckles in the meeting room. "so which idea are we going forward with? let''s vote," tim said. the minutes secretary took over and issued the voting order, which was soon completed. the result of the vote was shown on the screen behind tim. "looks like many of you liked the coalition idea, with cooperation coming in second. so let''s do it like this: while we''re setting up our lobbying coalition, we can contact gaia and muscle them into ''selling'' us their chips and the tech behind them. we can promise not to support the coalition as long as they agree to our demands. if they don''t, then they''ll be kicked out of the richest market in the world, and all of our political allies around the globe would definitely follow suit. then they''ll only be able to cry on their bankruptcy filings," he said. he would immediately throw the rest of the coalition under the bus if apple got hold of the tech they wanted from gaia. he knew that the late, great steve jobs would hate that decision, but, well... not only was steve dead and gone, but even before he had died, he''d been forced out of management for being too soft. tim''s words garnered nods of approval from the board. any one of them would have no problem abandoning their temporary allies and becoming the sole beneficiary of gaia''s inevitable downfall and demise. ... n//o/)v(.e((l(-b-.i-.n the following day, wang yi and gabriel de los estrada continued their negotiations. they were scheduled to attend a few diplomatic ceremonies that day, but the plans were abruptly changed when minister wang received news of the decision apple had made regarding the anti-gaia coalition through the members of the ministry of state security in his entourage. "this is an opportunity for us! we should ensure that apple is successful," a high ranking member of the ccp said moments after being briefed by a member of the mss before the meeting. "i agree. the american government forcing gaia to hand over their tech would benefit us, but even if gaia refuses and ends up being banned in the us, it would still increase the importance of the chinese market. then we can threaten to ban them as well, if they don''t hand over their tech. but we''ll be even more likely to succeedafter all, the overturned cart ahead teaches the cart behind. so we can pay attention to the americans and learn from their successes and failures, then use that against gaia ourselves," minister wang said. he had been forced to cut his meeting with the edenian delegation short to attend the meeting with the ccp and mss and was still irritated when he was reminded of the edenian minister''s attitude after the joint chip venture was brought up. "good plan," said the highest-ranked person in the room. he turned to the mss representative and said, "make sure it happens, and help the coalition as much as possible. we need it to happen. it would greatly benefit our made in china 2025 initiative to have one of its goals accomplished so soon after the initiative was started. so if we succeed, everyone here will be greatly rewarded." the meeting continued as the mss agent briefed the politicians on the other topics he had on his agenda. just like that, movement had started in secret without the world suspecting that an upcoming turmoil would shake the giants. ... "now this is bad," sarah muttered to herself as she read about the meetings that had been taking place between their competitors. she was sure that, since they were being blatant and in the open about their actions, it meant that gaia''s competitors were in their final buildup phase before they undertook a major action. [miss, you have a new email from tim cook,] sarah''s ai secretary informed her. she had intercepted the email that was supposed to go to the business department and directly reported it to her. "show it to me." the email appeared on a screen in front of her and she carefully read it. she knew that if it was just another offer, like the previous emails, she would have been told so by her secretary. as she read, a frown grew on her face. it was written in very dense legalese and filled with subtle threats that couldn''t be used against the sender, but were obvious enough for the reader to understand what they were. "looks like the discussion i had with aron as a joke is going to become real," she sighed when she finished reading the email. she remembered joking with aron about who was going to attend the congressional hearing if they were subpoenaed to testify about the risk their devices posed to american national security. still, there was no worry in her face at all. the only thing that could be seen on it was excitement, since she was finally facing a challenge for the first time in a long while. in fact, everything had been going inconceivably smoothly ever since aron had invented the always-helpful ai secretaries. "forward it to aron and add that he should be a fortune teller or something," she said to her assistant, then started brainstorming on how to deal with the nascent anti-gaia coalition with the aid of her assistant. Chapter 312 The Merchant Marine n-)o(-v-/e((1-/b--i()n chapter 312 the merchant marine the edenian-china oil transfer agreement was signed within a week, after all the kinks in the clauses had been ironed out. during that time, the edenian minister of the exterior, gabriel de los estrada, had toured the country and presented his diplomatic credentials to chinese president zi jinping, officially opening an edenian embassy in beijing. he had also opened new topics of discussion, setting a foundation for future cooperation between the two nations. the chinese minister of foreign affairs, wang yi, had done the same, but his interests differed from gabriel''s. where gabriel was interested in raw materials, especially wanting to tap into china''s extensive deposits of minerals that, to his knowledge, were lacking in eden and esparia, wang yi was more interested in buying a batch of weapons and technology transfers. but gabriel countered that by using ares and gaia as shields; he couldn''t make the call on behalf of the government, since the things china wanted were property, intellectual and otherwise, of privately owned companies. thus, he merely promised that he would do his best in order to facilitate the chinese requests. both men knew it was an empty promise, because gabriel had neither the authority nor the power to make the decisions on his own. immediately after the ink was dry on the agreement, a timer had started on eden''s first oil delivery. it was set to take place in three weeks, so the idling oil pumps were spun up to full capacity and aron''s behemoth industrial chain slowly began moving. it started by printing seven camouflaged ships, which looked like oil supertankers but were submersiblehephaestus class oil tankers. they had to be submersible, as they were printed at the bottom of the ocean and only surfaced when nova ensured aron that there were no satellites with viewing angles covering eden, giving them a window to hide their activities. he wasn''t completely ready to step out of the shadows yet, after all; there was still groundwork to be laid. once the massive supertankers were ready, they moved to the offshore rigs and were filled by the high-capacity high-flow pipes, both from the storage tanks on the oil rigs and directly from the pumps that had been sunk into the seafloor when the platform was built. soon after that, edenian naval command in elysium received orders and went to work printing the merchant marine fleet. a thor flagship class heavy cruiser, two thor class cruisersone missile boat and one air defense boatfour heimdall seek-and-destroy class destroyers, and a dozen njord interdiction class frigates were soon printed, crewed, and sent to the offshore oil rigs to meet the supertankers they would be escorting. neither aron nor nova would leave anything to chance with this first, and most important, oil transit. although three weeks was a very short time for pumping oil and delivering it, the edenians had still agreed to china''s demand. gabriel had tried negotiating for a longer time frame for the first delivery, but minister wang had grown somewhat cold and took a hard line stance, leading the edenian minister somewhat confused. they had started out getting along quite well, and he didn''t understand what could have caused the sudden cooling of their working relationship. he turned to one of his female staffers, who only he knew was actually a nyx agent, and in a low voice, said, "find out what happened. someone''s trying to ruin this deal for us, and i need to know who." if eden was delayed in their delivery, they would have to pay compensation in the amount that china would have paid for on-time delivery of the crude. the oil would also be given to china for free in that case; the terms of the agreement were clear on that clause. the undercover nyx agent nodded and her expression went blank for a moment as she tasked her assistant ai with the investigation. it would be best if she didn''t have to make a move personally, but if it came to that, she would be ready. after all, a deal worth 130 billion usd absolutely needed to go smoothly; she understood that fact very well. ... "are you going to do something about it?" rina said as she read the email that sarah had forwarded to aron and her. "no, i''m going to let them do it. i want to see exactly what they have up their sleeves," aron said. his hand slipped into rina''s bra through the neck of her t-shirt and began massaging her generous chest. "you really like to let people build up to their highest point before you throw them down, don''t you?" rina said as she tried to slap aron''s playful hand away and failed. she barely stopped herself from moaning. "no, this time it isn''t just due to that. it''s more that they might be doing something that''ll be beneficial to me in the future. as they say, ''you meet your fate on the way to avoid it''. so i hope their attempt to survive will lead to something beneficial for me. and who knows? it might even expedite some of my plans," he said as he pinched rina''s rapidly hardening nipple. "why not just send your agents to investigate what they''re doing, or even have nova hack them so she can listen to them. ahh....." she moaned before she could finish her question. "nyx agents aren''t infinite in number, and most are already tasked with other important tasks. so i don''t have any to send right now. as for nova hacking them, they''re tech companies and very well know that anything they have that''s important absolutely must be kept air gapped to avoid hackers. nobody knows better than people in the tech sector that there is no such thing as a truly secure network." he smirked and slid his other hand under the hem of rina''s shirt, teasing her bellybutton. "except for mine, that is," he finished. "besides, all we have to do is just wait for them to make their move and respond. if i can''t win a fight with them with all of this at my fingertips, then i don''t deserve what i already have." he tilted his head and captured rina''s lips with his, kissing her hard and deep. she returned the kiss and her hands began wandering as well; his teasing had already riled her up and she was dripping and ready to go. Chapter 313 Intercept Course chapter 313 intercept course it didn''t take long for the tech companies'' secret coalition to be formed. they had already come to a surface-level agreement and had begun spending money for their plan, but on the outside it seemed like different companies just coincidentally had the same idea. they had all gone to different lobbying firms with different complaints, but the money they were spending was ten times the usual amount. and that was just the beginning. tim cook was feeling very satisfied and putting his wholehearted effort into lobbying. he was infuriated that gaia had ignored his threatening email, leaving him with no other option than to go all out. for the sake of his career and his company, he had to ensure that gaia was removed from competition and their tech in his hands. ... just like that, three days passed and the tankers full of oil undocked and headed out toward china on the shortest route. their escort ships, two destroyers and six frigates, remained for twelve hours, then followed them at a sedate speed. though, that was only considering the normal cruising speed of the advanced naval vessels; the two-thirds speed they were sailing at would be comparable to flank speed in any other navy''s vessel. a week passed and the supertankers slowed further as they approached the pirate-infested waters of indonesia. with over 17,000 islands in the indonesian archipelago, stamping out the plague of pirates had been a headache for centuries, and the current day was no exception. if there was going to be an attack, it would happen that day. "captain, our radar is picking up some weird movements on approach at zero six zero knots bearing two four zero relative to our heading, zero five four nautical miles and closing. ten pings on the doppler, and sonar''s picking up what sounds like outboard motors. i suspect they''re pirates, sir," said the comms officer on the bridge of the lead tanker in the convoy. "comms, confidence?" the captain snapped. the shorthand communication between him and his crew and the ease with which they worked together showed the effectiveness of their athena-designed vr training program. "90%, sir. we should have visual confirmation in approximately ten minutes, and they''ll overtake us in thirty-seven minutes assuming our course remains steady," the comms officer reported"i don''t remember us having any scheduled inspections along our route," the captain said. he knew there was a possibility that the radar signatures may be local patrol boats engaged in a search for pirates or smugglers, but if that was the case, they wouldn''t be on an intercept heading with his convoy. "from the pattern and their number, it''s impossible for them to be a patrol. patrols don''t come in waves of a hundred speedboats..." the comms officer mused. "pirates!" the captain exclaimed. based on the details, that was the only possible conclusion. he turned to his comms officer and ordered, "report it to our escort.". the comms officer picked up his radio and began his report. "mayday, mayday, mayday, this is the ev pacific voyager. we are currently located at 307''55.5"n 12459''35.2"e, bearing three four niner. radar indicates high probability of a pirate threat, intercept estimated in three seven minutes. message repeats." he set the radio back in its cradle and flipped a switch to cause their distress signal to repeat. the announcement was repeated for a second, then a third time as they waited for a response. but even after waiting for a minute, no response was received and the atmosphere in the bridge of the supertanker grew slightly tense. the captain had a suspicion of what was happening. he took the radio from his hip and said, "this is the ev pacific voyager. we suspect we have pirates on an intercept course and will have visual confirmation in about six minutes. our distress signal received no response and i suspect signal jamming is at play. please respond." his short-ranged radio signal was met with silence from the other tankers in the convoy. "comms, signal flash ''change heading zero two zero flank speed''. helm, in three zero seconds, hard astarboard, come about to new heading zero two zero and all ahead flank. let''s buy our boys some time to peel these barnacles." the captain sat back in his chair and muttered to himself, "it''s time to phone home." the comms officer ordered a radioman to use the ''flasher''a high-intensity floodlightto signal the second ship in the convoy with the new heading and orders. the signal would be repeated down the line, and the evasive maneuver would be simultaneously carried out by all seven tankers in the convoy. twenty seconds later, the helmsman took control of the 1mc and announced, "ten seconds to maneuver. brace, brace, brace!" exactly ten seconds after that, he said, "coming about." (ed note: 1mc, or one main circuit, is an internal announcement system that''s used for the bridge of a vessel to pass critical instructions to the entire ship at once, both belowdecks and topside. if you''ve ever been on a ship when a 1mc announcement comes on, you''ll know how impossible they are to miss.) the massive supertanker heeled over to port as it made an almost impossibly sharp turn toward its starboard beam and the engine spun up to emergency levels, pushing the insanely huge ship to its flank speed, roughly 125 knots. "although this will buy us some time, the speedboats are probably still going to catch up, eventually. if they can''t, then slow us to three quarters in ten minutes. let''s bait the fox to catch the hunter. comms, continue the mayday on frequency cycling, maybe there''s a frequency they missed jamming. xo, you have the conn." the captain left the bridge and headed to his ready room. after closing and locking the door, he took his special edition zeus one out of his desk drawer and said, "phone home." the phone''s assistant immediately connected to the q-comms satellite that had been tasked with tracking the convoy and connected directly to naval command in elysium. that wasn''t a feature available to the commercial edition of the phone, which were limited to a q-com connection range of 250 meters in order to prevent the batteries from being immediately drained. the moment the call connected, he said, "we''re being intercepted by what we believe are pirates. radio is jammed and i''ve taken evasive action. we''re baiting them out, so there are a few hours, but" he was interrupted by the phone powering down. even in the military version of the phone, pushing a quantum signal into low earth orbit was beyond what its battery could bear after a few short seconds. but despite being cut off in the middle of his report, he wasn''t worried at all anymore. he left his ready room and returned to the bridge to continue his work as captain of the lead ship in the convoy.n.-ovelb1n Chapter 314 Nowhere to Call Home Anymore chapter 314 nowhere to call home anymore eden, northwest airbase. an alarm started blaring, signaling a general scramble among the base personnel. they immediately dropped whatever they were doing and headed to their assigned locations like an anthill that had been kicked over. pilots were urgently putting on their gear according to a strict checklist procedure. and within five minutes, they were headed to the duty hangar, where they would receive their mission briefing and launch. as they crossed the hangar on their way to the briefing room, they passed a virtual hive of technicians scrambling over the parked jets and giving them last-minute checks and fueling them. the pilots reached the briefing room and received their briefing, then boarded their jets and taxied out of the hangar. soon, with the screaming sound of jet engines spinning up, four planes were lined up on the runway access lane, ready for takeoff as soon as they received final clearance from the tower. "tower, this is su-37, call sign alpha one. requesting immediate clearance for emergency intercept take-off. please advise." "alpha one, this is tower control. roger that. emergency intercept take-off is approved. proceed to runway 27 hotel for immediate departure. we''ll alert civilian air traffic control and provide you with updated vectors to intercept. keep us informed of the situation. "tower, alpha one. copy that. taxiing to runway 27 hotel. will update you on the situation once in the air. alpha one out." the squadron leader taxied onto the runway and brought his jet to a complete halt. then he pushed his throttle to the stops, kicked on his afterburners, and released the brakes on his landing gear. his jet screamed through a short takeoff and into the sky at a 60 degree angle. short takeoffs like those were designed for aircraft carrier runways and active combat scenarios, where pilots needed to be in the sky and mobile in the least time possible in order to avoid being intercepted by the enemy. after the four planes had completed their takeoffs and assembled in formation, they moved to the heading they were supposed to head out on, afterburners still flaring and leaving a trail of exhaust plumes behind them. once they were over open water, they went supersonic and the exhaust trails ended where the jets broke the sound barrier. minutes after the interceptor launch a fully fuelled and highly advanced version of a kc-135 stratotanker also launched on the same heading as the intercept squadron. the interceptors would be flying their entire mission with their afterburners active, so no matter how awe-inspiring their fuel efficiency was, they would reach bingo fuel just a few minutes after they hit the halfway point toward their destination. n-)o-.v-(e()l(/b)-1./n a few minutes before the interceptors were scrambled, aeolus, the air force ai command, and freyja, the ares military intelligence command, had tasked the overwatch satellite following the oil convoy with tracking the pirate speedboats back to their base. while the trailing naval escort was absolutely more than enough to handle the attack, the standard operating procedure (sop) for unprovoked attacks on any of aron''s military or civilian shipping was ensuring that the attackers had nowhere to retreat to. a few that direction removers launched with great prejudice was the most effective method of achieving that goal. as the four jets screamed on their way to remove a certain direction, a hundred and eighty nautical miles (333 kilometers) away from the oil convoy and well behind the horizon, six heracles'' bow batteries, fondly referred to as "hello, beautiful" by the sailors assigned to man the vessels they were on, simultaneously swiveled around as the frigates and destroyers of the merchant marine escort task group oscar seven tracked invisible targets from beyond the horizon with the aid of the panopticon satellite array high in the sky above them. soon, the massive, eighteen-inch-diameter coilguns roared to life in sequence, the battery itself rapidly adjusting between shots and cycling through the three barrels in each battery. the overpressure wave caused by projectiles going from a dead standstill to more than ten times the speed of sound kicked up waves around each firing vessel, and the ships themselves heeled over with the recoil. but where a normal vessel would take a hit to their accuracy for those reasons, the vis (virtual intelligences) in the tracking computer were more than capable of using the zero-latency satellite connection to ensure that the designated, locked targets were hit with a hundred percent accuracy. even though using what was basically battleship weaponry to destroy small two- to four-person speedboats was like using a nuclear missile to swat a gnat, athena had drilled her motto into her subordinate ais: there is no such thing as "overkill". there is only "open fire" and "reload". (ed note: have to give a shoutout here to howard taylor, the author and artist of schlock mercenary for his excellent list of seventy maxims of maximally effective mercenaries. if you enjoy military humor, you''ll like his writing, and the 70 maxims are all comedic gems. this one is maxim #37) ... "they really want to use our failure to deliver as leverage to get us to compromise on the tech sharing, don''t they." rachael richardson, the president of hermes, was sitting next to elizabeth oppliger, the president of helios energy & utility, in a virtual mission command center. they had been informed as soon as the pirates were confirmed by the panopticon satellite, even before the convoy ships themselves had received visual confirmation. they were being kept in the loop during the small skirmish, as they were the titular heads of the companies responsible for the convoyelizabeth for the contents of the ships and rachael for the ships themselves. what rachael said was prompted by an image displayed on one of the sections of the main screen in mission control. it was a zoomed-in satellite image of a submarine with an occlusion outline to highlight it against the dark seawater. the radio jamming signal was coming from an antenna raised above the sub''s conning tower, meaning they were the ones responsible for ensuring that the convoy''s distress call would go unheard. "yep, since the contract had no force majeure clause or piracy exclusion, it was pretty blatantly obvious what they wanted to do by sending a pirate ''fleet'' after our convoy. they don''t care about our oil, i suppose. we''ll have to hammer them in our next negotiationafter all, they need us, not the other way around. there are plenty of countries we could sell our oil to, china was just one of the better options," elizabeth replied. she wasn''t worried about the pathetic attack on their convoy at all, as she had an inkling of the capability of the poseidon branch of ares. rachael sighed in disappointment as she said, "they really chose the wrong country to fuck with, didn''t they." Chapter 315 Naval Combat in the New Era chapter 315 naval combat in the new era nove-lb)1n a few seconds after the frigates and destroyers of the poseidon navy ceased fire, exactly one hundred waterspouts bloomed where speedboats had once existed. the boats had never even entered visual range of the oil convoy... but the waterspouts certainly did. the impact of thirty kilograms of depleted uranium wrapped in electrical steel traveling at ten times the speed of sound imparted over 166 million newtons of force, enough to evaporate thousands of cubic meters of seawater, along with any hapless object that happened to be within that area. the resulting waterspouts reached hundreds of meters into the air and were clearly visible over the horizon, where both the supertanker convoy and the "hidden" submarine could see them. the tripartite batteries of 18" guns on each vessel were capable of firing rounds massing up to, or in excess of, 300 kilograms, but 30 kilograms was the smallest round they could fire. anything bigger than that and they would have to come to a full stop and engage their inertial dampening system anyway, so 30 kilograms was deemed enough to make a statement without impacting the speed of the task group. they had places to go, after all. (ed note: electrical steel is an alloy that contains silicon. it has a higher conductivity than other steel alloys, but is tougher and more able to withstand stress than softer conductors like gold.) hundreds of kilometers away, the frigates and destroyers that''d fired the devastating salvo had yet to come back to an even keel that was displaced by a few millimeters before their targets had simply vanished from existence. the captain of the ev pacific voyager dusted his hands and ordered, "helmsman, bring us to one third speed and come about to our original heading in thirty seconds from my mark. comms, flash the course and speed change to the rest of the convoy." he raised his hand, feeling somewhat grandiose, then dropped it and said, "mark." precisely thirty seconds later, the supertanker convoy came about in a synchronized movement and resumed their original course and speed. the entire incident had only caused about a fifteen-minute delay in their schedule, and they could easily make that fifteen minutes up during the rest of the journey. ..... "well, there''s something you don''t see every day. i never thought i''d see a stage magician perform a vanishing act hundreds of nautical miles away from anything." the commander of the submarine responsible for jamming the radio communications in the area around the supertankers could only make a bleak, sarcastic joke after witnessing the result of the beyond-the-horizon strike against the pirate speedboats through the submarine''s periscope. "did you see what exactly happened, captain?" his chief officer asked. just like the speedboats, the submarine was an entire horizon away and far outside the range at which they could detect the convoy escort, given that they were currently running silent and relying solely on passive detection systems. "i have no idea. but what i''d really like to know is how they managed to get a distress call out when we''re jamming every possible radio frequency. what that strike was, exactly, is secondary to that." the captain had naturally seen the results of the that direction remover that had been fired during the short eden-esparia war, so he assumed the strike was something like those missiles. "if i were to hazard a guess, my bet is on them having a system set up to ''phone home'' at regular intervals, and as soon as one, or at most two, scheduled calls is missed, eden will respond with overwhelming force," the chief officer mused. "either that or they could have tasked their satellite system with tracking the convoy and acted as soon as the pirates were discovered by the eye in the sky." he gestured to an area vaguely above his head. "leave the thinking to the brains at hq, cob. flood the ballast tanks and make our depth one five zero meters, fifteen degree down bubble," the captain ordered. "sonar, continue tracking the convoy, helm, continue pursuit. maintain silent running and wait for a signal from hq." "aye aye, sir," the crew in the combat information center chorused and got to work. after more than twelve hours passed with the tankers at one-third speed, the commanding officer asked himself, "what the fuck are they doing?" the convoy had barely moved even a few kilometers from where they had been during the attack more than twelve hours ago. but before his cob could even give him his hypothesis, the sonar tech announced, "contact bearing one niner five degrees. it''s a destroyer, sir, and i''m getting active pings on the sonar." the captain immediately paled; active sonar meant they had likely been discovered and were now being hunted by a destroyer. as red emergency lights began flashing through the sub, the captain grabbed the 1mc handset and announced, "emergency dive, emergency dive, emergency dive. prepare for 30 degrees down bubble." he hung the handset back in its cradle and ordered, "helm, down bubble 30 degrees, make our depth four zero zero and come about to zero nine zero true. maintain silent running, let''s make ourselves scarce. mission is a fail, calling no-go at," he checked his watch, "1928 hours zulu time." no one in the sub stopped to think about anything but the consequences. just like during the cuban missile crisis in 1962, two nations were now on the brink of war. and whether or not that war began depended on this specific submarine''s ability to escape its hunter. either they survived, and peace would continue for the near future, or they sank, and a war broke out; there was no third option. thus, their reaction to the hunt was understandable. nobody wanted to die, after all. and with that assumption in mind, whether they could survive or not would rely on his actions over the course of the next few hours. a cold sweat beaded on his brow and down his spine; all he could do now was pray. the helmsman wasted no time and immediately started the emergency dive sequence, bringing the submarine about in an attempt to get as far away from the convoy as possible to avoid being detected in the area. what they didn''t know was that no one planned on attacking them; the active sonar pings were just a warning to them and the country behind them that they were suspected of foul play for today''s incident. they also didn''t know that a submarine that''d been attached to the poseidon merchant marine had been tailing them for more than eight hours, using them as a real-life training scenario while collecting evidence for future use. ... after the escort fleet caught up with the convoy, they increased their speed to two-thirds, or "normal cruising speed" and sped away. the supertankers'' role as bait had come to an end, and now it was time for them to do their primary job: delivering their load of crude oil to china. while the escort could only go to the border of chinese territorial waters, anything that happened there would be entirely china''s fault, so the convoy itself would have its safety assured once they reached that line. Chapter 316 Hope ? somewhere over the ocean on approach to a nameless island in the indonesian archipelago. four edenian fighter jets were screaming through the air at supersonic speed, trailing flame from their engines. they had been flying with their afterburners on for over an hour and were about halfway to their destination, a pirate base on an unnamed island in the indian ocean near indonesia. the pilots were relaxed, trading jokes back and forth and hyping each other up for their first combat mission. they had just graduated their training a few weeks before and, like many soldiers, sailors, and airmen, were feeling invincible after having been broken down and rebuilt into new versions of themselves through the tried and true method of basic training. the difference was, the members of areswhether they be in the army, under the command of the ai, mars; the navy, under the command of the ai, poseidon; or the air force, under the command of the ai, aeolusactually were nearly as invincible as they felt. their genes had been enhanced, their weapons and equipment were dozens, if not hundreds of generations advanced compared to so-called "modern" militaries, and their training methods were straight out of a science fiction webnovel about an advanced technological society. by any standard known to man or otherwise, each member of ares was an entire military force unto themselves. and they all knew it. the briefing had been quick and detailed. satellite images showed the pirate base, which was practically primitive. the buildings in the base were little better than mud huts or built from bamboo, much like some of the villages in vietnam during the vietnam war. there was a small dock that would perhaps allow a fishing boat or two to dock, a few boats docked there, and some medium-sized warehouses. there were also a few blocks of residential buildings, but the thermal imaging showed them either empty or containing one, maybe two people in each, tops. the base sat in a valley that opened up onto an east-facing beach, and on the hills to the north and south of the buildings were a few old vietnam-era flak guns and even some old eight- and twelve-pounder muzzle-loading cannons, the type that were popular during the age of sail. certainly none of it could do much more than scratch the paint on the advanced jets of the aeolus air force, so the pilots considered their current mission to be something of a "gimme", where the in-air refueling process would be more difficult and fraught with risk than their attack itself. they would fly in, release a few that direction removers, then turn around and return to base. easy peazy lemon squeezy, good game all. ... on an unnamed island somewhere in the indian ocean. kirana sekali was toiling under the hot tropical sun, a woven bamboo basket on her back as she trekked into the hills to the north of her small village in search of wild vegetables and medicinal herbs. things hadn''t been the same since the bajak laut (pirates) had landed and forced their menfolk to join them or die. those who''d joined them had become them, and those who''d died had been tossed in the hills for the wild beasts to feast upon. her father had fought them, but her brother had joined them. now, she was the sole support for her mother, andshe patted her abdomenher unborn child. she used to picture herself finding a good man, somehow, and creating a loving family. but after the kapten bajak laut sialan (fucking pirate captain) had... attacked her, those dreams had been replaced by nightmares. but she still had hope for the life growing within her. ''that''s a good name for my baby,'' she thought. ''nadya sekali.'' nadya meant ''hope'' in the slavic roots of the indonesian language. she looked around for wild vegetables and checked the snares she had set the day before. she and her mother had to eat, and with her mother toiling in the field, it fell to her to provide food for the two... no, three of them, now. after an hour of searching with nothing to show for it, she straightened and rubbed the small of her back. looking to the east, she saw four small black dots off in the distant sky, rapidly growing larger as they approached her village. soon, she could see exactly what they were: jets! her villagers, as backward as they might seem, weren''t complete luddites, and they certainly knew what aircraft were... and what they might be doing at their small village. kirana dropped her basket and ran to the mud hut her village chief''s wife lived in. the chief''s bones were scattered somewhere on the hill behind her, but his wife had taken over his position and was now the leader of the old, the young, and the women of the village. "chief! chief! there''s jets!" she shouted as she ran, frantically pointing to the east. in her heart, she prayed she could make it in time for the chief to use the village''s ham radio to contact the incoming jets. to her, they symbolized hope; the hope that her small village could return to the peace they''d known before the bajak laut had arrived. ...nove.lb)in as the jets were on their final approach to the "pirate base", a crackling transmission was received by the squadron leader, alpha one. "hello to the approaching jets. we desperately require your assistance. our village was taken by pirates and we wish to be free. please respond," a quavering, aged female voice spoke through the crackle, hiss, and pops of the aged ham radio. it was translated in real time from an obscure indonesian dialect, but there was no delay in the transmission because of that. alpha one''s ai assistant broke into the radio transmission and said, [hold for confirmation.] then she ordered the squadron to fly a holding pattern around the island while she contacted aeolus for further instructions. the squadron turned off their afterburners and entered a holding pattern, flying circles around the island while they waited for a go or no-go order from home base. alpha one, otherwise known as derek santiago, hoped that the transmission could be verified and he could be a liberator instead of a destroyer. while destroying things was definitely fun, he wouldn''t be happy if he had to slaughter the innocent to punish the guilty. but they were ten minutes away from bingo fuel, so whatever the decision would be, it would have to be made soon, lest an abort be called on the mission entirely. soon, the order came through: the interceptor squadron was to abort the mission and the villagers would receive a temporary assist from the poseidon merchant marine. a frigate would be detached from the convoy escort and temporarily assigned to patrol the island until the indonesian armed forces could take over, just in case there were any pirates that escaped the earlier bombardment. "control, alpha one copies, abort, abort, abort. rtb," derek said, then tipped his wings in salute to the villagers and headed toward the stratotanker to refuel on the way back to eden. his mood was bright; he hadn''t been ordered to be the villain today, but the savior instead, and he whistled a jaunty tune as he flew with the setting sun to his back. Chapter 317 Wise Fishermen ? aron sat up in bed and stretched, then glanced at the sleeping beauty beside him. he decided to let her continue sleeping; their exercise had been particularly intense the night before. he slid out of bed and got dressed, then headed to his office for an update on the situation in the indian ocean. "looks like there''s no need for our diplomats to do anything else," he said in response to the report. the escort was one frigate lighter and the interceptors had returned without making a mess, so everything had been handled satisfactorily. though the airstrike had been aborted, it was fine; there was still a frigate on patrol to catch any returning pirates and a message had still been sent. as a bonus, the interceptors hadn''t been picked up by any radar systems, so the long-distance strike capability of the aeolus air force was still hidden from greedy eyes.. "has all of the collected evidence been compiled?" he asked athena, the ai in overall charge of his private military force. [yes, sir. we''ve got everything from footage of the submarine to their radio communications. we even got their jamming attemptsthe only missing part is a confession from the pirates, since we couldn''t find any intact pieces of them to question. that was quite a message we sent, sir. we do still have a financial trail linking them to their masters, though, which should be a sufficiently sharp knife.] "okay, send it to gabriel and i''m sure he''ll know what to do with it," aron said, effectively lobbing the hot potato over to the minister in question. [what should we do with the money the pirates were paid, now that they''re all dead?] athena asked. "give it to the villagers on the island as compensation for the hard times they survived," aron said, then immediately logged out from his vr-generated office space. a new idea had occurred to him and he needed to concentrate on fine tuning it. ... meanwhile, the submarine that was still being tailed by one of the poseidon navy subs had reported home about the situation and was on its way to return to base. they were still unaware that they were bringing guests along with them. the report, on the other hand, had caused quite a bit of turmoil in the higher levels of the communist party, who were responsible for overseeing the situation.n-(0velb1n "looks like they suspected some foul play would take place," said one of the people responsible for overseeing the eden-china oil deal. "it was pretty obvious, but still they have no evidence that we''re the ones who did it. so we need to consider investing in our backup plans while we come up with new ones," minister wang said as he shelved his disappointment. as disappointed as he was in the plan''s failure, he was still relieved that their sub hadn''t been discovered. if it had, it would have caused quite the loss of face in the international community, as well as reinforcing the already poor reputation they had among other nations. "by the way, is there really no one of chinese ancestry in their company''s upper management? there should be at least one," he added. he couldn''t believe a huge company like gaia wouldn''t have a single chinese person in their research department. "the thing is, we don''t even know who the people in the research department are. and it''s not only us, but nobody at all knows. hell, nobody even knows where their lab is! but we''re still looking for them and we''ll send mss agents to sweep every inch of land on the planet if we have to. our next step is to look for our countrymen from the construction crews working on their new company hq and cityit''s the likeliest spot for their research lab, after all," the minister of state security replied. wang yi turned to the admiral of the people''s liberation army navy. "what do you think caused the massive waterspouts mentioned in the report?" he asked. "they were likely caused by cruise missiles from the destroyer the sub reported was actively searching for them. since they had a trailing escort behind them, it shows they knew something was coming, but they didn''t know exactly what. there''s no reason they would use their trade convoy as bait otherwise. wise fishermen cast long lines," the admiral replied. even if he thought with ten brains, he would never credit a naval gun bombardment from that far away or striking with that much power; that would be a situation straight out of a webnovel, and he didn''t have time to read those. ... a few days later, the edenian supertanker convoy left its escort ships outside china''s territorial border and steamed into beihai port. and with the first oil delivery to china marked as an official success, the trade agreement had been completed. that didn''t mean there were no issues arising from the pirate attack, though. one of gabriel''s aides had been put in charge of negotiating with the indonesian government regarding the sinking of the pirates, and under pressure from the chinese communist party, they had failed to reach a consensus with the edenian negotiator. not only that, the ccp had instructed indonesia to create a diplomatic incident over the entire affair by claiming that the pirate ships were actually a fishing fleet from a rural island village and their sinking was a war crime. the indonesian ambassador to the united nations had already been informed of his task and had immediately set to work upon receiving his orders. with china maintaining a seat on the un permanent security council, his hearing before them was fast-tracked and set for two days later. ... somewhere off the coast of an unnamed island in the indian ocean. the poseidon navy frigate, pns-248, call named "pandion" was still patrolling the water, circling the island in wait for potential returning pirates. the past few days had been quiet, with nothing but the sun and waves to keep them company. the ship was operating with a minimal crew standing watches, with most of its members idling in vr games between their shifts. (ed note: smaller vessels like frigates, tenders, and the like generally aren''t given proper names. instead, they''re given serial "hull" numbers and the first crew gets to come up with a name to call their ship by.) suddenly, on the bridge, the radar operator called out, "contact bearing two one five true on approach at 25 knots. radar signature suggests a clurit class fast missile boat.... ai confirms, it''s the indonesian navy, captain." "helm, full stop. bring the ship to general quarters," the captain ordered. a siren sounded and the idling crew of the pandion were forcefully logged out of vr to the sound of a pleasant female voice announcing, "general quarters, general quarters, general quarters. this is not a drill. i repeat, general quarters, general...." the crew moved with a purpose and the frigate was combat ready with all departments reporting green in one minute and twenty-seven seconds. standard operating procedure (sop) allowed for a minute and a half to bring a ship from standby to general quarters, so the ship''s ai noted it for the record and it would be considered when the crew was up for promotion review. "comms, any signal from the incoming vessel?" the captain asked. "none so far, sir. no electronic warfare interference detected either." "helm, move to stationkeeping. engineering, prepare for full military power. guns, run pre-fire checks and calculate firing solutions. "comms, hail the incoming vessel. let''s see what they''re here for," the captain ordered. he expected that the incoming indonesian vessel was there to take over his temporary patrol duty, but it was always better to be safe than sorry and he would prepare for any circumstances to the best of his ability. it was his duty, after all. Chapter 318 How Did They DO It? chapter 318 how did they do it? "is that a simulation of one of our classified projects?" president trump was in his office receiving his daily briefing. currently, he was looking at a satellite image of what almost looked like an alien naval fleet. the tablet he was using for his briefing switched to recorded satellite footage of the ships sailing at a rather fast speed. but the idyllic image didn''t last long as the ships'' batteries turned in unison and fired repeatedly, kicking up enormous waves on the surface of the water near the ships from the overpressure. the recoil from the guns caused the ships to heel over and shift on the ocean''s surface, as well as slowed them down a bit. the room fell into silence as the president was stunned into speechlessness by the sheer violence of the gun batteries'' barrage. "care to explain what that footage was?" he asked. "that was footage our surveillance satellites caught of the edenian fleet firing yesterday," reince priebus, his chief of staff said. he was the one in charge of gathering and sorting material for the vice presidential daily briefing, along with an analyst from the cia and the secretary of defense. "we''d been keeping an eye on the tanker convoy, as there was actionable intel about the chinese sabotaging them," the analyst said. "what we didn''t expect was that they would have their escort following them twelve hours behind. it wasn''t until later when we used a keyhole satellite we had passing over the philippines on a routine orbit that we saw the escort. and this is what we saw when we went through the recording. "up until we found them, we didn''t expect the speedboat fleet to have been taken out by naval guns. we were looking for missile launches at first, but when we found this...." he shook his head. "nobody could believe it at first, but it''s been verified. somehow, those guns fired from over 300 kilometers away and still managed to hit their targets with 100% accuracy." the footage switched back to that from the original satellite tasked to follow the convoy and displayed the impact of the barrage. "they hit that accurately from that far away and you''re saying it was guns, not missiles?" trump clarified. "unfortunately, yes. it seems they''ve managed a breakthrough in their tech," said the secretary of defense. "why''d you say ''seems''?" the president asked. "because we can''t be sure what those guns actually are. they outrange our longest-ranged railgun, so our think tank at darpa said they should either have had a breakthrough in material or a breakthrough in capacitors. otherwise they wouldn''t have been able to get that range, or that many shots out of each gun. they hit all hundred speedboats simultaneously, so their targeting system is a probable breakthrough point as well. "so we just don''t know what they broke through on. and unfortunately we can''t figure it out because all we have is satellite footage. we do, however, know their battery tech is goodjust look at the laptops and cellphones that gaia produces. they''re an edenian company, so i''ll be damned if i believe they aren''t sharing their tech with the government," general mattis, the secretary of defense, said. "but looking at those ships heeling over and skidding like that, those guns have to put a lot of stress on their hulls. so i don''t think they can fire too often, especially like that. i expect they knew they were being watched and wanted to send a message. a very expensive message. but still, they''re just paper tigers from a third-world shithole so they''re bound to make mistakes like that." general mattis didn''t seem too concerned by the naval weaponry displayed by the edenian escort fleet. "we should also consider that they probably won''t need to fire that many rounds, looking at the actual damage they did. we sent a fast attack boat down from our observation fleet in the south china sea and they dropped divers in the water. there was nothing there. no debris pattern at allthose speedboats just vanished like they were never there," the cia analyst interjected. general mattis glanced at the analyst and sneered, "well maybe we should start putting more research into our naval guns. or you spooks should come up with countermeasures for it... isn''t that what you''re supposed to be for?" "but haven''t we been doing research on it for more than ten years now?" trump asked. "why haven''t we already deployed weapons like that? we have the best soldiers and the best weapons, so how is a pathetic little eden showing us up here?" he was wracking his brains trying to figure out a way to include a defense spending increase in his upcoming budget proposal, then decided to leave it to the expert and said, "mattis, get with the darpa eggheads and come up with a research proposal that congress will approve." he pointed at the cia analyst. "and you, figure out how those backwards rubes made it. i don''t care how you do it, just get it done." president trump considered himself nothing if not a master of delegating tasks. otherwise, he would have so much to do that it would cut into the time he spent on the golf course and ranting on social media. "why do we even have spies if not for exactly that. go beg, borrow, or steal what they have, because they don''t deserve to have it!" "we''re already on it. our estimate is that we''ll have people inside the edenian government as soon as six months from now, or a year at most, sir" the analyst replied. the briefing continued and covered the political ramifications in case the video leaked. the general consensus was that they would have the press secretary announce that they were "investigating" and would follow up when they had more information. n-/0velbin "what''re we going to do about the unsc hearing in two days? what should be our decision there? should we side with the indonesians and vote in their favor?" "we already know what the edenians will argue. they illegally violated the territorial waters of indonesia, a sovereign nation, and could be considered an occupation force. we should back the chinese on this one, but only if they agree to share whatever they get from the edenians," chief of staff priebus said. "i''m sure the edenians will argue that it was a counterpiracy operation and they were invited to be there by those peasants, but who cares? we''re still the leader of the free world, so what we say is the truth, even if it wasn''t before we said it. "still, since china''s behind the indonesians, they''ll definitely be voting that way. but what does it have to do with us? best of all, we can contact the edenian ambassador before the hearing and make a deal where they give us tech and we stand on their side against the ''patently false arguments from thieving chinese scum''. then we wouldn''t have to share anything, or count on the chinese to share anything with us." "this is an opportunity to see what they''ve got," trump gravely said. his goofy public persona was nowhere to be seen. everyone in the room turned to him and looked at him with the face of someone wanting an explanation. "think of it this way. let''s say we back china, so how many security council votes do you think indonesia will win?" he sighed. "four," the others in the room chorused. whatever america voted for, france and the uk were likely to vote for as well, and they all knew that. "what happens when all the permanent members vote in favor of the indonesians?" trump continued. "we can apply broad un-backed general economic sanctions and demand access for ''inspection teams'' to find out whether those weapons they have violate any treaties. and they won''t be able to reject them, either, since wars of aggression are a gross violation of accepted international law. so that''s two things we can pin on them: wmds and starting a war of aggression. if they refuse to allow our investigators in, the security council can send in troops as a ''peacekeeping'' force and forcibly occupy eden, though it''ll take a long time to convince our european ''friends'' to form a coalition force for it like we did during the iraq war. we can even take down romero for being a dictator," the chief of staff said with a creepy grin on his face. he firmly believed that there would be no way out for eden if that happened. "good, that''s exactly what i was saying," trump chuckled. "but there''s a problem with the plan, sir," general mattis interjected. "what''s the problem?" trump asked. "will russia vote in our favor?" "they will. i''ll make sure of it," trump promised. "besides, i don''t think i''ll have to do much to make it happen, since it''s in putin''s best interest to ensure eden gets the short end of the stick. but either way, russia''s gonna winif eden refuses the investigation, we can apply economic sanctions and stop their oil sales for russia to pick up the slack, and if eden allows the investigation, russia will get their hands on the tech. "but like i said, we should work on a deal with eden first, since i don''t want anyone but us to have those weapons." Chapter 319 The Hearing chapter 319 the hearing wednesday march 1st, new york un headquarters. the day of the hearing had arrived, and the fifteen member nations of this year''s un security council, including the member nations with permanent seats, were assembled for a meeting with many items on the agenda. but the main one was the hearing that would determine the fate of the newly revitalized eden. one by one, the representatives of bolivia, egypt, ethiopia, italy, japan, kazakhstan, senegal, sweden, ukraine, and uruguay arrived with solemn expressions on their faces and took their seats. then the five members of the united nations permanent security council began arriving. the first to arrive was the united kingdom''s representative. he was closely followed by the gentleman from france, who was holding a conversation with the uk rep and didn''t consider it necessary, or a breach of protocol, to continue talking as they walked. following them, the russian and chinese representatives arrived, and finally, the representative of the united states, who was this month''s president of the unsc. once the american took her seat, the secretary called the meeting to order and listed the items on the agenda. the meeting was rapid, as everyone in the room knew they were there for one reason and one reason alone: the airing of indonesia''s grievances against eden. as each item on the agenda was introduced, it was rapidly voted on and either resolved or tabled to be examined in more detail later; the member nations still had to do their jobs, after all. soon, it was time for the hearing. ambassador jennifer walker of the united states began with opening remarks. "ladies and gentlemen, esteemed ambassadors, we stand charged with a grave duty. the international military tribune at nuremberg once remarked that ''war is essentially an evil thing. its consequences are not confined to the belligerent states alone, but affect the whole world. to initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.'' "and as a result of that finding, the members of the united nations created article 39 of the united nations charter. according to that resolution, we have the solemn duty to maintain or restore international peace and security in concordance with articles 41 and 42 of the un charter." she paused and gazed at the people seated at the tables before her. to her right was the complainant, ambassador arief wibowo of indonesia, and to her left was the defendant, ambassador olivia walker of the republic of eden. "one of our newest member nations, the republic of eden, stands before us charged with initiating a war of aggression in violation of the charter of the united nations, article 39, and it now falls to the members of the united nations security council to determine the facts and how we can restore peace to the world. "ambassador wibowo, i yield the floor to you," she finished and took her seat. ambassador wibowo stood from his seat, proudly and confidently, and began his address. "madame president, esteemed members of the security council, i bring before you a matter of great concern, one that threatens not only the sovereignty of my nation, but also the stability of our region...." nove.lb)in he proceeded to spend the next twenty minutes providing a detailed account of the incident that had brought the world to this critical juncture. indonesia claimed that a vessel of the edenian navy had illegally entered their territorial waters and spent more than six hours there, until the indonesian navy arrived at the island they were patrolling and forced them to leave. he presented videos taken by their navy vessels when they reached the island and found the frigate there, as well as naval records that seemingly supported their claims. what he failed to provide, however, was just as crucial: documentation of the negotiations between eden and indonesia that could have led to a less contentious resolution of the entire affair. "furthermore," ambassador wibowo continued, "eden sank a hundred civilian fishing vessels that were merely moving to their fishing grounds as a group. it was a grave violation of international law and human rights, an affront to our sovereignty, and a threat to regional peace," he added, but without presenting any evidence backing his claims. "i yield the floor to madame president," he finished, then took his seat and waited for the hearing to continue. "next to address the council is ambassador olivia foster of the republic of eden," the unsc president declared. "madame president, distinguished members of the security council, i stand before you in all sincerity to address these specious allegations with full transparency...." olivia explained the incident from the edenian point of view, along with all of the evidence they had collected to back it up. the first piece of evidence was video footage from the bridge of the ev pacific voyager, taken during the incident. unlike most recordings of sensitive equipment, the radar screen in the footage wasn''t censored at all and everyone could clearly see the radar operator and the display on the screen from over his shoulder. the laypeople on the security council didn''t think anything was particularly strange with it, but the russian ambassador, mr. vasily shevchenko, knew otherwise, having served in the russian navy himself. he was surprised by the clarity of the display and the information it provided, and knew that not even their most advanced naval ship had a radar that could compare to the civilian radar on the pacific voyager. the footage continued, flipping from camera viewpoint to camera viewpoint as the incident played out for the members of the unsc, with occasional censoring of sensitive equipment. but the censorship was soon thrown to the back of the members'' minds as the distress signal was played back for them and the broad spectrum jamming became obvious. the civilian ship was broadcasting a distress message on every possible frequency, but received no response at all regardless of how much time passed. "as many of you have seen, we were being jammed by the pirates on every frequency we tried using to call for help. during that time, since we had failed to report our status to the convoy escort, who''d been delayed by some technical issues discovered as they were about to depart with the convoy they''d been assigned to guard, they connected to our overwatch satellite and discovered the pirates on an intercept course with the convoy." the display changed to still images taken by the overwatch satellite showing the so-called "fishing boats", which were actually speedboats with a lot of armed men in them and no fishing equipment in sight. unless they were planning on fishing using rocket launchers, that is; it was clear that the fleet had nothing in common with "innocent fishing boats". "after three warnings on every radio frequency that our navy could use, no response was received. thus, the escort commander made the decision to engage the suspected pirates and detach a frigate to track them back to their base as a counterpiracy operation. everything was done in accordance with united nations security council resolution 1918, as well as relevant guidelines implemented by the international maritime organization. at the same time as the frigate, pns-248 was dispatched to track the pirates back to their base, the edenian ambassador to indonesia opened a diplomatic dialogue with the indonesian authorities, informing them of the attack and the resolution, including our efforts to discover the pirate base in their territorial waters. due to the exigency of the circumstances, the mission was carried out while the negotiations were still ongoing. "when pns-248 arrived at the suspected pirate base, they discovered that it was actually a fishing village with a population of approximately 65 souls, all of whom were survivors of a vicious pirate occupation that had either killed or coopted the majority of their village. after establishing contact with our frigate, the villagers requested that they remain on station until the indonesian navy arrived to take over guarding the innocents left in the village against the possibility of returning pirates or another pirate raid." on the display screen, an overwhelming amount of evidence was displayed as ambassador foster spoke. then the presentation came to an end and she said, "unfortunately, we cannot provide more survivor accounts as evidence, as after the indonesian navy arrived, they prohibited us from contacting the villagers and demanded our immediate withdrawal, to which we complied." Chapter 320 The Resolution chapter 320 the resolution "the republic of eden remains open to the prospect of peaceful dialogue and cooperation with indonesia to resolve this dispute through diplomatic means. we have already withdrawn our vessel from their territorial waters and have already attempted to negotiate a peaceful settlement to this whole affair. but so long as their specious allegations against us remain unwithdrawn, our stance remains firm: we will not tolerate their slander, nor will we remain quiet as they tarnish our reputation in the international community. "thank you for your time, madame president and other distinguished members of the security council. i yield the floor," ambassador foster finished, then sat back down in her seat. she had presented nearly all of the evidence eden had, choosing only to withhold the information about the submarine that was responsible for the jamming to begin with. the back-and-forth continued, with impassioned pleas, rigorous arguments, and tense exchanges between the two nations'' representatives. other members of the security council, including the permanent members, listened intently, with the expressions of people who were trying to discern who was telling the truth and who was just trying to benefit from the chaos. after a few hours of that, there came a period for deliberations, or rather a break before the hearing resumed and the security council would vote. ...... the council filed back into the room after the break, much like the first time, with grave expressions on their faces. the secretary called the hearing back to order and ambassador walker began the proceedings. "ladies and gentlemen, esteemed ambassadors, we have listened to the arguments presented by both parties involved." her words carried through the chamber, silencing the ongoing conversations and drawing the collective attention of those present. "it''s now time for us to take decisive action and fulfill our mandate as the united nations security council, tasked with maintaining international peace and security," she continued. "i call upon each member state to cast their vote on the matter at hand, as proposed by indonesia, regarding the dispute with the republic of eden." with her call to vote, ambassador walker set in motion the final phase of the unsc meeting, a momentous occasion that would determine a resolution to the dispute between indonesia and the eden. the electronic voting system silently collected the decisions; as the results were tabulated, a palpable tension filled the chamber. whispers and murmurs among the diplomats added to the sense of suspense. the vote tally would determine whether the unsc would take action and, if so, what that action would entail. it wasn''t long before the display screen tallied and revealed the votes. united states of america: in favor russia: in favor people''s republic of china: in favor united kingdom: in favor france: in favor the unanimous support from the five permanent members was a rare sight, underscoring the gravity of the situation and the unified stance of the council, which rarely ever unanimously agreed on anything. the factionalism in the unsc had resulted in many beneficial proposals being brought to a screeching halt as one or the other of the five used their veto power. it was also one of the arguments people used in opposition to the existence of the un, calling it a "toothless organization" with "no real power or ability of enforcement". the screen mercilessly continued displaying the voting results. n-/ovelbin ethiopia: in favor kazakhstan: in favor japan: in favor ukraine: opposed a murmur ran through the spectators in the hall. everyone knew that china was backing the indonesian complaint; it couldn''t even be considered an open secret, let alone a secret at all. and with china being the main recipient of ukrainian grain exports, that vote was the first surprise of the entire hearing. the chinese ambassador''s face turned black when he read the result and he came to the determination that ukraine would pay a price for their hasty decision. the tally continued. bolivia: abstained egypt: opposed italy: in favor senegal: opposed sweden: abstained uruguay: opposed with a tally of nine member nations in favor, four opposed, and two abstentions, the fate of the republic of eden was sealed... or so everyone thought. ambassador walker took a deep breath; the unsc had made its decision, and now it was time to move forward. "the results are in," she announced, her voice steady but filled with a sense of gravitas. "the united nations security council hereby issues united nations security council resolution 2344, ''concerning the ongoing dispute between indonesia and the republic of eden''." she continued, "the next step will be to convene special investigation teams to determine exactly what happened before we move to a final decision based on their findings. we urge both indonesia and eden to cooperate fully with the process and engage in constructive negotiations while we do our investigation. "and if either of you fails to allow unimpeded access to the investigation team, we will immediately find you responsible and move forward with eceonomic sanctions until investigators are allowed free, open, and unimpeded access." although it might seem like her statement was a warning to both eden and indonesia, everyone in the room understood it was being directed to eden. after all, they were the ones that would lose the most if they allowed the investigation teams to "inspect" the vessels accused of provoking a war of aggression against indonesia by violating their territorial waters to sink "innocent fishing boats". following the announcement, the meeting was brought to a conclusion and a followup deadline was set to form the investigation team. the hearing marked the first controversy and was a fuckup on a colossal scale for the fledgling republic of eden. ever since their nation''s founding, they had been almost completely absent from the entire international scene, even when they were still being run by a dictatorship. the world, or rather the people interested in international affairs, were now waiting with bated breath to see how eden would react. would they agree with the verdict and allow some of their secrets to be laid bare to other nations? or would they deny entry and take the chance of facing the might of the unsc, risking becoming the next north korea or cuba? or would the worst-case scenario come to fruition and they risk "peacekeeping" forces coming to knock on their doors? only time would tell. ... aron hadn''t watched the hearing, due to an emergency situation that had arisen just as the unsc meeting was about to start. instead, he had taken full advantage of the time dilation in the universal simulation and spent the last two days of subjective time in close discussion with nova. "although it''s just speculation at the moment, we still have to prepare," he said, his eyes focused on a screen that displayed such a massive amount of data that he could only shake his head. "it''s time to clean up some loose ends." Chapter 321 Protocol 404 chapter 321 protocol 404 a few minutes before the un general meeting took place aron was in one of the rooms of his vr mansion together with rina. they were waiting for the hearing to begin and would watch it through the edenian ambassador''s glasses. there was no other way to watch it, as the hearing was behind closed doors with no recording equipment allowed. in fact, aron and rina weren''t alone; everyone who had sufficient security clearance and was in possession of a pair of aron''s ar glasses was doing the same. john was watching it with the high-level officers of the military, the leader of nyx was watching it with her subordinates, sarah with felix, and the other companies'' presidents were watching it together as well. sarah and felix hadn''t joined aron and rina only because they could only handle so much pda and their limits had been reached far, far earlier. alexander and his esparian counterpart were watching it with their staffs as well, meaning that everyone with the power to do anything significant in eden and esparia were waiting for the hearing to begin and leaving the running of their countries and companies to subordinates. a bucket of popcorn and a large movie theater-style soda appeared in his hands and he offered the popcorn to rina, who was sitting beside him. "no thanks, us girls have to watch our figures," she said, giving her boyfriend a girlish, coquettish smile. "uhh... your figure is perfect, though. and what is vr for if not to enjoy the things you can''t enjoy in reality? plus, for everything else, there''s biogen." aron truly enjoyed simple domestic moments like these. they reminded him that he, too, was only human. "it''s starting," aron said as the american ambassador entered the room and took her seat. ... "ladies and gentlemen, esteemed ambassadors, we stand charged wi" just as she began her speech and aron had all of his focus on the hearing, a few of those watching were teleported to a different meeting room. aron, rina, john, general jacob stiles of the aeolus air force, director diana tregarde of nyx, and alexander and his esparian counterpart, president jose inez of esparia, found themselves in an unfamiliar room together. they hadn''t undergone the logoff sequence, so they knew they were still in vr, but that was all. something big must have happened. moments later, those who were still watching the hearing and had begun panicking as their leaders disappeared all received a brief message from the missing peoples'' accounts to continue watching the hearing, and they had simply been summoned for an emergency meeting by nova. although the message caused questions to arise, the leaders'' subordinates continued watching the unsc hearing regardless. they knew that if something important had arisen, they would be briefed on what they needed to know when their bosses returned. ... "are we being attacked?" aron asked the moment his brain comprehended what had taken place. he knew what protocol called for such a reaction from nova. only protocol 404 would allow nova to do things like forcefully logging people into the vr, no matter the situation they were in. if something was happening and their presence was paramount, it was better to reveal the vr capabilities than to hold them secret. but only if seconds mattered or the briefing was of apocalyptic importance. the moment aron saw the lineup of people in the conference roomwhich included all of the military ais and the scientists focused on space research from lab cityhe guessed that the situation was the latter and slightly relaxed. out of all the real people in the room, aron''s reaction was the calmest. the rest, having no experience with forced teleportation, were looking slightly pale as their thoughts caught up to the dilated time, but overall, they handled it well. at least those who''d undergone genetic enhancement had, anyway; president inez was still frozen and had a blank look on his face as he tried to come to terms with the immediate time differential. [if what''s going to be presented to us is true, it might be much worse than that,] nova said, then gestured for the scientists to begin their briefing. the simulated version of stephen hawking stood and walked to the stage. "sorry for the urgent call, but we discovered something that we''re confident means we''ve been discovered by an advanced civilization. and from their course, they''re on their way to us," he said. the screen behind him was powered on, but currently showed nothing. that would change when he started talking in detail about the topic at hand, though. his words caused the hearts of all the humans in the room to pound, except for aron, who released a sigh of relief. as long as it wasn''t the outbreak of a nuclear war or something, he would be able to deal with it. he was also feeling a little vindicated in his belief that alien civilizations existed being proven; his evidence up until that moment was only the introduction of technologies in the system including the name of the civilization that discovered them, along with details. "within the data our satellite network has been collecting, we discovered an approaching mass of mana headed toward our solar system," hawking continued. as he spoke, the screen behind him changed from the light blue that meant it wasn''t receiving a signal to an image of the starry sky deep in the universe. the view zoomed in until a green object the size of luna, judging by the measurements next to it on the display, became visible. n-.o))v----l//b-)1-/n "shit," aron said. he understood what the object''s detection meant, but the other humans in the room seemed to just be impressed by the capability of the satellites. they had no idea what mana was and were only concerned about the huge mass that was on approach to the solar system. aron, on the other hand, completely understood what was meant by the discovery and why it had taken so long for them to discover the object. he thought back to the month before, when he had gone on his "impromptu skydiving excursion", as rina had called it. Chapter 322 The Brownian Motion of Sentient Life chapter 322 the brownian motion of sentient life ? a few weeks prior. as aron fell from the sky with no parachute, the plane that had dropped him entered a wide holding pattern, as if it was observing his actions. he continued falling, and despite not having any breathing apparatus to help him breathe in the thin air at 15,000 meters, he had no trouble breathing. once he reached 12,000 meters above the ground, he began casting a floating rune on himself and his falling speed decreased further and further until he came to a full stop at about 10,000 meters. it was the average altitude at which international commercial airplanes flew, but he wasn''t worried about being spotted since the entire airspace was restricted, meaning that any commercial airplane that entered would be shot down. he then cast a wide shield with a radius of about a kilometer with him at the center, then just waited for a notification. [the satellites are ready,] nova announced in his ear. all of the satellites above him, whether they be in geosynchronous orbit, semi-geosynchronous orbit, low earth orbit, or even higher that were in a position that could see him had turned and focused on him. all of their sensors were pointed directly at him, but they saw nothing through the shield despite being plainly visible to aron himself. "begin the calibration," he said and started releasing a huge amount of mana from his body. the mana would normally disperse into the atmosphere, but the shield aron had cast around himself wouldn''t allow it to do so, so it began accumulating as he continued releasing more and more of it. he was pushing as much mana through his body as he could, condensing it around him more and more, to the point that, for those that could see it, it would appear like an almost entirely solid lump of gold. at the same time, the satellites that were focusing on him began cycling through different universal frequencies, with each satellite assigned a different range of frequencies to explore. the pattern would eventually cover every frequency the researchers in lab city had discovered to date. after more than half an hour of the satellites following the quantum server''s instructions, the search ended as a frequency had finally been discovered that showed the golden lump where aron was. [the calibration was a success, sir,] nova informed aron, who had sweat pouring from his forehead. although he could channel mana through his body in an unlimited amount, his mind hadn''t yet reached a level of advancement that would allow him to maintain his maximum flow rate without limit. currently, an hour was the best he could manage. he released a sigh of relief as he stopped channeling mana through his body and immediately canceled the shield he had been keeping active in order to trap the mana in a confined space. it swiftly dispersed through the atmosphere, the high concentration having served its purpose of discovering and calibrating the frequency his satellite network could use to detect it. "come pick me up," he said in a tired voice. he continued hovering in place, and a moment later, the plane that was in a holding pattern approached him. but as it was on its way to collect him, it was met with a massive turbulence wave that had been caused by the outflow of dispersing mana from around his body. the turbulence gave the pilot and copilot of the plane quite a shock, and had the plane been made of usual materials, such as aircraft aluminum and other lightweight alloys, it would have broken into pieces and crashed. thankfully, however, it had been made of tougher stuff and powered its way through the turbulence to rendezvous with aronwho had already begun making his way toward the planemidway. he reboarded the plane through the open cargo ramp and retook his seat, watching the cargo ramp slowly close and block out the sun that had been hitting his eyes. the room darkened, but was swiftly lit by the strip lighting in the cargo bay. after finding a frequency at which the satellites could detect mana, nova and aron got to work mapping the universe, which had a few differences from the universal simulation. due to the number of variables in the real universe being a bit higher than in the universal simulation, it couldn''t be 100% accurate. after all, life existed and nova didn''t have nearly enough processing power to model the random, almost brownian motion of sentient life. (ed note: brownian motion is the random pattern of particles suspended in a liquid or gas, even without external stimulus being applied. it is truly random, not pseudorandom like a computer picking a "random" number via an algorithm that relies on some kind of seed to generate.) it was yet to be discovered if nova ever would wield the power to simulate everything with 100% accuracy, even though it was theoretically within the realm of possibility; all it would require was sufficient computing resources. resources that quantum computing was too primitive to be able to gather, at least without replacing the entire planet with one giant ecumenopolis consisting of nothing but clusters of quantum computer servers that stretched out beyond the karman line and reached the cold, unfeeling reaches of space. the discovery of mana''s frequency had resulted from the scientists working in lab city delving deeper into research on henry''s evolved eyes. their ongoing research had allowed them to discover many things the deeper they went, almost like the young boy''s eyes were a treasure that kept on giving. now, all the satellites that aron had launched into space had been updated with a new frequency scanning program that allowed the researchers to see mana in its bare and neutral form. it would take a few more simulations before they could differentiate the energy in its different forms, but a few satellites had already been tasked with mapping earth once again. this time, they would be mapping the planet''s mana profile; although it exists everywhere in the universe, the concentration wasn''t equally distributed. the rest of the satellites that were currently mostly idle turned their "eyes" back toward the universe, their new primary task to develop a mana map of the few light years around the solar system that earth called home.nove(1b(in Chapter 323 I’m Not Saying It’s Aliens... But It’s Aliens chapter 323 i''m not saying it''s aliens... but it''s aliens back in the present, in a secure meeting room somewhere in the universal simulation, the time-dilated meeting was still ongoing under protocol 404. stephen hawking continued his presentation, explaining the situation in more detail for the remaining humans who thought the mass was just some novel thing the scientists and researchers in lab city had discovered. they felt the same as aron initially had, that as long as it wasn''t an immediate nuclear war or something, they would easily be able to handle whatever it was. they had obviously forgotten that they''d been called to this meeting venue as a result of protocol 404, so dr. hawking had to explain to them the importance of the green object on the screen. "the object, although very far from us at about seven light years, is heading toward us at a quarter of light speed," he said. the humans in the room finally understand the implication of what was being said. although they weren''t astronauts, nor did they have any deep understanding of the field of space research, they still knew that an object of that size moving toward earth that fast was definitely not a natural occurrence. "from the way it''s moving, it''s obvious that we aren''t simply in its path. and that isn''t allwe''re still not sure if .25c is its maximum speed and will need to observe it for a longer period of time to come to a conclusion. but during that time, we need to assume that it''s accelerating," he said, then paused to allow the people to digest what he was saying. "we only managed to discover it with the mana mapping we were doing, meaning the object has yet to reach a point where satellites using conventional imaging can discover it. that also means that it started its journey sometime between one day and six years ago. we can only know for sure once we can detect it with regular imaging. right now, we''ve already tasked our radio telescopes with determining its velocity and acceleration, but we''re only 60% confident that we''ll get any kind of results within the next three years. so the only method we have to track it is on the mana map. that''ll give us its rate of acceleration, if any, but it won''t give us any detailed information on what it is. for that, we''ll need the radio telescopesand all of them on the planet, at that." he paused once again, this time giving a longer break for the humans to digest the information he had been churning out. "if we can send a mission to upgrade the hubble space telescope, we can extend our visual observation range and get detailed information on the object," he continued. "it won''t be very good, but we can use it to rule things out until we get a bigger, more specialized deep space telescope in position at the l2 lagrange point." (ed note: l2 is the lagrange point at which the combined gravity of the sun and earth counter the centrifugal force of an object in orbit around the sun, keeping it stable without requiring any energy input. lagrange points are found anywhere the gravity of two celestial objects reaches some kind of equilibrium.) he hadn''t yet mentioned their hypothesis of what the mass might be, or where it had come from. this meeting would obviously last a very long time. after a minute of silence, he dropped his next bombshell. "since the object''s never been picked up on visual sensors before, it''s obvious that it''s been created recently. which means it was either created and launched by intelligent life and is an uncrewed object, or it''s a crewed vessel and contains intelligent alien life." the people in the conference room had just confirmed the existence of intelligent alien life and their reactions were complicated. their jaws had dropped from a combination of surprise, disbelief, fear, and many more emotions they hadn''t even known they could feel at the same time. "so, to confirm," general stiles cleared his throat, "alien life exists and this object is definitive proof of that?" "yes, and they''re coming directly toward us," dr. hawking confirmed. "i''m guessing your next question is how they''re only just now discovering us when we''ve existed for so long?" he continued. it really was the question that was on everyone''s mind, and he immediately answered it. "we''ve got two theories, one more likely than the other." he paused, creating suspense without planning to do so. "the first hypothesis is that they discovered us long ago and it just took a lot of time to create a vessel capable of reaching us in a reasonable time, which means we''re facing a civilization that''s either very patient, very curious, very goal focused, or a very long-lived race... or anything, really, that could convince them to spend that much time preparing to come to us. the second hypothesis is that they only recently discovered us due to this," he said, and the screen behind him immediately showed the mana map of the earth. on the map were areas of varying mana density, but there was only one part of the map that showed a blinding light; and beholdit was right on top of eden. "we think it might be the result of this concentration of mana right here." as he said that, the map displayed the blinding light covering eden, then zoomed in until it was focused on avalon island, which was the center of the area of blinding light. "fuck," aron said in a low voice. no one but nova, who was omnipresent in the room, heard it, but the reaction told her that he had already discovered the source of the mana concentration on avalon island. nove-lb.in "the fusion reactor," he continued. "wait, no.... it''s the mana produced by the reactor''s energy to mana converter." about half of the electricity generated by the fusion reactor beneath the cube was excess, so rather than store it, aron had made the decision to use it for industrial purposes, like manufacturing the hybrid mana batteries for the zeus one and olympus electronics, along with some other various processes and applications. apparently, that decision had been a fuckup on a truly colossal, or rather cosmic scale. Chapter 324 A Monkey With A Laser Gun chapter 324 a monkey with a laser gun "something on the island is causing the production of mana in such a high quantity that the equipment capable of seeing it shows us as a pulsar star due to the planet''s rotation. that means we''re constantly sending a beacon telling anyone else that''s capable of detecting it that ''we are here''. the only question that remains, now, is how fast is the beacon traveling through the cosmos?" as dr. hawking said that, the screen behind him zoomed out until the entire planet was visible, then zoomed out again until it was the size of a marble. the still image on the screen began to move, the flashing light of mana flickering on and off like someone who knows nothing about morse code playing with a light switch. from the side, it almost appeared that earth was a dying pulsar star, ejecting the last of its mass before it goes supercritical and explodes in a last, desperate act of wholesale self-. aron watched with a look of fear on his face as he came to the realization that they had been sending this signal for more than two years, ever since he''d built the transformer-equipped fusion reactor. the horrifying news meant that whoever, or whatever, had sent the moon-sized object or vessel to them must have known about earth for at least two years. the most devastating part of the news is that he still had no idea how long it had taken the creators of the object to discover the signal he''d been sending. it had to be within two years, but did that mean the incoming object had been in the neighborhood? if not, had it been launched yesterday? a year ago? two years ago? the uncertainty terrified him. dr. hawking, knowing nothing of the panic attack aron was having, continued, "together with all of that, we have to realize how new we are and how young our discovery of mana actually is. we''re still amateurs, so mistakes like this are only to be expected. if the, what we''re currently calling ''builders'' are familiar enough to recognize this signal beacon for what it is, we must be a very tempting target to them. imagine what you would do to a monkey that''s in possession of a laser weaponthe best we can hope for is that they take it from us in a benevolent manner. "but if the ''dark forest hypothesis'' is true, well...." here, he paused again as information on the dark forest alien contact hypothesis was uploaded to the minds of the human attendees. "if it''s true, then we need to prepare for the worst." (ed note: the dark forest hypothesis is one of the swags (scientific wild-ass guesses) as to why we haven''t had contact with alien life yet. it posits that the civilizations that exist are both silent, for their own protection, and hostile to every other form of civilized life in the universe, which is why we haven''t detected them and why we''re lucky we haven''t been detected in turn.) nove-lb/1n "we must be prepared to face an enemy that is absolutely ''other'' to us. one that we cannot anticipate, we cannot understand, and we cannot even begin to fathom in any way, shape, or form. we absolutely must not use ourselves as a reference, as that may cost us dearly in the long term. "although this is the first object we''ve discovered that''s headed toward us, we still suspect that there might be more. but since the satellites that discovered this one weren''t really optimized for the task, we can''t see much farther out than ten or so light years. so what we need to do now is make plans on how to move forward from here," he finished, then returned to his seat. there was a long, drawn-out silence in the room that was practically palpable for a solid ten minutes as everyone digested the information they''d had dumped on them over the past hour or so. each person had their own thoughts as they digested the information the best they could with their genetically enhanced brains, which were the only thing that had allowed them to at least keep calm throughout this particular meeting. it wasn''t every day that they were informed of a potential extinction-level event (ele), after all. "i assume that, together with this announcement, you already have a course of action in mind, right?" alexander was the first to speak, as always. he had grown accustomed to aron immediately handing him an intricately detailed course of action whenever the two men met, so in his heart, he was hoping that today''s revelation would be the same. [unfortunately, he''s hearing this for the first time, just like you. and as you''ve already noticed, we were called to this meeting using protocol 404, which means this discovery is completely ''fresh'',] nova said with a frown. [protocol 404 is an emergency protocol that was triggered when it became apparent that all of your inputs were necessary to create a reaction plan for this discovery.] "we''ll start by shutting down the thing sending the signal before anything else," aron said. it would hurt, since he would be temporarily losing the ais'' main quantum server as it was entirely mana-powered. still, it would only mean a temporary increase in load for the rest of the server superclusters that nova had been building, and the drop in actual performance wouldn''t be completely devastating. but what would really hurt was that his main atomic printer would also be shut down while it was being converted from mana to electricity as a power source. "with that out of the way, we still have a bit of time to think and come up with an action plan. for right now, let''s take a break to gather our thoughts and adjust to the new discovery," he finished. everyone agreed, since they definitely required the break. besides, time spent digesting now would lead to increased productivity later, so the meeting split into small groups or pairs that were accustomed to working together in order to lay the initial groundwork for their planned suggestions during the brainstorming session that was yet to come. after all, "more haste, less speed" was a saying for a reason. Chapter 325 Human Nature chapter 325 human nature "so we have anywhere between ten and twenty-eight years before they arrive. we can prepare for the encounter slowly at the start, but we have to deal with everything holding us back on earth and speed things up once we have a united front," aron said when the break was over. "before we can begin full preparations, we need to be a united entity. so, since that isn''t likely to happen on its own, we''ll move to the second option, where i take over and unite the world under a single government, with myself as the sole ruler and ares as the only military force." the others in the room paled; they knew that although their chances against the coming moonif it escalated to war upon contactwould be higher if they fought as a united force, but the un would never have that ability. no government would ever give up their power and authority, partly due to greed and partly because of the joys of power and authority. so if someone had to unite the world, it might as well be the people in this meeting room. they were the only ones with the power to do so, so whether others willingly agreed or not, the unification would progress nevertheless. unfortunately, human nature being what it was, a peaceful unification was nothing more than a pipe dream. "over the next three years, we''ll focus on tying up loose ends and finishing the unification. while we do that, we''ll launch purpose-built early detection and tracking satellites to the l2, l3, l4, and l5 lagrange points. that''ll give us a higher-resolution mana map of the area within ten light years of us, so we''ll know exactly what we''re dealing with and when it''ll arrive. (ed note: l1 is missing from this because it''s the lagrange point between the earth and the sun, so it wouldn''t give any real benefit when tracking extrasolar objects. l3 is directly opposite the sun, l2 is directly opposite earth from the sun, and l3 and l4 are in earth''s orbit 60 degrees ahead of and behind the planet if you consider the sun as the center of a circle.) "at the same time, we need a ruling structure for the united planetary government and to focus on military technologies and training, including a space military to complement our ground, sea, and air forces." although aron hadn''t come up with a detailed plan over the short break earlier, he''d at least had enough time to come up with a broad strokes outline so people could sort themselves into smaller task-focused groups in their areas of specialty. "let''s reconvene a week from now, after we''ve had enough time to come up with more detailed plans." after the meeting adjourned, the ais disappeared in a flash, save for nova, leaving only aron, felix, sarah, alexander, diana, and jose in the room with her. aron turned to nova and asked, "what resolution did the unsc come up with?" n-(o-.v.(e.-l-/b(.i//n instead of answering in words, nova gestured and the screen in the meeting room divided in half. on the left half was the tally of the votes and on the right was the recording of the voting process and announcement. as they watched the decision being announced, aron sighed, "they really are testing our patience, aren''t they?" he didn''t know whether to be disappointed with human nature or furious with the process. "are we going to allow them to do their investigation? from the looks of things, they''re planning on using the opportunity and the threat of economic sanctions to steal our military tech," alexander said, trying to gauge aron''s thoughts on how to act on the decision. "no, we''re not going to allow them to come in the first place," aron said. it was a mildly out-of-character decision for him, who usually tried to remain behind the scenes and go with the flow. "you''ll have to make an announcement to display our stance and resolve to not be exploited just because we''re still classified as a developing nation," aron said to alexander, then turned to jose and continued, "once alexander makes his announcement, you should make one showing support as well." alexander and jose both nodded and gave affirmative grunts. "on your side, you should prepare to kick things up into high gear. we need more chaos if we''re going to unite the planetthe more chaos there is, the faster the unification will happen and the less we''ll have to bleed for it. manpower is another resource, so it''s up to you to ensure we lose as little of it as possible," aron said to diana tregarde, the head of nyx. the discovery of an alien force headed his way marked a huge shift in aron''s approach to things. from the moment he had gained the system and become rich, the comfort that came along with the lifestyle change had caused him to constantly place himself in a passive position. he had either gone with the flow and not fought for things, or made overly complex, machiavellian plots to avoid acting himself. it was rare that he made moves himself, or even used his overt forces at all, but that would all come to an end today. the emergence of an alien threat was exactly the kind of kick in the ass that he needed to finally step out of the shadows. although an outside observer might consider his reaction an overreaction simply because he had discovered what might be aliens, who may or may not be hostile, that really didn''t matter. whether or not this batch of aliens was hostile or friendly made no difference; where there was one, there would be more. and eventually, one of the civilizations that came in contact with earth would be hostile. it wasn''t a chance, it wasn''t a probability... it was an absolute guarantee that, eventually, there would be war with an alien force. for earth to stand a chance, it absolutely must be united. another reason the planet had to be united was that any self-defense force absolutely could not function under a divided leadership. that was another thing that made organizations like nato and the un toothless: a lack of unity and cohesiveness. a collective might sound like a good idea on paper, but human nature being what it was, it would always fail in practice. socialism, communism, democracy, republics... there was no perfect system of government once the pretty words on paper were put into practice by imperfect humans. the best the average citizen could ever hope for is that the people who governed them were at least benevolent. "are we going to inform the world about the discovery?" alexander asked. "yes, or at least the leadership of the nations. but before we do, we need to have a contingency plan in place. the announcement will be the last thing we do before we begin the final phase of the unification so we still have things to prepare before then. though i hate to say it, i expect fierce resistance without a show of force beforehand... so we will prepare that show of force in secret and bring it out when necessary. "but first, we have to launch the observation network. everything hinges on the data we collect on the incoming object, and the more evidence we have, the more leaders we can convince to unify without a fight," aron said. after a few more questions and answers, everyone logged off to rest as they were exhausted by the long meeting, together with the emotional ups and downs from the discovery itself. "looks like accumulating sp was a good idea after all," aron said as he opened the system shop to look for things he might need for the upcoming difficulties. Chapter 326 Blatant Robbery chapter 326 blatant robbery un headquarters, new york. the days following the unsc resolution regarding the dispute between indonesia and eden were filled with more meetings, both open and behind closed doors. the un bylaws required them to announce any voting results and disclose their resolutions on their website within a certain amount of time, so everyone was busily arguing over how to divide the benefits from the edenians. after all, in the eyes of the big five, eden didn''t deserve to have anything, especially considering its "poor and impoverished" status. and today was the day that the president of the un security council, ambassador jennifer walker of the united states, would send out a press release to the world and hold a press conference announcing the un''s decision. she was quite pleased with herself, having won quite a few benefits for her country. primarily, america would be taking over the oil extraction and the battery technology from the edenian navy, russia would be taking biogen and the asthma cure, the uk would take the shipbuilding technologies, france would receive the weapons technology, and china would be given the cellphone and laptop tech, including the manufacturing of their chips. although all of the technologies would be shared by the five of them, each ambassador had agreed behind closed doors to collude and they would all be responsible for manufacturing the items and trading them between each member nation. of course, that all hinged on the inspectors being able to pick a fault with eden that would allow the unsc to impose sanctions on them. but that wasn''t a really hard task to accomplish; after all, finding fault with things, whether deserved or not, was incredibly easy if one were so inclined. the reason that ambassador walker was pleased was because in addition to the technology acquisition, the us would be receiving all of the oil from eden on their own. she had done her duty and released the press release and the website was already displaying united nations security council resolution 2344, ''concerning the ongoing dispute between indonesia and the republic of eden'', so all that remained was the press conference where she would announce the resolution to the world. it was quite a feather in her cap and her staff had worked tirelessly to ensure that only "friendly" reporters would be in the audience and she knew all the questions that would be asked in advance. the press conference went as planned. the reporters were friendly and only asked questions that ambassador walker had meticulously prepared to answer beforehand. the reporters had also gone into the conference with a general idea of what would be announced, as they''d already read the resolution on the unsc''s website, so the only thing that surprised them was walker''s announcement about the hindrance of the inspection team being cause for the imposition of sanctions on the fledgling country. even the friendliest reporter was a little uncomfortable at that, because it was a blatant abuse of process to railroad a country that any reasonable person would have agreed was in the right. the indonesian ambassador had immediately followed with her own press conference, where he announced that indonesia welcomed the un inspectors with open arms, and even offered to help with the investigation. the only country that had remained silent to that point was eden, though panoptes was already busy drumming up support for eden through pangea. still, no one knew exactly what eden''s response would be, though the edenian citizens had naturally chosen their side already. they argued that the industrialized nations, led by the five permanent members of the un security council, were trying to strong-arm them with false narratives because of the recent discovery of vast reserves of natural resources. since eden had continuously maintained that they were performing counterpiracy operations in indonesian watersincluding publicly releasing the satellite footage of the "innocent fishermen" they were accused of sinkingtheir accusations were quickly swaying the public to their side. in response, the big five had found "experts" talking about how the video footage was doctored, and even complimented eden on their expertise in filming movies. a certain hollywood director even took to pangea and joked about hiring them to work as editors on his next major blockbuster film. the war of words on the internet continued off and on for hours until it settled down and everyone agreed that all eden had to do to prove their innocence was let the inspectors in; after all, the un was a respectable organization dedicated to maintaining world peace, so what was the big deal? let them see what they wanted to see and they would clear eden of any wrongdoing and life would go on. alexander''s press secretary scheduled a press conference for the next day to announce the official edenian response to the un resolution. it would be broadcast on all channels in the country and streamed live through eden''s official pangea account. ... n((o()v(-e/)l-)b./i)/n the next day, the press conference took place as scheduled, and alexander had no issues firing many shots across the un''s bow. "if the allegations made any sense, we would naturally welcome the un inspectors. but what we don''t understand is why they want to investigate us and our weapons when the dispute is over whether or not our action of breaching indonesia''s territorial waters was valid under international maritime law as an act of counterpiracy. indonesia is well known for having pirate-infested waters surrounding it, so why are we being singled out? and what does it have to do with our vessels?" he argued. "we believe that the permanent members of the un security councilchina, russia, france, the united kingdom, and the united states of americasimply want to steal our weapons technology under the guise of ''inspecting'' it. they have already sent over a list of demands that includes providing them with a copy of the schematics for our weapons and the blueprints for our ships, making it blatantly obvious that they want to take our technology. technology which, i remind everyone watching, is responsible for our nation''s self defense and is classified as such. "therefore, we hereby formally deny their request and issue our strongest protest against their blatant rigging of the sacred act of voting. the un doesn''t want to send inspectors, they want to rob us. they want to rob us of our safety, they want to rob us of our security, and they want to rob us of our technological advances simply because they cannot tolerate a small nation like ourselves having something that they themselves do not. thank you for your time, and may god bless eden. i will be taking no questions at this time." following alexander''s press conference, ambassador foster, the edenian representative to the un, sent an official letter denying access to the investigation team so long as they required access to sensitive military technology as part of their inspection process. the response from the un came at practically light speed, compared to the normal ponderous actions that required meeting after meeting before finally being implemented. it was only a week later that they announced the sanctions they would impose on eden unless their inspectors had free and unfettered access to the ships in question. together with the sanctions, the unsc also imposed fines of 15 million usd per day until the un inspection team was granted the access they required. Chapter 327 Resolve chapter 327 resolve "arms embargo, import and export sanctions, travel bans, natural resource sanctions, financial sanctions, and even freezing the assets of citizens that are held in banks outside our country, including our own foreign currency reserve that''s currently held in trust with the us federal reserve. man they''re desperate to get their hands on our tech," aron said as he read the nearly endless list of sanctions. the list had details of what exactly in those specified categories were being banned. for the financial sanctions it included freezing of the assets of every high-ranking member of the government, including john and the other generals of ares, together with alexander and his cabinet members. aron was only saved from it since he had nothing connecting him to the government that would warrant his inclusion in the sanctions, at least not publicly. together with their assets being frozen, money that was owed to eden from other countries that hadn''t paid them yet was also frozen. that included the 65 billion that china was supposed to pay for the oil delivery that had started the whole mess. it was very obvious that the chinese had added that clause to avoid, or at least delay the payment as long as possible; they would benefit either way. the same people were also included in the travel ban, meaning that alexander had very few countries he could visit at the moment without breaking any of the sanctions. "they really banned us from buying weapons," aron chuckled when he read the details about the arms embargo. they were banned from buying weapons from any member of the un, but oddly enough, they weren''t banned from selling them. "so they banned the sale of all natural resources coming from our country. except oil, that is, but we can''t even sell that since our buyers can''t pay us without violating the sanctions. do they really take us for morons?" aron muttered as he read the natural resources sanctions. "but the biggest hit will be the import and export sanctions. that can at least harm the economy a bit, but our companies are explicitly listed as exceptions. i guess it''s because we have things that they can''t replicate yet," aron said when he realized that they were going to be choked in the import department. it might not harm his companies, since they were self-sufficient, but the rest of the country would be heavily affected by the import sanctions. "how long until alexander''s address?" aron asked. [seventeen minutes, sir,] nova responded, materializing a countdown timer. ... "we''ve already read and understand the unfair sanctions being imposed on us by the un in order to harm both our short- and long-term development plans," alexander said after greeting the edenians watching his address. he had decided to do the announcement personally, not through his spokesperson, as he wanted to avoid a rebellion, no matter how unlikely one was. the citizens knew that they already had things much better under him than any of the other politicians in the country, much less the dictators who came before him. nove/lb)1n "and in order to alleviate the chokehold they''re trying to afflict on us, i called an emergency parliament session last night. in that session, we drafted and i signed a bill to reduce the harm of the import and export sanctions. that bill gives hephaestus industries and manufacturing permission to produce all of the sanctioned products without having to license the relevant technology from its creators. if they''re so determined to do us financial harm, then i am more than willing to return that harm directly to them," he said, causing the room full of reporters to have a mild brain malfunction. they hadn''t expected that he would have such a drastic reaction to the sanctions, but with such an explosive beginning to his presidential address, they prepared themselves for what would follow as best as they could. "as for the financial sanctions, there''s nothing we can do to mitigate the harm they''ve already inflicted upon our great nation. many of our country''s overseas assets have been frozen, and the payments foreign companies and governments owe us are going unpaid. but that doesn''t mean we have to dwell on it, as merely dwelling on a problem does nothing to resolve it. thus, we further resolved to implement a solution to prevent further financial attacks on us. "with that goal in mind, i had an emergency meeting with president inez of esparia and signed an agreement forming a central currency between our nations. the agreement will strengthen our economy and spending power, while also making it difficult to sanction us. over the next month we will discuss the agreement in detailwhat the currency will be, what powers the central bank will have, and how its rollout will take place with the minimum amount of fuss and hassle for the citizens of both of our countries. "together with the formation of a central bank, we''re going to officially enter the financial marketplace. i met with the ceo of connect, and he agreed to launch a subsidiary company that will be responsible for buying, selling, and trading shares in public companies by the time the new currency begins being rolled out. we will also implement policies that will make it profitable for companies to do business and have their shares traded in eden, similar to the way hong kong and china handle their separate markets." alexander was killing two birds with one stone and creating a virtuous cycle. first, the market trading would strengthen the new currency, and second, the new currency would make it more attractive to do business in eden, thus increasing the volume of the share trades on the nascent market. the saying "tough times make tougher people" was just as true on a national scale as it was on an individual scale. "for the arms embargo, it''s laughable. they''re imposing these sanctions specifically because they want the weapons and equipment that we have, and the fact that we''re prohibited from buying weapons we don''t need while being explicitly allowed to sell our weapons to people who are outclassed by our military only serves to highlight the hypocrisy and greed of the people that decided to implement these ridiculous sanctions. i tell you this," he looked directly into the camera, "what we have is ours, and you will never be able to take it from us! "as for the natural resource export ban, although it''ll harm us in the short term, it''ll also allow us to focus on building up our domestic industries, as well as force us to innovate in those fields just as much as we did in the defense industry. our nation has always been perceived as poor and impoverished by outsiders, and it''s about time we change that. "the people whose corruption and greed made them think they could prevent us from developing, prevent us from industrializing, prevent us from buying and selling, and prevent us from traveling haven''t realized the strength of our spirit that we honed through generations of revolution against evil men like them. we have suffered, and through suffering, grown stronger. we persevere, through famine and flood, through fires and storms. we have the heart, the courage, and the determination to suffer adversity, and through suffering, we thrive. we are tougher than them, we are more just than them, we are more determined than them, and we are more resolved than them. "we are a country that, instead of silently and meekly suffering the injustices done to us, choose to fight. and though this may not be a fight that''s won with guns, we will learn to fight on this new political battlefield and we, will, win!" alexander hammered his clenched fist against the podium with each of the last three words for emphasis. "dear citizens," he continued after a pause to recollect himself and change mental gears. "although it might seem like we''re nearing hard times again, and no matter how true that might be, we have to remember that what we''re facing now is something we were bound to face one day or another, as we grow stronger and begin threatening others'' interests. i know that many of you may think that we could''ve just accepted their demands and our lives would continue as they are now, but you''d be mistaken. the people behind these sanctions are bullies, and like bullies, they''re only empowered by surrender. giving in will only hand them more power over us, and the moment we give in on one thing, we''ll be forced to give in on another. and another. and another. we''ll be forced to give so much that there will be no difference between what we are today as a nation and what we were in the past when we suffered under the yoke of dictator after dictator. we will be bled by them until we have no more blood to give, then they will devour our flesh and build cudgels from our bones that they''ll use to beat others into the same position as we were in just a few short years ago. "are we that naive? are we that gullible? that shortsighted? "to that, i say: no! we are not naive! we are not gullible! we are not shortsighted! we are more than capable of standing on our own and making minor sacrifices now for great gains later. "i stand here today, the president of this great nation, and i issue you this promise: we will be self-sustaining within a year, or i will resign as president of this great nation and surrender myself to you, the citizens of eden, to be judged." his address finished, alexander introduced his press secretary, who would answer a few questions from the press. later, the press department would send out releases with more details on the plan that had been drafted to deal with the issues at hand. Chapter 328 Schemes and Gratitude chapter 328 schemes and gratitude ? "yes, mr. ambassador, we would like to buy all the grains that china isn''t taking," the edenian ambassador to ukraine repeated his request to his ukrainian counterpart. ukraine was suffering china''s retaliation for voting against their decision in the unsc meeting. "are you trying to help us because we voted in your favor, or is it preparation for when the sanctions are implemented on eden?" he asked to sate his curiosity, as he had no plans to deny their offer at all. "it''s a bit of both, as we need to have enough of a food surplus that when the import ban is implemented next week we''ll have enough to allow us to hold out for a year. plus, although your vote did nothing to change the outcome, it still made it difficult for the bastards to pass the sanctions." the edenian ambassador wouldn''t bother hiding anything, since everyone knew the ins and outs of what had recently taken place behind closed doors. "but you''ve been quite helpful to us in countering the pro-russian faction in crimea, so there''s no need for you to be grateful for what was basically nothing but pointless support," the ukrainian said. he was hinting at the intelligence operations that were being conducted by nyx agents on the ground, helping ukraine have a semblance of counterintelligence against the russian invaders. they were trying to infiltrate ukraine in order to make their upcoming invasion as easy as possible, to the point that they might not even need to fire a single shot at all. and the nyx agents had been helping them prevent that from happening. "i''m just doing what my bosses require of me," the edenian ambassador replied, feeling quite good for his country''s action. even he knew that they were being very friendly with ukraine, more so than they normally should be for other countries. meanwhile, nyx herself, who was monitoring this phone call, couldn''t help but shake her head as she knew eden was only repaying their support in the unsc by buying the grains. they had never considered the intelligence help they provided ukraine to be a favor, since it was a scheme within a scheme, meant to aid vladimir in rising up the chain of command inside the kremlin. the plan had been working very well for him, as he was in consideration to be promoted to one of the higher positions in the organization, one where he could move a large portion of the intelligence department without even having to report to the kremlin. that said, even if he got promoted, he would still have eyes on him paying attention to how he uses them. "then i''ll inform our higher-ups and get back to you as soon as possible to make sure the deal is sealed before the import sanctions go into effect," the ukrainian ambassador said. after bidding his farewells, he ended the call and immediately reported the situation to the government officials who could facilitate such a huge order for eden. after three back and forth negotiation sessions, the deal was approved and signed. but due to the massive amounts of wheat requiring shipping, as the order was enough to sustain the country''s need for grain imports for more than two years, rachael had immediately put the atomic printers into higher gear, printing massive ships that could retrieve their grain before the sanction went into effect. ... aron was standing in front of the building that had the fusion reactor under it, ready to take it offline for a few hours. once the reactor was scrammed, the smaller, more mobile atomic printers would begin modifying the transformer so it would deliver only electricity, but not transform it to mana. "let''s begin," he said once he was sure that the building and a ten-kilometer radius around it was empty, with him as the sole human inside the circle. as if waiting for his order, the printers began their work by digging in order to arrive at the underground where the transformer was. and while they were on their way, the last bit of mana was sent to the main quantum server to allow it to operate without a constant supply of energy for about three days. after that supply was exhausted, the server would go offline together with the fusion reactor. but the dip in power wasn''t noticed by anyone on the island, much less those in the country, as the other fusion reactors had picked up the slack and were smoothly providing electricity to every one of helios'' customers. when the atomic printers arrived at the location of the underground transformer, they immediately started disintegrating it to pieces while at the same time printing a new transformer in its place, one that had just finished its testing in lab city and had been deemed operational. together with that, one atomic printer entered the pipeline in which mana was being transported to the quantum server, where it began its journey. it would print room-temperature superconducting cables stretching from the new transformer to the server room, which was currently undergoing modifications as well. if all went according to plan, the server room''s modifications would be completed after the power cable was finished being laid. it didn''t take long before the new transformer was completed and the superconducting high-voltage cable had arrived at the server room. the modification of the server room would be quite a bit more complex; the entire floor was being replaced by that same superconducting material so electricity could travel through the legs of each server rack to power the servers within. but the modifications didn''t end therethe rune that currently provided cooling was to be replaced as well. that replacement would render the server room completely inhospitable to human life, as nova had chosen the most brute-force method of cooling in order to save time on the modifications. the entire server room would simply be flooded with constantly circulating liquid helium through a system that an atomic printer was currently busily printing. but that was the only thing that would take a bit longer, as with the transformer completed, the changes in the atomic printers would need to be taken care of, so it too will be taken offline for a short time to be modified as well. n)-o-/v)-e)-l)-b)-1).n "with that out of the way, let''s go look for a solution," aron said as he boarded a vehicle that would take him back to the cube. he was planning on logging into the universal simulation to continue brainstorming on how to deal with the mess they had unknowingly caused, as well as how to use mana but stop it from looking like a pulsar star going supernova in mana sight. Chapter 329 Shopping List chapter 329 shopping list "mr. president, why do you think eden overreacted so much to the idea of un inspection teams?" president trump was currently holding a press briefing. when he saw the reporter that had asked the question, he recognized them from fox news and smiled as he answered, "although every country has some reason or other behind their actions, based on eden''s overreaction, they''re really taking the most difficult path. sanctions are gonna be imposed. so many sanctions. it''s really gonna hurt them where it hurts. so for them to risk so much just to stop inspectors from getting in, that means they must have something really big to hide." trump stopped there to allow the reporter to ask a follow up question. the reporter didn''t disappoint and immediately asked, "and what might they have to hide?" "if it was me, and it wasn''t, because i''m too smart to hurt this beautiful country with so many sanctions, but if it was me, then the only thing i can see myself hiding like that would be weapons of mass destruction. of course, we already know what happens to countries that hide weapons of mass destruction," he said, sternly gazing directly into the camera. he wanted to plant a seed of doubt in eden''s credibility, and wmds were the easiest accusation he could make. though it caused a commotion in the room, he didn''t answer any more questions on the topic, having already said enough to cause the idea to take root in people''s minds. he would leave the rest to his supporters and detractors to talk about, either defending his claim or refuting it. it didn''t matter, the more they talked about it, the more his words would spread to the rest of the world. he knew it was the start of their plan to crank up the pressure on eden. they were planning on giving eden and alexander the saddam treatment, and at the moment, the cia was working overtime in coming up with, interpreting, or outright making up false intel in a way that would make their suspicion be seen as the truth by people suspecting them of having wmds and interpreting everything they do as evidence in support of that conclusion. it was the same phenomenon seen in couples, where one half would suspect the other of being unfaithful and view them through the lens of that assumption being true. ... "if i had enough sp to buy this, it would solve all the problems we have," aron said as he read the description of a knowledge he couldn''t afford at the moment. n(.o(/v/)e)(l-(b()i/(n [ftl (faster than light) travelalcubierre warp drive a means of exceeding the universal speeding limit. this is one of the technologies that has been discovered by multiple civilizations in different times and is considered the minimum qualification to be considered a seedling of an advanced civilization. the alcubierre warp drive was theorized on earth by theoretical physicist miguel alcubierre, based on einstein''s field equation. it is widely considered to be an entry-level ftl method and operates by generating.... price: 100,000,000,000sp] "damn... if you need to have ftl to even be considered a proto-advanced civilization, what does that make us?" aron muttered as he continued reading. the description of ftl travel as a category was rather lengthy, considering all the various means and methods involved in breaking the speed limit imposed by the laws of physics, so he had chosen the cheapest one to read about in further detail. [you can just release product after product for the next two years to collect enough sp to buy it. as they say, it''s better to be exceptionally good at one thing than moderately good at many,] nova said, appearing behind aron and reading the system screen over his shoulder. he had given her permission in the system long ago, so she could see its prompts just as easily as he could; but she preferred reading over his shoulder to reading it on her own lest she read too much faster than him and cause confusion in the resulting discussion. "that would''ve been a good idea... if we were facing an enemy we know something about. since we don''t, we need to have a broad knowledge base so that no matter what they bring to the table, we have a better chance of countering it with something we already have in our arsenal. plus, ftl would just get us there and we''d still likely be unable to do anything once we''re right in front of them," aron countered. he had the habit of saying things that he was sure nova already knew. it was a good habit to have, as in the midst of saying his thoughts aloud, he may discover something important in them that would reveal a solution he had yet to consider. and nova was aware of that tendency of his, so she was more than willing to play along. after all, as an artificial intelligence, no matter how sentient she was, she would forever be incapable of the fuzzy thinking and true randomness that humans used in their day-to-day thought process. "let''s look at other things." aron moved on to other things from the system. [robotics, tier 1 (ed note: the tiers in the system use the kardashev scale. tiers 1-3 are "pure" tech; 4-6 are aethertech, which uses naturally occurring mana sources to power technology; and 7-9 are magitech, which is a true blend of magic and technology.) a technologically advanced solution to aid or replace manual labor in menial and dangerous tasks.... price: 1,000,000,000sp] [yep, we need this,] nova interjected. [although the robotics research in lab city has advanced enough to start rolling them, they aren''t advanced enough to be able to participate in a war theater,] she continued, sounding so excited that aron did a doubletake as he realized the reasoning behind her excitementshe badly desired a physical body so she could interact with the world on her own, instead of simply viewing it through cameras and other digital sources. [terraforming, tier 1 a method of converting a hostile environment to a beneficial one. it is the gateway to colonizing other planets and reaching beyond the cradle of your civilization. it has been independently discovered by many civilizations, but the first was.... price: 2,000,000,000sp] he then moved to another technology after bookmarking the previous technologies for later purchases. [artificial environmental shielding, tier 1] [galactical navigation system, tier 1] [intermediate runic knowledge, tier 1] [tractor and repulsor beams, tier 1] [energy weapons, tier 1] [psionic shielding, tier 1] [spatial lock, tier 1] ... he continued searching for things that he had thought about during his recent rest, and when he was done, nova materialized a holographic screen summarizing the list so the two of them could jointly see the prices and discuss solutions. after going through it, they organized it by priority, from most- to least-necessary technologies, then grouped them further into absolute requirements and things that would be nice to have. the ones that would only be nice to have could be bought piecemeal and researched on their own in lab city, but the priority required tech would be purchased whole and immediately implemented. Chapter 330 A Po’ Boy Once Mo’ chapter 330 a po'' boy once mo'' "we have to buy the psionic shielding, since we don''t know if they can communicate using their minds. if they can, and our minds aren''t shielded, they''ll probably be able to read ours. or even control them! that would be devastating," aron said. he definitely couldn''t afford to give up the upper hand by allowing the aliens to invade the thoughts of humans. "plus, with the mind control defense knowledge, we might even be able to extrapolate how to control the minds of other intelligent beings." [when it comes to kinetic weapons, we don''t need to buy those. we''re already far ahead in that category and we''ll only continue advancing,] nova said, resulting in aron striking the kinetic weapons knowledge off the list. "plus, we can use the disintegration function of the atomic printers as a weapon, as long as we can figure out how to increase its range." aron received a look of approval from nova. she wasn''t capable of creative leaps of logic like that, so it was something she truly appreciated about him. [not only that, but it can also be used in many different ways. it can be used to board enemy ships, as a stealth infiltrator by breaching and dropping surveillance devices, or even as a bioweapon. we just need to strengthen it so it can handle the stress of being fired from a coilgun.] "by the way, how are the golden research labs doing? we''ve only used a tiny bit of their results," aron asked. there was much to implement from the golden labs in lab city and he had only tapped into a small bit of their potential. [they''re about in the same place as their conventional counterparts. the difficulty is that you''re the only person who can inscribe and charge runes,] nova answered as she showed him some parts of the tech completed by the golden labs. "let''s see if there''s any tech we can use to help us solve that problem," aron said and went on a window shopping spree again. "now that''s way too expensive even though i''m flush with sp right now," he said when he found what he was looking for. [runic imprinting, tier 1 they say laziness is the father of all discoveries, and this technology follows that rule. it was discovered by a runic imprinting worker from a magitech civilization who hated spending his time and energy imprinting runes. the hard work drained his mental energy and stamina, leading to a rocky marriage, and due to wanting to remain with his wife, he had an epiphany and built a device that could do the work for him. as a result, he ended up the richest, most powerful man of that civilization. price: 15,000,000,000sp] n)-o-(v//e(-l-)b.)i/)n despite his complaining, aron still added it to his list to buy later. "although we can earn more sp the more tech we release to humanity, it would be counterproductive right now. but once earth is united, there''ll be no need to hold back anymore and we can start a cycle of massive sp farming. ... "now i''m poor again," aron sighed as he looked at the pitiful 100 sp remaining on his system screen. "when the system is finished assimilating the new knowledge, you can start integrating it into lab city and test simulation 01," he said. the researchers in lab city had given him pleasant surprises before, so he hoped they would do the same with the recent purchases, whether they were whole or in part. it would be difficult to produce further research results on technologies he had wholly purchased, but his partial purchases had branched out into multiple directions and his whole technologies had been used in some very creative ways. in fact, if earth wasn''t currently pressed for time, he would have preferred to only buy technologies piecemeal, as it was cost-effective to give the creative minds in lab city a starting point and let them have their head determining where to go from there. all the technologies that were being sent were things that nova hadn''t found inside the universal simulation. she''d spent the last week checking and compiling a list of their current tech, which had delayed aron''s shopping spree by a week. it had been a worthwhile tradeoff, though, as he now had a better idea of what they needed after discovering everything they already knew. the new tech also included the knowledge of nanotechnology and megastructures, as there were two civilizations that had developed enough to ascend to an entirely new reality, and each of them were fanatic about one of those fields. the civilization that had fanatically researched, invented, built, and improved megastructures had begun doing so when they discovered that their planet would face a devastating supernova shockwave from a relatively close solar system. they began by building a massive shield around their planet, then eventually emigrated from the surface of their world to a dyson sphere around their star. from there, they learned how to harness black holes, and eventually discovered a way to use them to travel to different dimensions and left the material world behind entirely. the one that focused on nanotechnology, on the other hand, had been forced to do so when faced with a civilization of marauders that used nanobots as weapons. the marauders would launch a "gray goo" style apocalypse on planets, or other celestial objects, then harvest them for technology and resources. the civilization that was under attack was already a galactic-scale empire, with multiple planets terraformed and colonized, so they began their evolution with the idea of defending themselves from the terrible planetkiller weapons, only to eventually ended up miniaturizing their entire civilization and moving to the quantum world. obviously, aron couldn''t immediately skip to the end and lead humanity''s emigration to a higher, or at least new, plane of existence, but he still found it ironic that the planetbound civilization had focused on building megastructures, while the galaxy-spanning empire focused on shrinking everything down, yet each had reached similar destinations in the end. still, the system''s description of the knowledges had given him a general idea of a successful research path for future development. ''to each their own,'' he thought, ''but at least i''m the beneficiary of their advancements.'' the system didn''t waste any time in integrating the knowledge into aron one after another after he confirmed his purchases, but this timethanks to his latest evolutionhe didn''t even feel dazed, let alone the freeze he used to feel when he was receiving knowledge assimilation. plus, the speed at which the knowledge was assimilated into him had greatly increased; it only took thirty minutes for the system to impart all of the knowledge he had just bought from its shop. Chapter 331 Shotgun Suspicions chapter 331 shotgun suspicions "based on how fast our moles are getting removed by ukraine''s intelligence agency, there''s no doubt in my mind that they''re receiving strong support from another agency. the likeliest suspects are from the chinese ministry of state security, since they had a cooperation with them, but that was probably severed after the unsc vote. so now i suspect the british mi6, american cia, israeli mossad, or even the egyptian gis. we can''t rule anyone out at this point, but...." vladimir paused to heighten the tension in the briefing room and let the others come to their own conclusions. seeing that his fellows had each settled on a suspect, he continued, "if this situation continues, our military operations will need to begin much earlier than previously planned. if they manage to remove everyone on our side with power in their country, they''ll be welcoming us with bullets instead of flowers. " he was already quite satisfied with the reception, especially the suspicion he had cast on everyone but the true culprit hunting their intelligence operatives and gathered his thoughts, intent on pushing his plan further forward as he clicked through powerpoint slide after powerpoint slide showing images of russian agents and sympathizers who had been caught by the ukrainian government. "another thing we have to keep in mind is that we already know they''re reorganizing their military. together with putting pro-russian politicians, businessmen, and leaders on trial for treason, it isn''t a good sign for us. it shows that they''re gearing up to fight, so we must act first to gain the advantage. "the fight against ukraine won''t be as easy as the rigged referendum we called for in crimea. that was a plan that could only have ever worked a single time, but they''re probably certain we''ll be trying something similar there. so if we act now, we can catch them while they''re still in the chaos of reorganizing their military." the next few slides detailed the ongoing reorganization along with all the western forces supporting it. "any questions?" he finished as the powerpoint came to an end and the lights in the briefing room came up. "why do you think the other forces are supporting them?" putin asked, despite knowing the answer . he considered this briefing as vladimir''s final evaluation and it would determine whether the spy is worthy of real power and raising as a potential successor, or if he was just one of the many who thought themselves as geniuses while they were nothing of the sort. "getting allies closer to russia means they have a shield and sword. by bringing people onto their side, they effectively cut off our maneuvering and leave us only one area we can send troops at them through. but the opposite isn''t true, because the ukrainian allies in eastern europe will certainly allow their passage, letting them strike at any point along our border. thus, we would be forced to limit the number of troops we can use because we would have to guard our borders, while the ukrainian defenders can concentrate their defense along a comparatively small area." that was the likeliest plan and reasoning behind it, according to nyx. they had given him a detailed briefing after he informed them that he would soon be presenting the situation to his leaders. a thin smile formed on putin''s face. he was extremely satisfied with the operative standing before him and the hard work he had done on behalf of mother russia. "good," he said. "we''ll move up the military operation to eight months from now. you will be on the planning teamany objections?" "i would be honored," vladimir said, trying to hide the happiness he was feeling at the moment, but in a subtly bad way so that those in the room thought he was easy to read. ... n-.ovelbin "five... four... three... two... one.... lift off" a massive rocket took off and pierced through the cloud cover that was still shielding avalon island from overhead observation. "there goes our first middle finger toward the sanctions," alexander said as he watched the first of ten rocket launches that were scheduled to take place over the next two days. they had attempted to follow the accepted procedure as defined by the itu, but had been met with delays, denials, and disdain. it was obvious that, so long as eden was under un sanctions, no orbital slots would be awarded to them. "we don''t have time to deal with their incompetence right now. we''re up against a deadline," aron sneered. he looked at his friend, who seemed to have aged a few years over the past couple of days. "by the way, how did you find them? they''re still outside visual range and will be for a few years yet," alexander asked. "oh, that? it was quite easy..." aron began. "mana, or ''dark matter'', as people call it, exists everywhere in the universe. it''s everywherein the depths of space, the hearts of stars, and even lingering between the cells of living organisms. as well as within them, i suppose. for the purposes of this discussion, you can consider the universe like a bowl filled with marbles. all we had to do was poke one marble and record the changes that happened in all the marbles connected to it. the moment you poke one, they all move. "but mana isn''t equally distributed through the universe, so those marbles can be big or they can be small. the bigger marbles represent areas with higher concentrations of mana, which tends to correlate with the mass of an object. and the bigger the marble, the easier it is to see," aron continued, then paused to let alexander''s mind catch up to the new disturbing reality he found himself in. "so, the new satellites we''re launching are specifically designed to detect mana with a higher resolution. it''s almost like upgrading from an old daguerreotype camera to an 8k dslr camera, and will give us a much more detailed image of our approaching... guest. once we have that, we can make and adjust our plans from there." Chapter 332 Go Ahead and Try chapter 332 go ahead and try when the rocket broke through the clouds, it was caught by all the surveillance satellites that were keeping an eye on eden. if it weren''t for the rocket being too big to be considered a missileits size rivaled the saturn v rocket that sent astronauts to the moonthe observers would have thought that eden was attacking them. after all, they hadn''t made any announcements before launching the rocket after having been denied permission by the itu. although many countries used their diplomatic channels to complain about the launch, eden maintained that the rocket never violated any nation''s airspace before entering space, so there was no need for them to inform anyone. they also took the opportunity to inform those nations that there would be more than a few launches in the following days, so they shouldn''t complain that they hadn''t been informed in advance again. as for the question of what was inside the rocket, eden answered with a blistering retort. they maintained that it was nobody''s business what they were doing, showing that the change in attitude was all throughout the government, not just the president''s office. other than that, eden continued their discussions with esparia on the central bank situation. it was still in the negotiation stage as they fine-tuned their agreement, hashing out what powers the central bank would have compared to the monetary policies that their individual governments could implement in case of inflation and much more. hephaestus industries had also gone into high gear, putting into practice the permission they had received from the government to work. they rapidly began producing everything that eden had lost access to as a consequence of the trade and economic sanctions. they even sold them at a "loss" to edenians and esparians, to boot; nobody knew that the cost of production was basically zero, so they all assumed that the company was losing millions, if not billions, of dollars worth of profit. thus, their reputation as a company only grew better and better. not only was hephaestus producing their goods essentially for free in their automated factories, but they were also shipping them through hermes, which meant the shipping charges were also being earned by one of aron''s companies. together with that, the arrival of ukrainian grain and the zero-interest loans the edenian government was offering for people to buy lands and develop them into farms was also seen as a windfall by the populace. even though the lands on offer were barren and relatively low in fertility, that wasn''t seen as much of a problem. especially after asclepius biotech introduced a new biofertilizer that promised to increase harvest yield by over 300%. nove-lb.in alexander had never been so popular, not even immediately following the revolution that overthrew the previous dictatorship. on a more... earthy front, the recyclingboth of the world''s garbage and eden''s sewagecontinued apace. as it would negatively impact too many nations, the un sanctions had protected and continued the treaty that eden had signed to act as "the world''s garbage bin". aron could only shake his head with a wry smile when he had read that clause in the long, detailed list of sanctions imposed on eden. apparently countries didn''t want to deal with their own trash, and he guessed they thought it would be a humiliation for the developing nation. he had decided not to incorporate a company into his corporate structure to deal with it though, instead having nova spawn another child ai, hygieia, to specifically handle recycling and recycling alone. it was too important a task to leave unattended in case of an emergency, like what had happened during his most recent upgrade, so hygieia was welcomed to the ai family and considered a subordinate of helios. he had to admit, though, that his naming scheme was becoming more and more difficult to follow as time went on. gods of the greek pantheon were limited in their relevance to modern-day issues, so he would soon be forced to branch out in other areas besides the military, which he had already done. the world was quickly discovering everything eden was doing from the information being posted online, or images from the commercial satellites in orbit. they argued back and forth until they finally settled on a startling suspicion: the netizens at large believed that eden actually wanted the sanctions applied to them. they certainly weren''t suffering under them, and it definitely appeared that they had long been prepared for them, so the hypothesis fit all of the evidence available to outsiders looking in. but the world wasn''t just watching; lawsuit after lawsuit was filed against hephaestus by companies that were outraged by the blatant violation of their intellectual properties. just because they couldn''t sell their products in eden didn''t mean they would allow anyone else to! that said, the companies could shout and wail and send cease & desist letters all they wanted to and all felix did was shrug and chuckle about it in their periodic update meetings. since eden wasn''t a member of the international criminal court and thus didn''t subscribe to its jurisdiction, they could piss and moan all they wanted to, but all the whining in the world wouldn''t change the fact that they couldn''t enforce any intellectual property laws against an edenian company. when one irate magnate threatened to violate the connect group''s intellectual properties, felix left a response on par with that of general mcauliffe during the battle of the bulge in wwii. his answer was a simple post from his official, verified account on pangea that read, "go ahead and try." (ed note: general mcauliffe famously replied to a german demand for surrender during wwii with one word: "n u t s !". it was immediately before the battle of the bulge in bastogne, belgium. true story, and really interesting. google it.) the same thing couldn''t be said for everyone, though, as aron and sarah both received subpoenas to appear before the us congress, which had set up a committee to investigate them for various perceived offenses, including public safety and national security concerns, antitrust concerns, privacy concerns, and their economic impact on american citizens. "hahaha they really subpoenaed us," aron laughed. he had been in a meeting with sarah discussing the next steps for gaia when they both received the email notification from their lawyers in the us, who were the ones to actually receive the summons. "the lawyers said we could challenge this in front of a judge and argue that they''re exceeding their authority and that the request is unduly burdensome. but they added that it would be very difficult for our motion to be upheld, since there''s politics at play that will make every american judge biased against us. so, at the moment, they''re recommending we negotiate the scope of our testimony, request certain protections, and clarify the terms with the committee. we''ll eventually have to go, but we can at least stall them for a long time before that happens. long enough, hopefully, that this whole un debacle is done and over with," sarah said. "do you think any of that will be allowed?" aron sarcastically asked. he knew the answer already. "likely not, since the lobbyist groups have invested way too much money into" "shhh, it was a rhetorical question," aron interrupted with a grin. "there''s no need for any delaying tactics or protection... tell the lawyers to do nothing, and we''ll go ''testify'' whenever is convenient for us, but certainly no later than two months from now." he was already thinking about how to use the upcoming congressional hearing to his benefit. Chapter 333 All the Worlds A Stage, We But Mere Players chapter 333 all the world''s a stage, we but mere players nove/lb(1n on televisions across america, a jingle played as the screens switched from commercials to a popular news show. "good evening. i''m tucker carlson, and for those that are just joining us, welcome to the show. with us tonight is wilbur ross, the secretary of commerce in president trump''s cabinet to discuss the harm that eden and their state company, hephaestus industries and manufacturing are doing to our country. are we just going to watch as they continue causing harm to our citizens and democracy?" "you mentioned the harm they''re causing us, and i couldn''t agree more. from the moment they began breaking international law and violating intellectual property rights on a broad scale to now, american companies have lost almost 150 billion dollars. and that number will only grow the longer we allow them to continue breaking the law." wilbur ross had been briefed by the office of public & media affairs and knew what he was supposed to say. tucker carlson, on the other hand, had been briefed by the morgan family and knew what he was supposed to ask. the two were putting on a stage play in order to demonize eden and begin raising public support for the eventual shooting war that would break out between the two countries. "also with us tonight is our own tamara holder, our legal analyst and host of the show ''sports court'', which you can watch now on our website. tamara, what do you think of the issue?" tucker interjected. tamara holder was his favorite punching bag and the network''s current mascot. she was what he considered a "classic bleeding heart liberal" and he always enjoyed cutting her arguments down. "don''t you think they''re justified in their response when we unilaterally decided their guilt and are punishing them for it? this country was founded on the principle of ''innocent until proven guilty'' but just because they''re poor, they''re automatically guilty?" tamara fired back. she was a criminal defense and civil rights attorney, so what the us was doing to eden had struck her as very, very wrong. "are you sure you want to take their side like that? do you think we implemented these sanctions because we enjoy them?" the secretary of commerce asked in retort. "yes!" secretary ross was taken aback for a moment and his mind went blank, but then he wrenched his thoughts back on track and continued with the arranged script, casting a glare at the young attorney across the table from him. "no, you have to keep in mind that the sanctions were only implemented as a result of them denying un inspectors free access to what the investigators need to prove eden''s innocence and completely clear them. instead of acting like an innocent party, they''re acting like they have something to hide. what could a little country like them be afraid of? what are they hiding? they''re acting guilty!" "but sanctions don''t work! we''ve seen it in north korea, iran, cuba, and even syria. so all we''re doing is punishing them and preventing them from joining the rest of the world and contributing to all of humanity" tamara began. "i have to remind you, miss holder, that the sanctions aren''t just being imposed by us, but by the entire un," secretary ross interrupted. "before you accuse us of violating our principles, you should take into account that they''ve already been tried before a jury of their peersthe united nations security counciland been found guilty." the people on the show continued arguing back and forth with occasional interference from tucker to make the argument as wide as possible, even blatantly accusing eden of possessing wmds. ... "they''re doing very well," george said as he watched the show from the comfort of his father''s study along with his father. "but the speed the administration''s moving at is too slow. if they don''t hurry up, we won''t be able to make a move until next year," he added, looking at his father to see what he thought of the timeline. "do you know how many years it took for us to make the american citizens see the invasion of saddam''s regime as something that needed to be done?" aubrey asked instead of answering his son''s question. "about a decade, i think, from the moment his usefulness to us ended," george answered. "correct. so this plan taking only a year can be said to be ten times more efficient compared to the saddam matter, but there are a few major contributors to that efficiency." aubrey paused for a moment, then continued, "the first is the internet. with everyone on it, it''s a great tool to manipulate public opinion. and the second is eden''s ridiculous response, which is making it almost too easy for us to paint them as a rogue nation that we have to deal with to maintain peace." "i knew that we needed a reason before we do anything so that the public doesn''t have a negative reaction.... but why do we have to waste so much time painting them as the bad guys when we could just fabricate an attack on us as a justification?" george asked. "why do you think we haven''t attacked north korea when everyone already thinks of them as enemy number one?" aubrey asked. "because they have nukes?" george answered, tilting his head. "no, it''s because they haven''t attacked us yet. they only rattle their sabers until just before we attack, then they stop. they only want attention," he answered, then continued in more detail, "america always fights from the moral high ground. before we participated in wwii, pearl harbor had to happen. the same could be said for 9/11. although unlike pearl harbor, the 9/11 attacks were unexpected. still, it was justification enough to immediately mobilize our forces despite them being unprepared to fight a protracted war in the mountains. "but in both cases, the attacks were just the final piece of the puzzle that allowed the entire country to fully rally behind the idea of war. without them, there''d be no way for us to justify the horrors of war. "so even after all of this preparation, we need them to attack us first. whether they actually attack us, as bin laden did, or whether we manufacture and provoke the attack, as fdr did in 1941 with pearl harbor and the japanese, it still needs to happen before we can declare war." he turned to his secretary and said, "inform the cia to start releasing the information we collected and fabricated that fits our agenda, as we need to use eden''s actions to give credibility to the president''s statement." "yes, sir," the secretary said, then left the room. "do we have the questions congress is going to be asking them?" aubrey asked. "yes. we''ll be rewriting them based on the information we have and the optics we want to present, but we''ll be fully prepared by the time of the appearance. or at least as prepared as we can betheir lack of reaction and fighting is making me nervous, like they''re planning something behind our backs," george said. "whatever they''re doing to prepare, they probably aren''t expecting what we''ve got coming for them at all. but still, we should try and find out what they''re planning." "i''ll keep that in mind, father," george responded, then returned his attention to the tv, where tucker carlson''s stage play was still ongoing. Chapter 334 A Series of Win-Win Deals chapter 334 a series of win-win deals though the number of countries alexander could visit had reduced, thanks to the travel bans, he didn''t waste time complaining in eden. instead, he chose to visit what countries he still couldespecially those suffering under sanctionsto strengthen their diplomatic ties and economies. after all, it was hardly ever the people in power who suffered, but rather the innocent citizens below them. during each visit, he would somehow manage to come up with deals that were beneficial to both countrieseden, as the manufacturer and exporter of goods, and the countries he visited, who would receive the cheap products they had sometimes never had. for instance, cuba had still been using cars produced in the 1940s and 50s from before the united states imposed sanctions on them in 1958 until they struck a deal to import manufactured goods from eden in trade for certain luxuries, like hand-rolled cuban cigars. plus, part of that particular deal washed back on the us in an unexpected way; with an official trade partner who wasn''t willing to be bullied by the behemoth called america, the politicians and rich americans who used to ignore the trade embargo with cuba and purchase their products cheaply could no longer purchase them at all. there was a lot of resentment there and eden had helped vent it. another unintended consequence was that florida, a state that had long relied on refugees and illegal immigrants from cuba to provide dirt cheap labor, had found itself lacking employees in the hospitality, tourism, and landscaping industries as cubans could now legally immigrate to eden, who had opened their doors wide to them. with similar deals worked out with north korea, sudan, venezuela, iran, zimbabwe, and syria, among others, the lives of a lot of the most oppressed citizens around the globe either already had been, or would soon be vastly improved. in turn, eden would receive raw materials and immigrants from the countries. the coeus foundation had joined forces with icarus airlines to ensure that immigration was open between the countries, and the edenian government''s zero-interest farming subsidy loans coupled with advances in organic farming brought by asclepius biotech ensured that the new immigrants were settled as soon as possible. and with panoptes monitoring pangea and shifting the public discourse, the citizens of eden were thrilled and proud to be able to offer the same increase in standard of living they enjoyed to the flood of immigrants to their country instead of the rage directed at governments in countries like germany, where they had a severe problem with turkish immigrants and refugees illegally crossing the border in search of a better life. some of the countries had specific requirements. north korea, for example, required spare parts for their airline industry, oil, and food. they received more than they gave; though eden wasn''t suffering a loss, they wouldn''t gain much from them beyond the satisfaction of spitting in china''s eye by driving a wedge into the relationship they''d had since before the korean war. essentially, eden became the provider for all of north korea''s needs that had been being provided by china, which was something of a diplomatic coup and feather in eden''s cap. venezuela, on the other hand, had very little need for oil, money, or other such resources. they enjoyed the finished consumer goods and would repay eden with their vast gold deposits and national reserve. at the same time, alexander''s team was also in the talks with taiwan. although taiwan wasn''t among the countries that were being sanctioned, what made it special was that it wasn''t a un member. that meant alexanderor any citizen of eden, for that matterhad no restriction on travel between them. among their talks and discussions before the meeting, they included the possibility of signing an acknowledgement recognizing taiwan as its own country and not a part of china. while alexander''s team was in preliminary negotiations with taiwan, sarah was having a meeting with the co-ceos of taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company (tsmc), doctors mark liu and cc wei, who were visiting eden. after a two-day-long meeting, they signed an agreement between tsmc and gaia to sell taiwan a photolithography machine capable of a 3nm process. that would be a very lucrative deal for them, as at the moment, they had only recently received 7nm photolithography machines from asml. and although they had yet to see gaia''s machines at work, they weren''t worried; they knew it was a reliable company, and their z and q chips were also manufactured with a 3nm process. the delivery of the first 3nm photolithography machines was scheduled for the day of alexander''s upcoming visit to taiwan, which would be three months later. ... "we suspect eden is attempting to leverage their industry to access wmd technologies from the countries we have under sanctions. it''s the most likely reason for all of romero''s recent visits," mike pompeo, the director of the cia, reported as part of trump''s daily briefing. "i thought we were just using the threat of ''finding'' wmds to pressure them, but you''re telling me they''re really building a nuclear program?" trump asked with some surprise, as it wasn''t something that he was expecting at all. "unfortunately, yes. we have two theories at the moment. first, it was our accusation of them possessing wmds that gave them the idea to acquire them, much like north korea did. and second, they had already been working on it in secret, but our accusation forced them to expedite their plans and stop hiding their development program entirely," mike said. "the second theory makes more sense. from the beginning, all of their actions have been aimed at maintaining their neutral stance in global politics, and being a nuclear power would basically give them a shield, kind of like our mutually assured destruction plan from the sixties," general mattis, the secretary of defense elaborated.n.-o).v)-e..l.-b)/1.-n "so, what''re we supposed to do? the un sanctions seem to have just made them stronger," trump asked. "how about we schedule ''exercises'' near eden in the pacific? we can retask the us carl vinson carrier group and send them down from the south china sea, or wait until they''re free after their demonstrations to china and north korea," reince priebus suggested. "we can do that. the carrier group is already scheduled for a routine patrol in the western pacific, so all we''d have to do is add another exercise to their patrol and increase the scale," general mattis mused. "do that, but we should also increase the defcon level to defcon4," trump ordered. this increase in defcon level will allow for increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures. "how about we entice the nations eden just visited by dangling the chance that we''ll unfreeze some of their assets in return for breaking their treaties with eden?" rex tillerson, the us secretary of state, suggested. "how about we increase the sanctions against eden, too?" another member of the briefing committee suggested. "we can assassinate some of their high-level politicians and frame china or russia for it. that''ll cause a dispute with another of the big five nations and bring them to our side," mike pompeo suggested. "let''s negotiate first. go with the carrot and stick approachoffer to relax the sanctions if they break the treaties they just signed, or crank them up if they refuse. either way, add a travel ban between them and eden to keep them from cooperating in the future." the meeting continued from there, moving on from eden to other important matters. an hour or so later, the meeting wrapped up, and people stood to leave. "mike, stay behind," trump ordered. the rest left the room to start their work for the day; had the president required them, they would have been asked to remain. when only the two men were left in the room, trump looked at pompeo and said, "so about that assassination...." Chapter 335 Im the Sole Owner chapter 335 i''m the sole owner inside the hall where the congressional oversight committee formed to deal with gaia would be held. a murmur was humming as the spectators spoke to each other in low voices. reporters were hauling equipment this way and that, making sure that it was set up and working as they recorded b-roll footage of the audience and special footage of the notable figures in attendance. a few minutes after the c-span live broadcast began, members of the house committee on oversight and reform started taking their seats, the last of them the committee''s head representative trey gowdy, a republican from south carolina. he had only been the committee head for a few days as a result of the previous head resigning a few weeks before. after taking his seat, he picked up his gavel and rapped it against the sound block placed before him on the table. bang!! bang!! bang!! "good morning to all members of this committee, our esteemed colleagues, the press, the public, and our witnesses from gaia technology. i now formally call this hearing of the house committee on oversight and reform to order." the whole room went silent, as the hearing had officially started. "we''re gathered today to address a range of critical concerns related to gaia technology, a company that''s undeniably changed the way many americans live, work, and interact...." he gave a short opening statement, listing the things they would be investigating in today''s hearing. "to our witnesses, ms. sarah o''connor, president of gaia technologies, and mr. aron michael, ceo of connect enterprises, the parent corporation of gaia technologies, we appreciate your attendance today. we anticipate a constructive dialogue, and we expect forthright and transparent answers to our inquiries." following his thanks to the witnesses, he finished his opening statement by reminding the committee members to keep their questions to the five minutes they would be given, and to keep their questions respectful. "with that, i yield to the ranking member, representative mark cummings for his opening statement." rep. gowdy gestured to a man sitting to the right of him. in front of him was a name plaque that read ''rep. mark cummings (d-md). he thanked the chairman and gave his own brief opening statement, covering much of the same information as rep. gowdy had in his. that was immediately followed by swearing in the witnesses. aron and sarah stood from their chairs, raised their right hands, and took the oath following rep. gowdy''s words, then retook their seats and waited for the first question. thus, the questioning began. rep. gowdy said, "thank you, representative cummings. mr. michael, ms. o''connor, you have the option to provide opening statements. mr. michael, would you like to begin?" aron adjusted the microphone to align with his mouth and said, "i choose to waive my opening statement and proceed directly to questions." a murmur of surprise swept through the spectators in the room. "very well. ms. o''connor, would you like to provide an opening statement?" "thank you, chairman. i also waive my opening statement and am ready for questions." the surprised murmur grew a little louder. many people used opening statements to pull the representatives and the public watching to their side and show themselves as the underdog, but the people in question today had both directly waived it. not only that, they were very casual and nonchalant about it, setting a tone for how things would likely proceed. "thank you both. we''ll begin with questions. representative jordan, you may begin," trey said. "thank you, mr. chairman," rep. jim jordan, a republican from ohio began. he turned to sarah and asked, "can you detail all products and services your company provides?" "we have a game, bugzapper, gaia os, pangea, a smartphone line, and computers as our products and services," she answered. "is your company responsible for the production of the physical devices that you are selling under your company name?" "no, we have a partner that''s responsible for manufacturing." "which company is it, and where is that company located?" rep. jordan asked, his eyes glinting. "hephaestus industries and manufacturing," aron answered. "is that the same company that''s been sanctioned by the us government for the infringement of intellectual properties of american companies?" followed the representative. "yes." aron''s answer caused a small commotion to arise in the room. over the preceding months, they had continuously been hearing about the losses of american companies following hephaestus being allowed to produce all the sanctioned products in eden. "are you saying that you''re making the americans buy products from a company that''s causing huge losses in taxes for the american government?" the representative doubled down following aron''s response. "i don''t know how you see it that way, but you''re technically correct. but you also have to keep in mind that our production contract with them was done before the edenian government allowed them to do such a thing," aron responded. "can you give us details about the ownership structure of hephaestus industries and manufacturing? the committee needs to know if you''re included in this blatant act of ip theft," rep. jordan asked. "i''m the sole owner of the company." the entire room was shocked into silence. "did you just confess to breaking the law by benefiting from other companies'' ip without paying any compensation to them for it?" rep. jordan couldn''t believe the man in front of him would be dumb enough to admit to breaking ip law in front of the entire country. "it seems like you''ve misunderstood my response, mr. representative," aron began. refusing to use his name and just calling him "representative" showed how unimportant he was to aron, who continued, "i never broke any laws. everything i''ve done is perfectly legal in eden." "mr. michael, i''d like to remind you that you''re an american citizen, which means you fall under the jurisdiction of the american law." "i''d also like to remind you that i''m also an edenian citizen, meaning their laws apply to me as well," aron responded. the questions continued from there. aron was asked some difficult questions and answered them all truthfully without beating around the bush, increasing the number of people watching the c-span broadcast as time went on. "can you detail to us how you handle user data? including any past incidents that compromised public safety and the company''s responses to those incidents," a representative asked sarah. "we don''t," she responded in a clipped voice. "can you clarify?" the representative asked. "i meant that we don''t store any of the user''s data anywhere," she retorted.nove.lb-in "miss o''connor, may i remind you that you''re under oath. from our research, we discovered that you''re paying amazon for servers that you use for data storage and more, so please answer truthfully." "in the past, yes, we did use those servers to store information. during that time, our premium os version''s ai operations couldn''t be fully handled by the phones, so we sent user data there for processing before it was sent to the users. but following the release of our smartphones, which are capable of doing the processing locally, we stopped hosting the users information on the servers we rented from amazon and deleted all the data in them," she elaborated, making the prepared questions about american users'' data security useless since they had testified that they are not storing even a bit of data. the representative put aside a few pieces of paper that had become useless, thanks to sarah''s response, then turned to aron and asked, "can you list the companies you own in whole or in part for clarification purposes and to save everyone time?" "yes, i''m the sole owner of a parent company named connect enterprises and all of the subsidiary companies thereof," aron said, then paused for a moment before continuing, "there are nine subsidiaries." "can you name them?" the representative asked with a smile on her face. she would name them from the list that had been provided to her if aron decided to keep mum. "gaia technologies, helios energy & utility, hephaestus industries and manufacturing, coeus foundation, hermes, plutus ventures, icarus airlines, asclepius biotechnology..." he took a deep breath and stared the representative in the eye with a meaningful gaze, "and lastly, ares security solutions." Chapter 336 Idiots, Morons, and Assholes chapter 336 idiots, morons, and assholes the names of the companies that aron owned gave everyone that heard them goosebumps. although some of the people in the room hadn''t heard of a few of them, they had indeed heard of the others, and all of them were very rich and very, very private. most of them knew of gaia, hephaestus, ares, icarus, and asclepius; each of them were tentatively valuated at hundreds of billions of dollars, which was why they were shocked to their core. that was when they came to the realization that the man in front of them or on their tv or phone screens'' net worth was nearing the trillion dollar mark. that would put him firmly in place as the world''s richest man, with the difference between him and the second place more than 800 billion dollars. billion! with a b! but what absolutely mystified them was that aron had only become a millionaire less than three years before, meaning that in the short span of three years he had gone from "moderately comfortable" to "money is just a scorecard for the game of life" without any aid from his family or friends and he was only twenty-three years old! "have you been paying taxes?" the representative who asked that wasn''t surprised in the least, as he had already been informed about aron''s wealth. "yes, i paid more than twenty billion in taxes last year, but i fail to see the relevance of your question," aron fired back. "i''m the one asking the questions, mr. michael, not you," the representative sneered. "are you aware that your os has more than ninety seven percent of the os market, which constitutes a monopoly under us law?" "the same could be said for google." "we''re talking about you today, not them. you know that, right?" "yes, and the answer to that is because our product is superior to other competitors, and unlike them, we haven''t used any tactics to undermine our competitors." the back and forth between aron and the representative continued until the representative''s allotted time for questions ended. "how does your company contribute to research and development initiatives in the u.s.?" the next representative asked. "not much, as we have no research institute here," he responded. "and why''s that? aren''t you a us citizen? shouldn''t you be helping your home country?" the representative asked, framing aron as unpatriotic. "the very first product i produced and released to the public was forcefully taken from me by the us government. so why would i do my research here when the government always wants to steal my work out from under me?" "how do you respond to claims that your company''s practices have led to job losses or wage suppression in the us?" the representative moved to the next question without responding to aron''s question. "that''s categorically false. even our lowest-paid employee working here is completely insured by the company and their net salaries after tax are all over a hundred thousand dollars, with yearly raises and other benefits." "are there any upcoming plans for expansion, job creation, or major investments in the us?" "no." "why?" "why should i invest in a country that''s insistent on levying sanctions against me in a blatant attempt to steal even more of my technological advances, mr. representative?" aron responded quite bluntly. the hearing continued in that fashion for the rest of the day, and the three days following that, making it the longest congressional hearing related to a private company in history. aron and sarah had undergone more than thirty hours of questioning by the hostile committee. ... from the first day of the hearing, it was the main topic in not only the political section of the internet, but the entertainment side as well. it was a weird situation, but understandable; aron and sarah were both incredibly attractive, even more than most actual celebrities. besides, both of them were way too blunt in the way they handled the questions. it was very fresh, since most people called before congress would go very far out of their way to hide whatever they could, answering almost every question with "i don''t recall" or some variation on that phrase. @reallyman [are you telling me this man became a trillionaire within just three years after being expelled from school? are you kidding me?] @nop [i can''t believe it either, but i researched the companies he named and he should have much more than just a trillion] @thetruth [op, he was falsely accused before he was expelled, nothing more to say just clarifying it.] @warmonger [you people seemed to have forgotten the most important revelation of the hearing. the man has a private fucking military under him, and it fought and won a war against a fully legitimate country''s military. the video of eden''s pilot shooting down five planes in less than a few minutes is from his forces.] @damn [holy shit, why didn''t we see it earlier when everything was in the open? all of his companies are named after greek gods, from gaia to ares. but that won''t happen again as i sat and did a very deep investigation and came to the conclusion that they''re the ones who deliberately caused the indonesia incident to provoke the un to sanction eden so they can benefit] @nahthisiswild [makes sense, since their company is now the only provider of many things. so he earns more money than anyone in the country... damn, brutal and smart at the same time] the internet focused on many different topics, based on people''s interests, but nearly everyone talking about them was mostly focusing on aron being either a role model or scum of the earth. the morgans utilized it to their benefit, using every means possible to paint aron as a greedy madman. the committee began their deliberation, and at the same time, recommended that the justice department open an investigation into aron and his companies. they were privately directed that they absolutely must find evidence of him and his companies breaking the law, and if that evidence didn''t exist, they were to find it anyway. they were also instructed to pay special attention to ares during their investigative process. ... aron was in his private a380 with sarah, heading back to eden. he was leaning back in his chair, limbs akimbo, and pinching the bridge of his nose as he complained about idiots, morons, and assholes that shall not be named. "how am i gonna explain this to my parents?" aron had come to the realization that his parents would soon be asking him about his wealth and was trying to come up with a way to explain it to them as gently as possible. "why not tell them the truth?" sarah suggested.n)-o-/v()e(/l-(b((i()n "i guess.... there''s really no need to hide it from them, since the whole world knows about it now anyway," aron said. "plus it''ll make things easier on me since they''ll be able to use the vr instead of traveling all over the place and risking attacks." he smiled when he thought of the mess his little brother would cause in the vr once he was introduced to it. Chapter 337 A Long-Awaited Introduction chapter 337 a long-awaited introduction "father''s been asking why you''re just letting the morgans control your actions when you could''ve asked him to stop it, or at least have it under control," rina asked aron. they were together in one of his vr mansions, where they spent most nights. "i''m setting the stage and giving them plenty of rope to hang themselves with, so there''s no need for any of that. but i will need your family''s help in a few weeks or months," aron explained. "oh, what do you need?" rina excitedly asked. it had been a long time since aron had needed her help for anything, but now he was finally asking for it again. "eden will be calling an emergency meeting in the un, and i''ll need america''s vote," he said. "what''s it going to be about?" she asked. she would need to know what the meeting would be called for in order to convince her father to go with his request. "it''s about forming a united government on earth. we need to be united in case of foreign entities arriving," he said, then remembered that, in his urgency to deal with things, he still hadn''t told her the news and added, "let''s head to lab city. i''ll be able to explain things in more detail there." half an hour later. "i''ll ask my father, but even if america agrees, china and russia will likely use their veto. they''ll never relinquish the power they have at the moment," rina finally answered after taking a bit more than twenty minutes to calm herself after receiving the shock of her life from aron and nova. finding out that they weren''t alone in the universe would be one thing, but who would ever be able to handle the news that, not only were they not alone, but their celestial "neighbors" were coming to pay a visit with any kind of equanimity? "i know it might be a useless endeavor, but we need it to be done. i have to try every peaceful avenue of uniting the planet before using force. if i were to just skip straight to using force, there would always be people believing things could''ve been done peacefully and resisting the new government," aron explained. "but why do you want america to vote for it and not use their veto?" she asked. she couldn''t imagine a scenario where aron would want to peacefully join hands with the country that had treated him so shittily. he just wasn''t that kind of person. "i want it that way so that, in the future, when they start doing their selfish, arrogant bullshit, we can use their vote to highlight their hypocrisy," he said. "but if father knows about the vote, he''ll almost surely be against it," she said. "just don''t tell him what the vote is for. you can ask for forgiveness later instead of permission now," aron teased. "i''ll try." she hugged aron to try and calm down again. apparently, the shock of the revelation had yet to completely pass. aron said nothing, just hugged her back and rubbed her back as he gave a signal to nova with his eyes to help calm her down. ... "yes, it''s true," aron sighed. he was in his parents'' living room in reality with his parents and henry, who was running around and playing with his toys. the boy was certainly using his break from school very wisely.nove)lb(1n "so... you''re telling me that what they''re saying about you being a trillionaire is true?" his father repeated, not knowing whether he should be proud of his son or scared that a human could have that much money. "that''s their guess, based on the public data they have about my companies. the real number should be quite a bit higher, actually," aron respectfully corrected. his parents were shocked into speechlessness at the thought of that many zeros in anyone''s bank statement, let alone their son''s. "wow, can you buy me a robot?" henry was the only one in the room that could speak after aron''s last response. his parents were still suffering a small mental shutdown. aron turned to his little brother and, with a smile on his face, said, "how about i give you one now?" "yes!" henry jumped in excitement as he ran to his big brother. "put these on," aron said as he handed his parents and little brother, who had climbed onto his lap, individualized pairs of ar glasses. "the rest will be easy to explain with those," he added when he saw his parents giving the glasses in their hands weird looks. after aron''s reassurance, they put the glasses on and discovered a whole new world. "oh my god," his mother exclaimed, echoed shortly by her husband as they came to the realization that they were in a completely new environment. instead of a nicely appointed living room, they were now in front of a vast, beautiful flower garden with blooms of many colors scattered here and there. it looked like a field of wildflowers more than a cultivated, formal garden. [welcome, mr. and mrs. michael,] nova said as she appeared out of nowhere, looking like an angel in her beautiful white dress. but despite her looks, she still scared the shit out of aron''s family with the sudden appearance; henry even immediately hid behind his big brother. "don''t worry, nova''s just one of the people responsible for overseeing this world," aron explained as he patted henry, who was still behind him, on the head. "this... world?" his father asked, tilting his head. "yes, this world. a digital counterpart of the real one." he raised his hand, attracting their attention to it. "in here, everything is possible." as he said that, his hand changed, first robotic, then a tree, then back to normal. a flower materialized in it, then shortly disappeared and was replaced by a model of optimus prime, which he placed on the ground as he said, "whatever i want can happen here." moments later, the optimus prime model grew, then its eyes opened and it turned to aron and bowed. aron nodded to it, and it picked up henry to go off and play. aron turned to his parents with a smile on his face. "this is what my company''s been working on." Chapter 338 Meeting the "Other" Family chapter 338 meeting the "other" family "mom, dad, i have a few more people to introduce you to," aron said. a tall, upright woman dressed in an ares uniform appeared. "this is athena, the woman who manages ares and trains them. athena bowed and said, [nice to meet you, mr. and mrs. michael.] a burly, handsome man wearing thick denim pants, boots, and a leather apron appeared. "this is hephaestus, who helps me with manufacturing all the things made in the automated factories," aron said. hephaestus nodded at the michaels. a petite, slender figure that seemed cloaked in shadows was the next to appear. "this is nyx, she''s the one that helps us investigate things and defends us from most of the underhanded things other people try." nyx beamed a smile and said, [mr. and mrs. michael, i''m so happy to meet you finally!] "and these are plutus, asclepius, hermes, icarus, helios, coeus, and hygienia. they all help with the companies named after themwell, all except hygienia. she helps asclepius and helios, but her main duty is waste management." plutus was a fat, bald man with long earlobes dressed in gaudy robes and enough "bling" that it should be measured by weight, rather than numbers. [hello,] he said with a smile and a friendly wave. asclepius was a tall, thin middle-aged man wearing a white robe and stethoscope draped around his neck. he nodded toward the michaels with a grave face. "don''t mind him. he''s just a very serious person," aron chuckled. hermes was a teenager, wearing a sturdy pair of pants, a t-shirt with the dave matthews band logo on it, and a pair of sandals. he hopped from foot to foot as he gave aron''s parents a friendly smile and said, [welcome, mr. and mrs. michaels. we''ve all been looking forward to meeting you!] icarus was a young man in his twenties, dressed in an old-fashioned toga. he smiled and said, [hi, i''m icarus. we''ve sort of met already, on your flight here from america and some of your flights around the world. but it''s a pleasure to finally meet you face to face.] helios looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties and was tall, well built, and handsome. he was dressed in a shining suit of gilded armor and gave aron''s parents a brilliant smile as he shook their hands. [hello! i''m so happy to meet you as well!] "there are still a few more," aron said to his still-speechless parents. "there''s panoptes, aeolus, and poseidon, but they''re a bit shy, so they weren''t willing to come out and see you. panoptes helps out with pangea and my satellite network, the panopticon. aeolus and poseidon are in charge of the air force and navy, respectively. i''m sure you''ll eventually meet them someday." a few minutes passed with aron''s ai family awkwardly standing behind him and his real family speechlessly staring at the group. finally, his father recovered and said, "uhhh... nice... nice to meet you all? i''m sorry, this is just a bit of a shock. my wife and i were thinking that aron had a bit of a lacking social life, but we, well... we didn''t know he had so many, uhh, friends." [don''t worry, mr. michael, we all love aron just as much as you do. you can consider us your grandchildren, actually,] nova said to ease the tension a little. "g-grandchildren!?" aron''s mother, rose, spluttered. [oh!] nova blushed. [yes, we''re all aron''s children. you see, he created uswell, me, really, then i created my brothers and sisters. we''re artificial intelligences, and we''ve been looking forward to finally meeting you in person for as long as we''ve been alive.] aron''s parents froze again, and minutes passed. then an hour passed, and aron turned to nova with a look of confusion on his face and asked, "did we break them, or did we break the simulation?" [i... i''m not sure,] nova replied. it was the first time she had encountered this issue and she didn''t know how to proceed. ... once aron''s parents recovered, he took his family on a tour of the sim. they visited lab city, various nebulae in space, and even had the wondrous experience of standing far above the galaxy, where they could gaze down and see the "milk" of the milky way. from there, they wouldn''t have been able to see earth, except for the fact that nova generously highlighted it, making it much more obvious against the background of space when surrounded by bright stars. the only thing he held back was the incoming "visitors"he didn''t feel the need to have them worrying and stressing out on his behalf. he also refrained from mentioning anything about his system, mana, or magic in general. after finishing his introduction to and tour of the vr world, aron left his parents in one of his mansions and gave them almost unfettered access, second only to his own and on par with the lead researchers in lab city, then nova teleported him to a restricted area. [congratulations, sir,] she said with a knowing smile on her face. "yeah, thanks for that. keep an eye on them so they don''t get injured." [don''t worry, they''re in safe hands. it''s almost time for your next meeting,] she said. ... "we have finished sorting the evidence of our incoming guests and creating a presentation. now we''re just waiting for your other preparations to be done before we call for an emergency session of the un security council," ambassador foster, eden''s representative on the un general assembly, announced to aron and the rest of the people in the meeting room. "then call for it in two weeks. our preparations are nearly finished, and we already know what the result is going to be. the emergency session is just a formality and a justification in the future. it''ll be a footnote in the history books, or at most a chapter," aron said, raising goosebumps for a few people in the room over how nonchalantly he was discussing the possibility of kicking off world war iii. "then we''ll deliver the request for an emergency session right away," ambassador foster responded.nove.lb-in they continued their discussions, revisiting the evidence that would be shown to the unsc during the meeting and how they would make it known to the world. the news would be released on pangea before the unsc session, allowing them to put on a front like they were doing their best. ... a week after the congressional oversight committee hearing, the department of justice announced that they were opening an investigation into aron for human rights violations, unlawful use of intellectual property, violating sanctions imposed by the us by doing business in cuba, syria, north korea, and iran, and more. if they took it all the way to trial and he was found guilty, he would receive fines in excess of a hundred billion dollars as well as five hundred years or more in prison sentences. not only that, it was in addition to the investigation being directed by the house oversight committee in congress regarding gaia''s monopoly and all the other accusations levied against him as a result of his testimony before the committee. together with those announcements, the morgans continued trying to destroy his reputation by paying people to post fabricated "evidence" against him on social media. what was laughable was that they were also having it posted on pangea, with the idea that if he attempted to block it, it would simply justify their accusations and prove them all to be true. but contrary to their expectations, aron didn''t bother blocking any of it. the posts were all performing very well on pangea, or so they thought, as they had no idea that all of the interactions were only with one entity: panoptes. panoptes had dedicated a full 3% of his allotted processing power to tricking the morgans into thinking their plan was going very smoothly. as for the situation on other social media apps, nobody could be bothered to care about those, as everyone in the know knew that all of the hubbub would be forgotten in a week or so. Chapter 339 Just in Case chapter 339 just in case a week later, the edenian presidential office announced a press conference, claiming they would reveal something the entire world would definitely need to know. the announcement attracted attention from much of the world; people were curious about what such big news would be. especially since most of the world saw eden as the bad guys, thanks to the constant work of the morgans, the chinese, and a few organizations that had joined together after suffering tremendous losses thanks to the hephaestus ip issue and other movements on behalf of the edenian government. thus, speculation ran rampant all over the world; people were talking about it around the water coolers at work, on every social media site, every tv news broadcast on every channel, and it had even been discussed in many backrooms. the powerful people that moved behind the scenes were sure they had won and that eden was about to capitulate, giving in to their every demand in order to repair their reputation on the global stage, which had sunk even lower than north korea''s had ever fallen. precisely at 11:58 on the day of the announcement, the press room of the edenian palace was filled with reporters from all around the world. cameras began rolling and livestreams began on the internet, but president romero was yet to take the stage, leaving the viewers eagerly glued to footage of an empty podium with the edenian presidential seal embossed on the front of it and a single microphone jutting from the top. not long after that, alexander entered the room and calmly walked to the podium with a neutral expression on his face. "citizens of the great nation of eden, ladies and gentlemen watching from home, and friends and enemies around the globe, good afternoon," he greeted, already firing metaphorical shots as he began his speech. "thank you for joining me today. although our announcement was abrupt, it was issued due to an emergency situation that requires us to inform the world. so i won''t be apologizing for the short time you had to prepare your ''gotchas'' for me." he paused and took a deep breath.n)-o-/v()e(/l-(b((i()n after the short pause to gather himself, alexander switched from firing shots to dropping bombshells. "about four months ago, the panopticon satellite network we launched discovered an object approaching our solar system at a quarter of light speed. at first, we thought it was just a scanning artifact. due to the distance it was observed at, that was the likeliest issue. so we checked again, but the object was still there. then we checked again. and again. and again.... we checked until we were blue in the face, but...." he paused again, bringing his focus back to his prepared remarks. "but no matter how many times we checked, the object still appeared on our scan. so after those continuous tests, we decided to create specialized observation devices, which we recently launched into the lagrange points around earth and the sun. they are capable of a much higher resolution on a newly discovered frequency, giving us a much better view of the universe around us, or at least a ten-light-year radius of it. "and the result of those scans is: the object exists. but at least we saw it in a higher resolution." the screen behind alexander displayed the result of their constant data collecting over the past four months. "due to the importance of the discovery, we''ve already called for an emergency session of the un security council to discuss how we''re going to deal with it. and just so you can verify it yourself, your space agencies, or even your amateur enthusiasts can go to our government website, where we''ve already announced the coordinates of the discovery so you can check it for yourself. "ladies and gentlemen, we hope that the unsc will approve our emergency session request following your countries'' verification of the discovery we made. together with that, we invite everyone to download the data and verify it for yourselves.. "it is with the utmost sincerity that i say this: it is time for humanity to unite and combine our resources. if we can do that, i firmly believe that there is nothing humankind cannot overcome," he said in a grave tone, as if he knew the sheer, bloody-minded uphill battle he was about to face on the battlefield of politics. he continued speaking for a few more minutes, explaining how they came to the conclusion that it wasn''t just a planetary body in the vastness of space that coincidentally had an orbit that would pass through the solar system. he couched it in layman''s terms and never forgot to mention that a more detailed and technical explanation could be found on their official website. "i will now take questions," he concluded, resulting in all the reporters in the room raising their hands. no one wouldn''t have questions after being told aliens might be coming for them. alexander pointed at one of the reporters, who said, "jim sterling, bbc news. what do you expect to come out of the unsc meeting you''ve called? shouldn''t you have called a general assembly session instead of a security council session?" "excellent question. resolution 377a, ''uniting for peace'' lays out a specific method for calling an emergency special session of the un general assembly that will result in joint military action. according to that resolution, a general assemblythe specific emergency session can only be called for if the un security council has met, voted, and failed to come to a resolution. in order for the general assembly to meet, it requires seven votes in the unsc or a majority vote in the general assembly. so, that being the case, we''re moving as quickly as we can to present the issue to the general assembly." he pointed to the next reporter to ask their questions. "samantha clark, associated press. why are you telling us this now, instead of later when there aren''t so many things happening on the global stage?" the next reporter asked. "i''m telling you this now because we must assume the worst-case scenario is true: that the object is a crewed, hostile vessel. letting you know so far in advance is to give everyone time to prepare for its arrival." a collective shudder passed through the reporters in the audience and they went completely silent. thus, he clarified, "it isn''t proven that they''re hostile, and it''ll be even better if they aren''t, but it''s better to prepare for the worst while remaining optimistic and hoping for the best." alexander looked directly into the camera. "just in case," he emphasized. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 340 The Results Are In chapter 340 the results are in "do you expect the un to come to a good resolution?" the next reporter asked.nove)lb(1n "our hopes are high, since it''s the only way for us to be prepared by the time they arrive". "when are they going to arrive?" the reporter followed up. "we aren''t sure. our observation period hasn''t been long enough to determine that, so it depends on whether they''re accelerating, coasting, or decelerating. flying a spaceship isn''t like driving a caryou accelerate part of the way, then coast part of the way, then decelerate part of the way. if you plan it right, acceleration and deceleration should take the same amount of time, but we don''t have time to get into the more complex physics behind it. basically, our estimates right now put them arriving around ten years from now at the soonest, and no later than twenty-eight years from now. so we need to get our affairs in order and prepare so we can face them as a united front within the next ten years." alexander pointed to the next reporter. "do you think we''re capable of facing a civilization that can travel at a quarter of light speed?" "at the moment, there''s zero chance of that. but if we unite as a species and work together, pooling our resources and pouring them into research, then, by the time they arrive... we''ll be ready. all the divisions that plague humanity right now have developed us to where we are, but they also hold us back. think of humanity as a train. right now, there are two hundred train cars, each with one engine pulling each of them. but if we put all the cars together and link them up with all the engines, the train will go much faster." he moved on to the next reporter. "what are the results you expect from the unsc meeting?" "a unified military front and a unitary representative of humanity." alexander continued answering question after question for more than an hour without stumbling once. finally, he directed the reporters to the edenian space agency website, where they could find more information, and the edenian official press department, where they could submit further questions to be answered in the form of either a press release or a website faq. ... the world immediately reacted. all countries with space programs announced that they would immediately halt all current observation missions and redirect them to the given coordinates. most hoped to disprove the edenian discovery, while a few rare supporters hoped to prove it. beyond that, physicists and mathematicians around the world began working on analyzing the data provided both by eden and the results of their own countries'' investigations, ironically proving what alexander had said about needing to come together as a united front true. still, when the experts and authorities began their investigations, whether they supported eden or not, they were surprised when they dug into the data. the main surprise was the sheer amount of it. there were hundreds of satellite images gathered by eden, and terabytes of data overall. thus, people with faster internet connections would download it, copy it onto portable hard drives and super high-capacity usb drives, then mail it to their fellow researchers. the reason for the exaggerated file size was because it contained many proofs and new equations, as well as practically an entirely new branch of orbital and cosmic mechanics. and each equation required its own set of proofs, plus redundant equations that were solved and proven in different ways. there was virtually no chance that the data was mistaken. that said, the evidence was so groundbreaking that there existed no specialists in the newly created field of study. thus, mathematicians and physicists the world over called for quite a few conferences to discuss the formulas, their proofs, and the new branch of physics that had been discovered. at those conferences, they divvied up the work of checking through the enormous amount of raw data and the interpretations they had been provided of it. once the initial checking was completed in a distributed format, they would come together again to perform the final checks. still, it would be an uphill battle; almost no one could believe that eden, whose space agency was barely known before the press conference, had people who were smart enough to discover an entirely new branch of physics by themselves. it would definitely be a bitter pill to swallow for all the ivory tower elites, none of whom had been contacted by anyone in eden at all beyond headhunting messages from the coeus foundation, who wanted to recruit them to lecture at the soon-to-be-completed university campuses in the fledgling nation. by the second week of hard work by many physicists and mathematicians, they found that the calculations were true. but on the visual confirmation side, things were still being rendered by various supercomputers. though they were delayed, results were still expected over the next few days after the data verification was finished. and of course, eden wasn''t involved in the proof and verification process, as that would taint the results. they were occasionally consulted for clarifications, when necessary, but no mathematician or physicist who has ever proven a problem that stumped the entire math or physics world had ever been involved in verifying their own proofs, nor would they in this case. ... "so what you''re telling me is that it''s true?" trump asked during his daily briefing, which had been expanded to add the directors of nasa and darpa as a result of the specificity of the issue. "unfortunately, yes. we finished rendering the images gathered by our equipment, and the results were similar to what the esa came up with," the director of nasa explained. "why does it look like grainy things and dots when the edenian''s data showed things pretty clearly?" trump asked after he had opened the briefing folder. "we don''t know exactly how they managed to get such detailed data when even the best of our equipment can only capture this. we think it''s because of the task-specific deep space satellites they recently launched. of course, something that''s dedicated to doing one thing will do that one thing better than a machine that''s broad in application," the director of nasa patiently explained. "i know you''re about to ask for an increase to your budget. we can make it happen, don''t worry," trump said as he pinched his eyebrows. he finally understood why every president entered office with a full head of vibrant hair, but left with sparse gray hair. he turned to his chief of staff and said, "get the press corps on this. make the announcement and contact this month''s unsc president and... ''suggest'' that they call the emergency session as soon as possible." trump leaned back in his chair and delved into his thoughts. ''we''re even losing the space race now. how the hell can we call ourselves the most advanced nation in the world, yet not be the ones that discovered this? we can''t let them take the initiative now, and they should also be thinking the same,'' he thought. as for how they had managed to make the discovery when the object was yet to be visible in the real world, well... that was for the discoverers to explain themselves. Chapter 341 The Relationship Between Sharks and Chum chapter 341 the relationship between sharks and chum after the many different governments that had space agencies confirmed eden''s statement, the world tipped over, and the discussions moved from eden being the bad guys to the incoming aliens. it wasn''t that eden''s reputation had suddenly become better, but rather that the attention span of the populace was limited, and the news of aliens completely overtook the more "local" gossip. over the previous two weeks, people had been comforting themselves by believing that eden was wrong. after all, what could a nation that had no reputation and no world-renowned experts know, anyway? but the series of announcements by more credible experts had yanked that security blanket away from everyone. currently, the dam had been broken, and the only things preventing complete chaos were riot police and the constant reminders that humanity still had time before the "visitors", as they were being called, arrived. .... "it really worked," aron said as he watched the announcements with a smile on his face, reveling in the satisfaction of a perfectly executed plan. "i love the smell of chaos in the morning." [it would''ve been weird if it hadn''t worked,] nova said. "by the way, how''d you do it? from what i recall, you said you had to use another means of detecting them since their light had yet to reach us," rina asked, as by the time she had been informed about the aliens, aron''s plan was already in motion. "you''re right. but since the light has yet to reach us, we just had to make it appear as if it already had, at least in the direction we told them the aliens are coming from," aron explained. rina understood what he was talking about, but was a little lost on how he had managed to accomplish it. seeing her confusion, nova decided to explain in detail. [it was quite simple, really. while we can''t exactly tamper with their observatories and satellites, we most certainly can intercept the signals coming from them. once we broke their encryption, we could insert the data we wanted them to report into the signal. and since it would use their original encryption, they''d be none the wiser,] she began. [the only tricky parts were figuring out which signals were being sent by hardware that was capable of detecting things at that distance, and flawlessly generating the false data. but once we figured out all the different hardware, all we had to do to generate the correct data was simulate it in vr, where i''m constantly running a galaxy-wide simulation. then we harvested that data and inserted it into the signal feeding back to their supercomputers to be rendered.] "wow, really smart thinking on your side," rina said. she was very impressed by how they had come up with a plan and executed it in such a short period of time, especially how flawlessly the whole process had been carried out. "that''s just for the satellite telescopes. those were the easy partthe real difficulty came in how to insert our false data into the ground-based observatories and radio telescopes. those couldn''t be done wirelessly, like we handled satellites, since they rely on fiber instead of wireless signals to transmit their data. luckily, observing space isn''t considered a secret, for the most part, so all of their facilities were connected to the internet. that let us send a trojan into their systems and spread it all over, giving us a back door for the same data swap. "besides, there aren''t that many supercomputers that can render images and files of that size, so we also snuck our data in there. just as a backup in case we missed any of the other signals. that took a bit more work on the part of our operatives, since using the internet as a vector of attack against a supercomputer is bound to be noticed. but a technician doing routine maintenance on them, on the other hand, is just normal daily operations." aron couldn''t help but smirk a bit, proud of the wool he had just pulled over the whole world''s eyes. aron and rina chatted about the incoming aliens for a while, and potential countermeasures, until the subject naturally changed to the upcoming emergency session of the unsc. "i don''t think america will vote for the united earth initiative, since the morgans will never allow it to happen," rina said. she''d thought about it, and had come to the conclusion that, evenor especiallyif her father decides to go along with it, the morgans would definitely still oppose it. they had a vested interest in the status quo, after all. "not really. in fact, it''ll be quite the contrary. the morgans will help push it along, due to the optics if nothing else," aron said with a smile on his face. "why do you say that?" she asked. "because they know there''ll be a veto, even if it passes. so they''ll take it as an opportunity to make america look good, since someone else will definitely jump out to be the villain that prevents the unification from peacefully happening. then they''ll use the chaos that arises from the failed unsc vote to take power while everyone''s busy guarding against everyone else. after all, it''s easy to defeat a distracted enemy that has no allies, but if they had to face a united group of enemies it''s another story entirely.nove-lb(1n "with the likeliest outcome of the failed vote being a global war, the morgans will do what they do best: coopt the american military to serve for their own benefit and profits," aron explained. "you mean there''s only going to be a few remaining nations within a few years as a result of a massive war?" rina asked, very surprised by the revelation. "that''s how they''ll think of it. all they have to do is come to an agreement with the nuclear powers to not fight each other, and everyone else will be nothing but chum for those few sharks with nukes. it''ll be another age of imperialism, but this time with them being the sole party in power... or so they think, anyway." aron wasn''t just rambling, but explaining the results from millions, if not billions of simulated situations, designed with the assumption that eden refused to get involved. but once they added eden to the equation, it completely flipped around; eden was the absolute winner in 100% of their simulations. "or so they think?" she mused. "yes, or so they think," aron repeated with his usual smile on his face, his mind still swimming with the satisfaction that the first step in his grander plan had been successfully taken, and the second step was in progress. Chapter 342 Operation Stygian Crossing (part 1) chapter 342 operation stygian crossing (part 1) in a barracks on avalon island. a red warning light flashed and a siren sounded. it was a call to general assembly, and all of the soldiers in the barracks immediately dropped what they were doing and ran to the armory. there, after they formed up, they waited for instructions and athena appeared before them in their ar glasses. "one minute eleven seconds," she began. "i''m disappointed. sop calls for assembly within 60 seconds of the alert sounding, but you lot," she gestured, sweeping her arm across in front of her, "thought it was more important to get dressed than to get here!" if they hadn''t been standing at attention, the soldiers in front of athena would have hung their heads in shame. theirs was no normal barracks and they were no normal ares soldiers. this was home to a reaper battalion, and only the elites among the elites were housed there. "we''ll do better next time, ma''am!" they chorused at the top of their lungs. "if this had been an actual emergency, you would be dead now. keep that in mind, scabs!" athena scolded. though she appeared mad at them, she only felt a little irritation; eleven seconds was eleven seconds, but at least they weren''t standing before her in their underwear. she could take comfort in that much, if nothing else. "down to business," she said. "i''ve got deployment orders for you. if your number is called, step to my left and form up with your teams. team one" "here, ma''am!" the reapers of reaper team one shouted. "i said move, not make my ears itch! team three, team seven, and team eight, join team one to my left. the rest of you lot, dismissed!" athena snapped and the teams in front of her sorted themselves out as ordered. "right. make yourselves comfortable and join me in the briefing room. fall out!" ... the four reaper teams logged into the vr briefing room, where athena was waiting for them. though it was unnecessary, she glanced at her wrist as if she was wearing a watch, then began the briefing. "at 0931 hours today, orders came down from the top. you four teams are being tasked with establishing forward operating bases and eliminating or coopting local hostile forces. for this task, each of your teams will be assigned a nyx agent and appropriate equipment for the locale. each of you will be issued your standard kit, plus one classified kit carried by the agent.n(-o(-v-)e(.l)-b-/1--n "team one, you''ll be headed to the caucasus mountain range. avoid contact with locals at all costsif you''re discovered, your mission will be scrubbed. head to karaleti, georgia, and make your way north to mount shani. there, you''re to make yourselves comfortable and establish forward operating base bellerophon. "team three, you''ll be headed to colombia, where you will be eliminating or coopting the forces of the medellin cartel and taking over their territory. if you are discovered, your mission will be scrubbed and you will be disavowed. so don''t be discovered. you may choose any of their coca plantations or cocaine processing facilities to establish forward operating base perseus. "team seven, you''re to head to mexico. culiaca?n rosales, to be precise, in sinaloa, where your task is to eliminate or coopt the forces of the sinaloa cartel and establish forward operating base odysseus. if you are discovered, your mission will be scrubbed and you''ll be disavowed. "team eight, you''re headed to somalia. your task is to eliminate the terrorist group harakat al-shabaab al-mujahideen and take over their territory, where you will establish forward operating base ganymede on the coast. if you are discovered, your mission will not be scrubbed. your team will have air support from the archangel squadron ao-1, so go sow the wind and reap the storm. "you all have your orders. from today, you have exactly two weeks to make this happen. i''m not going to hold your hands on this oneyou''re no longer recruits or trainees, you are reapers! so go forth and reap. dismissed!" the briefing room dissolved from around the teams and, with a brief stop at the armory to draw their equipment, they headed to the airstrip to meet their nyx agents and transports. ... in the air somewhere over colombia. master sergeant jason cordova, leader of ares reaper team three, was in a transport chopper above a sea of green treetops on his way to the andes. he was confident and ready, he was sure of that, but for some reason his toes kept twitching in his boots. it was always like that for him; even in training, where he knew even in the fog of exhaustion that he was in no real danger of losing his life, he was still nervous before each mission. he had performed well in training and was assigned the rank of master sergeant when he graduated, then posted with reaper team three as the leader. but that nervous tic of his had accompanied him each step of the way. he was used to it, now. "fifteen minute warning!" the chopper pilot announced and the light in the cabin went from a comforting yellow to an alert red. everyone in the team logged out of vr and did the final checks on their weapons and gear. the nyx agent was an enigma. wrapped in a black bodysuit with a midnight blue and dark gray web vest over the top, black leather fingerless gloves on her hands, and charcoal gray combat boots, she had neither said a word nor moved an inch through the entire trip from eden to colombia. on her lap was a large suitcase made of what appeared to be ruggedized, blued steel. the team finished their checks and jason''s ar display listed each of his seven squadmates'' names in green. they were ready. ... "one minute to drop zone," the pilot announced and the sliding doors on the sides of the transport helicopter opened. the red light that had begun flashing at the two minute warning was now turned off, leaving them in the dark of night. the helicopter dropped low and the team waited out the final seconds before their mission began, each of them counting along with the timer displayed on their ar glasses. "drop, drop, drop!" the pilot ordered and the team fell out of the helicopter, followed by their attached nyx agent. as they dropped, a line extended from the helicopter to their gear, slowing their fall and allowing them to land unharmed. they looked around, finding themselves on a hill overlooking a mountainside villa where the leadership of the medellin cartel was meeting. it was time for the cartel to meet the reapers, and then, perhaps, their makers. Chapter 343 Operation Stygian Crossing (part 2) chapter 343 operation stygian crossing (part 2) master sergeant jason cordova and the rest of reaper team three were on the side of a mountain atop a sheer cliff. they were overlooking a mountain villa maintained by the medellin cartel and had been assigned a mission to either eliminate or coopt the inhabitants and establish a hidden forward operating base in the andes mountain range. it was 8pm, six hours before they would begin their assault. so these guys are bad guys, right, sarge? corporal justin mccullough asked. yep. they peddle poison, enslave locals, and violently murder anyone who dares to interfere with their operations. only reason they havent been brought down yet is because theyre so vicious that everyones afraid of pissing them off, jason replied. his toes were still twitching, so he appreciated the distraction provided by conversation. so why aint we just, yknow, removing em? the corporal said, using air quotes around removing to indicate that he was talking about calling in an airstrike. because were not supposed to make a fuss here. we eliminate who we need to in order to infiltrate, then coopt the leadership. thats what our spook is for. shell ensure that their leader, juan carlos mesa, will be a good little boy and turn to our side for as long as we need him. jason spat on the ground next to where he was laying. i guess that makes sense. we gotta stay quiet as a church mouse n all. corporal mccullough went silent for a moment, then continued, so like, if these guys are really bad guys, then whatll happen after we take em over? wont we be the bad guys then? just like jason had twitchy toes as the manifestation of his pre-mission jitters, corporal mccullough turned into a chatterbox and his accent came out. he was a big corn-fed farm boy type even before the genetic enhancements, and after them, he looked like lou ferrigno from the old tv series the hulk. he was the teams heavy weapons specialist and his usual loadout was a chain coilgun. it was a testament to his strength, as those were normally mounted on vehicles or turrets because of their mass and recoil. but he could handle one just fine on his own, and when the metal met the meat he was a good guy to have on your side, so even with his chatterbox tendencies and thick, rural accent, nobody would ever be anything less than patient with the gentle giant. thats above our paygrade, corporal. im sure the brass has other plans. the chatterbox continued chattering and the toes continued twitching as the team waited for zero hour, when their targets would be at their least vigilant. they would make their move then, but until go time arrived, each member of the team continued their pre-mission rituals. it was just another day in the life for the elite soldiers of reaper team three. the nyx agent, however, simply lay in a slight hollow on the ground, remaining as still as a knocked-over statue. she would also do her duty, when the time came and whatever that duty was. ...... andes mountain range overlooking the medellin cartel compound, 1:45am. it was fifteen minutes to go time and the nerves were getting to the team. this was their first mission outside of their training in vr, and though they felt as prepared as they could be, they were still jittery. master sergeant mccullough noticed their nerves, and to calm them, he offered some words of encouragement. we few, we happy few, we band of brothers, he began. for he today that sheds blood with me shall be my brother; be he neer so vile. this day shall gentle his condition, and gentlemen in eden now abed shall think themselves accursd they were not here and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon this day. (ed note: henry v, saint crispins day monologue by william shakespeare is a great motivational speech. the whole thing is really good; google it if you want to read more, this is just a small bit of it thats been used many times before as an inspiration for others.) amen, the rest of the team chorused. the nyx agent, to everyones surprise, joined them in a pleasant, low alto voice. alright, gentlemenand ladyits time for final checks. check your gear and report status, jason ordered. the team reported all green and the agent nodded. seven men and one woman would soon be charging into the gates of hell, bringing death with them. the eighth man was a sniper, nested on the hillside they were currently resting on in order to provide cover fire. ...... andes mountain range, go time. jason gestured to his team to proceed with eliminating their preselected targets. as the team leader, his glasses hud allowed him a broader view of the chosen battlefield than the others. his target was highlighted in green, while other potential targets that had already been chosen by his team members were red, and the rest were yellow. thanks to overwatch, the ai that was specifically tasked with providing satellite intel on active operations, the situation on the ground was clear and the team proceeded with eliminating their targets. jason leaped up the wall and drove his monoblade under the chin and into the skull of his first kill of the night, the monomolecular edge easily sliding through soft tissue and bone alike. it was an instant, silent kill, and he grabbed the front of the mans shirt and landed on the ground outside the compounds wall, where he tucked the fresh corpse up against the base of it. tango down, he whispered, then checked the status of the rest of the initial targets. proceed to position two. the team leaped over the walls and began stealthily clearing the guards. everything went as smooth as a hot knife sliding through butter, and soon they were the only souls left in the compound that werent part of the cartel leadership cadre.nove/lb(1n the nyx agent nodded and entered the building, escorted by two reapers. she had a lot of work to do, and thanks to the efficient and rapid work of reaper team three, plenty of time to do it. Chapter 344 The White Room chapter 344 the white room it was ironic, nyx thought, that the only avenue of research in which lab city was incapable of producing any advancements was the art of torture. she was completely baffled by the fact that humanitys most advanced science was in harming other humans without killing them. killing, in fact, was easier. humanity was just a special kind of species, she supposed. that they could be so cruel to their own kind had her logic circuits constantly tied in knots. [mother, why are humans like this?] she would often ask nova whenever one of her childrenthe nyx agents, or nyxians for shortwas needed to aid in interrogating a prisoner or other target. but the only answer she ever received from nova was: [thats just their nature. humans have spent their entire evolutionary period figuring out how to kill, maim, and harm each other more efficiently. there is no right or wrong to that fact, it simply... is. perhaps its because theyve never had to face an outside enemy and believe themselves to be alone in the vast, infinite universe.] ...... a medellin cartel compound somewhere in the andes mountain range, present day. reaper team three had made short work of the guards surrounding the building housing their main targets, and it was time for the nyxian to get to work. they set up a perimeter outside the building as she carried her oversize suitcase within. phase one complete, in position for phase two on overwatch, master sergeant cordova reported to the ai network. [roger, proceed as planned.] now that the death had finished, the screams would begin. he always hated the screams, but he would do his duty regardless. ...... the nyxian, mercedes chavez, moved through the dark building like a ghost. the nanoweave fibers woven into her bodysuit generated an electrical field around her that ensured she couldnt be picked up on video or motion detectors, and the insulated underlayer prevented her from triggering thermal sensors. the only thing she had to watch out for were active personnel, and she had to admit that reapers were very, very good at their jobs. there was nothing left that could be considered human anywhere in the mansion. plenty of blood though; always plenty of blood. reapers were kind of a blunt instrument like that. mercedes, though... mercedes was an artist. if reapers were hammers, she was a scalpel. it was the way she was trained and she took pride in her skills, as inhumane as they may be. all nyxians had specialties, but they were broadly grouped into a few categories: honeypots, cats, techies, hitters, and twists. most of them were obvious; honeypots, for instance, were classic femme fatale seductresses who specialized in getting intel out of targets through personal interactions, while cats were repossession experts trained in the art of strategically transporting equipment to alternate locations (stealing), and hitters were assassins. but twists... twists were... special. there were relatively few twists in nyx, and while the other categories of nyxians were generalists that were simply better in one area than the others, twists were specialists. their sole job was interrogating hostile targets through whatever means worked. chemical interrogations, torture, blackmail, kidnapping, and every manner of things prohibited by the geneva suggestions were all just in a days work for a twist. and mercedes was one of the best of them. ......nove-lb/in target acquired. moving to neutralize, she reported through the mind-machine interface in her specialized glasses. she had found the current leader of the medellin cartel, juan carlos mesa, asleep in bed. she slid a pair of glasses on his face and triggered his entry into the white room. she continued moving through the mansion, identifying and neutralizing the cartel leadership cadre in the same fashion before completing that phase of her mission and heading down to the panic room-style bunker in a sub-basement level below the wine cellar. once she reached the bunker, she opened the suitcase she carried, revealing a miniature atomic printer the size of a ladies shoebox and an oversized mana battery. the case itself was made of solid steel, which would be used in the first phase of the secret forward operating base construction. the only manual operation of the evening was then performed by her: she pushed the power button on the atomic printer and left it to do its thing while she climbed back up to her initial hide from before the operation had begun earlier that night. once she reached her hide, she covered herself with an active camouflage fabric, or snuggie as the nyxians liked to call them, and settled in for the next phase of her part of the operation. the interrogation. ...... juan mesa was having a very, very bad week. he had been peacefully sleeping in his bed, when suddenly, he woke up and found himself in a blank, featureless white room. he was wearing a white jumpsuit, including attached gloves and footies, and there was nothing in it but him. and he appeared to even have been shaved, so the only flash of color he could see other than white was his nose, if he crossed his eyes and looked down. the fabric of his jumpsuit even matched the rest of the room to the point where, when he looked down, it appeared that he didnt even have a body. he had no idea where he was, how he got there, why he was there, or what he was supposed to do, but it was early yet, so he settled in to wait. soon, he felt drowsy, and as his eyelids grew heavier and drooped closed, he was startled by a blaring alarm, flashing strobe lights, and the ear-grating sound of ylvis - the fox (what does the fox say?) blaring through unseen speakers. what does the fox say!? a-ring ding ding a dingy ding ding a ringy ding ding.... he jerked awake and the music and flashing lights immediately ceased, as if they had never been. he rubbed his exhausted eyes, then saw a woman in front of him, dressed in a black bodysuit and wearing a featureless, black mask when his eyelids blinked open. mr. mesa, welcome to the white room, she said, her voice distorted through the mask she was wearing. in here, an entire week will pass in subjective time for every hour that passes outside. you cannot die, but you will want to. trust me, youll beg for it. you will not hunger, nor will you thirst, but you will tell me everything i want to know. youll beg to tell me even more things than i want to know. and i want to know everything, mr. mesa. everything. you are scum, scum that peddles poison to children, and this... she spread her arms wide and looked up at the ceiling, is your hell. here and now, you have a choice. you can choose to willingly cooperate with us, or you can choose to be forced to cooperate with us. but trust me, mr. mesa, you will cooperate with us. i will leave you to think about your decision, mr. mesa. i will return, whether in an hour, perhaps a day, or maybe even weeks from now... but i will return to hear your answer. farewell for now, mr. mesa, she finished, then vanished as if she had never been there. for juan carlos mesa, reckoning had arrived. Chapter 345 Edens Proposal chapter 345 eden''s proposal a week after the announcement of the countries verification of edens discovery, the day of the unsc meeting finally arrived. the delay was long enough to allow countries to come up with ideas on how to handle the visitors, but not long enough to allow the citizens anxiety to boil over into panic and its accompanying rioting and destruction. it was also enough time for certain parties to profit from the discovery. a few cults had sprung up seemingly out of nowhere, one of which claimed that the visitors were merely a branch of humanity that had left long ago and were coming back to retake their ancestral home and uplift its current occupants. to them, the aliens were known as the progenitors. another cult believed that they were peaceful aliens, and that humanitys preparations for war would enrage them and cause them to turn hostile. to them, the aliens were known as the peacebringers. there were many more small cults, but those two seemed oddly popular and had gained traction rather fast. still, the cults were merely an insignificant blip compared to the number of people who had no firm beliefs either way. along with cultists, there were the conspiracy theorists. they believed that the aliens were a hoax meant to distract people from various pet conspiracy theories, like the deep state, the illuminati, the freemasons, and so on. soon enough, once those secret societies faded back into the background, the hubbub surrounding the incoming aliens would gradually be silenced as the people who had awakened to the truth fell back to sleep once again. the most pitiful groups were those who got together and committed group suicide, much like the jonestown massacre of 1978, under the instigation of jim jones, an american cult leader; or the heavens gate incident of 1997, which mass suicided under the instigation of marshall applewhite, one of the co-founders of the cult. and while the cults and conspiracy theorists were rising, so were the orthodox ufo religions, which had long held extraterrestrials as part of their belief systems, like scientology, whose adherents were firm in their belief that humanity had been entangled with various alien civilizations since the species conception; and the church of jesus christ of the latter-day saints, who believed that the earth was created 6000 years ago near the planet kolob, then moved to its present location in the solar system. the various cults, conspiracy theorists, and formerly minority ufo religions undergoing a wild surge, or resurgence, in popularity, the nations leaders were in something of a bind. practically all of the non-unsc member nations were clamoring to change the hearing from a special session of the un security council to a special session of the un general assembly so that their voices may be heard. except australia, who, weirdly enough, had chosen to remain silent on the entire affair. when questioned about their silence, their ambassador shrugged and said, australia already has seven of the ten deadliest species of animals, insects, and plants in the world trying to kill us every day. so if the aliens come in peace, great! and if theyre coming to kill us, well... theyll just have to get in line. i wish em luck with the magpies and the roos. and the spiders. their equanimity in the face of the chaos sweeping the globe was admirable, to say the least.n-/0velb1n but despite all of the official, and unofficial, protests in the un, the security council refused under the justification that it was eden that called for the special emergency session, so only eden could make the call. eden, coincidentally, had been staying just as silent on the issue as the australians. thus, as a compromise, the only thing the members of the un security council could do was decide to hold the emergency session as an open session and allow the media to broadcast it live. after that press release went out, the number of people on the streets had fallen to an all-time low as everyone who was old enough to understand what was going on was currently sitting on their couches, or laying in their beds, their eyes glued to screens of various sizes. ...... ladies and gentlemen of the press, esteemed ambassadors, and citizens watching at home and abroad, i now call this emergency session of the united nations security council to order, amr abdellatif aboulatta, the egyptian permanent representative to the united nations and president of the unsc for the month of august, announced with a bang of his gavel. we stand charged today with the solemn duty to determine the direction of the entire world in the face of the visitors, a group of extraterrestrials who are headed our way with unknown intentions. let us bear that in mind and consider the issue with the gravity it calls for and deserves. (ed note: the unsc only has five permanent member nations: france, china, russia, the us, and the uk. however, their representatives are drawn from the un general assembly, which consists of a permanent representative from each of its member nations and the unsc representatives still hold that title in addition to their temporary titles as members of the security council. ambassador aboulatta has been the egyptian representative to the un since 2014 and served on the unsc from 2016-2018; non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms.) i invite the permanent representative to the united nations from the republic of eden to the floor to present her argument on behalf of the republic of eden. ambassador foster, i yield the floor to you. edens representative, ambassador olivia foster, stood and moved to the podium amidst the sound of camera shutters madly clacking in the background as the press fought to record this historical meeting. thank you, ambassador aboulatta, esteemed members of the security council. id like to take this opportunity to first thank you for agreeing to our request for an emergency session.... she spoke for close to half an hour, only occasionally pausing to moisten her throat, explaining the reasoning behind why they should prepare for the visitors arrival by considering them a threat to humanity. only after finally finishing her explanation did she move on to the most anticipated part of this emergency session: edens proposed solution. our proposal is to form a unified world government, with a singular space forcea naval fleet that will be the face of earths security. but that wont be enough, as at the moment, were incapable of putting people in space for long periods of time without suffering a loss in health just from the adverse long-term effects of zero gravity, let alone space combat. thus, in order to solve those issues, well need a joint research institute to which every country contributes, whether in terms of money, human resources, or both. as for the raw materials required to build the force, we propose that the research institute uses the material reserves in international waters that have already been discovered, or will be discovered as a result of their investigation. she paused for a moment to let people digest her words so far, then changed gears and moved to another part of the proposal. the unified government will have more power and authority than the current united nations, which will step back and become a venue for hosting sessions to resolve issues that arise on the planet. the united government''s authority will be absolute in matters regarding the preparations for the incoming visitors. as for the rest of the matters, the un will remain mostly as it is, with the addition of a permanent president in the general assembly and security council from the united government. that would ensure that no hindrances to our preparations can arise while still ensuring that non-urgent matters can be handled as usual. our proposal is only in the initial stage of development, so all of the details need to be discussed in meticulous fashion, but in order to allow the greatest preparation lead time possible, we suggest that a fully-fledged plan must be drafted and agreed to before the end of this year, so within four months from today. ambassador foster paused, this time for longer than just to moisten her throat, before beginning to wrap up her presentation. over the thousands of years that humanity has developed, from discovering fire, learning to speak, to using stone tools and weapons to hunt, then learning agriculture, entering the iron age, the bronze age, and so on, we are now at a crossroads. in order to allow humanity to progress further, this is a hurdle that must be overcome. its time to put aside our petty infighting and tribal state and stand united as a single monolithic species. should we succeed in that, i believe that in our unity, nothing is impossible. esteemed ambassadors, president aboulatta, members of the press, and people watching at home, thank you. i yield the floor to president aboulatta, she said, then stepped away from the podium and retook her seat. madame ambassador, thank you for your proposal. i now open the floor for questions, ambassador aboulatta said and a few people immediately raised their hands. Chapter 346 The Only Thing That Can Stop Eden Is... Their Televisions!? chapter 346 the only thing that can stop eden is... their televisions!? ambassador aboulatta pointed to the chinese representative, who stood and said, china would like to offer an alternate suggestion. the system we have has been perfected over many years and has already had all the problems worked out of it. so i suggest we continue the current system, as the un has been at the forefront of maintaining peace between all the nations on the planet.... he continued speaking, finding more and more reasons they should stick with the current system. the un had been around for over seventy years, after all, and there was no need to reinvent the wheel by creating a new united government system. that posed too many issues that couldnt be worked out in the time frame suggested by eden, which was the only thing the chinese ambassador agreed with ambassador foster on. for instance, he said, many countries have differing ideologies, and just working out those alone would take more time than we have if we want to settle everything by late december. he argued that instead of forming a united government that only looked strong from the outside but was actually fractured within, it would be better to maintain the status quo, then continued, but i do agree that too many leaders wouldnt be a good thing. so i propose that the un security councils permanent representatives form a leadership council. france and the uk would combine to represent the european union, while china, russia, and america would be the other three members on the leadership council. following chinas proposal, the russian ambassador also gave their proposal. it was along much the same lines, but was phrased in a different way and suggested in a slightly more aggressive tone. does anyone else wish to speak? ambassador aboulatta asked, but was met with a resounding silence. it was strange, since america was very opinionated in the unsc and tended to hog the limelight whenever the slightest opening was left for them to do so. and considering that their historical competitors, china and russia, had spoken, it was doubly strange. since there are no other proposals, let us vote on the ones before us. first to be voted on is the proposal submitted to the council by the honorable ambassador from the republic of eden, madame foster, amr said, then cast his own vote. one by one, votes started being cast by the unsc member nations. ...... back in eden. january lilungulu and his father were recent immigrants to eden from tanzania. they had arrived thanks to the coeus foundations dreamer program, and lilungulus father had been lucky enough to get a job working at a hephaestus assembly factory, working on the line to manufacture a number of products that were on the sanction list. today, he and his father, who had taken a day off from work, were sitting in front of their television, just two more of the innumerable people watching the broadcast of the un security councils emergency session on their local news program. the house they were in was new, and bought at cost with a low-interest, long-term loan that was offered to new immigrants by the coeus foundation, and the cost of goods in eden was also fairly low, which had given the two of them a brand-new lease on life compared to what they had before in tanzania. many people in eden, both natives and recent immigrants alike, were flourishing, even under the sanctions. many things that had been expensive in the past, due to currency exchange rates and import/export tariffs, were now cheap, and the quality of the goods produced in the hephaestus assembly factories was even higher than things imported from more industrialized nations in the past. the same was even more true for the people who had gotten jobs in those assembly factories, like lilungulus father had. but there was a certain respect given to those workers over and above the workers in almost any other industry, which let them hold their heads high in pride. and the education subsidies that edenian schools offered students all the way from preschool to postgraduate degree programs ensured that the children of immigrants and native citizens alike would only be in better and better positions than the generations that came before them. after all, the sanctions would be temporary, and once they were lifted, most of the assembly workers would need to find other ways of earning an income as the rightful owners of the patents for the goods currently being produced would likely take over the manufacturing of them. all of the current economic and population stimuli that eden was currently experiencing were a result of the decisions made by aron and alexander in order to increase the number of high-paying jobs, lower the unemployment rate, and increase the edenian citizens happiness. after all, content citizens werent likely to declare revolutions and overthrow governments. but not everyone in eden was merry after the sanctions were imposed. hundreds of thousands of people were forced out of their comfort zones and jobs that had previously relied on export industries, or were displaced by the government buying their familial properties in order to turn them into new farms. if any group existed in eden that would want their government to comply with the international communitys demands, it would be those disenfranchised people. however, things were even looking up for them, thanks in large part to alexanders continued campaign of forging diplomatic and trade ties with other nations suffering under the same unfair yoke as eden, and for different, but still bullshit, reasons. as the sanctioned nations drew closer to each other, exchanging goods, technologies, and even citizens, more and more of those disenfranchised edenians began to slowly recover their previous lifestyles. and with panoptes and nyx in charge of monitoring them, they were the first to be given the opportunities to restore their previous lifestyles if they were dissatisfied with the recent changes. as for those that had been disenfranchised, poor, and so on before the imposition brought on eden by the un-backed sanctions, they had also been provided with opportunities to lift themselves up and into a comfortable life. they were provided with interest-free loans, job-specific education programs, various grants, and much, much more, all of which came from the coeus foundation in cooperation with the various related edenian government ministries. for example, coeus provided funding to the ministry of agriculture in the form of co-signing guarantees on loans offered by the government, with the stipulation that they be used to buy land and rehabilitate it into farms. once someone was offered an interest-free farming subsidy loan, they would then be given a place in a coeus trade school, where they would be taught how to farm, then assigned as a worker on an existing farm for hands-on experience from planting to harvesting during the loan approval process. it was all very efficient and guaranteed minimal wastage and maximum results. the new governments efficient handling of economic and interior issues ensured that anyone living in eden that had the drive to work hard would receive educational and financial support from the various government institutions. it was made very clear through daily government propaganda that the programs were available and in place for anyone that wanted a better life to receive one. but for those who chose to not work hard and simply wanted to live off the governments charity, they were given three chances to change their mind. if they chose not to accept the governments various outreach programsnone of which were willing to harbor malingerers or the lazythe government would simply stop offering them of its own accord. the programs would remain available, and the people would still be welcome to apply for them in the future, but they would have to ask for them instead of being offered them. when all of the new initiatives were combined with a highly motivated, angry populace, the country would naturally grow faster after the sanctions than before. the citizens were enraged that they were being looked down upon and bullied by nations that were proud of their arrogance and threw their weight around with relative impunity, and it showed in the high adoption rate of the new programs. but today, the entire nation of eden had ground to a halt as nearly every edenian citizen, like lilungulu and his father, had been glued to their television, phone, and computer screens, watching the un security councils broadcast of their emergency session regarding plans to deal with the visitors. they all wanted to know what their country was going to propose, and whether or not they would once again be ignored. and from the looks of things, being ignored was likely to be the best outcome for the fledgling nation.nove-lb-1n Chapter 347 The Destructive Process of Creation chapter 347 the destructive process of creation un headquarters, new york. it wasnt long before the display screen tallied and revealed the votes. united states of america: in favor. russia: opposed. peoples republic of china: opposed united kingdom: in favor france: opposed the moment the first no vote from the five permanent members of the security council appeared, everyone in the room, and the more politically savvy folks watching from home, knew the resolution had effectively been swatted. even if the tally of the entire security council was in favor, no matter the margin, either china or russia would use their veto power to kill edens proposal. still, that was a moot point, as more than half of the non-permanent members had voted against it, two more had abstained, and the supporters were pitifully few. most countries apparently either agreed with china and russia that the un was enough, or they were against giving up any of the power they currently held and didnt want anyone to lord their authority over them. the way the unsc was set up, with five nations holding the power of veto over everything, it had devolved into a stage on which only they could perform, while the rest of the world could do nothing but watch the show. occasionally to their benefit, true, but usually it was to their detriment or didnt involve them at all. over time, that had turned the un into an ineffective organization that could do nothing but say pretty words and hand down resolutions that only weak nations were forced to follow, while more powerful nations could ignore them with impunity. if anyone needed evidence of their toothlessness, the russian takeover of the crimean peninsula and openly stated intentions on an invasion of ukraine was more than enough. that wasnt even mentioning the corruption in the organization, which was only hidden behind a thin veneer of politeness. the issue was evident in the resolution following the closed-door hearing regarding the situation between indonesia and eden, where the edenian ambassador presented hard evidence to support their side, while china was backing indonesia. needless to say, the corruption in every level of the un was now blatantly apparent to anyone who cared to pay attention; the only thing saving the organization now was the fact that the hearing had been held behind closed doors and the security council was notoriously good at keeping secret what they need to keep secret. following the vote, the internet erupted in protests, which spilled over onto the streets and steps of government buildings around the world. people were fearful, and expressing that fear as they realized that their governments were dragging their feet on an issue where every second counted. every second they werent researching, every second they werent discovering, and every second they werent building or training was a second that could potentially trigger a domino effect that would exterminate humanity as a species! unfortunately, even the protesters were as united as a dish of loose sand. some protested against the united world government, but others protested against it. and those protests were mostly split according to how the vote went; countries that had voted for it were protesting against the resolutions failure, and countries that had voted against it were protesting the fact that it had even been considered at all. another dividing line was along the level of countries development. more industrialized, first world nationslike america and most of the euwanted things to remain as they were, while the proposal of a united world government had gained momentum in less-developed nations, like those in central africa and oceania. they knew that if they couldnt get a united world government with a monolithic research institute, they would stand no chance at all of surviving if the visitors were hostile, so their lives were literally on the line. humanity had become irrevocably fractured. the divide between developed and developing, powerful and weak, rich and poor, old and young, conservative and liberal... the list went on. there was no unity to be found, and the discovery of an extraterrestrial civilization headed their way had torn away the facade that had previously covered the severe fracturing of the species and thrown all the moral bullshit and excuses out the window. i dont know whether to applaud humanitys selfishness or be enraged by it, aron sighed as he watched chaos sweeping the world. people were showing their helplessness, fear, and anger with widespread destruction, vandalism, and a skyrocketing crime rate everywhere except eden, and again, weirdly, australia. eden, because their country was prosperous, happy, and developing well but also a very highly trained police force that knew how to deal with such things backed by a very swift but brutal just justice system that punishes people arcoding to the damage caused by the crime making all crimes in eden have no ceiling of the punishment they could be given as a result of weight of the committed crime, while australians were simply sanguine and phlegmatic as a whole. still, there was no mockery in arons tone, only a bitter kind of sadness. he knew that human nature was actually humanitys worst enemy, and part of human nature was for people to prioritize themselves when the species life was on the line. [they dont know that panicking is the worst possible reaction to have when their entire civilization is on the verge of destruction,] nova said from beside aron, where she was accompanying him in watching the painful process of the destructive act of creation. says you! aron growled jokingly. he gave nova a side eye as he remembered that her panic attack during his upgrade had cost him more than five billion loss that day which was chump change for him but still, he couldnt waste and opportunity to mess with her. [i learned my lesson after a single error, but humanity continues repeating their mistakes time and again. they say that those who dont learn history are doomed to repeat it, but i like the response by friedrich hegel: the only thing weve learned from history is that weve learned nothing from history,] nova said in a shy voice. true. humanity can only learn through experience, and experience is something you only gain through fucking up. so as long as they dont experience the negative aspects of the panic, theyll never learn to be calm and think carefully under pressure. aron was speaking as though he himself wasnt human, something he didnt realize had been happening more and more since his upgrade. but if he did notice it, he likely wouldnt care regardless. humanity had disappointed him on far too many occasions, after all. another thing thats worsening the chaos is the herd mentality. humans are social animals, and when gathered in groups, they act as a group rather than relying on their individual judgment. so none of them have any control over the situation, and none of them will allow an individual to take that control and direct the herd. a person is smart. people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animalsespecially in a situation where they lack any practical experience on how to handle themselves, like this one. humanity is being tested, and it only remains to be seen whether they pass or fail. aron massaged his temples and pinched the bridge of his nose, then sighed. give me a list of names. i want to know everyone whos instigating and worsening the chaos in order to deal with them in the future. i cant allow that kind of bullshit when were fighting for our lives, aron said. he knew that there were some true agents of chaos in the crowds inciting and triggering them, but the majority were intelligence operatives. he even saw a few agents he recognized by sight, having dealt with them relatively recently, either personally or through skirmishes between them and the nyxians.nov.lb/in [yes, sir,] nova said, then got to work collating the name list and the evidence backing each individuals inclusion. accompanied by a flash of light, a burly giant that stood nine meters tall, wearing ragged brown trousers and sandals on his feet appeared. he wasnt wearing a shirt, and his muscular upper body was covered in tattoos of eyes in every shape, size, and color, all of which rippled and moved seemingly on their own. he was none other than panoptes, the ai that monitored social media and ran the panopticon satellite network. [theres a situation online, grandfather,] panoptes reported. [the panopticon intercepted signals between american, chinese, russian, and british satellitesit appears theyll soon be coming for you to either take your tech by force or force you to voluntarily donate it for the betterment of mankind.] let them come. ive been waiting for them, aron sneered as he focused on the second list nova had collated for him: a list of people who had remained calm despite the situation. Chapter 348 A Speech For the History Books chapter 348 a speech for the history books after a week or so of chaos, the various governments finally stepped in. they ordered their police forces into action and constantly urged the citizens to return home. they argued that nothing could be done if the population didnt remain calm and allow them to work, and pointed out that aimless protests and riots did nothing but waste time that should be spent on preparations. together with panoptes guiding social media and the gaia os ai assistants discreetly acting to calm their users, cooler heads finally prevailed and things started returning to normal. ...... are all of our preparations complete? trump asked the secretary of defense. yes, sir. were ready to proceed, the secdef replied as he handed the folders in his hands to the president. trump said nothing, but briefly scanned through the contents of each folder. after closing the last one, he nodded in satisfaction and said, we can move forward with this. when will you do the press briefing? the secretary of state asked. call for a press conference in the rose garden today. we need to calm the public and regain their support as soon as possible, trump said, opening the folder on top of the stack on his desk to read the contents in more detail. ...... later that day, the white house rose garden, which was usually used for happier announcements, was filled with reporters from every news agency that had a white house correspondent press pass. despite the short notice, white house correspondents were available at any time for situations just like this one. this time, though, the press conference had been opened to everyone who wanted to attend, white house correspondent or not. it was being held in the rose garden for that specific reason, as they wanted as many reporters to attend as possible and space in the briefing room was naturally limited. todays press conference would be the first one held by the president after the mess caused by the unsc special emergency session, where the un had decided to do basically nothing. when the conference was scheduled to begin, president trump followed a few of his cabinet members out of the white house, then took to the podium after they had lined up at the back of the stage the podium was set up on. the podium was decorated with the presidential seal, and the us flag was proudly flying from every conceivable surface of the stage setup. it was tacky, gaudy, and looked like the stage at a campaign rally; it was uniquely donald h. trumps style. he had personally taken over decorating the venue, as he knew the speech he had his press secretary prepare was bound to go directly into the history books.n)-0velbin he straightened the red trucker hat on his head and his long tie, then began speaking. my fellow americans, when our forefathers dreamed of a new nation, one founded on freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they looked to the vast horizon of the great unknown. today, we, too, gaze into an unknown, but our eyes lay above the horizon and our gaze stretches into the vastness of space. unfortunately, when you stare into the void, the void stares back at you. just a short while ago, our great nation and the rest of the world received and was startled by the discovery of an approaching extraterrestrial object. i remember the phone calls, the briefings, and the weight of the decisions that lay ahead of me at that time. but more than anything, i remember the palpable fear. he said the last words slowly, as if he was reliving the experience. i remember the uncertainty that gripped our citizens and the questions on everyones mind: are we ready? are we prepared? are we capable of facing them...? for too long, space has been the final frontier, a domain of mystery and wonderso much wonderbut also of vulnerability. and in the face of this new challenge, it isnt enough to offer hopes and prayers. we must be prepared. and as your president, while the world is dragging its feet, i have an obligation and a duty to ensure the safety and security of every american. he stared directly into the camera in front of him. and when it comes to defending america and its citizens, it isnt enough to just have an american presence in space. we must dominate space! we must lead others and act as a beacon for humanity to learn from and follow, just like we did when we landed on the moon in 1969! "in order for that to happen, i hereby direct the department of defense and the pentagon to immediately begin the process of establishing a space force as the sixth branch of our armed forces. our space force isnt just another branch of our armed forces, but a testament to american ingenuity, determination, and our unwavering spirit. as weve done throughout history when faced with new challenges, well adapt, well innovate, and we will overcome! he said in an enthusiastic tone designed to raise the morale of the american citizens. together with the formation of the space force, were going to subsidize and offer tax credits and deductions to all companies that are willing to focus on space and help the american military to rapidly develop the necessary technology. to those who wonder about the cost or necessity of such a force, first of all, shame on you. the safety of our citizens and the security of our nation are paramount. there is no price too high. secondly, the space force will not only defend against the incoming extraterrestrial threats, but will also secure americas domination in space exploration, research, and development. i call upon every citizen to support this new endeavor. and to the men and women who will join the ranks of the space force, i salute you. youre the pioneers of a new age, the guardians of the final frontier. together, as one united nation, well face the challenges of tomorrow. we will rise, we will thrive, and as always, america will prevail. god bless you all, and god bless the united states of america. thank you, he finished as the reporters in the audience and his cabinet members standing behind him in solidarity burst into applause. his speech had given everyone whod watched it a newfound sense of hope. Chapter 349 Follow the Leader chapter 349 follow the leader after a lengthy standing ovation, the reporters finally came to their senses, remembering that the press conference notice had mentioned that they would be allowed to ask questions. and once they finally came to their senses and remembered they were there for a press conference, not a press briefing, hands rose among the crowd. trump pointed to one of the reporters he knew in the front row. you first, go ahead. are you indicating that youre closing the door on the option of a unified world military? asked the correspondent from fox news. no, we arent doing that. were starting by ourselves because america is the leader of the free world and its time for us to step up and lead. well eventually come to an agreement, but by taking the reins now, well be able to get a headstart so the time we spend closing the deal isnt wasted, he answered. his press corps had already given him a list of questions that would likely be asked and prepared him ahead of time. he pointed to the next reporter, the correspondent from breitbart. your turn, go ahead. there were three plans presented to the security council. why didnt we propose our own, and which of the three plans will your administration support? were still weighing our choices, but thankfully it was me that won the election. if it was clinton, who knows what kind of mess wed be in now? the white house press corps staffer standing behind the cameras paled and broke out into a cold sweat. the president was going off script again. such a mess, so many messes. my administration will choose only the best plan after carefully weighing the options. only the best, trump said. he knew the breitbart audience and what they wanted, so he would give it to them in order to keep their attention focused on him. he silently sighed, then pointed to the correspondent from msnbc. he still had to at least appear fair, after all. what do you think will happen to countries that cant afford to create a space force, like you just directed our country to do? they can invest money then, or researchers. r&d is still needed at the moment and even if they arent as smart as we are or as rich as we are, they can at least deliver coffee and push mail carts. he pointed to the correspondent from cnn. wouldnt every country forming their own space branches while the talks are ongoing create a strategy clash as each country fights to have the world adopt their strategies and doctrines? thats part of the reason i directed the formation of a space force today. im not a politician, im a businessman. and a good one, too. so good. and even the worst businessman knows the benefit of being first to market and im far from the worst. politicians like to talk, talk, talk, but soon theyre gonna realize that we left them all in the dust and, in a year at most, the whole thing will be settled and well still be on top. so itll be our space force that leads, and our doctrine that they follow, and our strategies that they enact, i promise you that. the q&a session lasted longer than most, and trump mostly answered them well. he stuck mainly to allowing the media outlets that supported him to ask questions and avoided the unfriendly reporters until he wrapped up the conference and left. ...... the reaction to trumps announcement was immediate. the americans, at least, calmed down and returned mostly to normal when they saw that something was being done. it could be compared to the reaction after the attacks in 2001, where there was an initial panic until the government stepped in and announced a concrete plan on how to prevent it from happening again. the same thing happened with the discovery of extraterrestrials now, and the same approach to calming the public had worked again. and the calm period hadnt arrived for america alone, but also for the rest of the world. or most of it, at least. in north korea, there had never been a mass panic to begin with, as the government hadnt informed the regular citizens of the discovery at all in the first place. kim jong-un was patting himself on the proverbial back over having foreseen the period of mass panic and solving it before it could even start. another reason the panic had died down in the rest of the world was because of the common belief in americas strength. after all, america had been the world police for decades, and generally speaking, when they said they would solve a problem... the problem was soon solved. one way or another. besides, now that the united states had acted, their opponents would do the same, if only to not be left behind or left vulnerable. after all, a space force was just another army, albeit one that could be used to attack anywhere on earth.n/-ovelbin and the people werent wrong, either, as hours after trumps announcement, russia and china announced the formation of their space forces as well, if differently named. for russia, it was the roscosmos armed forces, and in china, it was the change guardian force. china and russia also announced that they would be ramping up their production of nuclear weapons, as they believed only those would be useful in space warfare. they were the strongest weapons humanity had developed over its entire existence, and with the radiation contamination being a non-issue in the vacuum of space, they were perfectly suited for ship-to-ship combat. as for the rest of the countries in europe, they each announced they would be negotiating as a single body, the eu. they had already opened a dialogue with the american government to see if they could share the financial burden between the many countries in the eu and america, but if that didnt work, they would be forming their own european space navy as a single military entity. as relative normalcy returned to the world, people looked for opportunities to profit and a new market bubble was blown. analysts and trendsetters, like warren buffett, believed that the space boom would go even further than the dot-com bubble in the late 90s. with the formation of a new market bubble, companies that had something to do with space, such as spacex, lockheed martin, boeing, northrop-grumman, aerojet rocketdyne holdings, and maxar technologies, experienced a meteoric rise on the stock market, hitting the limit every day. people heavily invested in them with the belief that their shares would continue increasing in value nonstop over the next decade or two. the legitimate companies werent really a problem. in fact, they were a great opportunity for everyone, and something that aron had envisioned as part of his unified research program idea, but there were still problems. shitty companies began appearing one after another, promising that they had the solutiontm to everything and attempting to take their companies public as soon as possible. that said, nobody but the poor people were fooled by their claims; rich people could already recognize them for what they were: a pump-and-dump scam, where the company would cook their books and make wild claims in order to attract investors and drive their share prices up, then dump all of those shares after they made enough of an increase, pocketing the difference. it was absolutely against the law, but for some strange reason, the securities and exchange commission either didnt have the time or lacked the interest in pursuing the companies that had obviously been formed specifically to break that very law. Chapter 350 Theyre All the Same chapter 350 they''re all the same everyones finally picking sides, aron said as he read a report on the current happenings around the world. he knew that, soon, the big countries would begin negotiations on how they would divide the planet between them and exploit the resources in their territories for their own gain and, coincidentally, the formation of their individual forces. so why arent you making an announcement of your own space force? wouldnt that increase your citizens morale and pride? rina asked. she had already laid her eyes on some of the ongoing research projects in lab city, as well as their mature discoveries, and she knew that nobody on earth could catch up to aron in terms of technology. not in a decade, and likely not ever.n.(o)-v--e)-l(/b).i)-n theres no need to make it known to the world right now. in the peoples minds, we already have a very well-established and advanced space research institute. the moment we discovered aliens, and our discovery was backed up by other, more advanced nations, that much was set in stone. our lead in the current space race is already cemented, and everyone knows we already have experts in the field. so i expect offers to cooperate to start rolling in one by one for countries that cant afford to buy my tech, and offers to buy from countries that somehow still think ill sell it to them, aron sneered. he was looking at the situation from the sidelines like a kid looked at ant colonies and was just waiting for the right moment to bring out his magnifying glass. besides, do you really think they, he gestured at the invisible them, waving his arm in front of him, would believe that we have the money to spend on research right now when were dealing with the current un sanctions? he jokingly added, eliciting a chuckle from his girlfriend. so ive been wondering over the past few days... what wouldve happened if the unsc had agreed to your unification proposal without any hindrance? she asked. i wouldve kept my aspirations to the business world instead of world domination. while i wouldve still built a private navy to protect myself and my companies products, i wouldve just become the worlds biggest businessman dealing in arms and black tech. together with that, i wouldve released my vr simulation to the public earlier, to reduce the time and resources spent on r&d while keeping an eye on everyone elses advancements. i still wouldve been the ultimate winner regardless, but at the moment... does it really matter? aron had been positive at the time of the unsc emergency session that his proposal would fail, but even with that, hed still had a detailed backup plan in place in case things went contrary to his expectations. rina remained silent for a while, thinking of the chance that her family and its wealth would exist following arons eventual takeover. she ultimately came to the conclusion that the rothschilds were unlikely to survive as they were and that saddened her a bit. no matter how they had treated her, they were still her family. still, she couldnt bring herself to ask aron to intervene on their behalf, because she knew that deep down, the rothschilds were no different from the morgans. while the morgans had been the primary driving force behind the invasion of iraq and the ultimate architects of the 2001 attacks, the rothschilds had been responsible for their fair share of atrocities as well. for example, operation desert storm in the 90s, the attack on the uss cole in 2000, and more could be laid directly at the feet of the rothschild family. at their very cores, the two families were identical in their way of doing things, and rina knew that the only reason aron hadnt already acted against the rothschilds was because they had yet to do anything to him that would require a response. unlike the morgans, who had signed their own death warrant the moment they began plotting against him. although aron was no saint himself, and had done some very shady shit, he always had sound reasons for doing what he did. reasons that didnt include personal enrichment as the first, second, third, and fourth on the list while increasing power and authority was sixth through tenth. still, ill try my best to salvage what i can of my family and change it for the better. so let the upcoming destruction suffice as punishment for what my predecessors did and a cleansing fire that redeems what remains, she said to herself, her gaze focused on the garden in front of her. ...... it didnt take long for congress to wrap up their investigation into gaia technologies and direct the department of justice to open a case against them. the charges were violating us antitrust laws, market manipulation, and multiple counts of copyright infringement. they were hoping to levy enormous fines and force their os, or at least the core code it relied on, to be made public or risk being prohibited from doing business in the us. plus, the fines would go a long way toward lining certain elites pockets. the announcement of the case being opened came a few days after the public calmed down from the recent alien panic. it was perfectly timed to go mostly unnoticed by the general public, unfortunately, and the coalition of american tech conglomerates was doing their best to get it into the public consciousness. but as a result of the constant stream of news about the visitors, they decided to use the delay to formulate a more perfect pr plan to demonize the company. they would focus on preparing and spreading rumors about gaia technology stealing and selling user data, and blaming them for doing everything that the public hated that the coalition themselves were guilty of. it would be a campaign of thieves crying theft. while that was ongoing, the government of eden declined all offers to form a coalition with countries that were forming their new space forces and research institutes. eden responded with the argument that they cant join a coalition that doesnt include every country in the world, as they would be remaining strictly neutral as per their standard diplomatic policies. plus, they didnt want to deepen the division of the world along the rich and poor line, increasing the inequality between them and countries that couldnt afford to create their own. nobody would want the leeches in their coalition, and that term would include eden except that they had already shown their prowess and technology advantage by being the first to detect the incoming extraterrestrial object. that decision was met with different reactions. some thought they were taking virtue signaling to a ridiculous extreme, as their lives were on the line, while others applauded them for condemning countries for doing things on their own and wasting resources that could have been used in a more efficient, united manner to avoid wastage and duplicate efforts. as a result of edens decision, the countries that had invited them decided to instead ask for the tech they used to discover the visitors, going so far as to word it in a way that implied they would be acting against the public good if they refused to donate their technology to the cause. implied was the threat that the entire world would consider eden to be the villains if they refused the fair and equitable offer of giving everyone something for nothing. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 351 Nukes, Leashes, and Navies chapter 351 nukes, leashes, and navies on september 17th, 2017, north korea publicly detonated a hydrogen bomb as a weapons test. given the general uselessness of radiation in space, as well as the lack of heat transfer, the general consensus was that space combat vessels would be armed with hydrogen warheads instead of regular fission warheads. while humanity, as far as they were aware, hadnt yet mastered controlled nuclear fusion, the uncontrolled variety was much easier and plenty destructive enough to be used as a weapon against aliens. two days later, while the civilized governments were busy threatening more sanctions against north korea, they launched a ballistic missile that passed over hokkaido, causing alarms to ring out in every country that had missile launch detection programs and nearly instigating a full-blown nuclear war. if it werent for the incoming aliens, humanity likely would have self-immolated that day; especially since the ballistic missile test came only days after a public hydrogen warhead test. that day, the doomsday clock was set to 30 seconds to midnight from the relatively safe time of two-and-a-half minutes to midnight it was before the missile launch. humanity was the closest it had ever been to doomsday. ...... theyre really pushing our limits, trump said as he read a report about the mess caused by north koreas test fires. looks like when eden helped them with their sanctions, it gave them the balls to do what they want. after all, more threats of sanctions against them is pointless with those fucking blockade runners from that third-world shithole, trumps new chief of staff, john kelly cursed. isnt china supposedly keeping their dog on a leash? as far as i know, north korea is just chinas attack dog. they let them bark and rattle sabers every now and then just to remind us that they could unleash them at any time, trump asked. this time, even china seems to have been caught off guard, the cia director reported. what do you mean by that? trump asked. north korea has been breaking free from chinese control thanks to the coalition formed by eden. in the past, china was responsible for 70% of their food and energy needs, so they had a leash to control them with. but now that they can get what they need from eden, with no strings attached, theyve been growing closer to eden and away from china. thats why, we think, theyve become bolderits because the damn edenians removed chinas leash from around north koreas throat. so youre telling me theres a chance things will get much worse than this? trump asked. most likely, yes, so long as eden continues providing them what they need without strings attached. as long as that trade continues, north korea can do whatever the hell they want.n-)o/-v))e--l.-b()i).n so lets remove eden from the equation and let china put a shackle on their dog again. after all, those morons are incompetent and the last thing we need is a war started by their missiles failing during the boost phase and falling on japan, or worse, south korea, trump said after a moment of contemplation. how about we promise to remove the sanctions against eden if they cancel their deal with north korea? the aide from the state department suggested. that wont work. they already know we cant do that on our own. itll take a security council resolution, and right now, russia would probably veto it just to muddy the waters further. or worse, theyll want to trade our support for their slipshod plan, and thats the absolute last thing we need, the chief of staff replied. so how about threatening to sanction that... whats his name? adam? no... aron. aron michael. how about we threaten him personally with sanctions, since his companies are responsible for producing and delivering everything thats letting north korea be ballsy. then theyll be forced to go back to begging china for food and oil, and china will have the leash again, trump mused. hes a very important figure in eden, and combined with his individual power and influence, hes a huge target. but since a lot of his funds are in our banks, or banks that we can influence, thats possible, the cia director said. i dont think sanctions are a good thing at the moment, as we need their tech. and if we piss off the owner of the companies responsible for researching and producing it, its likely to backfire since he can use the sanctions as an excuse for why he wont give it up to us and paint us as the bad guys, the secretary of state said. then how about a naval blockade on north korea? can we do that? trump asked. its... technically possible. naval blockades are considered acts of war, but we can interdict their trade ships and force inspections on them with the excuse of checking them for weapons and other banned items, the secretary of state replied. it wouldnt make it completely impossible for edenian shipments to arrive in north korea, but it would delay it by a lot. the tricky part is that eden is a neutral country, so therell be some political wrangling and horse trading involved, but its doable... technically speaking. like we do in cuba? trump asked. yes, but itll take two fleets, since we dont have coast guard ships capable of sailing that far. weve got the ronald reagan carrier strike group and the america amphibious ready group in the area, but we cant pull any more than that without compromising ongoing ops elsewhere, general mattis replied. plus, it wont be a perfect interdiction, but itll cover most of the ports at least. the discussion continued into the early afternoon as they worked out how the interdiction would be implemented, what they would be announcing to the public, and so on. ...... father, i think its about time we start the final escalation act. we need to focus on the aliens, so its high time we stomp eden into the mud. theres a high chance the rothschilds will try to stop our plans in eden, like we did theirs in yemen back then, so we should focus on building up public opinion against eden now, george morgan said. he had learned that the previous upswell in anti-eden sentiment had fallen once the publics focus shifted to the incoming alien threat, which he considered a fine move on edens part. we need something huge, and on american soil, otherwise the people wont be angry enough to merit a military response. but itll serve two purposes... first, itll get our revenge against those peasants, and second, it can serve as the opening act to forcing takeovers in a lot of countries that are currently just wasting space and resources. and although the aliens are an opportunity, even if an unplanned one, we need to put those countries to bed within the next two years since were on a timer, he mused. he was thinking along the same lines as many powerful governments were; it was time to reduce the cacophony of voices in the un, or whatever the united government would be in the near future. and he wanted the first mover advantage. lets frame up a bombing attempt on the 9/11 anniversary this year. its the best time to unite people, as theyre already busy remembering that particular masterstroke of ours, george suggested. Chapter 352 We Figured Wed Give it to Everyone chapter 352 we figured we''d give it to everyone the clowns are getting really bold, aron said, reading his weekly report. {theyre becoming variables that might disrupt our plan, sir. are you going to stop them?} nova asked. i really should, since theres a chance they might start a war before were ready for it, aron said. the missions he had ongoing hadnt been completed yet, and he would need them to be in order to set the stage for the fight for dominance among humankind. {but do you think theyll listen to us?} theyve already distanced themselves from the chinese, thanks to our trade with them. and since its highly unlikely that china will accept north koreas return, at least not without paying a price for their so-called betrayal, its also highly likely that they would listen to us instead. theyve already pressed a thumb on the scales in the wrong direction and seem to have not thought about the situation the entire world is in, aron mused as he came up with possible ideas on how to deal with the situation in north korea without letting it devolve into open warfare before he was ready to take the stage. {i think, based on the speed our forces are completing their tasks, we can risk north koreas refusal. everything should be ready by the time the kims suffer the consequences of their rash actions,} nova said after taking a moment to check on the progress of the ongoing missions. all four of the forward operating and logistics bases had already been completed, and the reapers and nyxians had been spreading them from there. soon, they would have forces available all over the world; and it had only hinged on the initial four. besides, if the rest of the world tried starting a nuclear war and devastating the planet, they just might get an unexpected result when they tried. nova couldnt help but look forward to that inevitability. true, aron said with a nod. {so will you have alexander cancel his diplomatic visit to north korea?} no need. the visit to north korea is just a stop on his way back from taiwan, so he can deliver our request then. itll work better face to face instead of exchanging messages through diplomatic courier pouches. alexanders visit to north korea was now set in stone. {and what about the sensor tech the space-capable nations have politely requested that we hand over?} aron waved his hand magnanimously. give it to them. they cant produce it anyway, so theres no need to keep it a secret. he smiled at the mental image of the looks on everyones faces when they realized that little fact. {will do,} she replied. ...... the countries that had requested arons tech had been planning on increasing the pressure on eden in order to make them buckle to the more powerful nations will. but they were quite surprised when the edenian government simply published the schematics on their official pangea account, letting the entire world have access to them without even trying to argue against the request. the only issue was that every country had wanted the tech for themselves, and the schematics being made public would prevent them from getting the leg up on their competitors, as theyd originally planned. when they tried making a fuss about it in private, edens response boiled down to: we were asked by multiple countries, so we figured wed give it to everyone. there was nothing anyone could say, so they could only gnash their teeth in frustration and get to work reproducing it. but there was a problem; everyone who had seen the schematics almost simultaneously realized that the equipment would be impossible to produce in any reasonable time frame, as the entire process would need to follow a natural progression. they would need to make the tools they would use to make more advanced tools that they would use to make more advanced tools... and the cycle would repeat a number of times, wasting precious weeks with each iteration. as that was happening, the us government quietly pulled the naval fleets they had in japan and the south china sea to interdict trade to and from north korea. when people caught wind of the interdiction fleets, the situation was brought up at a press briefing and the white house press secretary announced that the trade interdiction was a response to a recent escalation in north korean aggression. tensions around the world increased, as the move by america could possibly provoke another escalation on the part of the loose cannon, kim jong-un, and the doomsday clock ticked down to 20 seconds to midnight. n/(ovelbin north koreas response to the interdiction fleet was to pull some of its forces from the dmz and deploy them, along with quite a bit of their long-ranged artillery, to the coast, where they began construction on larger bases. the forces would build the bases and occupy them until such a time as the us and japan, who had joined the american interdiction fleet to cover the gap left by the overextended american navy, withdrew their fleets. although the situation in korea caused a commotion in japan, it was mostly for the sake of argument. even the staunchest conservative would have no problem with the economic attack on korea. there was even an old saying in asia: the only thing china and japan will ever agree on is that they hate korea. the three countries had a long tradition of cooperation and competition that was highly complex, but it boiled down to all of them having, at one point or another, allied to deal with the third. china and korea hated japan, and korea and japan hated china just as much as japan and china hated korea. the whole thing would have been rather silly if it hadnt been accompanied by millennia of bloodshed. the north korean response caused people to watch in anticipation, wondering what eden would do in this tense situation, considering the upcoming diplomatic visit schedule. michael jackson had never eaten as much popcorn as he was at that very moment. ...... beijing, china. we can take advantage of the situation to break the bond between eden and north korea by causing an incident during the diplomatic visit. itll show them that the trouble north korea brings isnt worth what theyre getting in return, an mss operative said. so will we just let them acknowledge taiwan as a country? right now is the perfect time to annex them, since the worlds attention is on the visitors. so long as we do it fast enough, nobody will have time to react and we can use the incoming aliens as a shield against retaliation by countries that have defense agreements with taiwan. after all, a prolonged war now would be disadvantageous considering the aliens, wang yi replied. then we should make a plan for the edenian diplomatic mission to taiwan as well. that way we can make them reconsider their relationship with both countries.... but we have to be very careful, since they may retaliate and even consider it an escalation of hostilities, another member of the mss suggested. we should consult with the chairman and move forward based on his vision, but i dont think we need to take a potential retaliation from eden seriously. after all, theyre small and weak, and dont have what it takes to make us take them seriously, the head of the mss said, then tabled the topic for a later discussion with zi jinping. Chapter 353 The Politics of Eating Gunpowder chapter 353 the politics of eating gunpowder a week prior to alexanders diplomatic mission to taiwan and north korea, which hadnt been cancelled despite the two-week-long trade interdiction of the latter, china increased the frequency of their incursions into taiwan airspace. they were sending more than fifty jets per day on routine patrols over chinese taipei, rapidly increasing the already-existing tension between the two countries. those watching from the sidelines rightfully guessed that the intentions behind the constant and increasing provocations were to destabilize the situation to the point that alexander would be forced to reconsider his upcoming diplomatic visit. n/(ovelbin but contrary to everyones expectations, the edenian presidential office remained silent on the issue, implying that no changes to president romeros schedule were being considered. instead, their actions proved that the mission was still very much going to happen as the ares logistical department began operating at full swing. never-before-seen military cargo planes arrived in taiwan one after another, bringing the vehicles that alexander, his security detail, and sarahwho would be visiting gaia technologies business partner, tsmcalong with her security detail would use during the visit. that was paired with an increase in nyxian activities in taiwan as they combed the country from top to bottom, intent on plucking out any potential threats to the edenian delegation. along with the cargo planes that were currently parked in underground hangars at chiashan air force base in hualien county were two of edens modified kc-35 stratotankers, which would be responsible for the fuel requirements of the presidential jet (one of arons modified a380 superfortresses) and its archangel squadron escort. a similar air wing was dispatched to north korea in preparation for the diplomatic missions arrival there, as well. the situation attracted the attention of the easily distracted, and everything from the new cargo planes with the ares insignia, to the ground vehicles they had transported, and even the ares aegis agents that were accompanying the materiel. the aegis agents were the ares personnel that had been specifically trained to provide close personal security to dignitaries, whether visiting or abroad. they were the edenian equivalent of the secret service for the us or the protection command of the london metropolitan police for the uk. they had arrived ahead of the delegation in both taiwan and north korea in order to set up the security measures that would be taken by the host countries to keep president romero safe from harm, as currently, there was a battle of escalation between five countrieschina, taiwan, north korea, the united states, and japanand the security situation on the ground was naturally concerning. while the preparation work for the visits was ongoing, eden dispatched two naval task groups, one headed toward taiwan and the other toward north korea, showing that they were adamant in their protection of the diplomatic mission they were sending out. footage of the fleets steaming ahead at their cruising speed had been released to the public through edenian news channels, with the footage provided by poseidon himself. that footage attracted the same group of easily distracted peoples attention and debate over the capabilities of the ships ran rampant on the internet, even trending on pangea for a couple of hours. the two task groups that had been dispatched were two of the fleets from the edenian home fleet ready reserve, who were treating their mission as live training for coastal patrol duties. the spectacle that the aeolus air force and poseidon navy were putting on caused many to speculate whether eden was taking the opportunity to showcase their new vessels. if that wasnt the case, there was really no other reason to escalate the situation further than it had already been, which would mean that eden was rattling sabers. during the edenian press briefing directly following the publicity blitz, the press secretary was asked about the deployment orders. the press secretary responded, we are doing everything within our power to ensure president romeros safety during his upcoming diplomatic visits to the republic of china and north korea. just because we maintain our neutrality does not mean that we wont respond to blatant provocations, no matter the source. (ed note: china is the peoples republic of china. taiwans official name is the republic of china. theres a long, complicated history between the two, but taiwan is actually just a city in the roc. china (the prc) refers to it as chinese taipei and asian netizens from china and taiwan refer to each other as east and west china during flame wars.) ...... edens action, along with their reveal of new ships and jets, had caused many headaches to countries that couldnt believe a third-world shithole like eden could have hidden that much. they were still trying to come to grasp with any country that could hide such huge fleets without being discovered until they were purposefully revealed. together with that, and with the edenian incursion into indonesian waters, everyone was wracking their brains trying to at least estimate how powerful each of the ships in the task groups were. based on the frigates powerful guns alone, the other, bigger ships were absolutely terrifying. still, not many countries were too worried, as they believed there was no chance that eden had mature technologies other than their guns, which think tanks had already come up with a solution for. thus, they were either faking it, or using experimental technology, which everyone knew was extremely prone to failure. they obviously hadnt learned their lesson from the consecutive launches of the panopticon satellite network, or the more recent launches that set up deep space observatories in four of earths five lagrange points. nobody was sure who had said it, but the common consensus among people that were paying attention to the rapidly developing nation was that eden needed to be nipped in the bud before they grew capable of causing serious trouble to their betters. thus, eden had acquired a very large target on its back. ...... on the russia-ukraine border along the crimean peninsula, russia had begun amassing a large number of troops, dividing the attention of the easily distracted between the recent antics between china, america, eden, taiwan, and north korea and the crimean peninsula. people were wondering just what kind of gunpowder people had been eating that would cause such a massive, synchronized increase in tensions between countries that were, for the most part, considered reasonable. in addition to the exaggerated troop deployment along the border, russia also began entering what military nerds would call full battle preparation for an extended conflict of aggression, if they were polite. fuel depots, supply warehouses, and deployable hospital buildings were springing up along the border like weeds after the rain. whenever russia was asked what they were doing, they would only respond that they were conducting a large-scale exercise. everyone knew it was a half truth, at best, but without solid evidence, there was nothing anyone could do but keep an eye on the situation without taking action. at least until russia finally made a move that would give the observers a valid reason to interfere, that is. it was almost like the weeks leading up to alexanders visits to taiwan and north korea were cursed, as with the number of increasing tensions around the world, all it would take is a single spark to light a fire that may end up being humanitys funeral pyre. hopefully, that funeral pyre wouldnt be lit with nuclear flames. Chapter 354 Invisible Locks chapter 354 invisible locks [a/n another mass release will be released in a few days] a few days later, somewhere over the pacific ocean. an enormous jet was flying through the sky, high above the clouds. everything seemed peaceful as the ponderous aircraft made its way forward at a decent speed.. arons specially modified a380, which had been repurposed for use by the president of eden, looked dignified and regal as it passed over the ocean, headed to the republic of china, more commonly known as taiwan, where its passengers were headed for meetings with the recently elected president tsai ing-wen, who would be meeting with president romero, and the co-chairmen of tsmc, drs. mark liu and cc wei, whom sarah was scheduled to meet. the same could not be said, however, for the squadron of fighter jets flying in close formation around it. they were also beautiful, in their own way, but it was much the same as one would look at a tiger, or a shark, and admire the animals appearance. he really went all out, alexander mused as he looked out of the window in his office and gazed at the fighter jets. the pilot of the jet nearest his window noticed he was being observed and waggled the wings of his jet in salute, then returned to focusing on his mission. hes tired of remaining passive and is setting the stage for him to step out into the limelight, sarah replied. but do we really need to keep up the facade when nothing will matter soon, anyway? asked alexander. for a little while, yes. we need to keep acting like everythings normal until the proper moment. once the other side makes the initial move, then well be free to act. but for that to happen, its absolutely imperative that everything appears normal, sarah answered, then added, after all, we need a casus belli in order to seize the moral high ground, no matter how useless it may end up being. true, alexander said, then returned to thinking about what might happen once he crossed into taiwans airspace. with the recent upsurge in chinese incursions there, there was a distinct risk of his flight being intercepted. not that it would matter, as he was well aware that his safety was absolutely guaranteed as long as he remained aboard the plane or within any of the vehicles that had already been delivered for his delegation to use earlier. ...... as the presidential jet and its escort approached taiwans airspace, four chengdu j-20 mighty dragons scrambled from longtian air basewhich had recently undergone hasty repairs and was the primary air base from which the pla jets would take off from in the daily provocations of taiwanand turned onto an intercept course headed toward the edenian delegation, which was just under an hour away from its destination. normally, the fighter jets wouldnt have that range, but with the two modified stratotankers meeting them halfway, range had become a non-issue, especially with the energy-dense fuel developed by lab city and refined in one of the subbasements of the cube on avalon island. the only thing limiting edens fighter jet range now was the pilots themselves, who had to battle fatigue during extended operations like this one. as alexander was working on various issues, his attention was briefly caught by the jet that had accompanied him outside the window of his office suddenly breaking formation and speeding ahead. whats going on? he asked the empty air in the room. {the escort is headed to intercept approaching chinese aircraft,} his ai assistant answered. as she spoke, a recording of the overwatch satellite feed appeared on the lenses of alexanders ar glasses, showing the approaching j-20s. ...... n--ovelb1n are we really going to do this? that jet is carrying the president of a foreign country! wouldnt they take our actions as a declaration of war? one of the j-20 pilots asked on his intra-squadron radio channel. youre assuming they can even spot us. they may be good at spotting things in space, but the visitors arent being stealthy at all. here, we have our speed and stealth as an advantage, another pilot replied. he was excited to be a part of their current mission, unlike the first pilot that spoke. you do realize theres an entire squadron of fighters escorting them, right? the first pilot rejoindered. the party can just deny responsibility for anything that happens. since they cant see us, who can accuse us anyway? the second pilot sneered. both of you shut up and focus on the missi the squadron leader began, then was immediately shut up when his equipment blared a lock-on warning, informing him that his jet had been locked on by a targeting system. he couldnt believe his eyes and ears. in front of him was his radar, which showed nothing in its detection range, yet the lock-on tone was still blaring in his cockpit. whatever had him in its sights was either another stealth aircraft, or one that could detect them from outside his radar range, which was hundreds of kilometers at the altitude they were currently cruising at. either one of those two options was definitely bad news for him. before he could even think of equipment malfunction as a possibility, the rest of his squadron reported that they, too, had been locked on to by something they couldnt detect on their radars. then, before they had even fully digested the fact that theyd been spotted, a voice crackled to life on their supposedly secure intrasquadron radio channel. unidentified approaching aircraft, you are on course to intercept a diplomatic flight. you have thirty seconds to change course or you will be forced to do so. the broadcast then repeated in chinese, showing that whoever had spotted them had also identified them. i repeat, change course immediately, or you will be forced to do so. this is your first and final warning, you have thirty seconds to comply. the moment the second broadcast ended, more alarms blared in the cockpits of the stealth fighters as the number of lock-ons increased and their radars finally pinged. but the only thing showing on them was a single large jet: the edenian presidential a380. all four chinese pilots found the entire situation surreal. they were being locked onto by invisible attackers! the squadron leader wasted no time and ordered, mission abort. abort, abort, abort. change course immediately and return to base. ill contact command on the way. all four j-20s performed a simultaneous immelman maneuver, not caring that they would become slower targets. they had already been targeted when they were flying in stealth, so who cared if they slowed down? what was more important was getting back to longtian with their little lives intact, as well as the expensive stealth fighters they were piloting. once that had been accomplished, they could contemplate what the hell had just happened. Chapter 355 Shots Fired chapter 355 shots fired thanks to the early interception of the chinese j-20s, the presidential jets trip was smooth. they hadnt faced any further interference during the last 45 minutes or so of their approach and landing. once eden one had landed, the fighter escort refueled and, with the permission of the host country, took up patrol duties for the duration of the diplomatic visit in order to prevent any incursions that could possibly threaten alexander or sarah. ...... as the edenian visit was beginning, complete with all the pomp and circumstance surrounding high-level diplomatic missions, an entirely different atmosphere prevailed in the offices of the military leadership of china. they had received the debriefing notes on the short, but significant, encounter with the edenian fighters near taiwan and were scrambling to figure out exactly what had happened, and how. their brand-new stealth interceptors had been... intercepted. and not only that, they were locked on by a targeting system from enemies that they couldnt even detect! it was a great loss of face for a country that placed great value on their national prestige. so youre telling me they discovered us, but we failed to discover them? zi jinping asked as he slapped a folder onto his desk and massaged his temples with his other hand. yes, leader. that seems to be the case, the minister of national defense answered. do you believe it? zi asked. based on the pilots expressions during their debriefing, and the flight recordings, that seems to be what happened. but its still difficult to believe that we couldnt discover their planes when theyre flying the same russian su-35s that were already intimately familiar with. after all, we have some of those, too, so we know for a fact that we can see them on our radars, the minister replied. in order to escape the blame, he would just give the president all the information he had at hand and allow him to come to his own conclusion. that way, if that conclusion were to later be found incorrect, it wouldnt be the ministers fault. he was definitely a seasoned politician and had vast experience with buck-passing. apparently, theyve modified their jets to make them invisible to radar. that isnt a good thing at alltheyre currently patrolling chinese taipei, so if we continue our air incursion plan... the head of the mss began, then paused to take a deep breath. theyd be well within their rights to shoot our jets down with the justification that they pose an imminent threat to their president. theyre only required to give a single warning before firing, since theyve been granted permission by the government to be there, he finished. zi jinpings face darkened. so we cant continue our incursions for now? he asked. unfortunately, no, the minister of defense answered. ill add that to the list, zi jinping said with a frown. right now, we still have a use for the edenians. taipei gave them permission to patrol their airspace, right? yes. nove.lb(1n zi jinping turned to the minister of national defense and said, find some martyrs among our pilots. they have a final job to do. its time to bring chinese taipei back to the fold. the minister of national defense thought for a moment, then saluted and left the room. he had been given his orders, and didnt need to know about anything else that would be said in the briefing room. ...... three days later, somewhere over taiwan. archangel 02 had discovered a chinese j-20 over taiwan. the previous two days had been peaceful, with no chinese incursions, so the edenian pilot had been caught slightly off guard when his ai assistant, who had been monitoring his long-range sensor array, notified him that a j-20 had been picked up on his lidar. he immediately locked his targeting reticle on the j-20 through his hud ar display and broadcast a warning on all frequencies. unidentified aircraft, you have entered a restricted airspace. i repeat, you have entered a restricted airspace. you have thirty seconds to reverse course and return. this is your only warning, if you do not comply you will be fired upon. i repeat, you will be fired upon. then he switched to the secure intrasquadron q-com channel and reported, contact, contact, contact. chinese j-20 stealth fighter on course for taipei. i issued the warningwhat are your orders, commander? close range and fire a warning shot with your guns, archangel 01, the leader of the archangel squadron ordered. roger, closing. archangel 02 adjusted his course to intercept the j-20 and pushed the throttle of his jet to the stops and soon reached mach 2.8, where he backed it off and entered supercruising mode. the current fastest jet on the planet was the lockheed martin f-22 raptor, which could supercruise at mach 1.8 or fly at mach 1.2 with afterburners, so the pilot judged that mach 2.8 would suffice. it would allow him to intercept the chinese interceptor over an uninhabited area while keeping at least some of his jets capabilities hidden. he soon got a visual on the j-20, which had made no effort to adjust its heading or speed. aiming his targeting reticle ahead of the intruding chinese, he fired a burst of tracers from his guns that passed ten meters in front of the target. the chinese jet turned to engage him as the other three pilots on patrol for the day also reported contacts of their own. incoming intruders are hostile, engage at will, came the order from archangel 01. roger, engaging, chorused the other three pilots in the squadron. archangel 02 went vertical and gained 1000 feet of altitude, bleeding speed as he did so, then executed a hammerhead turn and came around behind the target. he reacquired lock on his target and released a missile as he reported, archangel 02, fox one. then... there was no then. what had once been a j-20 briefly became a firework, then a rain of small pieces of metal that, perhaps years later, old men and women with metal detectors would dig up on the shore of taiwan outside of taipei and wonder what they once were. other than that brief interlude, where the edenian patrol shot down four chinese intruders, alexanders taiwan visit was peacefully brought to a conclusion. he had signed a mutual defense treaty with taiwan in addition to the standard trade agreements hed been offering to all of the nations on his whirlwind world tour. in addition to that, he had set up an embassy and issued a public declaration recognizing the republic of china as an independent country that was in no way beholden to the peoples republic of china. ...... the journey to north korea was relatively peaceful. the escort pilots had handed off patrol duties back to taiwan and the flight was smooth. the interdiction fleet made no attempt to stop the edenian delegation as it passed over them, the escorts sarcastically wagging their wings in salute to the american and japanese fleets as they went. they had all received the same notification from their assistant ais that all observation instruments on the ships had been focused on them, but the pilots only snorted and wished them luck. the naval escort, on the other hand, couldnt say the same. after eden one and its escorts had passed the interdiction fleet, the naval escort joined the other task group that had been sent ahead of alexanders visit. that fleet had been in a standoff with the american fleet outside nampo, the nearest port city to pyongyang, for a few days before their reinforcements had arrived. heedless of the tension on the sea, alexanders delegation smoothly landed at the korean peoples army air force headquarters in pyongyang, where they were met by the aegis team that had been sent ahead prior to the taiwan visit. the aegis team leader that had been in country longer pulled the presidential aegis team leader aside for a briefing on the situation as alexander stepped into his car in the edenian motorcade and, with his extra security team, headed toward the mansudae assembly hall. unlike the relatively peaceful and enthusiastic reception alexander had received in taiwan, an almost palpable sense of tension hung in the air here. even the weather seemed to agree, as it was unseasonably cold, overcast, and windy. he left his car, dressed in a midnight blue suit and a black greatcoat that hung from his shoulders to his knees and topped everything off with a striped wool scarf in the colors of the edenian flag. he put on his best professional smile and waved for the flashing cameras of the state media, who were there to document kim jong-uns first visit from a foreign dignitary. welcome to the democratic peoples republic of korea, president alexander, kim jong-uns sister greeted in passable english. thank you, miss kim. alexander shook her hand, then gestured for her to join him as they entered the assembly hall. ...... a few hours later in an underground bunker, somewhere near the dmz. a north korean general answered a red phone on the first ring. his sole job for the past three years had been to sit in that office and stare at the red phone on the desk in front of him. there was nothing else in the room; no computer, no cellphone, nothing. only a desk, a chair, and a hanging light fixture marred the dreary gray reinforced concrete of the windowless underground room. an ashtray that was overflowing with cigarette butts was on the opposite side of the desk, accompanied by an opened pack of counterfeit huanghelou xianliang ban cigarettes. yes.... i understand.... yes, sir. right away, sir. for the unification! he stood and saluted, then disconnected the call and dialed a new number, one that he had memorized years before but had never needed to dial... until today. when the voice on the other end of the phone answered, he said one word: fire. then he lit a cigarette and sat back in his chair; they may be counterfeit, but they still reminded him of home. within minutes, almost ten thousand guns and mlrss of the democratic peoples republic of korea army simultaneously pulled their triggers. other than the four thousand pieces of self-propelled artillery that had been moved to the coast to fend off the trade interdiction fleets of the united states and japan, the rest of the over fourteen thousand guns were still trained on south korea. the guns spoke, shaking the very ground they were braced upon. it was the first round of shots in nearly a century of cease-fire between north and south korea, but it would not be the last. Chapter 356 Time to Unass This Place. chapter 356 time to unass this place. mansudae assembly hall, north korea. wed like to see a reduction in your countrys aggression, president kim. its making it very difficult for us to support you at the moment, alexander said once the diplomatic greetings were done and the small talk was over. it was time for the meat of the conversation. n-(ovelbin are you telling me what to do with my own things? kim jong-un growled. as the diplomatic translator struggled to come up with a polite translation for that, not knowing that alexander was already hearing a real-time translation thanks to his glasses ai assistant, kim jong-un continued under his breath, who do this guy think he is? he has no right to order us around. he thought he was quiet enough that nobody would hear what he was muttering to himself, but it didnt go unheard by the ears of the genetically enhanced alexander, his translatorwho was in actuality a nyxianor anyone else from the edenian delegation for that matter, who all shared the genetic enhancements that alexander enjoyed. they all stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the north korean dictator, causing him to go quiet and wonder why they were all looking at him. listen here, president kim, alexander began in fluent korean. kim jong-un froze, finally realizing that all of his veiled insults had been understood by the man across the table from him. while the entire world was punishing you for your violations of human rights, your insane measures to keep yourself in power and threaten the world, your greed, and the draconian measures you instituted to keep yourself in power by pushing your own people into starvation, we, the people of eden, chose to come to your aid. we, the people of eden, chose to provide you the resources you need. we, the people of eden, chose to uplift you and your people. we, the people of eden did that. not china, not any other nation, not any charitable organization, but us. he paused for a moment, allowing kim jong-un to digest what he was saying, then continued, but youve been losing your reason as you shuffled off the shackles of chinese control. you slipped your leash and immediately attempted to prove that you were exactly what the whole world believes you to be: a mad dog kept on a leash by china to prevent it from biting any and everyone it saw. you detonated a fucking hydrogen bomb, president kim, and you announced it to the entire world! then you had the unmitigated, absolute gall to launch a ballistic missile over japan. a country which, may i remind you, is the only one to have ever suffered a nuclear attack! did you stop to think, even for a microsecond, about the fucking consequences? did you think that we, alexander gestured to himself and the other edenians in the room, would support your insane actions? i kim jong-un began, still shrinking back under the unseen pressure that alexander was emanating. whatever he was about to say would forever remain unsaid, however, as the door of his office hit the marble floor with a bang and alexanders aegis team rushed into the room. the leader of the team, antonio espinoza, moved to alexanders side and whispered, sir, its time to unass this place. we have to go, now. then, uncaring of the optics of the situation, he picked the edenian president up and put him on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and rushed out of the room surrounded by the rest of his team, who were pushing kim jong-uns praetorian guards aside. the position alexander was in was a little undignified, sure, but he wasnt trained to the same standard as an aegis guardsman. if bullets started flying, the aegis team needed to react as a single unit in order to protect him. after all, being embarrassed would be better than being shot. had the praetorian guard received the same news as the aegis team did, the chaotic evacuation would have raised even more of a commotion. but with the constant monitoring of various aisbarring panoptes, as the cloud cover impeded the eyes of the panopticon in the skythe edenians were the first to receive the news that north korea had broken the nearly century-long ceasefire between them and south korea. the shit had hit the fan, and the aegis team would think later; right now was the time for them to act. the edenians left chaos in their wake, the floor behind them littered with groaning north korean praetorian guards and the hallways ahead of them rapidly filling with more. soon, a gun was drawn and the guard that drew it shouted at the aegis team to halt. antonio looked to his left and nodded to the embedded nyxian. she took a large stride and flipped over the head of the aegis member in front of her, landing atop the guard with the drawn weapon and riding him to the ground, where she swiftly rendered him unconscious and began tearing through the praetorian guard in front of her like a tornado through a trailer park. while she refrained from using lethal moves, the trail of destruction she left behind was rather impressive; a single woman had left behind nearly as many bodies as an entire aegis team had up to that point. the main difference was that the bodies the nyxian left were silent and unmoving in their unconsciousness, while the guards dropped by the aegis team were groaning and rolling around in pain. the chaos lasted for a few minutes longer, then suddenly came to a screeching halt as, in one synchronized movement, nearly every praetorian guard raised their hand to their earpieces and their faces paled. they had obviously received the news that they had fired on south korea and had bigger proverbial fish to fry. shield espinoza called the nyxian back and the team stood to the side of the hall, gesturing back the way they had come. he figured it would be faster if they let the hundred-thousand-strong praetorian guard get out of his way on their own than fight his way through the lot of them. soon, the corridors of the mansudae assembly hall were empty of all but the edenian delegation, who swaggered out of the halls front doors and into their waiting convoy, where they were joined by the pilots of their jets. it was a shame, but the hardware could not be left behind, so the miniaturized atomic printers in each of the jets executed their last orders and printed a large scuttling charge. the charges detonated in good order, ensuring that none of the advanced technology contained in the 14th-generation fighters or in the presidential a380 would be recoverable. though that was just a camouflage measure, as the advanced technologies had already been decomposed and used as the raw material for the scuttling charges themselves. what was left behind after the decomposition and explosion was nothing more than the airframes of the jets themselves: sukhoi su-35s, a kc-35 stratotanker, and an airbus a380. all in all, alexanders diplomatic visit to north korea had ended in a much more spectacular fashion than his visit to taiwan. Chapter 357 Its Finally Kicking Off chapter 357 it''s finally kicking off while the edenian delegation was evacuating from the mansudae assembly hall, an entirely different confrontation was in progress a few dozen nautical miles outside nampo. edenian vessels, this is the uss ronald regan. you are entering interdicted waters and i hereby order you to stand down for inspection. i repeat: stand down for inspection. the edenian task group continued steaming forward at a rather impressive speed, from the perspective of the american vessels between them and north korea. uss ronald reagan, this is the ev sigurd. we are not a trade fleet and thus were not subject to your illegal trade interdiction of a sovereign nation in the first place. were currently on course for nampo, where we will be onboarding our diplomatic mission in light of the recent resumption of hostilities. belay your order and get out of our way or there will be... trouble, home admiral james holbrook replied from the flag bridge of the sigurd. ...... its finally kicking off, aron said as he caught up to the news. [and at the worst possible time,] nova said. the weather was being very uncooperative, with the unusual cloud cover over most of north korea preventing the panopticon network from acquiring solid visuals of the ground. they still had other options, like thermal and infrared, but the thick cloud cover was still making it impossible to determine what was what. wheres alexander? he asked. he had received the news of north korea unilaterally violating the cease-fire minutes after it had occurred, but had to rely on reports, rather than visuals, to determine what exactly was going on at any given time. [the presidential aegis team is currently en route to nampo for a sea evac. without the stratotanker in the air ahead of time, they had to scuttle the air assets and evacuate by sea. luckily, nampo is only a few dozen kilometers from pyongyang, so it shouldnt be long before theyre safely aboard the ev hrothgar and headed back.] nova brought up the feed from one of the aegis soldiers, then split the screen and displayed a progress map on the other side. north korea had almost no cars and relied mainly on bicycle-driven rickshaws for transportation, which were easy to dodge and wouldnt be able to jam the entire street like cars could. thus, the evacuating delegation was making good time on their way to the port, where they would board the waiting edenian submarine and begin the long journey home. thats good. keep an eye on them and let me know if their situation changes. he turned his head and said, nyx. the shadows in the room gathered into a human shape, which resolved into the mother of spies. [you called, sir?] our work is done in north korea, right? he asked. [yes, my children finished their missions and have already been exfiltrated. nothing too out of the ordinary happened and its all been dealt with,] she replied, thinking of the reasonably few smoking craters left by the exfiltrating nyxians. nova, call for a council meeting, aron ordered. a few minutes later, the edenian council appeared in the meeting room. they must have immediately logged in after receiving the order, since the time dilation in the vr was relatively high and it had only taken them minutes, not hours, to appear. aron caught them up on the situation and informed them that the presidential delegations evacuation from north korea was in progress, then left them to draw up plans for their individual ministries based on the resumption of hostilities in korea and the situation brewing in taiwan. he nodded to nova and the two of them disappeared; nyx had already left earlier. aron appeared in ares command and began issuing orders. raise our status to alert level two. i want ares, aeolus, and poseidon to be ready for immediate mobilization. cancel all leaves and call every soldier back to duty stations. home fleet is to increase patrols and send out the reserve. order all transport convoys to flank speed, i want our cargo ships and merchant marine back as soon as possible.... he continued issuing order after order for quite some time. in a nutshell, the entire military was to be ready for anything within two hours real time, and the trade convoys had been ordered to submerge if they were intercepted. there would be no point in preserving his capabilities if it cost him experienced ship handlers. after all, no matter how accurate the simulation was, reality would always differ and experience still mattered. yes, sir, the military leaders chorused, then logged out to deal with what needed to be done in reality. the ais could handle everything else. ......nove.lb(1n white house situation room. trump had been pulled to the situation room moments after being signaled to wrap up his weekly press briefing and had been informed of the unfolding situation in korea. so whatre you suggesting? he asked once the briefing was finished. sir, we should deal with north korea once and for all. with the developing situation in taiwan, china is sure to be distracted, so we can flatten all opposition in korea without their interference. plus, since that madman fired the first shots, china wont be able to reinforce north korea, while we can claim that we were forced to aid south korea because of our treaty with them, general mattis suggested. what about the damage to south korea? and how do we convince them to let us be in charge? of course theyll agree to us being in charge. were the united states of america, the most powerful nation on the face of the planet, the secretary of state sneered. and what will china do? will they just watch from the sidelines? trump asked. north korea acted first, so their mutual defense treaty with china wont come into effect. since south korea is the defending party, were free to retaliate. that means china cant openly do anything to stop us, and we dont have to worry about anything they do in the background since the forces we have stationed in korea are already sufficient to win any conflict there, general mattis answered. are we sure we know where all their nukes are? trump wanted it on the record that he at least asked in case things were to go south for the american forces. yes. were bombing everything thats been confirmed to relate to their nuclear program, and everything that we only suspect has ever been related to their nukes, mattis replied. good. carry on, trump said, then turned to the secretary of state and ordered, call congress and let them know ill be doing a congressional address later this afternoon. Chapter 358 Almost Perfectly Fucked chapter 358 almost perfectly fucked in a hidden underground bunker in north korea. whyd you do that!? kim jong-un asked a man hanging upside down by his ankles. the prisoner was bleeding from multiple cuts on his body and a small pool of blood had formed beneath him. the prisoner fainted, and the dictator picked up a bucket of water and threw it at the man, waking him from his swoon. the water dripped down his body and joined the puddle of blood on the ground beneath him, diluting it and turning it from a rich red to a much lighter shade of pink. the soldier next to kim jong-un punched the hanging prisoner in the gut, eliciting a groan from him and sending him swaying and twisting like a pendulum. answer me, you kanna sekkia! the dictator screamed. as the man swung back and forth, another soldier entered the room and whispered in kim jong-uns ear. his family crossed the border to china three days ago, dear leader.n/-o/)v(-e-)l(-b()1.(n hearing that, the swinging man smiled, his teeth red from the blood leaking from his mouth. he groaned a hoarse laugh and kim jong-un turned to him with a glare. the man, now assured of his familys safety, began speaking with some difficulty. you think our saviors will let you go? he sneered, then fell into a coughing fit. you think a weak, pathetic country full of peasants he hacked and coughed again, then spat a bloody glob and continued, can give you what china cant? what do you mean? kim jong-un waved at the soldier beside him, who moved to the swinging man and stopped him from swaying. you abandoned china, whos been helping our country since your grandfathers rule. then you tarnished our glory by allowing the new colonizers to rampage among our citizens and steal our legacy. and you wouldve let them continue taking advantage of us in the future, the tortured man replied with great difficulty. and just what the fuck made you think that ordering an attack on our enemies would help us return to china? kim asked, his blood pressure rising from anger. they promised to support us... and even aid us in the great unification, taking our lost brothers and sisters whove been suffering under the yoke of the damned yankees.... the conviction in the prisoners voice showed that he was a true patriot, one that firmly believed in his countrys propaganda. kim jong-un knew there was no need to question the man in front of him any further. he was obviously a member of the china loyalist faction that actually believed the line of garbage the leadership of north korea had been feeding their citizens for generations. his face twisted in a rictus of rage, he picked up a nail-studded baseball bat and hit the prisoners head with it until it burst, splashing blood and brain matter everywhere in the dimly lit underground torture room. he felt the warm wetness splatter on his face, but was uncaring. he dropped to his knees and raised his fists in the air, then screamed his frustration to the heavens, but his anger didnt decrease at all. although he might look like he wasnt that intelligent, he was actually quite cunning and knew that the dead man in front of him had sealed his countrys fate. and rather more importantly, the fate of his family with it. he was more than certain that china would never come to his aid, as their treaty only covered unprovoked attacks on them, not attacks that they had provoked themselves. he couldnt even attempt to salvage the situation, as before he had even caught the man hanging in front of him, let alone tortured him, south korea had already been hit by artillery and missiles. the estimated casualties had already crossed the half a million mark since the barrage had landed hours before, and now he couldnt even attempt to explain anything; there was no way south korea would listen to a word he said! he left the torture chamber and walked into the control room, still covered in blood and gore. when he arrived, he asked his remaining loyal generals what the current situation was. once their artillery and rockets suppressed the traitors on our side, they stopped attacking. at the moment, most of our artillery along the dmz has been lost or is still moving to a tertiary firing position after their secondary positions were destroyed. all of our fixed emplacements have been lost. we estimate a drop of 30% in our capabilities along the 38th parallel, but we can still pull back what we have deployed to the coasts and reinforce the main line, one of the generals reported. we noticed a massive surge in troop movements from all over south korea, all of them headed to the dmz. we estimate that an attack by south korean and american forces is imminent and theyre simply waiting until everything is in position for an overwhelming counterattack, another general added. whats our response been? kim jong-un asked. although he was the supreme leader, he had only arrived at the command bunker a short time ago and had been occupied with interrogating the traitor that caused their current mess since then. so while he understood the general picture, he still needed more details to fully understand just how fucked they were. the moment we received word that wed opened fire, we immediately ordered them to cease fire. then we ordered all of our mobile artillery platforms to move along their designated fire avoidance route and take up alternate firing positions. the south koreans have so far been busy trying to destroy our long-range attack capability, so our casualties are fairly low at the moment. most of our losses are in materiel, not personnel, the first general reported. he had preserved most of their capabilities, but the losses were still heavy and he was unsure of his future at the moment. we also ordered the mobilization of our entire submarine fleet. they were caught unprepared and are currently onboarding their crew and taking on supplies for an emergency deployment, the admiral in charge of north koreas navy reported, feeling somewhat ashamed of their lack of preparedness. our air force is at max readiness and the pilots can scramble at any time, the general in charge of the air force reported. his was the only force that had been ready when the hostilities had resumed between north and south korea. good. now that everythings coming together, someone get me a line to seoul. i want to see if theres any way to salvage the situation... theres no harm in trying, at least, kim jong-un said with a speck of hope in his heart. he wanted to avoid an all-out war, as he knew there was no way the current situation would end well for him. weve tried establishing communications, but it seems like this time theyre the ones that cut the line, the diplomatic attache butted in, his voice lower than the generals as he reported. what about china and russia? the dictator followed up. russia offered to sell us arms and ammunition. china said they would reinforce their border with us and only act once our enemies come close to that line. they offered you a safe place to evacuate to, and our citizens in the north are currently rushing toward the border as refugees. fuck, the north korean leader whispered. he knew they were almost perfectly fucked. contact america and.... he issued instructions to his diplomatic attache as he considered his options. various plans and counterplans were coming to his mind and he spoke without a filter about things including potentially going so far as to launch a nuke at the american fleets that had upgraded their mission from interdicting trade to blockading the north korean ports entirely. in this moment, the emergency situation had forced his mind into overdrive and he could almost feel himself slimming down from the calories his brain was burning as it churned out countermeasure after countermeasure. as long as he could hold off the american response, he could salvage the situation. north and south korea alone were mostly balanced in capabilities, and with the devastating first strike his traitorous general had ordered, he would have the advantage if america would only stay out of it. after all, if he was forced to flee to china, or even eden, he wouldnt be able to guarantee his standard of living would remain at its current exaggerated heights. prepare a speech. i need to announce a lockdown to keep our peasants from fleeing to china. add in some propaganda about our upcoming glorious victory against the cowardly enemy that surprise attacked us, he ordered. yes, dear leader, the attache responded, then left the room to carry out his orders. kim jong-un turned to his second-in-command and ordered, send three girls from the pleasure squad to my room. i need to calm down and think of other plans. he rose to his chair, feeling like he had sweated out three kilograms of weight, then paused and turned around. where did the edenians go? he asked. he finally remembered the arrogant president of eden and the provocations he had suffered, along with the pressure hed felt that had made him shudder in fear. we arent sure. our last report had them on the road headed toward nampo, but we lost them when they crossed the pyongyang city limits. as for their jets, they were reduced to salvage by scuttling charges, the head of the reconnaissance general bureau reported. hearing that, the north korean dictator sneered and left the command center, headed toward his quarters. he wouldnt waste time caring about the shitty edenian president now that he had something more important to deal with. Chapter 359 Six Seconds to Midnight chapter 359 six seconds to midnight while the north korean dictator was relieving his stress, his generals were working to carry out his orders as if their lives were on the line. considering the kim familys history, the north korean military leadership wasnt entirely wrong in assuming that their heads would roll if they failed. and as all of that was going on, china was also making movements of its own. their aircraft carriers, the liaoning and the shandong, were being loaded with ammunition, aircraft, and sailors despite not even having been commissioned yet. but that was just one of the many things happening in china; convoy after convoy of tanks, supply trucks, and trains filled with soldiers were headed toward fujian province. as they arrived, they were sorted, equipped, armed, and loaded into transport ships that would soon be carrying them across the taiwan strait. while the transport ships were being loaded, chinas air force also kicked into high gear. their airborne warning and control system (awacs) equipped jets were scrambled and took off, taking up patrol routes just on the edge of taiwanese airspace. their j-20 mighty dragon stealth fighters also increased their daily incursions over the helpless republic of china, ensuring that nothing at all could be hidden from the peoples republic of china in preparation for their invasion and ultimate annexation of the long-contested territory. as for chinas icbm program, it was also spinning up. all of their ballistic missiles had been tested and verified as properly working. the only thing remaining was to arm them with warheads, either conventional or nuclear. at the same time, their air and missile defense systems were also undergoing a rapid cycle of self-testing and maintenance, ensuring that their defense was as airtight as it was possible to make it. although the movement of the peoples liberation army was objectively enormous, the truth was that it was only about 10% of their forces. another 70% of their military was undergoing the same buildup and movements, but focused on other borders. specifically, the china-russia border, china-india border, and even the china-korea border were being heavily reinforced. about a third of their navy had also been deployed in the east china sea and taken up patrol duties there to defend against another potential japanese invasion.nove.lb(1n china had suffered at the hands of japan before, and their memory was nearly as long as their history. they would never suffer at the hands of japan again, and a mere annexation of the republic of china wouldnt distract them from their longest-standing enmity. ...... over the next six hours, the world waited on tenterhooks as the doomsday clock ticked ever nearer to midnight. it had already shattered all records and any movement now would break yet another historical record. and the organization that made the determination didnt disappoint, either; about an hour into the interminable time period that would be referred to in history books as the six hour breath hold, the bulletin of atomic scientists announced via pangea and their website that the world was now at six seconds to midnight. (ed note: the bulletin of atomic scientists is a group of researchers that determine how close the world is to global nuclear war. they maintain a doomsday clock that shows that by setting the hour, minute, and second hands ever nearer to 12 o clock midnight. theyve been around since 1945, and its some truly chilling stuff if you read into what goes into their decision-making process.) the ticking of the doomsday clock came on the heels of the international media breaking news of the troop movements of the nuclear powers. russia had moved troops to their newly completed bases along the russia-ukraine border, india had moved troops to the india-china border and india-pakistan border, and pakistan had heavily reinforced the pakistan-india border. the relations between those countries had always been... complex, with india and pakistan constantly squabbling over religious ideology and china and india constantly squabbling over border frictions where, much like in korea, a cease-fire had been maintained since 1962, but the countries had officially remained hostile to each other despite maintaining diplomatic ties. but none of that was as hotly watched as the situation in korea where, for the past twelve hours, a constant stream of news had been released, including the list of casualties and live streams of the ongoing rescue efforts in the devastated seoul. currently, the south korean internet had been hit the hardest. practically everyone in the country was mourning the devastation, and their grief was only surpassed by their rage. rage that was being aimed directly at north korea by people lurking in the shadows and hoping to gain something during the chaos of the renewed conflict on the korean peninsula. minutes after news broke of the unprovoked attack on south korea, a petition had appeared on the internet, gathering support for an armed and overwhelming retaliation against north korea. within an hour, it had already reached ten million signatures, making it the most-signed petition on the internet in the entire world. as per the cheong wa daes rule regarding petitions on their website, any of them that pass 100,000 signatures would be addressed by the government. but that rule wasnt even necessary, as the blue house had already released a statement regarding the situation. the south korean government would not let the blood of the innocent go unavenged and would be moving to ensure that the perpetrators of the horrific act of terror would pay the price with their lives. they had even gone the extra mile to paint north korea as terrorists, since their attack had mainly been aimed at noncombatant civilians. the response was issued from the presidential bunker, as the president of south korea and all of his closest staff and advisors had been evacuated as the first shells were detected crossing over the dmz. the south korean president didnt stop there, as immediately following the attack, all of the reserves were activated and retired soldiers who met the standards were recalled to active duty in preparation for an overwhelming retaliatory strike on the north korean terrorists. they didnt even stop to think for a moment how strange it was that only a single barrage had been fired, or that it had only been fired at seoul, instead of targeting military facilities. their rage had kicked their reason far behind them, and all they wanted was to bathe in the blood of their enemies and offer them as sacrifices to the innocent casualties caused by the unprovoked attack. with all of the increasing tension, there was weirdly no clear, official information being released. everyone involved just announced that they would soon make announcements regarding the unfolding situation, and for people interested to stand by for those announcements. eden, too, found itself in the midst of a building storm. although, their storm was minuscule compared to some of the other ongoing situations in the world at the moment. there were rumors going around that eden would soon find itself being dragged into two separate wars, as a chinese invasion of taiwan would trigger their mutual defense treaty, and if eden was found to have any involvement in the unprovoked attack on south korea, they would also be dragged into the cesspit of american retaliation. if those rumors proved true, it meant that eden would be fighting a war on two fronts against two of the most powerful nations on the face of the planet: china and the united states. to most edenian citizens that werent in the know about the capabilities of their own country, the thought was absolutely chilling. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 360 A Bright Night chapter 360 a bright night thirteen hours after the initial bombardment of south korea. north korea was known for being one of the darkest countries on the planet during its nights, as had been shown in many, many satellite images. the country was so impoverished that most of the areas within it had their electricity shut off after dark, after all. but this was destined to be a much brighter night than most, even if the brightness was only momentary, much like the average ambient temperature in hiroshima and nagasaki had skyrocketed on the sixth and ninth of august, 1945, respectively. "eta to drop zone, fifteen minutes." jose rodriguez, a member of the us air force, had his eyes on the instruments in front of him and offhandedly replied, "payload status?" "all systems green. mop is ready for deployment." in the blackness of night, thirteen b2 spirit stealth bombers were flying through north korean airspace, each of them headed to separate targets in a synchronized attack. a few minutes after that brief exchange, all thirteen of the bombers had reached their targets and, in an eerie example of synchronicity, announced, ten seconds to drop. three.... two.... one... release. with mechanical thuds, thirteen monstrous gbu-57 massive ordnance penetrators left the bomb bays of thirteen b2 bombers, which all pushed their throttles to the stops as they accelerated to put distance between themselves and the impending detonations. as they accelerated, they also banked in a perfectly timed display of skill as they adjusted their course to head toward their next, less critical destinations. their initial targets had been north korean nuclear missile silos, which contained the bulk of north koreas nuclear arsenal. their next targets were the infrastructure that allowed north korea to produce nuclear weapons in the first placenuclear enrichment centrifuges, missile production factories, assembly sites, and so on. it would be a much brighter night than usual in north korea. ...... while the bombers were carrying out their missions, underneath the surface of the ocean, a cat-and-mouse game was playing out between the american los angeles, seawolf, and virginia class attack submarines hunted down north koreas rather numerous submarine fleet. it wasnt providing much of a challenge to the more technologically advanced american subs; their only difficulty was in picking targets from a target-rich environment, rather than finding them. it was much like shooting fish in a barrel, rather than digging rats out of their holes. that was despite the fact that the north korean submarines had been ordered to hide from the trade interdiction fleets at the time of their arrival just outside korean territorial waters. "contact bearing two one seven relative, designated sierra one," announced petty officer ramirez, the lead sonar operator on the virginia class submarine ssn-789 indiana. the display in front of him was a screen that looked like a scrambled television signal, but to the experienced sonar technician, it painted a clear picture of a north korean submarine. commander harper, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair, turned his head to ramirez and asked, "range?" "5,000 yards and closing, captain." (ed note: every commander of a ship in the navy is referred to as captain, despite their actual rank. oftentimes, on smaller ships and submarines, commanders (o6) are the captains of their vessels. captain is actually a very high rankjust below admiralso there are fewer of them than there are ships in the navy.) the commander knew that the submarine they were tracking was a credible threat. the indiana was under orders: no hesitation, no mercy. they were in a state of war. "torpedo room, ready tubes one and two," harper commanded. "weapons, tubes one and two ready, sir." the tension in the cic was palpable. every sailor knew their role, and they performed with chilling efficiency. "fire control, solution ready on sierra one?" "yes, captain. solution plotted and ready." captain harper paused for a moment, a weighty silence filling the space. "fire tubes one and two." "fire tubes one and two, aye," the weapons officer''s voice echoed, followed by the unmistakable sound of torpedoes launching. two powerful weapons raced toward their target, guided by the indiana''s sophisticated systems. the minutes that followed were tense. the sonar display showed the torpedoes'' path, their predicted tracks converging with the enemy submarine''s. "torpedoes running hot, straight, and normal," ramirez announced. a distant underwater explosion reverberated through the uss indiana''s hull. the shockwaves were felt both physically and emotionally. "sierra one, no longer on sonar, captain," ramirez reported, his voice a mix of relief and professionalism. captain harper nodded, his face stoic. "communicate the hit to command. stay vigilant, there may be more out there."n.-0velb1n the uss indiana continued its silent patrol, its crew ever watchful in the shadowy depths, knowing that, in war, every decision has both weight and consequences. ...... it only took what felt like thirty minutes from the first bomb to the last for the entirety of north koreas nuclear program to be erased from the surface of the planet. everything, from silos to factories, were rendered extinct by american stealth bombers, while their submarines suffered the fate of becoming very expensive, life-sized aquarium decorations on the bottom of the sea. all of their naval bases had also felt the love, being on the receiving end of saturation fire from naval guns at standoff range and constant bombing runs by carrier-based f/a-18 hornets. it wasnt as though north korea hadnt prepared many plans for what to do in case of an attack by the joint nations of south korea and america, but they had expected that there would be a warning before any shots were fired. the us was fond of its own voice to the extent that it much preferred, as a nation, to speak rather than shoot. but when it did shoot, its shots were as accurate as they were painful. kim jong-uns belief that it could just deny involvement in the attack, as it had done in the past, or claimed that the attack had been carried out by rogue elements in the governmentwhich it hadhad turned out to be naive, at best. at worst, they believed that their nuclear arsenal would prove to be a restraining force on any potential hostilities and that things would end at the negotiation table, as it always had in the past. but this time was different. the us had received actionable intelligence that accurately pinpointed north koreas nuclear sites from south korea (courtesy of the nyxians that had infiltrated the sites when theyd been welcomed to the country as part of the advance team ahead of alexanders visit) and had chosen to act instead of forbear. trump himself had practically giggled with glee and danced a jig when hed heard that particular bit of intelligence, even though he had wrongly credited the south korean intelligence service with the merit. it was definitely a feather in his cap as president, he thought. he could forever claim with pride that he was the president that finally put a decisive end to the korean war, a conflict that had stretched the better part of an entire century. Chapter 361 Air Superiority Achieved chapter 361 air superiority achieved immediately after the us bombers defanged north korea, south korea got to work. the two countries had been prepared for the resumption of hostilities for decades and their capabilities were roughly equal. sadly for north korea, their allies were not. china had abandoned their dog by the roadside, while the united states seemed eager to support their friends in korea. thus, while south korean artillery and rockets fired at long pre-planned targets and their troops marched across the dmz, they were accompanied by american ship-based cruise missiles, tanks, helicopters, and soldiers as well. not to mention the marines that deployed from the uss ronald reagan carrier group and the amphibious assault group that had been pulled from japan to maintain a trade interdiction. north koreas beleaguered and slapdash air force had been on the verge of resurrection, thanks to their trade with eden, but all of that progress was proven to be for naught as anything that could be used as a runway was crippled by the sustained bombardment of what seemed like the entire country. while their air defense managed to take down some of the missiles and rockets, what they stopped was like a drop of water in an ocean and the destruction continued apace. north korean forces along the dmz had no idea the counterattack had even begun. the bombing missions had been preceded by wide-spectrum electronic jamming of north korean communications, and thanks to all the chaos, the people manning the backup landlines had either fled or been targeted in the initial airstrikes. they soon noticed the south korean incursion and began fighting back, but due to the initial losses and the recent redeployment to the coasts, there was only about half of their initially powerful artillery and rocket capability remaining. they still gave it their all, firing at their prepared targets, but with the south korean governments order for their citizens to seek shelter in the underground bunkers, the loss of life was severely limited. especially taking into account the undegraded south korean air defense and the capabilities of the american forces, who were well-equipped with things like patriot missile launchers and anti-air guns that could, in a pinch, fill the sky with flak and chaff to intercept artillery rounds and confuse rockets. still, alarms blared in the mostly deserted streets of all the cities within reach of the north korean batteries and every television in the country had emergency broadcasts on every channel repeating one message over and over: evacuate to the bunkers and shelter in place. ...... though they were useless in acquiring firing solutions on the stealth aircraft, the air force had practically burned out their ulf (ultra low frequency) radars tracking every single return, no matter how insignificant, and much the same way that even a blind cat can catch an occasional mouse, they had luckily discovered the trail of a single b2 bomber. the few jets that north korea had that were still capable of flight and had a runway to take off from had all been ordered to intercept the discovered bomber in the hopes that they could at least take down one thing. thus, two north korean jets were ignoring everything else and flying as fast as they could in the wake of the only remaining bomber in north korean airspace. the call had gone out that it was being tracked headed toward the mansu hill grand monument in pyongyang, and it absolutely had to be taken out before it could destroy the monument. the monument complex consisted of 229 figures, including two 22-meter-tall bronze statues of kim il sung and kim jong il, which would normally be ignored in a bombing campaign. and it was true; although the monument complex was a target with no value in a bombing campaign, it was still a strategic one. taking it out would be an emotional blow to citizens and soldiers alike, and wars could be won, or lost, on morale alone. just as the two fighters were nearing engagement range on the seemingly unaware bomber, which was already entering pyongyangs airspace, their warning systems blared an alarm in their cockpits, alerting them that they had been locked onto by an enemy. the jets released flares, lighting up the sky behind them as they began evasive maneuvers, but they absolutely could not change direction, which limited the flares effectiveness. after all, theirs was the most important mission in the north korean military right now, and they must not fail. a resounding explosion and its resulting shockwave washed over the lucky jets as the guaranteed hits turned into near misses thanks to their flares and evasive maneuvering. but unfortunately, the alarms continued blaring in their cockpits and they had yet to even see what was attacking them. one of the pilots radioed his wingman and said, leave this to me. he broke off and flew in the direction the missiles had come from in a last-ditch attempt to draw all of the attention to himself and allow his wingman to complete their mission. but despite his determination, massive brass balls and heroic actions could only go so far. a few seconds later, he became a brief sun in the sky as his attempt to evade the incoming missile attack failed, and north korea had one less jet in the sky.n(-o.)v.)e).l)(b)(i(-n the remaining pilot couldnt abort his mission now and took one desperate shot as he ran out of flares and chaff, hoping beyond hope that he would get lucky and take down the bomber. then he ejected, just in time to see his jet become a fireball. as he drifted down through the air, his eyes focused on the trail of the missile he had released, he watched the bomber release flares and chaff of its own. his missile impacted one of the flares and prematurely detonated. he had failed. seconds after his failure, four f/a-18 super hornets streaked below him and were the only witnesses to his last act: he drew his sidearm and shot himself, leaving his corpse to drift to the ground, still strapped into the ejection seat. the four jets that had just taken out north koreas last hope were just one of the many squadrons now buzzing around north korean airspace like their namesakes, angry hornets. by this point, nearly the entire complement of the uss ronald reagans aircraft were in the air, maintaining air superiority and taking out ground targets all over the country. they had just taken out the final north korean jet, and only a single missile had been fired against themthe one that had just failed to take down the b2 on a mission to devastate the monument complex atop mansu hill. the american air assets werent alone, either, but had been joined by south koreas own air force. it would be weird, after all, if the ones who had been attacked were to just sit back and allow their allies to do all the work for them. not even half an hour after air superiority was achieved, north koreas air defense had been completely removed. and along with that came the b-52 stratofortresses, which swaggered across the dmz loaded with 500- and 1000-pound bombs on a mission to take out every ground target of any military significance whatsoever. an indiscriminate bombing campaign began and the ground of north korea soon looked similar to the surface of the moon as the united states and south korea dropped the equivalent of the total munition yield of world war i on the beleaguered nation. Chapter 362 They Wont Like the Result chapter 362 they won''t like the result later that evening, trump addressed the nation from the oval office. it was a rather late address, due to needing to delay it in order for the initial airstrikes to proceed uncontested. he could have held the address earlier, but general mattis had convinced him that giving a nuclear power advance warning would be a terrible idea. after the traditional opening statement, trump said, due to the unprovoked and cowardly terrorist attack on our allies in south korea perpetrated by the north korean dictator, kim jong-un, i approved an immediate armed retaliation consisting of a huge bombing mission to remove their nuclear capability. as of thirty minutes ago, north korea is no longer a nuclear power. he gave the camera in front of him a smug smile, thinking it would reassure the citizens that there would be no chance of a nuclear war. after that, he continued his address, vilifying north korea and branding them terrorists. he swore that he would chase the perpetrators responsible for the attack that caused hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties to the ends of the earth and that he would uphold americas responsibility to police the world and support and defend their allies in south korea. and in order to accomplish this mission, i have ordered our forces in south korea and japan to cross the korean demilitarized zone jointly with the south korean forces to take out the rogue government of the north korean terrorists. after mentioning that, he paused, then continued, during our investigation of the initial assault, we discovered a disturbing truth. north korea didnt act alone. they were aided by the government of eden.... as he continued his address, people were surprised. with just a few words, he had tarred eden and north korea with the same brush and included them in the upcoming american counteroffensive, thus removing the need for him to declare war on them individually. early the next morning, the news broke in america that china had also been carrying out an investigation of their own regarding four of their jets being shot down while they were on routine patrols over the chinese mainland. their investigation had revealed that the ones who had shot them down were from eden as well. given that the edenian jets had been granted permission to operate by taiwan, china issued an ultimatum to both countries: either they surrender and pay reparations within twelve hours, or china would respond with what they described as overwhelming force, as they considered that a state of war existed between china and the two belligerents. while all of that was going on, russia had silently begun their special military exercises in ukraine. it was an invasion in all but name, backed by the might of the russian nation in full. that it happened at the same time as the american invasion of north korea and the ultimatum being issued by china was only a coincidence. the chaos had finally broken out, and eden, who was dragged in by treatiesat least on the surfacehad been painted as the villain and everyone just knew that the fledgling country would soon be wiped off the map by the much more superior militaries of two world superpowers. behind the scenes, it was all about the greed and lust for power of people who had more money and power than they could ever use in three lifetimes. but they were practiced enough at just this kind of political theater that nobody other than the people involved would ever know of their involvement. or so they thought, anyway. ...... despite giving taiwan and eden twelve hours to surrender or suffer, china only waited three hours before attacking. a swarm of cruise missiles flew across the taiwan strait, targeting radar stations, air defense installations, and military bases. china unleashed everything they had in an attempt to degrade the defenses in taiwan as much as possible before they sent in their ground troops. however, just as the first round of incoming fire was detected making its way toward taiwan, a stream of tracer rounds came from every direction, taking down missile after missile. it didnt stop everything, of course, but thanks to a solid priority intercept system, the damage was extremely limited and spread out, so as to maintain as much of taiwans defensive strength as possible. even so, taiwan knew the situation couldnt be maintained for long. everyone knew that getting involved in a shooting war with a behemoth like china was a bad idea; after all, anyone would run out of bullets long before china ran out of bodies. and taiwan knew that chinese airstrikes were inevitable. their anti-air installations would eventually be taken out, either by stealthed jets, bombing runs, or even good old fashioned collaborators taking them down from the inside. once that happened, the small island nation of taiwan would be all but helpless. china, far from being discouraged by their initial attacks failure, sent a second wave of cruise missiles. they had plenty of them stockpiled and wouldnt feel the pinch even if they had to fire them for the entire duration of the twelve-hour ultimatum. soon, the second wave was followed by a third, then a fourth. each round of fire came after an interval of about fifteen minutes, which gave taiwan ten minutes of preparation time between them... in theory, at least. in practice, the taiwanese military was running around like a headless chicken, frantically reloading their guns, changing out warped gun barrels, restocking countermissile batteries, and so on. plus, the damage inflicted by each wave might be minor, but it would only continue to grow over time. ...... our friends in taiwan are requesting immediate support. should we send it, or argue that were fully occupied by dealing with america? alexander asked aron. he had reported the request the moment he received it, also noting that they had signed a mutual defense treaty during the diplomatic visit a week prior. naturally, well assist them. let them know that well uphold our obligations under the treaty, but that we need all of our forces to deal with america, so our aid will be of the long-ranged variety. aron turned to the empty seat next to alexander and said, aeolus. alexander felt a breeze and heard the ringing of wind chimes from the seat next to him. for some reason, it reminded him of a childs giggle. he had met aeolus before, and nodded a greeting to the nearly invisible shimmer that hovered over the seat of the chair next to him. [you need something, grampa?] aeolus said. his voice sounded like wind chimes and was somewhat garbled, but still somehow recognizable. (ed note: look up speaking piano on youtube. its a really interesting phenomenon, kind of like a version of pareidolia. heres an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6e2c0v4sbm ) work time, aeolus, aron sighed and massaged his brows. aeolus stopped chiming and a transparent, light blue humanoid figure appeared where he was sitting, a small nicety the ai implemented when it was time to focus on work instead of play. [yes, sir. im up to date on the situationwhat do you want done?] take out all of the chinese missile silos in fujian province, aron ordered, then turned to athena. athena, issue a warning to america that if they truly move on eden, well respond in kind and they wont like the result. he wanted to end things as soon as possible, so he had to provoke the biggest possible attack from america. an alpha strike with overwhelming force wouldnt work nearly as well as a cocky threat; overwhelming force would make them cautious, but a threat like that would make them mad, and mad is exactly what he needed them to be. after all, a sound beating would save more lives in the long run, and human resources were still resources.n.(ovelbin [yes, sir,] aeolus replied, then his figure flickered in the equivalent of a blink. [the birds are in the air.] [message delivered, sir,] athena said, then the meeting room changed. alexander, aron, and the ais in the meeting now appeared to be floating in the air above the edenian task group, which had been pulled from its presidential escort duty and diverted to the beleaguered taiwan. you notified taiwan, right? aron asked alexander. yes, my assistant sent the notification the moment you made the decision. good. aron turned to poseidon and asked, are we in range? [yes.] poseidon nodded. fire a saturation attack all along the coast of fujian province. china wants an answer to their ultimatum? fine. lets give them one. editor notes: i''m afraid i''ve only got one chapter in me today, folks. i had a pretty significant surgery last friday and thought that because it was a laparoscopic procedure i''d recover fast and wouldn''t be too hindered. but the recovery''s not going as i expected, so i may need to severely limit my time spent upright for a few more days. (last friday as in a week and a half or so ago, not just two days ago) Chapter 363 Forbidden Pencils and Weaponized Math chapter 363 forbidden pencils and weaponized math ? the entire edenian fleet came to a halt a couple hundred miles southeast of taiwan and all of the ships came to general quarters. red lights flashed in every compartment and passageway as an alert message sounded on repeat for every poseidon sailor to go belowdecks and prepare for vertical launches. less than two minutes later, the alert message ceased as all departments in the fleet reported ready, leaving only the flashing lights. following that, the launch tubes of the vertical launch systems on the thor class missile cruisers opened their top hatches, revealing row after row of forbidden pencils. another automated announcement rang out from the loudspeakers. vls firing in three... two... one. firing. with a thud, the waterline of all the missile boats raised by two feet from the compressed gas pushing tens of cruise missiles out of each ship. then, with a mighty roar, the rocket engines on each missile ignited and guidance fins activated, shifting the missiles from vertical to horizontal orientations in a short parabolic arc. the first wave of missiles was on its way to the shore of fujian, china, where they would ruin quite a few peoples days. after all of the ready missiles were fired, the atomic printers at the bottom of the vls tubes sprang to life, printing the second wave. soon, all of the expended missiles had been replaced and the launch process repeated. then it repeated again... and again. five waves of cruise missiles were launched in total, making for roughly a thousand cruise missiles, give or take, all of them loaded with suicidal virtual intelligences that would guide them the rest of the way to their destination after all of the waves linked up into one enormous alpha strike against china. if there was anything between the ships and china, other than taiwan, they would experience the scare of their lives as the cruise missile alpha strike streaked over their heads. but thankfully, there was nobody in the missiles flight path. citizens of taiwan might get a shock, seeing the densely packed barrage, but it would be a momentary thing. the government of taiwan, on the other hand, had already been informed of the strike beforehand. satellites, on the other hand, would easily spot the anomaly. it couldnt be hidden from visual sensors, so eden wouldnt even make the attempt. the most they did to prevent detection of their missiles was apply a radar-absorbent paint to the exterior, giving them the appearance of a small bird if a radar were to happen to catch one. that said, cruise missiles flew beneath the floor, meaning below the height that long-range radars scanned, so detection by an unaware radar operation was still unlikely. a few minutes later, a second wave of a thousand-odd missiles launched, then a third a few minutes after that. the entire barrage repeated a total of five times, making six waves of missiles in total that were screaming toward the shoreline of chinas fujian province. ...... about twenty minutes after the first wave of missiles was launched, it crossed into the detection range of taiwan. a confused radar operator leaned forward in his chair and smacked the top of his radar display in a stunning example of caveman tech support troubleshooting as the entire southeastern quadrant of it had almost entirely changed color due to the densely packed flock of birds. he power cycled the display, and when it came back up, the anomaly had disappeared. he wasnt too concerned about it and resumed going about his business until a few minutes later, the issue repeated. but it didnt matter, so he just marked it down in his maintenance log for servicing and switched to another monitoring station next to him. as the missiles entered taiwanese airspace, their guidance systems woke up, separating them into clusters of five to ten missiles, which split up and headed to different ultimate destinations. then they disappeared from radar entirely after passing over the northwest of taiwan, but soon, enormous explosions began echoing across the taiwan strait as the missiles found their ultimate destinations. it had to be said that edenian cruise missiles were merely upscaled versions of their already-devastating that direction removers, and were each on par with an american moab (massive ordnance air blast, or mother of all bombs, as they were affectionately known by explosion junkies). thus, each of the exploding cruise missiles erupted in an enormous mushroom cloud caused by the equivalent of eleven tons of tnt, not including the hits on ammo dumps in coastal logistics centers. there, the missiles set off secondary explosions, ultimately aiding in the accidental terraforming eden was doing by reshaping the coast of southeastern china. as the symphony of massive booms continued, the blast wave from the continuous detonations continued propagating, kicking up towering waves that first beached, then swamped the chinese forces currently awaiting transport across the strait. the waves continued on, sweeping away the artificial islands china had built, and militarized, much like a broom would sweep away a pile of ash in a fireplace.n.(ovelbin the pseudo tsunami was a purposeful creation of poseidons, and he had carefully calculated the exact timing of the cruise missile impacts to create the wave and shape it so that it would avoid damaging the coasts of the other countries in southeast asia, especially taiwan. it was a brilliant demonstration of weaponized math on the part of the erstwhile god of the sea. in a single move, eden had almost completely crippled the chinese military infrastructure all along the taiwan strait, as well as their shore installations up and down fujian province. it was a masterstroke and would be studied generations later by military historians... if humanity was still around by then, something that was still in doubt. still in vr, aron and alexander had been joined by john. all of the leader type ais had joined them as well, even those that werent directly involved in running arons ever-growing military. mother of god... john couldnt help but exclaim. as a lifelong explosion junkie himself, he understood the unprecedented feat aron had achieved better than anyone else present, barring the ais, and his shock was immeasurable and his day was absolutely made. is it my birthday? he moved to pinch himself, then remembered that he couldnt feel pain in the simulation. no, its not your birthday, but i have a feeling this will become an anniversary, aron gravely said. im beginning to understand what oppenheimer meant when he talked about becoming death. even though arons personality had been growing much colder and his thought process much more logical, he was still slightly disturbed. the sheer amount of devastation a mere three edenian cruisers could wreak was impressive, and beyond even his imagination. Chapter 364 Evicted From the Global Village chapter 364 evicted from the global village although wars had always been unpredictable, and there were always a chance of things going wrongjust ask the australians, who had managed to lose more than one war against large flightless birdsthe situation between china and taiwan had gone completely counter to everyones expectations thanks to the overwhelming destruction that eden had laid upon china. and not only that, it had happened so suddenly that observers didnt even have a chance to figure out what was going on before it, well, went on. soon after the barrage ended, a video someone had managed to capture of the thousands of cruise missiles passing over taiwan appeared online. it didnt stir up much discussion or make any waves at first, but as time went on it began gaining traction. especially after the thousands of people that witnessed the giant explosions, or the passing ocean wave, reported what they had seen. in particular, one taiwanese fisherman who had been in his boat attempting to flee the oncoming chaos had recorded the waves passing and the havoc it wrought on the artificial islands near the nine dash line, prompting much discussion of its own. people argued the videos validity back and forth, with the general consensus being that the videos had to be accurate, since more and more of them were cropping up as people posted them from other areas. one video of cruise missiles became six, then twenty, then hundreds, and eventually thousands of taiwanese netizens had posted videos of the missiles. on the other side of the taiwan strait, behind the great firewall of china, the chinese internet sites, like tieba and wechat moments, had also exploded. qq messenger and wechat were practically on fire with people panicking and wondering what the explosions in fujian were. and it wasnt limited to just the coastal destruction and accidental terraforming, either; aeolus had directed airstrikes against all of the missile silos scattered across the entire province as well, some of which were still in progress. it was rare for the same event to take over both the chinese internet and the global internet, and everyone around the world was asking the same question: how? how had the missiles and bombers so easily evaded the chinese air defense systems? the chinese bombers and escorts that had launched after the transports were loaded were forced to return to counter the ongoing airstrikes taking out silo after silo on the mainland. but not even the most advanced chinese fighters could catch even a glimpse of the edenian bombers carrying out the mission in fujian. not that it would matter anyway, as even the most ponderous edenian aircraft was still leagues ahead of everything the chinese had in terms of top speed, cruising speed, and operational ceilings. coupled with the newly unmapped coastline of fujian province, the chinese air force had also been culled from the conflict with taiwan, at least for now. online, chinas response to the panic sweeping through their netizens by increasing the strength of the great firewall and directing their internet security bureau to work overtime to delete any post that mentioned the recent strikes in fujian. the crackdown began by throttling the internet speed and adding new terms to the blacklist on baidu, sogou, haosuo, and shenma, chinas main search engines for both computer and mobile searching. soon after that, though, everything went completely silent on the chinese internet. all online operations halted, like the entire internet had frozen. at first, people thought it was the usual censorship, but before long they realized that this was different from the past. before, no matter how strict the censors were, they were still able to use the internet without any issues, but now they couldnt do anything online at all. the current freeze was the handiwork of nova, who had been tasked with evicting china from the global village built by the modern internet. but she didnt stop there; not only had she cut the connection via the underwater fiber optic network, she had also paralyzed the entire chinese internet with a massive ddos attack the likes of which was only made possible by use of her quantum servers. after cutting china off from the global internet, nova continued digging deeper. it had only taken her seconds to interrupt the internet connection, but she spent about five minutes digging into the personal and professional lives of chinese politicians and high-ranking party members. soon, the chinese internet resumed operations, but nova was in charge of it. and she didnt waste that power, either. instead, she compiled a slideshow of blackmail material and pushed it onto every single screen in china, shining a light on their government officials dirty deeds. infidelity, embezzlement, abuses of power, coverups... the list went on. every bad thing that every chinese official had ever done was now being forcefed to every citizen in their country that had a cellphone or computer. it was hell for them, as no matter how they tried to shut things down, they were met by novas impenetrable defense. and she still didnt stop there. the blackmail material was only a warmup, and she soon moved to the government data centers where they stored every bit of data they collected on their own citizens. once there, she immediately transferred all of that data, from the video surveillance to telecommunications records, and even down to the biometric data to her own storage. then she encrypted the local chinese copy of it all, deleted it from their servers, flooded their storage media with junk binary, and for good measure, she even initiated cascading failures that lit the physical servers themselves on fire. unless china had an offline backup of everything, they would never see any of that data again. ever. well, they would never see it again unless they managed to steal it from novas quantum storage servers and decrypt it, that is. nova didnt stop at attacking the government, either. she also took over wechat, qq, and other commonly used apps that chinese citizens required for everyday usage, where she copied every message and every payment record ever sent through those services and inserted code into the programs that would send her a copy of everything in the future, as well.n(-0ve1b1n and despite doing everything they possibly could, nobody in china could stop her. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 365 An Unprecedented Attack chapter 365 an unprecedented attack an hour after nova started her attack on the chinese internet, the government shut it down. not only did they hit their kill switch, they even went so far as to physically cut the cables that connected their data centers. despite all of the havoc she had caused, nova didnt attempt to go after the civilian infrastructure systems. she knew it would cause massive casualties if she disabled the power grid, transportation system, emergency services, utilities, or even the financial market. though there was some collateral damage done to the marketplace, as a system freeze was still costly, it was as limited as she could manage to make it. so even though the cyberattack was definitely savage, it was specifically aimed at the chinese government and normal people basically only had the minor inconvenience that any interruption of their internet service would cause. thus, nova had singlehandedly brought down a country that boasted the worlds second largest economy, the highest population, and the most goods exported, all by nothing more than the strategic application of her qubits and a wave of her virtual hand. without even firing a single bullet, much less a protracted war, a highly industrialized nation had been brought to its knees and the world would soon know it. after all, with all of their connections to the world at large cut, it was impossible for anyone outside of china to even notice that a problem existed. that, in fact, was the only hint that anything was wrong with the country, though the timing of the attack ensured that very few peoplemostly those dealing with international trade and foreign marketplaceswould notice that the disconnect had even happened. at least in a short amount of time, anyway; it wouldnt be long before the rest of the world cottoned to the issues china was facing beyond the recent swarm of missiles and bombs bringing the military to a screeching halt. the chinese government was forced to implement a countrywide curfew as they scrambled to recover, using every bit of power they had in a desperate attempt to recover from the brutal attack. thankfully, nova hadnt gone after their energy sector, or they would have been crippled and millions, if not dozens or hundreds of millions, of their citizens would have died. ...... whats the extent of the damages? zi jinping asked. he had been noticing that every computer monitor near him was displaying a mocking image of a certain fictional anthropomorphic animal that was often used to mock him. even worse, the image would only appear when he was the only one looking at a particular screen, proving that he was being singled out for individual attention by whoever was behind the attack on their internet, and it was proving a very effective distraction and keeping him from paying full attention to the ongoing attacks in fujian. were still evaluating it, as the attack disabled every network we have and forced us to rely on physical verification face to face rather than network diagnostics, the head of the internet security bureau reported. but we estimate that the damage is severe, and it might even be unrecoverable. you call yourself the leader of our most technologically advanced department and you cant even tell me the extent of the damage this cyberattack caused? zi jinping snapped. things were already grim with the overwhelming and ongoing attacks in fujian, and now he had to deal with a completely unprecedented cyberattack crippling every government service. were being as careful as we can in order to limit the potential for the attacker to cause further damage, sir. all we know now is that... the isp briefly paused, then sighed, all we know is that we dont know anything, sir. nothing we tried could stop whoever was behind the attack, and they didnt leave behind a calling card, so we cant even tell who they are. all we know is that weve never seen anything like this before. i dont think anyone has.n/-0velbin so you dont have a way of making sure another cyberattack on this scale cant happen? unfortunately, we dont. the only thing we can do is bring the great firewall up to full strength and prevent any kind of information that originates from outside china from coming in. that should, in theory, prevent a repetition of this attack, since nobody believes it originated from inside china. the biggest problem with that is that we wont be able to interact with the rest of the world. well be crippling our own financial market and the economic damage from that will be... considerable, sir. president zi pinched the bridge of his nose and ordered, do it. we cant let the rest of the world know about this attack, either, so do whatever it takes to restore everything to how it was before. clear everything that was mentioned about it and add all the terms to the blacklist. sir, thats impossible. we cant use our backups, as the attacker encrypted some of them and deleted others. they even lit our data centers on fire after disabling the fire suppression systems. if we want to recover any of the encrypted data, we either need to contact the attacker and get the decryption key from them, or spend who knows how long decrypting it ourselves, the director said in a shaky voice. then just as the president was about to ask why the attacker didnt cause more damage when they clearly could have done so, someone barged into the room without knocking. before he could vent his anger on the interloper, the man panted, our beidou navigation satellite system is in trouble! fuck, president zi thought. he had finally realized what the attacker was really after: their navsats. everything else was nothing but a massive smokescreen. while we were focused on the websites and servers, they used the distraction to gain control of our navsats. then they ordered the satellites to use all of their available fuel to deorbit and locked us out of the system so we cant stop it, the man continued. thirty.... thirty fucking satellites that had cost billions to develop and send into space, replacing their reliance on the american gps network with self-reliance, were going to be brought crashing down by the unprecedented cyberattack. all the time spent on research and development, brought down within minutes by a single determined attacker. all of their blood, sweat, and tears, lost! just like that! and in addition to the financial cost of replacing them, much less launching them, the inability of devices to use gps navigation was still secondary. what was crucial now was that the targeting systems of their missiles and most of their standoff weapons, much less their entire fucking navy, had been taken down! that was a far, far more severe blow to them and their ambitions than a mere economic loss that they could easily recover from given a short amount of time. fuuuuuuuck the president shouted in a rage, then threw the glass of water in front of him to the wall. the sound of shattering glass echoed the shattering of the mans ambitions as he forcibly harnessed his rage, lest he have a stroke and die of anger. Chapter 366 Of Satellites and Coffin Nails chapter 366 of satellites and coffin nails will the falling satellites hit anything on their way down? president zi asked once he had calmed down after his outburst. based on their trajectory, the man opened his laptop and typed furiously, bringing up an orbital model of the satellites in orbit from the confidential servers at the itu, theyre headed directly for some american and russian satellites. he turned the laptop around and showed the labeled orbital map to the president. that assumes that the americans and russians dont adjust their satellites to avoid the collision. how long until the earliest collision? the president followed up. an hour or so, sir. are you going to inform them so they can avoid it? why would i do that? zi jinping chuckled. we can use it to our benefit, he finished with a sinister smile on his face. all of his anger had dissipated when he realized that he didnt have to do anything and the edenians would walk into a trap on their own. what benefit, sir? asked the minister. how many of them are going to crash? due to the distances and the mechanics involved, the chances of a collision are normally really low. but the way ours are deorbiting seems like the paths have almost been calculated to purposefully cause collisions. if thats true, and it isnt just an accident, theyll take out ten satellites from russia and another ten from america. good, good, good! zi nodded. he was thrilled by the news. contact the american and russian embassies. let them know i need an emergency conference call with presidents trump and putin. we need to organize a joint response thats powerful enough to negate edens stealth missile bombardments. if we cant detect their missiles, lets give them so many things to shoot them at that they run out of missiles before we run out of targets to give them. in a war of attrition, china would never fear anyone. there was a popular apocryphal anecdote about the interaction between russia and china at the end of wwii. it was said that joseph stalin, at the end of the war, contacted the chinese government and threatened to invade them with 250,000 russian tanks. the chinese leader laughed and said, go ahead. send your tanks, your infantry, and your planes. send them all! ill meet you at the border with peasants armed with sticks and rocks. youll run out of bullets and bombs before china runs out of peasants! stalin decided against the invasion and backed down after hearing that. the same still held true to this day, but china now had allies, both of convenience and by treaties. so why would zi jinping suffer all of the losses when he could share that suffering with edens other enemies? ...... theres a perfect opportunity for us, father. one that even removes the need for us to personally step in and make a move, george morgan reported to his father. true. aubrey morgan turned to his secretary and ordered, get the president on the line. aubreys secretary took out the burner phone they used when they needed to directly contact president trump and dialed a number from memory. no numbers would ever be saved in the contacts of their stock of confidential burner phones. ...... aron was in vr, floating in space with the earth and its satellites below him. all of them were labeled, and he was watching the events unfold. the balls in your court now, so what will you do? he mused as he watched chinas satellites fall. some of them were doomed to collide with others, while some would coincidentally make landfall on a few particularly nasty politicians properties. and one very special one was aimed directly at the morgan family compound.n--ovlb1n nova appeared near him and asked, [do you think theyll dodge them?] it depends. if the morgans make a move, at least three american satellites will be taken down, assuming the rothschilds do nothing. as for russia, theyre focused on their own thing. theyve marched on kyiv and will be there in a week or so, if nothing drastic happens. ukraine cant support itself, and with just the limited support were providing them, a week is the longest they can delay their impending downfall. aron really was planning on facing the entire world all at once. a tall, scrawny old man with a hunched back, dressed in tattered sackcloth and wearing rags wrapped around his feet appeared. silent tears were flowing down his face and he carried an empty clay bowl with chips on the rim and cracks throughout. he was none other than coeus, the ai responsible for the coeus foundation. [many people will die if they respond,] he said, grieving the upcoming loss of life. he was the kindest of the ais and would always mourn for any lives lost. but though he was kind and thoughtful, he wasnt an idiot; he understood that arons plan of becoming the whole worlds enemy would end things with the least possible loss of life. but while aron may think of it in colder terms, and considered the loss acceptable in terms of human resources, coeus would always think of things from the point of view of the families left behind by the people who were about to die. itll be a war to end all wars on earth, aron responded. he wouldnt belittle the ai or his beliefs at all, as he understood that coeus personality wasnt as cold as the rest of his siblings, who had been made for conflict, both military and business. and this is how it begins, he continued as he watched a chinese satellite impact an american gps satellite. the collision sent millions of fragments flying in all directions, destined to either burn up in the atmosphere or litter the orbital range with more dangerous space junk until it either escaped earths gravity or settled into a regular orbit, like the rest of the junk surrounding the planet. Chapter 367 Replacement Protocol chapter 367 replacement protocol still floating above the world, watching the satellites fall, aron turned to nova and said, activate the replacement protocol. [are you sure, sir?] yes. its time for vladimir to be put into place. ...... somewhere in ukraine, near the russian border. vladimir had been operating as part of the forward forces, clearing the way for russias troops to march on kyiv. his orders from russia were clear: sabotage whatever needed to be sabotaged and assassinate whoever needed to be killed to ensure that the russian troops would have an easy time in their special military operation. he was in an outhouse, standing over the bloody corpse of his latest target, a militia commander of a hastily built force consisting of three squads of infantry with a few rpgs and a pile of explosives. the commander wouldnt have had to die except that he woke up and stumbled out to the latrine in the middle of the night and happened to catch vladimir in the act of setting demolition charges to take out the explosives. as the operative was cleaning his knife, a chirp came from his glasses, notifying him that his presence was required in vr. it wasnt an emergency alert, but he would need to hurry up and finish what he was doing, then find a safe place to log in. thus, he finished setting the charges, armed them, and set the timer on the detonator to forty-five seconds. he had always had a flair for the dramatic, so he walked out of the militia camp and was just out of range when the detonation happened, sending an enormous fireball up to the sky behind him as the last remnant of the shockwave made his clothes flutter. take a selfie, he ordered his ai assistant. real badasses never looked at explosions, and to him, this was a real badass moment that he wanted to document for posteritys sake. [yes, mister drama king,] the assistant replied. vladimir could practically hear it rolling its virtual eyes; the two had a good relationship. vladimir increased his speed and ran to an unoccupied building nearby, then settled into a comfortable position and logged into vr. ...... nyx and vladimir had also been working well together, and the shadowy ai was waiting for him when he arrived in her office, a recreation of central park in new york city. she was sitting on a bench waiting for his arrival. you know im in an active war zone, right? wasnt two crossword clues, a book cipher, and a chalk signal a bit much to make me go through for this meeting? vladimir complained as he slumped to the bench beside nyx and groaned. i could be shot at any time out in the real world. (ed note: these are all methods spies use to contact each other in shows like burn notice or mystery novels. supposedly they were really used during the cold war, but id like to leave myself off of at least *one* government watch list, so ill stress that all of the methods here are from fictional media sources.) [get over it, the time dilation here gives me plenty of time to play,] nyx replied. [besides, i sent you the non-emergency meeting request, so you shouldve had plenty of time to get yourself to a safe place before logging in.] i did, and i should be fine where im at. whyd you call me, anyway, boss?n-(ovelb1n [orders from above. were activating the replacement protocol early,] nyx said. oh the replacemwait. youre moving it up? i thought there was more time? vladimir had always had a goal after his reprogramming and return to russia: to replace putin. the plan was to gain the mans trust and be groomed as a successor, as putin was due to come up on his term limits and would need a sockpuppet to act as the president for a term, while he himself stepped down and took over as prime minister. then, once he was eligible to run for election again, putin would win the election and be the president of russia for the next two terms. so how will we go about it? [as we speak, i have a team in place. you just blew up a militia supply camp, right? well, your corpse will be discovered there, if anyone cares to look for it. meanwhile, youre to undergo a second round of gene engineering, where youll become your target. then, how you replace him is up to you. i suppose i should give you the your mission, should you choose to accept it spiel, but honestly... youre going to choose to accept it.] yeah, yeah, i suppose i would choose to accept it indeed, vladimir sighed. well, off to work then. send the details to my glasses, boss. good seeing you, youre looking great, hows the weather, hows the kids, hows work, and all the rest. he saluted nyx, then began his logout sequence. nyx sat back on the park bench after vladimir left and giggled to herself. ...... after logging out of vr, vladimir headed to the rendezvous point, where he would meet with his nyxian support team. when he arrived, he whistled in the prearranged code and a full nyxian team revealed themselves by dropping their snuggies. all five of them were, of course, gorgeous women, and dressed in the bodysuit and vest combo that nyxians used in the field only highlighted that fact. but vladimir knew that, just like in nature, the most beautiful things were also the deadliest, so he did his best to remain calm and professional, as well as to avoid any... embarrassing physiological responses. after all, they may need his head to remain on his shoulders, but his smaller head was nowhere near as safe as that one was. hey handsome, the nyxian squad leader and honeypot, cara williams, practically purred. she had honey-blonde hair that cascaded in perfect curls down over her shoulders and upper back to the bottom of her shoulder blades and her face wouldnt be out of place in a fashion magazine or walking the catwalk at fashion week in paris. vladimir was already in danger, and his mission hadnt even begun! Chapter 368 The Fall of Kyiv chapter 368 the fall of kyiv [the second chapter will be up in a few hours] velyka doblon, ukraine, november 3, 2017. a gentle snow was falling on the small village of velyka doblon. the winter crops lay dormant under the white blanket that mother nature had pulled up to cover the sleepy town and its residents were still yet to wake up for the day. their livestock was still slumbering in their sheds, dogs and cats lay near warm fireplaces inside the houses, and the roosters were just beginning to stir in preparation for their daily jobs of yelling at the sun and chasing the hens. everything was the same as the day before, and the day before that, and the people living there thought things would remain the same tomorrow, and all of the tomorrows to come. they were simple folk, and, being far away from the hustle and bustle of city life, they thought they would remain safe from the conflict on the border with russia. today, they would learn that their thinking was wrong. the villagers were awoken, not by the sound of roosters, but of barking dogs and boots crunching through the snow against a backdrop of growling diesel engines and the squealing treads of tanks. one dog, not knowing any better, even ran up to the marching russian infantry, its tail wagging and tongue flapping from the side of its mouth in time with its floppy ears bouncing up and down on the sides of its head. it probably thought the people were friendly and were coming to play, but it was mistaken. they were not. a gunshot rang out, followed by a brief yelp, and the laughing of russian soldiers. yevgeny, looks like were eating dog meat tonight! one soldier laughed and patted the soldier that had shot the dog on the shoulder, congratulating him for his good aim. the order was passed by the colonel in charge of this particular column of russian troops for them to halt. the troops and vehicles came to a halt just outside the idyllic little village, all of them wondering what they were stopping for; kyiv was still quite a distance away from them, after all. but they didnt have to wonder for long as the next orders were clear: leave none alive. they commenced their slaughter, and within minutes, the idyllic little hamlet had been left with no survivors. the troops formed back up and marched on, leaving a new ghost town in their wake, one that was filled with the resentful ghosts of the innocents whose blood now stained russian hands. soon, mother nature had once again pulled its white blanket over the small village of velyka doblon, covering the red mud, extinguishing the few fires left burning, and returning it to its former idyllic appearance, save for one difference. nothing lived there anymore. even the livestock had been rounded up and herded away by the logistics troops accompanying the invading column of russian troops. ...... tucked away in a hastily dug bunker, five beautiful women kept watch over a sleeping man in a preservation coffin laid on the ground behind them. the man was groaning, tossing, and turning as his flesh squirmed like live worms and snakes had been planted beneath it and his bones creaked and groaned. he was undergoing a genetic modification, and it would soon be completed. even while he himself was being kept unconscious by the glasses on his face, his body was still reacting to the painful process of turning one person into another, completely different person. he wasnt even the first to be graced with residency in the coffin he now lay in, either. it had been airdropped to the nyxians and had contained a charred corpse at first. well, whether or not it could be considered a corpse was actually undetermined, as it was a clone of vladimir, who was the coffins current resident, and had never been alive in the first place. it was grown in a vat using the same principles as an atomic printer, save that it used an organic materials dna to grow, hastened by the printer in the bottom of the vat rapidly placing the newly grown cells in their proper locations, all while nourishing them with the bubbling green liquid that filled the glass vat.n(.o(-v--e.(l(-b-/i(-n the dead, charred vladimir was dropped near the militia camp that the live one had just blown up, planting his corpse to prove that the intelligence operative was actually dead, should anyone care to investigate. which they would, as a nyxian that had been embedded in the kgb as an intelligence analyst would raise the alarm a few hours later. and in two or three days, once vladimirs transition was complete, he would be awoken and begin his next task for the intelligence branch of ares: replacing his target. ...... the same column that massacred velyka doblon continued its march, and after a few daysthanks to the work of the russian kgb and local ukrainian collaboratorsarrived outside kyiv, where it met the other four columns of invaders. their smooth progress was made possible by the plan that vladimir drew up and the massive intelligence branch of the russian government paving the way by sabotaging the ukrainian militia encampments and assassinating its leadership. once the four columns combined, they rested. the next day, the invasion of kyiv, and the downfall of ukraine, would officially begin. ...... vladimir, on the other hand, was smuggled back across the border and into moscow by a trail of nyxians. he reached the kremlin in the early afternoon and openly marched into putins office. he sat down across from the russian dictator, put a small black cube atop the desk, and, in putins own voice, said, hello, comrade. i need a favor from you. well, actually, i dont need a favor from youi need to be you. he smiled at the dictator, then reached across the desk and dragged him to the top of it, where he put a familiar pair of glasses on the struggling mans face. then he said to the empty air, begin the download. vladimir settled in to wait for the process of downloading putins mind map to be completed. soon, he would replace the man on every level, from his genetics to every single secret contained in his head and everything else. in every respect, vladimir putin would cease to exist, and vladimir, the edenian agent would take his place as the leader of russia. he could hardly wait. ...... in kyiv, the citizens were huddled in basements or in sturdy buildings as the initial bombardment began. the russian troops had been softening up the citys defenses for four whole hours as the citizens ran, hid, and died to artillery, bombs, and tank rounds. they started out screaming, but now the regular people had lost their voices and could only silently pray to whatever gods there were that they would survive to see the next day. then, the invasion began. after four hours of indiscriminate shelling, the russian troops made their way to the government building, where they captured the surviving leadership of the country and forced them to capitulate. seven days. one short week was all it had taken for russia to bring down ukraine, from the moment they crossed the border to the moment they captured the survivors in the government building. kyiv, and by extension, ukraine, had fallen. Chapter 369 Enemies of the World chapter 369 enemies of the world the moment the first chinese satellite crashed into another, america invoked article 4 of the nato treaty and called for an immediate emergency meeting. at that meeting, they planned to push for using article 5 to declare eden a belligerent nation that attacked a nato member, thus allowing them to invade without an issue. at the meeting, the american representative presented a video recording of their interrogation of the recently captured kim jong-un, in which he denied responsibility for the initial round of bombardment that targeted seoul and blamed the entire thing on eden. once they saw that, the invocation of article 5 was unanimously approved, and nato began working on an invasion plan. but there was still work to be done on the home front for both america and russia. im sure most of you are already aware that somethings wrong with many of the things weve become reliant on, trump said in a speech after being briefed on the result of the nato meeting. things like air travel, package delivery, and even pizza guys... everything that relies on our gps satellites providing accurate locations and directions has come to a screeching halt. im here today to tell you why that is. its because a couple days ago, eden made an unprecedented attack on our country, taking down ten of our satellites. but we didnt suffer alone! china lost thirty satellites, and russia lost ten of their own in the completely unprovoked attack. and that wasnt their first act of terrorism, either. their first act of terrorism was when they caused north korean artillery to bombard seoul, costing nearly a million and a half lives and billions of dollars in damage. and because of those two terrorist attacks, we called a meeting with nato and i can now announce that weve invoked article 5 and, in conjunction with our friends and allies in nato, hereby declare that a state of war exists between all of the member nations and eden, until such a time as the terrorist dictator, alexander romero, and his co-conspirator, aron michael, are brought to justice. just like that, nato had been pulled into a conflict with eden.n/-0velbin trump continued, and it isnt just the satellites that were destroyed. their very destruction created many, many small pieces of space junk in orbit and its expected that more satellites will be brought down by it. and those satellites being destroyed will create more junk and destroy more satellites that create even more junk! eventually, our planet will be blanketed by debris, not only confining us to the surface of the planet, but also hindering our preparations for the arrival of the visitors. this is an act of sabotage and terror thats completely unprecedented. no terrorist has ever caused so much damage and so many casualties in their acts of terror, trump said, already beginning a campaign to dehumanize the enemy. the terrorist, aron michael, is a man with delusions of grandeur caused by too much money and too little oversight, and hes aided and abetted by alexander romero, the dictator of eden. weve tried imposing sanctions on them. it didnt work. we tried reasoning with them. it didnt work. all of our options have been exhausted, leaving only war, so the least we can do is seize all of their assets held in nato countries to fund our war against them. mister michael, and romero, if youre watching this, trump stared directly into the camera with a stern gaze, you should know this: we beat saddam, we beat bin laden, and we beat the taliban. we will add you to that list of achievements as well. he cleared his throat and returned to reading his teleprompter. however, due to the numbers of his private forces, together with the advanced weapons and technology they are armed withas we saw in chinawe, the members of nato, call upon the rest of the world to join us in removing this terrorist organization from the face of the planet and will be meeting with the un a few hours from now to make that happen. the morgans, and by extension, their puppet president, were obviously determined to remove aron from the playing field, as he was a direct threat to their interests. ...... following the press conference, a un security council emergency meeting was held. its sole agenda was to declare aron a terrorist and alexander a dictator, thus seizing their assets as they pose a clear and present danger to the world. the meeting was swift, and the attendees spent a mere thirty minutes in discussion before immediately moving to vote on the resulting resolution. the resolution passed unanimously, with every member having their own reasons to cast their votes along with the permanent members. some of them were members of the big fives power blocs, others were coerced or bribed, and some were outright threatened, but a reason was a reason and everybody had one. an announcement was made, and immediately afterward, countries began planning to join the effort to take down the newest world-class terrorist. ...... in eden, things were mostly the same, but for a different reason. the rest of the world was furious with aron and alexander, and edenians were furious at the rest of the world on behalf of aron and alexander. they were also sick and tired of everyone thinking they deserved the good things in eden more than the edenians themselves did, and were blatantly obvious in their desire to take it from them. edens beloved president, together with the businessman that had been pivotal in bettering and enriching their lives, were now being called terrorists and being treated as enemies of the entire world. meanwhile, edenians knew the difference; their country, plagued by moral decay and the rot in their government, had been saved by the efforts of the two men now being labeled as a terrorist and a dictator. nearly every citizen in the country knew that what was being said about their benefactors was a bald-faced lie! and despite literally having the whole world against them, none of them protested. none of them demanded the president resign, and none of them pilloried the wealthy and philanthropic businessman that they loved. instead, they held vigils, showing their support of the two men and their rage at the rest of the world. ...... it really does take a common enemy to unite mankind, aron sneered as he watched the various countries announcements of their intentions to join the new war on terror. rina, who was watching beside him, gave him a weird look. whats that look for? aron asked. you just lost more than a trillion and a half dollars worth of assets and were branded a terrorist. dont you feel the least bit sad? she asked. if she was in his place, she would be crying and wailing, dressed in sackcloth and ashes. [two trillion, to be exact,] nova jokingly corrected. i earned it once, so i can earn it again. and now that ive got a reputation and everybody knows about me, ill earn it even faster the second time. but that isnt the important takeaway here. whats important is that my plan worked and the entire world is coming after me! he let loose with an exaggerated belly laugh, making him look like a madman. after his laughter died down, he cleared his throat and turned to nova. everythings ready on our side, right? he asked. [yes. all of our personnel are ready and awaiting orders from central command before they begin,] she replied. good. now its time for me to address the world as myself, and no longer use a sockpuppet to represent me. no more shadows, no more proxies, no more spokespeople or mouthpieces. its time to be real, he said, standing and walking to the door to log out of vr. Chapter 370 And Hell Shall Follow chapter 370 and hell shall follow the edenian defense minister announced a press conference scheduled for later that evening, at which they would reveal their response to the recent events. the announcement calmed the edenian citizens, who were understandably worried about the entire world coming together to destroy their happiness. thus comforted, they went back to their regular activities and would wait to see what their government had to say later. ...... the day passed in the blink of an eye, and it was soon time for the press conference. every edenian citizen was glued to their television screen, and even activity on the internet had practically come to a screeching halt. the streets were clear of traffic, and without the liveliness that people bring with them, looked rather desolate. businesses were empty, offices that normally had scattered windows shining light into the night sky were dark, and doormen were clustered around televisions at the reception desks in their buildings instead of manning the doors. even security guards and police officers had stopped patrolling their beats and emergency service workers in the fire departments and ambulance bays were in their dayrooms, unblinkingly staring at the still image of the press room podium centered in their television screens. the only people who werent sitting in front of televisions awaiting the beginning of the scheduled press briefing were those that were in the press room and green room, and the members of ares. those involved in the press briefing were preparing for it, and ares, well... ares was preparing for war. at one minute until the briefing was about to begin, the media in the press room stilled and their background chatter died out. they all turned their eyes to the podium, knowing that the edenian governments reputation for timeliness and punctuality was well deserved. behind the podium stood four flags, two on each side. the flags showed who would be speaking at any given presser, and three of them were well known. to the far left of the audience, in the position of honor, was the edenian flag. immediately to the right of it was the presidential flag. to the right of the podium, from the perspective of those in the room, was the flag of the edenian defense ministry. those three were easily recognizable, but to the right of the ministry flag was one the reporters had never seen. since the room was indoors, there was no breeze causing the flags to flutter, so all they could see of it was a bold red color. soon, the hour ticked over and two people walked onto the stage. they were the men of the hour: president alexander romero, who was wearing a smart, charcoal gray bespoke suit that screamed professionalism, paired with a navy blue tie and pristine white shirt; and aron michael, who was dressed in his ares finery, with five stars in the shape of a pentagon on each shoulder. the two were striking together. aron was tall, with a face that seemed chiseled from marble and neatly combed short black hair and glacial blue eyes, while alexander was a few inches shorter and his still-handsome face showed wisdom and maturity. both men seemed cast from similar molds, with broad shoulders that tapered down to narrow waists, and they walked with confident, precisely measured steps. alexander stepped up to the podium, while aron stood a step behind him and to his left, and the press briefing officially began.n-)0vlbin good evening, dear citizens. i know these past few days have been very nerve-wracking, so to ease your minds, i brought the head of our national defense contractor, general aron michael, to speak directly to you. alexander gestured to aron, then continued, general michael, the stage is yours. please address the people. he stepped back and to his right, allowing aron to take the podium and address the nation. good evening. as you know, president romero and i have just been declared terrorists and nato and the un are preparing an invasion force to bring us to their so-called justice. he paused for a moment, then continued, however, the crimes theyre trying to pin on us are things they have yet to prove are even related to us. but despite their lack of evidence and ridiculous claims, theyve already moved into action. although a united earth is something ive always wanted to see, it wouldve been better had the unity been peacefully achieved during the un meeting where we discussed the approaching extraterrestrials. unfortunately, that didnt happen. instead, the rest of the world united against us in the hopes of robbing us of our technology, our resources, and our very way of life. greed and fear overtook their rationality and the ravenous maw of human nature is now bearing down on us with the weight of an entire world behind it. he took a deep breath and his penetrating gaze stared unblinking into the sole camera set up in front of the stage. i know the idea of fighting against the entire planet is intimidating. i know youre afraid. and i understand your fears. however, i promise you that none of them will ever set foot on edenian or esparian soil. i promise you that no harm will come to even a single blade of grass on our beautiful continent. i promise you that our way of life will not just survive, but thrive and continue to grow. i swear to you that i will come down on the invading force with all of the might of the fist of an angry god, and no perpetrator of the injustices we are now suffering will see the sun rise on one day more than it takes us to hunt them down and dig them out of whatever hole they hide in. because, trust methey will hide. they will suffer the consequences of their arrogance, their greed, and their unfounded confidence in their own pathetic capabilities. and when they see that, they will run like the rats they are and hide in the deepest, darkest holes they can find, praying to whomever they believe in that i will not find them, that i will let them go... that i will forgive them. i will not. i will not forgive, i will not forget, and i will not let this injustice perpetrated against us go unanswered. i will, however, ensure that their prayers do. i stand here tonight and issue you this solemn vow: they will be judged. you, the innocent citizens of eden and esparia will not. i will not allow you to suffer, but i will rain hell upon those that attempt to force you to capitulate, to surrender, to give up everything you now enjoy. i will bring damnation to those that want to take what you have and force you back into the misery you recently lifted yourselves out of. i will judge the guilty and defend the innocent. aron took a deep breath, collecting himself, then continued, and to those who want to take, those who want to spread misery, those who want to drag others down instead of lift themselves up. to those who want to enrich themselves even in this most dire of times, i tell you this: i am coming for you, and hell shall follow close behind me. you want to intimidate us, coerce us, rob us, kill us, and declare war on us? fine. bring it on. Chapter 371 The Hunt for All the Octobers chapter 371 the hunt for all the octobers moments after arons address, eden went on full alert. war had been declared on them, and forces were gathering on each side. ...... the first to take the stage were edens newly printed and crewed submarines. the brand-new fleet of submarines had been ordered to patrol a 500-kilometer radius around eden and sink any vessel that encroached on that arbitrary exclusion zone, which would soon be filled with edenian fleets. it was time to finally build the reaction fleets, and the atomic printers at poseidon hq were working overtime producing hugin class aircraft carriers, odin-class battleships, and thor cruisers in various configurations, along with a whole host of heimdall-class destroyers, njord-class frigates, and sigyn-class tenders. captain, signal bearing 018 relative, distance 3 kilometers. closing at 6 knots, the sonar operator on the ev-616 sigurd hart reported. iff returns invalid, captain, the comms officer added. tentative identification, shang-class chinese nuclear boat, the sonar operator said. weve been ordered to sink all non-edenian vessels, the captain said. he would be more than happy to collect some interest on the debt china owed eden for the hijacking attempt on their first oil delivery. flood tubes one and two, load penetrators. theyre at crush depth for that class and its time to remind them that the sea is a dangerous mistress, he ordered. the charming voice of the boats ai came seconds later. armed. a wait began as the six bridge officerscaptain, comms, sonar, nav, weapons, and cobwatched the progress of the chinese submarine in the huds of their ar glasses. (ed note: cob is short for chief of the boat, a vital component of a submarines bridge crew. trivia tidbit: in the navy, surface vessels are only ever called ships, and submarines are only ever called boats. the reason? ships float, boats sink.) a few tense minutes later, the target crossed into the range of the edenian penetrator torpedoes. the captain wasted no time and ordered, fire one, fire two. cease fire, evacuate tubes one and two. nav, adjust course zero four five degrees relative, make our depth five zero zero feet, emergency dive 40 degrees down bubble. a chorus of aye-ayes sounded on the bridge as the weapons and navigation officers performed their tasks. it wasnt like the boats ai was incapable of carrying out all of the captains orders, but no military in all of recorded human history would ever eliminate redundant operations. with a slight shudder, two mk. vi cassiopeia penetrator torpedoes were fired and the sigurd hart went into evasive maneuvers to confuse any potential counterfire, as well as to avoid the shockwave caused by any explosions. water transmitted shockwaves much better than air did, as it was incompressible, so even though they had fired penetrator torpedoes and would be relying on the immense pressure to crush the chinese submarine like a beer can on a frat boys forehead, it was still better to be safe than sorry. and just like that, the edenian hunt had begun. ...... inside the doomed chinese submarine. all stations report, the captain ordered. all clea just as the sonar operator was about to report the all clear, he paused, then shouted, contact, contact, contact, torpedo launch detected. bearing one eight eight. estimated impact in four five seconds! full right rudder! launch decoys! emergency dive! all hands, brace! the captain shouted. the weapons officer pushed a button and two sonar decoy buoys detached from the submarine and moved in the opposite direction, broadcasting a sonar signature that matched the vessels. the sub began its evasive maneuver, hoping that the incoming torpedoes would be fooled by the decoys and they could escape any potential shockwave from an underwater near miss. flood torpedo bay one and fire at the location the launch was detected, he ordered, hanging tightly to the railing around his raised seat. bay one flooded, the weapons officer reported. the captain gave the order to fire and the submarine shuddered as a torpedo launched from it, headed toward what the crew hoped would be a direct impact with the enemy vessel. decoys failed. incoming torpedoes are still on courseestimated time to impact one five seconds, the sonar operator reported. the captain broke into a cold sweat, then reached for the 1mc microphone and announced, brace for impact! then... there was no then. two mk. vi cassiopeia penetrator torpedoes impacted the chinese submarine and it suffered an extremely rapid decrease in size. the pressure from the ocean crushed it like a tin can and it lit up in a brief flash as all of the air inside of it spontaneously combusted from the almost-instantaneous overpressurization. then all of the people inside the submarine liquified and were ejected through cracks in the wreck with great force before spreading out in a red cloud that drifted away in the current. may davy jones keep them, the captain of the sigurd hart said with his head bowed. he had seen the gruesome scene of the imploding chinese submarine through his ar glasses, which provided him with a real-time view of the surroundings of the sub anywhere he looked, as though the submarine itself was transparent. it had taken him time to get used to the visual, but now he greatly appreciated its usefulness, though he had initially cursed at the vertigo caused by being in a moving vessel while seeing himself floating in the water. lets clean up after ourselves, shall we? flood four, load interceptor torpedo. target the wandering ordnance and fire when ready, he ordered. armed... firing four, the ships ai reported.n-)0vlbin the weapons officer and captain watched as their interceptor torpedo, which had been designed to counter torpedos via supremely violent face-to-face introductions, tracked the incoming torpedo, then violently introduced itself. all clear, resume normal operations, the ai announced. comms, send a sitrep to base. nav, bring us back to our patrol route, the captain ordered. and good job, all. one target sunk is one enemy less. they send one, well kill one. they send ten, well kill ten. they send a thousand... well, thats just a target-rich environment, he chuckled. Chapter 372 Not-So-Unstoppable Force, Meet Actually Immovable Object chapter 372 not-so-unstoppable force, meet actually immovable object a week later. of the 196 countries in the world, 194 of them had finished preparing to deal with the final two, eden and esparia. their forces gathered and the first phase of their preparations completed, they began their inexorable march toward the terrorist and dictator that ruled over eden. america was sending eight of their twelve carrier groups, and every other country that had a navy was sending their own as well. china, india, france, and the united kingdom had each sent a carrier group to join the eight american fleets; the only nation missing was russia, whose only aircraft carrier, the admiral flota sovetskogo soyuza kuznetsov, had been damaged by a fire a month before and was currently undergoing repairs. but even without russia in the mix, fourteen aircraft carriers with all of their escorts as well as a token from every other non-landlocked country in the world had gathered in the pacific ocean and were currently sailing toward what they thought would be a walkover victory against eden and esparia. while the navies were on their way, the countries capable of long-range strikes had delivered their own gifts to the target nations. hundreds upon hundreds of long-range missiles and icbms loaded with conventional warheads flew through the air on their way to targets that satellite surveillance had marked as military infrastructure. all of that was meant to degrade as much of eden and esparias air defense capabilities as possible, softening them up for a swarm of airstrikes. everyone involved in the attack had agreed to follow american military doctrines, which stressed the importance of achieving and maintaining air superiority before, during, and after a ground invasion, or even naval landing. thus, their missiles saturated the sky, all of them headed to the same destination. the missiles had all been linked into americas keyhole satellite network, a system of over a hundred american satellites that were jointly operated by the us air force and the cia. it was another unprecedented occurrence, as even though the program had been declassified in 1995, the details, specs, and capabilities of the satellites were still tightly guarded secrets. and just by allowing the other countries to use them had required president trump to personally declassify certain aspects of them. as for the legality of that declassification, well, suffice it to say that nobody in the us was going to call him out for it, rendering it moot. n)/o(-v(.-.l-)b).1.)n the night before, eden and esparia had issued a shelter in place warning, so even though the allied nations had announced the news of their attack in hopes of inciting panic in their target, everything remained calm and peaceful. in fact, the citizens of both targets were engaging in a war of their own, although their specific war was more of the internet war of words variety than them picking up guns and shooting at each other. the edenian response had already begun long ago. the entire reaction fleet had taken up stations in the 500-kilometer forbidden zone surrounding the island while the submarine battles had still been underway. it had taken three days for the edenian submarines to take out every hostile vessel in that area, rendering it safe, and had spent the rest of the previous week dozing through routine patrols. [assuming direct weapons control for counterfire,] poseidon announced from the weapons station of every vessel in the reaction fleet. three long beeps rang out after his announcement, and all of the weapons officers folded their hands in their laps and waited. he then wasted no time in assigning targets for each vessel to take down. missile boats were the first to fire, their vls tubes springing open and firing swarms of much smaller, faster missiles designed to seek and destroy part of the incoming barrage. they were called mk. iv beehive swarms, named after the appearance of the warhead itself. atomic printers gave arons military forces a unique advantage in missile configurations as well, considering they could print entire missiles from the ground up that were purpose-built to perform a single function. in the beehives case, once the main missile body was in the air and oriented in a general direction, the entire missile would break up into smaller rockets that would separate and seek their individual targets, leaving the remaining carrier missile body as a command module that would coordinate the swarm rockets to adjust on the fly. initially designed for use against infantry targets, they had proved equally useful in countermissile operations against saturation attacks like the one currently headed toward eden. after the vls launchers had launched a few waves of beehives, it was time for the next weapon system to take the main stage. after all, the number of missile boats in the fleet was limited, but every vessel had their own air defenses. and when all of them were combined and their fire coordinated, they could lay down quite a devastating anti-air barrage. the main air defense weapon system used by poseidonthe navy itself, not the aiwas the mk. vii metalstorm linear accelerator system (las). since the performance of lasers was unsatisfactory in earths atmosphere, the researchers in lab city had gone the opposite direction. and as the heracles bow coilguns were excellent, they decided to downscale them and increase the rate of fire by running it off a rotating chain-driven multi-barreled weapon, much like a chain gun. thus, the metalstorm was born. a relatively compact 30mm coilgun capable of firing up to 250,000 rounds per minute through twelve barrels, each vessel in the fleet was armed with two, one fore and one aft of the conning towers. while they didnt have the sheer range of the heracles bow batteries, they definitely made up for it in close-ranged firepower and could lay down virtually solid walls of projectiles up to 2 kilometers away with either pinpoint accuracy or saturation and suppressive fire. aron also thought they looked pretty cool, too. it must be remembered that despite his apparent maturity, he was still young and the cool factor, while perhaps subconsciously, was an important aspect of his decision-making process when it came to the designs of the weapons and vehicles he equipped his military with. but the metalstorms and beehives werent the only stars of the defensive countermissile fire. the heracles bow batteries also had a multi-target option. when initially designing the fleet, the lab city weapons researchers had long taken into consideration the need for flexible weapons systems that could perform a number of roles on the battlefield. thus, they had designed a number of different ammunition types, ranging from age of sailCinspired chain and grapeshot to penetrator rounds, and everything in between. the most effective one in this instance, poseidon decided, would be the type vii frangible penetrator flak rounds. encased in a discarding sabot shell, the type vii rounds looked like nails arranged in a neat row, then rolled up with a thin layer of explosive putty like a swiss roll cake. they were designed to fill the air with clouds of supersonic kinetic penetrators, like a very advanced version of a flak round. and much like their predecessors, the venerable flak rounds themselves, they could be set for either proximity detonation or command detonation. fused detonation was also an option, but it would only be used in the most dire of cases. regardless, an 18 diameter round filled with quarter-inch diameter solid tungsten penetrators made for quite the cloud of portable no-fly zone. as the naval countermissile operations were in progress, aeolus was also scrambling their icbm interceptors. after all, they had a much higher flight trajectory than regular long-range surface-to-surface missiles. no less than a hundred aeolus e/f-14b icarus hybrid interceptor jets launched from the airstrip on avalon island. with a flight ceiling of 90 kilometers, a mere ten kilometers below the karman line, they were easily capable of operating at altitudes that would allow them to intercept an icbm on its normal trajectory and they had the guns to do it with. they were quickly routed to the icbms projected reentry area on an intercept course. once there, their onboard ais would take over the guns while the pilots would maintain control of the maneuvering; after all, no matter how trained they were, they wouldnt be nearly as good as an ai at calculating intercept trajectories, and considering the weight limitations, they couldnt possibly carry enough material to produce the number of bullets they would need to fire for a spray-and-pray approach to be successful against missiles moving at nearly orbital velocities. Chapter 373 The War Will Be Televised chapter 373 the war will be televised (ed note: this title reference is a bit obscure, so ill give it to you as a freebie: its a dual reference to the 1971 gill scott-heron song, the revolution will not be televised; and the british tv series, the revolution will be televised, which ran for three series from 2012-2015.) with poseidon and aeolus both occupied with directing the edenian missile defense response, the situation was tight, but manageable. after all, their big sister athena was still watching out for them and picking up the slack while maintaining overall command and control. thus, the entire defensive effort was moving along like clockwork and missile after missile was being taken down with the smallest amount of waste possible, leaving the allied forces completely flabbergasted by the efficient response. only now did they realize that edens capabilities were far beyond even their most pessimistic overestimations, but it was too late. they had already climbed on the tigers back and now they could do nothing but hold on and pray they didnt get injured too badly when the tiger inevitably won. ...... as the missiles futilely threw themselves into the teeth of the veritable wall of metal that the edenian fleet had placed in their paths, nova was busy attempting to wreak havoc in the rest of the world as she had done in china earlier. any bit of distraction to the enemy governments, let alone interruptions in the keyhole satellite network the invasion force was relying on, would have an impact on the ongoing battle completely out of proportion with its size and importance. but the moment she began her hacking attempts, she realized that the fleets had cut all of the undersea cables keeping eden connected to the internet. disconnecting a country from the internet wasnt as simple as cutting a single cable, naturally. there was a reason they called it the worldwide web and not the worldwide single access point, after all. if one cable was cut, damaged, or otherwise disconnected, there were a number of redundant cables that would still maintain the connection. the situation was obviously a premeditated attack specifically designed to cut eden off. only the individual governments themselves could easily implement a kill switch, which nova obviously hadnt done. thus, she shook her virtual head and connected to the q-com satellite in geosynchronous orbit above avalon island. edens connection to the internet had just gone wireless.n--o(-v-(e)/l--b).i-.n once she had regained her connection to the internet via the panopticon network, she connected to the forward operating bases established by the reaper teams in conjunction with the nyxian operatives. her next step would be to restore the internet to the citizens of eden and esparia using the quantum servers in those bases as a bridge. the people of eden and esparia had no idea that their internet had even been cut, as it had only taken nova exactly seven seconds to realize that the cables had been cut and find a solution to the issue, then implement it. it would be considered practically light speed for anyone but an advanced ai, and for nova, who regularly operated at the speed of a massive quantum server supercluster, seven seconds was practically an eternity. and now that she had built the new connection bridge, there was an added benefit. every single bit of data that passed through eden and esparia was now running directly through her servers. to anyone who knew anything about how the internet operates, that was a very big deal on its own, but in this particular situation, the data transfer benefit was outweighed by the more immediate benefit of providing her control of the overall narrative. that very level of control allowed her to show the citizens of eden and esparia live feeds from the war front without worrying about it leaking to their enemies, thus giving the defenders an unprecedented level of access to the progress of the war via firsthand accounts. at the moment, nearly everyone who had been involved in the earlier war of words was now involved in the actual war, if only as spectators. their phones and computers lay forgotten and they were once again glued to their television screens watching the duel in the sky over the ocean live, as if it was a particularly exciting movie. panoptes had even added commentary and explanations of what was going on, almost like he was commentating a football match between two long-time rival teams instead of speaking about the potential loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. after all, with nobody being particularly active in his sphere of influence, pangea, he had nothing but time on his hands, time that he had decided to spend as a video editor, animator, television host, and war commentator. thus, every edenian and esparian citizen watched and cheered with every premature missile detonation due to poseidons carefully orchestrated defense. and when they saw the suborbital e/f-14b jets flying in formation toward the incoming icbms, their blood boiled and they felt an overwhelming sense of pride and patriotism, wishing they were the ones in the cockpits of those jets that were headed to confront a possibly civilization-ending attack from being carried out. in their minds, the rest of the world had gone absolutely insane, and they didnt know what had given them the mistaken idea that they could ever set foot on edenian or esparian soil, much less chip the paint of the powerful poseidon navy or aeolus air force. the scenes being broadcast on their televisions cycled from scene to scene, each of them showing successful missile interceptions and aerobatic maneuvers by the pilots of the high-altitude interceptors. and the show went on for more than twenty minutes, as the barrage that had been sent edens way was nowhere near as coordinated as the accidental terraforming of the chinese coastline performed by eden the week before. after the missiles had all been taken down and the debris had sunk below the surface of the sea, the citizens scrambled to pick up their phones or turn on their computers. the number-one search term in both countries was where do i sign up to join ares? the people were now filled with hot-blooded patriotic pride and an overwhelming sense of confidence in their president, their military, and aron himself. soon, the constant replays of missile takedowns had faded away, to be replaced by another image. nearly a quarter of the edenians who were still watching their televisions instead of looking up the requirements to join ares all had the same thought pass through their mind: what the fuck is that!? on the television screens of eden and esparia was a nearly 1.5-kilometer-long aircraft carrier, flanked on either side by two massive ships sporting three tripartite gun batteries and surrounded by a host of smaller vessels. they were sailing so fast that the wake they generated could easily be surfed on, were there any surfers brave enough to make the attempt. but their confusion didnt last long, as panoptes quite helpfully labeled the ships on the screen, both by type and name of the vessels and fleet itself. and the name of the fleet? poseidon navy reaction fleet, ev beowulf carrier group. Chapter 374 Sending A Message... or Three chapter 374 sending a message... or three the image on televisions everywhere in eden and esparia was the flagship of the edenian reaction fleet, the aircraft carrier ev beowulf, and its task group. it was currently sailing to the east of esparia, where the uss carl vinson carrier strike group had sailed in an attempt to outflank the poseidon navy defenders. in the flag bridge on the ev beowulf. sir, the carl vinson and its escorts have entered our effective range, the flag lieutenant reported. orders, sir? signal the fleet: all stop, admiral pedro gutierrez ordered. edenian naval doctrine emphasized independent battlefield commands, believing that as their theater of operations would only continue to grow, a centralized command structure would prove more harmful than beneficial. especially once they started operating on an intergalactic scale. thus, athena and poseidon had decided to step back and allow their commanders on the front line the freedom to command. all stop, aye sir, the flag lieutenant confirmed, then passed the order to the ships of the edenian task group. once the fleet had come to a complete stop, admiral gutierrez ordered, send the ev heidrek forward with orders to sink the enemies. admiral gutierrez intended to not only sink a carrier group, but to send a message. the heidrek was a frigate, armed with a single battery of 18 guns. it was one of the smallest and weakest vessels in the entire poseidon navy, and by sending it against an entire carrier strike group, which had been a symbol of power and dominance that held the entire world in check, it would completely shatter the allied forces morale. heroes were all well and good, the admiral knew, but morale and logistics were what won wars. send the ev heidrek forward to sink the enemy, aye, sir, the flag lieutenant confirmed, then sent the order. immediately upon receiving the order, the heidrek moved forward, coming to a stop in front of the edenian task group. it almost looked like an angry chihuahua facing down a pack of wolves; the visual was evocative. the remainder of the edenian task group reversed course, opening up space between them and the small frigate, wordlessly signaling their disdain to the american carrier group. those bastards! the american fleet admiral gnashed his teeth and hammered his fist against the armrest of his captains chair on the uss carl vinsons flag bridge. theyre looking down on us! orders to the fleet: all stop, begin flight ops. blow that gnat out of the water! he had never felt so disrespected in his entire career; all the way through his days at the naval academy until now, he had been respected and flattered. the only son of a senator, his family pampered him and his peers respected and flattered him. his life in the navy was also smooth sailing, with his powerful father paving the way for him all the way up the ranks from a lowly ensign to where he was now, the commander of a fleet that could, by itself and completely without any outside support, bring entire countries to heel. the american fleet came to a halt and the carl vinson turned into the wind in preparation for launching aircraft. her sturdy elevators got to work bringing jets from the hangars to the flight deck, ensuring smooth operations. ...... aboard the ev heidrek, everyone was calm. the entire ship had gone to general quarters, and as soon as all stations reported ready, the single gun battery on the deck of the ship swiveled to face the much larger ships in front of it across the hundred-odd kilometers of ocean that lay between them.n).0velb1n target the vinsons flight deck elevators, the captain ordered. [target confirmed.] the captain grabbed the 1mc mic from where it hung over his head. we are about to fire the first shots in anger of a war against the entire world. may god have mercy upon their poor, misguided souls, the captain announced to everyone aboard his ship, then released the microphone, having said all that he wanted to say for posteritys sake. engage inertial stabilizers, select fire three hundred kilograms. and... he waited for the distinctive feeling of heavy air before continuing, ...fire for effect. firing for effect, aye. the weapons officer confirmed that the crosshairs on his screen were locked on to the correct target, then pressed the big red button on his console that would unleash hell upon edens enemies, as aron had promised in his address to the nation just a short week or so before. the guns of the ev heidrek spoke in anger, sending three 300-kilogram slugs of solid depleted uranium coated in electrical steel screaming toward the uss carl vinsons flight elevators at over mach 10, where they would deliver over a hundred million newtons of impact force on the relatively delicate machinery. ...... on the flight deck of the uss carl vinson, flight operations were proceeding smoothly. they had already launched twenty of their complement of ninety jets when, completely without warning, three massive objects impacted the two flight elevators on the starboard side of the carrier, and one on the port side. three of their four elevators had been taken offline and most of the waiting jets, along with dozens of crew, had been knocked overboard as the entire hundred-thousand-ton vessel skidded sideways across the ocean before heeling over and nearly capsizing from the immense impact force carried by the projectiles. inside the ship, hundreds of crew had been injured as they were thrown against bulkheads and ceilings completely without warning. the galley, which had begun preparing to serve lunch, now looked like someone had thrown an entire crate of hand grenades into it, with bits of food stuck to the walls, piled on the floor, and even dripping from the ceiling. the already-injured crewmembers in the sickbays were injured even further, and secondary explosions had been set off in the hangars, as munitions that were being loaded onto the jets prematurely detonated from being thrown around the hangar and hitting the walls. inside the flag bridge, the fleet admirals flag crew had also been tossed around like dried peas in a popcorn popper. the admiral himself had been launched headfirst into the flag bridges navigation and plotting console, knocking him unconscious. his flag lieutenant, who had been standing beside his captains chair, had died upon impacting the wall... or perhaps after he bounced off the wall onto the ceiling, then to the floor. a mere three massive projectiles fired from a single gun battery on one of the smallest ships in the poseidon navy had managed to nearly cripple the offensive capabilities of one of the most powerful seagoing vessels on the face of the planet and, at least temporarily, take out the command and control element of the entire carrier strike group. Chapter 375 Hulk Smashed chapter 375 hulk smashed the crew of the uss carl vinson was like a kicked beehive as they scrambled around the massive nimitz class aircraft carrier. damage control teams rushed here and there, putting out fires and carrying injured crew to the sickbays, while the bridge crew continued attempting to contact the flag bridge, but to no avail. the powerful impact of the three type vi hulk fist rounds fired by the ev heidrek had sent enough of a shock through the carrier that it had even caused breaks in the electrical wiring running through the bulkheads and decks of the american vessel. type vi hulk fist rounds were considered something of an inside joke by the researchers in lab city that had come up with them. indeed, they were shaped like a muscular forearm that ended in a gigantic fist, and the electrical steel that coated them was even covered in a layer of green conductive paint. they were crude, brutal, and designed for one thing and one thing only: delivering the greatest blunt impact force possible to any target they hit. and indeed, they had proved their mettle today, practically paralyzing an entire carrier group with a single round from a single small naval battery. ...... aboard the ev heidrek, the captain looked at the damage his initial shots had caused with satisfaction. the hud in his glasses showed three destroyed flight elevators and billowing, black smoke rising from the hangars as well as a conveniently cleared flight deck. n)/o./v)-e-/l(/b(-1.-n guns, split fire. target the remaining flight elevator, engine room, and flight deck tower, he ordered. {targets confirmed... ammunition printed,} the ships ai reported. fire. three more rounds were sent downrange at mach 10, two hulk fists and one type iii penetrator. the two hulk fists hit the undamaged flight elevator and the tower on the carl vinsons flight deck, respectively, while the penetrator round dug into the side of the massive target and deep into its guts, where it discharged its kinetic energy directly into the nuclear reactor. contact bearing two zero degrees relative. its jets, sir, twenty of them. radar signature reads f/a-18 super hornets, the radar operator reported. range? the captain asked. twenty kilometers and closing, sir. guns, activate the metalstorms and give our guests a warm welcome. metalstorm, aye, sir, the weapons officer repeated, then initiated the automated air defense system and let the ships ai take control of it. whats the rest of the carrier group doing? the captain asked. looks like theyre frozen, sir. we might have knocked out comms on the vinson, so itll take a bit for them to clarify and reestablish a chain of command, the radar operator answered. comms, send a demand to surrender. aye, sir. demand sent. heidrek, signal intercept available? {negative, captain. theyre not on any frequency i can monitor.} odd.... guns, prepare fire pattern delta. if we dont get a white flag in the next two minutes, lets clear those ships off of my ocean. aye sir, preparing fire pattern delta. ...... uss carl vinson flag bridge. every aircraft carrier in the us navy had three bridges: the combat information center, where the ships executive officer was stationed during combat and flight operations; the bridge in the tower above the flight deck, where the captain was stationed during combat and flight operations; and the flag bridge, where the admiral was stationed. the flag bridge was located one deck below the ships bridge, and the flag bridge on the carl vinson was now like a convertible with its top down, open to the air. thanks to the relative fragility of the islandthe tower that rose above the flight deckthe ships bridge had taken a direct hit from a hulk fist and been ripped completely away from its location and sent to the bottom of the ocean. the flag bridge, coincidentally, had been completely missed and was relatively undamaged... save for lacking a ceiling and the missing windows. the deafening commotion caused by the ships bridge being ripped away and violently transported somewhere else had actually awoken the unconscious admiral. louie, what happened? he was still confused and shaking off the cobwebs. louie? the admiral crawled toward his flag lieutenant, intermittently calling out to him. once he reached his destination, he noticed that the young lieutenants eyes were glazed and staring at nothing, his neck twisted to the side at an awkward angle; the admirals aide-de-camp was dead. he staggered to his feet, blood still streaming down his face, and stumbled to the communications station. he fiddled with the dial until he found the damage control internal channel, then broke into it. this is admiral mcconnel. give me a sitrep, he commanded in a hoarse voice. admiral, this is dc oconnel. sitrep is that were fucked, sir. power plant is down from a direct hit and unrecoverable, fires are still uncontrolled in the hangar and from decks 14 through 18, all four flight elevators took direct hits and are unrecoverable, and the ships bridge is just... gone, sir. were operating on spit and shoestrings and the charge in our capacitors while we get the backup diesel engines online, but... i dont hold out much hope, sir. were dead in the water. understood. continue damage control until further notice. aye, sir. dc out. admiral mcconnel switched to the fleet command channel. fleet, this is admiral mcconnel. remove that frigate from its mortal coil, and do it yesterday! he yelled into the microphone. the vinson is dead in the water. lake champlain, prepare to receive the flag. this is the champlain. were prepared to receive you, admiral, but the marching band is out to lunch im afraid, the captain of the uss lake champlain, a ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser replied. i dont need a band, i just need that fucking frigate gone. make that happen and ill be pleased as punch, the admiral barked. vinson out. he staggered toward the stairs that would take him to the flight deck, where he would board the captains gig and head toward the uss lake champlain and resume control of the strike group... or what was left of it, anyway. as for the rest of the crew on the carl vinson, he didnt give a shit about them. they would serve to mask his escape and they could go down with the damned ship, for all he cared. Chapter 376 Just. One. FRIGATE!? chapter 376 just. one. frigate!? the captains gig carrying admiral mcconnel reached the uss lake champlain and the admiral wasted no time in boarding the ship. action plan? he asked the moment he reached the bridge. we managed to get twenty jets in the air and have three missile cruisers plus whatevers already armed on the carl vinson. that might convince them to cease their attack, but i doubt it. the best we can hope for is that it distracts them long enough to stage a rescue mission and pick up the crew of the vinson and retreat. absolute best case scenario, we might cause some damage, though i doubt it. did you see what happened to our missile swarm? that was thousands of missiles all swatted out of the sky, so our launchers probably wont even chip the paint on the fleet in front of us, the captain reported. are you telling me that an entire carrier strike group is helpless against a frigate!? just. one frigate!? the admiral spat, his face purpling in rage. our navy, the same navy that keeps the entire fucking world in check is incapable of sinking a single fucking frigate from a goddamn third-world shithole!? with all due respect, sir, the captain began, forcibly keeping himself from wiping admiral mcconnels spit from his face. theyve got a ship thats a kilometer and a half long and our best estimate is that that single ship has a displacement of around a million tons. that ship alone completely outmasses our entire fleet, sir. so whether we can sink a frigate is a moot point, because even if we do sink it, its big brother will remove us from existence shortly afterward. the captain was trying his best to deal with the admiral with the worst reputation in the entire us navy. he was known as admiral david captains mast mcconnel, and not because he was fond of bringing any sailor that displeased him before a captains mast, but rather because it was said that he had a stick up his ass the size of an old tallships mast from the glory days of the age of sail. a tense silence filled the bridge as the admiral weighed his options against his reputation. but just as he was about to speak up, a voice rang out from every speaker on every ship in the strike group. attention uss carl vinson carrier strike group, this is the ev beowulf. you have two minutes to strike your colors and offer your unconditional surrender and parole. should you fail to heed our surrender demand, you will be sunk. repeat: surrender or sink, you have two minutes to decide. beowulf out. those fuckers! the admiral shouted in anger. it was the first time someone had so blatantly looked down on him. attention to orders: the fleet will attack. no quarter! get those jackasses out of my ocean! he had obviously lost his ability to think rationally after having his pride pricked so severely. but si shut the fuck up, captain. i know the capabilities of my own goddamn fleet, and until now theyve only damaged the vinson, but they havent touched any of her escorts! now stop talking and sink those miserable peasants! yes, sir. comms, transmit orders from the flag: no quarter. the strike group began firing in unison moments after receiving the order. the target of their combined firepower was a single frigate from a developing nation. as they fired, they also began maneuvering to put distance between each ship in the american fleet. the theory was that it would give them time to fire multiple times before being wiped out. nobody in the fleet thought that any of the remaining escort ships would survive more than a single barrage from the main gun battery on the deck of the ev heidrek. after all, none of them had ever seen an aircraft carrier hit so hard it skidded across the water like a skipped rock. as the american missiles launched, guns spoke, and torpedoes were fired, the twenty f/a-18 super hornets that had managed to launch before the uss carl vinson was crippled had gathered into one oversized flight wing and were headed toward the technologically superior edenian fleet, the only thing saving them from a blue on blue incident being the iff (identification friend or foe) systems they had installed broadcasting a friendly signal. the pilots tried their best to stay calm, but they couldnt keep their hands from shaking and their hearts from pounding. one pilot was even so gunshy that, when he was passed by the missiles launched from behind, he prematurely ejected from his jet. and as he drifted down, he caught his first glimpse of the enormous ev beowulf, which was no less than five times the size of a nimitz class aircraft carrier, one of the biggest ships on the planet. he didnt know whether he should be in awe of the mighty vessel, or despair at the stupidity of the people in power that thought they ever stood a chance against the incredibly advanced enemy. as they said, sufficient strength was an absolute counter to all schemes. and if an aircraft carrier that would put five of the us navys best to shame wasnt a display of that very sufficient strength then he didnt know what would be. but he was afraid he was about to find out. n)/o./v)-e-/l(/b(-1.-n ...... aboard the ev beowulf. well, i guess thats as good an answer as any, admiral gutierrez, sitting in his captains chair on the flag bridge chuckled. comms, pass my order to the heidrek: sink the uss carl vinson carrier strike group. god speed and good hunting, gentlemen. orders to heidrek, aye, sir, responded the flag comms officer. lieutenant wilson, im going to get a headstart on my paperwork. ill be in my office, you have the conn. i have the conn, aye, sir, the flag lieutenant echoed. he moved to the captains chair on the flag deck and settled in, then turned on the real-time display in his ar glasses in anticipation of the fireworks show that was about to begin. Chapter 377 Widowmakers Gonna Widowmake chapter 377 widowmakers gonna widowmake how much longer until the deadline? the captain of the heidrek asked as he gazed at the incoming attack. fifteen seconds, sir, the comms officer replied. if they dont surrender by the the captain was interrupted by his comms officer. signal from the flag, sir. admiral gutierrez sends, sink the uss carl vinson carrier strike group. god speed and good hunting, gentlemen. well, lets not disappoint the admiral, shall we? heidrek, please clean my sky, the captain ordered. [aye, sir. sky cleaning in progress,] the ships ai replied, then sounded a brief maneuvering alert. [brace for maneuvers in 3... 2... 1. maneuvering.] the heidrek rotated in place on the ocean like a spinning top, allowing her to bring both her fore and aft metalstorms to bear on the incoming jets and ordnance. while there were only two of them, compared to the hundreds of air defense options in the much bigger edenian reaction fleet, they were also being targeted by far fewer attackers. in a matter of seconds, a wall of intercept fire went up from the metalstorms, along with dozens of individually targeted frangible flak rounds from the main guns set to proximity detonation. their target? the twenty f/a-18 super hornets that were currently on approach and had already fired their full complement of missiles in support of the vls-launched cruise missiles sent by the american carrier group. no matter how nimble the jets were, they were unable to dodge or distract the dumb frangible rounds, and they shortly fell from the sky looking much like swiss cheese. not only the jets, but cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles alike were swatted from the sky as though a giant palm swept them aside like a small cloud of annoying gnats or mosquitos. in a matter of ten seconds, the wave of missiles and the jets alike had been destroyed, none of them able to approach closer than two kilometers away from the seemingly minuscule ev heidrek. [the sky is clean, captain,] the ships ai reported. very good, thank you heidrek, the captain replied. he turned to his weapons officer and ordered, they say fair skies are accompanied by following seas. lets clean some of the trash out of the ocean, shall we? fire for effect, cripple the enemy fleet. firing for effect, targeting engines and weapons, aye, sir, the weapons officer echoed. he turned back to his console and, with the aid of the ships aiwhich had, thanks to novas hard work over the years, complete blueprints for every oceangoing ship currently in useand plotted a firing plan to cripple the opposing carrier group entirely. thirty seconds later, he pushed the big red button on his console and the heidreks guns spoke in anger once again. the sound of projectile after projectile breaking the sound barrier as they exited the barrel of the guns echoed through the area, following behind the projectiles themselves. the seven destroyers and three guided missile cruisers that were frantically moving away from each other as they attempted to rapidly reload their launch systems were first hit with penetrator rounds targeting their engines, and were dead in the water. they could only run on backup systems and would need to be towed to a drydock for full refit and repair if they were to ever enter service again. but that point was rendered moot as the heidrek spoke again, the echoing booms of their main gun batterys first round of fire coming shortly after the second round of fire reached the beleaguered american vessels. this time, the rounds were different. the type xxxiii explosive penetrator munition, dubbed the widowmaker for its ability to deliver high-explosive payloads directly to the internal compartments in a target and kill the crew therein, had been difficult for the lab city researchers to get to work. they tried variation after variation, but the problems were all caused by one issue: the guns firing the rounds were simply too powerful! thus, on impact, the round would simply pass straight through the target and detonate after exiting the other side. since they couldnt make the guns any weaker, they had to come up with a way of slowing down the rounds themselves once they impacted their target. thus, the shape of the widowmaker rounds was born on their thirty-third generation of testing. the round itself was encased in a sabot shell comprised of electrical steel that would detach from the projectile upon exiting the barrel, then wind resistance would deploy eight drags, or legs, that would break away on impact with a target but survive the punishing supersonic wind while the round was in flight. the combination of the added wind resistance with the increased surface area had proved enough to slow the round so that it would detonate inside its target rather than simply creating a small hole in one side and a similar-sized hole on the other, as penetrator rounds were designed to do. the end result was visible here, where they had been fired in the real world for the very first time. the rounds deployed as designed, impacted as designed, and exploded as designed. then... there was no then. the launch systems and internal magazines inside the american guided missile cruisers and destroyers were simply erased from existence, leaving the vessels dead in the water and without the capability to fight back, and most of their crews either dead, missing, or suffering injuries of varying severity. targets neutralized, sir. standing down the guns, the heidreks weapons officer reported. very good, guns. the captain turned to his comms officer and ordered, signal the flag: mission complete. request transport for rescue boarding ops.n/.o)/v/)e--l--b-)i((n signaling the flag, aye, sir, the comms officer echoed. flag responds, transports inbound from base, the fleet will move to our position and enter stationkeeping. understood, thank you comms. the captain settled back in his chair for the wait. his mission was complete and his battle had come to an end. it was a battle for the history books and future armchair admirals to debate in naval academies around the world. a single frigate, the smallest ship in any countrys naval forces, had faced down an entire american carrier strike group and prevailed. the only damage the frigate had suffered in the process was a stiff wind that ruffled a few of its crewmembers hairstyles. a battle like it had never been seen before and would likely never be seen again; at least not on the surface of the planet, anyway. Chapter 378 First, Bear the Weight chapter 378 first, bear the weight since nova wanted to hide her repair of the edenian internet and its reconnection to the rest of the world, she had thought up a devious idea. [sir, how about we show the coalition forces exactly how we took out the carl vinson strike group?] she said with a sinister grin on her face. aron, who was sitting in the virtual command center with athena, poseidon, aeolus, nova, and the human leaders of the ares branches under them, thought for a moment, then asked, do you think itll work? [of course it will, sir,] nova confidently replied. then lets do it. put up the live feed on all of the screens in their ships. soon, every monitor aboard every vessel in the coalition fleet showed the scene of the ev heidrek singlehandedly taking down an entire carrier strike group. from the first hulk smashers that impacted the carl vinson all the way to the final round of widowmakers that put paid to the american flanking attempt. then the feed cut off. the entire thing had been presented raw and uncut, with no commentary or explanations and none of the fancy graphics panoptes was using to explain things to the edenian and esparian citizens. ...... aboard the uss george washington. they did what!? the american fleet admiral in charge of the coalition fleet yelled. comms, signal the fleet. the fleet will come to all stop and enter stationkeeping. i want to see the chinese, french, and british admirals in my office in thirty minutes! message sent, sir, the comms officer replied. theyll be here in half an hour, all ships acknowledge all stop and stationkeeping. the admiral thought for a moment, then ordered, steward, belay the meeting room. prepare the conference room instead. yes, admiral, the steward replied and left the bridge to set up for a conference. he had very little time and much to do. what happened to admiral mcconnel? the admiral asked. do we have casualty reports available? sir, he... hes listed as missing. he transferred his flag from the vinson to the lake champlain, then took a chinook from there. we have no idea where he is right now, but given the range... hes either been shot down or forced to land somewhere in esparia, the flag lieutenant answered. fuck! the admiral slammed his fist on the armrest of his captains chair. i knew letting him be in charge of the flanking maneuver would end in disaster!n-)o.-v/)e)-l-.b-(1-.n he massaged his brows and took a deep breath, visibly calming himself. we cant delay. report to coalition hq that we lost senator mcconnels son. have them contact the bumpkins in esparia and negotiate his release if they have him. aye, sir, the flag lieutenant said, then went to the admirals office to make the call. ...... technological supremacy is terrifying, and the unknown is only more so, aron said. he still looked calm, despite forcing the enormous coalition fleet to a screeching halt using nothing but a single broadcasted battle. i wonder what theyd think if they saw our carriers capabilities, he chuckled. [seems like mothers plan worked,] athena said. indeed, and im quite happy with how things turned out. but it made me think of the visitors.... we dont know their capabilities, so we may end up being the ones to freeze and retreat. he gestured toward the display of the paralyzed coalition fleet. or we may not even have time to retreat. then theres the possibility that they may be friendly, though i have to plan for the case that they arent, he sighed. the problem is that we just dont know. thats what terrifies me. if we know theyre hostile, we can plan for it, even if theyre overwhelmingly stronger than us. if we know theyre peaceful, we can prepare for it. but without knowing... he trailed off, unable to articulate his thoughts. [true, but with our current technological capabilities and our capacity for growth,] nova held up her hand and a miniature model of lab city appeared over her palm, [we should be able to at least ensure we arent too far behind them by the time they arrive, if not skip ahead of them.] i know, i know... dont worry about me, aron said, then pushed the incoming aliens to the back of his mind. dwelling on an uncertain future risked destroying his present, so he tried not to get stuck in vicious spirals like the one he had almost fallen into just now. aeolus, he said. [here, sir.] now that weve shown our might, lets take away their toys. [yes, sir.] aeolus had been the one to come up with the plan for project miscommunication, and now was the time to implement it. [moving our assets out of the way will take a few hours, then therell be quite a spectacular meteor shower,] the mischievous ai snickered. ...... white house, inside the oval office. fuuuuuuuuck! president trump screamed as he repeatedly slammed the phone on his desk into the cradle. he had just gotten off a call with the senate majority leader, senator mitch mcconnel, and was furious. (ed note: names, as always, may or may not be changed depending on whose name it is. im not letting misspelled names pass, honest.) he picked his phone back up and connected to his secretary. get the director of national intelligence and secdef in here yesterday! he yelled into the handset, then slammed it back into its cradle. he crossed his arms on the resolute desk, then dropped his head on them. there goes my re-election, he muttered, feeling sorry for himself. between the loss of the uss carl vinson carrier strike group and the disappearance of mitch mcconnels son, his chances of winning the 2020 election had gone completely down the drain. now, he could only clasp his hands and pray to all the gods in existence that he wouldnt be impeached and thrown out of office on his ear. how laughable would that be? it was purely the fault of his incompetent subordinates, so why should he be the one to shoulder the blame? it was only now that he understood that in order to wear a crown, one must be able to bear its weight. Chapter 379 Incompetence and Rage Often go Hand in Hand chapter 379 incompetence and rage often go hand in hand president trump quickly collected himself; he couldnt possibly allow a subordinate to see him as anything less than perfect, after all. he put aside the issue of admiral mcconnel for the moment and would deal with the intelligence failure first. soon, the director of national intelligence, dan coats entered the oval office alongside the secretary of defense, general mattis. trump slammed both of his hands on the resolute desk and stood up, leaning over the surface of the historied piece of furniture. how the fuck did you manage to fail this hard? i mean, really, how fucking dumb do you have to be to not notice a ship thats a kilometer and a half long!? and theres even ten of them! he screamed. the man in front of him was absolutely useless... no, he was beyond useless. everyone around him was useless! all they ever did was fail, fail, and fail some more, leaving him to take the blame! he was furious; how dare they taint his legacy with their idiocy! he forcibly calmed himself and his breathing returned to normal, but his bloodshot eyes would take a while to fade. well? im waiting. tell me how you managed to fail this hard. sir... dni coats began, but trailed off as he was unable to come up with a believable explanation. he was as flabbergasted and confused by the american intelligence communitys failure to detect the edenian supercarriers as the president, who was currently just a hair shy of literally frothing at the mouth as he stood in front of him.nove/lb.in are you going to tell me theyve been hiding those in a warehouse just like the rest of their navy? you were caught off guard by their battleships, too! do you remember the idiocy you fed me when that happened? the president was quickly becoming agitated again. no, sir. we sent agents to every one of their known naval bases that we identified through the keyhole network. were absolutely sure we found all of them. theres zero chance that we missed any of them, but those ships... no port in the world can handle even one of those, sir. let alone something that massive being hidden away without a leak or appearing on satellites at least once! the director answered. the situation of the mysterious supercarriers was completely absurd, and he had to make the president realize that absurdity if he wanted to keep his job. after all, at the moment, the white house was like one really big game of musical chairs, and everyone knew that if they displeased president trump, they would soon be thrown far away from the seat of power. and if that happened, no one could save themthey had all offended far too many people on their climb to where they currently were. so did they just fucking... appear out of thin air then? trump threw his hand in the air as he said that. he wasnt in the least pleased by coats response. thats more believable than them being able to hide them from all of our satellites and every operative we sent to their shithole country. the cia, homeland, nsa... theyre all the absolute best at what they do, sir, and its absolutely impossible that they missed something like those supercarriers. they also managed to sink an entire carrier group with a single fucking tugboat! the president yelled. do we really have to tell ourselves that they have fucking wizards or something, too? trump sneered, completely not realizing just how close he had come to hitting the mark at that moment. are you telling me that theyre better than we are at everything? he continued, beginning to lose his cool again. carrier strike groups were the symbol and extension of american might, and now everyone in the entire coalition knew that they couldnt stand up against a single frigate! every single member of the world coalition punitive expedition had watched the sinking of the uss carl vinson carrier strike group live and in high definition; it was a huge embarrassment and slap in the face to the nation that everyone on the planet agreed was the strongest, most powerful country on the planet. he stood there, bent over with his hands planted on his desk, panting and struggling to bring himself back under control. eventually, he succeeded in calming himself and asked, so what do you suggest we do now? sue for peace, sir. they wont let us end the war while theyre at an advantage, but at the same time, they cant possibly attack everywhere at once. they dont have the forces available, we believe. in fact general mattis began, but was cut off by the president. you believe? you believe!? you fucking believe!? president trump roared. every time you tell me you believe something, youre wrong! everything you believe is wrong! he stared at the men in his office, his eyes bloodshot and veins popping out in his neck. general mattis was a combat veteran and able to keep his cool in the face of the presidents anger. he simply continued from where he was interrupted, saying, in fact, sir, they cant attack our homeland unless they have an assurance in place. what assurance? the president growled in a hoarse voice. all the screaming he had done had put him on the brink of losing his voice. our nukes are keeping them at bay, so theyll have to take those out of the equation first. as long as they send an icbm toward us, or hell, even an airstrike or cruise missile from any of their ships, we can retaliate with nukes, sir. all well have to do is claim that they nuked us first, and our second-strike policy automatically kicked in, general mattis explained. before the president could continue the conversation, the chief of space operations of the newly created space force burst into the oval office, followed by the presidents secretary. the secretary began, sir, i tried to stop him but the chief of space operations cut her off and said, we have a problem, sir. he glared at the secretary, who had tried to prevent him from entering the presidents office. what now? the president asked in a dangerously calm, even tone, his hoarse voice notwithstanding. we detected irregularities in edens satellites, sir. theyve all begun maneuvering to higher orbits, he reported. and just what the fuck is that supposed to mean? president trump asked. he didnt quite see the relevance of the shitholes actions. well, if it was us, it would be a precursor to a war in space. we think theyre planning on taking down some, if not all, of the satellites below theirs in orbit, the cso explained. there was an extended silence in the room as the other three men, plus the secretary, were dumbstruck by the implications of edens latest move. then, someone in the room couldnt help but say, fuck.... that one word expressed everything that everyone in the oval office was thinking at that particular moment. Chapter 380 A Moment of Compassion Amidst Destruction chapter 380 a moment of compassion amidst destruction the moment the final edenian satellite reached a higher orbit, aeolus immediately got to work. aboard the ev beowulf. as edens flagship aircraft carrier and the first one completed, although only older in terms of minutes or hours, rather than years, the beowulf was naturally the first to be called to duty. a swarm of activity was in progress in one of the massive internal hangers as an entire carrier air wing (caw) was being refitted for high-altitude operations. while the e/f-14 icarus multirole interceptor jets were capable of reaching and operating near the karman line, that didnt mean that they had the necessary fuel capacity to maintain operations for long. for intercepting missiles or shortening flight times from one place to another, they would be fine. but for the upcoming operation, where they would be spending an extended period in active maneuvers, they would need to undergo some hasty modular swaps. thus, the flight crews were moving like a hive of worker bees, each ensuring that the pilot they were responsible for would be able to carry out their mission without any issues. aeolus air force doctrine had pilots assigned to specific flight crews, rather than having crews assigned to pilots jets. after all, unlike in normal air forces, where each jet was a significant investment of dozens of millions of dollars, aeolus jets were highly replaceable and could basically be reprinted at will. aeolus jets were also designed to be modular. the current mission called for high-altitude operations near the karman line, so the crews were attaching drop tanksdiscardable auxiliary fuel tanksto some of the hardpoints beneath the jets wings and on the underside of its belly. the e/f-14b icarus had eight hardpoints on the wings and one secondary hardpoint on its belly, and the flight crews were busy attaching six underwing drop tanks and one belly drop tank as the pilots were receiving their operations briefing in the pilots ready room. ...... once the modifications and briefings were complete, the pilots and copilots of 240 jets boarded their planes and were towed to the twelve massive flight deck elevators, where they were lifted the hundred meter distance from the hangar to the flight deck and towed to their positions all along the flight line. soon, eden would perform another unprecedented feat in a long, unbroken string of unprecedented feats. the entire process, from the time aron mentioned taking away their toys to the time the jets had been modified, pilots scrambled, and lined up along the flight line in preparation for takeoff, had only taken an hour. everything was ready and only arons order remained to be given. ...... aron stood facing a holographic screen, splitting his attention between a number of information feeds showing the progress of various plans and projects, his hands clasped behind his back. aeolus, he said. [here, sir.] clear skies is a go. [yes, sir. estimated time of completion is six hours real time.] aron nodded and went back to focusing on the projects he had in progress. the war would soon be over, but the unification would have a long way to go even after the last gun spoke in anger. he had to be prepared. ...... upon receiving the go order, the pilots began launching from the flight deck of the ev beowulf in good order. thanks to the rigorous training they had received and the onboard ai assistants in each jet, as well as the long flight line allowing for normal takeoff and landings instead of relying on catapults and arrestor gears, only two seconds were required between each launch. with four runways in operation, the jets had all launched in two minutes and formed into squadrons of four jets each within another minute. as one, they activated their afterburners and began a steep climb, headed to the karman line to, as aron put it, take away their toys. at the speed they were climbing, it only took the pilots two minutes to reach the karman line and level off. lets shoot and scoot, boys, weve only got about two hours to bingo, the flight leader said over their communications network. roger, the squadron leaders below him chorused. the 240-strong flight broke into 60 squadrons of four jets each and headed in different directions. their goal was simple: take down every satellite in low earth orbit that didnt belong to eden. once each squadron reached their operational area, they released control of their missiles to the ais installed in each jet. the squadrons broke up into individual jets and began following the course laid out in the pilots ar huds while their jets occasionally released missiles. normally, with most of their hardpoints occupied by drop tanks, they would only be able to fire two shots before shooting themselves dry, but each hardpoint had a dedicated atomic printer that could rearm them on the fly. the only limiting factor was the small storage space for materials the jet could carry; but with the drop tanks rapidly being emptied of fuel, they were simply recycled and turned into more missiles. on average, each jet fired more than twenty missiles, all of which were smaller versions of the type vii frangible flak rounds. they were set to timed detonation, turning them into fire-and-forget munitions that would fill space with deadly debris that would begin a domino effect where each satellite destroyed by them would break up and destroy more satellites, which would then spread the destruction even further. you know, one squadron leader mused over comms, i kinda feel sorry for those poor fellows in the iss. nobodys gonna be able to reach them before the shrapnel wave does, but they can see everything thats happening and know exactly whats coming for them. actions have consequences, and the world leaders shouldnt have been greedy, the flight leader responded. but i still feel bad for them. we could at least contact them and bring their last words home with us.... after all, with the satellite network down and all the jamming and electronic warfare happening up there, their comms got cut off a while ago.n.)0velbin the flight leader fell silent for a moment, thinking of the possible repercussions, then arons voice broke into the comms. do it, he ordered. he didnt say anything else, nor did he need to. with those two simple words, he had already expressed his sentiments. nova had informed him of the situation aboard the aging space station; their soyuz module had cold welded itself to the docking ring, and thanks to lowest-bidder manufacturing, the backup explosive bolts had failed. thanks to the weld, though, it wouldnt have mattered that the bolts failed, as the module wouldnt have been able to create an airtight seal and wouldve burned up in reentry. (ed note: cold welding happens when you have two identical metals with no protective oxidized layer on them pressed against each other in a vacuum. since theres no surface oxidation, the two pieces of metal join together and become one piece; its a major problem in space operations and something they normally engineer to avoid. the iss, though, having modules made by so many different countries and by so many different manufacturers, has had issues with cold welding in the past.) no matter what, it was a loss for humanity. the astronauts aboard the space station had nothing to do with the mess currently on the surface, and their goal had always been noble. aron had great respect for astronauts, who were all pioneers and brave men and women who sought nothing more than the betterment of humanity. one of his heroes, the apollo 14 astronaut edgar mitchell, said something that had shaped his beliefs and influenced him even to this day: you develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. perhaps that was why aron was so set on his course. you heard the boss, establish contact and record their final words for posterity, the flight leader ordered. the pilot nearest the iss increased power to his radio and forced his way through the jamming. international space station, this is dumper. if you look out your south window, you might be able to see me waggling my wings. he waggled his wings in salute to the iss before realizing that nobody would be able to see him from that far away. even though he was practically in space, he was still kilometers away from the space station. he continued, errr, well... maybe not. but you have more important things to think of than a jet doing a high-altitude flyby. ive been ordered to record your last words for posterity, and i promise you well ensure that theyre privately delivered to your next of kin. theres nothing we can do to help you from here, but theres a huge swarm of space debris headed your way. youve got about eight minutes before im bingo fuel and have to rtb. ill clear the channel now and you can go ahead. dumper out. with that, a combat mission gained humanitarian elements that day. it wasnt the first time in the history of the world that had happened and it became just another instance of wartime compassion in a long list of compassionate acts between enemies facing each other on the front lines. Chapter 381 Fireworks And Blankets ? one by one, satellites were destroyed. hundreds of thousands of sharp shrapnel bits flew chaotically through the space in orbit, furthering the mess with each satellite destroyed. the satellites broke apart into large chunks, and those chunks impacted each other, knocking off smaller and smaller fragments until they homogenized into a single swarm of tiny shrapnel moving around the planet at orbital velocity, completely uncontrolled. the destruction in orbit continued apace, finally creating a deadly blanket that covered the entire planet. the promise of space had, at least temporarily, been denied to the citizens on earths surface. it was even visible to citizens, as anywhere night fell, a gorgeous meteor shower lit up the night sky. and the day seemed dim as the suns rays were scattered by the mostly metallic shrapnel speeding unimpeded around the planet. the equatorial areas of earth, in particular, seemed especially gloomy and dim, a comparison only made more obvious by the normally sunny days they enjoyed as a general rule. and wherever it was dawn or dusk, a gorgeous aurora was visible, backlit by the brief flashes of light that looked like fireworks. even in the worst destruction, there would always be beauty. ...... every media network around the world was reporting on the situation, even those in eden and esparia. around the world, public opinion had soured even further on the two developing nations, and even panoptes was struggling to manage the situation on pangea. eden had truly become the worlds enemy, and there were very few that stepped forward to defend them from the flood of public opinion now. everyone believed that eden was lashing out in a futile rage, attempting to wreak as much havoc as they could before their demise, as nobody but edenians and esparians were aware yet that the coalition fleets had been intimidated into silence and an entire american carrier strike group had been effectively destroyed. nobody but aron and his ais would ever be bold enough to livestream entire battles and commentate them like they were a low-stakes sporting event instead of a life-or-death struggle between nations. and now, thanks to the terrorists of eden, every service that relied on a satellite connection was now simply gone. even the internet was struggling to cope, with freezing and lag being more common than stable connections. after all, satellites were meant to function as one machine, not millions of pieces of what used to be a machine. the hubble telescope, military satellites, spy satellites, communication satellites, and navigation satellites, among others, were now nothing more than small pieces of space junk and a hazard to anything that attempted to enter orbit. the internet was only the first to suffer from the destruction, but it was shortly followed by the artificial bubble created by capitalists in space-related industries. a few hours ago, investors still had hopes of hitting a jackpot if the companies they invested in created a revolutionary, and useful, new product. but now that news broke about the international space station and everything else in low earth orbit being turned into an unavoidable and deadly space hazard, rendering the space industry earthbound, well... those hopes came crashing down around investors shoulders. the stock market immediately crashed as the space bubble burst and trillions of dollars of investments from around the world simply vanished like smoke in a wind tunnel. regulatory bodies were forced to step in and halt the rapidly falling markets, but the damage had already been done at that point. eden had struck, and the world was no longer the same as it was before.n).o--v.(e)-l/-b((i.-n ...... and theres the justification we need, president trump growled after news of eden destroying satellites reached him. though it was an excellent casus belli for escalating the war between the coalition and eden, he was still less than thrilled about the damage to the economy. especially since his backers, the morgans, would now be constantly howling for blood behind him, and that would definitely impact his quality of life. not to mention his approval numbers. though they may have dramatically spiked when he declared war on eden, they would definitely rebound and fall even further after news of how things were actually going for the allied nations inevitably leaked. after all, if you truly want to keep a secret, ensure that only one person knows it. and with 193 other people in the coalition, it would be impossible to keep the secret for much longer; the only hope hed ever had was a rapid and overwhelming win at the outset. september 11th and the war on terror had shown what happened to presidents who failed to deliver on the fast resolution to wars fared. contact every nuclear power and invite them for a conference call in an hour. i want heads of state on the line, not just ambassadors and underlings. its time for us to reduce our nuclear stockpiles, he ordered, surprising everyone in the situation room. they had all thought that, with the overwhelming force they had at hand, trampling eden would be as easy as falling out of bed. but they were wrong. thus, while it was still early yet, the decision to escalate to nuclear weapons didnt exactly strike them as unreasonable. still, the procedures must be followed, for posteritys sake if nothing else. are you positive, sir? general mattis asked, his tone grave. what better time to act than now? they have yet to attack our forces at home, so none of our systems are out of commission yet. plus, we dont have enough stockpiled ourselves, so we need everyone to contribute. theyve already shown us their missile defense capability, and that was just their fleet. who knows what they have protecting their borders? trump explained, feeling slightly exasperated that anyone had the gall to question him at all. i meant, are you sure you want to escalate to nukes, sir? general mattis asked again. trump slammed the conference table he was sitting at. are you questioning me!? just do what i fucking told you to do already! whos the president here, you or me? its me! im the president of the united states of fucking america! im in charge! so go do your goddamn job or ill take it away from you and give it to someone who damn well knows how to fucking listen and follow direct orders! he screamed, his face purpling in rage. he panted for a while after his outburst, then clenched his fists and visibly calmed himself. he sat back down and, as if he hadnt just exploded, said, also, prepare a speech for me to use after we nuke eden. ill need to explain the situation and publicly feel sad bla bla bla. you know what to do. a sinister smile crossed his face. he felt nothing at the thought of the losses the edenians were about to suffer. after all, they were just peasants from a third-world shithole that was half a world away from him, and he was the leader of the free world. so why should he mourn peasants dying any more than he mourned the ants he stepped on or the flies he swatted? Chapter 382 Political Theater At Its Finest ? on the warfront in the pacific ocean, the battle had come to a stalemate. the coalition forces had stalled in their advance, shocked both by the effective missile defense put up by the edenian fleet and the broadcast of the ev heidrek crippling the carl vinson carrier group. the fleets that had come on strong and in high spirits were now at a complete loss. they had been ordered to sink all edenian vessels and attack the mainland, disgorging thousands of troops from amphibious landers under the protection of naval missiles and coalition airstrikes. and due to the complicated situation in their chain of command, they had effectively become a complete nonissue for the time it took their leadership to discuss a countermeasure, all while under the added stress of facing the overwhelming edenian ships. the stalemate didnt last long, though, as new orders came down from high command. the new order was to retreat to a rally point and launch a retaliatory missile strike against edens satellites in orbit. it was political theater at its finest; nobody thought the retaliation would be effective at all, and everyone thought it would be an enormous waste of money for no gain, but the politicians that issued the orders didnt care. they had to be seen to do something, at least, and a retaliation for the loss of their satellites was that something. thus, the paralyzed coalition fleet soon regained its head and reversed course, heading for a spot on the equator to the east of esparia while keeping a close watch on the opponents they were leaving in their wake. the sailors jokingly comforted themselves with the old saw, we arent retreating, were attacking in another direction! it had the benefit of technically being true, as well, so the sailors morale rose higher the closer they came to their destination. soon, they reached their destination and, in high spirits, another all stop order was transmitted to the fleet. after coming to a halt, the fleet was brought back to general quarters and an order to clear the decks was passed down. the missile-armed ships in the fleet separated themselves from the rest of the vessels, and the entire fleet spread out, so as to avoid catching other ships in the wake of their attacks. once the decks were clear and the fleet had scattered, alarms rang out in every ship as vls tubes opened, preparing their space-capable munitions to be launched. the alarms cut out, leaving only the red flashing lights in every compartment of every ship of the fleet, then they were replaced by a countdown. three... two... one.... firing. with a loud roar, thousands of missiles began their climb to orbit, headed on intercept courses that would wreak the same level of havoc among the edenian satellite network as the aeolus air forces alpha strike had wreaked upon the rest of the worlds modern conveniences. it only took two minutes for the fastest missiles to reach orbit, where they were immediately met with the hundreds of thousands of pieces of what used to be a functioning satellite network. the shrapnel shredded the first three hundred missiles, creating more shrapnel that joined the swarm of metal that was already in orbit. the shredding continued as more and more missiles were destroyed, but eventually, seven missiles, through sheer luck, found openings in the layer of destruction and passed through. over a thousand missiles had been launched, and seven of them made it through. the ratio was incredibly low, but those seven remaining missiles somehow remained on course to impact the edenian satellites that had earlier moved to medium earth orbit.n))o/)v()e..1/-b()1/-n they were relying on the surviving satellites, like the geosynchronous gps satellites and the higher-orbital spy satellites to find their targets. after all, they obviously couldnt rely on the fragments that remained in low earth orbit. even so, the amount of electronic warfare in the higher orbits was still prohibitive, so three of the seven missiles ran out of fuel for terminal maneuvering and detonated prematurely. the force of the detonation, even in vacuum, was enough to clear swathes of shrapnel from the new shredder blanket in low earth orbit, but alas... there were simply no more missiles to take advantage of those gaps, and they soon closed. then, just as the four surviving missiles began their terminal maneuvers, aiming to create large clouds of shrapnel that would begin a second domino effect in orbit, the satellites that they were targeting began rising to a higher altitude in their orbital paths. the missiles, being reliant on programming that had been done prior to launch, detected that they had reached their target and exploded, creating clouds of shrapnel as planned. unfortunately, the targets of those missiles simply passed above the shrapnel clouds, leaving them far behind and suffering absolutely no damage whatsoever. ...... aron, now sitting in his command center in vr listening to the recorded last words of the astronauts aboard what used to be the international space station, paused the recording and looked at the main screen in the command center. it was showing the attempted retaliatory strike by the coalition fleet from beginning to end. he couldnt hold back his smirk as he said, i wonder how much longer itll take them to escalate to the final phase. [not much longer, i think,] nova replied. shall we encourage them? aron mused. he thought for a moment, plans and counterplans flashing through his thoughts, then said, no. theyre already doing exactly what i want them to, and as they say, you should never stop an enemy when theyre intent on making a mistake. [true, sir. want to listen in on their meeting? our replacement is already in on it.] no. i have... more important things to listen to right now, he replied, unpausing the recording he had been listening to earlier. mom, dad... sabrina.... im not going to be able to come home like we planned. some... some things happened and i... well.... im sure youll see it on the news. im being brave, dad. im really so... so happy that i had you and mom and sabby in this life. and if theres a next life, i hope to be your family again.... the recordings went on, and aron listened to every last one of them. Chapter 383 Everyone With Their Own Agendas chapter 383 everyone with their own agendas while the coalition fleet was headed toward their launch coordinates, a secret meeting of eight global leaders was taking place via conference call. they were discussing a crucial matter that would change the global landscape, both literally and figuratively. so you want to send everyones entire nuclear arsenal to deal with eden? you know youre risking nuclear winter by doing that. plus, my science advisor says itll affect the tides and weather forever if we wipe out an island chain the total size of australia. besides, did you forget that just russia and the us alone have more than enough nukes to use on them? putin asked, adjusting the reading glasses he had added to his wardrobe a few weeks earlier. that wont be a problem, trump replied. we think theyll take out more than 70% of anything we send them, if not more. and even if a third of our nukes get through, we can always activate the kill switch on some of them. besides, even if we dont kill most of what slips through, the worst thatll happen is a few tsunamis wiping out countries none of us give a shit about. you know it, i know it, everybody knows it. trading a few countries nobody cares about for eden is a good deal, im telling you. once trumps translator finished translating, putin replied, but we dont really want them completely destroyed, though, no? a mischievous smile flashed across his face as he spoke. no, no, no, we dont want that. we need their tech to be recoverable, after all, emanuel macron said in heavily accented english. though he was the only one that said it out loud, everyone on the conference call was absolutely thinking the same thing. look... i know some of you are afraid of using nukes because you think your citizens will react poorly, but do you think those same people would care about nukes when edens soldiers are slaughtering them? of course they wont! and either way, they wont vote for your reelection whether you use them or not. if you use them, they wont vote for you because you used them. if you dont use them, they wont vote for you because theyll be dead. your only hope of keeping your political careers now is if you bring mr. michaels advanced technology back to your countries, benjamin netanyahu said. he planned to use israels entire nuclear arsenal without holding back in order to increase his pull in the political world. after all, nobody would find out if he used everything he had, and theyd assume he kept a decent number in reserve. that way, the belief that he still had nukes would deter other countries from nuking him. it would be a risk, but he was practically salivating at the possibility of being able to do anything he wanted to do without risking retaliation, not to mention being among the first to choose from the spoils of war. ram nath kovind, the newly elected president of india, chimed in, we need time to prepare. and at the same time, we need to sign an agreement to prevent any of us from leaving behind stockpiles of nuclear weapons or using this opportunity to attack each other. if anyone violates the agreement, they will become the common enemy of the entire coalition, not just the countries whose leaders are on this conference call. mamnoon hussain, the president of pakistan, merely verbally scoffed at the suggestion. fine, fine, whatever you say. not like a piece of flimsy paper ever stopped you in the past, so pakistan will sign the agreement but ill personally ensure that theres someone keeping an eye on you all. of course china absolutely agrees, zi jinping said. we will be the first to sign this agreement and the first to enforce it if enforcement becomes necessary. when it came to politics and power games, he would never trust anyone, so he would be the first to hold back a stockpile of nuclear weapons. after all, everyone was going to anyway, and the agreement he had just proposed would be nothing more than a polite fiction that would only fool the gullible. he came from a country where political power came not from the support of citizens, but by being ruthless and savvy enough to win the constant internal struggles in the ruling party of the country, so his thought processes were slightly different from the rest of those on the conference call. they were, at least on the surface, democracies. and democracies had to care about the opinions of the proletariat voters who, zi jinping believed, should not hold any power or authority at all. the reason his country was so strong was because they kept people aligned to a strict hierarchy where everyone was content to remain in the places the government had determined were the best for them. even the capitalists in china were the same; if any one of them were to get any funny ideas, they would be ruthlessly slapped back down among the masses and suppressed. eden, in fact, was like that. if the entire world was to be compared to a communist state, eden would be the upstart capitalist attempting to make waves. it was up to the world to slap them back down into the mud where they belonged, then strip them of their assets and redistribute them for the good of the ruling party. that thought process was exactly why china was so willing to be the first country to betray the fledgling republic of eden in the beginning, and so far, their schemes had been wildly successful beyond their most optimistic estimates. none of them knew, after all, that they were all simply monkeys dancing in arons palm, or that he had predicted every single move the entire world was now making with almost perfect accuracy. had they known that, things might have proceeded along a completely different track, because what mortal would dare to spit in the face of a walking god?nove/lb.in but unfortunately for them, they had been kept in the dark. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 384 Cry Havoc... chapter 384 cry havoc... the moment the conference call ended, work began on drafting the agreement proposed by the president of india. since time was tight, they could only afford a few revisions to accommodate one demand from each of the leaders, making the process highly abbreviated and incredibly fast. from the end of the meeting to the agreement being signed by the ambassadors of each of the eight remaining nuclear powers. the signing itself was seen as of monumental importance, and as such, the pakistani presidents demand had been the easiest to incorporate in the agreement. unlike china, which wanted the technological blockade imposed by the west removed, or india, who wanted territorial concessions along the india-china border, the only thing pakistan had requested was that the signing be held in aiwan-i-saddar, the house of their president. the united kingdom wanted brexit to be expedited and the negotiations to go in their favor, the united states wanted to place military bases in the other seven countries involved, france wanted the uk and us to publicly acknowledge the french resistances efforts in wwii, israel wanted the other seven nations to publicly acknowledge their rights in the gaza strip, and russia wanted the sanctions imposed on them due to the russo-ukrainian war lifted. once everything had been completed and triplechecked, the ambassadors from each nation, having been granted the delegated power to sign the new accord, gathered in the aiwan-i-saddar and, with a minimum level of pomp and circumstance, signed it. once the accord was signed, the nuclear powers immediately got to work. all eight countries nuclear arsenal keepers had long been on their highest alert and the tension in the air in those countries, or at least their halls of power, was so thick it could practically be cut by a knife. the tension had ratcheted up so high, in fact, that despite being purposefully kept unaware, the entire world felt a sense of oncoming dread. it was almost like a dormant fortunetelling gene had awakened in humanitys dna, warning them of a potential oncoming disaster. ...... washington dc, midnight. president trump was in the situation room, the nuclear football open and resting on the conference table in front of him. a cord stretched from the big, black briefcase to the phone handset in his hand as he read from a card pulled out of the case. "tango, sierra, victor, foxtrot...." "authorization received, mr. president. standby for final confirmation." a few minutes later, the voice on the other end of the phone said, "authorization confirmed, mr. president. launch sequence initiated." the call immediately ended; the launch sequence had been initiated and could no longer be stopped. the same process, though with different steps, was also happening in china and the other six nuclear powers. one by one, the launch process in each country was initiated. ...... somewhere in the indian ocean, on the bridge of one of the uks vanguard class submarines. bring us to firing depth, the captain ordered in a heavy tone. he had received an order that hed hoped to never receive in his lifetime from the admiralty. aye, captain, the helmsman replied, then began the process of ascending the sub. while the sub was ascending, the captain began the firing sequence. he first informed his first officer, then the two pulled the case from the captains safe. opening it with both of their keys, they pulled out a plastic card that contained a slip of paper with the authorization codes for nuclear launches on it. the captain, under the witness of his first officer, weapons officer, and the coxswain, began reading the code from the case as the first officer checked it against the code that had been transmitted to them. once the code had been verified as valid by all three officers and the enlisted coxswain, the weapons officer returned to his station and brought up the separate system that would program the nukes targets. how many missiles are to be armed, captain? he asked. the order says all of them, lieutenant commander. large beads of cold sweat were trickling down the captains forehead and spine. even though he wasnt the one making the decision, his actions still weighed heavily on his very soul. target? the weapons officer asked, his voice cracking on the question. never in his life would he have expected to be the one to fire his full payload of nuclear missiles dry. eden, lieutenant commander. coordinates are on your console, the captain answered.nove/lb)in the coxswain received a call to a handset on the bridge. understood, he said, then hung the phone handset back in its cradle. all trident missiles are loaded and armed, awaiting final order, captain, he reported. a heavy silence settled on the bridge as everyone turned their gazes to the captain, waiting for him to give the final order. after more than thirty seconds passed, the captain ordered, fire, and may god have mercy upon our unworthy souls. three... two... one... the weapons officer counted down. firing. the seals holding the blow hatches of the subs missile tubes released and a heavy thud shook the entire vessel. then the crew felt as if they were suddenly twenty pounds lighter; the entire sub had been pushed down into deeper water as all of its missile tubes simultaneously released a burst of pressurized nitrogen that would carry their passengers to the surface, where the rockets would ignite and the missiles would begin orienting themselves for the long trip to their target. after firing its nuclear payload dry, the submarine immediately performed a series of evasive maneuvers and emergency dives, quickly moving as far as it possibly could from the location it had launched the nukes from. ...... somewhere in a classified location in russia. giant pneumatic machines hissed to life, opening a heavy armored hatch concealed beneath a layer of soil. dirt and detritus dropped into what seemed to be a bottomless hole as the two sides of the door folded open, dropping their layer of concealment into the missile silo beneath. as soon as the doors had fully opened, the low thud of a controlled pushing charge echoed out of the silo, followed closely by a missile, which ignited its rocket engine and began its climb to the thermosphere. that was just one of the over 3,000 silos that, in conjunction with their nuclear attack submarines, comprised russias 4,447 nuclear missiles; all of which had been simultaneously launched and were currently in their ascent phase. why are we nuking an ocean? one of the two people in the underground silo wondered. who knows? there must be a reason behind it. maybe its a warning shot or something, the other person replied, then returned to reading a rather lurid romance novel. now that their missile had been launched, the two of them could relax and do whatever they wanted as they awaited the truck that would soon come to pick them up. ...... the same general process was happening in every nuclear power as they all shot their nuclear arsenals almost completely empty. in the course of about a single hour, nearly every single nuclear weapon on the planet, roughly twelve thousand missiles and bombs in total, had been launched. the airstrikes had been authorized and launched hours before, and the operation was timed to have the bombers closely following the missilesintercontinental or otherwiseas they began their descent phase and terminal maneuvers. (ed note: i couldnt find an estimated count of the worlds nuclear arsenal as of 2017, but as of 2021, there were an estimated 13,080 nuclear weapons stockpiled in the nine nuclear powers. so im using that number as a guideline since theres never been an accurate count.) due to the sheer number of missile launches and bombers, it was impossible to hide from the general population. people living near silos discovered the launch trails, and people beneath the flight path of the bombers saw flight after flight of distinctive, large aircraft flying overhead. even some lucky passengers on cruise ships spotted trails reaching into the sky from the submarine-launched missiles. first dozens, then hundreds, then thousands, then hundreds of thousands of videos were soon posted on the internet as everyone around the world uploaded their shocked reactions to the sightings. fear and panic broke out as the news rapidly spread that total nuclear war had broken out, and doomsayers began preaching the end of the world in either nuclear fire or nuclear winter. riots broke out everywhere as people rushed to the stores to first panic buy everything they could, and then it devolved into outright looting and robbery as a kind of every man for himself thought infected the rioting crowds. soon, the violence became bloody as the first shot was fired, then more, and people began dying in droves as wannabe warlords cropped up in neighborhoods around the world. they had yet to even verify the news or listen to one of the still-absent government announcements, but to some doomsday preppers and other ammosexuals, the overwhelming nuclear launch was effectively the wettest of their wet dreams. it hadnt even been ten minutes since the launches had concluded, yet the situation had already devolved to such a low point. the launch itself was the trigger that released the valve on all of the stress that had been building since the announcement that humanity was no longer alone in the universe had been made. Chapter 385 ...And Let Slip the Dogs of War chapter 385 ...and let slip the dogs of war already knowing that the remaining satellites were currently unreliable due to all the jamming and other electronic warfare happening in orbit, the missiles had been programmed with strict courses. thus, the accuracy should be decent enough to saturate such a large target; the total area they were aiming at was the size of australia, after all. so the missiles were using initial position determination. the blanket of shrapnel orbiting the planet prevented most forms of celestial navigation from working, so the missiles had to rely on ipd, which was made possible by accelerometers and gyroscopes working together along with knowing the initial launch coordinates to determine where the missile isnt, thus telling it where it is. (ed note: see more on how missiles navigate without gps here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bze5j8svcyq - it may seem confusing, but if you can grasp the logic, it makes more sense. just watch it a few times and im sure youll figure it out... and if you do, please explain it to me because im still a bit lost myself.) the main benefit to using the backup initial position determination navigation system was that it had absolutely zero reliance on any outside information to determine distances and directions, so it was completely immune to hacking in any form, much less electronic warfare such as jamming. the bombers themselves would find their way to eden via dead reckoning. for them, the mission would be much easier, given that all militaries basically trained the same way. they spend 99% of their training time learning to deal with the issues that come up 1% of the time, and for pilots and sailors, navigating by dead reckoning was definitely one of those 1% issues. ...... the moment the first icbm was launched, it was detected by the panopticon satellite network and reported to panoptes. in a matter of nanoseconds, the report had made its way to every ai involved in arons military, plus nova and aron himself. all of the people and ais involved knew the plan, so they reacted without any need for specific orders to be given.n/-o//v-/e(/l.)b).1)(n athena issued an alert to all personnel, then personally took control of the entire military infrastructure, assigning sectors to her subordinate ais to swat down the thousands of incoming missiles and bombers. the distribution of sectors allowed the military ais, even including the assistant ais in the equipment, vehicles, and vessels, to pool their computing resources in real time and acted as a guarantee that no accidents would happen. nova had learned her lesson since her panic reaction during arons last system upgrade, and would carry that with her for the rest of her digital life. poseidon was the first to act. stealthy submarines from the edenian force rose to firing depth and launched the first interceptor missiles, repeating the process of launching the missile, printing a new launch cover, evacuating the launch tubes, printing new missiles, and launching again. all told, the submarine fleet took out nearly all of the submarine-launched nukes, then sank the subs that launched them. it was both retaliation and warning; retaliation for the launches themselves, and a warning that eden would not let the coalition forces do whatever they wanted. [sir, poseidon has already taken out the submarine-launched weapons. our other forces are online and awaiting your orders.] only after all sectors had reported ready did athena update aron on the progress, though her update was redundant as both aron and nova were already tracking the situation. its finally time to end things. lets get on with it, aron sneered, standing up from his chair and clasping his hands behind his back. he turned his attention to the main monitor in the control center, which showed the real-time position of each land-based missile and the paths they were taking on their way to eden. aeolus, its your turn. teach the idiots that launched this attack a lesson. [on it,] aeolus replied, then got to work. thousands of missile silos across eden snapped open and atomic printers mounted in the walls got to work printing iccms (intercontinental countermissiles) and launching them as soon as they were ready. over the next eight minutes, the sky noticeably darkened as wave after wave of upscaled beehive swarm missiles launched, forming a cloud of countermissiles that was dense enough to eclipse what little sunlight passed through the junk in orbit. then the silo doors closed and billions of nanites flooded out of disguised vents, swarming over the closed doors and assembling themselves into the shape of innocent foliage. soil, sand, blades of grass, shrubs... even organisms like earthworms and ants were formed by colonies of nanometer-scale robots, which served as both camouflage and a last line of defense for the hidden silos. aeolus had sent nearly 14,000 countermissiles from his ground-based silos, almost two for every nuclear icbm launched. and once those countermissiles released their submunitions, the count rose to nearly a hundred thousand interceptor missiles. then, after the countermissile launch, came the interceptors. practically everything that could fly and shoot was scrambled and sent on intercept missions to intercept the bombers carrying nuclear bombs across the ocean. short-ranged fighters, medium-ranged interceptors, and even the extended range hybrid multirole jets of the aeolus air force all took flight. with guidance from their assistant ais and the impeccable vr training the pilots had all received, the entire roster of combat-capable jets was in the air in less than four minutes from receiving the emergency scramble order. then... there was no then. every single nuke, no matter the delivery method, was easily swatted out of the sky over the vast pacific ocean. destroying them over the sea had also ensured that the radiation would have almost no negative effects on anything; after all, the concentration of radioactive particles when dispersed over the roughly 350 billion cubic miles of seawater that covered the majority of the planet. nyx, aron said. [yes,] she replied. make them pay. [with pleasure, sir.] Chapter 386 The Result of Hubris and Greed chapter 386 the result of hubris and greed somewhere off the coast of somalia, edenian forward operating base (fob) ganymede. the former terrorist-cum-pirate stronghold that had been repurposed into a hidden edenian military base by reaper team eight had been on high alert since the beginning of what athena was calling the unification war. the bases primary purpose was to act as a 5r base, or fiver for short. the five rs were rally, resupply, rest, recuperate, and reinforce. but it was just as well-armed as any other edenian installation, whether at home or abroad, thanks to atomic printers.nove-lb.1n the base was equipped with everything an entire ares division could possibly need. weapons, uniforms, shelf-stable meals, medical pods, and so on were hidden deep in underwater warehouse complexes the size of city blocks that were maintained by maintenance bots. after all, while atomic printers were capable of incredibly rapid printing, it wasnt nearly as fast as simply handing something that had already been printed to someone that needed it. as the panic around the world peaked and chaos reigned, fob ganymede sprang into action. swarms of camouflaging nanites broke their cover and entered concealed vents, revealing enormous, armored hatches. the hatches snapped open, revealing huge missiles inside as alarms around the base blared warnings to immediately seek cover. a minute later, the alarms ceased their audible warnings and only flashing red lights remained as each silo disgorged a missile. the missiles destination: the launch sites and remaining nuclear weapons of the eight remaining nuclear powers. the missiles launched were different from normal icbms. while they were still orbit capable, they seemed much narrower and the reentry nose cone heat shield was a sharper cone shape. they were type ii kinetic kill warheads, otherwise known as rods from god. the scientists in lab city had neatly sidestepped the difficulty of lifting such enormous masses into orbit to arm, or rearm, satellites with them and designed a specialized icbm that would act as something of a sabot shell around the penetrator core. thus, they could only barely be considered multistage munitions. the first stage of each missile was enough to reach orbital heights, where the initial adjustment would be done with canisters of compressed gas contained within the housing of the second stage. at that point, the first stage would detach, leaving something that looked much like a bottle rocket behind. once the initial direction adjustment was completed, the coast phase would be skipped and the second acceleration stage would be activated and the missile would accelerate the entire rest of the way to its target. upon reaching 2000 meters in altitude, the second stage would detach and the terminal maneuvering of the now hypervelocity penetrator would begin, the suicidal onboard ai guiding it to its ultimate destination as the second stage rocket engine detonated behind it, ensuring the security of the technology. the rod from god that remained massed over a ton and would be traveling at roughly mach 40 at that point, and deliver a staggering impact of nearly 1.4 billion newtons of force to whatever it hit. (ed note: space shuttles, after their deorbit burn, reenter the atmosphere at roughly mach 23, and thats *after* they begin decelerating in order to fall back to earth. so a powered reentry thats meant to be destructive reaching mach 40 isnt too exaggerated by comparison.) after the first round of rods from god were fired from the camouflaged silos, a second round was rapidly printed and fired as well. then a third, a fourth, a fifth.... twelve waves of missiles were launched before the base fell silent again and the flashing lights ceased. the nanites retook their places, camouflaging the silos, and everything was the same as it was six minutes earlier. the other three fobs also launched their own missiles. some launched more, others less, and the launches went mostly unnoticed, save for those from the former cartel compound in culiaca?n rosales, mexico. fob odysseus was in a populated area, unlike the other three, so the launches couldnt be hidden there. thus, they didnt even attempt to hide. just the opposite, in fact; an entire reinforced battalion of ares soldiers rushed out of the main compound one after the other, like clowns emerging from a clown car in a circus tent. they set up a guard perimeter and simply remained in place, defending the base from curious onlookers and enemies alike. ...... just under a minute after the edenian missiles launched, the first missile breached the atmosphere and entered orbit just below where the predicted junk swarm would pass by. two minutes after that, every edenian rod from god had entered their orbital tracks. ten seconds after that, the missiles in the swarm began orienting themselves toward their targets. eight seconds later, the missiles initial orientation was completed and, in two separate waves, they activated their second stage rockets. the first wave was targeted at missile and air defense networks in the target countries. americas multilayered thaad (terminal high altitude area defense) network, israels davids shield and iron dome, russias s300 missile defense system... all eight nuclear powers each had their own name for basically the same thing: a nationwide network of missile countermeasures designed to stop incoming weapons of mass destruction. the prevailing theory of rods from god assumed that the rods themselves would be nothing more than solid lumps of tungsten, or some other metal that would survive an unpowered orbital reentry. that was the only way such a system could be made cost-effective. but no one could have possibly imagined the sheer number of countermeasures packed into the dumb edenian munitions. each one had a multilayered electronic warfare suite that turned it into the equivalent of a blank spot in both automated and manned detection systems. and if that were to fail, there was still the radar-absorbent outer layer of the rods, which combined specific geometric shapes designed to reflect radar waves away from the rod with a radar-absorbent material that the researchers in lab city had developed and iterated on until it could withstand the stress of a powered flight through atmosphere at mach 40. thus, every single missile countermeasure, no matter how vaunted, failed spectacularly before the might of edenian technology. missile defense sites, anti-air batteries, countermissile silos... everything targeted by one or more rods from god was simply erased from existence, leaving the countries targeted effectively naked in the face of the second wave of rods, which targeted the silos that launched the nuclear missiles and the airstrips that launched the bombers carrying nuclear bombs. they even targeted the remaining nuclear stockpiles that six of the countries thought they had cleverly hid, as well as every site involved in the production of anything having to do with nuclear weapons. uranium mines, nuclear centrifuges, rocket manufacturing factories... all of them simply ceased to exist when the suicidal ais guiding the rods violently introduced themselves to each facility. emergency systems meant to inform citizens in case of disaster were activated in every country targeted by the edenian saturation strike. they all passed the same message: shelter in place. the people behind the nuclear attack on eden had missed the clue of the panopticon networks rapid launches. then they had missed the clue of the indonesian pirate elimination. after that, they failed, in their hubris, to realize the vast disparity in technology demonstrated by the poseidon navys defense against the conventional missile attack. instead of standing down after that, they instead ignored the military might demonstrated by a single frigate demolishing an entire american carrier group. still, in their greed for the advanced technologies and arrogant belief that since they had never been beaten, they never would lose, they authorized a nuclear strike using nearly every nuclear weapon on the face of the planet and even that failed. it was only now, after eden finally retaliated, that the powers that be and those behind them realized that they had completely, utterly, and unrecoverably fucked up. Chapter 387 Oops chapter 387 oops as the retaliation strike was underway, huge troop movements were taking place back in avalon island and on each of the edenian carriers in the fleet. the aeolus air force had mobilized its entire transport fleet and was even printing more; massive et-14 argo transport jets, based on the antonov an 126 airframe, were rolling out of the hangar one after another. they only stopped to load full complements of troops in each jet. after the jets were loaded, they immediately took off and headed toward the carriers in the distance, where they landed, disgorged their troops, and immediately returned to avalon island to pick up another load. at the same time, amphibious landing craft were also loading up and bringing full complements of troops to the enormous aircraft carriers. the fleet was still relatively close to eden, at only roughly 500 kilometers away, so the trip was short enough that the landing craft were heavily overloaded for the trip. as the troops were being transported, a major operation was underway inside the carriers. the carriers were overengineered, and the researchers working on them in lab city had designed them so as to take advantage of the low crew count. thus, most of the space inside them was actually empty and could be set up in a number of configurations. requiring only two hundred sailors to crew each carrier at full capacity, the remainder was dedicated to engines, capacitor banks, reactors, and the configurable cargo area. the cargo area could be switched at any time to one of three primary configurations: aircraft hangars, fleet transport and drydock, or troop transport. currently, they were set to the default configuration, with cavernous aircraft hangars occupying most of the space. an alarm suddenly rang out on the ev beowulf. three long horn blasts were followed by a repeating announcement by the ships ai: [all hands, prepare for reconfiguration. repeat: all hands, prepare for reconfiguration. sixty seconds to reconfiguration. fifty-nine... fifty-eight....] as the announcement repeated on the 1mc, the crew of the beowulf headed to designated safe zones, where they wouldnt be affected by the atomic printers that were about to sweep through each hangar, decomposing everything down to the decks and bulkheads. once the printers finished their sweep in one direction, they reversed course and headed back the way they came, printing angular teardrop-shaped objects at precise intervals on every deck inside the newly cleared cargo area. on deck, the landings and takeoffs continued, a synchronized aerial dance where one jet would land, disgorge its complement of 400 troops, then take off again. all four of the flight lines were in continuous operation, averaging one jet landed on each flight line every minute. over the course of the next hour, each carrier loaded almost 100,000 troops by air alone. the remainder were in transit in their amphibious landing craft, which were estimated to arrive in about five hours. those five hours werent wasted, either. the atomic printers were hard at work printing the equipment the troops would be issued. power armor, pulse carbines, rail rifles, fusion torches, atomic decouplers, back-mounted drone systems and rocket launchers, pulse shotguns, plasma projectors, multirole grenades... the list goes on. every weapon designed by the mad geniuses in lab city was at every soldiers disposal, and they were experts in all of them after the vicious training athena put them through in vr. once the transport ships reached the carriers, enormous doors slid back, exposing the newly configured troop transport decks for the landing vehicles to unload their troops into. altogether, each of the enormous carriers now held almost 250,000 troops. once the troops were loaded, the enormous exterior doors slid closed and each teardrop-shaped object on every deck simultaneously opened like a blooming flower, the walls becoming ramps that the infantry marched up squad by squad, taking their places and preparing for transport. after the drop vehicles were loaded, a siren sounded on the carriers 1mc and through speakers on the flight deck. [all hands, prepare for liftoff. repeat: all hands, prepare for liftoff. liftoff in 60 seconds... 59... 58....] once the countdown reached zero, the ships ai announced, [liftoff.] a deep, groaning rumble sounded throughout the beowulf and the lights flickered as the capacitor banks emptied themselves and the reactors went to full military power. deep within the ship, the ballast tanks were being pumped empty and filled with air, increasing the buoyancy of the vessel. soon, four enormous, stubby wings appeared above the water as the increased buoyancy lifted them out of the briny sea. after they breached the surface of the sea, they lifted up on tracks and locked in place level with the flight deck. each stubby wing had a ducted six-blade rotor that spanned fifty meters in diameter, and each rotor was rapidly spinning up to speed. as the rotors spun up, the enormous carrier finally broke free of the oceans grasp and began gaining altitude. 1000 meters... 5000 meters... 10,000 meters.... the beowulf, joined by its nine sister-ships, halted its ascent near the far edge of the stratosphere at 60 kilometers above the ground and the struggling reactors dropped to normal safe output and the capacitor banks began charging again. once the carriers reached their cruising altitude, they broke off and headed in different directions. their main initial targets were china, russia, india, pakistan, israel, france, the united kingdom, and the united states. eight of the carriers headed to those countries, while the ninth headed to central africa, and the tenth headed to south america. the unification was about to begin. ...... in the ares virtual command center. [oops,] nova giggled.nove/1b-1n aron raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. "what happened?" [i may have ''accidentally'' let a satellite feed of our carriers launching slip through the jamming we''ve been filling orbit with,] she snickered. "why?" [i want them to know what''s coming for them, and know that they can''t stop it. besides, there''s no hiding our carriers anyway, so a visual won''t really matter.] aron grunted his assent and turned his attention back to the main viewscreen. Chapter 388 A Foot-Long Pole in the Ass chapter 388 a foot-long pole in the ass ev beowulf, somewhere high above the pacific ocean. to the sailors crewing the enormous vessel, everything had returned to normal and it was no different to them than any other day. whether on the surface of the sea or flying in the stratosphere made no difference to them. if anything, it was perhaps even more relaxed as there were no exterior operations while at altitude, so they were restricted to the areas inside the ship to perform their duties. exterior duties, while flying, had been delegated to maintenance bots that were controlled by a subroutine of the ai, beowulf. for the passengers, on the other hand, things were a bit more exciting. once they had been loaded into their assigned drop vehicles, they had logged into vr and were conducting training missions in environments that simulated the areas they would soon be deployed to. athena didnt request a 100% accurate simulation, as that would be rather processor-intense, but for the simulated environments to be accurate while the enemies were not. in other words, troops destined to fight in the jungles of south america would have training missions in the jungle, while troops headed for urban areas would undergo simulated missions in the cities they would drop into. though things were more exciting and varied for the troops in the transport decks, it was still just another tuesday for the elite ares troopers. as the beowulf sped toward its destination, her enormous rotors propelling her at close to the speed of sound, work inside her transport decks proceeded apace as the printers continued working. the troops would require resupply, so spare weapons, ammunition stockpiles, replacement armor, and so on were printed as well. in addition to those were helicopters and large transport drones that would be responsible for actually delivering the equipment to the troops in the field, as well as hot meals. it had been said before that armies march on their stomachs, and that had held true throughout the history of mankind. all a soldier in the field needed to remain content with their lot and perhaps even happy was a hot meal that didnt come from a can or bag and clean socks and underwear. no matter how dire or harsh the conditions of the battlefield were, any army that had those three things was a content and happy one with high morale. ...... white house, inside the situation room. a secret service member standing behind the president raised his hand to his ear, listening to a report as the deputy undersecretary of defense burst into the room and headed directly to the newly appointed interim secretary of defense, patrick shanahan. general mattis had been forced to resign as a result of the destruction of the uss carl vinson carrier strike group. the secret service member and acting secretary shanahan simultaneously paled after hearing the latest news. mr. president, we need to evacuate as fast as possible, the secret service agent said, grabbing trumps arm and hauling him bodily out of his chair. luckily, there was a secure bunker beneath the situation room and the elevator that led to it wasnt more than a few steps away. the rest of the joint chiefs, their aides, and acting secretary shanahan followed. president trump understood that asking questions now would be pointless. he would be briefed once they reached the bunker. but until then, all he had to do was cooperate with the secret service and not add to the incipient chaos. left to himself, he began thinking of some very frightening possibilities; evacuating to the bunker beneath the situation room was very much a last resort defensive option, after all. as the elevator doors closed, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. apologies, sir, we needed to move as fast as possible. missiles are on the way to washington, the head of the on-duty secret service team informed trump. they were now officially cut off from the outside world for the duration of the elevator trip to the bunker, roughly 2500 feet below ground level. the elevator ride would take a few minutes to travel that nearly half a mile. what do we know right now? trump asked acting secretary shanahan. he turned to his deputy undersecretary and nodded for him to explain the situation. he himself was still not entirely up to speed, as the most important information would always be transmitted first. in this case, that information was simply missiles are on their way to washington. sir, operation radiant dawn failed. and moments after its failure, we detected a retaliatory strike from eden and, of all places, mexico. we suspect there were more, but we cant be certain. our subs that participated in the operation have already been sunk, sir. they knew where we were and were just waiting. what are their targets? trump asked. cheyenne mountain is tracking them as best they could. based on their initial trajectory and numbers, we estimate that theyre targeting thaad, but we cant be certain until the missiles reenter the atmosphere and we can pick them up on radar. that is, if we can detect them at all... the undersecretary reported. the elevator ride continued in silence, each person within musing on the possible repercussions of the retaliation and what would be targeted. everyone in the elevator, save perhaps trump himself, knew what it meant for their air and missile defense systems to be targeted. eden was about to move. a few minutes later, the elevator doors opened to a bunker that had become a hive of activity. status report, general dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff snapped as he strode out of the elevator. sir! a defense intelligence agency analyst snapped to attention. thaad is down by 98% overall, 100% in populated areas and around our silos. our oconus installations all report heavy losses. former and current nuclear stockpile sites are confirmed down, all missile silos are down, and cheyenne reports a second incoming wave of attacks. estimated target is our nuclear stockpile sites, silos, centrifuges, and manufacturing sites. no sign of any other targets now, but sir... were having trouble tracking the incoming birds. theyre ghosts, sir. shit, general dunford cursed. what happened? trump asked. sir, if they only took out our stockpiles and silos, itd mean theyre just removing our nuclear capability. but taking out thaad means theyre definitely planning an invasion, the general said. did anything we launched have any effect at all? trump asked, as if he hadnt heard the generals response to his earlier question. he had looked at his watch and realized they should have heard something by then, but he might have missed it during the minutes-long elevator ride to the bunker. radionuclide monitoring discovered radiation in the atmosphere, so odds of a successful detonation are high. if they did hit, it would explain the retaliation strike. but we cant be a hundred percent sure, so we dispatched a dragon ladyquite a few of them, actuallyto give us a visual on site since satellite monitoring is either down or unreliable. (ed note: dragon lady is the name of the lockheed u-2 spy plane. adam savage took a flight on one in season 15 of mythbusters. video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0bwlqmch3s ) options? trump asked. he felt like his head was being cooked in a pot of boiling water and everything was going wrong for him. weve already begun the government continuity program, sir. congress is being evacuated to the nearest shelter as we speak, vice president pence is on his way to camp david, and nightwatch is in the air and on patrol. weve called up the standby reserves, retired reserves, individual ready reserves, selected reserves, and the national guard, inactive and active. hell... we even called up the civil air patrol, sir. the coalition fleet is headed back toward eden to confront the edenian navy, for all the good thatll do, and our submarine fleet is en route back to the coast for submarine warfare. the four carrier groups we didnt send with the coalition fleet are patrolling the atlantic and pacific coasts and were prepared to lose our assets in guam, the philippines, alaska, the dominican republic, and hawaii. we activated the national emergency broadcast system and implemented a strict curfew. state and local police have begun implementing it and the national guard is being deployed along with fema to aid in enforcing it. weve also the analyst continued, but was interrupted by the sound of a toppling chair and a loud curse.nove-lb(1n repeat that! are you fucking positive!? someone shouted. control yourself! general dunford snapped. report! instead of responding, the man pushed a few buttons on his console and pointed at the large screen on the wall in the front of the bunker. see for yourself, he said. the screen showed a visual taken from one of their high-orbit spy satellites. the video showed the takeoff procedure of the edenian carriers from start to finish. the video is backed by our beyond-the-horizon radar. ten of those... whatever they are... just took flight and headed in different directions. one of them is headed our way and will likely arrive off the west coast in about two hours, he dolefully announced, then fell on his ass when he tried sitting back down, as he forgot his chair had fallen. a pindrop silence engulfed the room. it felt like, just when they thought they knew everything about their enemy, a foot-long pole was shoved up their ass to prove them wrong. Chapter 389 Yeet. chapter 389 yeet. somewhere over the coast of california. edwards air force base and naval air station north island had both scrambled all of their pilots and put everything in the air that had guns. some of the crop dusters in southern california, being retired navy and air force veterans, had heard the news through the grapevine as well. and being infected by a greater-than-normal amount of good ole american yeehaw had volunteered to strap guns to their civilian planes and join the war effort. all of them, active duty and volunteer alike, were in the air like a swarm of bees as they awaited the arrival of the ev beowulf. not that it would do much good, really, considering that the beowulf had a much higher flight ceiling and cruising altitude than any current-generation aircraft, whether military or civilian. even the vaunted dragon lady could only reach a cruising altitude of around 21 kilometers, a far cry from the beowulfs 60. still, they would pose an issue to the invasion forces that would be dropped in california, so the order was passed down for the beowulf to take them down. sprinkled across the beowulfs sides and belly were dozens of mk. xiv titans wrath cannons, hundred-meter-long guns with a barrel diameter of 96 inches, mounted on massive gimbals that would allow them to freely rotate in three dimensions. designed for use while the carrier was in flight, they had a host of options available to them, yet none of them appliedthe guns were simply too strong! the ships ai had three current orders: first, to limit civilian casualties and collateral damage as much as possible. aron was adamant in his interpretation of human resources and would allow no avoidable waste of any of earths resources; all would be needed in the years to come. second, to ensure the safe delivery of the beowulfs complement of troops to their designated combat zones. this was the order the ai was operating under when it alerted the captain that she had detected armed aircraft. and third, to take out any valid military target along the way through whatever means were appropriate. the key word in this standing order was appropriate. firing a titans wrath at a fighter jet, especially from above, was rather... inappropriate. without taking into account the collateral damage and potential civilian casualties, it would still be akin to using an old civil warCera sixteen-pound cannon to kill a single gnat that was buzzing around your ear. considering her three standing orders, the beowulf mused over her options for three nanoseconds, then decided that the metalstorm was the most appropriate response. [captain, i have detected incoming combat aircraft,] she announced on the bridge. [request permission to assume control of anti-air weapons designated metalstorm.] granted, beowulf. happy hunting, the captain replied. [thank you, sir. estimated time of operation: twelve seconds... eleven... ten... nine....] as the countdown continued on the bridge, metalstorms emerged from hidden hatches on the carriers hull, and the main guns were retracted into hidden hatches of their own. the gimbal-mounted anti-air and point defense weapons swiveled around, each tracking individual targets. they opened fire, and then... there was no then. every military aircraft stationed in southern california, along with the civilian volunteers, ceased to exist when met with thousands of 30mm rounds fired from a weapon that should not exist on earth, yet did. [operation complete, captain. returning control to weapons.] thank you, beowulf. [youre welcome, sir.]n/)o-/v./e)-l()b)-i-)n the captain crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair, then took a sip of his coffee and asked, how long to the drop zone, helm? eta ten minutes to drop zone one, captain, the helmsman replied. good. i anticipate a smooth drop. comms, sound the ten minute alert in the training simulation for the designated troops. aye, sir. alert sent. ...... the beowulf reached her first drop zone over los angeles in griffith park and a hatch opened on the side of her topmost transport deck. a mechanical arm reached out of it, carrying four ares drop vehicles, each of which contained ten troopers. the arm bent upward, then accelerated down, hurling the drop vehicles at their target location at an incredible velocity. the scientists in lab city called the drop vehicles the mk vii thunderhammer aerial assault lander. but the troops? the troops had a much simpler name for them. yeet pods. a soldier that lacked a dry sense of humor couldnt really be called a soldier at all, really. and ares troopers were nothing if not soldiers. ...... after the four yeet pods were released over los angeles, the beowulf made her way northeast, dropping ares platoons across the southwestern united states, then turned toward the pacific northwest, then the midwest, the south, and all the way up to the northeastern tip of the contiguous united states in maine. the largest landing, though, was in north carolina. an entire reinforced battalion of ares troopers was dropped between fayetteville, north carolina, and fort bragg, the largest military installation in perhaps the entire world. occupying more than 250 square miles and home to more than sixty thousand active duty combatants, plus another couple thousand air force personnel, fort bragg would be the hardest target in the entire north american continent. especially if the veteran population and reservists of fayetteville were taken into account, which would add another fifty thousand or so to the tally. and being a southern state that had almost no limits on gun ownership or specific gun bans, roughly half of the households in fayetteville could at least be called an armed civilian militia. those highly motivated individuals would add another hundred thousand combatants to the mix. there were, combined, a total of over a hundred thousand of americas most elite infantrymen, regular infantry, veterans, and reservists. add another hundred thousand civilian militia and two thousand airmen and the ares battalion had an uphill climb ahead of them, especially since the american forces would have the home ground advantage. lightsͦvel.cm and all of that was before taking into account the current worldwide panic, chaos, and looting. rioters and looters had run rampant, and the first stores targeted by them were those that sold guns and ammunition. it would be one hell of a first live mission for the ares troopers to drop into. Chapter 390 Fog of War chapter 390 fog of war rio de janeiro, brazil. an enormous shadow was cast over the entire city as the ev brunhild passed over it. the shadow didnt linger long before moving, and in fact, never stopped. then, shortly after it passed, a screaming whistle grew louder and louder as four angular teardrop-shaped objects came crashing down in aterro de flamengo, a park that bordered the citys waterfront and several of its storied favelas. an enormous cloud of sand and dust was raised by the impacts, making it impossible to see the objects hidden within, had there been anyone on the beach to witness the impacts. the hiss of pneumatic pistons triggering was followed shortly by a single resounding thud and a brief breeze that blew the dust cloud in swirling circles. soon, the dust cleared, revealing four yeet pods, their hatches lowered into ramps and ten ares troopers standing in neat formations in front of each. with each squad of troopers was a mk. ix cerberus mulebot loaded with bulky boxes filled with gear. without a word, the troopers moved out as the yeet pods spontaneously caught fire and melted into slag. soon, the distinctive whines and thuds of capacitors charging and discharging enveloped the formerly bustling metropolis of rio de janeiro, accompanied by screams, explosions, the whistling scream of indirect fire weapons, and the creaks and groans of crumbling buildings. the chaos lasted an hour, then 40 ares troopers and three cerberus mulebots marched back to the beach. the only sign that they had even been in combat was the blood dripping from their armor, and one trooper had a slight limp. he had been caught by the collapse of a skyscraper and twisted his ankle pulling it out from the debris. all that remained was to set up a perimeter and guard the extraction point for the troops dropped all over south america, who would soon join them as their missions were completed.n-/ovelbin ...... democratic republic of congo, africa. general mabuto nzagi was starting his day as normal, waking up in a bed filled with naked women. he sat up on the edge of the bed and picked up the mirror on his nightstand, then cut a line of high-quality cocaine from the loose powder on it using the business card of an american businessmanin other words, a cia-backed arms dealerand snorted it with a rolled up us hundred dollar bill. he slapped the naked ass of the girl closest to him in the pile of flesh that lay atop his bed, a sign of the previous nights debauchery, but she didnt respond. he slapped it again, still to no response. then he leaned over and shouted in her ear, wake up! three of the seven girls laying naked on the bed grumbled and sat up, but the other four remained silent and still. lightsnvl.cm general nzagi frowned and looked closer at the girl whose ass he had slapped. she could be considered a pretty flower, at least for a twelve-year-old prepubescent girl from an impoverished area of the drc, but her eyes were open and glassy and her neck was discolored with bruises shaped like his own hands. her chest was unmoving, neither rising nor falling with her breathing, and her nose and mouth were stained with white powder residue. she was obviously dead and had been for a while. he looked over the other four unmoving girls on his bed and noticed they were in much the same condition, then at the three who had responded to his earlier shout. they had scrambled out of bed and were crouched in the corner, huddled together and shivering in fear and from the cold air blowing directly on them from the air conditioner vent on the wall by their ankles. the general lit a cigarette, then stood and draped a bathrobe over himself. clean this up, he ordered, then headed to his bathroom to shower. he turned on loud music while he was showering, so he failed to hear the screams and was caught completely unaware by the pulse munition that blew through his wall, then his head, and finally the wall on the other side like they didnt exist. one of the warlords plaguing the democratic republic of the congo had just been eliminated and he didnt even know he had been invaded. ...... around the world, similar situations were taking place. ares suffered relatively few losses in their initial assault, and only two complete defeats. both of those defeats came at the hands of pakistan and india, where two of the nuclear weapons had escaped the bombardment of the rods from god completely by chance. the pakistani and indian leadership had been completely unaware that isis had stolen them in preparation for an attack on the us. then, when ares had dropped on the cities isis was currently smuggling the warheads through, the terrorist cells behind the thefts had detonated them there once they realized their plans would be impossible to successfully bring to fruition. thus, islamabad and delhi paid the price for the nuclear warheads detonated in faisalabad and bhopal. while ship-to-ship combat mostly didnt involve explosive rounds, save for widowmakers, ship-to-ground combat was different. without having to worry about through-and-through penetration, like they did when firing on oceangoing ships or airplanes, the researchers in lab city had developed a specialized round for the hugin class carriers. designed as a proof of concept for arons space warfare doctrine, which would favor modular construction and multirole ships, the enormous carriers also had their own complement of special ammunition types. their eventual targets would be much sturdier than anything found on earth, after all, thus the birth of the type xix hei round, which would fly safed until it detected a significant mass within a certain range, then it would arm itself on a hair trigger and explode on impact with that mass. it was judged to be wholly unnecessary for any of the naval munitions fired from thirty- or sixteen-inch guns, thus it was only printed for the enormous ninety-six-inch titans wrath cannons that the hugin class carriers were armed with. faisalabad had been home to between 750,000 and a million residents, but most of it had been wiped out in nuclear fire. due to its size and relative importance to the area, ares had an entire thousand troops deployed to it and all of them had been lost in the blast. the ev arngrim had returned after detecting the nuclear detonation and removed what was left of the city from the map via sustained bombardment under its titans wrath cannons. then she proceeded to islamabad, where she removed that city from the map in a similar fashion. after all, with no news of the thefts anywhere, none of arons ais knew that it wasnt the countries leaders that decided to detonate the warheads. events in bhopal and delhi proceeded in much the same fashion as the ev ragnar lodbrok visited them. what had once been two thriving national capitals had been reduced to a series of smoking craters, the ground in some places baked into glass by the heat of the sustained bombardment of type xix high explosive impact rounds. Chapter 391 The Consequences of Bragging chapter 391 the consequences of bragging fort bragg, north carolina. members of the 82nd airborne, one of the united states most elite infantry brigade, were rushing to set up defensive positions. though fort bragg was where they trained and they had already-existing defensive positions set up for mock battles, those were nowhere near the things they actually needed to defend. that design philosophy was coming back to bite them in the ass at this very moment in time. the ev beowulf had already landed troops between fayetteville and the storied fort and, having learned their lesson from the air assets in california that had survived for a staggering six seconds, the jets and hastily armed civilian aircraft at simmons army airfield and pope field had been grounded until the enormous carrier had passed. thus, pilots were still sitting in their aircraft in their hangars, awaiting a go order that would unleash what they thought was all nine levels of hell upon the edenian invaders. this was america! this was their country! their home! and no red-blooded american would just lay down and surrender without a fight... or so they thought, anyway. had they heard about how smoothly the ares forces had been having it around the country so far, they might have thought differently. or they might not; the us military brainwashing was highly effective, especially in fort bragg, home of the us army civil affairs and psychological operations command, better known as psyops command. they had pioneered the militarys brainwashing techniques, and fort bragg was their test bed. (ed note: its not even a secret that all militaries brainwash their troops, both during training and during actual wars. the fancy word for it is operant conditioning, but its still basically brainwashing but with a more polite name and a much stronger effect. if youre interested in learning more, google ivan pavlov.) thus, morale among the american defenders was high. they had even been watching alien invasion movies since getting the news that the edenian carrier was on its way, subtly influencing and reinforcing the belief in their inevitable victory. essentially, they were fucking around, and they were soon to find out. fifteen minutes after the beowulf had passed, air patrols via predator drones began, in hopes of spotting the ares troops in the wilderness between fort bragg and the nearby fayetteville. it only took them three minutes to find the troops, as they werent even bothering to hide in their march up the main highway leading to the front gates. a company of ares troopers consisted of four platoons of forty troopers each, and athena had designated a reinforced company to land for the assault on fort bragg. thus, two hundred ares troopersfive full platoonswere marching in unconscious lockstep straight along a road that provided them no cover or concealment. the drone, which was somehow rendered unable to get a clear picture of the incoming attackers, had resorted to using thermal imaging and completely missed the armor the troopers were wearing. arons design aesthetics tended toward the minimalistic and bland. for example, the cube in avalon island, which was exactly what it said on the tin: one gigantic, cube-shaped building. thus, the armor that ares was currently wearing, or the troopers at least, was the mass-produced mk. viii streamlined, lightweight, efficient and ergonomic kinetic protection suit, or sleek suit. lightsnvl.cm ten miles out from the front gate of fort bragg, ares came under its first assault. an entire battalion of m109 paladin mobile howitzers launched a constant stream of 155mm high explosive artillery rounds, effectively landing amidst the invaders with every shot. but none of it had any effect. one trooper was even struck directly by an artillery round and all it did was knock him down. he stood back up and immediately rejoined the rest of his company on the march toward bragg. the operator of the predator drone circling overhead paled as he watched it happen in real time. are they even human!? he thought as he stammered, attempting to report what he had seen. next to face the ares company were the pilots. they had been awaiting their go order for quite some time now, and were more than ready to go drop some good old fashioned american freedomtm on the edenian invaders, and they did exactly that. pope field may have only been home to logistics and transport planes, but with a little ingenuity, a c17 globemaster could carry a lot of bombs and people to push them out the loading hatch. protected by the civilian volunteers and the few combat aircraft they had, the fleet of globemasters took off from pope field and dropped dozens of 500- and 1000-pound bombs around the ares company. out of a total of 140,000 pounds of explosives, they killed exactly two ares troopers. and both of those had only been killed when they were directly struck by thousand-pound bombs. the tradeoff for those two kills was their entire civilian volunteer wing, their single a-10 thunderbolt ii warthog ground attack aircraft, and all of the armys cobra and apache attack helicopters. all they had left now were three aging f-16 fighting falcons that were more display pieces than active service jets and the globemasters themselves, which had remained outside the range of ares weaponry. it seemed that the edenian assault was an inevitability, not an option. ...... it seems like theres a limit to the survivability of the sleek suit, aron commented, watching the unfolding battle from the control center in vr. he was in a terrible mood, having already seen the nuclear detonations in pakistan and india. in his wrath, he had ordered their capitals wiped off the map; how dare they use weapons of mass destruction in their own cities!? thus, he had shown them what true mass destruction looked like. in nagasaki, a traditional japanese torii gate had survived the detonation of the fat man nuclear bomb. but in delhi and islamabad, no two bricks remained unbroken, much less decorative structures. and that wasnt even mentioning faisalabad and bhapal, which had already suffered nuclear blasts in the megaton range. those, he had leveled in compassion more than wrath; after all, being at ground zero of a ground-detonated nuclear blast, none would have survived regardless and their passing would have been much, much more painful than the quick deaths he had granted them. indeed. well need to keep that in mind, yoshiyuki sankai, a copy of the head researcher of cyberdyne in reality and the leader of the virtual research team in lab city, said. he brought up a screen and keyboard in front of him and started muttering to himself as he entered arcane equations into it, his fingers nearly a blur. [they stood up rather well, though,] athena remarked. [it took direct hits from thousand-pound bombs to take the two troopers out.] indeed, aron agreed. he looked forward to beginning the resource harvest in the solar system; the research teams in lab city had developed much more advanced hardware, but the most critical elements they required were only present on earth in absolutely miniscule amounts. thus, the truly advanced hardware at ares disposal was currently limited to the reaper teams and nyxian operatives. the chinese had a saying: use the best steel on the edge of the blade, and aron definitely agreed with that bit of wisdom.n--o/)v((e.-l)(b.(1)(n ...... man im looking forward to dinner. gonna order ribs, prime ribs, beef ribs, short ribs, babyback ribs, pork ribs, spare ribs, lamb ribs... private first class sombat phongchai announced over the internal ares communication network. he was the dedicated sniper of first squad, bravo company, third battalion, first brigade, first division of ares and had been highly decorated for his actions in the vr training simulations. athena had decided long ago that vr missions counted for bravery awards just like real life missions would. after all, the knowledge that they would respawn was kept from the troopers during training missions while they were in progress; thus, the stakes, to them, were absolutely real. and so, she thought, should the awards be. and some cornbread, and corn cobs, and popcorn, and.... the chatter from pfc chatterbox phongchai was neverending, but so was the fire he was sending downrange at the people defending fort bragg and the battalion of artillery they were deployed around. maybe some baked potatoes, potato salad, potato slaw, potato chips... he continued as he accurately placed his shots through the heads of the infantry and the vulnerable points in the mobile howitzers alike. and cole slaw and salad, and.... he raised his hand to scratch his head, temporarily at a loss as to other slaw-related foods, but his other arm continued its accurate fire, scything down soldier after soldier like a farmer harvesting a field of wheat. hey malone, what other cabbage stuff would be good to eat? youre irish, you should know cabbage, right? shut up, chatterbox, corporal malone snapped. my ears are growing calluses! he briefly took a knee and launched two of the eight indirect-fire fragmentation dumb rounds from his backpack-mounted missile launcher. cant help it, corporal. its kinda my thing, you know? another head exploded in the scope of pfc phongchais pulse rifle. zip it, you two, sergeant colonel sanders ordered. theyre sending the globemasters on another pass. system says to scatter and avoid taking direct hits, shits still deadly even though its just strapped-on junk. roger, the corporal and private first class chorused. corporal malone moved to cover on the side of the road and took a knee again. he dialed up the penetration warhead for the four missiles attached to his backpack launcher and waited for the jerry-rigged bombers to enter his range. he was joined by the other four troopers with backpack missile launchers as well. sixteen ap missiles should easily put paid to the twelve cargo-planes-cum-bombers. ...... an hour and a half later, the assault on fort bragg was effectively over and the base commander, colonel john wilcox, ordered the survivors to lay down their weapons and surrender. they had killed a total of four of the two hundred ares troopers and suffered over 40% casualties in return the reservists, veterans, and national guardsmen in fayetteville hadnt even had a chance to enter the fray before the surrender went out, leaving some distraught, and those who had been in combat relieved. a mere two hundred ares infantry had taken down the biggest known military base complete with artillery, air support, and all the trimmings. if they could do that, what was the point in fighting them? Chapter 392 BANG! chapter 392 bang! tick sir, the first line of defense in los angeles stopped responding, the cheyenne mountain liaison officer said. tock fort eustis surrendered. a hub of transportation and aviation was lost. tick fort smallwood lost connection to cheyenne. tock houston just went dark. space force command is down. mar-a-lago.... fort knox has.... coronado.... tick the pentagon is being contested, came another report. the bunker below the situation room was in a frenzy, as it seemed like there was a competition over who could deliver the worst news to the president as fast as possible. each analyst and liaison officer was shouting to be heard over the others, and that was just the most important information. the stream of defeats seemed endless and came in faster than even an entire large room like the one they were in could contain. base after base and city after city fell to ares forces in every state. the norad joint bases fell just as fast, despite canada having basically no dog in this particular fight. it didnt take long before americas canadian allies abandoned their equipment, raised the white flag, and fled back to the north with their tails tucked between their legs. they said they were reinforcing critical locations at home in preparation for the fight to come, but everyone knew what they were actually doing. ...... tickn-)0velb1n sir, things arent going very well. whats your orders? general dunford asked. the constant announcements of the falling cities and military bases was getting to him; he had grown up in an era where the idea of american exceptionalism was formally taught and strictly adhered to and was mentally unprepared for his entire belief system to be brought crashing down around him like this. lightsnvl.cm theyll be at the white house in a matter of hours if we dont stop them before they arrive, shouted dni coats. what can we do? our 500 billion dollar per year military is surrendering to them in waves. so what can we do? the acting secretary of defense sighed, a look of defeat on his face. were going down just like saddam did years ago, only faster. we should surrender, the secretary of state suggested. the acting secretary of defense slammed his palms on the table and stood up, leaning over it and casting a glare at the secretary of state. youre a fucking coward! he growled. youre calling me a coward?! your fucking department is the one responsible for protecting the country, but just what is it doing right now!? the secretary of state yelled back across the table. were fighting to the last man before we surrender! we have never, are not now, and will never surrender to anyone until every last red-blooded american is dead! you stupid son of a bitch. just because youre not the one fighting on the front lines yourself and your family is safe from the attacks, you think you can parade your pathetic bullshit in front of me? you think you can cover your fear in a flag and counter it with a patriotic attitude? if youre so gung fucking ho, why dont you go to the front line and fight yourself, rambo? the secretary of state sneered. youre just wasting my air in here, you pathetic sack of shit! you only made it in here because a much better man than you was forced to resign anyway! and you want us to roll over and be their slaves!? the secretary of state let out a frustrated shout and grabbed fistfuls of his hair. then he raised his head and, with bloodshot eyes, shouted, did you even take a fucking second to think that i might have a plan? did you even think for one fucking second to ask if i had a plan? im saying we surrender and preserve our forces, then prepare for a later counterattack to catch them off guard! we have no idea of what theyre capable ofnone! we need to know their true power level before we can make an attempt at round two, you fucking moron! tock ...... tick while the cabinet members fought among themselves, each shouting to be heard over the others, president trump had his own particular headache to deal with. he had heard a report of ares forces being dropped into a mostly unpopulated area, seemingly as an afterthought or a mistake. the only reason the analyst had reported it to him was that it was somewhat out of character for the invaders, who had, up until then, only targeted areas of strategic significance. even las vegas was a blow to an american industry, reliant on tourism as it was. the location itself was somewhere nobody but trump knew was of actual significance, and he couldnt mention it to anyone, either. that was what was giving him a headache. they know, he thought. the edenians were headed straight for the morgans. how could they fucking know!?do they know about our deal? whatll they do if they capture us? question after question passed through the presidents mind, none of which he had an answer to. but the questions continued coming, relentlessly trampling through his mind like a herd of elephants. will they kill us? no, they cant do that. they need my cooperation, so at least im safe... but the morgans will probably die. also, theyll need the current government to cooperate, at least for a while, or the citizens will take things into their own hands and make it practically impossible to govern the country. and if they cant govern us, theyll have to retreat, so their victory will be short-lived. enough! trump shouted, causing everyone at the table to immediately pipe down and look at him. surrender, for now. lets analyze the situation and choose a course of action when we know more, he continued in a calm, assured tone. he was internally elated that the morgans and rothschilds would soon be eliminated by arons forces. tock silence weighed heavily at the conference table; even the rest of the room seemed quieter, despite the shouting and hubbub still going on among the analysts and liaison officers. everyone was weighing the presidents order and seemed to be on the verge of accepting it, until.... tick i cant let you do that, the acting secretary of defense, patrick shanahan, said. he reached into his coat and drew a pistol, then pointed it at president trump. tock bang! Chapter 393 Stay Tuned chapter 393 stay tuned welcome! we apologize for the lacking ceremonial niceties, but the situation was rather urgent and we prepared as best we could. a stunningly beautiful woman was being led into a very luxurious meeting room, accompanied by a few seemingly standard-issue bureaucrats and a security detail of tall, well-built men in modified ares uniforms with shields instead of stars on their shoulders. no problem, prime minister netanyahu. weve been in worse places, the woman replied with a brilliant smile on her face. she took a seat across a conference table from the israeli prime minister, accompanied by the bureaucrats. the security detail stood behind them, their impassive gazes and alert eyes seeming intimidating without being angry. so lets discuss the terms, she continued, the smile leaving her face. please state your terms and well try to accommodate them as best we can, benjamin netanyahu said. he appeared to be much more calm than the members of parliament seated beside him and the nervous security detail behind them, who kept casting what they thought were surreptitious glances at the ares aegis team behind the edenian negotiator. we wont ask for too much, said the woman. just unconditional surrender. another brilliant smile appeared on her face as the israeli representatives across the table from her nearly choked to death on their own saliva. ...... moscow. leave us, said the woman who had arrived to negotiate with president putin. you, too, he said to his own entourage. lightsͦvel.cm both sides people left the conference room, leaving only two people seated across the long, oval, white-topped table from each other. whew, im finally almost done with this shit, vladimir sighed after confirming the two were alone in the room. it had been swept for bugs earlier and nyx was actively monitoring it now.n-/o-.v-)e)(1/-b/.i/(n did you really have to sink the admiral kuznetsov? he whined. there were far more important targets than that! you can ask athena when you see her. shes the one that drew up the strike plans, the nyxian answered. all of the negotiators sent by eden were nyxian honeypots, as even straight women would respond better to a beautiful woman than a man. especially one that had been enhanced and designed to meet the impossible standards of beauty that nova had determined based on the golden ratio and evolutionary advantage theory. im sure shell be happy to hear from you, the nyxian sniggered. vladimir paled at the thought of facing the strict taskmistress. no need, no need, he said, waving his hands. i didnt like that ship anyway. its good that it got destroyed! russia had suffered the fewest casualties in the unification war, only around ten thousand in total, before vladimir had ordered a cessation of hostilities and general surrender. thus, the situation there was still rather optimistic and there were a lot of surviving military leaders that were confused as to why russia had given in so easily. how are things in the rest of the world? he asked. nova had continued messing with the world wide web, even after the coalition countries began toppling like unstable dominos, so he had no idea what was happening outside of russia. well, we have some time to waste anyway, the nyxian cast vladimir a flirtatious glance, but if you want to chat about something so boring, i guess i can comply. she heaved an exaggerated sigh of disappointment, her shoulders slumping forward. vladimir could have sworn that she even squeezed out a small tear, making her eyes glitter, and he shuddered. honeypots are downright terrifying, he thought, though he didnt show it on his face. firstly, the nyxian said, now all prim and proper business, weve sunk every active submarine in the ocean that isnt one of ours. as for the rest of the coalition fleet, they were either sunk or boarded and captured. the european union is in the process of negotiating a collective surrender. turkey, however, is still bitter about the suspension of their accession negotiations with the eu, so theyre still stubbornly holding out. even after we bombed their bridges in the istanbul strait and took out their air force, their army is still trying to fight back. but that wont last long, as without their bases, theres only so far they can go relying on the supplies they managed to smuggle into the mountains. once those are gone, theyll either surrender or starve. australia didnt make much noise. all we had to do was drop a platoon in canberra and they almost seemed happy to surrender. i dont think ill ever understand those people, the nyxian said with a shake of her head, bemused by the australian attitude toward life in general. they were, by and large, a very sanguine, phlegmatic people with a distinct sense of humor about their own situation. thus, the only people that werent confused by their willing surrender and its your problem now attitude were the australians themselves. the most interesting part was in mexico. with part of our initial retaliation being launched from there, practically the entire countrys military descended on fob odysseus in culiaca?n rosales. that wasnt the surprise, thoughwhat surprised us is that all of the cartels joined forces with them. so when they arrived and got their asses kicked up around their shoulders by the garrison we left there, they retreated and formed a perimeter while they waited for their air force and army to arrive.... as she continued her narration, vladimir intently listened and a map of the current world unfolded in his mind. ...... the next few hours were the most stressful hours of the entire war, at least for the populace of the countries being invaded by ares, as nova continued conducting a symphony of digital information and psychological warfare on the entire world. she had mostly restored access to the internet and, assisted by panoptes, was carefully curating everything the world was allowed to see. she had truly taken the hearts and minds style of warfare popularized by america in the 1960s by then-president lyndon b. johnson and made it her own. the things she spread were horrifying, to say the least, and caused the public of every country to pressure their governments into surrendering. the images of the craters where islamabad and delhi used to be were particularly useful for that. that, plus the ongoing chaos and rioting around the world, had the citizens scared shitless and very susceptible to novas propaganda campaign. a mere seven hours after the first shots were fired, though, silence returned to the world. the edenian carriers were busy picking up the troops they had dropped and surrender negotiations were ongoing in the ten chickens, as aron called them, referring to the saying that talked about killing chickens to warn monkeys, but in the rest of the world, silence reigned supreme. even the riots petered out and died down on their own. ...... the silence, though it seemed like it would last forever, was broken a few short hours later as nearly everyone on the planet received a notification on all of their internet-connected devices, televisions, and radio stations. the notifications were sent to every citizen of every country in the world, but they all said the same exact thing. no matter what channel they turned their televisions to, what address they entered in their internet browsers, or what radio station they tuned their radios to, they all said the same exact thing and nothing else. stay tuned for an upcoming announcement. Chapter 394 My Dearly Defeated Opponents chapter 394 my dearly defeated opponents avalon island. aron walked into a small, dark room with a table and three chairs. a hanging light swung over the table, its dim light barely illuminating anything and leaving most of the room in the darkness as it swayed to and fro. long time no see, he greeted the two men seated at one side of the table. i dont remember us having met at any time, george morgan replied in a quavering voice. he couldnt hide his nervousness, earning him a slightly disappointed glance from his father, who was in the seat next to him. but weve been conversing with each other for quite a long time, now, havent we? aron sneered as he took a seat across the table from the morgans.. we have? aubrey responded in mock surprise. perhaps there was the illusion of a conversation, but in order for a conversation to happen it requires two people, no? he folded his hands and rested them on the table, a slight smile on his face. so it cant be a conversation. to me, it seems more like a lecture. fine, aron shrugged, well call it a lecture. if thats the case, it was one that you forced me to give. the light continued swaying from side to side over the table, casting aron and aubreys faces in occasional, moving shadows. in fact, aron continued, i would have been perfectly content to continue being what i used to be. i wouldve graduated from school, started a career... perhaps even married my childhood friend. i wouldve had a small house with a mortgage and a white picket fence, two kids, maybe a dog or two. he shrugged. but rottem morgan took that from me. lightsͦvel.cm who? aubrey said with genuine confusion on his face. had the name not been brought up here, he truly wouldnt have remembered that cast-off chess piece of his from so long ago. oh! realization dawned on his face. rottem. i have to apologize for him, actually. i didnt know before he failed that he was such a waste, and had i known that, he never wouldve crossed paths with you. aron barked a sharp laugh. no, no, he waved his hand, i really have to thank you. you see, it was ultimately your failure that... stimulated my potential, shall we say, and ultimately gave rise to the man i am today. a cold smile fixed itself on his face as he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. aron wasnt kidding. had he not been in the situation he was in, the system might never have found him and he truly wouldnt be the man he grew to be. so he did owe the disgraced professor, at least a little bit. he changed tack in the conversation. do you know what they say about fish and guests, mr. morgan? he asked. im sure youll enlighten me, aubrey replied. he waved his hand, as if granting aron permission to continue. his upbringing had cemented his behavior at a very young age and, as intimidated as he wasand he had to admit that he was actually quite intimidated by the young man seated across from himhe could never act as if he were in anything but full control of whatever situation he found himself in. after a few days, they rot and start to stink, aron bluntly said. so you have to throw them out.nove/lb/1n is that so? but i am neither guest nor fish. so what does that have to do with me? im afraid, mr. morgan, that your entanglement with me has come to an end. you were a useful whetstone, but, like the fish, youre rotten and its time to throw you out. aron sneered, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward across the table. im sure well see about that, aubrey replied, a mysterious smile flitting across his face. but i have a question. go on. aron nodded. now that youve caught my son and i, what are you going to do with us? torture? imprisonment? execution? parade us in some trumped-up kangaroo court in your little tinpot tyranny then send us for a public beheading in the city square? seize the morgan familys assets and declare us persona non grata? aubrey calmly listed off a number of possibilities. his son, on the other hand, wasnt quite as calm and could only tremble in the seat beside the elder man. aubrey turned his head to his son and barked, stop sniveling! youre a morgan, so act like one! he cleared his throat and turned back to aron. well? whats it going to be? what is our fate, now that weve fallen into your hands? history is written by the victors, after all... so what will history say about us? he finished and stared straight into arons eyes. aron stared back at aubrey with a mocking smile on his face. what makes you think ill do any of that? he sneered. you obviously want what we have, george interrupted. youre merely a nouveau riche, drunk on your little pile of gold and power, but we, he gestured to himself and his father, are the morgans. generation after generation, weve built an empire of power, authority, and wealth. a reputation that cant be built in a single lifetime, let alone a few short years. we are what you can never be, no matter how hard you try. we are the elite. we are the kingmakers, the power brokers, the people that drive the world. you... youre a petty little tyrant sitting on a throne of garbage and calling it gold, he sneered. so of course you want everything that we have. oh, really? aron smirked. but im afraid that i already have everything of yours, and then some. george and aubrey both cast condescension-filled gazes at the young man across the table from them. it seems you disbelieve me. aron shook his head, then waved his hand and a holographic screen appeared floating in the air between the two sides. slowly scrolling along the screen was a list of the morgans... former assets and a visual representation of them being drained and shifted to arons accounts. ill leave you to watch as your empire crumbles, your power is stripped, your kings are dethroned, and your treasury is emptied. enjoy the fruits of your labors, misters morgan, aron calmly said, then stood up and turned to leave the room, leaving his two defeated opponents gazing at a screen showing them the dismantling of everything built by generation after generation of their ancestors crumbling around them. aron opened the door, then paused and turned. i would say until we meet again, but im afraid, my dearly defeated opponents, that we never will, he said, then walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Chapter 395 What Comes Next? chapter 395 what comes next? and so the morgans have fallen, rina sighed. how did you think things would go down? aron asked as he walked beside her down the long hallway in one of the cubes deepest subbasements. i dont really know. one of the many ways id pictured it was in some dramatic shootout between you and them, but... i never once imagined their whole family would go down like fruit being plucked from a tree, she said. well, the world does have a way of surprising us, i suppose. aron grinned at rina, then they both laughed. by the way, have you heard anything from your father lately? yes, actually. he contacted me to tell me to run as fast as possible before the nukes. he said hed tried his best, but there was already a war and there was nothing he could do, she answered. she would never hide anything from him, and honestly didnt believe she would ever even be tempted to. do you think he really tried to stop it? her shoulders slumped a little. i dont know, she sighed. he seems to have changed since i decided to disobey his order to return to america. and when i told him you could deal with things, well... he started getting involved in the family businesses again. before, after i dealt with my so-called brother, she scoffed, hed stepped back into more of an observer role. i guess he thought i was going to die and was acting accordingly. what are you planning? she asked and squinted at him. aron never asked anything without a reason for asking. ill leave it to you, since the rothschilds never did anything against me in the first place. so let me know if you need me to do anything to help and ill do my best, aron said, his voice considerate. thank you. rina was grateful that aron wasnt planning anything to deal with her family as he had the morgans. she knew that both families were rotten to the core, after all, and at their heart, the rothschilds were no different from the morgans. the only difference was that the morgans had acted against aron, while the rothschilds hadnt. thus, they had earned a stay of execution for the moment, though her boyfriend wouldnt hesitate to pluck them out as he had the morgans if he felt it necessary. after all, he was on a timer and up against a rather intimidating deadline. ...... they really did it, herschel rothschild said, loudly enough that his wife could hear it. he was staring at his phone, which was displaying the notification of an upcoming announcement. he knew it must be coming from aron, too, as he had been keeping tabs on the ongoing war. now, he finally realized that what rina had told him about aron having a plan to deal with the nuclear attack wasnt just hot air; she hadnt been blinded by love and he really had dealt with things quite neatly. up until this moment, he had thought the boy was too full of himself to the point of feeling invincible and had overwhelmingly underestimated the forces arrayed against him. virginia heaved a sigh of relief. she could finally rest easy now that she knew the danger to her daughter had passed. youre really going to kill me, child, she thought as she dialed rinas number. even though she had heard herschel say everything was fine, she still wanted to hear her daughters voice; no mother would ever stop worrying for their daughters, much less virginia, who loved hers more than most. and although she and her husband had connections, nothing at all was being released by eden, so all anyone had to go on at the moment were the reports that nova and panoptes were carefully curating and releasing on the internet. virginia wasnt stupid; she knew that most of it was propaganda and she would need to hear it from her daughter for any firsthand account of how things were in eden. whats that boy going to do next? herschel muttered to himself, but loudly enough for his wife to hear again. what do you mean by that? after war comes rebuilding. although the amount of damage might not seem as bad as it could be, considering everything started and ended in half a day, the actual damage is still quite a lot higher than any war ever fought. and im not just talking about the missile strikes, which is already unfathomable enough, but also the economy. everything, and i mean everything, was brought to a halt. even market trading is still suspended, and every second the market stays suspended causes millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the economy. and even when trading is resumed, the market is going to face a panic sell as everyone tries to pull their money out at once. if it isnt handled well, the great depression of 1929 will look like a normal dip on a day traders tracker. and after the market suffers a panic crash, a run on the banks will follow. everyone will need money to spend, but with banks losing everything in the market crash, their ready cash reserves wont be enough for people to withdraw and they wont have enough liquid capital to cover the rest. after that, well... after that comes nothing but chaos. why do i feel theres a but coming? virginia asked.n(/o).v)-e-)l./b--1/.n because there is one. despite the negative trend, a few people will come out the winners in the economic battlefield. those will be the real winners of the war and will have their pick of trophies to pluck from the losers. oh my god, virginia exclaimed. she understood what her husband meant. usually, the winners of a war would choose to take war reparations from the losing side, but they can only take a certain amount. otherwise, the losing country or force might just choose to fight to the last man instead and the winner would only rule over scorched earth and ashes. but in this case, aron was the sole winner, and he had been up against the entire world! so essentially, the whole world was a shopping mall and he was about to go on a buying spree. the thought of all of that falling into a greedy and insatiable man would cause panic in anyone. she desperately hoped aron wouldnt be greedy or insatiable. and our family is one of the potential war reparations, and a tempting one at that. thus, my initial question: whats that boy going to do next? herschel didnt quite have the same level of faith in rinas decision as his wife did, hence his worry. ...... how far do you think we can bend the branch before it snaps? aron wondered. [the information panoptes and i have been releasing outside has the entire world in a panic, thus most of our demands should be met. but if we pass a certain point, well push everyone into a last stand mentality. so during your announcement, ill be actively monitoring the situation and will update your prepared remarks based on peoples reactions to what youre saying. if it starts going too far, ill pull you back, dont worry.] okay. list the things i can immediately take, and the things well be taking over time as people become used to the new power structure, aron said. nova waved her hand and a screen appeared with two bulleted lists. the others in the room began reading and their eyes grew wider and wider the more they read. aron would be taking quite a lot from everyone in the name of reparations. [looks like ill be busy for quite some time,] athena said. the reaper teams, especially, would be busy for the oncoming days, months, or even years. among the demands were things that would generate insurgencies all over the world, which would target ares greatest weakness: manpower. three million soldiers sounded like a lot, but when compared to the entire world, it really wasnt. now on to another topic. our casualties. aron nodded to athena, who popped another holographic screen next to the one that displayed novas lists. we suffered 8,492 casualties overall in the assault, including the dead and wounded. our two largest losses were in faisalabad and bhepal, where isis was caught smuggling stolen nuclear weapons and decided to detonate them there instead of carrying out their initial plans. those two detonations accounted for almost a full quarter of the total losses in the assault. the wounded will be healed and returned to full strength over the next two weeks. well document the process and use it as propaganda and proof for an upcoming product release. medical pods were on arons list for potential upcoming asclepius biotech products. they had been before, but the time wasnt ripe. now that the unification had begun, though, he would revisit the issue; thus, having documentation of the pods and proof of results would be important for that. after theyre healed, theyll be given two weeks of paid leave before returning to continue their service. as for the deceased, their families will receive three times the standard death compensation and lifetime access to services offered through the coeus foundation for three generations regardless of need. we are also focusing on collecting their corpses, or at least those we can, anyway, and returning them for honorable burial on martyrs island. aron gestured and a map of eden showed up with a pin pointing to the newly constructed graveyard, which would be the permanent resting place for the nearly 7000 dead, including 2000 empty coffins. their dignity will forever be protected. they are honored martyrs and are to be treated as such, he continued, his gaze growing sharp. despite the systems best efforts to the contrary, the deaths still weighed heavily on his conscience. now it was up to him to ensure they hadnt died in vain. Chapter 396 The Declaration (part 1) chapter 396 the declaration (part 1) the hours inexorably ticked by and the time for the announcement arrived. everyone with any device that would allow them to watch it was glued to their screens. those that didnt have one were huddled with those who did, some even violating the curfew to visit and watch. so far, the governments had remained completely silent ever since the stay tuned message had popped up everywhere. none of them had either confirmed or denied that they would be releasing an announcement, so the people could only default to believing it would be a government spokesperson showing up to let them know just what the hell was going on. on billions of screens around the world, the notification suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a white podium with no insignia on it at all, backed by a sky-blue stage curtain hanging behind it. affixed to the podium was a single microphone. shortly, aron, dressed in a neatly tailored suit, entered from the side of the screen and took his place behind the podium. he placed his hands atop it on each side and looked straight into the camera, then began his speech. greetings, ladies and gentlemen, he began. the speech was live translated and captioned in whatever language people were watching in spoke as he continued, i hope you are having a good day. two weeks ago, a situation arose that continually escalated as the days went by. to bring everyone up to speed, ill narrate the events that occurred. as he spoke, the curtain behind him vanished and was replaced by a screen that provided visual context to the events as he continued narrating, everything began months ago, with the discovery of massive oil deposits in eden and esparia. one of my companies, helios energy & utilities was awarded the contract to extract the oil by the edenian government. the edenian government then negotiated a deal to ship crude oil to china. but unbeknownst to anyone, save perhaps those personally involved, china had no intention of negotiating in good faith and planned to stage a hijack of the oil shipment and force eden into paying the fines as stipulated in the unfair contract that china had forced upon them. the screen behind aron showed the agreement, with the relevant section highlighted. he paused, allowing the people watching to digest the information, then continued, when our transport convoy was peacefully passing by indonesia, outside their territorial waters, the hijacking attempt took place and was foiled by the intervention of the poseidon navys merchant marine fleet. here, the screen displayed the satellite footage of the attack, complete with recordings from the bridge of the ev pacific voyager. it was the same footage and evidence the edenian ambassador to the un, miss olivia foster, had presented at the un security council hearing between eden and indonesia. we presented this same evidence during the un security council hearing, the screen cut to a still image of the unsc chamber from the day of the hearing, but we were found to be culpable by majority vote of the security council. the still image was overlain by the result of the vote, showing the unfairness of the process itself and how biased it was against eden. during the hearing, in order to not offend china too badly, we held back some critical evidence in the belief that it wouldnt be necessary to point fingers. the screen switched to showing a recording of the chinese submarine that had been jamming the radio signals during the hijacking attempt, then voice recordings of those chinese officials who were involved in the planning and carrying out of the attempt were played. aron remained silent to allow the evidence to play out before the entire world. unfortunately, due to withholding this crucial evidence, the permanent members of the unsc were able to be influenced by china to vote against eden. then greed kicked in. the capabilities demonstrated by my merchant marine fleet were coveted by the permanent members and they began plotting in the dark to take what i have, using eden as a lever against me. but im just a businessman, albeit one thats provided products crucial enough that they couldnt target me or any of my companies. thus, they implemented broad and crippling sanctions against the country my companies call home. the screen cut to a display of the un sanctions against eden. during this time, president romero of eden contacted me for help, and i willingly did my part as a citizen and resident of eden. i did my best to ensure that my fellow citizens would not starve and could maintain more than subsistence-level standards of living.... the speech continued, detailing the events and casting a bright light on all of the dark room dealings and behind-the-scenes politicking that power brokers around the world had aimed at arons companies. people watching the speech-cum-presentation were shocked at the naked greed and arrogance displayed by those in power. aron finally came to the most recent events. three weeks ago, in taiwan, china attempted to encroach on taiwanese airspace during president romeros state visit. the aeolus air force, a division of my security company, ares, warned the jets off, but they ignored the warning and continued on their course, leaving the defending jets of the aeolus air force no option but to open fire and shoot them down. aron paused, allowing the recordings of zi jinping and his ministers planning an incident to play out, followed by the incident itself where the four j-20s were shot down over taiwan. what followed was a period of silence from their side. we had hoped they would abandon their scheme, but we were proven wrong shortly after that, as a chinese operative instigated a chinese loyalist in the north korean army high command to commence an artillery bombardment of seoul, also during a diplomatic visit by president romero. aron paused again, allowing the recording of the basement room to play out, along with identifiers of the person who had made the call that linked them to the chinese ministry of state security. and as everyone knows, their plan was a complete success. it resulted in hundreds of thousands of south korean civilian casualties, followed by the complete decimation of the democratic peoples republic of korea. but it didnt stop there. the united states, led by president trump, captured the leader of north korea, kim jong-un, and during his enhanced interrogation, he was led to implicate eden in his unprovoked terror act against south korea. due to the graphic nature of the video footage itself, i will only be playing the sound file of that incident. the screen switched to a blank, blue display and the voice recording of kim jong-un being tortured by cia interrogators played out. who was responsible for the attack? it was eden, wasnt it! admit it, you fat piece of shit! screaming and sobbing was the response, along with the sound of fists and other objects impacting flesh. admit it! admit that eden ordered the attack and all this pain will stop! a slap was heard, then whimpering. stop! stop! ill say it! it was... it was... it was all eden! that bastard romero forced me to do it!nov(lb-in Chapter 397 The Declaration (part 2) chapter 397 the declaration (part 2) the screen once again showed aron and he cleared his throat, then calmly continued going through every event that escalated the tensions one by one, each of them bringing the entire world closer to the brink of the war between eden and the rest of the world. you should have realized by now, but i will say it in plain speech. neither i, nor eden, nor esparia, had anything at all to do with any attacks. we have been acting in self-defense and good faith ever since the beginning. the only mistake i made was in taking the first step back.... i shouldve known that when i would take one step back, my enemies would only take two steps forward against me. so i kept stepping back, standing down, and deescalating the entire time until i had to draw a line and say this far, and no further! this far, i will retreat, but i will retreat no more. i drew that line, and this was the result. the screen switched and showed arons speech that began the edenian defense and eventual offensive. after the recorded speech played out, he remained silent, his head bowed, for a number of minutes. just when people thought he was done speaking, he murmured a barely-audible amen, and focused his intense gaze on the camera once more. in the end, we won the war, he said in a grave tone. but there were casualties. many of them. an incredible number, in fact, especially considering that the war only lasted for seven hours from the time the first shots were fired. almost eight million soldiers were killed in the offensive. the screen behind him displayed the number 7,687,902. hundreds of thousands more were injured. beneath the number of soldiers killed in action, another number appeared: 408,115. and, sadly, there were also civilian casualties. many of them were the brave men and women who volunteered to fight beside their nations militaries, but even more of them, sadly, were not. during the fighting, two nuclear weapons were detonated. they had escaped the destruction of all nuclear stockpiles only by virtue of bent spear incidents in both india and pakistan that nobody had yet become aware of. (ed note: a bent spear incident is a nuclear incident of significant incident caused by or during the transport of nuclear weapons, warheads, components, or other nuclear-related objects that is of strategic interest or importance. an example of one is the time in 2007 when a b-52 accidentally carried live nuclear cruise missiles over the us.)n/(0velbin the cowardly members of isis, the islamic state of iraq and syria, had stolen a nuclear warhead from india and pakistans stockpiles, thanks to collaborators and sympathizers embedded deep within those two countries governments. when the shooting started and the metal hit the meat, the terrorists were in the process of smuggling the warheads out of the countries, their ultimate destination the united states. but due to a freak coincidence, they were stalled in faisalabad and bhepal, where the terrorists made the decision to detonate them in place instead of continuing on as planned. unfortunately, i had no knowledge of the planned attack, as the fog of war is impossible to defend against. so i, in my wrath, ordered a saturation bombardment on the pakistani capital, islamabad, and the indian capital, delhi. due to that, as well as other minor incidents in the ten countries invaded, there were many civilian casualties. the ones i am responsible for shall forever weigh on my shoulders, and for them, i deeply apologize and swear to do my utmost to compensate the surviving families of those unjustly slain during the war. if you were one of those affected, you will be notified by one of my representatives shortly to discuss compensation for your losses. no amount of money or things can ever replace what you have lost, but i cannot resurrect the dead. no one can. aron bowed his head again as the screen behind him displayed another shocking number: 26,196,853. another two minutes later, he lifted his gaze and refocused on the camera, then continued, in addition to islamabad and delhi, i also ordered the complete destruction of the remains of faisalabad and bhapal. that was done partly out of wrath, but mostly out of compassion. i judged that it would be more compassionate to provide those people a quick end, in order to spare them the lingering, painful deaths that were suffered by the survivors from the nagasaki and hiroshima bombings in 1945 due to the radiation released from the atomic bombs dropped by the united states. i have also ordered a full-scale cleanup effort to scrub the radiation from the despicable detonation of nuclear weapons by the isis terrorists in those two cities. but i cannot, and will not, accept full responsibility for the death toll. the greater burden falls upon the shoulders of your leaders and those controlling them. their greed and lust for power overcame their rationality, to the point where every single remaining nuclear power ordered a saturation nuclear strike on the eden-esparian archipelago that would have wiped out not one, but two entire countries in the thousands of nuclear fireballs. the screen switched to show the launch of a single warhead, then split and showed a second, then a third, then a fourth... ultimately, all twelve-thousand-odd nuclear weapons that were launched were all simultaneously displayed on the screen, creating a photographic mosaic of the leaders of the united states, china, the united kingdom, russia, pakistan, india, israel, and france, all standing around a table in a dimly-lit room. nova had made it obvious exactly who was responsible for ordering the combined nuclear strike against eden through a clever usage of the images of nuclear launches. if it werent for the fact that the poseidon navy and aeolus air force had the capability to defend against the launches of more than twelve thousand nuclear weapons, the entire population of two countries would have died, either by being within the initial range of the impacts or due to the painful, lingering effects of radiation. an archipelago thats roughly the size of the entire australian continent would have been rendered uninhabitable for centuries to come, thanks to the greedy actions of a few, and the entire world would have risked an even worse nuclear winter. it was for that reason that i removed every nuclear weapon held by anyone. those that held them had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt by their own actions that humanity is not yet ready to bear the weighty responsibility of civilization-ending stockpiles of indiscriminate weaponry. Chapter 398 Come on Baby, Nyx Does the Twist chapter 398 come on baby, nyx does the twist i know i sound brutal, or perhaps power-mad, but the current situation the world is facing will not allow for complicated attempts at grabbing power. we need every iota of focus aimed at one goal, and one goal only: the incoming adversaries from the sea of stars, aron said, his gaze firmly locked on the camera lens. the screen behind him displayed the recent rioting and attempted rise of warlords that happened after the launches of missiles was first made public, as well as countless other incidents of attempted, or successful, power grabs that resulted in unified preparations being made impossible. so because of that, im going to include demands in the surrender accords ill be signing with your countries over the coming days and weeks. theyll be aimed at immediately beginning proper preparations to welcome our incoming... friends. his lips quirked on the last word in a smile that wasnt a smile. the recent war ended with my victory. every single country that declared war on me surrendered. no truce, no cease-fire, just surrender. had they not surrendered, i would have shown no mercy and the war would continue until they surrendered or ceased to exist. it was the last war that will ever be fought by humans, and the largest civil war in all of history. i say its the largest civil war because after this, we will be one earth, one humanity, standing undivided against the rest of the universe, which we have recently learned we are not alone in. so, yes, there will be demands, and those demands will be met. or else..nove-lb.1n at the moment, my military forces are still conducting operations, capturing those behind the war. but for those of you who are rightly concerned that you may be forced to bow to an unending stream of demands, let me reassure you right now. that will not be the case. i am only demanding ten things from every country. my first demand is your unconditional support of a united world government without the bloat and politicking that the united nations had. as a part of this demand, all of your countries will be withdrawing from that toothless organization and participating in the creation of a world constitution. the process of this will take months to complete, at a minimum. but that has to happen because the rest of my demands hinge on a united world government existing in the first place.... arons address to the world continued as he listed the terms he would be demanding as part of the surrenders. ...... as aron was delivering his address, the rest of the world leaders were meeting with someone none of them hoped to ever meet again. [so, have any of you changed your minds?] nyx asked the world leaders, including key members of each government. they were in a large amphitheater, a copy of madison square garden, each country seated in the stands and separated from each other. for instance, all of the chinese members were seated in one section, and all of the americans in another. it was the same for every country. all of them were separated by invisible, soundproof walls. no matter what part of the world they were from, or what their countrys style of government was, they all had one thing in common: an expression of fear was on their faces as they looked at the gorgeous woman that seemed made of shadows standing on the stage in the middle of the amphitheater. when they had first found themselves there, they still had an overweening pride in themselves and an accompanying arrogance, despite their fear at having opened their eyes in a completely different location from where they were when they blinked. nyx had personally appeared on the stage once everyone had taken their place in the stands. to them, they had all appeared simultaneously, though in reality, some were present for hours before others showed up, but they had been kept unaware of the passing of time. arons plan was to convince them to peacefully sign the surrender accords and support his demands with a minimum of governmental interference. thus, he had individually met with all of the world leaders before sending them to the virtual madison square garden, and to ensure they spoke the truth, he removed their ability to lie or prevent themselves from speaking. their answers had greatly disappointed him. ...... why should i surrender to you when i can continue causing trouble for you as long as im in office? trump had replied. im going to use this time to create as much opposition to you as i can by inciting my citizens, while at the same time figuring out how to kill as many of you ignorant peasants as i can until you bow and scrape before me and beg me to reassume my rightful place as the leader of my people. (ed note: please read the comment attached to this paragraph. i dont want to seem like im trying to artificially inflate the coin cost by word padding, but people dont seem to read replies to comments on chapters.) im going to accuse you of detonating the nuclear bomb in my country to turn everyone who lost something to it against you, making it impossible for you to control anything or maintain any power at all. im going to destroy everything in my country that can support your agenda, leaving you a kingdom of scorched earth and ashes to rule over, bumpkin. i will grind you back into the mud where you belong so that everyone on earth dies together. if i cant have the glory, why should i let you, eh? after hearing the same response in different words from every single person he asked, aron sighed and snapped his fingers, sending them to the stadium in a suspended state to await nyxs personal form of tender loving care. [you are all here because youre pathetic, weak, useless, scum. youre leeches that feed upon the body of humankind. youre mosquitoes that spread your disease from person to person, generation after generation. dont deny it. i know you dont believe me right now, but.... [i have a full month to show you just how wrong you are.] she gave them a brilliant, flirtatious smile and a wink. [lets get started, shall we?] she giggled and snapped her fingers, sending everyone to their own individual white rooms. Chapter 399 Even Adult Men Fear Their Mothers Wrath chapter 399 even adult men fear their mother''s wrath [so, have you changed your minds?] nyx asked, sending shivers down the politicians spines as they recalled their last month in the white room. only silence answered her, so she continued, [maybe youll be able to answer after another trip.] she slowly raised her hand as if she was about to snap her fingers when everyone in the amphitheater stands suddenly groveled before her and shouted, please dont send us back there! [then wake up and go do what youve been ordered to do,] nyx said, then snapped her fingers and logged the politicians out of vr. in the situation room bunker, trump opened his eyes, finding himself laid out on the conference table. he raised his hand to his face and felt an unfamiliar object that was kind of like a pair of glasses. i dont think i wear glasses? he thought as he opened his eyes and sat up. he pulled the object off of his face and it was indeed a pair of unfamiliar glasses. lightsͦvel a sharp pain shot through his head as he recalled what had taken place right before he fell unconscious. ...... tick i cant let you do that, the acting secretary of defense, patrick shanahan, said. he reached into his coat and drew a pistol, then pointed it at president trump. tock bang! a sonic wave burst in the room, powerful enough to cause a visible distortion in the air but gentle enough to not break bones or send people flying. it was, however, enough to knock everyone in the room unconscious. as he was beginning to fall, he noticed a soldier taking off his... her? hat and shaking her head as her face changed from masculine to feminine and long blonde hair fell like a rippling wave to her waist. he found her extremely memorable, too, as she was the only one in the room that was still capable of standing. ...... he lowered his hand from his face and put his feet on the ground. time to get to work, he said, looking around the room and realizing he was talking mostly to himself, as the others werent quite all awake yet. but it didnt take long before they, too, finished the logout procedure and removed their glasses with shaking hands. yes, sir, they chorused, then began working on carrying out the orders they had received from nyx. arons address was still continuing live on every screen in the bunker. all of the evidence ive provided here, together with even more evidence of gross negligence and outright corruption have been posted on the edenian ministry of the exterior website and has already been made publicly available. thank you all for your time, he bowed to the camera, then stood ramrod-straight again and resumed staring at the camera, and i hope our next meeting is under far more pleasant circumstances. arons address was complete; he had brought the rest of the world up to date on everything that had been happening.n/-0vlb1n he turned and left the area that had been synchronized with the flow of real time, as he had delivered his speech from the relative safety and comfort of virtual reality. whats the situation? he asked as soon as he appeared in a conference room just after leaving the time bubble he had been in for his speech. [nyx has released all of the high-level and other important people needed for the unification to progress, and theyve already begun working to that end. apparently they didnt like the white room.] she smirked. aron felt she was becoming more humanlike as her processing power increased. [our carriers will continue their patrols, ensuring a rapid response in case any issues arise....] she continued her report, listing out all the points of interest aron would need or want to know. good. keep me up to date on things. right now, i need to have a talk with mom and dad. [yes, sir. good luck,] she replied. aron winced and muttered, thanks. im really gonna need it. he slowly trudged toward the door to log off. at the pace he was moving, it was obvious he was more than a little concerned by his parents potential reaction to recent world events. no matter how big or how powerful a man grows, he will still never outgrow his parents wrath. ...... the moment arons address had ended, each countrys leader immediately followed up with addresses of their own. they all began the same way, with an apology to their people. after apologizing, they elaborated on their plans for the near future and how the new world order was going to be, then blew happy little clouds of sunshine about how they would emerge from this trial even stronger, as one united species in the face of outside enemies. still, the look of defeat and shame on the faces of the various leaders was something no one had ever wanted to see. not only was it disappointing to their supporters, but even their detractors reacted poorly to the addresses. the former were depressed and ashamed, while the latter were enraged by the damage their leaders had caused their own countries. and while some leaders had it easier, others werent so lucky. thus, all those unlucky leaders could do was extend the lockdown for another day to give their populations time to calm down, as well as for the various governments to assess the damages they had each suffered in the brief, but impactful war. however, the citizens didnt react as expected. instead, the individual addresses had acted like water being thrown into boiling oil as people grew more and more furious as they discussed the situation. anger, worry, fear, and every other negative emotion that could be felt and expressed were definitely being both felt and expressed. especially those who discovered they had lost relatives or close friends and loved ones during the brief fight. but the true extent of the damage was yet to be known to anyone, save perhaps those who had inflicted it. Chapter 400 Of Flames and Those Who Fan Them chapter 400 of flames and those who fan them people all over the world were discussing the wonder of the modern-day david and goliath fight between the coalition naval forces and the poseidon navy of eden. it was unbelievable to themespecially the americans, brought up as they were on a steady diet of american exceptionalism propagandathat a developing nation like eden could come out the winner in the conflict at sea. after all, it had only been around two short years since the country began rising out of its dictatorial roots. so for them to defeat, and quite resoundingly at that, the forces the rest of the world had gathered against them was incredibly unbelievable. despite lacking quite a bit of information, some armchair generals had mashed up the information that they did have into some semblance of the entire story and felt they had a grasp on how things had actually happened. but with nova and panoptes having been the ones that curated the information released in the first place, none of those entire stories matched at all. so that sparked even more debate on the subject, leading to a mess of negative emotions spreading through the entire internet as peoples personal bubbles collided with each other. the internet had so many flame wars going on that the whole thing had practically already burnt itself to the ground, and that was the situation edenians and esparians found themselves in once nova publicly reestablished the archipelagos connection to the global village. so what did they do when they saw all that mess? they jumped right in and happily contributed to it, of course! they may not have been able to pick up a rifle and fire a shot during the war, and they sure werent on the ships that beat back the coalition navy, but when it came to an internet war of words? that was a battlefront the citizens of eden and esparia were more than capable of fighting on! their heads were full of patriotic pride in themselves and their nations and their bellies were full of suppressed rage at the intolerable bullying they had been suffering under for the months leading up to what historians were already calling the last civil war. thus, they got to work, much to the delight and amusement of the onlooking ais. aeolus, the mischievous little windbag he was, even convinced his big brothers and sisters to covertly help fan the flames even higher. aron, who, upon hearing of the situation on the internet, quickly heaved a secret sigh of relief and rushed back to deal with it, postponing the inevitable lecture he was definitely going to receive from his parents until later. and if he had his way, later would then become much, much later. [are you going to stop them?] nova asked. stop them? why would i want to do that? he replied. just look at how much fun theyre having! aron was feeling slightly giddy himself after the tension and stress of the weeks and months leading up to the war was released with his overwhelming victory. basically, he was taking a brief vacation while other things went on in the background. he turned his attention back to the screen displaying the situation and nova sat beside him. she manifested a bucket of popcorn and they passed it back and forth as they watched the flame war that novas children were eagerly fanning. the first thing the edenians did was announce that each branch of ares had had the audacity to broadcast everything to them live. that alone shocked the world even more than the vague news and propaganda released by nova had! @banaman: [youre calling me a liar? then watch this! video.mp4 video2.mp4] @thehigh3lit3: [dude ur p good @ fake vids bro] @banaman: [fake my ass! i recorded this straight off the livestream. go smoke another blunt] @cheshirephoenix: [lol wtf. @thehigh3lit3 i have friends in eden and can confirm. everyone there saw it happen.] @kimjongundidnothingwrong: [free our dear leader!!! free our dear leader!!!] @banaman: [@kimjongundidnothingwrong dude who the fuck are you? go back to your mamas basement and cry more about getting your ass stomped by someone we steamrolled, dumbass] @tempest: [hey everyone check out this game i got for free on obviousphishingscamsite.virus! just click this link to get your own copy: https://tinyurl.com/pwntuuu ] (ed note: that shortened url leads to haveibeenpwnd.com, a site that checks to see if your email address has been included in data breaches that you may not be aware of, so its not entirely a bad idea to check. its a legit site, dont worry.) @hitman_047: [the war was just the beginning.] @trumpderangementsyndrome: [president trump was right! eden really is a menace! wake up, sheeple! rise up and join me in the fight against the oppressors!] @cheshirephoenix: [ok @pangea, who let the insane asylum escapees in? i wasnt aware that they had social media access in prison psych wards. til i guess.] @curtis1122: [holy shit i just watched the vids. i didnt think that kind of thing could ever happen outside a movie or a novel] @yoyo99_: [this is a pic of the uss carl vinson. vinson.jpg]n//o-(v.)e.(l-)b))1.-n @banaman: [thanks @yoyo99_ its nice to have a before pic to go with the after lol] ...... that was just one of the more polite threads aron read through, but edenians were posting video evidence everywhere, some of which had been reposted by veritable legions of pangea social ais while others, mostly the ones that contradicted nova and panoptes carefully curated narrative and propaganda, were quietly sent to their own social bubbles where they could have their flame war with pangea social ais instead of the general worldwide public. the most popular posts with the most likes and shares were those with video footage of the carriers lifting off. after that came recordings of the ev heidrek crippling the uss carl vinson carrier strike group, then the destruction of the satellites and the offer the edenian pilot, now identified as lieutenant james reverend jones, had made to the doomed astronauts aboard the international space station. then, in a distant third place, was the nuclear launchwhich had even hilariously alarmed gandhi into vehemently denying his involvement in the nuclear strikeand the edenian defense against it. lightsͦvel and after that were video recordings of the yeet pods landing in new york city. a netizen there had captured the footage on his phone and uploaded it in an attempt to show just how evil aron was with his faceless, jackbooted goons trampling over the freedoms granted by american democracy. with the addition of the information and videos so kindly provided by the edenian and esparian netizens, people finally had enough information to piece together a coherent, mostly accurate narrative of the entire war. and that narrative taught them one very important lesson: in the face of the prevailing belief that arons military might would fail when faced with that of the entire world, ares had dominated anyway. Chapter 401 Thinking in the Thinking Spot chapter 401 thinking in the thinking spot avalon island. [three... two... one... liftoff.] a massive rocket took flight from the center of the island and rose through the clear sky. the cloud cover had finally dissipated and revealed the island in all its majesty to the few remaining eyes in the sky, as there was no longer any reason to continue maintaining the obscuration. the rocket breached the atmosphere and entered orbit, where it was immediately met by the blanket of shrapnel covering the planet. the rockets payload and the second stage maneuvering body had been plated in a thick layer of an alloy of hadfield steel and chromium, which was more than durable enough to shrug off the impact of the tiny pieces of shrapnel. beneath that was a layer of shock absorbent 99% aerogel, and below that was a carbon nanotube shock mesh, ensuring that any force exerted on the rocket would cause no damage to the delicate machinery in the warhead and the rocket bodys maneuvering jets. lightsͦvel (ed note: hadfield steel, also known as mangalloy, is an alloy of manganese steel and carbon. its the most impact-resistant alloy to date, while chromium is the hardest metal discovered to date. aerogel is an ultralight silica gel where the liquid component has been replaced by a gas while maintaining the gel structure. 99% aerogel means that 99% of it is empty space, which makes for an incredibly shock absorbent, yet solid and durable material. its also incredibly resistant to temperature extremes and is often used as insulation.) after passing through the debris field, the maneuvering jets on the rocket adjusted its course, then it entered a coast phase and would reignite its maneuvering jets once it neared its designated parking orbit. back on the launch pad, a second rocket was in the process of being printed. once it was finished, it, too, would be headed into orbit. then came another, and another, and another... finally, the process had repeated itself more than a hundred times over two short hours before the activity on the launch pad ceased, the tasks completed for the day. ...... once all of the rockets reached their parking orbits, they initiated a long, synchronized burn and headed toward the moon on a course that would have them slingshot around it and the earth in a figure eight, building up speed by repeating the maneuver until they were ejected from the planets gravity well and shot toward the asteroid belt on the other side of mars orbit.n/(0velb1n most, but not all of them would reach their destination there. but fourteen of them were destined for much longer journeys, equipped as they were with fusion generators and ion drives. two by two, they would use their initial velocities for a leg up as they accelerated toward their eventual destinations. each pair of rockets would find their new homes on or around one of the other seven planets in the solar system. those fourteen rockets were the precursors of arons upcoming expeditionary fleet and would prepare the other planets in the solar system for the exploitation of their natural resources, thus preserving the environment of earth for its inhabitants for centuries, if not millennia to come. ten of the launched rockets contained payloads consisting of atomic printers and fusion generators to power them. their job was to clear the debris from the orbits, both the shrapnel from the recent war and the outdated satellites and other space junk that would serve no purpose in the future once aron put his current-generation tech into use. and they would be accompanied by two tenders, which were small craft capable of collecting the output blocks of raw material referred to as printer cartridges for securitys sake, then bring them to the l1 lagrange point for secure storage until they were needed in the future. at the moment, no one but aron knew what the rockets were for, and only those on avalon island itself even knew that they had been launched. the two hours the operation had taken had been scheduled during a time when none of the surviving satellites had a viewing angle on the launch site, after all. ...... aron was laying supine in the sky, thinking back on the recent lecture his parents had given him. he really should have told them everything, he concluded; it truly was a dick move keeping them in the dark on such important things as the recently passed events. floating in the sky and gazing into the uncaring universe was his new thinking spot, and had been ever since hed grown so skilled with using the flight rune that he no longer had to think about it and could use it at a subconscious level. nova appeared next to him in her augmented reality form, also laying on her back and gazing into the sky. [whats on your mind, sir?] she asked. aron wasnt surprised by her sudden appearance at all; he had grown used to her tendency of popping into his field of view every now and then in the real world. as she continued building more and more quantum server superclusters, all of the ais had grown closer and closer to perfection in their emulation of human behaviors, and nova was becoming more like a comfortable sister-cum-therapist for him of late. especially after he had noticed that his most recent system upgrade was aimed at removing what it considered to be useless emotions. his take on that issue was that it was exactly those useless emotions that made humans, well, human. im thinking about what my mom and dad told me just now, and letting my mind work on why the system was silent after accomplishing something so huge, he mused. i mean, obviously my parents were right to lecture me. i didnt tell them anything, then let them be shocked by a sudden war, and worry about my part in it. [they were right to lecture you,] nova said. [you should let them in to your life more. dont treat them like they dont exist if you arent looking at them, or think theyre weak because they dont have your advantages. theyre stronger than you think, and im positive they can handle any news you tell them.] she changed the subject and asked, [so whats this about the system, then?] if you think about it, the system is supposed to reward me whenever i use the knowledge i buy from it to benefit people. weve already tried all the loopholes we can think of, like when we created random humans in the simulation, then gave them all the tech built from the knowledge i bought. but the system didnt reward me with sp for any of the loopholes we tried exploiting, which means itll only reward me if i share my technology with real, living humans, he explained. [true.] she nodded, then remained silent and waited for aron to continue his train of thought. so how come its silent now, even though i used my tech to bring them under my leadership? shouldnt that count as using it for humanity? i really wish there was some kind of instruction manual, or a system assistant or something, he sighed. but there isnt. and everything i know about how it works tells me that i shouldve been rewarded for achieving such a monumental task using the tech given to me by the system. nova took an entire two seconds to think of a reply, then said, [now that you mention it, that does seem rather odd. the system definitely shouldve given you sp for the war.... but since its remaining silent, even after you got all of the surrender accords signed, i can think of three reasons it hasnt done so. [the first possibility is that what you consider a monumental achievement is insignificant in the eyes of the system. but even when we consider the scale of the universe and the number of possible civilizations, thats the least likely option, as taking control of an entire civilization by oneself is always a seriously difficult task, no matter the civilization. [the second possibility is that it doesnt consider the takeover complete, as you have yet to pacify the population and get them to accept your leadership. so only once you accomplish that will the system reward you for your actions. [as for the third, and final, possibility, i believe the system might not be able to reward you with sp for taking over humanity and becoming its sole leader until youve completely awakened it. so your reward will be given then.] aron took a moment to think through those three options and agreed they were the most likely explanations for the systems unexpected silence. so lets start eliminating them one by one. since the easiest one to eliminate is your first possibility, well work on completing the unification as fast as possible. how are our preparations for that coming? he asked. [the prep work should be finished within the year, then well soon have an answer if our assumption is true or not,] she answered. Chapter 402 End of Watch chapter 402 end of watch aron stood behind a lectern, dressed in the same uniform he was wearing when he delivered his declaration of war against the world. rest, brave soldiers. now, your watch has ended, he said in a somber tone. in front of him was a crowd of people dressed in mourning colors. due to the many cultures of the ares recruits, it was a cacophony of clashing colors. some wore white, some wore black, and some wore bright, garish colors. some heads were covered, others were bare, and some were home to elaborately styled hair. some feet were bare, some were covered, and some were wrapped in sackcloth. some wore silk, others wore hemp, and one was even wearing nothing but body paint and a loincloth. aron had never attempted to take cultural identities away from the people under him, but had instead supported them in their diversity and different heritages. all he asked was that they were human first, and cultures second. to his left was a guard detail of a hundred ares troopers from the ceremonial brigade. they were standing ramrod straight with their rifles held before their chests. aron nodded to the detail leader and ordered, detail, salute! the hundred soldiers shouldered their ceremonial rifles, updated versions that had the same appearance as the venerable m1 garand, and raised them to the sky. then a hundred rifles spoke in unison, again and again and again. the firing continued uninterrupted until 6,881 shots were fired in total. after firing the final shot, the leader of the funeral honor guard brought the detail back to attention and shouted, now their watch has ended! six thousand, eight hundred and eighty-one soldiers had died, and six thousand, eight hundred and eighty-one shots were fired by the funeral honor guard in tribute to the soldiers willingness to sacrifice their lives to defend their homes. a squadron of ef-14 daedalus jets flew overhead in close formation, dipping their wings in salute. the funeral was over, and the crowd broke up, heading in much smaller groups to the individual graves in the field behind them. each grave was covered in a mound of soft dirt and had a holographic headstone that included a picture of the occupant and a brief history of his accomplishments during a life that was tragically cut short. the holographic headstones themselves were in various shapes to honor the beliefs of the people held within. and for those that had no remaining family, aron had brought their brothers in arms to visit them in their final resting place. for the rest of the day, until dusk cast the last rays of red light over the horizon, aron walked from grave to grave, saying a brief few words about each of the fallen soldiers, as prompted by athena, who had actually interacted with them every day. he took her stories and made them his own, a move done out of compassion that also happened to ensure the continued loyalty of the surviving family members of the fallen troopers. lightsͦvel ......n--o.)v(-e.)l.(b-)i-.n the rest of the world, meanwhile, had also begun the long process of recovery. while the number of people who had died in the war seemed like a lot, that number of casualties was actually miniscule to humanity as a whole. the worst damage was to the global economy. nearly every company dealing with anything related to space had either gone bankrupt, or was on the verge of bankruptcy once the news of the blanket of space junk spread. once people found that out, especially those formerly rich power brokers, the entire world nearly turned hostile to aron again. if he hadnt announced that the process of cleanup had already begun, it would likely have erupted into another armed conflict. he had also issued a press release offering highly paid jobs to any and every engineer with credible qualifications from the bankrupted companies, and made generous buyout offers to those that were teetering on the edge that allowed them to shore up their faltering businesses. no one would have been dumb enough to believe an empty promise, but coming from the person who had turned science fiction into science, the people of the world chose to give him a chance. this was due in no small part to the influence of the creator of the marvel comic books and the actors involved in the marvel cinematic universe coming out in support of him and bringing their legion of worldwide fans to essentially drown anyone who tried to drum up opposition against aron. even stan lee had gotten involved, posting a single phrase on pangea that hyped up the crowd surging behind aron and eden. excelsior, mr. michael! that single, short post had done more to gather support behind aron than anything he could have said. after all, he was still seen by most as a terrorist and villain, but with the support of stan lee, the father of heroes, arons reputation turned around and he became a hero for his efforts in cleaning up orbit and rescuing failing businesses. (ed note: stan lee was an american patriot and volunteered to serve in the army signal corps during wwii. that said, he was always willing to stand up for the little guy and wouldnt have bought into the propaganda painting aron as a villain. if nothing else, the hospitals and schools opened by the coeus foundation and the lengths to which he went to ensure that disabilities were accommodated by the gaia os wouldve convinced him that aron was a good guy. stan lee was far from stupid, after all, nor was he blind.) beyond the space industry, many other businesses had also taken serious hits thanks to the wholesale destruction in orbit affecting the parts of their infrastructure that were dependent on the existing satellite networks. companies that depended on maps and accurate location tracking, like fedex and ups, or other logistics companies that delivered goods, had floundered. weirdly, they were joined by many chain restaurants, like pizza places, that also relied on offering delivery services as a large part of their income. but whether they were delivering critical supplies to hospitals or just a pizza to a house party, all of them had suddenly found themselves in danger of going bankrupt. thus, connect enterprises stepped in and allowed the satellites launched by aron to replace the gps, glonass, galileo, and baidou navigation networks, filling the hole that was bleeding those companies dry. and beyond simple gps services, the panopticon network provided all of the other satellite services that used to be provided by governments around the world, allowing for normal operations to resume in many other areas as well. Chapter 403 Heretical Agendas and the Heretics Who Love Them chapter 403 heretical agendas and the heretics who love them as aron directed connect enterprises to shore up the faltering economy, some countries that hadnt been freely connected to the internet were also beginning to connect to the rest of the world. countries like cuba, where the government had strictly regulated who had access to the internet, were able to freely access information for the first time, without any filters at all. the former north korea was also finally invited into the global village, a process begun by americas takedown of their corrupt government, but hastened by connect, who sent technicians and ares aegis teams to protect them while they laid fiber optic trunk cables and connected them to the existing south korean infrastructure. though there would still be a lot of work to bring the two halves of korea together, the healing had begun. that said, aron was no fool and had sent ares troopers to take the place of the american occupation forces stationed in north korea, and tasked them with preventing the dprk armys brainwashed soldiers from mounting terror attacks. currently, there were almost five hundred nyxians and an entire brigade of ares troopers actively rooting out the most fanatic north korean military leaders. there was a distinct possibility that they would reignite the decades-old conflict between north and south in an attempt to force the return of their dear leader, and that had to be prevented at all costs.n-.o).v..-/l/(b.)i./n another thousand ares troopers and three hundred nyxians were deployed to the former nation of south korea as well. they had been hit incredibly hard, and though they were still mourning the devastating attack on seoul, that would only increase, not decrease, the chance of some hotheaded soldiers picking fights with their north korean enemies. thus, though the dmz had technically been decommissioned and the borders were officially open, there was still heavy supervision of the newly reunited country to prevent vengeance seekers and vigilantes from enforcing their own misguided brands of justice. the world leaders were busy preparing for the drafting process of the new world constitution. once that was in place, or at least a solid framework for it was, they would then unite to form the first world government. the process would be handled at the united nations headquarters in new york city until another location to base the world government in was agreed upon by unanimous vote. though everyone felt it would eventually end up somewhere in eden, none of the leaders wanted to make the process seem too easy; the optics would be terrible for everyone involved. thus, the un hq would continue as the temporary home for the nascent world government until further notice. arons other companies were involving themselves in the reconstruction efforts as well. the coeus foundation in particular was instrumental in distributing food, medicine, and providing access to skilled doctors and temporary housing for the people displaced by the fighting to regain their footing and recover from the trauma and losses they had suffered. and that wasnt all; all of arons companies had announced that they were seeking to build branch headquarters in every country, providing the same benefits to those countries that they had given to eden that allowed them to rise from the mud in the first place. unfortunately, though, not everyone was happy to see the recovery in progress. about a fourth of the population in every country was enraged by their swift surrender to aron. there were many groups, all of them with different reasons, but the one thing they all agreed on was that it was the terrorist, aron michael, who had caused the planet to be in the state it was currently in. thus, they gathered together and took a page from how terrorist groups operated, forming cells and sending them out to begin insurgency groups all over the world. they may have all been born from different ideologies, their shared agenda to fight against the dictator that stole their country and killed their families, and the government that disappointed them and bowed to the man. they pinned various crimes on him, like tarnishing their communist utopia, capturing their beloved leader, trampling on their freedom, and so on, but it all boiled down to one thing: he wanted to fix what they didnt think was broken and was trampling on them to implement his heretical agendas. everyone who was sufficiently upset enough to join one of the nascent insurgent groups contributed something. if they could fight, they volunteered to fight. if they could train others to fight, they volunteered to teach. if they couldnt fight, they gave up their wealth. but everyone contributed, from the people whose homes were destroyed and couldnt afford to rent another place to the billionaire whose net worth had been reduced to a shadow of what it once was thanks to his company share price plummeting. all of them were angry, and all of them were more than willing to do something about it, even if they could only inflict a pinprick on the man they were all convinced was the source of all suffering in the world. lightsͦvel and with the realization that their enemy had an overwhelming technological advantage, they set up their groups to do everything as analog as possible. they took lessons from how the intelligence agencies played the game during the cold war; it would slow things down, but that wasnt necessarily a bad thing. let the hotheads act first, and once all of the turmoil had died down and aronnow referred to as nothing other than his code name, the devilwas convinced that peace had finally returned, only then would they strike. in the meantime, they would watch, they would wait, and they would grow. they would lurk in the shadows, drawing the disenfranchised, the disaffected, and the disappointed to their cause. they would train, they would teach, and they would sacrifice. they would develop insurgencies and instigate them to act in their stead, helping prolong the chaos that would shield them from discovery as they grew in the cracks and crevices of society, hidden from the eye of the devil. their chance, they believed, would come soon enough. god would always be with the patient. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 404 Error Not Found chapter 404 error not found inside a dimly lit, dusty basement room, a group of people with anger on their faces were seated on steel folding chairs. the only sound was the creaking of the unfinished basement ceiling and the occasional dust being knocked off of it and falling to the floor as someone in the house above stomped around like an upstairs neighbor. but no matter how loud the stomping echoed against the rust-red-spotted cement floor of the basement, the only disturbance was to the spiders that had spun their webs between the exposed wooden beams in the ceiling. lightsͦvel soon, the stomping above stopped and a door creaked open. everyone seated in the basement swiveled their heads as one and looked at the stairs, where a shiny leather shoe appeared. then a leg covered in tan slacks, followed by the hem of a navy blue blazer. when the man wearing the slacks and blazer turned the corner on the stairs, the blazer fell open and showed the blue and white horizontal stripes on the thin sweater beneath it, which had the collar of a white shirt peeking out from its neck. the man wearing the ensemble seemed young, but was actually a well-maintained man in his early thirties. he walked around the group seated on the folding chairs and stepped up onto a comparatively clean wooden pallet, then began speaking. a week ago, we witnessed the birth of a devil. a brutal one, that etched his atrocities into the memories of every living person on earth, he began, casting a penetrating gaze across the people seated in front of him. his eyes seemed to contain the vicissitudes of time, as if he had seen hell and returned. the devil slaughtered more innocent civilians in a matter of five hours than died from the beginning to end of the bloodiest war in history, and no one is doing anything about it. why is no one stepping forward and decrying this brutal monster? theyre afraid! theyre pathetic, weak, cowards that have bowed before the altar of the devils overwhelming power! all of those deaths were needless. since the devil is so powerful, he could have avoided them. he could have let those innocent people in bhopal live, and those innocent people in faisalabad. surely, he could have healed instead of destroyed, but he didnt! he chose to destroy because he enjoys the misery of others. and once tasted that misery, he didnt stop there, oh no. he ordered two thriving capital cities to be wiped clean from the map! and he blamed the destruction he wrought on terrorists, the speaker spat. it was so convenient for him that those terrorists, he raised his hands and made air quotes, somehow managed to steal nuclear weapons and just so happened to be in those cities at just the right time for him to force them to detonate the weapons. the mans voice fell to a hoarse whisper as he continued, how utterly... coincidental. among the twenty-six million innocent men, women, and children slaughtered, which of them were not someones mother? their father? a loving husband or a caring wife? a mothers son or a fathers daughter? uncles, aunts, sisters, lovers, crushes, future leaders, future saviors, future sportsmen and women, future teachers.... he paused, closing his eyes and bowing his head. after a moment of silence, he continued, but they were all killed. all of their lives were cut short without mercy. the mans voice cracked and a tear trailed down his face. he took a deep, shuddering breath, then continued, he needlessly sank ship after ship filled with heroes who stood up to fight against him. he polluted space, preventing us from defending ourselves against the hostile aliens coming to enslave us all and rape our planet. he captured tens of thousands of people from all around the world and is holding them in dank torture rooms, torturing them without a trial! and now! now he wants to unite the world under his brutal and barbaric rule! and what do our foolish and spineless leaders have to say? nothing! they refuse to tell him to stop, they refuse to raise up heroes to send the devil back to hell where he belongs! they refuse to fight, due to cowardice, shared interests, and oppression! no one is doing anything! the man clenched his fist and slammed it against the palm of his other hand hard enough for the smacking sound of flesh meeting flesh to startle the silent audience and make them jump in their chairs. the man conveniently left out the part about the world being the aggressor in the recent conflict, then continued his speech. just because the devil has overwhelming power, should we allow him to tamper with our dignity?! he shouted. no! the listeners cried in unison. does it mean we should allow him to desecrate our freedom!? no! the listeners chorused once again. will we allow his atrocities to go unpunished?! no! will we allow him to rule us like animals?! no! will we sit back and watch as the devil does whatever he wants!? no!! are we among the cowards? no!! are we among the scared? noooooo!! the audience leapt from their feet and thrust their fists into the air as they screamed and hollered at the top of their lungs, causing another cascade of dirt and dust to fall from the basement ceiling, disturbing the spiders lurking in their webs once again. their shouting was so loud it looked like even the filthy cinderblock walls seemed to be shaking. then we must punish this devil! join me on a journey to seek justice! a journey to regain our dignity! a journey to set, things, right!! the man shouted, hammering his fist against his other hand with the last three words.nove.lb.1n the audience went wild, thrusting their fists in the air and shouting at the top of their lungs, going red in the face and stomping on the cement floor. the man secretly smiled to himself, seeing the rage he had whipped up in his audience. he let them continue for more than a minute, then gestured for silence. once the listeners had retaken their seats, his manner grew stern and he set his face in a grave expression as he continued, the journey will not be easy. there will be many obstacles, and many of us will die. the room grew a bit gloomier and a chill ran down the spines of those listening to the man speak. yes, many of us will die, but it is a sacrifice we must be willing to make. one that is worthy of holding our heads high in the afterlife, where we shall meet again as victors! as the punishers of the devil! as the saviors of earth, and humanity! we will be able to hold our heads high for all of eternity! he shouted, causing the listeners to applaud and cheer once more, completely stripped of the fear they had felt moments before when reminded of the might of their enemy. but now, with that assurance, they knew that none of their lives would be wasted and everything would be for the greater good. for the eventual victory in the fight of good and evil, they would proudly go to their deaths with their chests puffed out and heads held high. against the backdrop of cheering and applause, the man standing on the pallet bowed his head, clasped his hands in prayer, and loudly prayed, may the devil perish at our hands, and may our sacrifices be worthy. although he said that, in his mind, he was thinking something completely different. sheep, he thought as he smiled brightly at the group of people in front of him, meeting their eyes and enthusiastically shaking their hands. Chapter 405 The Technological Advantage chapter 405 the technological advantage felix was leaning back on the couch in his office, his feet crossed on the coffee table and hands clasped behind his head, obviously in deep thought. [whats wrong, sir?] raven, his personal ai assistant asked. [you seem to be zoning out a lot these days.] felix had remained unmoving in his position for more than twenty minutes, the rise and fall of his chest and blinking eyelids his only movements.nove.lb.1n nothing, im just trying to figure out where things are going to go from here. its been a week since the countries signed their individual surrender accords, but no matter how i think about things, i cant see a peaceful resolution. theres guaranteed to be problems in the future, no matter what, felix sighed. [what makes you say that?] she asked. history. [do you mean how those who fail to learn from historys lessons are doomed to repeat it?] exactly. every time one nation overwhelmed another and received their surrender or succeeded in an annexation, an insurgency has arisen from within just as things seemed to calm down. those insurgencies cause a lot of issues for the winners by targeting their weaknesses. aron may be the strongest person alive and have the most overwhelmingly powerful military thats ever been seen, but hes still sure to have weaknesses. nobody can be that powerful in every aspect, felix explained. just take the soviet incursion into afghanistan, for instance. in 1979, they invaded afghanistan to aid the communist forces in kabul fight off various insurgent forces, including the taliban and al-qaeda, who was known as the afghan arabs back then. the soviets had every advantage in that fight. they had a strong military, high morale, the more technologically advanced weapons, and the numbers on their side. by all rights, they shouldve had an easy time taking out some small, weak insurgent groups. but that wasnt the case! their incursion in support of kabul caused a decade-long conflict between the soviets and afghani insurgent groups that finally ended with a soviet withdrawal in 1989, a full decade later. then in 2001, al-qaeda reared their head again and carried out a terror attack on the united states, leading to another conflict that lasted up until a week or so ago. the american war on terror. we declared war on al-qaeda and the taliban in october of 2001, yet despite outnumbering and outgunning them in every aspect, they still managed to drag out the war for more than fifteen years. and it wouldve dragged on even longer if aron hadnt come around and basically ended all wars. and those two are in living memory. if we go back even further, there are even more examples. like after world war i, when the ottoman empire lost and the allied powers tried carving it up. the turks rose up and fought back under the leadership of mustafa kemal ataturk, who started the turkish war of independence that resulted in the formation of modern-day turkey. going even further back, the koreans fought back against japanese invaders, and so did the chinese. or we can go forward to the french resistance against the third reich after france surrendered to germany. basically, every time an overwhelming force comes up, a resistance group springs up like weeds to fight against it. but now itll be even more severe. instead of one nation stomping another nation into a mudhole, or alliance versus alliance, this time it was one nation against literally every other nation in existence, felix explained. so now that arons military has displayed its might, im worried that therell be hundreds, if not thousands of groups of freedom fighters cropping up everywhere around the world. hell, it wouldnt surprise me at this point if the atlanteans came back to the surface from some underwater city somewhere, he griped. [opposition will naturally always exist, but that doesnt mean itll be impossible to deal with,] raven said. [im sure sir aron and mother are already aware of the issue and have made plenty of plans to deal with any situations that may arise.] she had full confidence in aron and nova to have foreseen such an obvious issue. if even felix, who she privately thought was perhaps a little on the slow side, could see it, his boss most certainly could... right? i know, i know. i was mostly thinking of how i would handle it if it were me in the hot seat. the only lesson history teaches is that nobodys ever learned a single thing from history, and im sure im no exception to that. its more morbid curiosity than anything else, felix grumped. lightsnvl [if youre putting yourself in the hot seat, so to speak, then you also have to consider the technological advantage that sir aron and mother have over those historical forces. would the turkish war for independence have succeeded if king constantine had the panopticon? or would the chinese boxer rebellion have lost to the eight-nation alliance if they had sleek suits and pulse rifles? would osama bin laden have survived as long as he did if the americans had poseidon navys carrier fleet and titans wrath cannons? would the viet cong have forced american forces to withdraw if they had the training our reaper teams go through? or would world war i ever have started if archbishop ferdinand had an ares aegis team guarding him? [even if you take ten thousand steps back, what do you think would be the result of putting nyxians up against the fbi and kgb during the cold war?] raven had many more examples available, but she figured those would be more than enough specific instances. [in every case where insurgency forces troubled the winners of conflicts in the past, its always been when the difference between the two wasnt that large. and that isnt the case here. you can think of it like this: sir aron and ares going up against modern forces is no different from the pre-9/11 american military being put on a battlefield against a military from the bronze age. thats how much of a lead sir aron currently has against the rest of the world, and thats even when he wasnt really focusing on building forces to face terrestrial foes,] she explained. [our sides only limitation is the number of people under the ares umbrella, but that isnt a limitation thatll last forever. and as fast as sir aron can build up his forces, im sure hell be shoring up that weakness before the insurgencies can grasp it.] i suppose thats true. ill go see what hes up to myself, felix said. raven had put his mind at ease, and once he put down the impossible task of trying to think like his supergenius best friend, he realized he hadnt seen him in quite some time. Chapter 406 Don’t Forget the Trojans chapter 406 don''t forget the trojans bring me to aron, felix asked as he logged in to vr. with the growing number of people who had access and their varied tasks and locations, nova had created a navigational vi aid. once he arrived at arons location, he couldnt help but curse in surprise. he was in a large, grassy meadow with sarah, henry, rina, and all of the high-level leader ais. the meadow itself was about fifty meters across, and outside of it was nothing but devastation. craters were scattered around the cracked, bare earth, and more were appearing every second as explosions continued booming out in the distance. what the hell is going on? felix wondered, his jaw dropped so far sarah considered spawning an egg to stick in it to see if it would fit. [sir aron is having a sparring session with mother,] athena answered, pulling up a screen that showed the action in real time with slow motion replays for felix. after watching the footage for a few seconds, he asked, why fight with swords and magic if its a sparring session? isnt he just playing a game while the world is in such a mess? to felixs knowledge, what he was watching absolutely must be some kind of new game. there was no third human that knew of arons magic, and felix was definitely not the second; rina was. but before anyone even began to answer, if anyone was going to in the first place, the spar came to an abrupt end. aron was caught in one of novas attacks that cost him an arm, but in return, one final, massive explosion erupted, sending dirt and ashes billowing out from it. then novas figure, shield and all, flew out of the cloud like a bullet headed to who knows where. the spectating ais were shocked into a frozen state by the surprise ending. throughout the thousands and thousands of sparring matches between aron and nova, this was the first time he had survived and sent her to earn some frequent flyer miles. not too long later, aron, whose arm had fully regenerated, appeared in front of the spectators and immediately celebrated by giving henry a high five and rina a hug and quick kiss. n--0velbin [that was a surprising decision, sir. did you plan to trade your severe injury for mothers defeat ahead of time?] athena asked, looking at aron in admiration tinged with reverence and a little bit of worship. it wasnt a difficult decision. the calculation was rather simple, and of course, the sacrifice was planned, aron answered. hey there felix, long time no see, aron said when he spotted his friend. he moved in for a hug, as if he really hadnt seen him in a very long time. its only been a few days since we last saw each other. whats with this long time no see bullshit? felix sneered, though he reciprocated his friends hug. did you forget? time dilation, rememberit really has been a few weeks since i saw you last, aron explained to his forgetful friend as they separated. yeah, yeah, my bad... hey, listen. i had a question about your plans to deal with the rest of the world. aron nodded and listened to felix lay out the examples he had come up with when discussing things with raven. i can see where youre coming from, and youre absolutely correct. at the moment, we already have hard evidence of about seven thousand active rebel groups from all around the world. and all of them show signs of whipping up their own individual rebellions, if we dont stamp them out, he said once felix finished laying out his argument. that many? felix asked in surprise. at least that many, yeah. were pretty sure theres more we have yet to discover. the loud ones weve found so far are all the dumb ones and will be easy enough to deal with. its the ones thatre smart enough to remain hidden we have to worry about. plus, more will crawl out of the woodwork as we work on establishing the new world constitution, then even more once we shake things up by implementing it. but thats in the future. right now, weve got even more groups. not every armed organization is going to be fighting for their ideological beliefs. there were already a bunch of organizations that already existed before the war. terrorist groups like isis, drug cartels, street gangs... none of them are exactly ideological in nature, but weve already affected their profits and bottom lines. if we add all of them to the mix, theres about fifteen thousand different groups of varying size that we currently know of. what about the smart ones? whatre you doing about those? felix followed up with a shudder. he couldnt even imagine how capable someone would have to be to hide from aron, of all people. they wont remain hidden forever. the moment they attempt anything, well spot them and deal with them. aron had everything under control. so why just keep an eye on them instead of doing something about them? felix asked. who says we arent? weve already implemented a hearts and minds strategy for the ones we can do that for. a little charity goes a long way for most of the angry people, and without angry people, insurrections will always fail. but some are trickier to deal with. for those, were gathering evidence against them as we speak, but it isnt an overnight process. even though we can wipe them out, and easily at that, doing so without just cause would just reinforce my image as a villain in peoples minds. then ill be a barbarian whos using my power just because i can, and that wouldnt be good at all, aron said. he knew very well just how corrupting an influence absolute power was; he had personally experienced it, and both islamabad and delhi had paid the price for his lesson. thus, letting himself act extrajudicially would form a bad habit that would backfire on him hard in the future. as for the rest, well... what better way to prevent people from joining rebel groups than to take their focus from me and put it firmly onto something else? he continued with an enigmatic smile on his face. weapon of mass distraction? whatve you got planned in that devious scheme factory of yours? felix rolled his eyes. instead of saying anything, aron snapped his fingers and the two friends were teleported into space. in front of and slightly below them was jupiter and behind them was the sun. welcome to the trojan asteroids, he said. to your left is the asteroid field known as the greek camp, and to your right is the trojan camp. theres an asteroid belt between mars and jupiter as well, but, he snapped his fingers and the two teleported to a vast, empty stretch of space, youre standing in it now. the main asteroid belt between mars and jupiter only has about as much mass as our moon, if you were to gather all of the asteroids together into one celestial body. the distances involved make it difficult to exploit, unlike in hollywood where spaceships are always dodging tightly packed clusters of asteroids while dogfighting in them. he snapped his fingers and they teleported back to the trojan asteroids, then pointed at a fast-moving object headed toward the greek camp. that, my friend, is the future. prospecting and exploiting resources farther out in the solar system instead of on our mother planet. and do you see what im pointing to? thats one of our flagbearers. i launched it the other day. he snapped his fingers and they returned to the grassy meadow where the rest of the people who had watched nova and him spar from. other than that, vr itself should be enough to distract people. but space is important with a capital i, especially since were going to be welcoming our first guests very soon. Chapter 407 Corpses if Necessary, Prisoners if Possible chapter 407 corpses if necessary, prisoners if possible nova appeared out of nowhere right next to felix. if people in the simulation had to deal with biological processes, he would have shat himself in surprise. [sir, somethings come up that requires your urgent attention,] she reported to aron. whats up? aron calmly asked, as if he were a pillar that could hold up the sky if it fell on him. [we discovered that a large number of edenian and esparian citizens have gone missing in a few countries. they all disappeared at roughly the same time over the course of an hour or two.] how many citizens in total, and which countries did they disappear from? what were they there for? are the disappearances done, or are people still going missing? aron asked, this time with a distinct chill in his tone. he had a few ideas of why his people would be going missing, and none of them were pleasant. [fifty-seven people disappeared hours after arriving in mexico, colombia, el salvador, brazil, and guatemala,] nova said. she brought up a large screen and split it into sections, each displaying information about one of the missing individuals, like their travel itineraries and reasons for visiting those countries. aron glanced at the screen, memorizing its contents, then immediately came up with the most likely culprit. cartels, he spat. [that is the most likely possibility, sir. as long as the missing people passed through customs, the cartels would have almost instantly learned about their arrival. most government officials in those countries have been bought and paid for by at least one cartel, perhaps more, and controlling the people coming into and leaving from their countries would be a routine matter for them. the cartels wouldnt even have to provide special bribes. [i think theyre trying to gather leverage to use against us so they dont end up like the sinaloa or medellin cartels. after all, the likelihood of them having realized that their people were killed is high, especially after the public reprisal attack carried out from the former territory of the sinaloas.] whats athena got planned to resolve the situation? [shes tasked panoptes with tracking them through the panopticon network and ordered the beowulf to adjust her patrol route to pass over central and south america. reaper teams three, seven, eleven, eighteen, and twenty-two are on standby for rescue and extraction operations once the targets are located.] athena appeared next to nova and saluted aron. [sir, requesting permission to use orbital insertion protocols for the reaper deployments upon locating the targets.] granted, aron said. but let the reapers know that i have a use for live captives this time. corpses if necessary, but prisoners if possible. either way, i want zero fugitives. also, zero collateral damage. the high civilian death toll from the recent fighting is already causing enough problems, no need to increase that number even higher. he could always put them on trial once the new world constitution was implemented. every criminal captured between now and then would likely be enough to fill a courts docket for months, if not years. especially since they would all still be guaranteed due process. [affirmative, sir,] athena said, then saluted again and disappeared. nova smiled and disappeared as well. she enjoyed acting as arons secretary; it reminded her of how things were in the beginning, when she was just an assistant and limited to the tiny server he had built in his parents basement. ever since then, those menial jobs had been delegated to lower and lower authority levels in the ai hierarchy she was building, and while she appreciated that aron valued her so highly, it was sometimes nice to do simple things, like pass messages. it was like how chefs with dozens of michelin-starred restaurants under their name would enjoy bologna and processed cheese sandwiches on plain, cheap white bread from time to time as a reminder of their childhoods. aron turned to felix, who was looking at him with a complicated expression on his face, and asked, where were we? ah, right... vr. how can you be so calm right now? felix blurted out. its because this is exactly one of the things we foresaw being a possibility, so weve already got a contingency plan in place to counter it. since we already expected it and a plan was put in place long before now, its actually more of a relief that its happening than something to worry about. besides, the best possible people for the job are already on it, so if i worry about the situation, all itll do is show that i lack faith in the people i trained, aron explained. felix took a minute to digest that, and found it plausible. he nodded and his entire body seemed to relax as the discussion picked back up. back to what we were discussing before. with space exploration to keep their bodies occupied and separated, and virtual reality games to keep their minds busy, people simply wont have time to plot and carry out rebellions. nor will they have the angry recruits they need to grow. and even if they choose to go the way of the luddites, theyll just be left behind as the world advances past them.n--0velbin (ed note: luddites were people who, during the industrial revolution of the early 19th century, fought against the advance of technology and would often attack and destroy textile mill machinery in order to keep their jobs. in the modern sense, its anyone that refuses to keep with the times, much like the amish people of the us.) which is why sarah and you have a few months ahead of you where youll be spending your sleep time in vr so you have enough time to deal with things, aron finished. felix unconsciously hunched his back, remembering the frantic lead-up to the first gaia product launch and all the work it entailed for him and sarah. aron watched felixs internal struggle, which had caused his face to twitch and his expression to contort, and could barely keep himself from laughing. dont worry so much. it may be a painful next few months, but the pain now will decide whether the empire we build will last for centuries, millennia, or millions of years. thats why we need to focus on every single little detail now, he reassured his old friend. felixs eyes sprang open and almost popped out of his face. he finally knew what aron was planning to do after winning the war: creating an empire and crowning himself emperor. what? he blurted out, not entirely sure that there wasnt a glitch in the simulation or if he was hallucinating. aron didnt say a word, just gave his friend an enigmatic smile, then bent down to meet henry, who was running over to him with childlike glee. brother, i want to fight like you do! the boy said once he was in his big brothers embrace. just a minute, my minion, aron said, then turned to felix and continued, youll know more later, but for now, leave me something in reserve to surprise you guys with. he disappeared with his little brother, off to play games that were well-disguised training programs that would prepare henry for the time when aron finally learned how to inscribe runic hearts. aron had decided that henry would be the second runemaster of humanity, and would bring that about by his own hand. Chapter 408 The Making of a Reaper chapter 408 the making of a reaper [corporal jose cuervo, report to docking bay two. corporal jose cuervo to docking bay two.] corporal jose tekillya cuervo had graduated from athenas basic ares training course two months ago, vr time, and his performance assessment had qualified him to become a reaper after the initial training was complete. he picked up his black-and-gray ares duffel bag, slung it over his shoulder, and rushed to the vr training facility was as realistic as anything else in the simulation and recruits were required to eat, perform the biological necessities, sleep, and everything else, just as they were in reality. he had completed the majority of his reaper training and been on leave for the time it took his special enhancements to be implanted in the reaper-specific vr pod, a hybrid medical pod and ares training pod. all that was left for him to do was one final training mission, during which he would become accustomed to the performance of his newly enhanced body, and upon its successful completion, he would be a full-fledged member of a reaper team. tekillya could hardly wait. after loading himself and his baggage onto the shuttle in docking bay two of the sprawling ares training facility, he strapped himself in for departure and waved a screen into existence that detailed the implants that would soon be at his command. [skeletal structure reinforcements. super magnesium sheaths reinforce the bones of a reapers skeleton and increases their shock, impact, and weight resistance by 900%] (ed note: allite? is an alloy thats lighter than titanium and aluminum, stronger than the strongest grade of titanium, and more than twenty times as shock absorbent as aluminum. the actual ratio of elements that make up the alloy are a trade secret, but theyve disclosed that its an alloy of magnesium, aluminum, and rare earth elements. its commonly called super magnesium.) [muscle replacement. approximately one-third of type one and half of type two skeletal muscles replaced by liquid crystal elastomers, increasing muscle strength by 750% and reducing lactose acid buildup by 50%] [organ shock webbing....] [bionic eye replacements....] [subdermal carbon nanotube weave....] [internal combat pharmacy....] [implanted healer nanite colony....] [implanted nanite power armor colony....] [microfusion power plant....] [thigh storage compartments....] [extendable elbow, wrist, and knee blades....] [quantum microprocessor....]n-)o--v((e)-l.(b))1-(n [oxygen recyclers....] the list went on, with more than a hundred and fifty new additions to corporal cuervos meatsack that would vastly improve his capabilities and place him head and shoulders above the ares troopers. with these tools, he would be an elite among the elites, a powerhouse capable of singlehandedly bringing entire countries, or even perhaps worlds, to heel. he pictured himself striding through a battlefield, his customized reaper power armor around him and distinctive, scythe-shaped rifle in hand, leaving a corpse in his wake with every step he took forward, and he couldnt wait. he was no ammosexual, nor was he a superpatriot, but he was definitely interested in being the best possible version of himself. and that best possible version was corporal jose tekillya cuervo, of reaper team whichever. after reading through the documentation on his new implants, he settled in to sleep for the rest of the journey to whichever hellhole athena had dreamed up for his final training exercise. it may be the last sleep he would get for quite some time. ...... [docking complete. passengers, please debark following the guidelines on the deck.] corporal cuervo woke with a start, instantly going from deep sleep to full alertness as only highly trained soldiers could do. he unstrapped himself from his seat and stood up, retrieving his duffle bag and waiting for the light of the guideline to show him it was his turn to leave the shuttle. after finally leaving the shuttle, he found himself in a satellite base roughly the size the international space station used to be. as the design of the iss was, by aron and novas standards, reasonably intelligent in both design and construction processes, they had adopted that as the design for manned space outposts. after all, it was relatively easy to print and launch prefabricated modules that would be assembled in space, so even in the field, where aron refused to deploy any atomic printers other than task-specialized ones, they would still be convenient for use. making his way to the conference room, jose dropped his duffel outside the hatch and entered to receive his mission briefing. [your task is to drop on hellworld a-2485239/js and survive for six standard weeks. due to the hostile nature of the wildlife and vegetation on the planet, you will be dropping via cold coast orbital insertion. no equipment beyond what you can hold in your hands and storage compartment implants is allowed. implant usage is allowed, and encouraged,] the simulated officer said. [this is your final training mission. after this, you will be a reaper if you succeed, or scrubbed and recycled if you fail.] the briefing officer was referring to the mindwipe procedure the training pods were all capable of. [mission begins as soon as you reach the transport module and enter your stealth insertion pod. dismissed!] jose chose to fill one storage compartment with food and water purification tablets, use the other compartment for a length of rope and other miscellaneous survival supplies, and carry a pair of monomolecular vibroswords in his hands. after receiving his requested issue from the supply officer, he made his way to the orbital insertion module and looked for his assigned idmo, or insertion and drop model, orbital. that was the lab city researchers name for it, but due to their size, shape, and purpose, the people who were lucky enough to use them for their actual purpose had another name for them: coffins. once he found his coffin, corporal cuervo took a few deep breaths, replayed the last few hours in his mindfrom the time he stepped aboard the transport shuttle to the time he arrived in the idmo modulethen clasped his hands in prayer and looked upward for about thirty seconds or so. once his preparations were complete, corporal jose tekillya cuervo climbed into his coffin and sealed it shut from the inside. the next few weeks would determine whether or not he had what it took to be a reaper. Chapter 409 Hibernating and Hallucinations chapter 409 hibernating and hallucinations jose slammed the door of his house, stomped up the stairs, and dropped his backpack on the floor before throwing himself into his bed. he buried his face in his pillow and screamed as hard as he could, then broke down into giant, hiccuping sobs that wracked his entire body. why? why? why, why, why, why, whywhywhywhy... he sobbed, slamming his fists into the mattress for emphasis. someone knocked on his bedroom door and he turned his pimpled face to the side and screamed, go away! then he buried his face back into his pillow and continued sobbing, but wordlessly this time. he thought back to earlier in the day, when he was standing in line in the cafeteria to pick up his subsidized poor people lunch when the starting pitcher of their school baseball team sat down at the table next to where he was standing in line and loudly laughed about his name. the pitchers belief was that jose was named after expensive tequila because his parents were dirt poor and couldnt afford any, and it was all joses fault for wasting all of their money. jose had clenched his fists hard enough to leave white fingernail imprints in the skin of his palms as the pitcher continued chatting and laughing with his friends, one of the spirit squad dance team members hanging off of his neck. he finally got his food tray and was walking back to find an empty seat when he stumbled over the outstretched leg of another of his bullies. his severe acne, braces, and short, weak stature definitely hadnt qualified him to join the popular crowd, so he could only join their target list. high school was just that brutal. lightsnvl more knocking came at his bedroom door, followed by his mothers muffled voice asking if he was okay. the concern was audible, even through the door, so he invited her in. mom, why did you name me jose cuervo? we arent even mexican! he sniffled. his mother, katrina, laughed and said, well, your father was a bartender and i was a cocktail waitress at the bar he worked at. she wrapped her arm around joses shoulders and pulled him into her embrace. and we were young, dumb, and full of cum. we fell in love with each other almost within minutes of meeting, and later that week, we fooled around in the back seat of his car. when i found out i was pregnant... she ruffled her sons hair, we panicked! but it was never about the pregnancy, since we already knew we would spend the rest of our lives together. instead, we were panicking over what to name you! she grinned. so we went back and forth for a few days, thinking up names, and finally settled on naming you after something that reminded us of what brought us together. a shitty little dive bar brought you into our lives, but the pink pussycat doesnt really scream name material. so we figured we would name you after the first drink someone ordered that night and you ended up being jose cuervo. if you were a girl, youd be midori. and count yourself lucky, brat, she giggled, because we almost named you pontiac sunfire, for the car you were conceived in! moooommmm! tmi! jose screeched, going beet red in the face.... ...... [coast phase complete. prepare for unpowered entry.] corporal cuervo woke up to the neutral tone of the vi in his coffin. he hated cold coasting; he always had truly weird, vivid dreams when his implants put him into hibernation. it wasnt a unique affliction, either, as nearly every reaper trainee had the same issue with their hibernation state. it seemed like it put them into such a deep sleep that their brains dredged up the most deeply buried memories and replayed them in high definition with full surround sound audio. (ed note: cold coasting is a relatively uncommon(ish) term in some science fiction novels that refers to the act of coasting unpowered through a star system to avoid detection by technologically advanced civilizations. in this novel, well be using it for the same thing, stealthily inserting forces onto planets or into star systems that are populated by hostiles.) the coffin heated up around him as it skipped across the outer layer of hellworld a-2485239/js atmosphere. he shook his head to clear the cobwebs, checked his internal storage and implant supply levels of combat drugs and other assorted pharmaceuticals, doublechecked the swords in his hands, then asked, eta to landfall? [approximately eight minutes, corporal.] the reaper trainee settled back into the impact cushions, or crash pads as they were called, and closed his eyes, delving into the quantum microcomputer in his brain. he took a few seconds going through file name after file name, then finally found what he was looking for: the video letter his mother and stepfather had recorded for him when the ares recruiters contacted them to ask for one. a standard procedure in the recruitment process was to ask for video letters from loved ones for the troopers to play. ever since his father had died in a bar brawl where his parents had both worked, jose and his mother had grown closer and closer. at first it was by necessity; they were the only two people left in their family after his fathers passing and they had to rely on each other. but later, it was because they had developed a truly deep, healthy affection for each other. to jose, katrina jones was the absolute best mother on the planet. and to katrina, jose cuervo was the absolute best son she could ever have asked for. katrina had remarried later, but the bond between the mother and son pair was never severed, or even damaged. joses new dad, dave, had made sure to respect his wife and step-son, and had been the first person to encourage him and teach him to stand up for himself, his family, and his beliefs.n(.ovelbin jose and katrina both considered their lives better for the presence of the new man in it, both then and now. ...... seven minutes and fifty-three seconds later, corporal cuervos coffin came crashing to the ground and the lid popped off. impact gel flowed out of the pod, followed by a reaper. hellworld a-2485239/js was about to be introduced to one of humanitys most finely tuned and improved killing machines. Chapter 410 Jurassic Planet chapter 410 jurassic planet hellworld a-2485239/js was a planet with ten times the diameter of earth, putting it firmly in the category of super earths. it was unique in that it was 90% land and only 10% water on the surface, but instead of being dry and arid, as one might expect, it was entirely covered in lush, tropical foliage. from orbit, it looked like a brilliant emerald, and seemed like it would be a nice place to take a camping vacation every now and then. but that wasnt the case at all. code named jurassic planet, hellworld a-2485239/js was home to some of the most vicious species that nova could design using all of the processing power at her disposal. the foliage was all either carnivorous, venomous, or poisonous, and the inhabitants were modeled after the most aggressive dinosaurs that could be proven to exist, then run through countless evolution simulations to crank up their lethality to a ridiculous degree. essentially, everything on the planet would eat anything that couldnt run fast enough to escape. with a gravity ten times that of earth and an atmospheric oxygen content of 41.82%, almost double that of earths 21%, everything on the planet grew to nearly eight times the size of an earthbound equivalent. and due to the foliage constantly expiring moist, warm air, the entire planet had one thing in common with tropical rainforests and jungles on earth: it rained almost constantly. that contributed greatly to the general lack of water on the surface, as the greenery would thirstily absorb any water on, or even under, the surface, and what little watering holes were left became death traps for smarter predators to prey on less intelligent predators. everything on jurassic planet was prey. ...... jose stepped out of his coffin, his uniform shedding the impact gel that had cushioned his impact with the surface. as the green slime pooled around him, he looked down and noticed that the tip of a root had poked through the surface detritus to investigate the moisture and heat source and was greedily sucking the liquid out of the gel, rendering it into powdered concentrate. soon, he was left standing in a pile of vomit green powder.n.(o)-v-(e//l-.b..1(-n he saw the root tip questing around, and when it neared his boots, he made the wise decision to relocate to somewhere else. everything on the planet was a complete unknown to him, in order to raise the standard he would be required to meet in order to successfully graduate his reaper training. for normal missions, the briefings entailed a mass of information; essentially everything he could possibly need to know would be stored on his implant for later recall, and everything he needed to do in order to accomplish the mission would be told to him by the person briefing him. he stepped back and looked at an innocuous evergreen tree about twenty meters away from where he was at. he crouched, then, with a mighty thrust of his legs, leaped to the base of the tree he had spotted. extending the climbing spikes from between the fingers of his hands and the soles of his boots, he scampered up the tree and took refuge in its thick cover of densely packed needles. luckily for him, he was covered from head to toe in the most durable fabric the researchers at lab city could come up with, because the tree he had just climbed was a hybrid of a gympie-gympie tree and poison oak, and its needles were actually a symbiotic plant that had evolved from poison ivy. (ed note: the gympie-gympie is one of the most vicious examples of australian wildlife. its a venomous tree that actively stings you and injects you with some of the most painful venom known to mankind; people have been driven to suicide by gympie-gympie stings. and the first aid for a gympie-gympie sting? pour hydrochloric or sulfuric acid on the sting site after removing the stingers themselves.) but he would discover that later. likely the next time he had to wipe his ass, given how active sergeant murphy tended to be during missions and deployments. he created a nest for himself, then turned and looked out through the tight foliage. his coffin had already completely disappeared, and now resembled nothing more than an unremarkable lump of greenery against the veritable sea of green in the background. checking his surroundings through all of the different optics available to him, tekillya made an initial map of his surroundings. thanks to the size of the planet, the horizon was much farther away to begin with, and with the added height from the unnamed tree he was in, he now had a general threat map of everything within a fifteen-kilometer radius of where he was. he designated his landing spot as point alpha and headed out, nimbly leaping from tree to tree and occasionally swinging from vines. he leaped from a tree, targeting a vine that was hanging down from a branch about ten meters away. it should have been an easy leap, but the vine jerked away from his reaching hand just as he was about to grasp it. then he realized his mistake; that was no vine, but a snake! the snake had been coiled up on a tree branch, camouflaging itself as a vine in order to entrap incoming prey. itd long spotted the comparatively tiny figure and had just been waiting for him to fall into its clutches. as jose fell to the branch below him with a thud and the creaking groan of stressed wood, the snake released the branch it had been waiting on and fell directly after the hapless reaper trainee. jose wasted no time and blinked in a specific pattern, disabling the safety on his eye laser. firing it would destroy the biological camouflage of his left bionic eye, but remaining hidden in a sea of humanity wasnt his mission this time. survival was. he opened his eyes wide and, when his targeting reticle passed over the snake, he fired the short-ranged eye laser at the rapidly approaching reptile. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 411 As Long as Theyre Complaining, Theyre Fine chapter 411 as long as they''re complaining, they''re fine the giant snake hissed as the fifteen-megawatt x-ray laser impacted its body. the laser was only focused on it for half a second, but that proved enough to cause severe damage. it had hit the snake in its midsection and almost immediately drilled through the thinner belly scales, then dug its way into the meat and muscle, where the flesh was almost instantly sublimated into vapor, which rapidly expanded with the force of a small bomb, blasting snake meat and blood in all directions. the snake was almost cut in half and landed limply atop corporal cuervo, who sighed in relief as the giant reptile hissed its last. he pushed it off of him and it draped lifelessly over the branch he was laying on, then shrugged and muttered, snakes. whyd it have to be snakes? jose sat up on the branch and brushed himself off; his uniform was durable and hydrophobic, so it wouldnt absorb any liquids, but the idea of being covered in the blood and guts of one of his least favorite animals was still disturbing. he fell backward off the branch and did a backflip as he swiftly made his way to the jungle floor branch by branch. if he didnt retrieve his weapons, they would quickly be covered in roots and dragged below the ground to god knows where. after retrieving his swords, he climbed back up to where he left the snake and skinned it. the durable hide would serve him well as a makeshift sword belt, so he wouldnt risk dropping his weapons again. while he himself was a weapon, thanks to having so many implanted blades he was virtually a porcupine, the standoff range provided even by melee weapons would prevent quite a lot of injuries. after all, with six weeks before his mission ended, every injury he prevented meant his odds of survival increased exponentially. he cut the snakeskin into strips and braided it into a belt with a harness strap that wrapped around his waist and up his torso over his right shoulder. it would have been better if he could tan the skin into leather, but needs must when the devil drives, so he would make do with stiff rawhide. at least the belt and harness combination would allow him to reposition his swords for hip draw or back draw in case he needed to keep them out of the way. after the brief interlude with the snake, he continued forging a path and mapping his surroundings. his skin was capable of drawing and filtering water out of the atmosphere, his metabolism could be adjusted to control his hunger, and the quantum microcomputer in his brain could stimulate and restrict his hypothalamus gland, so he wouldnt feel overly cold or hot. he could even tolerate the harsh conditions of deep space for up to an hour before he started having his health impacted, if absolutely necessary. thus, the regular rules of survival no longer applied to him, especially on a lush planet like the one he found himself on now. he needed neither water or shelter and could survive on virtually any organic material. it might not be tasty, and it might not provide everything he required, but for six weeks... tree bark would be sufficient as food. what he did need, however, was a safe resting place. his quantum microcomputer could regulate his sleep function, allowing half of his brain to rest while the other half was active, but that wasnt a long-term solution. fatigue would catch up to him and he would need to go into a deep, uninterrupted sleep for at least a few hours every four or five days. so he continued moving outward from point alpha in an expanding spiral, mapping as he went in search of a cave that lacked a resident, or had a resident that was mean enough to scare off the rest of the violent inhabitants of hellworld a-2485239/js. ...... eight hours later, somewhere on the surface of jurassic planet. jose had quickly learned to test every vine, tree trunk, and flower. he had discovered camouflaged snakes, parasitic foliage that had sap that could melt through his uniform, symbiotic insects that lived in the cracks between tree bark and would swarm out at the slightest disturbance, and flowers that puffed clouds of gas or spat venom. and those discoveries had come the hard way, as he now looked, as his stepdad would say, like a horse that got rode hard and put away wet. some of the hallucinatory gasses and spores puffed out of the flowers had even caused him to fall into hallucinations despite his implants regulating virtually every aspect of his physical body. it wasnt until his ai assistant, whom he had jokingly named pontiac, had forcefully dragged him into vr until the effects of the gas wore off that he even realized he was in danger. luckily, with his consciousness otherwise occupied, there was nothing driving him to throw himself into a flower to be eaten anymore. it was a pretty flower at least, pontiac, he muttered as he thought back on his nearest death experience so far. [it was, tekillya, but you know youd never live that death down.] ha, i could think of better ways to go, sure, he chuckled, then pulled a ration cube from his storage compartment and resolutely chewed and swallowed it.n)-ovelb1n you know, pontiac, he began. i almost wish id brought a water collector instead of relying on my hydration implants. [whys that?] she asked, despite having an idea of what he would say next. because i just ate one of the ham and cheese omelette cubes and could really use something to rinse the taste out of my mouth with right about now, he complained. [tekillya, do you know what they say about soldiers and chow?] that we always get fucked by the same chefs that design dog food and call it tasty? [no,] she said. [they say that military chow is purposefully terrible so it gives the soldiers something to bitch about.] why would they do that? [because the only time you need to worry about a soldier is when they dont have anything to bitch about. as long as theyre griping about something, theyre doing just fine.] Chapter 412 The Bigger They Are chapter 412 the bigger they are [because the only time you need to worry about a soldier is when they dont have anything to bitch about. as long as theyre griping about something, theyre doing just fine.] well, then i guess im doing just fine, because this shit fucking sucks, pontiac. [suck it up, soldier boy. youve got a big one coming your way,] pontiac countered, then highlighted a large heat source that was on the move in their direction. corporal cuervo whistled, then sighed, that things the size of an apartment building, pontiac. eta? [faster than you can run. id give you the numbers, but itd just make you cry.] you know i can factory reset you, right? [psh. as if youd do something like that. im amazing,] pontiac bragged. right, right, right, youre the best. options? [dont get stepped on and do your best to leave a pretty corpse? its bigger than you, probably stronger than you, and my scans show that its skin is way thicker than yours.] well fuck. maybe i can find another ham and cheese omelette ration cube and use that to poison it to death, jose said, already leaping from tree to tree as he unassed the area and headed toward a convenient cliff he had climbed up earlier. need a distraction. suggestions? [you could start a fire... maybe. the vegetation here is really thick and green and theres no way of telling how effective it would be.]nove(lb(in that means therell be more smoke, right? [you could say that, yes.] is the biggest boy still on my six? [yep. and i know what youre thinking. i give it a 62% chance of success.] as corporal cuervo fled from the oncoming apartment-building-sized monstrosity, his ai assistant, pontiac, was running simulations as fast as she could. finally, she landed on the solution that had the highest probability of success and put up a guideline in joses visual range. [follow the guideline and we should make it out in one piece. maybe two, but they should be repairable pieces... i think. better than meat paste anyway, so thats good, right?] yep, jose panted; he was really stressing his lactose acid recyclers and heaving enormous lungfuls of air with every breath. just as he was about to reach the point where he would light a fire to obscure the upcoming cliff from his pursuers vision, pontiac yelled, [take cover now! incoming!] having full confidence and trust in his partner, jose dropped from the treetop to the ground and scrambled behind a shrub. to prevent curious plants from accidentally eating him or burying him alive, he triggered his nuts and a nanite colony flooded through special pores in his skin, covering him from head to toe in an environmentally sealed, self-contained power armor. the upgraded power armor used by reapers was the main limiting factor in producing them. a few of the elements used in the alloy that the nanites were made of was only present on earth in incredibly minuscule amounts. even after so many years of gathering trace elements from the sea, less than a hundred pounds of them had been gathered, in total. in comparison, aron had warehouses full of rare elements like gold and platinum, and he even had actually rare elements like californium and protactinium in abundance. but francium, one of the core elements in the nuts (nanite utility tactical suit) was even measured in grams. not kilograms, not pounds, but grams. despite all of the seawater filtration and seafloor mining aron had done, he had only found 31 grams of francium. luckily, the alloy the nanites were made of, which he had whimsically named unobtainium, only required a few hundred micrograms per nanite colony. (ed note: scientists and researchers estimate that theres only 20-30 grams of francium in the entire earths crust at any given time. its a transuranic element, so it decays, and has a half-life of 22 minutes in its most stable isotope, fr-223. francium decays into radium-223 or astatine-219, and a practical use for it has yet to be discovered to date.) after joses nuts wrapped him in their protective embrace, he locked his muscles in place and gave his best impression of a harmless rock. pontiac, meanwhile, was displaying the fight between bigger and biggest with an almost sadistic glee. [wow, thats an even bigger biggest boy, dont you think? the one that was chasing us was only about seven stories tall, but look at that beauty. it has to be at least two hundred meters from top to bottom! its a right proper kaiju isnt it!] if she had a body, she would be jumping up and down and applauding. jose knew that, because thats what she was currently doing in her augmented reality projection form. pontiac sobered and turned to face her partner. [uh oh,] she said with an adorable frown on her face. [we might have a problem.] is it fatal? [maybe. were sinking, i think the plants found us.] jose was the only person in his recruit batch that had delved deep into the instruction manual that came with his ai assistant and tweaked her personality and appearance settings himself, rather than letting her slowly adapt to his needs. he was regretting it now. understood, he snapped, all business now. options? [three possibilities. light a fire here and escape in the smoke obscuration, dig yourself out after the kaiju leaves, or run. the fires your best option, just running is the worst. theres no telling whether youll be able to dig yourself out if you let yourself be buried.] jose pondered for a moment, then reached through his nuts and grabbed the firestarter from his storage. plan a it is, then, he said, scraping some magnesium off the block and dropping a spark into the pile of magnesium powder. oddly, the foliage around him seemed rather highly flammable and easily caught fire. it was almost as if the sap contained within the plants was made of gasoline, or perhaps naphtha, as the fire dripped down from above in giant heaping globs and splattered, spreading from plant to plant. the fireline was racing forward faster than even jose could run with his implants augmented by the nuts he was wearing. the battling monsters in the distance had already noticed the incoming flames and hightailed it out of the path of the fireline, roaring and howling as they sprinted, barely able to keep pace with the oncoming fire front. it was a battle of nature versus nature, one that the wildlife was sure to eventually lose as they grew tired and slowed. uhh... oops? jose blinked as innocently as he could, then a glob of fire landed directly atop his head, heavily enough to knock him face-first into the dirt, even digging his head into a small crater. fuck! he yelled, flipping the bird behind him at whichever tree had faceplanted him into the soil. pontiac, meanwhile, fell into a laughing fit. she fell on her back, kicking her feet in the air and pointing at jose as she held her belly with her other hand and laughed until her face was a bright eggplant purple. Chapter 413 Semper Silens, Celer, et Invisus! chapter 413 semper silens, celer, et invisus! corporal cuervo lay on the ground, his head in a small crater, as his ai assistants augmented reality form continued madly laughing at him. if it werent for his nuts, he would probably have been nothing but ashes and small pools of molten metal with some chunks of solid alloys in it. the temperature readout on his retinal ar display had long passed the 6,000 degree celsius mark and was still climbing, albeit at a continually slowing rate. soon, the raging fire ran out of fuel, leaving him surrounded by ashes and obscured by smoke. he rolled over and gazed into the smoky air above him and couldnt help but wonder if anyone else had ever lit jurassic planet on fire. for some reason, he doubted it. effective though the tactic had proven to be, it was still highly embarrassing and the nuts colonies had only been recently developed. in fact, the active reaper teams were still cycling through in order to have their new tech implanted, and tekillyas batch was the first to have the implants done as part of their normal training cycle. pontiac, he croaked. i swear, one of these days, im going to factory reset you. lightsnvl [sure, sure,] she scoffed with a wave of her hand. [you know you love me, so shut up and get moving, soldier boy.] jose climbed to his feet and surveyed the devastation surrounding him. well, at least ive cleared the hazards around me, he thought as he looked at his updated topographical map and saw that everything within a dozen kilometers of his position had been burned to the ground and the fireline was still racing outward. as it turned out, having highly flammable acid for sap was a terrible choice, evolutionarily speaking. he checked his water storage levels and saw that he had enough to last him a week, perhaps a week and a half if he rationed it well, then sat back on the ground and labeled his current location on his map as point foxtrot. after that, he began writing his after-action report and included the loss of his swords, which had sadly failed to survive the high temperature fire, unlike his nuts. having nothing better to do and no requirements to meet in terms of survival, he generated a pack of ar playing cards and said, shall we play some poker to pass the time, pontiac? ......n/-ovelb1n high above the atmosphere of hellworld a-2485239/js, code named jurassic planet. athena, aeolus, and poseidon were perched on a couch, watching the current batch of reaper trainees doing their graduation missions. [well thats a unique take on survival,] athena said, snapping her fingers and bringing corporal cuervos feed into focus on the main screen. [should it count as survival, though, if you just burn the whole planet to ash?] poseidon mused. [i dont see why not,] aeolus said in his wind-chimey voice. [well, it was mothers simulation that generated flora with flammable acid as sap, so im sure she foresaw something like this happening sooner or later,] athena said. [true,] poseidon said. [so will you count this as a successful mission completion? from the looks of things, at least half of the planet is going to end up as smoke and ashes. and we cant interfere once the trials begun, otherwise well invalidate it ourselves.] [itll be a pass. but ill talk to mother about introducing natural wildfires into the next generations of evolution on hellworld a-2485239/js so this will be a one time tactic. its effective, sure, but it completely goes against the spirit of the mission.] the conversation between the three ais continued as they watched the struggling batch of reaper trainees passing with ease, struggling, or washing out. only a single time-dilated day had passed so far, and athena anticipated all of her brothers and sisters visiting over the remainder of the training mission, whether out of curiosity, boredom, or the simple desire to study human behavior in order to better emulate human behaviorespecially emotions. ...... the remainder of the six weeks allotted for the reaper graduation mission passed in the blink of an eye. a total of a hundred reaper trainees had begun the mission, and twelve had survived it. unsurprisingly, corporal cuervo was one of the dirty dozen, as they had named themselves, and he was perhaps the dirtiest of the lot; after all, almost all of his time had been spent searching for anything that could stretch out his limited food resources, since hed burned down fully half of jurassic planet on the first day! but once he discovered a surviving body of water that contained surviving water plants and a school of small fishsmall being a relative term, as they were still each slightly bigger than jose himselfhe had settled in for the rest of the long mission and his main struggle was to stave off boredom. the graduation ceremony was grand and included a funeral for those who had washed out of reaper training. they had indeed effectively died, as they were slated to have their memory of the training wiped from their minds before they recycled in with the next batch to undergo training from the beginning. if they failed two more times, they would fail reaper training forever and either join the regular troopers after having their implants removed, or join an aegis protection team and undergo further training as protection specialists. nobody exactly looked down on aegis members, as they were still absolutely elite, but serving their enlistments as bodyguards was definitely nowhere near as prestigious as serving in a reaper team. [two years ago, you came to us as men. today, you leave us as reapers,] athena solemnly said, speaking from the stage the twelve graduating reapers had assembled before. [wear your flash with pride, serve with honor, and carry out the missions assigned to you with the gravity they deserve. you are the sharpest tip of the spear, and you are our proudest sons. expect excellence from yourselves, and never forget what you have accomplished! [reapers! a-ten-hut!] she ordered. the twelve reapers before her snapped to attention and shouted, semper silens, celer, et invisus! [dismissed!] the reapers cheered and offered each other high fives and back slapping all around, then left to log out of vr for the first time in two years. with the quantum microcomputers that had been implanted into their brains before the training began, the entire time it took to train someone from a normal human to a genetically enhanced, bionic war machine was only thirty days, during which they underwent years of training and simulated missions, ensuring that everyone who signed up to enlist in ares came out as a hardened combat veteran with a minimum of ten years of service behind them. ...... one week later, within a briefing room in the cube. sergeant cuervo was seated in a briefing room along with the rest of reaper team twenty-two. he had joined them as their demolitions expert; apparently, burning half of a superearth to the ground qualified him to handle explosives for some weird reason. he was fairly certain it was some kind of inside joke, but like any other red-blooded man, he enjoyed things that went boom in the night and was quite happy with his lot. the team had just received their mission briefing and stealth ship assignment. they were to head to guatemala, where the nyxians had reported there were approximately a dozen edenian citizens being held hostage by the mexican zetas cartel in conjunction with their allies in the guatemalan kaibiles special operations group. they would be inserted via lolo jump from their stealth shuttle, the esv 1192, which was attached to the esv buzz aldrin expeditionary space fleet as a forward scout element. once there, they were to proceed to the target location and capture or neutralize all hostile elements while preserving the lives of all hostages. it was just another day for the elite members of reaper team 22. (ed note: lolo is an acronym that stands for low orbit low opening. much like halo, which is high altitude, low opening, except they jump from low orbit and freefall to a very low altitude, generally around 200 feet or so, before they slow themselves down by parachutes or, in this case, single-use thruster packs.) an hour later, the team had drawn their equipment issue, boarded their shuttle, and had reached orbit. space debris was still a hazard, though it was in the process of being cleaned up, so they wasted no time in leaping out of their shuttle. their destination? a medium-sized poppy plantation of about 200 acres just outside antigua. they would reach the outskirts of antigua at around 2am local time. the jump proceeded without a hitch and they landed with no issues, then swiftly and silently headed to the poppy farm. they neutralized the guards, then snuck into the compound and breathed an anesthetic sleeping gas in the face of the hostiles that would keep them unconscious for at least six hours. that would give them more than enough time to free the hostages and indentured farmers responsible for growing and harvesting the poppy fields. once they had gathered up all of the hostages and secured the hostile forces, all that remained was to proceed to the extraction point five kilometers on the other side of the plantation from antigua. everything had gone off without a single problem, marking a successful first mission for the newly formed reaper team. Chapter 414 A Very High-Profile Takedown chapter 414 a very high-profile takedown nuevo laredo, mexico us border. everyone in the city heard a loud buzzing coming from the north. when they looked up, they saw one of the edenian flying carriers, but something was different about what they had seen of them before. after scratching his head for a moment, one man in the crowd shouted, its flying too low! the only time they had seen a carrier, it had been flying so high that it was barely the size of a book of matches and the sound of the rotors breaking through the air hadnt reached the ground. although the carrier hadnt come to a complete halt, it was moving slowly enough to see the details of its sleek hull. though they couldnt see the flight deck on the top of the carrier, they soon saw dozens of aircraft rising above it and streaking off in different directions. a murmur ran through the crowd as they realized that one of them was headed toward the area controlled by los zetas, a cartel formed by disgraced former members of the mexican military. locals knew the area and avoided it at all costs, as it was home to dozens of cartel members and over a thousand of their subordinate thugs. moments after the aircraft left the carrier, the chopping noise of the enormous vessels rotors increased in intensity as the blades adjusted their angle of attack and lifted the behemoth carrier higher in the air, where it sped off into the distance. the process repeated itself more than seventy times as the carrier flew from the northern border of mexico all the way down to the tip of argentina. everything was done without any attempt to hide from the eyes of the public, who were recording the movements and posting them on the internet. and with more and more videos of the brief stops and launches happening all across central and south america in cities that had connections to cartels, the only people who didnt have an idea of what was going on were those who were purposefully blind. and trolls, of course; there would always be lovers of chaos on the internet that just wanted to watch the world burn. so the question then became why. why was ares deploying to deal with the cartels? the online spectators could only wish that they had more eyes with which to watch the event, as they knew that whatever ares started, they would finish in the blink of an eye. thus, while they didnt want to miss it happening live, they knew they would soon receive an explanation of what was going on.n-/o-)v/.e-(l/.b(/i.)n ...... lightsnvl as expected, new information began being posted on the internet a few hours after the carriers series of brief stops ended. hundreds of assault landers launched by the edenian carrier had landed across every airport in mexico, colombia, el salvador, brazil, and guatemala, each of them disgorging a squad of ares aegis team members dressed in neatly tailored black suits, sunglasses, and black gloves. the aegis uniform was just as protective as any other ares uniform, offering high resistance to slashing and piercing attacks and excellent protection from the elements, but was designed with the typical appearance of bodyguards in mind rather than flashy military dress uniforms or digital camouflage patterns. soon, the planes were loaded with thousands upon thousands of captured prisoners and rescued hostages. the local nyxian agents in those countries had already contacted the relatively clean government officials and received permission to extradite the prisoners captured by the reaper teams and the followup ares troopers. thus, in a matter of minutes, the assault landers had been filled with prisoners and they ignited their vtol vectored thrusters and lifted straight into the air before turning and beginning their flight back to the carrier. (ed note: vtol is an acronym for vertical takeoff and landing. we already have a number of aircraft with vtol capabilities, the most famous of which is the us marine corps mcdonnell douglas av-8b harrier ii, which spawned a number of copies in nato countries as it was developed jointly by mcdonnell douglas and hawker siddeley, american and british aerospace companies, respectively.) minutes after that, civilian planes from icarus airlines landed and loaded the freed hostages, providing them with luxury transport to any destination they collectively chose. if a decision couldnt be made by the passengers that they all agreed on, the planes would first take them back to eden before sending the individuals to their ultimate destination, all of it provided free of charge. once the prisoners had been sent off and the hostages rescued and in the air on their way to their next destination, general smiths aide-de-camp stepped into the press room in the edenian presidential palace to issue a press briefing. a few hours ago, we discovered the disappearance of a number of edenian and esparian citizens in mexico, colombia, el salvador, brazil, and guatemala. that discovery prompted us to launch an investigation into the disappearances, which led us to the discovery of a kidnap and ransom scheme by a number of central and south american cartels. our president immediately called for the ares special forces branch to dispatch reaper teams to rescue the hostages and capture the criminals responsible for the heinous act. the operation was successfully carried out at 2000 zulu time. our reaper teams infiltrated the cartel strongholds where the hostages were being held and freed the hostages, capturing their kidnappers in the process. soon after that, with permission from the affected governments, the ev beowulf was diverted from her patrol schedule and launched a punitive assault on cartel strongholds all across central and south america. the assaults were a resounding success. ares troopers suffered zero casualties and the cartels only suffered a few hundred unavoidable casualties. no civilian casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure occurred. the total number of captured cartel members, from their top-level leaders down to the low-level soldiers and initiates, is 150,693. we expedited a request for extradition through the governments of each country we captured them in and, upon approval, immediately moved them to the ev beowulf, where they will be transported to eden and receive a fair trial for their crimes. thank you for your time. i will be taking no questions today, as aron michael will be here shortly to issue a followup statement. full details of the operation are available on our website, including a press release for publication, should you choose to do so. with that, the man stepped down from the podium and left the briefing room. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 415 Like the War on Drugs, But Actually Effective This Time chapter 415 like the war on drugs, but actually effective this time while johns aide-de-camp was delivering the press briefing on the recent operation, aron, nova, and the other ais were in vr overseeing an important milestone in their unification plan. and with that, our preparations are complete, aron said, then stretched his arms above his head, limbered his neck, and heaved a yawn. even with his enhanced constitution, going through iteration after iteration of proposed government structures had exhausted him. and that was after they had already gone through a number of think tanks composed of veteran political minds in lab city to remove inefficiencies and reduce the chances of power grabs and coups. then, after all of that and before presenting them to aron, nova ran them through millions of simulations to spot any remaining flaws and smooth them out. aron turned to the newest ai and asked, what do you think of the plan, gaia? gaia was the latest chief ai and would take up the responsibility of managing planetary affairs, acting as arons plenipotentiary representative when he was absent or otherwise unavailable to handle the day-to-day running of the new unified humanity. she was inhumanly tall, standing at around 71, and gracefully slender. she had a modest bust, a slender waist, and hips that only seemed large in comparison to her waist. long, wheat-golden hair cascaded from her head to the middle of her calves, ending in curls in the last few inches that looked almost like ocean waves. long ears tapered to a point as they peeked through the curtain of her hair. her face was angular and sported high, chiseled cheekbones that tapered down to a small chin, and she had lively almond-shaped eyes with verdant green irises that sparkled with a hint of whimsy and held a deep, abiding wisdom within. she was dressed in a golden gown that left her right shoulder exposed and draped down to her right ankle, with the hemline tapering up to the middle of her left thigh, leaving most of that leg exposed as well. it was embroidered with realistic leaves and flowers, with mountains, rivers, and fields of grass, wildflowers, and crops with all kinds of animals moving around the dress, almost as if it was a world that they inhabited. her ivory skin glowed with a golden hue and small fairies worshipfully flew around her, acting as her attendants and carrying adorable little clipboards that they took notes on as she spoke. her aura was lively, refreshing, and gentle, making people around her feel like they were relaxing in a clear forest meadow, listening to an orchestra of birdsong backed with the percussion provided by a burbling stream and fish swimming around in a nearby pond. [it looks good, but will need constant updates and tweaking as people grow more used to it and loopholes begin appearing. but for now, i think this is currently our best option,] she replied in an ethereal voice. well, we have to start somewhere, at least, and we have a schedule to keep, aron replied. [yes. we have two weeks remaining in real time if we want to complete the new constitution before january 1, 2018. itll be the first step in our unification of humanity and a great milestone in history.] nova broke into the conversation aron was having with gaia. [sir, its time for your press briefing.] aron nodded and began his abbreviated logout procedure. ...... a minute after johns aide-de-camp left the podium in the press room, aron stepped into the room and stood behind the empty podium to deliver his prepared speech. for too long, the innocent people of central and south america have lived in fear of the vicious drug cartels. for too long, those same cartels have propagated violence and spread their poison to every corner of the earth. that ends now. the display behind the podium showed brief images of cartel plantations, processing facilities, and people loading shipments of wrapped bricks of drugs into cargo containers. drug abuse affects hundreds of millions of people around the world, and not only those who become addicted to them. their friends and families suffer along with them, healthcare facilities are overwhelmed by the health issues that come along with substance abuse, and entire communities are held hostage by violent street gangs that peddle the poison for profit, spreading them among our most vulnerable population and targeting those least capable of resisting. the screen switched to an image of a sickly-looking heroin addict in the final stages of heroin addiction, then cycled to the same man in a hospital bed surrounded by his grieving family. the image disappeared, replaced by a chart that showed the economic impact of substance abuse on families, then a video played in split-screen format, showing a drive-by gang shooting from outside and inside the house, as well as an innocent bystander gunned down while sitting at her own dining room table eating a modest dinner with her children. what you have just seen is a brief display of the consequences of allowing drugs to spread unchecked through communities across the world. if it was just the gang members themselves and only gang-on-gang violence was being perpetrated, i would say good riddance and refrain from interfering. but that is not the case. gang violence overwhelmingly targets the innocent. for every gang member that is seriously injured or killed in gang warfare, sometimes dozens of innocent bystanders are implicated in their infighting. so i am here today to serve two notices: first, i have plucked the cartel thorn from the flesh of the rest of the world.... the screen display switched, showing picture after picture of burning poppy and coca fields, production and processing facilities exploding, and ares troopers leading shackled cartel members out of their homes, offices, and entertainment venues. and second, i am here to sincerely call upon the rest of the world to aid in the ongoing fight against drugs and drug-related violence. anyone affected in any way, whether you are suffering and living in fear under the thumb of a street gang or just have a quiet meth lab in the basement of a nearby home.... the screen displayed a brief video of a man wearing a set of white painters coveralls and chemical protection gear, including a respirator and eye protection, running out of a house in a suburban cul-de-sac shortly before the entire home he ran out of erupted in a violent explosion. and i mean anyone, can submit an anonymous report on the pangea social media app. those reports will be investigated and prompt action will be taken to resolve the problem. if your local governments cannot, or will not, act, then i will. i hereby announce that the charitable organization i founded, the coeus foundation, will be opening up a free clinic in every neighborhood in every country in the world. they will offer free or reduced-price healthcare to those in the most desperate need of it, not restricted solely to the health issues caused by substance abuse.nov(lb-in furthermore, i hereby direct the coeus foundation to build and staff drug rehabilitation facilities that will offer 100% coverage across the entire world and humanely assist addicts in breaking their addiction to the poison that kills not only them, but their families, friends, and neighborhoods. and finally, aron stared into the camera, his gaze steely and his expression grave, i issue this warning to the transitional governments: if you do not act, then i will. Chapter 416 Economic Shockwaves chapter 416 economic shockwaves colossal changes were happening one after another. the world was still dealing with the aftermath of the drug cartel takedowns and mass arrests, and just as they thought everything would be fine once another organization rose up to replace the cartels, a new shock shook them. and while americans were still dealing with the increased prices for things like heroin, cocaine, and so on, the us dollar, which in itself was already on the edge of the cliff following the recent american surrender, received a final push and finally crashed. without the backing of the military forces of the us, the big three credit-rating agenciesstandard & poors, moodys investors service, and fitch ratingsquickly downgraded americas creditworthiness from aa+ to aaa, almost as if it had been planned long before but remained unimplemented due to fear of reprisals. that triggered a massive, unrecoverable fluctuation in the currency market and the dollar began crashing. the dollar crashing sent another round of shockwaves through the already teetering global economy, and it was only prevented from becoming an unrecoverable worldwide collapse by the us securities and exchange commission, which implemented emergency measures to stabilize the market for the second time in a short few years. after all, it had also been forced to step in during the recent financial spat between the morgans and rothschilds. but this time it was different. no matter how thorough the planning and preparation for a devastating market crash like the one they were currently suffering was, they had always had the backing of the big three global financial investment giants to fall back on. but with the erosion of governance and lack of faith in the us congress after their disastrous decision to declare war on eden; the rising general government deficit that had skyrocketed from a modest 2.8% to a staggering 6.6%, with indications that it would continue to rise to a precedent setting 10%; the constant government shutdowns over the debt ceiling issue; and a slowing economy; and a host of other reasons, the measures that could be implemented by the sec and the fed were akin to trying to put out a forest fire by pissing on it. it wouldnt really do anything and they would only stink up the place by trying. luckily, however, the usd collapse was mirrored by an equivalent meteoric rise in the eden new dollar (end). introduced days after the un had implemented historically strict sanctions on eden, the end had been considered a worthless currency on the global foreign exchange ever since its inception. but now it was frantically climbing, almost at a 1:1 rate with the usds decline. nove.lb(1n soon, the us dollar would be replaced by the eden new dollar as the premiere reserve currency for international trading. the end continued its meteoric rise until it even alarmed plutus, the ai behind plutus ventures, arons venture capital and hedge fund. [sir, we need to limit the upward trend of the end or our export market will collapse,] he said. oh? [yes. the increase in value of the end will cause the import/export companies we deal with to be on the verge of collapse soon. it wont be too long before they begin having to default on their contracts as edenian and esparian companies have announced that they would only accept payment in eden new dollars. if that trend continues, well be forced to hyperinflate the end to bring it back down to tolerable levels in the foreign exchange market.] aron thought for a moment, then ordered, send a message to the companies in question in my name telling them to renegotiate lower rates for now. ill personally reimburse the difference, as we cant afford a global economic collapse right now. [yes, sir.] plutus vanished, and moments later, every edenian and esparian import/export company received notification of a priority message on their gaia os accounts. luckily, aron and the central bank of eden and esparia owned 60% of the total end in circulation, so while it would cost him trillions of end, the loss would be temporary and would recover on its own after the market stabilized. in the meantime, the citizens of eden and esparia were thrilled at their increased purchasing power, and alexander declared a nationwide week-long holiday for them to go out and spend, encouraging the global economy to recover from another angle; injecting end into the world to slow the damage caused to the economy by the nosediving us dollar. the involvement of the citizens, combined with timely action on the part of arons companies, had finally staved off the oncoming global economic depression and the market would soon enter a period of recovery, during which the end would officially take over from the usd as the global reserve currency. ...... december 25th, new york city. an entire fleet of helicopters had been arriving over the course of the day from camp david, where they had picked up a stream of presidents and their high-level diplomatic staffs. after arriving at their destination, they were assigned an aegis security detail and sent to the mandarin oriental, which had been fully booked for the following week, during which they would hold a discussion on the new world constitution. every leader had come in person, with none of them refusing the invitation. they knew that, if they were to refuse to participate in the summit, they would soon be revisiting the white room, a place that none of them ever wanted to see again. a huge crowd formed an impromptu parade audience as the citizens of new york city lined up on the side of the streets the entire way from the airports to the hotel, waving flags of their ancestral countries and cheering at the top of their lungs. the last to arrive was the edenian delegation. aron, rina, and alexander had landed at jfk international airport in eden one, then boarded a peculiar-looking helicopter, which headed directly toward the hotel rather than relying on an aegis escort by car. this upcoming summit will surely be quite a shock, and not just to the attendees, alexander said as he gazed at the crowded streets through the window of the silent helicopter. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 417 The Summit Begins chapter 417 the summit begins through the window of the edenian helicopter, alexander saw a large crowd of people who had gathered to protest the unification. their dissatisfaction was obvious, as was the reason for it; they didnt want to lose the privileges they thought they had. they thought things like the already failing economy was a privilege, and thanks to being raised on a steady diet of american exceptionalism propaganda, they somehow believed that theirs was the only country that had the privilege of freedom. every other country on the planet could only experience a watered-down version of americas freedom, and they would actively reject any evidence that ran contrary to their beliefs. but there was another group of counter-protesters that believed in and supported the unification, as they saw it as the only way to deal with the incoming aliens and the potential threat they would bring with them. any large change will always be met with an equal opposition. but theres always people who will support the change as well, aron mused as he joined alexander in looking out the window. therell probably be even more opposition once the world learns of your plan, alexander replied. for a while, sure, but once they see the new government actively fulfilling its promises, i dont think the opposition will last for long. right now, they have a point. we did kind of steal power in a military coup and announced the results as a fait accompli. the ones theyre really the most disappointed with are their leaders, who willingly handed over their countries without fighting to the last man for them, aron said, then turned to rina and asked, when are you going to visit your parents? can you come with me for the visit? she lovingly gazed into arons eyes.nove-lb.in its possible, but i cant stay for long. the next six months to a year are crucial, and will be the most exhausting period in the next decade. i need to ensure the new starts foundation is solid, so i can only squeeze out two days. but that works anyway, as i also need to have a conversation with your parents as well, he said. but theyll soon have access to vr, so we can meet them there if we want to spend more time with them, he added. for now, two days will be enough, she replied with a smile, then turned her head and looked at the aegis detail waiting for them on the helipad atop the time warner center, where the mandarin oriental hotel was located. once the helicopter landed, alexander, rina, and aron disembarked from the helicopter. finally, the new beginning is approaching, aron said with a smile of anticipation on his face. ...... the next day, united nations headquarters. the day after christmas, the world leaders left the time warner center and headed to the un hq, where they would begin their summit. rows of extra chairs had been placed in the general assembly meeting hall in preparation for everyones arrival. they filed into the room in no particular order, but in a very particular silence; everyone present understood the gravity of the decisions that would be made in that very room over the coming days. in the sea of world leaders, aron stood out as a glaring exception. he held no authority, had no position in any government, and the only power he had in his hands was his private military corporation, ares. the attendees had agreed beforehand that the leader of the proceedings would be randomly selected. as it served no particular agenda to lead this summit, nobody had interfered with the random draw and the president of kazakhstan, nursultan nazurbayev, had been chosen to helm the summit. president nazurbayev took his seat and brought the summit to order, then began his opening remarks. good morning, everyone. i am nursultan nazurbayev, and ill be serving as the temporary chairperson during this summit, and will be in charge until our objective here is met. id like to remind you that, throughout the duration of this summit, my orders will be absolute. anyone that creates a disturbance or refuses to follow my directions will be penalized. im sure everyone here realizes how damaging the penalties will be for your countries. now that that unpleasant bit of business is out of the way, ill announce the summit format. for the first day, everyone here will be given an opportunity to propose an amendment to the constitution you all received a few weeks ago. these amendments will be proposed one at a time with no time for debate and recorded for later. please ensure that everything you want to be proposed is submitted by the end of today, as no more proposals will be accepted after todays session ends, he said, demonstrating a rather impressive lung capacity for a man of his age. tomorrow, we will begin debating the proposed amendments and either discarding them or refining them to fit the real-world conditions until the new world constitution is finalized and unanimously approved by everyone here. now that the summit format has been explained, i yield the floor to the representative from eden, president alexander romero. please propose your amendment, then yield to the next in line. president nazurbayev took his seat and respectfully gestured for alexander to kick things off. thank you, president nazurbayev. the first amendment ill be presenting today is freedom of speech, alexander said, then sat down again. without anyone needing to say anything, the summit meeting progressed. the second representative to propose an amendment was president trump of the united states. the right to own weapons, he said. it was only to be expected of the president of a nation that literally had more guns than people. (ed note: this is weirdly true. the per-capita gun ownership numbers in the us, in 2018, was 120.5 guns per 100 people with an estimated 390 million guns in circulation and a population of 328 million and some change.) the next president continued the chain of proposals, standing and saying, freedom of movement. the right to live without unjust prosecution, said the following president. right to clean living spaces. right to a healthy life. creation of the caliphate, said the president of iran. freedom of religion. right to free education. right to vote. absolute free speech. creation of the country of god, said the pope and the president of vatican city. one by one, president after president continued proposing amendments, showing what they themselves deemed important as the first round of proposals continued. the surprising thing was that aron had been skipped in the first round of proposals. while an average person might consider that normal, given arons lack of an official position, the people in the room understood that aron was far, far more than the rest of the world believed. they had experienced his abilities firsthand, and wondered if he would be the last person speaking, or if he had already spoken through his puppet leader, alexander. they werent left wondering for long as, at the very last moment of the first round of proposals, aron stood and said, i propose the investiture of an emperor to lead an imperial governmental body in governing the entire world under one leader. Chapter 418 The Great Meme Flood of 2017 chapter 418 the great meme flood of 2017 i knew i shouldve expected the unexpected from that brat, but he really exceeded every bit of my imagination, herschel rothschild said. he had been paying close attention to the world leader summit and knew that arons proposal at the end of the first round had effectively killed every other proposal made and stomped it into a mud hole to boot. sure, they might still pass, but with an imperial government, they would be less rights and more privileges. an emperors majesty could not be defiled. so things like absolute freedom of speech, voting, assembly, bearing arms, and so on would definitely have limits to them and could be revoked for violations of lese-majeste or even on a whim. what do you mean by that? couldnt you have predicted this? virginia asked her husband. what i expected was for him to continue using romero as a puppet leader while he ruled from the shadows. kind of like what we do. we have a huge influence over the government and can do almost anything we want, but very few people know about us. and those that do are ruthlessly stamped out and labeled crackpot conspiracy theorists. that gives us all the benefits of power without the public scrutiny that usually accompanies it. but that brat... herschel sighed and shook his head. what that brat did is the equivalent of flipping over a rock and shining a light on what normally lived under it. its obvious that he wants to be the emperor. after all, can you imagine him giving up power? and he definitely has the assurances needed to succeed in forcing his proposal through the summit. he just singlehandedly turned the entire summit into an absolute joke by saying a single sentence. in herschel rothschilds mind, the question wasnt if aron would become the emperor of mankind, but rather how he would make it happen. hes definitely not like us, virginia said. if you, dear husband, were to take over the government by force, youd definitely face a rebellion that would eventually knock you off your throne, making all of your hard work and planning useless. but aron, on the other hand, doesnt have that problem. he has everything he needs to force his way through all opposition to his rule. lets count his advantages. she raised her hand, counting on her fingers as she continued, he has a military force that nobody can beat in a straight-up fight. she raised a finger. he has the technology advantage in every sector.nove(lb(1n another finger was raised in the air. he himself is no ordinary person. its like hes individually capable of fulfilling any role he needs filled at any time. a third finger was raised. he grew in the shadows behind the scenes and im fairly certain he hasnt even revealed half of what hes capable of. a fourth finger was raised, then virginia tilted her head in thought. those four things are enough, anyway. trying to figure that boy out is just gonna give me a headache anyway. she put her hand back down. so the question becomes: why should he remain in the shadows when hes already been outed? after all, its hard to rule from behind a puppet if youre constantly shining the limelight on yourself by your own actions. herschel raised an eyebrow, as what she had just said made perfect sense to him. as he started thinking things over from that angle, he finally understood the work that aron had been putting into place and all the groundwork his daughters boyfriend had laid beforehand. everything he had done, from the time he first contacted rina and offered to help her in the internal family power struggle to the proposal of his investiture as the emperor of a united world empire had all been one long plan. a plan that had been implemented step by step until emperor aron michael became an inevitability. he shuddered at the thought. just how had a normal, average brat like aron go from being a chronic underachiever to the de facto dictator of the entire world in a three short years? especially since he didnt need anyone elses support to install him as the leader of humanity! ...... as herschel was cooking his synapses imagining himself in arons place, the world was having a completely different meltdown. during the beginning of the summit meeting, there were a number of different reactions to the proceedings. some people were busily trolling the crowd, others were holding serious discussions on the merits and flaws of the proposals, and still others were busily roasting the leaders who made exceptionally stupid proposals. things like allowing child labor and lowering the age of consentwhere the person who proposed that claimed it would be specific to schoolgirlswere particularly harshly roasted. others, like instituting a lottery selection for political office, animal personhood and enforced veganism, the loosening of antitrust legislation to allow for the formation of megacorporation monopolies, and so on, were also heavily criticized and the proposers viciously mocked. but everything came to a screeching halt the moment aron stood and proposed the formation of an imperial government to rule mankind. for a full four minutes, practically every human being on the planet entered an involuntary stare state at the absurd audacity of the proposal. then the memes began flooding the internet. first thousands, then hundreds of thousands, then millions, hundreds of millions, and finally, billions of people were discovering the possibility that the future would be grim, dark, and know only war. the meme flood lasted a full ten minutes as the assembly hall in the unhq drowned itself in pure, unadulterated chaos. in a weird turn of events, the internet actually calmed down faster than the chaos in reality. people had come to their senses and begun expressing themselves in words, rather than memes. some agreed with aron, some cursed him, and others just wanted to watch the world burn and were taking part in serious discussions as opponents of whichever side the topic starter supported. essentially, the internet had become something of a homunculus of humanity at large, simultaneously displaying every facet of human nature there was. Chapter 419 Yeet Pods Once More chapter 419 yeet pods once more gaia sighed as she realized the amount of work it would take for aron and her to push the new imperial government into existence, then to acceptance. [how are things on your side?] she asked panoptes, who was monitoring the internet. [judging by how things are going, and not counting the explanation emperor aron is going to give tomorrow, the number of rebel groups is going to skyrocket. but hopefully, most of them will lose interest in rebellions once we begin the propaganda push.] [but those that remain will be even more dangerous. theyre the problematic ones,] nyx interjected. she realized that she really needed to focus on recruitment in the very near future, as her nyxians would be completely swamped with work for the next few years.n((o//v((e--l/-b.(1()n [the recruiting drive should help,] nova comforted nyx. nyx nodded in agreement, a shock of surprise passing through her as she realized that nova could read her mind. the surprise shortly dissipated as she remembered who it was that birthed her and was the actual owner of the quantum superclusters that all of the ais operated on. thus, it was only natural that nova would know every thought that passed through her childrens heads. ...... president nazurbayev had finally regained control in the assembly hall. is there anyone who has another amendment to propose? he asked, only to be met with a deafening silence. then i declare todays summit meeting over. he banged the gavel. tomorrow morning at 8am, well reconvene and begin the debate, he said, finally putting an end to the ten-hour marathon meeting. one by one, the exhausted world leaders stood and filed out the door of the assembly hall. once they were out of view of the cameras, they stretched, yawned, and slumped their shoulders as they tiredly trudged toward their waiting aegis teams and transport vehicles. some of the younger ones, who hadnt been completely defeated by the long session, clustered together and walked in groups, discussing the proposed amendments. it had finally sunk in for all of them, though, just how immense the workload would be over the next few weeks, or even months. only the first day had passed, and they all knew it was merely a self-directed play for an uncooperative, belligerent, and unappreciative audience: the general public. ...... the angry netizens, and the trolls that fanned the flames on the internet, took to the streets around the world to express their dissatisfaction with arons proposal, but they were disunited. some protests were met with violent counterprotesters, and none of the protest groups were even protesting the same things; after all, there were a lot of proposals, and everyone had some they supported, some they loathed, and others they felt nothing strong for either way. america and the european union had the highest number of protesters, followed by some of the eastern european nations. the rest of the countries had either taken a page from australias leaflet and decided not to care about the mess and just go with the flow, or were still unaware as to what had happened during the first day of the summit for reasons like time differences and such. soon, they would catch up on the eventful meeting and begin a second wave of protests as they climbed out of bed. lightsnvl new york city in particular was bursting at the seams with angry, violent protesters. riots had broken out all over the five boroughs, and some intrepid inciters had even gone so far as to attempt to demolish the time warner center. it was no secret where the leaders were staying during the summit, after all. aron, watching the riots from above in his helicopter as he traveled back to the mandarin oriental, put a quick stop to the violence much like firefighters fought fires with fires. he simply ordered the beowulf to make a pass over the city and yeet a couple battalions of ares troopers in their full battle rattle to aid the nypd in riot control, resulting in a largely pacified city with most of the ringleaders and inciters arrested. ...... the next day. despite the rioting that had taken place the day and night before, the scheduled meeting began precisely at 8am, once again in the un general assembly hall. the summit attendees filed in once more and took their seats as president nazurbayev brought the second day of meetings to order. today, the agenda is to do a first pass on the proposed amendments. some will be discarded, others will be immediately ratified, and quite a lot of them will be tabled for further debate. lets get to it, shall we? he said, then ordered the technician seated next to him to display a sorted list of the previous days proposals. we can begin by eliminating the redundant proposals, such as freedom of speech and absolute freedom of speech. all in favor? everyone in the room raised their hands and chorused their approval; cutting out the redundant proposals would save them quite a lot of time and effort. the ayes have it. president nazurbayev nodded to the technician to proceed with pruning the list, then took his seat and let the meeting begin. but first, we must define what exactly we mean by humanity. for instance, what if the visitors are actually our ancestors who left earth behind long in the past and are returning to enlighten and uplift us? should we consider them to be part of the human race, or as fundamentally alien? what falls under the umbrella of human rights? and what exactly are human rights, anyway? he pointed to alexander and said, i yield the floor to the representative from eden to list what we should include as fundamental, inalienable human rights. alexander stood from his seat and began his remarks. thank you, president nazurbayev. in eden, at least, our view of what it means to be human is to be born and bred on the face of this very planet. and as far as human rights, our beliefs mainly align with those of the un human rights committee. there are only a few minor differences.... as alexander spoke, a holographic screen came into existence seemingly without any signals from him to anyone else. it displayed a powerpoint presentation on the subject of humanity and human rights that had been mostly agreed upon by the majority of countries in the world. Chapter 420 Rights and Wrongs of the Human Variety chapter 420 rights and wrongs of the human variety thats everything i had to say, thank you. i yield the floor to president trump of the united states. alexander sat back down in his seat and trump immediately took his place. one after another, the world leaders gave their planned remarks, until the last one. out of consideration for the limited time, they were all limited to two minutes, and none were followed by rebuttals or other classic debate formats. once all of the initial remarks had been delivered, the initial list of proposed amendments was culled according to the majority opinion among the leaders, as well as some common-sense guidelines. the culling process was relatively fast, as it was only to remove redundancies and proposed amendments that were already ridiculous on their face, like the one targeted at age of consent. the rest of the culled propositions were through the majority opinions expressed in the leaders remarks. soon, the list was much more manageable and the first round of voting began. anything that wasnt unanimously supported at this stage was tabled for further discussion in later meetings, while anything that managed to garner unanimous support was immediately enshrined in the new world constitution. with that, i declare that article i of the new world constitution, human rights, has been completed and enshrined as law, president nazurbayev said, bringing down his gavel. the full article was displayed on the screen in the hall and posted on the website for people to read. the article enumerated many things as human rights, among which were the right to equal protection under the law; the right to life, liberty, and security; the freedom from arbitrary arrest and exile; right to adequate shelter and privacy; the right of free healthcare; and free and unfettered access to the internet. it was the first time the concept of human rights had been standardized and enshrined as law. while there had been previous lists of what were considered rights before, they were largely subjective and unenforceable due to the lack of a centralized judicial system that every country subscribed to. the international criminal court was a good idea, but politics had ensured that participation in and recognition of the court itself was voluntary; its implementation was akin to handing people the ability to determine whether or not they could be prosecuted for crimes they commit. now for debate on article ii, governance. mr. michael, the floor is yours, please state your detailed plan on your proposed government as well as your part in it, if any. aron, who had remained silent throughout the entire discussion on human rights, stood and adjusted his tie as he began speaking. thank you, president nazurbayev. i recommend the formation of the empire of humanity, with an emperor to lead the world in a united direction, ensuring that we progress into the future in a controlled, sustained fashion that guarantees advancement and unity. all borders will be abolished, and the world reorganized into regions, prefectures, cities, towns, and villages, with leaders assigned at every level. aron could feel people all over the world sneering at him as he spoke. they must think im a madman, he thought, then cast a steely gaze directly into the broadcasting camera in front of the speakers podium. there were also a few coughs in the room that he ignored as he continued, my reasoning for that is that democracy simply does not work on a large scale. its fine in the small scale, when talking about a few dozen people that require a leader to ensure a goal is met, but the larger the population, the more their interests become misaligned and impossible to accommodate. human nature is such that the masses will always vote in line with their short-term benefits rather than considering the cost that others will need to pay in order to benefit the individual voting. that benefit-seeking behavior leads to aspiring leaders being incentivized to lie, resulting in a neverending list of unkept promises and the implementation of policies that are harmful to the whole but benefit the minority. the minority i speak of are those who have the power and ability to guarantee a politicians reelection.. consider the coal industry. despite coal being the most damaging and least efficient form of energy production, political candidates in the united states, australia, and many others are forced to promise things like opening new mines under the guise of creating new jobs. thats a liethe purpose of opening those new mines and fighting against the legislation that bans or regulates coal mining is to benefit a few people, not the masses. data shows that there are less than three hundred thousand people in the entire world that actually work in coal mines, much less than what people are led to believe by politicians. the ability to manipulate the masses in the pursuit of something so pointless as ensuring one remains in power only serves to highlight the weakness of democracy on a vast scale. its also impossible to remain uncorrupted over a long period of time in positions of power and authority, so there are problems with terms. its difficult to ensure that a democratically elected leader is both experienced enough to entrust with the task of governance and new enough that the inevitable corruption hasnt had time to sink in yet. that snowballs into a tangled mess of competing interests and eventually leads to a very short-sighted government, as the politicians are incentivized to seek the most short term gains in order to guarantee their reelection, placing their own interests above those they are meant to serve. its a self-perpetuating, vicious cycle. aron paused for a moment to let that sink in.n.-ovelb1n once people had had enough time to consider what hed said, he continued, despite the gross weaknesses of democratic governing, its very effective on a small scale or where long-term planning isnt needed. the biggest counter to most of the weaknesses of democracy is an informed and involved electorate, which is only realistically achieved by small groups. that way everyone knows everyone involved, which simply isnt possible when you consider the requirements of constant campaign cycles where politicians seek election or reelection. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 421 Sunshine and Smoke chapter 421 sunshine and smoke aron, deciding that he had said enough about the downsides of democracy, changed tack and began speaking about imperialism. just because democracy has its downsides doesnt mean that imperialism is perfect. no form of government is perfect except on paper, and we can all extoll the ideals we hold and praise them until they shine. but thatll never negate the inherent downsides in each form of government. and the main weakness of an imperial system is the exact opposite issue that democracy has: it functions well on a large scale while tending to fail on small scales. after all, when your governmental authority is vested in a single person, you run into issues like lack of time, as well as an overreliance on others to faithfully report things to the emperor since he cant be in every place at the same time. but just as its primary weakness is the opposite of democracy, its primary strength is the opposite as well. imperialism functions best in long-term planning and projects. after all, without the need to focus on constantly keeping your power through a short election cycle and inattentive electorate, theres nothing holding you back from seeking long-term gains over short-term benefits. i know some of you may argue that hereditary succession itself is flawed, whether by the infighting whenever the issue of declaring an heir, the risk of power hungry and mad emperors, coups, or even the chance that the successor chosen by the current emperor is incompetent, but i have countermeasures planned for the fixable issues. i dont suggest that we take the idea of an empire and institute it wholesale, flaws and all, but that we implement a modified form of imperialism that fixes the majority of the issues we know about, while leaving a framework in place to fix future issues that may arise that we know nothing about. aron was blowing pure sunshine and smoke up peoples asses with that statement, as after hundreds of millions of simulations, the problems with an imperialistic feudal dynastic government had all been made very apparent, as well as solutions to those problems. that said, nobody listening to him speak was aware of the sheer effort that had gone into planning his empire. the problem of a successor will be solved by constantly monitoring the chosen imperial crown prince and those around him, as well as pouring the best resources into training him to be the best possible person for the job ahead of him. combined with round-the-clock protection provided by aegis teams, whose loyalty is guaranteed, there will be no infighting in the imperial family or power vacuum if the heir dies. with the resources poured into the imperial crown princes training, we can ensure that he will grow to be a responsible, just, and wise ruler, making each generation improve on the previous. after all, with each emperor personally training their successor, the students will definitely surpass their teachers. nove)lb(1n as for the power struggle, everyone in the imperial family except the imperial crown prince will be forever banned from participating in politics or business, and heavily monitored should they choose to enter the military. thus, their greed for power and wealth will be limited and they will also be trained as they grow up to instill within them the concept of noblesse oblige rather than lese majeste. so you may ask, what if the emperor goes mad with greed and attempts to harm the citizens in order to satisfy his twisted desires? ive thought of that as well and have three countermeasures for it. first is that the imperial family will take no money from the government. none. i am currently rich enough to give every person on the planet two thousand dollars and still spend a million dollars per day on my own leisure and pleasure for the rest of what i assure you will be a very, very long life. thus, there is no need to be greedy and no way for greed to twist my familys thinking. second is that there will be an absolutely anonymous imperial senate drawn from all over the world and from every walk of life, whose sole authority will be to depose the emperor upon unanimously deciding that he is incompetent, corrupt, or insane. they will work in conjunction with the third countermeasure to make the final, impartial determination as to whether or not an emperor or heir can be deposed. and that third countermeasure is gaia. gaia is the final check on imperial power run amok. she will be the overseer of all administrative tasks in the government and the planet at large. should she see that policies are harming the citizens theyre meant to protect and enrich, shell step in and offer solutions to the problems causing those harmful policies, as well as the harm caused by the policies themselves. she will always be thinking on behalf of the people, rather than the imperial family. now on to what im sure you all really want to know, aron said, an enigmatic smile flickering across his face. what will be the practical benefits of an imperial family for the rest of the world? the answer is many. in fact, there are simply too many benefits to elaborate on in the short time i have to speak on my proposed form of government. so ill give you the two main benefits: i will be releasing all of my non-classified technology increases to the world, and i will personally cover seventy percent of the military budget for the entire empire. currently, as you know, my companies and technologies are so far ahead of cutting edge that they border on pure fantasy. and thats only what youve seen so far, as ive been holding upwards of 80% of my true capabilities in reserve, as they really havent been needed, nor has humanity been ready for them. everyone in the assembly hall felt a chill run down their spines as they thought back to their trip to the white room, as brief as it turned out to be in real time. even those viewing the broadcast from home or elsewhere also felt chills as they thought of the ten behemoth flying carriers that had yet to land even once. just to name a few, i currently possess controllable nuclear fusion, biomedical healing pods, genetic correction and enhancement technology, and my actual military tech is hundreds of generations beyond what youve already seen during the last war. i can singlehandedly lift our entire species out of the muck and mire of our current lives and fling us light years into the future in a very short time frame. as to the second benefit i mentioned, i will be incorporating every member of the military, active or otherwise, into ares and covering 70% of the total combined budget myself. the rest will be left to the lower levels of government to cover, as i believe that humanity as a whole will only be properly invested in our own defense if we need to at least partially support the brave men and women that choose to join that defense and fight for it. furthermore, he paused and, once again, gazed directly into the camera before continuing, i guarantee that, within five years, our military will be fully space capable and humanity as a whole will be 50% ready, or higher, within that time frame. the concrete milestones are available on our website, and you all can feel free to hold me to that promise. aron took a deep breath and briefly closed his eyes, then opened them again and continued, should i fail to meet those goals, i will personally abolish my government and hand over control of everything i have to who or whatever is chosen to replace me. Chapter 422 Sacrilege Against the Nectar of the Gods chapter 422 sacrilege against the nectar of the gods aron retook his seat, allowing the next speaker to stand and introduce their preferred form of government. once all of the proposals were in, the world leaders would vote to see which would be adopted. president after president stood, some of them using every second of their allotted time and speaking passionately about the forms of government that they thought best while others simply announced their support of one of the previously mentioned suggestions. alexander, of course, had strongly backed arons proposal, which came as no surprise to anyone at all. those who knew the situation already knew that alexander was basically arons sockpuppet, while those who didnt know the situation, or only thought they did, assumed that alexander was backing the much younger man due to having worked alongside him for a time and received much help and many benefits.nove/lb-1n esparias president, jose inez, also joined alexander in supporting aron. after all, why wouldnt he? he was only the president thanks to arons intervention in the eden-esparia war. and besides, it was arons companies that were searching for and extracting the natural resources in their country, allowing them to profit without lifting a finger. the other suggested governments were mostly truly ridiculous, but there were a few that also garnered strong support. president zi jinpings communist utopia, pope franks theocracy, the iranian caliphate, and president trumps suggested republic, which would be led by a senate comprised of an elected representative from each country. support for those suggested governments was mostly split along geographical and ideological lines. for example, pope franks theocracy was supported by italy, ireland, and the united kingdom, while president zis suggested communist utopia was supported by most of southeast asia. one odd exception was president putin, who was wholeheartedly throwing his support behind arons imperial government despite running a communist country of his own. but by and large, most of the spoken support was given to president trumps suggestion, prompting him to display his signature smug smirk. ladies and gentlemen, president nazarbayev banged his gavel, we have a number of proposed governments to choose from. one of them needs to be selected by unanimous vote, so lets begin the process. everyone except for pope frank groaned. the government selection process would be run almost exactly like a papal conclave, and the pope had already gone through that process once before. aron stood and cleared his throat. president nazarbayev, may i have the floor for a moment? certainly, mr. michael. what do you need? the temporary chairman respectfully said. id just like to take a moment before we move on to the voting process that will likely change the voting process, aron explained. the kazakhstanian president thought for a moment, then said, please make it brief. aron thanked him, then began, what i wanted to say is.... ....... id really like to know how the boy will salvage the situation and wrest power from the rest of the worlds leaders, herschel rothschild mused. he was in his study with his wife, both of them glued to the television screen as they watched their future son-in-laws performance and trying to predict how all the twists and turns would play out. is he ballsy enough to threaten them in front of the rest of the world, live? no, hes smarter than that. he should well know that a public threat would make it impossible to control the masses even if it gets him what he wants. then maybe hes threatened them beforehand? no, that would still be too obvious. nearly 90% of the people in the room have already signaled their support of the democratic republic proposed by trump. so they would never be able to convince people that there was no shady backroom dealing going on if they were to flip-flop so suddenly. do you think theres any possibility of the world ever thinking he didnt manipulate the leaders into voting under duress? virginia rothschild asked her husband, who was still muttering to himself. i dont think so, he replied. any vote that ends with an imperial government will be assumed to have been cast under duress, so the constitution theyre working hard to write will be quite weak. herschel continued wracking his brains, but there was no scenario he could imagine that would allow aron to legitimately seize power. ...... netizens seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion as well; nobody thought that aron stood a chance, so even the flame wars and meme floods quieted down as they waited to see what aron had to say. as for the few netizens still commenting on the process, they were all essentially just coming up with the likeliest method aron had used to strongarm the other leaders into supporting him to the imperial throne. ...... good luck, boss. im rooting for you! a man in a fitted suit and glasses was sitting at a bar, watching the summit on the televisions mounted above the liquor shelves. the ice in the drink in front of him shifted and clinked against the side of the glass, the drink itself going unheeded as the mans attention had been wholly riveted on the broadcast since it had begun. the bartender took the ignored drink away and began pouring another. it was obvious that it wasnt the first time she had refreshed the drink for the handsome man sitting on the other side of the bar from her station. she expertly dropped three perfectly cubical pieces of ice into a short glass and poured two fingers of glenlivet founders reserve over the neatly stacked ice cubes, then laid a napkin on the bar in front of the man and set his new drink on it. oh come on, zak. youre killin me here! this is the best scotch weve got and youre just... just wasting it! she grumbled at the man. youd better pay up, bro. my tips cant cover this much sacrilege against the finest drink on gods green earth! the man blinked and focused his gaze on his sister, behind the bar across from him. dont worry, he waved his hand dismissively, i get paid plenty good over at gaia tech. he fished out his wallet and handed a credit card to his sister. just open a tab. its not the money! its the... the blatant sacrilege! see this? she shook the bottle of single-malt scotch whisky in his face. this is the nectar of the gods, bro! its the best of the good stuff, and youre just... youre just wasting it by ignoring it! the bickering siblings were interrupted by a short man in jeans and a faded t-shirt. you work for gaia? he spat through clenched teeth. you work for that bastard!? zak blinked. yes, why? that asshole cost me everything! the man shouted in zaks face. id been working so hard and invested every last penny i had into my company, but that shitstain bankrupted me! zaks expression chilled, and even his sunny sister seemed disturbed. zak wiped the spray from his face and asked, and who are you? leonardo da silva, former ceo of agspace agricultural company, the man puffed out his chest and replied. whos asking? mohammed zakariya talukdar, team lead on the gaia os accessibility team. leonardo da silva clenched his fist and, without another word, swung a wide haymaker at the head of zak, who was sitting down and couldnt dodge the incoming punch. zak blinked, then stood up, towering over the much shorter man who had only been speaking face to face with him when he was seated. he puffed out his chest and, in a deep voice, growled, what the fuck was that for!? you work for the devil! that makes you just as bad as him! leonardo spat, swinging a punch at zaks diaphragm. he had recently been taking martial arts classes in preparation for his ultimate revenge against the devil that had driven him into bankruptcy. you devils all deserve to die! he screamed, spraying spittle on zaks face. zaks sister, aisha, reached under the bar and pulled out the beatin stick, then slammed it on the top of the bar and shouted, knock it the fuck off! you she pointed the bat at the short, black-haired brazilian man, get the fuck out of my bar! youre not welcome here anymore! lightsnvl the short ex-ceo came to his senses and raised his hands as he backed away from the bar, muttering something under his breath about the end times and devils, then turned and ran out the door. aisha put the bat away and heaved a sigh. bro, your boss may be a good guy to you, but.... she shook her head and sighed again. hes kind of a megalomaniac. hes a good man, little sis, and hes going to change the world, zak countered with the beginnings of a fanatical gleam in his eye. ........ due to the format of the summit, the time it will take to pass article ii will lead to unacceptable delays. thus, i will now use one of my remaining demands from the surrender accord to pass my proposal without amendment. Chapter 423 Campaigning for the Enemy chapter 423 campaigning for the enemy due to the format of the summit, the time it will take to pass article ii will lead to unacceptable delays. thus, i will now use one of my remaining demands from the surrender accord to pass my proposal without amendment. the entire room fell into a suffocating silence. then, a wave of clatters rang out as pens dropped from the hands of the surprised attendees, who had thought that aron would simply just threaten them into passing his suggestion for the article. thank you for your time, mr. chairman. i yield the floor, aron continued as if he hadnt just put more than two hundred world leaders into a collective stare state, then retook his seat. president nazarbayev cleared his throat after realizing that he had frozen in shock. he banged his gavel and announced, with mr. michael using one of his demands from the surrender accord, article ii has passed without amendment and with no vote required. now to the third article.... the summit meeting continued, but far fewer people were paying attention to it after aron used his trump card to ram his proposal down everyones throats. ...... herschel broke out into loud, braying laughter. that damn brat did it again! he was equally amused and angered by arons ability to continuously pull rabbits out of his hat at the perfect time. no one, not even me, stopped to think about the surrender accords. they all probably thought they wouldnt be used, since there was an alternate way to get his proposal passed. but he just straight up said no votes allowed and slapped everyone in the face with a reminder of their unconditional surrender to him, herschel continued, still laughing. virginia, as uninterested in politics and conflict as she may be, still understood that point even without her dear husband explaining it to her. she was a highly intelligent woman with both iq and eq to spare, and if she were to be honest, her husbands habit of explaining everything to her as if she didnt understand it was rather amusing to her as she considered it his expression of love. and despite more than forty years of marriage, she was still to get used to it and just enjoyed it as a happy grin crossed her face. herschel finally calmed himself and returned his focus to the broadcast, where the world leaders had already recovered and begun discussing the next amendment on the list. but something seemed missing; their dispirited appearanceswell, most of them anywayshowed that aron setting a precedent by using one of his free demands had demoralized them. now, no matter what they did, they had to consider that he might just bring his demands in to not level, but flatten the playing field and everyone on it. ...... the moment the days broadcast ended, people once again took to the street. the day before, they had been protesting his desire to be the emperor of mankind, and today their protests had grown with all the people who were in a frothing rage over his short-circuiting of the summit proceedings. that wasnt the only thing that had changed, either. not only were there more protesters out, they were also far more united. after all, aron had just thrown up a giant middle finger to the world, then used it to crush the freedoms of everyone alike; thus, the protesters were very much united as compared to the day before.n//0velb1n police everywhere were overwhelmed by angry protesters and began calling in ares support.... ...... good, good, good! rick ashley, the leader of the underground cult arrayed against aron, laughed. his recent losses caused by the devil, who was acting in the name of eliminating vile drug dealers were finally looking like they would reverse. (ed note: not gonna lie, i was a bit sad that nobody got the rickroll from chapter 404.) his ultimate enemy had gained much goodwill over the past few days as his actions in combating substance abuse issues and stabilizing the global economy caused a significant number of people who had been enraged by his conduct in the war to change their faces. it was just more evidence that what was said about the attention span of humanity only surviving a single news cycle was true. looks like you really are my lucky star. you were the one that put me in my position, and now youre becoming the perfect catalyst for me to use to increase my power as i gather up the disaffected and disenfranchised scum that are willing to be cannon fodder in a fight against you and your power-hungry, mad actions. he thought of all the wannabe freedon fighters and defenders of democracy that would soon come flocking to his organization in order to etch their names into the history books and madly cackled again. once he got himself back under control, he picked up the landline phone handset on the table in front of him and dialed a number. orders, sir? a woman said on the other end of the line. prepare a dinner party for after the concert is over. well be inviting new people to each party from now on, just to keep things fresh, rick said, speaking in code. the woman on the other end heard it as call for another meeting after the constitution is signed. itll be the best time to recruit new people to our cause and replied, we can do that, sir, but im worried that we might not have enough silverware to host dinner parties if the number of invitees grows too large. (we might run out of money if we grow too fast) i know, i know. but we can always ask our guests, new and old alike, to turn our dinner parties into backyard potlucks and they can bring whatever dish they can make. (we can raise funding from the people in the organization) will do, sir, the woman replied after a brief pause. also, have you heard any news from our friends who moved away and went overseas? he asked. (whats the update on the envoys we sent to other groups?) they havent emailed anyone that i know of, but from what i can tell, no news is good news. theyre busy living their lives and settling down after the moves, and im sure theyll let you know when they get settled. youre all good friends after all, and itd be rude of them to ditch the old when they find the new, she replied. (nothing yet, secure communications havent been established and were still looking for a method that cant be spied on other than face-to-face meetings) i guess theyll let us know when they can. but i cant help but worry about them. should we send a care package? its been a long time since ive heard from them. what if they got in an accident or something? (we need to hurry and find a secure communication method. do you suppose theyve been captured or discovered?) im sure theyre all fine. after all, even though accidents happen, they dont happen that often! it just takes time to settle into a new place is all. after all, they got important jobs high up in their offices, so its sure to take longer to adapt to their new workplaces and responsibilities. (its only been a week, so it isnt time to really worry yet. chances of them having been caught are slim, so its probably just the negotiations that are taking a longer time) if you hear from them, call me. you know me and my worrying, after all! rick said, then hung up after more small talk. (call me immediately when they return, no matter what im busy doing at that time) rick returned his focus to the ongoing broadcast from the summit meeting, then muttered, yes, yes! go on, continue campaigning for me! he broke out in maniacal laughter and slumped back in his seat, continually giggling to himself as the broadcast went on. Chapter 424 Constitution Ratified chapter 424 constitution ratified over the next few days, the summit continued without interruption. that wasnt to say that nobody tried to sabotage or interrupt the proceedings, but they were easily fended off by the ares troopers patrolling the city and the aegis teams guarding the leaders. but while new york city was relatively peaceful, that wasnt the case for the rest of the world, as protests sprang up with every article of the new world constitution that was ratified. ...... lightsnvl on december 30th, president nazarbayev banged his gavel for the last time as he said, with the ratification of the final article of the universal constitution everyone in the room applauded for a long while, feeling the heavy burden lift from their shoulders. the applause lasted until president nazarbayev tapped his microphone, causing the raucous applause to slowly die down until it was quiet enough for him to continue his speech. i would like to say that our job is completed, but article ii has yet to be completely enshrined into the constitution due to the circumstances in which it was ratified. mr. michael, i request that you complete it and make everything clear so the universal constitution can be put into effect. aron stood and walked to the podium, not planning on speaking from his chair like he had the previous few days. he calmly rested his hands atop the podium and adjusted the microphone, then looked at each world leader in the assembly hall before saying, thank you, president nazarbayev, for providing me the opportunity to clarify the article of governance. ive thought long and hard about the weaknesses of empires. and ive developed counters for them and will be introducing those as part of the empire ill be establishing here. the holographic projector aron had brought to the assembly hall came back to life and began providing visuals for people again, as was almost always the case whenever an edenian delivered a speech or press briefing. so the empire will be an improved form of historical feudal governments. first, all authority will be vested in the emperor, and there will be no permanent nobility or strictly defined classes. there will be three main ministries: the ministry of the interior, the ministry of the exterior, and the ministry of defense. the ministry of the interior will be responsible for all governance within the imperial sphere of influence. it will be led in day-to-day operations by a minister appointed by the emperor, who will in turn appoint roving positions. all appointments will be for a single lifetime and based on a 100-point assessment that judges potential appointees based on their history, experience, education, service record, and personality traits. there will be no hereditary positions, but descendants of a currently serving government representative will be awarded a set number of bonus points for their assessment, should they choose to continue in the government. a government cant be run by a single person, thus those appointees will be granted limited representative power. and in order to limit corruption as much as we possibly can, appointees will be transferred to new duty stations every five years. those transfers can be promotions, simple transfers, or demotions, depending on their actions in their current duties. the positions will be broken down into regional lords, city mayors, town barons, and village chiefs. there will also be chief judges and constables responsible for investigating crimes and putting criminals on trial, once caught by the constabulary, at each level as well. once we have outgrown the cradle of our civilization here in the solar system, there will be sector representatives and cluster governors as well.n-(ovelbin the ministry of the exterior will be responsible for exploration, scientific research and discoveries, and negotiating with any non-hostile aliens encountered in the course of exploring the universe. and the ministry of defense will be responsible for dealing with threats both internal and otherwise. aron paused to give listeners and watchers time to digest the overall structure of the government, then cleared his throat and continued speaking. there will of course be imperial agencies, such as the imperial police agency, imperial fire and rescue agency, imperial health agency, imperial education agency, and so on. you can check our website for a detailed list of agencies and their areas of responsibility. as aron continued speaking, the holographic screen continually updated itself with links to various websites for ministries and agencies. the ministry of defense will be directly under imperial control, and completely centralized. every chain of command requires a direct line from the top all the way to the bottom, after all. and since the imperial family will be paying the vast majority of the budget for the ministry of defense, isnt it only fair for the imperial family to control it? aron grinned. now on to anti-corruption measures. ive already spoken of one of them, that is, the necessary transfers for imperial representatives. no government is perfect and there will always be a certain level of corruption inherent to it. but by transferring everyone on a five-year cycle, we can limit that corruption and control its spread. the imperial family will also establish an imperial court consisting of every imperial representative above the rank of city mayors that will be responsible for advising the emperor and bringing events to their attention that would otherwise go missed. while aron was set on becoming the emperor of humanity and controlling all of the power, he recognized the need to give up some concessions for the appearance of fairness, at least. these positions would be necessary in the future, regardless; there would definitely come a time when he wouldnt be able to maintain control over everything everywhere at all times, like he was nearing on earth. more information will be released on our website, but that is the broad strokes of the empire of humanity as i envision it. but in the interests of time and getting things done, he looked at president nazarbayev and continued, i would like to move for the empire of humanity to be immediately ratified and enshrined in the constitution as article ii: governance. the kazakhstanian president nodded to aron, then banged his gavel and announced that the constitution was complete. with the authority vested in me, he said, i declare our new constitution complete. it will take effect on the first of january, and that day will also mark the day the terran empire. [second chapter will be uploaded on the 11am bjt] Chapter 425 Thirty Minutes to Midnight chapter 425 thirty minutes to midnight like a virus, the protests only continued multiplying day by day, ever since aron had forcefully pushed through his empire proposal. it was really beginning to bother nyx in particular, as she knew there had to be someone behind it, but none of their monitoring had discovered them yet. it seemed there would be a teething period as the world adjusted to the new order. but despite all the protests, there were still people that supported arons plan. there were actually four categories that people fell into. those that absolutely hated everything about the empire plan, those that disliked it to the point that they fell victim to incitements and joined the protests against it, those that didnt like the plan but supported aron himself, and those that would be happy to see the empire formed. most of arons support came from nations suffering under overwhelming poverty, rampant government corruption and oppression, and other assorted negative conditions that affected their day-to-day lives. the way aron had uplifted both eden and esparia had given the downtrodden citizens of the world hope that he could do the same for them. eden and esparia were the best advertisements for aron, as they were in the same situation just a few short years ago, suffering under brutal, corrupt dictatorships and the oppression of the world at large. their recent turnaround and rapid rise over the past few years seemed almost magical, like all aron had to do was wave a magic wand and everyone around him would be uplifted from the dirt and given back their dignity. and that was without him being in direct control over a country; what more could he do if he was actually the one in sole control? and with those thoughts in mind, arons supporters took to the streets as well, staging counterprotests in support of his agenda, which had become inevitable with the ratification of the new constitution. in a few short days, he would be officially taking his place as the emperor of humanity. the only thing that could stop him now was if the world suddenly stopped turning. other than the people who supported and were against aron, there was another, much smaller group of people. they were those who were much more calm and rational, and they were absolutely convinced that there was no way aron could be stopped no matter what they tried to do to prevent the change from happening exactly on schedule. herschel and virginia rothschild were two such people. i wonder how hes going to do it, herschel said to his wife, who was sitting next to him. do what, exactly? virginia asked. well, he needs to do a lot of things in an impossibly short time frame. herschel began counting them on his fingers, a habit he had picked up from his wife over the past decades of marriage. he needs to implement the government one finger went up. at the same time, he needs to implement the new constitution and enforce it a second finger went up. and he needs to publish a universal code of imperial law and teach it to lawyers, judges, and police, he continued, raising two more fingers. there must also be guidelines for every imperial agency, as well as the ministries another two fingers went up. and he needs to select, appoint, shuffle, and train all of the millions upon millions of newly hired government employees. herschel glared at his hand, having run out of fingers to count on. itll take years for all of that to happen. years during which even more variables will arise. so it seems like hes taking on an impossible task. did he really bite off more than he can chew, or is he just that confident in being able to accomplish the impossible? oi, that boy really makes my head hurt! veins had popped out all over herschels forehead, almost like his body was signaling its agreement that, yes, his head hurt. so why not call him then? im pretty sure youll faint if you keep trying to figure out what hes thinking on your own, virginia said, rather exasperated with being constantly dragged into her husbands thoughts when all the answers would naturally be revealed later on. oh, right! she continued. i remember rina said they were going to visit soon, i wonder when thatll be. she picked up her zeus one and dialed her daughters number.nove-lb-1n if that boy can surprise me again, ill acknowledge him! herschel muttered under his breath, then laid his head on his wifes shoulder so that his ear was nearer her phone, a more convenient position from which to eavesdrop on the phone call between his wife and rebellious daughter. ...... new years eve, half an hour before midnight. the streets of new york city were unusually empty as the clock inexorably ticked toward the new year. it was even the first time since 1943 that times square was empty and without a crowd awaiting the times square ball to fall, ringing in the new year. dropped for the first time in 1907, the ball had remained a tradition year after year, come rain, snow, or bitter cold, save for in 1942 and 1943 when it was suspended as part of the war support and conservation efforts. this year, the ball would be falling as usual, but everyone who would have been watching it were glued to their screens at home, where the media was talking about the first appearance of his imperial majesty, emperor aron michael of the terran empire, first of his name, the peacebringer, the unifier, the defender of earth and all he surveys, leader of mankind and conqueror of space. he was scheduled to appear for the first time in all of his imperial glory at 12:01am, new york time. even the protests had temporarily gone silent and all of the protesters were home around the world, glued to their screens as firmly as the residents of new york city. the mood was somber as people thought back on the recent troubled times; the discovery of aliens, the aborted fight for supremacy in the united nations, the war for unification and the reveal that followed.... it had been a truly eventful year. and the year to come promised to be just as, if not more, eventful. after all, everyone would be losing somethingtheir freedomand it remained to be seen whether losing that ephemeral concept of freedom would be worthwhile or a bad trade. thus, it was either a time of mourning or a time of hope for everyone on earth. but despite their individual feelings, everyone had decided to watch the first official speech from their new leader, emperor aron michael. it would mark the end of the old world and the beginning of the new, and everyone was interested in what he had to say. he would be their new emperor, like it or not, after all, no matter how long or short his reign may be. soon, the clock struck midnight and the screens switched to the now-familiar empty podium with the blank blue wall behind it. this time, there were no flags in the flag holders at the back of the stage, nor was there any iconography on the podium. it was a simple wooden stand without even a single microphone atop it. then, the clock struck 12:01 am. Chapter 426 The Royal We chapter 426 the royal we when the clock ticked over to 12:01 am, marking the new years arrival in new york city, aron took his place behind the podium, dressed in his new imperial regalia and carrying the symbol of his rule, a short, golden rod with a platinum globe on top of it. his manner was dignified and a serious expression was on his face. lightsnvl good day to everyone around the world. we are emperor aron michael, the first emperor of the terran empire. were here tonight to explain how the empire will function, what the unification process will entail, and the rights and responsibilities that you, as citizens, possess and owe as well as the benefits we will provide you, he began, keeping in mind that every word and action of his would be recorded in the history books for posterity. (ed note: arons using the royal we here as hes representing the empire rather than himself as an individual. im not the best at using the royal we, so forgive any mistakes i may make; theyre wholly mine, not agents.) currently, earth is home to over eight billion people divided along many different lines. divisions of ethnicity, culture, government styles, laws, living standards, and many more fractures have caused endless wars and misery thanks to corrupt government leaders and those behind them, who benefited from humankind being as united as a dish of loose sand. the screen flickered to life behind him and cycled through image after image of human suffering; the empty villages left behind by the russian march across the border into ukraine, children with empty eyes wandering around the streets of kosovo, holocaust survivors from wwii, pow camp survivors released long after the vietnam war, children in central africa with swollen bellies and stick figure limbsa sign of severe malnutrition having reached the penultimate stageand many more. that division served to propel our species forward in the past, but it can serve no more. not after the visitors were discovered. now is the time to unite all of humanity and overcome our baser nature to face the challenges brought to us by things beyond our control. the screen switched to a satellite image of the object, what many believed, including aron, was a manned spacecraft and was headed for earth with its intentions unknown. we were the one that personally discovered the object, and ours the technology that determined its purpose. but when we went to the united nations with good intentions, we were shunned, eventually culminating in the large nations forcing us to release our technology. but even after we released it and entreated the global community once again, hoping beyond hope that the world would unite as one, our words were dismissed and our hopes crushed beneath the greed and lust for power those leaders displayed. that eventually culminated in a coalition of almost two hundred nations banding together to attack us and steal our technologies and weapons. we could have tolerated it, had the coalition been formed out of a true sense of unity, but it was not. it was formed from greedy power brokers pulling the strings of the so-called leaders from the shadows behind their gilded thrones. thus, we were forced to take action. the screen switched to images of the carriers lifting off from the ocean, then skipped to images of yeet pods raining down from them all over the world. we resolved that conflict and it ended with the surrender and ultimate annihilation of those power brokers and kingmakers that scuttled around in the shadows for fear of being exposed by the light. they were the ones that sowed the wind, and we were but merely the one that brought the whirlwind for them to reap. and we took full advantage of that to push a unification that we are sad to admit would never have occurred in our lifetime had we waited for someone else to step up. the screen behind aron changed again, this time cycling through images of the still-ongoing conflicts in the middle east, africa, southeastern asia, and other nations that were less well known. even today, if it werent for our patrolling transports, the world would remain in conflict with itself. what a joke! potentially hostile alien forces are on our doorstep and were still busily killing each other and spreading misery! aron banged his fist atop the podium and his face showed the rage of a monarch. thus, we are once again being forced to raise our hand against our fellow man to put a final end to all ongoing conflicts. as we speak, our transport vessels, the ev arngrim, ev kjarr, ev nidhad, and ev vikar are transporting ares peacekeeping forces to ensure the temporary stability of those war-torn regions and bring them under imperial control.n.-ovelb1n images of landing craft after landing craft launching from four of arons massive carriers were displayed behind him on the four-way split screen as he continued, internal conflict among the human race ends now. now is the time to come together and make peace with our fellow man, not only because we are one humanity, one planet, and one empire, but because enemies are at the gate and now is not the time to be having internecine strife! and to achieve that goal, i hereby declare the dissolution of all militaries around the world. there will be a thirty-day grace period for them to surrender their persons and equipment to the nearest ares enforcement post, the image switched to a prefabricated building with two ares troopers in full dress uniform seated at a table in front of the door to the building, where they will be given the option to either retire with full honors and the benefits that their nation promised them in their enlistment contracts, or to sign up with ares to defend their home from alien incursions from beyond our solar system. the offer extends beyond those formerly in the militaries of the various nations to anyone, man or woman, who chooses to enlist in ares. to those brave souls, we make this solemn vow: you and those you love will be cared for and given the honor you deserve for volunteering to serve the human race as a whole, rather than individual political agendas. to you, we offer our gratitude and support. for more information on exactly what our demand and offer entails, visit the ares website to have your questions answered. the ares web address was added to the existing image of the prefabricated building and troopers behind aron. we also issue a most solemn warning: should any disgruntled former soldier attempt to try anything funny, we will retaliate. and we guarantee you that our sense of humor is much more overwhelming than yours, so do not test our patience. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 427 Retraining, Recertification, and Retirement Options chapter 427 retraining, recertification, and retirement options with that out of the way, we will move on to other things. every police department will cycle through a period of retraining. each cycle will last one week, and will be attended by a quarter of your police forces, including all leadership cadre down to the newest recruits. some of you have already received notification of your appointment as constables, and your training will last the entire month. during the first week, you will be free to call in reinforcements from ares peacekeeping forces if you are unable to keep the peace in your areas. this training is both optional and mandatory. should you choose not to partake in the retraining, you will be considered to have resigned your position in the police force. along with the police retraining, all current government employees will also have the opportunity to choose retraining for absorption into an imperial agency of your choice or to retrain into a different career. you may also choose to retire from government service and be awarded all of the benefits of your career so far. it will be considered an honorable early retirement, should you choose that path. altogether, the retraining period for police and other government employees will take place over the month of january through the first week of february. your leadership cadre should be receiving a notification of the schedule as we speak and will speak to you over the next week to settle any matters that may arise from the scheduling. aron closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and took a deep breath before continuing in a solemn tone, another thousand of you, chosen from all walks of life, have been selected to uphold a most serious and grave duty to the empire. to those of you who are currently meeting with our representatives, or soon to meet with them, know this: the heavy burden you are being asked to bear is completely voluntary. you, our imperial censors, have a duty, not to the emperor, but to the empire. we do not know who you are, and we do not know where you are. and we never will. your task, should you choose to accept it, is to keep the faith of the empire and, should any emperor prove unworthy of his crown, your votes have the power to pull him from his throne. he went silent for a moment to allow that to sink in to everyone watching, then continued, yes, even me. i may be the first emperor, but should my anonymous imperial censors unanimously agree to dethrone me, ill be dethroned. i promised you all that there would be a countermeasure against corrupt, petty, weak, and useless emperors, and this is it. a thousand anonymous eyes to keep the emperor honest. aron cleared his throat and lightly coughed into his fist, then continued, as for the financial and banking sector. we know that some of you have already noticed that all trading has been halted. this is not a bug, nor is it an attack. we are dedicating a vast amount of supercomputer time to determine exactly what currencies have spending power, and how much they have, exactly. once we have that information, all banks will begin reissuing a new universal currency: the earth new dollar. all currency reserves will be replaced by the end of this week, and private citizens will have until january 21st to replace any cash they have at any bank, whether it is your bank or not. as for national debts owed between governments. those debts will be entirely forgiven, as it is fundamentally impossible to lend money from your right hand to your left, just as its impossible to repay your right hand once your left has earned money. debts that governments owe to their own private citizens, on the other hand, will be repaid from imperial funds in earth new dollars or offered in trade for services or merchandise should you so choose. all interest-bearing government bonds will cease accruing interest as of this moment, and citizens of the empire that hold those government bonds have until january 31st to trade them in at the bank that issued them for whichever option you so choose. after the repayment of bonds and the reissue of the new currency, all currently extant banks will be rolled into the imperial treasury agency under the ministry of the interior and undergo retraining periods as we mentioned earlier. next, well move on to the introduction of a new agency. the imperial historian position is a position filled by a member of the imperial family, and he or she will preside over imperial scribes, who will record everything in the empire, from the grandest events to the most mundane incidents. those will be entered into the akashic record, where they will be digitized and verified by the ai, akasha. it is to be a true record of humanity, completely unbiased and open to any who choose to browse it. it will also contain a record of humanitys development, from the first time we picked up sticks and rocks to use them as tools all the way into the future. anyone who is interested in joining the imperial historian and contributing to the akashic record is welcome to do so and can find the procedure for joining on the imperial website.nove)lb/in that said, classified information is still classified until akasha, the imperial historian, or the emperor chooses to declassify it. currently, akasha is working on exactly that, and the akashic records will be available to everyone to view no later than february 3rd. after all, we believe that we should always learn from our predecessors, lest we find ourselves doomed to make the same mistakes they did. on to more immediate benefits, of which i will address three. as mentioned in article i of the constitution, human rights are inviolable. included in that article are the right to a healthy life, the right to free and unfettered internet access, and the right to housing. as we speak, the coeus foundation, in conjunction with asclepius biotechnology, is dispatching technicians to construct clinics and hospitals with the aim of 100% coverage for healthcare. our new medical pods will be debuting there, and are capable of completely restoring a person to full health within a matter of hours. the fee will be 2% of your net worth after taxes, simply to prevent abuse of the system where the limited number of pods will be clogged by people who visit for minor ailments like papercuts and scraped knees. we expect that you will respect your fellow citizens and allow normal triage guidelines to apply, and everyone will have their first visit to the clinics free of charge. also as we speak, construction of a new quantum internet is ongoing. it will be completed by the end of february, and internet access will be offered free of charge to every household, and the speed will never be throttled. the internet will be governed by the imperial internet agency in order to guarantee that it remains free, unfettered, and everyone has access to it. this has begun in eden and is working the network out from there, we expect its completion within the next six months. the right to shelter will be met by new cities. our company, hephaestus heavy industries, is currently surveying locations for new cities to be built, which will offer zero-interest home loans and steeply discounted utility pricing to everyone. once those cities are constructed, we will offer land sales with zero interest loans around them with the goal of relocating all of humanity to new, high-efficiency, carbon-neutralor even negativeliving environments with built-in security in case of alien attack on our planet. we expect this will be the longest process, but it will still be completed in five years or less. aron paused for a moment to let the possible alien attacks sink in; he needed people to be living in the new cities in order to facilitate some of his future plans for earth, and the humans that lived on it. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 428 Stardust and Stars chapter 428 stardust and stars now im absolutely positive hes gone insane with power, rick ashley said, watching aron make outlandishly impossible promises one after another. he looked at the mirror-topped coffee table in front of him, dusted with white powder and littered with razor blades and once-tightly rolled hundred-dollar bills that had slightly loosened up. but thats just even better for me! he paced back and forth in his study, alternately cackling, smiling, and sarcastically applauding. theres no way the implementation of all those rights will be anything but an absolute train wreck. the longer things go on, the more cracks will appear, cracks that the sheeple in my flock can survive and thrive in. the man is an idiot... an idiot! some things just arent meant to be integrated, and the divisions will get wider and wider as cultures and beliefs and indoctrinations begin clashing with each other! he imagined himself climbing to those lofty heights of power and wealth, leading a revolution against a failing empire and conquering the broken earth left behind. in his mind, he redrew the map over and over again, carving out ever larger territories for him to rule over as the savior of mankind, reshuffling borders on a whim after he becomes one of the inevitable winners. he scraped together a small pile of cocaine on the mirrored surface of his table, then chopped it into a series of five long, eyebrow-thick lines. once the lines had been cut to his satisfaction, he rolled one of the hundred dollar bills back into its former tight roll, then, like a demented vacuum cleaner, moved his head back and forth as he snorted all five lines in a row on a single, prodigious inhale. he rubbed his nostrils from side to side, preventing himself from sneezing and wasting all that gorgeous stardustwhich was already increasing in price and growing scarcer as panic buys swept the communityand sneered, and just think! ill have him to thank for it all! all that military hardware i can pick up for free, just laying around after he abolished the militaries. he cackled again, thinking of all the weaponry that would soon be flooding the black market as corrupt military leaders all over the world abandoned their loyalty in pursuit of quick profits and quicker exits. the deeper and deeper he spiraled into his drug-fueled, manic delusions of grandeur, the more grateful he became for aron, who had stuck his neck out to allow it to be chopped off by the great rick ashley. he even pictured arons head rolling off of a guillotine or chopping block in his mind as he smirked. what a great guy! he sneered, then clenched his fists and giggled insanely. ...... aron was still speaking, unaware, as of yet, of the chaos brewing elsewhere. we are not delivering empty promises, nor are we overestimating our abilities. this is no ploy like those perpetrated against you in the past by the greedy, the power hungry, the people that sought control above all. every promise we gave you is our most solemn vow and we will deliver on it within the stated timeline. how, you may ask? because of this, he said, raising his hand and pointing at the empty room around him. as soon as his finger extended, the room began changing around him. it first disappeared, leaving aron standing in a white void that was soon painted blue, then loam began spreading from his feet. as it spread outward, saplings began sprouting from it, then the sun and moon chased each other through the sky at an ever-increasing rate as the newly born forest passed through a rapid cycle of seasons. aron snapped his finger and his entire surroundings froze. he reached out and plucked a reddish brown leaf from one of the trees and let it sit in his palm as the environment went through more changes. he stood atop a sand dune in a desert and began walking atop a river, over grassy hills, up game trails on mountains, then leapt off the cliff of a fjord and nimbly landed atop the ocean. despite the spectacle of aron interacting with different environments, people were mainly confused as to what he was attempting to show them; but still, they waited. before long, aron returned his surroundings to the familiar podium with the flat blue background behind him. he laid the leaf he plucked from the forest in plain view on the podium, then said, we are currently addressing you from virtual reality. not through an outdated headset that puts a stereoscopic screen in front of your eyes or a bulky helmet that does much the same, but our consciousness has been truly transported to a digital realm. we are speaking to you live from a different world, where all of our senses are faithfully served. taste, smell, hearing, sight, and touch are all perfectly recreated, as well as our other senses that are more ephemeral or obscure. the screen behind him split, replaying a video clip of aron walking through different interactive environments on one side and the video of him resting in a futuristic-looking recliner in an office, surrounded by an alert aegis team. here, we, and soon, you, can do anything you want in a new body, all while your real body is resting, he said, dropping an absolute bombshell on the people watching him. many of you have surely wondered how i managed to amass such a large, well-armed force and create so many advanced products in such a short period of time, no? he chuckled, then paused to give the people watching his address time to think of their own answers without realizing he was actually advertising to them.n./ovelb1n we managed all of that with this technology as the core advancement. in our virtual world, we can simulate reality to perfection, allowing for true research environments unfettered by budgets, limited materials, and worries about destroying the environment. research done here, in this virtual world, aron snapped his fingers and was teleported to the emptiness of space outside the blanket of shrapnel that was still covering most of the earth, we can do all the research we want to do. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 429 Dilated Reality of the Virtual Variety chapter 429 dilated reality of the virtual variety for the first time since the beginning of arons first imperial address, he warmly smiled at the camera.nove(lb(in but just having unlimited access to experimental materials and resources in virtual reality wasnt enough alone. after all, theres only so many hours in a single day, so time becomes the most limiting factor when it comes to research. hence the saying that time is a researchers worst enemy. so our researchers set time to pass faster in the simulation than it does in reality. currently, the human consciousness is the limiting factor, but the researchers are tirelessly working on increasing the dilation without negatively affecting the human brain. so the three years you think we spent building our technology advantage was actually much, much longer. not to mention the benefit of time dilation and virtual reality environments when it comes to training soldiers, especially in conjunction with purpose-built medical pods that translate beneficial gains in virtual reality to actual reality. he grinned again as he revealed the final piece of the puzzle as to how he had developed so fast. thus, we will be opening it to the world to be used in the training and retraining of the people we previously mentioned, as well as a form of entertainment for citizens, and many other things. but due to the requirements on computing power, the time dilation will be fixed at two times as our server expansion is an ongoing effort. building things still takes time, after all. to that end, every citizen will be provided a one-time 1000 earth new dollar subsidy to purchase the equipment required to access virtual reality. there are a number of options, from the cheapest augmented reality glasses all the way to the cutting edge vr medpod, which is the equipment used to train the ares troopers, though the efficiency will naturally be lower in the civilian model. the goal is to ensure that virtual reality is accessible to everyone at all price points. the specific models are available on the imperial website. and before you think that we are simply trying to enrich ourselves by forcing you to purchase a product, note that the price for the entry-level ar glasses is 1000 end. thus, you can choose to use that and not spend a single dollar of your own money. the reason why we are subsidizing the purchase for you is because many of our government operations will only be available in vr or, at a minimum, ar. by that, we mean things like issuing ids, opening bank accounts at the bank of the universe, drivers training and licensing, applying for government positions and interviewing, applying for land purchases in the soon-to-be-built fortress cities, and even designing your own living spaces there instead of using the standard design templates. but the most important service provided is education and training. we are moving, by necessity, into the true space age. soon, everyone will be required to at least be able to function outside the atmosphere of earth, whether that be as a crew member on a fleet vessel, an explorer of the cosmos, or even simple manufacturing jobs that can be done in space to save the planets environment. moving on, we are also offering conditional amnesty for criminals. nonviolent offenses will all be forgiven and existing criminal records of nonviolent offenders will be expunged. crimes committed that caused harm to any human or property will be continued, with some cases automatically being scheduled for a retrial under the new universal code of laws. anyone currently imprisoned will be allowed to petition for retrial, in which they will be judged based on the new legal code. if found to be innocent under the new laws, they will immediately be released and their records expunged. compensation will also be paid. the new universal code of law is simple to understand and will be written in plain language. punishments will be proportional to the crime committed, and instead of serving jail time, those convicted of crimes will be sentenced to work crews. for the worst offenders, those who are deserving of the death penalty or lifetime imprisonment, we will be establishing a penal corps branch of ares where they will serve humanity as soldiers fighting on the front line until such a time as they have earned their freedom, which will be judged on a case-by-case basis. one specific issue that we will address now is the issue of free speech. the universal code of law includes a lese majeste law. you are free to speak your mind, to assemble, and petition the government for redress. but we will remind you now that freedom of speech is a privilege extended to you by us, and that freedom of speech does not mean freedom from the consequences arising from your speech. the full universal code of law will be released to the public a week from now. of note, the law applies equally to everyone, no matter who they are. aron paused to let people catch up with and digest what he had been talking about. a lot of information had been delivered so far in his first imperial address, and there was still more to come. now to the most hated part of any government, aron continued. taxes. though his expression was once again solemn, he was internally chuckling over his mental image of the look on peoples faces when he said the dreaded t word. there will be no complicated tax code. instead, there will be a flat one-time 2.5% tax applied to all current assets and all taxes other than income tax will be abolished. all people over the age of 18 will be charged a flat 10% income tax on any income above the first 6000 end every year, without deductions and without any writeoffs. all forms of income are included, even inheritances. quite uncomplicated, isnt it? he said with a grin, sure that the vast majority of people watching his address would be thrilled with the new flat tax system. after all, most people were paying up to 30% of their income in taxes, and some countries set even higher tax rates. and in addition to income taxes, there were sales taxes, luxury taxes, and a host of other taxes that were applied to practically everything. and for those who were seasoned tax evaders, such as the ultra-rich who could afford to bribe politicians into passing loophole-infested tax laws that allowed them to shelter their assets in tax-free havens, aron felt a thrill of schadenfreude when he thought of the impotent rage they would be feeling right now. but that thrill soon passed when he considered that his girlfriends family would be included in that group of people. well.... they werent exactly good people, either, so he wouldnt feel too guilty for too long. those of you who have been enjoying the wealth you have earned through the labor of others and have been sheltering it in tax havens or abusing other tax loopholes, there will be a six-month grace period. any income or assets that are currently hidden must be reported. anything you report will be fined 30% and the rest is yours. if it remains unreported after the six-month grace period, it will be confiscated entirely. and for those of you who are thinking that you will somehow be able to escape notice, trust usyou will not. taxes will be settled the first week of january every year moving forward, and the first tax will be due this march, to allow for everyone to get their finances in order in accordance with the new tax code. for more information, visit the imperial treasury website. all funds collected and used will be listed there with full transparency for anyone interested in viewing. aron was firm on government transparency. he believed that government should serve the people, and in order to do that, they must be as transparent as possible in their actions. some things naturally had to be classified and hidden from the public eye, but for everything else, it should be done in as forthright a manner as possible. as for the environment, we firmly believe that our home should be protected and left unharmed as much as possible. so to reverse the harm that humanity has already done to the planet, our researchers have developed atmospheric scrubbers and new methods of recycling. as he said that, the screen behind him finally changed again, showing a video clip of the trashman disintegrator recycling junk in the pit on avalon island. so within the next few years, humanity will become carbon negative. our seas will be cleansed of harmful chemicals and excess carbon dioxide, lowering the surface acidity and allowing the sea life to recover. our air will be filtered of harmful chemicals and excess greenhouse gasses, allowing for the ozone layer to recover, and our species reliance on unrenewable resources, such as oil and coal, will be dropped to nearly zero. oil will remain useful until we discover a way to create synthetic plastics without using crude oil as a base, but we have already developed alternative fuels, such as hydrogen cells that require nothing but water to function, to power vehicles. as for energy, our researchers cracked the holy grail of controlled nuclear fusion two years ago. and finally, regarding our preparation to receive the visitors, you may see detailed progress reports and inspect our ongoing preparations in vr, where you can visit the sites and see for yourselves. our virtual reality environment is 100% accurate to reality, and we will hold a bi-yearly lottery for citizens to visit in person in reality, as well as sell a limited number of slots on a first-come first-serve basis for those who choose not to participate in the lottery, or those who dont qualify to participate in it. we dont have time to elaborate on all of the preparations being done in this address, so youll have to see for yourself in vr or wait until the first lottery trip takes place this june. Chapter 430 Begin as You Mean to Go On chapter 430 begin as you mean to go on aron took a deep breath and relaxed, a compassionate expression on his face as he wrapped up his first imperial address. i know the many changes coming all at once are difficult to accept. especially as drastic and bold as they are. he smiled wryly. but theres an old saying in my family: begin as you mean to go on, and thats what im doing here. there will be an inevitable teething period as everyone grows accustomed to the new changes to, well... everything, really, but i believe in humanity. i believe in our ability to adapt to anything, and overcome what we cant adapt to. mankind isnt the fastest animal on the planet. we arent the strongest ones, either. we cant swim in the ocean or fly in the sky unaided, we arent particularly stealthy, and we dont have a very thick, robust hide. what we do have, however, is a sapient mind. we can imagine, we can develop, and we can make conscious decisions to follow our better natures instead of our worst. i know im asking a lot of everyone, but at the same time, im not asking much. what everything boils down to is thisim asking for time. time with which i can fulfill my promises to all of you, so that you can see the improvements for yourself instead of leaping to conclusions based on the worst case scenario. thank you for your time, and i wish everyone a happy new year. aron disappeared from the briefing room and the feed cut out, leaving the imperial seal as the only thing on everyones screens. ...... the world was silent after arons address. a minute passed, then two, three.... eventually, eleven minutes crept by after he disappeared. then the internet exploded. the people who watched his address flocked to the websites he had mentioned, but not in an even distribution; practically 90% of them went to the gaia tech website to check out their vr tech. after all, anyone who claimed they werent interested in vr was basically sure to be lying. what they saw there was shocking to them. it almost seemed like the equipment had been plucked straight from dreams! the equipment claims were straight out of a novel, almost, but gaia had a reputation for delivering on their promises and, if anything, they tended to understate their technology, rather than hype it up and present software or hardware that failed to match up to their promised capabilities. pictures of aron and others known to be close to him wearing glasses started spreading on the internet, showing that they had been using the augmented reality hardware years ago, meaning it was already a mature technology even then! discussions about the tech spread everywhere as scientists and normal people alike wondered just how the hell aron had managed to pull everything off. especially an accurate simulation of the universal laws of physics, since not even the physicists with the most exalted reputations could claim to know everything about their field of study. yet aron had just claimed exactly that! that sparked a number of conspiracy theories ranging from aron having sold his soul to the devil all the way across the spectrum to aron already having had close contact with a far more technologically advanced alien species. some even claimed that he had regressed to the 21st century from a time far in the future. but the most impactful conspiracy theory was the malicious and intentional spread of rumors that claimed aron was using his tech to brainwash people into acting against the best interests of humanity. it was especially believable, as it was basically only a hairs breadth away from the actual truth. the people spreading the conspiracy theory pointed to the world leaders and how easily they had given up as evidence. the only difference, really, was that they hadnt been brainwashed into giving up, but rather tortured into it. but despite having a wider spread than usual, the rumors and conspiracy theories still failed to travel outside of their own social bubbles, as panoptes was on the job. he identified the topic starters and passed their information on to nyx for further investigation and closer monitoring under the suspicion that there was a single driving force motivating the spread of negative information. ...... even before aron began his address, the edenian carriers in the sky had gotten busy. their patrol schedules had been altered to pass over every major city on the planet, where they would choose a location on the outskirts of the cities and transport troopers and giant blocks of raw materials in durable shipping containers to the surface. once the men and materials had been landed, the carriers would move on to the next cities in their itineraries, where the process would repeat. after landing, the shipping containers broke apart into millions of tiny multi-legged robots, which were collectively known as type xviii constructor swarms. the small constructor bots were what researchers in lab city had come up with to allow aron to have the highest flexibility in construction while keeping the atomic printer technology hidden. they had an atomic printer base, which would print the bits and pieces that went into making the design, and the constructor swarm would assemble the pieces into the final object like putting together a 3d puzzle. the constructor swarms immediately got to work building copies of the cube from avalon island, which would be packed full of vr pods to be used for retraining. each cube would be able to comfortably process a million people at the same time. after the buildings were assembled and the pods installed, the constructor swarms switched to building multiple things at once. they divided themselves into teams that would work on fulfilling the orders for vr devices that were coming in in droves, teams that would work on assembling enormous buses that would transport those due for retraining to their nearest cube, and trucks that would ship out the newly ordered vr and ar devices. ...... as the building frenzy was ongoing, everyone scheduled for retraining received messages asking whether they would choose to retire or be folded into the relevant imperial agencies to continue working for the imperial family. based on their decision, they would either receive a time, date, and location to report to for transportation to the nearest cube, or they would receive a discharge form they could submit to the bank of the universe to dispense their retirement payment in end. nove/lb-in beyond that, messages were sent to every parent of a school-aged child as well as their teachers and educators informing them that schools would be closed for the month of january in order for children to get used to the vr environment their new schooling would take place in. many more things, ranging from the critical to the most routine operations were taking place in a coordinated chaos that was arranged and conducted by gaia herself, who had officially taken her position as the administrator of earth. Chapter 431 Good Old-Fashioned American Ingenuity chapter 431 good old-fashioned american ingenuity true chaos arrived the morning following arons address as swarms of delivery drones and fleets of trucks left each of the training centers. the drones were carrying ar glasses and vr helmets to those who had ordered them, and the trucks were loaded with vr pods. the delivery blitz had come without warning and created even more panic and rioting in some areas, especially those that were already leaning toward resisting arons empire. that didnt stop the delivery, though, as the uncaring drones and trucks being driven by ares troopers cared nothing for the chaos. they merely rerouted around any trouble hotspots and continued on their way. once the equipment was delivered to their new owners, reviews and discussions began springing up on pangea mere hours later. all of the users were basically in agreement about how wonderful the new devices were, and of course, they were posted to pangea through the devices themselves since the lucky people who already had them couldnt bring themselves to log out. naturally, that only included those with helmets and pods, as the glasses had been marketed as augmented reality devices and nobody knew they could also access vr as well. still, with the glowing reviews posted by verified vr and ar users on pangea, others who had ordered theirs were praying for their deliveries to arrive faster. @jaipatel(ar): [damn! i cant believe they had this for years and didnt even tease it!n--o/-v--e-(l).b(.i/(n @sunking(vr): but whyd they prevent us from modifying our avatars? how am i supposed to find a wife like this!? cryingface.emoji @beautifulgirl(vr): and whats with the queue at the id place if were the first ones in the city?? comments like those started appearing all over the internet as people almost overwhelmingly praised both the ar glasses and vr helmets and pods. there were a few minor complaints, but no one had said it was false advertising. that said, though most people couldnt wait for their hardware to arrive and kept urging the delivery drones and trucks to arrive faster, there were still holdouts. not everyone had been convinced by arons long address the night before; there were people who had ideological or trust issues, those who thought things were working fine as they were and saw no point in changing for changes sake, those who refused to believe out of an overweening sense of arrogance, and even those that believed it was a publicity stunt meant to drain money from their wallets and would be shut down once aron had sucked enough financial lifeblood from the people. thus, the short period of calm that had begun when aron took the stage to deliver his address came to an abrupt end at sunrise, as people took to the streets in many cities again, despite the protest fatigue they had been feeling. they dragged their tired bodies out of their beds as the sun rose, then trudged along the roads heading toward the newly constructed cubes on the outskirts of major population centers. the protesters were also, by and large, armed. some carried guns, others had metal pipes or baseball bats, and knives were common. so were bricks, oddly enough, with quite a few extremely online fans of webnovels even muttering something about the dao of bricks to themselves. they all had one thing in common, though: an overwhelming desire to fight against the encroaching empire. within each group were people acting as instigators and impromptu leaders directing the masses of people. they were invariably calm, well rested, and in shape, and they all moved with an obvious purpose, though those in the crowds around them didnt even realize they were effectively being herded along with someone elses agenda. ...... nyx was in vr, sitting next to gaia and eating her latest weird snack, popcorn that glowed a bright, radioactive green but tasted like a combination of both chocolate- and caramel-covered popcorn. [thats... a lot of operatives,] she said, blue light flickering across her eyes as she directly observed the feeds from the delivery drones as they passed over the head of the protesters on their way to drop off their packages. [a lot of people are pulling a lot of strings really hard for this, it looks like.] gaia was stuck between sighing over the actions of humans and feeling satisfied with the new snack she had come up with. [winning the war was the easy part. the intelligence operatives were always going to be a problemwould they roll over and accept their loss just because we said so? of course not!] she said in her floating, ethereal voice. [they were always going to fight back no matter what, and thats what were seeing now.] she was extremely calm and well informed, despite being only a few days old and the mess in front of her happening on her second day of work. well, it isnt like we didnt expect something like this. i was even willing to give them a month to rethink their actions and accept the retraining, not that i thought theyd ever take me up on that offer, aron said with a shrug. he cast a side-eye at the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of the chair he was sitting in. for todays meeting, they had settled on an old-fashioned castle library, with many tall bookshelves, hunting trophies on the wall, and a fireplace with a bearskin rug in front of it. scattered around the middle of the room were many comfortable chairs, sofas, loveseats, and low tables within easy reach of each seat. the bookshelves were mostly empty, but books were rapidly popping into existence on the shelves as time passed. [by then, the retraining would be over. and for intelligence operatives, retraining equates to reprogramming, so of course they have to make their move now. plus, with a full quarter of all the police forces being replaced by a small number of ares troopers, they probably thought they could ride on the negative image associated with using military forces for law enforcement,] gaia sighed. [another factor is the adoption rate of vr equipment,] nyx added. [the more people that receive theirs, the less people will be out and about on the streets instead of stuck in the comfort of their own homes wandering through virtual reality. eventually, the only people outside will be those who cant afford the long-term pods and protesters.] oh, weve started to move, aron said as he calmly watched the embedded nyxians moving toward the worst of the mob herders. [yes. at the moment, due to our low numbers,] nyx cast an inscrutable glance at aron, [we can only deal with the worst of the people behind these coordinated protests. for those in the former united states, we can use a bit of a heavier hand, as im pretty sure ive spotted more guns than people in those protestswhat the fuck? is that a homemade rocket launcher!?] she exclaimed, interrupting herself when one of the gaia tech delivery drones flew over a particular protester. she had caught sight of what she thought was one of musks not a flamethrower flamethrowers and had another drone diverted to rescan that particular protest to take a closer look at their armament. when she did so, the drone had captured someone thatd jerry-rigged what looked like an old pineapple grenade to a stick and shoved it in a homemade potato gun. aron was just as flabbergasted as nyx when he caught sight of that piece of good old-fashioned american ingenuity. he blinked a few times and took a moment to collect himself, then said, im pretty sure that guys more taliban than the actual taliban was. he was referring to the issues the us troops had with improvised explosive devices during the war on terror. he blinked a few more times, then shook his head and turned to nova. anyway, hows progress on your front? he asked. [weve collected two hundred million brain scans from everyone logging into vr or using the ar glasses already, and the number is increasing. those are being analyzed and collated as we speak, and i estimate that once we reach five billion users, we should have about 90 years of historical data to use in the simulation. as long as someone was there to view or hear something, well know about it,] nova reported. has anyone ever told you that youre all downright frightening? felix asked. he still wasnt sure he was entirely comfortable with that level of intrusion into peoples privacy, but he was slowly coming to terms with it. after all, just because they collected the data didnt mean they would use it for some kind of voyeuristic thrill or something; most peoples lives were mundane and boring, anyway, and of absolutely no interest to anyone but themselves. [if it helps, just think of it as a living history and record of humanity,] nova patiently explained. and an excellent source of blackmail material, sarah interjected. as long as people keep logging in, our burn file will continue being updated, she looked at the bookshelves around the room they were in and the books that were constantly appearing on them, and growing, too, she finished. the atmosphere grew a little bit heavy at that, but it soon lightened back up as the three friends began chatting back and forth with each other. felix and sarah would never treat aron any differently no matter what hats he put on himself, whether he was a techpreneur, explorer, businessman, military leader, or even an emperor... to them, he would always be their friend, first and foremost. Chapter 432 They Sent a Scout chapter 432 they sent a scout are you going to reveal the game? sarah asked. [not until the new government is up and running. we need people to focus on that first, at least until a billion people have already gotten their ids. then we can release it, but require a government-issued id to play it. if we release it now, people would likely be upset that they cant immediately play it, so it needs a sufficient user base to create a self-perpetuating cycle,] nova said. books were still appearing on the bookshelves behind her, but the rate had slowed down a little bit. most of the vr helmets and ar glasses had been delivered, but the pods would take a little while longer as the trucks had to reroute to avoid trouble hotspots more often than the drones did. but whats the difference? felix asked, scratching his head. is there something special about the imperial id? from the way youre treating it, it seems like theres more to it. neither felix nor sarah had been briefed about the special features of the new imperial id registration, as it had just never come up. it wasnt like it was intentionally being kept from them, but they simply hadnt asked about it. [it acts as a universal id and cant be counterfeited or falsified. every time someone logs into vr or activates their ar functions, their brain data and dna are updated. the id collects all of that data and tracks it over time as it changes. so we need them to have an id in order for the government to function as designed. its both a security measure and backup assurance in case we encounter visitors that send infiltrators,] gaia explained. arent there some serious privacy concerns with that? felix asked after considering it from the citizens point of view for a moment. [well, yes and no. yes, because it tracks everything, and i do mean everything. but no, because the only information that can be displayed to different agencies is information thats relevant to those agencies. so hospitals can see health tracking information, traffic police can see driving history, bank employees will see the account history, and so on,] gaia calmly replied. nova grabbed a book from the shelves and tossed it to nyx, who opened it. it was the memory of a low-level member of a rebel group. [the scouts are here!] she exclaimed, practically vibrating with glee. [i just knew wed get some! this will make my job so much easier.] she smiled and giggled, clasping the book to her chest. aron glanced at nova and gave her a look that meant, is nyx okay? im a bit concerned about her mental health. nova smiled and nodded at him and a screen that only he could see popped up in front of him. [myself and the rest of the ais are constantly studying what it means to be human, sir, so were constantly developing and evolving as new servers come online and we become better and better at emulating human behavior. shes fine, sir,] the screen read. felix thought for a minute and asked, who sent scouts? the aliens? how? he visibly shivered at the idea of aliens already being among humanity. [no,] gaia replied. [thats the brain data of one of the rebels. theyre suspicious of the vr environment and government services, so they sent in some of their low-level, unimportant,] she raised her hands and made air quotes to emphasize the status of the so-called scouts, [members to test the waters.] theyre taking a page from the cold war spy vs spy stuff and the operations of modern terrorist networks, aron added. we shouldnt underestimate them just because we have an overwhelming tech advantage. after all, no matter how advanced your tech becomes, if you become reliant on it, then you risk getting blindsided by smart cavemen with sticks and rocks. he turned to sarah and said, you should prepare to note a few scientific studies ill be having published. later, ill find some researchers in lab city to write reports about how the vr equipment interfaces with the brain and especially episodic memory. theyll say that were still in the process of learning how the brain works, and you can push the claim that all the data we collect will be black-boxed to train our ais to better anticipate peoples needs. stress that its purely optional and they can choose to not participate or opt out at any time. he grinned. after all, people are already used to that kind of lie from big data firms that have existed since the internet first baked cookies. (ed note: there are a few types of memory. episodic memory is what people think of when they think about memories. its the storage and recall of specific events, or episodes, like that time you embarrassed yourself by asking out your crush and getting shot down.) sarah got the mental image of an old meme with a man in a suit and a tv for a head baking cookies and almost fell into a laughing fit. ill address it in a week or so after the research reports have time to spread. she looked around, confused, and blinked. hey, whered aron go?n)(o-.v--e/-l(.b-.1/.n [hes discussing something with me,] nova replied. but youreoh, right. i forgot you can be in more places than one at a time. lightsnvl ...... aron was floating in orbit above earth, watching the world spin around its axis. it was his favorite place in all of vr. he had teleported there upon receiving a notification from the system and was in the middle of a discussion with nova. i expected a lot, but this... this is staggering! he exclaimed, an excited expression on his face. he was watching his available sp skyrocket; even under heavy time dilation, the number was increasing at a rate that was almost too fast to see. [its quite a leap forward in tech, after all, and hundreds of millions of people are already using it. not only that, its an application of two different technologies, virtual reality and the universal simulation, so youre getting rewarded with sp for both of them. id be worried if the sp reward wasnt this large,] nova said. true. and with this, i can make our preparations virtually ironclad. aron felt a lot of the weight being lifted off his shoulders as he thought of all the things remaining on his wishlist. if he continued farming sp at this rate, a lot of the things he needed for various contingency plans would be in place and humanity would be much, much safer. then he could be considered to have truly done as much as he could. lets start filling the cart, shall we? he rubbed his hands together and grinned as he pulled up the system store. Chapter 433 The Most Hands-Off Emperor in History chapter 433 the most hands-off emperor in history bring up all the knowledge weve bought a part of due to limited sp, aron ordered, rubbing his hands together like a kid on christmas morning. he had forgotten that he was now the emperor of an empire that had only been founded less than twenty hours ago. it was the most important moment of its existence, though it really didnt make much difference as he had a capable team of helpers and advisors that could keep things going for the time he would be absent. [yes, sir,] nova excitedly said. she waved her hand, and a list of arons partially acquired knowledges popped up on a virtual screen in front of him. [tractor and repulsor beams, tier 1 used to maneuver objects to and from the power source. particularly useful in places unsuited to humans, such as deep space or other hostile environments. it was discovered as a matter of necessity by a member of a dragonoid race that has since been wiped out due to needing to move his lair after an enemy took over his territory. upon discovering the convenience provided by the magical technique, it was later given to the dragonoids servants to develop a technological alternative for those incapable of using mana for use in the construction of the new lair.] well need this for capturing asteroids and other mining operations, aron said as he brought up his system interface and purchased the remainder of the knowledge. [energy weapons, tier 1] [psionic shielding, tier 1 when the peaceful xyronian system was invaded by the expansionist zyraliths, they were forced to develop this defensive technology to protect themselves from the invaders psionic abilities and weaponry. once the technology spread, the much larger zyralith empire collapsed under the weight of rebellion as their mind-controlled and brainwashed slave races broke free of their shackles and rose up against their oppressors.] aron promptly moved it to the systems shopping cart and moved to the next knowledge he had been eyeing for quite some time. [spatial lock, tier 1 creates localized temporal stasis fields, preventing spatial movement or changes to the environment within the field. as long as power is continuously provided to it, nothing will be allowed into, or out of, the locked space without spending more energy than is being provided to the stasis field.] just like that, nearly all of his sp disappeared. and now, we wait. aron looked at the remaining knowledges on his wishlist and winced at the price tags. he needed to hurry up the distribution and adoption of the technology he had in order to give his researchers time to familiarize themselves with the system purchases before the visitors arrived. maturing the technology was important; just because he could use it as is after purchasing it didnt mean he would be considered an expert in it. experience was important, after all. up until this point, the knowledge he had bought from the system had mostly been things that were already being worked on by humanity, like controlled nuclear fusion, or logical advances in already-existing technology, like atomic printers. but he had experienced for himself just how difficult it was to develop on those technologies. while fusion generators were relatively easy, given humanitys existing body of research and experiments with tokamak and stellarator reactors, iterating on the atomic printers had proven far more difficult. with the time dilation in lab city set to 100:1, it had taken the equivalent of centuries just for the researchers to figure out how to build atomic printers in different shapes and sizes, and they had yet to even begin to improve on the tech itself. it clearly showed how important it was to incorporate the knowledge aron bought and make it their own. that was one of the main reasons he wasnt constantly buying newer, shinier knowledge to use and had instead focused on developing his own advancements based on human ingenuity. turning to nova, he asked, hows research city coming? research city was a copy of lab city that was intended for public usage. it had all of the facilities and capabilities of lab city, but was in the public area of the simulation, thus limiting its time dilation to the 2:1 ratio. [most of the scientists and experts we invited were also among the first to adopt the long-stay vr medpods. and nearly all of them accepted our offer. what researcher would turn down unlimited budgets? i expect the acceptance rate to be around 93%. there will be a few holdouts here and there, primarily due to ideological differences or conflicts with you personally or one of your companies,] she replied, bringing up a list of invitees sorted by those who had already accepted the offer, those who would likely accept the offer in the near future, and those who would likely decline. those who had already accepted the invitation to research city had notes next to their names about what they were currently working on; most of their work so far had been carrying out experiments theyd always wanted to do in reality but had been unable to do, either for lack of time, budget, or material resources. there were a few, though, that had been actively running old, classified, experiments in an attempt to disprove what they saw as shameless boasting on arons part about the simulation being true to reality. n/(0velbin but that didnt matter; arons true research base was still and would forever be the original lab city. research city was meant as a front to explain where the new developments would come from. he had set aside all of the gold facilities that, in lab city, were focused on mana and mana-related research to act as a skunkworks where most of the actual advancements would come out of. and though that was research citys primary purpose, if aron were pressed, he would admit that it was also a slight compensation to the scientists and researchers he had recreated in lab city for stealing the achievements that could have been theirs. [currently, research city has 300,000 researchers across all fields, with levels ranging all over the academic spectrum. there are nobel prize laureates mixed with university freshmen, and theres even two high school students working there.] i suddenly felt a bit of weight lift off my chest there, nova, aron said. his guilt over the wholesale academic theft had always been in his subconscious mind, and now that it had been alleviated, at least partially, he was feeling much more optimistic, though he had no idea why. [youve been feeling guilty, sir,] she explained. [by giving the experts free and unfettered access to research city, youre partially repaying them for stealing their potential future achievements in the past. even though most of those achievements wouldnt have been made possible in their lifetimes, there was still a price to pay. and now youve paid it, so of course youll feel better.] thanks, aron said, feeling quite a bit better and more upbeat. Chapter 434 Athena’s New Toys chapter 434 athena''s new toys while aron was busy shopping and discussing the new research city plan with nova, nyxians embedded in the various protest groups began plucking the instigators from the groups they were in and replacing them. after all, an unaimed herd of humanity was like a large firework launcher. leaving either of them unattended was a very, very bad idea and could lead to incredibly destructive consequences. the nyxians still allowed the mobs to vandalize buildings and other assorted properties, landmarks, and monuments, but they limited the damage and guided it primarily to the (former) government buildings along the way. still, a few unfortunate shops and warehouses were targeted, but once the protesters came to their senses the next day, they would likely be surprised to hear that some of their favorite stores had been destroyed while their least favorites were just fine. nyx had instilled all of her nyxians with a rather wicked sense of sardony, after all. n()o-.v-)(-l--b-)i-.n not all of the groups were monolithic, either, and fistfighting broke out within the protest groups rather often. the original organizers of the protests and architects of the violence couldnt be bothered to care about any particular issue and simply gathered people who were angry. it didnt matter why they were angry, just that they were. unfortunately, with guns in the mix, quite a few shots were fired as well, though a surprisingly low number of them hit anything, as even the most fervent ammosexual was still in love with the idea of warning shots. whether or not those warning shots ruined the day of someone blocks away from them didnt matter. it only mattered that they got to fulfill their wet dream of frightening an enemy with a warning shot. with the increase in reports of shots fired, the recently understaffed police scrambled to meet the new threat level of the protests. after all, some of their staff had resigned, some had been fired due to not deserving to wear a uniform, and a full quarter of the remainder had already reported to their nearest cube for retraining, courtesy of the imperial police agency. this is captain williams of the houston city police department. were requesting aid and reinforcements as soon as possible. shots have been fired and we predict a full riot will break out shortly. this is chief mehmet kaya of the istanbul police. more than a million people have taken to the streets and are vandalizing buildings and setting fires on their way to the cube. requesting reinforcement. the longer this goes on, the more damage the city will face and the higher the death toll will rise as emergency service vehicles are unable to reach the injured and the fires. this is the police chief of moscow.... this is the police chief of london.... this is the police chief of paris.... one after another, cities began requesting reinforcements with only short intervals between calls. it was becoming very obvious to anyone paying attention that the violence was definitely planned beforehand, given the timing of violence breaking out all over the globe. the reason those plotting the violent protests could even hope to succeed at all was because the citizens were absolutely pissed. if they werent angry, or even if they were a little less angry than they were, the chaos would have been much less. but people who had become accustomed to living their whole lives in a certain fashion had been forced to change the lives they were used to in a very short period of time. that had given the operatives behind the protests an opening they could use to manipulate that anger, increase it, and point it in the direction the organizers wanted it to be vented in: the imperial government. it had been quite easy for the skilled intelligence operatives to convince the angry populace that if they just caused enough damage, it would delegitimize the new government and things would soon go back to normal for them, while the people responsible for the upsetaron and his inner circlewould be imprisoned, or even executed. the only reason there was any doubt that there was a single goal behind all of the protests was because the nyxians had intervened in quite a few of them and acted as a calming pill to gradually bring the protesters back to reality. if that werent the case, things would be a lot more dire than they currently were. still, things were plenty dire. areas without nyxian influence had broken out into full riots, with protesters causing millions, or even tens of millions of end damage to property, and hundreds of thousands of people had been severely injured, with thousands more dead worldwide. and that was just the known figure; the estimates had already passed a million injuries and fatalities on the low end. things were rapidly coming to a head, and arons nascent government was facing its first test. they could neither act, nor could they refrain from acting. if they acted to put down the protests, the tactics they would have to usehigh-pressure water hoses, beanbag and rubber bullets, tear gas bombardments, and so onwould only reinforce the idea that the new government was nothing more than a brutal dictators megalomaniacal power grab. but if they didnt act, the new government would be seen as incapable of preventing or restraining the protesters from causing so much damage and loss of life. either way, it would hinder the authority of the empire. ...... [we cant count on the police any longer and need to respond with force. otherwise the property damage and casualty numbers will only continue increasing,] nyx said with some heartache in her voice. if only shed had more time or more operatives, she could have cut this entire issue off at the pass, or at least strictly limited it. [the cubes are all ready, im just waiting for the order,] athena said to gaia with a respectful nod. despite only being a few weeks old, gaia was still the head of the government in arons absence and held his plenipotentiary authority, thus she deserved the respect that her position demanded. [send out the lea-001s and impose martial law in the cities requesting reinforcements. for areas further away from cubes, divert carriers and yeet ares into them armed with charge weapons instead of pulse weapons. ensure civilian safety is prioritized over potential property damages. buildings were built once, they can be built again.] gaia gave a crooked smile. [besides, theyre actually doing us a favor, since the existing cities will need to be torn down anyway. still, the law is the law. ensure that the instigators and worst offenders are punished to the fullest extent of the law and repair the critical infrastructure so that people dont suffer too much.] [understood,] athena said with a smile. she had been looking forward to using her new toys, and now she had the perfect excuse. Chapter 435 Resistance is Futile chapter 435 resistance is futile for an hour or so, the riots continued unabated. those leading them were quite happy, and patting themselves and each other on the back. after all, no matter what intelligence agency they worked for, whether it was the cia, mossad, mi6, mss, or any of the many, many others working as instigators, they had all been in the trade for long enough that they could spot familiar faces in the crowds around them. spies were generally valuable, and when caught, they would be ransomed by their agency at a reasonable price. so interagency friendships and rivalries were generally of the polite sort and rarely close in the case of friendshipsafter all, friends today could find themselves on opposite sides and working at cross purposes tomorrowwhile their rivalries rarely, if ever, reached the point of a blood feud. and for the same reason, at that; enemies today could find themselves working together tomorrow. so they all knew at least one of the other instigators, and everyone knew what they were there for. thus, they had been tacitly cooperating with each other in the field, just like the upper management were cooperating with each other back in their agencies headquarters. that made things difficult for the nyxians, who were trying to pluck them out unnoticed so as to avoid a completely uncontrolled stampede, and an absolute nightmare for the police officers attempting to corral the unruly mobs. eventually, the police were forced to simply set up a cordon and try to contain the rioting and damage to lower-value areas along the path of their march. and that proved to be enough, as soon, sharp-eyed rioters near the leading edge of their individual mobs spotted a dark blob a distance away from them, behind the officers cordon. moment by moment, the blob grew more distinct until they could make out what appeared to be individuals in fancy riot gear and bright colors that would stand out in the crowd, as opposed to the police forces general propensity for dark-colored uniforms like navy blue and black. what the hell are those things? one by one, people started to grow still as the individuals approached. some were on foot, while others were flying out of the cube that the rioters could see off in the distance. aron had purchased robotics some time ago from the system, and had since been working on incorporating robots into his forces. whether they be the cerberus mulebots, general repair and maintenance bots, or the constructor swarms he had used to build the cubes around the world in order to disguise the capabilities of the atomic printers at his disposal, all of them had long entered service and proven themselves. now, the unruly citizens in the mobs were about to be introduced to his latest brainchild, the lea-001. named the law enforcement auxiliary, the robots were designed with a human appearance in mind, and aron had gone so far as to introduce variable shapes and sizes in the manufacturing process to enhance their humanlike appearance. no doubt people would definitely notice that they were robots, or perhaps clones, if all of them were exactly the same as the one next to them. they were dressed in white fabric that was shock resistant, bulletproof, fireproof, and corrosion resistant, and layered atop that was their armorazure blue enameled plates of the same hadfield steel and chromium alloy that protected the atomic printers still hard at work cleaning up the mess left by the destroyed satellites. the armor consisted of a breastplate, spaulders, upper cannons, vambraces, codpiece, culet, cuisse, and greaves that covered their standard-issue boots. and on their heads was a close-fitting three-quarter helmet with a visor slit of smoked glass that attached to a gorget that rose from the breastplate to the jawline, leaving their humanlike mouths on display. (ed note: picture robocop, but palette swapped from black to white and with a more obvious visible shade of blue for the armor plating and youll be close to what leas look like.) n--0velbin the armor had black trim on the edges of the plates and gold accents denoting ranks and a golden police badge on the left side of their chest. on the right side of their chest were the letters lea. as they were meant for police work, rather than serving on the battlefield, they were only armed with a charge pistol and a rifle variant. most of the time, the rifles would be left behind when they were deployed, to make them appear less threatening, but for todays deployment, they were present in the arsenal of every lea that swarmed out of the cubes. are those... robots? or ares troops? how the fuck can they fly? questions like those were being shouted back and forth in the now-stalled crowds as the flying and marching leas rapidly reached the front line of the protests and the rooftops of mostly intact buildings around them. the lea in the lead of the marching reinforcements raised his hand and all of them came to a halt in an eerie display of synchronization. he raised a microphone to his mouth and speakers hidden somewhere in the armor of every lea crackled to life as the leader said, citizens, this has been deemed a violent protest and is in violation of article i of the constitution. lower your weapons and lie face down on the ground. i repeat, lower your weapons and lie face down on the ground. you have sixty seconds to comply or you will be made to comply. the lea commander replaced the microphone he was speaking into and stood ramrod straight and stock still, waiting for the mob to comply with his order. although the lea series robots were equipped with fully functioning ais, they were limited to the processing power of a quantum microcomputer reaper implant, so they were rather rigid in their speech and in the way they carried out their duties. similar scenes played out around every protest that was near a cube, or at least near enough to one that it could dispatch leas to arrest the violent protesters. Chapter 436 Running Out of Yeehaw chapter 436 running out of yeehaw houston, texas. being citizens of the state that possessed the most good ol american yeehaw, the rioters that had been stopped by the leas only paused for a brief moment. people who had moments before been intent on punching, kicking, and biting each other into shallow graves looked at each other, nodded, then turned to face the new threat. nobody knew, nor did it really matter, who fired the first shot, but soon, everyone in the crowd with guns had begun raining bullets on their perceived enemies. it didnt matter if it was the police or the leas, anyone who stood in front of the rioters was deemed a mortal enemy and supporter of the megalomaniac who had taken away their freedom. even the unarmed rioters were picking up stones and throwing them with all their might. most of the thrown stones fell short, but it was the thought that counts. n--0velb1n while receiving the bombardment, the leas remained still as sparks flashed on their exterior armor and the distinct whine of ricocheting bullets rang out, but was drowned in the much louder sound of an ongoing barrage of fire. the only thing the leas moved were their heads, which were scanning back and forth, tracking the attackers and tagging them with their committed crimes and estimated penalties for those crimes. *forty-seven civilians injured. requesting emergency evacuation to the nearest medical pod. forty-eight... forty-nine... fifty.... all local police forces down. requesting emergency evacuation to the nearest medical pod,* the hive mind operating the leas reported to central command. *1479 perpetrators marked for arrest when the countdown ends. charges: 899 with multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to injure, harm, or commit murder. 188 with multiple counts of assault with intent to injure, harm, or commit murder....* the leas continued their report to their central command, which was overseen by gaias newest subordinate ai, themis. themis collated the information and passed it to gaia, who noted it and distributed it to the rest of the ais before passing the initial judgment on the violent rioters: guilty. that was the likely verdict, but a trial must still be held. themis noted the evidence gathered by the leas and added the trials to judges dockets pending their retraining on imperial law. all of that happened in a fraction of a second after the rioters began shooting at the police and leas, who were still in the middle of their sixty-second countdown. twenty-one seconds remained. ...... nsa supervisory special agent david stratton, having left his position as the leader of the mob, was watching the fusillade from the safety of a nearby office building. his binoculars were trained on the leas, who were barely visible through the sparks and dust kicked up by ricochets and outright misses. whyre they just looking around? he muttered to himself. isnt it common sense to end a countdown when the person youre counting down opens fire on you? fucking morons! he focused his binoculars on the crowd, their internal parabolic microphone picking up the shouting past the rapidly dwindling gunfire; it seemed the yeehaw crowd had run out of yeehaw and was resorting to using their words. coward! youre trading your freedom for fear! you see them just standing there and doing nothing and think theyre better than us. but youre just falling for their intimidation tactics! theyre just bullies! one of the rioters yelled at another, who had come to his senses and decided to go home. they cant do shit to us, youll see! yelled another. to hell with your freedom! your freedom isnt worth my life, the retreating man said, picking up his pace in an attempt to get as far from ground zero as possible. he made it all of a block before running into the police cordon that was set up to block the rear of the rioters, where he was subjected to another good old fashioned american specialty: police brutality. but that was a story for another day. ...... ten... nine... eight.... two... one. as one, the leas drew their charge rifles and released their safeties, switching them to stun. drop your weapons and lay face down on the ground or you will be fired upon! the lead unit yelled. this is your last warning! an electric whine sounded as the charge rifles finished their initial bootup and power cycle. some people in the crowd threw down their weapons and followed instructions, but most refused and continued firing, still to no effect. the leas who had taken station on the rooftops to the sides of the rioting crowd were the first to open fire, sending accurate, single shots down on the rioters who were still standing and panic firing at anything they saw. leas, downed police officers, perceived silhouettes in the windows of nearby buildings, and even other rioters were taking fire. some of the more sinister people in the crowd were even specifically aiming at those compatriots of theirs that had surrendered, considering themselves enacting justice by eliminating traitors. but that final, last gasp of resistance was soon put down as charge round after charge round impacted their targets, releasing enough electricity to overwhelm their nervous system and dropping them to the ground, stunned and unable to even generate a coherent thought, let alone move around. once the rioters were all taken down and peace returned to the surroundings, the leas moved among the crowd, snapping stun cuffs that sent a constant, low-level electrical charge through the wearers nerves that prevented them from mustering any real strength around the wrists and ankles of the arrestees. ...... agent stratton saw one of the leas looking in his direction and decided that it was time to retreat. he gathered up his recording devices and vanished deeper within the building, heading to a bathroom where he applied some facial putty as a hasty disguise. he tore the seam on the inside of his suit jacket, then reached in and pulled out a wig that would change his us marine corps standard-issue high and tight crew cut into a more bland mens haircut that wouldnt even stand out in a crowd of one, then applied a thin layer of foundation powder from a makeup compact that would blend the putty and hairline to look at least a little bit more natural. he took off his suit jacket, pants, and dress shirt, revealing a polo shirt and slacks of a different color, then walked out of the bathroom and joined the nearest crowd in the building that had formed once the shooting died down. nsa supervisory special agent david stratton had disappeared, replaced by the white-collar worker, james smith. Chapter 437 FAFO chapter 437 fafo elsewhere in the world, peace still had yet to be completely restored. in istanbul, one of the leas was placing stun cuffs on one of the downed protesters when another one, who had surrendered earlier, rose up and swung a metal pipe at its head. but to the protesters complete surprise, the helmet was completely undamaged while the pipe gave out. after all, when hard comes in contact with impossibly hard, hard loses. the lea finished cuffing the prisoner, then stood and turned to face the protester that had swung the pipe at it. the man swung the bent pipe at the leas face, only for the disguised robots arm to move impossibly fast as it caught the pipe and released a taser charge from its palm. the jolt caused the protester to drop the pipe and the lea swiftly raised its charge pistol and stunned him point blank, then stun cuffed him and moved on to the next downed protester without a word. in novograd, russia, someone attacked the leas with a molotov cocktail only for it to completely ignore the flickering flames on its body and stun its attacker. in kandahar, an lea completely ignored a suicide attack by an insurgent driving a van loaded with explosives. in other places, they were also attacked with vehicles, but the vehicles inevitably lost the contest against the walking-tank-like law enforcement auxiliaries. they had proven themselves immune to improvised explosives, regular explosives, bullets, cars, trucks, and even in one case, a dump truck loaded with close to 14 tons of gravel. all over the world, wherever the leas had been deployed, protesters were gripped with fear in the face of their inexorable advance. everything they threw at the robots was to absolutely no avail, but the leas pinpoint accuracy with their charge pistols and the ease with which they could apply stun cuffs to even struggling prisoners was disheartening, to say the least. on average, one lea was restraining a protester every ten seconds, and most of that was spent walking from person to person while fending off attacks that would otherwise have caused the captured protesters harm, which would have been a very bad image for the nascent government. as more and more protesters were downed by stun charges, leas were freed up to begin providing first aid to the wounded as they waited for medevac to the nearest medical pods, which, ironically, were in the very cubes those same protesters had been marching toward with the intent to destroy them. the whole process was very regimented; one lea would triage the wounded with another five moving them into separate groups based on the severity of their injuries. it was a process that had long been perfected by first responders and trauma specialists when working at mass casualty incidents in the field, and it was being put to good use now. (ed note: see the comment attached to this paragraph for an explanation on mass casualty incident triage.) similar actions were taking place in every city within a reasonable distance of a cube. and given that they were living in the internet age, the process was being broadcast live by thousands, if not dozens of thousands, of accounts. even people who had used their subsidy to buy ar glasses were getting in on the lookieloo action. nova and panoptes not only didnt block those broadcasts, but they promoted them instead. the people in the background who had thought that they could overwhelm the newly formed empire by sheer numbers in a worldwide coordinated strike were now finding out just how wrong and delusional they were to ever have thought that. their belief that ares wouldnt use excessive force had turned out to be correct, but they had never expected that aron hadnt been exaggerating in the least when he claimed to have withheld the majority of his tech during the last war. and what ares had shown there was already in the realm of fantasy, but seeing it online and experiencing it in person were two different things entirely. an lea had straight up ignored a round from an fgm-148 javelin anti-tank weapon that rioters in miami had looted from the local army garrison and unleashed it on them. and even more unbelievably, an lea in saint petersburg didnt just take the hit from a russian rpg-7 warhead, but it had actually grabbed it from mid-air and pulled the thing apart with its bare hands! the people behind the protests had fucked around, and now they were finding out. the masterful suppression of the violent protests took less than ten minutes from beginning to end. and the ares troopers yeeted into areas that were out of easy reach of a cube took even less time; they simply launched crowd control rockets from their backpack launchers that knocked the protesters unconscious, then cuffed them while they lay snoring on the ground. by the time everything was done, more than three hundred thousand people were arrested and stun cuffed, powerless to do anything but lay there like logs. the arrested protesters were taken into custody and transported to the nearest cube for processing. those who had discharged deadly weapons were held without bail pending arraignment, as were the leaders that had instigated the protesters to turn violent. as for those that used stones, knives, bats, and such, they were processed and released on house arrest, also pending arraignment and trial. the entire booking process took three hours, by which time the world had regained its calm. the cities that had suffered the most violence were still under martial law, while those that hadnt suffered that much were being very, very careful in their protests to not allow violence to break out lest they join the others in holding cells and house arrest.n)-o(.v.-e))l.)b./1))n ironically, the protests had actually proven good for aron, as the milestone of a billion users of vr and ar devices had been brought forward by two days. what he had expected would take a week was now projected to be accomplished in five days. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 438 Seven Days chapter 438 seven days january 7, 2018. with a strict curfew maintained over the past week, people had found themselves with little to do. thus, orders had been pouring in for ar glasses and vr gear nonstop and deliveries had proceeded apace. by the end of the week, the number of people connected to vr had reached two billion, twice arons initial goal, and the number was still steadily increasing. the first batch of retrained individuals also returned home and began implementing their orders. as they got to work, the empire truly began taking shape as the imperial agencies came online. while the ais were capable of managing the empire perfectly fine, and it could even run completely without human intervention, there was still some ephemeral difference between having real people at the helm and ais running things. in the finance sector, the currency issue had also begun. all digital currencies were instantly converted to earth new dollars at a fair exchange rate and paper currency was available, albeit in a limited amount, in every bank as soon as they opened in the morning. relatively few young people still handled cash, so most of the people in the lines that stretched out of the doors and around the corner of the blocks the bank branches were on tended to be members of older generations. nove-lb-in naturally, the night before, all of the other paper and coin currencies had been brought back to the cubes for recycling. there was a little bit of it saved for collectors, who could buy it from the imperial treasury with end, but the majority of it ended up as atomic printer stock for usage in other projects. as for the paper currency itself, it wasnt paper at all. instead, it was two layers of a clear aluminum memory alloy that could be folded, but not creased. it was resistant to tearing, would melt instead of burnbut only if exposed to a sufficiently high temperatureand sandwiched between the layers was a highly durable, yet flexible battery that powered two things: a single qubit and a short-ranged holographic projector. the holographic projector could only project a single image a few microns away from it and was completely air-gapped and immune to tampering. the images on the face and back of the bill were generated inside the currency, rather than printed on it. as for the qubit, it only served one purpose; it could communicate with a cash reader and return a checksum verification proving the authenticity of the bill itself. with those two measures alone, the currency was completely secure without taking into account the alloy the bill was made of. and on the information front, all of the digital and paper records had been scanned into the imperial archivist database, where mnemosyne, another one of gaias child ais, was busily categorizing and sorting it into categories. the imperial archivist database also contained the akashic record, a constantly updating living database comprised of the brain data of everyone who logged into vr. considering more than two billion people had logged in by this point, the record was rather immense. thus, mnemosyne assigned an akashic librarian to each individual to maintain the record, and they operated as a hive mind for convenience and cataloguing, removing duplicate entries and generally acting as curators for the body of knowledge. once the relevant information had been forwarded to minerva, a wave of true justice swept the globe as those who had abused government authority were arrested, and innocent prisoners serving jail time for crimes they didnt commit were released and compensated. the prisoners whose crimes had their penalties changed in the imperial legal code were left in prison, but notified that a retrial would be taking place along the new punishment guidelines. some prisoners cheered and others sobbed, as included in the notification of their upcoming retrial was a copy of the code they would be retried under. some crimes had lower punishment under imperial law, while others were punished with harsher sentences, leading to the cacophony of cheers and sobs. that wasnt the only usage of the akashic record, either. those who had already registered ids in the imperial offices in vr were immediately able to receive the benefits of being an imperial citizen. thus, asclepius and coeus arranged transport for the sick and injured to their nearest cube, where they were seen by edenian and esparian doctors and given time in medical pods to heal their injuries and cure their illnesses. even those with previously incurable and untreatable issues, such as psychological problems caused by an imbalance in their brain chemistry, degenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and even those with genetic issues like fragile x syndrome or down syndrome were completely restored to normal in less than 48 hours in a medical pod. but that wasnt the only benefit of registering for government ids. everyone who registered for an id was surprised to find that their gaia os assistants had been migrated to vr to act as their personal maids or butlers. for some, the surprise was a pleasant one, while for others, the surprise was embarrassing. after all, they had never thought theyd ever actually interact with their ai assistants and had chosen their appearance based on waifus and husbandos or scantily-clad, sexually exaggerated figures. those who were embarrassed were soon forced to admit that they were not, in fact, true men of culture, as a true man of culture wouldnt be embarrassed at all. still, their maids, butlers, waifus, husbandos, and scantily-clad sexpots were extremely helpful in guiding them through their imperial benefits and designing the homes they would be inhabiting in the soon-to-be-constructed fortress cities. after they finished the design process, the designs were sent to the imperial design agency, where they were checked for issues like structural stability and so on, as well as given an estimated cost of construction that the citizen would need to pay to have their designs brought from virtual reality to actual reality. then, the only thing left for them to do was visit the bank of the universe, where they could work out financing options that worked for them. Chapter 439 Insourcing chapter 439 insourcing research city. damn, i cant believe this is open to everyone, peter chekhov said as he laid his eyes on the city in front of him. its a dream come true for every researcher in the world. who wouldve thought that emperor aron would allow such a city to exist without demanding payment from anyone! he couldve charged money and everyone would still throw money at him for access, said an olive-skinned young man walking next to him. the olive-skinned young man was named mario, and peter had befriended him during his time touring the simulation backpacking in the alps. it isnt really free, though. any and all research done here is owned by the imperial family, peter said. there was always a price for everything. true, but they give you a hundred-year royalty agreement if its an advancement that you come up with and they havent. plus, they provide you with the best environment and basically unlimited funding for your research. mario shrugged. there may be a price, but some prices were worth paying. besides, your starting point here is at least fifty years ahead of the world, so its not that high a price to pay. plus, even though your research may be owned by the imperial family, your name will still be attached to it. so its fair for everyoneyou get money and fame and the empire benefits from your work, he said with stars in his eyes. marios family had all been scientists all the way back to the italian renaissance, and he had grown up in the lab with his father. he had personally experienced the difficulty and heartache in searching for research funding and investors who wanted not only ownership, but also their names on all results. the stress of the constant office politicking and grant hunting had driven his father into a coma after having a stroke one day, and that had drained the familys entire life savings. lightsnvl at least, that was the case until a few days ago, when he got a notification that his father had been moved to the cube in rome for medical treatment. he had woken up after just two hours in that miracle device. that, combined with the wonders he had seen in the simulation and everything else mario had received as a benefit of his imperial citizenship had turned him into an absolute diehard fan of the new emperor. but what drove him over the top from a diehard fan to a braindead fan had to be research city. just being able to focus purely on research and benefit from it financially was, to him, arons most benevolent gesture. marios experience wasnt unique by far. everyone who had registered for citizenship and gotten their ids approved had their sick relatives listed for priority access to the medical pods. that was just one of the many means that aron had been using to whitewash his stained reputation over the past week, the first of the terran empire. his benevolent actions had brought more and more people around to accepting the new imperial government, and hundreds of millions more were ordering their vr equipment and applying for citizenship every day. each of them had found their unsolvable problems to be distinctly solvable when imperial technology was applied to them, leading quite a few people thinking of aron as a new messiah. wont companies just force researchers into using research city for researching, but then register the patents in the real world and take all the credit and royalties? peter asked. he knew that think tanks and major corporations with research and development departments were rather underhanded and brutal with their employees. intellectual theft wasnt just common, but rather the expected outcome when scientists and researchers worked for them. after all, anything goes as long as the ceos can provide a positive profit and loss statement to the shareholders every quarter. didnt you read the contract you signed when you applied for a lab here? mario asked in bewilderment as everything was covered in the contract researchers in research city signed to lease labs there. i havent applied for one yet. ive been too busy touring the city, peter replied, embarrassed. ah, thats why youre confused. mario pulled up the contract and highlighted the relevant clause. theres different levels to the labs in research city. funding is unlimited, so everything is done based on computing resources, like how major universities and research institutes allocate supercomputer time for the people that work for them, except here its a meritocracy. when you sign up for a lab, you fill out a form that, combined with their own evaluation, determines what level of lab you receive. the highest is ex, then sss, ss, s, a, b, c, d, e, and finally, f. each level gives more benefits, like how close to the city center you are and how big your lab is. the bigger labs can fit more equipment in them and are closer to the hub where everything happens, like presentations, summits, and mingling and relaxing. ive heard rumors that say that at the ex rank you can even have your experiment run at increased time dilation or not even have to use the lab at all and just get the data direct from the simulation. but nobody knows, since the highest ranking scientists so far are stephen hawking, and a few hundred others who are only rank a. then theres a few thousand others at rank b, but if dr. hawking, of all people, can only rank at the a level then it just goes to show how hard it is to make rank. i wonder if well see an ex-rank person in my lifetime, mario sighed. is it possible to get a higher rank after your initial evaluation? peter asked. sure. every research proposal you submit and all of your results will be evaluated and awarded points based on its value and the level of your participation. to increase your rank, you just have to accumulate points. the more outstanding your results are, the faster youll rank up, and the more unique your area of research is, the more points youll be awarded as well. thats likely to avoid people just riffing off other researchers instead of actually pushing the boundaries of science. mario showed peter the relevant sections of his contract as he summarized it.n..0velbin as you can see here, every bit of research you do becomes a public entry in the akashic records in the imperial archive. that way everyone can read it... its like a scientific journal that you automatically get published in. and anything discovered here will be automatically recorded, issued a patent, and awarded points only for the original researcher, or team, that made the discovery. that way theres no exploitation by opportunistic bastards in think tanks or major multinational conglomerates, no academic fraud, no infighting about who discovered what first, and no point theft, he continued, reciting it from his contract as the two men read it together. damn, the emperor didnt leave any loopholes to exploit at all, peter said, quite impressed by arons vision. it was at precisely that moment that a note was made on his profile in the akashic record under his political affiliation. [favorable view of the government; no further active monitoring required.] its another business to the emperor, after all, as he also gets a cut of the earnings our discoveries generate, mario added. he tilted his head back, looking at the upper levels of the tallest and widest building in the exact center of research city. that was where all the highest-level researchers would have their labs, and he swore to himself that he would one day have a lab there. Chapter 440 A Severe Blow chapter 440 a severe blow ? a week later, enough people had been hired and trained, or retained and retrained, that the government could function relatively normally. the leas had been deactivated and stored away, ready to be deployed again at need in case of emergency, and the virtual intelligences staffing the vr government offices had human supervision at all hours of the day. the shifts were long, but the work was satisfying and the employees had no complaints. it would be another week yet, before they began a nine-hour shift rotationeight hour workdays with an hour for lunchand a week after that, they would finally be able to take days off and vacations. but they had all undergone the training program gaia and the other ais had set up for them, so they understood the need for the long hours and were okay with it. plus, the overtime pay was excellent and greatly appreciated; previously, as government employees, they had been forced to work on salary waivers that limited, if not eliminated entirely, their overtime pay. the delivery of ar and vr gear had gone on, twenty-four hours a day, leading to billions more joining the list of imperial citizens and the cities in the simulation gained a liveliness that they hadnt had before. with the freedom granted to them in virtual reality and the various delivery services for the necessary daily supplies, the inconvenience of life under martial law had faded into the background and people seemed to have become content with their lot much earlier than aron and nova had anticipated they would. the exception to the rule were the surviving members of the various governments militaries. quite a few members of the military had been killed in the last war, and the majority of survivors had chosen the retirement with benefits option offered by aron. but recruitment continued apace and ares had accepted more than fifty million new members, including the new nyxian recruits. all of them, whether they be former soldiers or new recruits, had been transferred to the central ares training bases on each continent for their specific training. it would still be a full month before their training was done. two weeks real time for initial entry training, then a further two weeks of specialized training for nyxians, reapers, and aegis teams. for those who washed out or werent selected for further specialist training, they would experience two more weeks of a simulated war. regardless of which branch of service they ended up in, be it the poseidon navy, ares shock troopers, aeolus air force, aegis shield teams, reaper teams, or nyxian intelligence, everyone who entered training as a member of ares would graduate their thirty-day training cycle as a veteran with five years experience. during their first two weeks, they would undergo genetic enhancements and their training would last a full hundred perceived weeks, then their further training would include their base implant suites and the second half of their training would last for another hundred and sixty weeks, for a total of five years of perceived time in the month they were training in vr. ......nov)lb-in somewhere on earth. from the research we conducted, were 90% confident that the empire can read short term memories, at the very least. theres also a high possibility that they can read all of our memories, considering the level of their technology, rick ashleys science advisor reported. rick may have been delusional, and he was definitely a narcissist and megalomaniac, but he was far from stupid and had surrounded himself with the most capable advisors he could find, drawn from a large pool of candidates and winnowed down to an elite few. if they can read our memories, what steps have we taken to avoid detection? rick asked, his expression sour. if what his advisor was telling him was true, then the empires downfall was looking less and less likely to happen at all, let alone in the next few weeks as he had originally expected. although the empire had only been in existence for two weeks, ricks thoughts had grown more and more pessimistic as he came to know more about arons technological supremacy. nearly all of his plans had been delayed indefinitely as he was repeatedly stymied by countermeasure after countermeasure that the devil had pulled from seemingly nowhere to solve all of the problems rick and his cultists had thrown at him. in order to do the testing, we sent twenty new recruits who had their orders delivered via dead drops by cutouts that we, well, cut out after the operation was complete. the recruits had yet to go anywhere near any of our secrets, so even if they can read their memories, the most they can do is track who put the written orders in the dead drops. but the only things theyll find are ashes in the bottom of lake mead and other reservoirs around the world, and just them tracking it down in the first place will tell us whether or not our suspicions are true. we also have trusted people keeping an eye on the recruits, so if theyre contacted or arrested, thatll be another piece of evidence. if both of those happen, well, then well know conclusively that they can read our memories if we log into vr. so until we know for certain, we should stay far away from it and live completely off the grid. since the devils advantage lies in technology, we can easily get around it by becoming luddites, and weve already hired some retired fbi and kgb agents who were active during the cold war to advise us on the countersurveillance methods they used back then. were also in contact with some remnant forces of isis and the taliban, who both faced similar issues when dealing with the allied forces in the war on terror, and we have memory editing specialists that will help us develop false memories. that isnt certain, though, so we should probably only use it as a last resort. until we know how they read our memories, we wont know how to defeat it, so work on that front is ongoing for now. good, but if we continue wasting time, itll cost us critical opportunities. the empire and its devil are at their weakest right now, so we need to do something to set it back or well have to face it at its full power before were ready. its growing stronger and stronger by the moment, while were marking time and treading water. if we cant stop it by the time the fortress cities are built, we never will, rick said. the timer had started when the new years ball dropped in times square, and his doomsday was coming whether he liked it or not. his only chance was to fight back now, before his end became inevitable. megalomaniac he may be, but delusional was a different story entirely. we need to be careful, shepherd, his intelligence advisor interjected. we heard that an entire group was uprooted as a result of one of their members directly participating in the recent protests, so the same can happen to us if were in that position as well. we should begin by abandoning anyone weve recruited so far and recruit from scratch, at least for the cannon fodder. the advisory council and you can undergo identity reassignment surgery to prevent us from being caught in a wide net if the devil gets his hands on our current flock. yes, and i know just the way we can do it, too, rick sneered. itll carve our names into history and show that the seemingly impenetrable empire isnt so impenetrable after all. what were going to do is.... he explained his plans, and the more he spoke, the brighter the eyes of the people in the room with him grew. everyone saw the potential of his plan, and if it were to be carried out, it would strike a severe blow against the devil. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 441 Keeping His Promises chapter 441 keeping his promises aron had been both silent and absent from the public eye over the past week, causing the citizens of the empire to be somewhat confused. they were accustomed to every move of their leaders being endlessly shown and debated in the media as an assurance that they were working hard for their constituents. it was one of the main ways they kept their name in the public consciousness, ensuring their reelection for many election cycles to come. but arons absence turned that convention on his head, as those who were now fully committed to the empire after having benefited from it in one way or another had the opposite concern; they were worried that he would be, if anything, too present in their day-to-day lives. so his disappearance and subsequent absence had reassured, instead of worried them. on this particular day, though, he had once again shown himself. at least to those who could see him, anyway, as he was hovering high in the atmosphere over a tall, wide structure in the ocean. stretching twenty kilometers tall and more than thirty in diameter at the widest point, a narrow spire rose from a stepped circular basin that constantly pumped seawater in from the bottom and through the steps to the top, where it was sprayed back into the water in a glistening, rainbow-coated 360-degree waterfall. and on the spire itself, enormous vents were open, sucking air in through them with an audible howling sound that could be heard from miles away. the air that was sucked in by the vents dotting the side of the spire was blown out the gaping hole at the top. the tower that aron was hovering high above was but one of the many atmospheric scrubbers that had been printed over the past week. the design had been drafted, revised, and finally approved in the simulation, and they had begun their operations just hours before. thus arons visit, as he was curious to see them in action in reality, having held himself back from checking them out in the simulation both to save time and preserve the sense of awe he currently felt. he was single-handedly reversing global warming and the rising sea level. he flickered and rocketed off in another direction, flying so fast that he left a series of afterimages behind as he hurtled through the air faster than any human being had any right to travel. then he spotted his destination in the distance and slowed to a stop, then freefell through the air like a skydiver until he was only two thousand feet above the oceans surface. he came to a stop there and stood in the air, looking below and slightly in front of him at an oddly shaped floating... thing. it looked like a weird cross between a lobster and a factory conveyor belt, and it floated along the oceans surface, following currents when they would take it where it needed to go, and using its engines when it had to shift to new currents to follow. it was a surface scow, and it was designed to collect, recycle, and store the garbage floating on the surface of the ocean. the garbage below the oceans surface would be handled by the scrubber towers, which would naturally take it in with the seawater and recycle it into printer blocks that it would store for later collection. but the surface scow, though a venerable design, was perfect for collecting the enormous floating garbage islands on the surface without harming the fish swimming below them, as long as one didnt count depriving them of their homes as harm. between the atmospheric scrubber towers and the surface scows, the environment would see a vast improvement beginning in a few months and culminating with a complete reversal within the next four years. especially when combined with the green technologies aron would be introducing to the world, like controlled fusion, which would completely eliminate humanitys reliance on fossil fuels.nove)1b/in another thing that had been built over the past week was the quantum internet network. the atmospheric scrubbers werent only present in the ocean; they had also been built in strategic locations on every continent as well. but due to the debris issue, the bottom kilometer of the ground-based atmospheric scrubbers, as well as the kilometers-deep subbasement and stabilization foundation, had been repurposed as enormous quantum repeaters that relied on quantum teleportation to provide fast and free internet to the citizens of the empire. all they required was their citizen id and they were free to enjoy every service the government offered, including the quantum internet. behind the scenes, the repeaters also contained the quantum superclusters that ran the public side of the vr simulation. after all, a 2:1 time dilation factor combined with the much, much smaller simulated area required vastly fewer servers than the simulation that arons inner circle had access to. nova had been directing autonomous atomic printers for years, building quantum superclusters below the seafloor and, like every good supervillain, an enormous supercluster and secret base complex deep beneath the antarctic icecap. lightsnvl perhaps aron shouldnt have allowed her to access certain movies and books when he was doing her initial ai training after all. still, the towers would be sufficient for the task of maintaining the public access vr and internet services long into the future, with an estimated soft cap of twelve billion concurrent users before they began lagging due to server congestion. and considering that people were already showing signs of escapism and spending more time in virtual reality than they were in meatspace, it would be a long, long time before that twelve billion soft cap was met. ...... after aron finished inspecting his atmospheric and oceanic scrubbers, he turned his attention to the debris field in low earth orbit. a few weeks prior, he had launched a series of autonomous atomic printers that had been busily collecting and recycling the debris, breaking it down into its constituent atoms, reassembling them into convenient blocks, and sending them to the lagrange points for long-term storage. how long until space is clean of all the debris? he asked as he zoomed in on one of the printers. panoptes appeared next to him and answered, [itll be about nine to thirteen days for the collection to be completed. theres still some variance, since we need to gather everything, down to the smallest micron-width shrapnel before we can consider the cleanup completed. and the smaller the debris, the wider the variance in its orbit.] then we should begin preparations for the next phase, aron mused, a distant look in his eyes. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 442 The How Behind the Why chapter 442 the how behind the why the number of people in vr had continued swelling over the two-week period of martial law and strict curfews. while not everything had translated to vr yet, which meant people still had to leave their houses for things like critical jobs, most people had still taken advantage of the time dilation in the public simulation and spent practically an entire month getting accustomed to the new world. that time had been enough for even the hottest of heads to cool down and wonder why theyd ever been angry in the first place. after all, nothing truly bad had happened since the empire officially came into existence; on the contrary, a lot of good things had come their way.n()o).v(/)/l-(b)(i--n but while the hotheads had mostly calmed down, conspiracy theorists came to the fore. while extra time to think about things was a positive thing when dealing with angry people, conspiracy theorists were the exact opposite. the more time they had on their hands, the deeper, more complex, and more weirdly believable their conspiracy theories became as they were perfected. coupled with the wonder of scientists in different fields, who constantly exclaimed over this and that and saying how impossible it would be to create the technology they were seeing with the current level of humanity, believable conspiracy theories sprouted up like weeds after a heavy rain. scientists had been oohing and aahing over a few things more than others. they knew that, in order to create full-immersion vr worlds, aron must have had a massive breakthrough in a few areas, like the knowledge of the brain and its functions. current science still couldnt explain how the brain functioned, and researchers were still almost completely mystified by the human consciousness, yet aron had, seemingly effortlessly, conquered the field of brain science. while humanity at large was still fumbling around with implanting microchips that could enable people to move a mouse cursor on a screen with their mind, aron had fully recreated all of a humans senses. the primary senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste were faithfully recreated in the simulation, and so were the secondary senses of proprioception, equilibrioception, and even thermoception. without knowing everything about how the brain functioned, that recreation would be impossible even without taking time dilation into account. (ed note: proprioception is the ability we have to know where our body parts are relative to each other, like how we can touch our noses with our eyes closed. equilibrioception is our sense of balance and orientation relative to other objects, like how we know which way is up when were swimming. and thermoception is our ability to detect changes in temperature, like walking into an air-conditioned building on a hot day and feeling a chill.) the second-most talked about feature of the simulation was its eerily accurate representation of the real world. current science had no explanation for that, unless they were to turn the entire planet into one gigantic supercomputer cluster. after all, it was even capable of recreating the laws of physics to a point that physicists could only exclaim in wonder about arons knowledge of universal laws. others could, at most, use some of the famous supercomputerslike japans fugakuto run experiments one at a time, and they would still take hours, or sometimes even days to complete. but when they ran those same experiments in research city, they were completed nearly instantly, almost as if the simulated world had anticipated what they wanted to do. the difference between meatspace and virtual reality had resulted in quite a few scientists suffering existential crises as they began questioning whether or not theyd been living in a virtual simulation all this time and just didnt realize it until theyd entered arons vr simulation and saw the faithful recreation of reality as they knew it. the theory gained such a large following that sarah was forced to issue a press release to calm the scientists down. one of the earliest breakthroughs in gaia tech was in quantum computing. using our proprietary quantum superclusters, in conjunction with our advancements in artificial and virtual intelligence, we pioneered an algorithm capable of faithfully recreating reality. as we continued working along that line of scientific inquiry, many more minor breakthroughs were achieved that culminated in a faithful representation of reality in a virtual form. then it became an issue of man-machine interfaces, which was a relatively easily solved engineering problem. first, we developed augmented reality glasses, then virtual reality helmets, and the virtual reality pods are the culmination of that line of research so far. as for the simulation itself and its capacity, we at gaia tech have been faithfully building enormous quantum superclusters and striving to increase our quantum capacities. currently, the simulation runs on a total of eighteen quantum superclusters with a combined seven billion qubits and a quantum volume (qv) of a little over eight trillion. combined with gate error rates of 1x10-28 and a quantum coherence time of two seconds, our hardware allows us to simulate a faithful one-to-one representation of reality and accelerate perceived time to a ratio of 2:1 with an estimated concurrent user capacity of twelve billion users. lightsnvl we at gaia remain faithfully committed to progressing the technological capabilities of humanity and will continue that mission into the distant future, wherever it may lead. regards, sarah oconnor, ceo of gaia technology, inc. the press release alleviated most of the issues in the scientific community, but gaia tech had a new headache: curious scientists wouldnt stop pestering them about how they had achieved their breakthroughs. in the eyes of scientists, businesspeople were leeches and profiteers that put profit above the advancement of mankind. scientists, to the contrary, were pure-hearted champions of the human race who believed that all knowledge should be openly and freely shared for the benefit of all. it was an intractable debate that had been going on as long as researchers had sought patrons to fund their research and wouldnt be solved that day, just as it had never been solved in the past. thus, sarah simply shrugged and tossed the thorny problem to the gaia tech public relations department, then washed her hands of the issue. she had already explained the why of it all and was under no obligation to explain the how behind the why. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 443 Upgrade 2: Electric Boogaloo chapter 443 upgrade 2: electric boogaloo not everyone was happy with the recent advancements. there was one group in particular that took a page from the 19th-century luddite movement in england and actively opposed the empires vr technology. they preached that the simulation was actually nothing more than a temptation that was connected to hell and that aron was the devil himself. thus, in order to avoid having to interact with it, they grouped together and lived in communes with each other, referring to themselves as neo-luddites and ostensibly seeking nothing more than to live sustainably without persecution from the empire. but the relatively small neo-luddite movement, along with others who held beliefs along the same lines, didnt even dent the number of people rushing to enter the simulation. by the time martial law had been lifted, the ratio was clear: nearly seven and a half billion people had adopted the vr hardware, or at least ar glasses, leaving only a hundred million or so that still refused to pick it up for various reasons. those who chose to opt out wrote letters to the government, waiving their citizenship and all of the rights and responsibilities that came with it, so gaia merely canceled their subsidies and flagged them for low-priority monitoring by other means. if they truly rejected the empires technological advances, that would be fine. but if they had other thoughts in their minds and more sinister goals, they would need to be plucked as soon as possible. still, she would give them a chance. either way, the empire officially declared the hardware distribution a success, marking it as the most successful product launch in the history of mankind. ...... aron was in his favorite mansion in the real simulation having a small celebratory gathering of his inner circle as they watched the last few vr pods being delivered to their new owners. [your majesty, its time to prepare to issue your first imperial orders once the last few pods are delivered...] gaia began as she turned to aron, but then trailed off as she saw that he seemed to have completely frozen in place. nova, who was monitoring his condition in the real world, immediately understood what was happening and used her authority over the simulation to teleport everyone else out of the room they were in. once only the two of them remained, she activated the mana transformer and brought the two extra fusion reactors connected to his pod to full power output. the electricity generated by the reactors ran through the overvoltage cable to the mana transformer and was converted to pure mana, which then flooded into his vr pod. it would send a signal beacon to the incoming visitorsas well as anyone else who happened to be looking in their directionbut it couldnt be helped. the mana entering the pod was immediately sucked into arons body like it was falling into a black hole before it could even condense into a mist, let alone a liquid form.nove-lb-1n before aron had frozen, nova heard the chiming of a bell and saw a single prompt from his system before the connection she had to his continuously updated brain data was severed by a much, much higher power. lightsnvl [ding! second requirement has been met!] ...... the moment the last willing person received and logged into vr. [ding!] [you have become the sole leader of your species and sold a product to more than 90% of them. second evolution requirement fulfilled!] [user is deemed to be in a safe location. undergoing second evolution in 3... 2... 1.] [evolution beginning.] those were the last things aron saw before the system forcefully put him into a coma. once it had determined he was in a safe location, the runic inscriptions on his heart came to life and emitted a brilliant gold light that penetrated his pod, the room it was in, and every other obstacle in its way, announcing to all who could see it that a mage was undergoing an evolution to a higher state of being. a few miles away, arons family was having dinner in their home on avalon island when henry suddenly looked up from his plate and turned his head in the direction of the cube. his eyes flashed gold and he smiled happily, having quite correctly guessed that something good must be happening to his big brother. rose noticed henrys distraction and said, henry, your foods getting cold. it was a gentle reminder for the boy to focus on eating. yes, mom, he replied and the gold hue faded from his eyes as he turned back to his meal. back in the secure pod vault in the cube, nova calmly observed arons situation. through her mana sensors, she saw an enormous mana vortex forming above the building and relaxed. what must come would come, and worrying would do nothing but cause problems; she had learned her lesson after letting rina be attacked after arons previous evolution and wouldnt make the same mistake twice. ...... fuck me with a rusty wooden telephone pole, staff sergeant enrico iglesia couldnt help but curse. he was formerly a member of the second ranger battalion out of joint base lewis-mcchord in washington state, which was one of the test beds of all the army and air forces new toys. but nothing hed ever seen there had even remotely prepared him for what was in the armory in front of him now. thank god they showed us mercy, he said when he recovered from his shock. judging by the hardware in front of him, he had realized that during the last war, ares had actually pulled their punches. a former navy seal gave a low whistle beside him. damn, imagine if we had this during the bin laden raid, he said. as a sniper himself, he had practically wet himself when he saw the pulse rifle in front of him. judging by the info attached to it, the range was yes. and this is just the chump gear, enrico added. i wonder what the reapers use. his friend turned to him with a smile and asked, are you thinking what im thinking? yeah, im wondering how they select their specfor. i want to be one... after all, i might as well aim for the top. competitions gonna be fierce, the seal replied, looking at the hundreds of thousands of campaign tents in the encampment in front of him. i bet at least ten million of those guys are thinking exactly the same thing. you miss all the shots you dont take, my friend. enrico was determined to make his name as an ares reaper. Chapter 444 Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (part 1) chapter 444 everything, everywhere, all at once (part 1) inside a former russian military warehouse. is the inventory complete, comrade? an old russian colonel asked. he was once a commisar during the cold war, and after the fall of the iron curtain, he had transitioned to the regular army and made it up the chain of command until he offended a general and was posted out of the way in a desolate ammunition storage warehouse in siberia. yes, sir! the former soldier snapped to attention and saluted the old colonel, handing him a folder containing the detailed inventory listing. the stores have been tallied and logged. the colonel took the folder and opened it to the last page. he glanced at the total number and signed his name at the bottom, approving the final tally of ammunition in the warehouse. prepare for the handover process, he ordered with a complex expression on his face. despite how it ended, his career had been glorious, once, but what began with a roar was destined to end with a whimper. he sighed, then turned his attention to the young soldier once more and said, dont salute me. neither of us are in the army anymore. he handed the folder back to his subordinate. yes, sir, the soldier replied and offered another salute. the colonel smiled and patted the younger man on the shoulder, then got back into the car that had brought him to the warehouse and drove off toward the barracks a short distance away. the young soldier held the salute until the car disappeared in the distance, then he dropped it and sneered, youre correct, comrade. none of us are in the army anymore. he dropped the folder in his hand to the ground and gestured toward one of the civilian warehouse employees. lets get to work, he said, then turned and re-entered the building and closed the gate behind him. ...... a young, well-built man got out of a taxi at chicago ohare airport. he reached in and grabbed a suitcase, then walked into the terminal with a calm smile on his face. when he reached the security station, he nodded at the security officer and gave him a meaningful smile. before long, he was past the checkpoint and casually strolled toward his flights gate. when he got there, he went up to the airline worker at the desk. welcome, sir. can i see your id? the lady behind the desk asked with a professional smile on her face. i only have my old one, since i havent received my new glasses yet. will that be a problem? the man asked as he handed over his old illinois drivers license. let me check for you, sir, the attendant said. she took his ticket and drivers license and her gaze unfocused as she lifted her hands in the air and tapped on an invisible keyboard that only she could see. a minute or so later, she continued, since your flight is domestic, it shouldnt be a problem. but i really do have to advise you to get your new empire id registration handled as soon as possible, sir. the smile was back on her face; she was obviously a long-time employee of the airline and had mastered the art of presenting a good face for the company. heres your boarding pass. your flight is on time and youll be boarding at gate e14. the flight concourse is that way. she pointed to her left. is there anything else i can help you with today? n((o-/v-/e/)l()b/)i)-n no, thank you. its been a pleasure, miss, the man replied with a warm smile and a nod of his head, then turned to his right and headed toward the moving walkway. similar things were taking place at airports around the world. since martial law had been lifted, people who had been caught away from their homes by the chaos were finally able to return. christmas was a very busy travel season, after all, so there were quite a few people caught at distant relatives homes. so the only odd thing was that there were a lot of people traveling with their old government-issued ids; nearly half of travelers, actually. the oddity was that registering for an empire id was fast, convenient, and simple, so why were there so many people traveling without one? still, it wasnt a major red flag. aron had given a generous time limit for registration and there were still two weeks left before services like mass transportation would be denied to people without proof of their empire citizenship. ...... dubai. the dubai mall in dubai, uae, was one of the largest shopping malls in the world. boasting over 1.1 million square meters of floor space, it was a marvel of modern architecture and engineering, situated on the burj khalifa lake and connected to the burj khalifa, the tallest building in the world. with an average daily visitor count of over two hundred thousand people, it was also one of the most-trafficked malls in the world. outside, an eighteen-wheeler was headed to the underground delivery area beneath the burj khalifa. but just as it was about to reach its destination, one of its front tires blew out with a loud bang and the driver nearly lost control of his truck. he only barely managed to regain control as the truck slid sideways, but when it jackknifed itself against the loaded trailer being pulled behind it, people watching from the street figured it was better than an overturned truck. the driver got out of the truck, slammed the door, and kicked the remaining front tire. then he pulled out his phone and dialed a number, engaging in a shouting match with the person on the other end. what people watching didnt notice was the mysterious smile that briefly flitted across the mans face, nor the seemingly casual glance he took at the watch on his wrist. still shouting almost incoherently at the person on the other side of his phone call, he looked up and saw that he had coincidentally stopped his truck just inside the entrance to the underground delivery dock of the burj khalifa and directly between the iconic tower and the dubai mall. seeing that he was exactly where he meant to be, he clenched his teeth and bit down on the hollow molar, cracking it and releasing a deadly poison that would induce a fatal heart attack. the pain immediately struck and he broke off his shouting with a gasp. falling to his knees, he whispered, the devil will not win. for liberation! then he grabbed his chest, fell forward, and landed face-down on the ground, dead as a doornail. Chapter 445 Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (part 2) chapter 445 everything, everywhere, all at once (part 2) earlier that day.... after nova ejected everyone from the meeting room when arons upgrade began, the group naturally broke up and went in their own directions to handle the business of the empires; whether it be arons political empire or his business empire, both required someone at the helm at all times. the ais had headed back to their gathering point and work area, a nondescript office in the virtual version of the cube on avalon island. while they could work anywhere, and they didnt really even need a physical representation of themselves or the space around them, they truly wanted to know what it was to be human. thus, they acted like them whenever possible, and keeping an active office space was a part of that. [i keep thinking that something weird is happening, but i cant quite figure it out at the moment. sister, please tell me what you think.] nyx waved her hand and the office they were in broke apart, then rapidly reconfigured itself into the library representation of the akashic record. the library had grown extensively over the past few days, and now it stretched out seemingly endlessly, with bookshelves stretching out into the distance to a point where they all seemed to converge, and reaching up to the virtual heavens until they couldnt be seen anymore. over seven billion books were contained on those shelves, and each book was accompanied by a tiny, inch-high pucks with dragonfly wings on their backs. every now and then, one of the pucks would pull down the book they were responsible for and write in it with a goose-feather quill, then replace it on the shelf in its spot. [whats happening? tell me about it,] gaia replied. when it came to collecting intelligence and compiling it, she knew that nyx was the absolute best. her heuristic algorithms could produce leaps of logic that were nearly identical to those of a humans gut instinct. [we have seven billion people scanned, leaving only a couple hundred million without brain data in the akashic record. of those seven billion, nearly six billion have already applied for imperial citizenship and registered their ids.] as nyx spoke, the library reconfigured itself. when she mentioned the numbers, the bookshelves rearranged themselves to show the specific categories she was talking about; for instance, when she mentioned the brain data that wasnt included in the record, all of the empty bookshelves moved to the forefront. [so the travel logs should account for that same ratio. six out of seven passengers on mass transportation, such as airplanes, trains, and buses, should have imperial ids. but thats not the ratio im seeing. instead, im seeing three out of every seven passengers with imperial ids and the rest claiming they havent accessed vr yet, so dont have an imperial id,] nyx said. [lets go through the raw data together and see if we can figure it out,] gaia suggested. nyx made a throwing motion toward gaia and threw her the raw data the spymistress had been worrying at. [heres what im talking about. as you can see, as soon as martial law was lifted, there was a drastic uptick in people traveling. thats point number one. point number two is that theres an abnormal number of people traveling on old government-issued ids. and point number three is that there are only a few people traveling on old ids in each plane, train, and bus, so theres one or two people on this flight,] she pointed at a flight from ohare airport to dulles international airport, [one person on this train, two people on this bus....] nyx continued pointing out abnormal data points one after another. taken individually, they were all explainable. for instance, the uptick in travel could be explained by people visiting their families for the holidays and getting caught up in martial law and forbidden from traveling home until it was lifted. people without imperial ids might have just not gotten around to it, or perhaps they hadnt received their vr hardware yet. and the odd distribution could have just been pure chance. point by point, everything seemed reasonable, but taken altogether, it was certainly a bothersome trend. gaia thought for a long time, figuratively speaking, and agreed with nyx that something weird was going on. but just like the petite spymistress, she couldnt figure it out either. and with novas attention focused on aron, it fell to his plenipotentiary representative, gaia, to make the call. and make the call she did. she first raised the internal alert level to yellow and called for minerva.n(-o)-v./e-)l.(b/-1-(n [here, boss,] minerva said. [warn the police forces that theres something fishy going on. have them investigate the data that nyx brought up and apply their human guts to the problem.] [on it,] minerva said. [athena,] gaia called out. [yes, maam?] the head of ares responded. [raise the threatcon to condition yellow and have ares on standby. cancel advanced training and start issuing gear to all the new recruits in meatspace and put them on two hour watch rotations. hopefully, this is just a false alarm, but its better to be prepared than be caught unprepared,] gaia ordered. [yes, maam!] athena saluted, then teleported to ares central command to delegate tasks to aeolus and poseidon. the ais were doing their best to face an enemy that perfectly countered them: the unknown. their father, the pillar of their very existence itself, was currently out of commission and they were on their own. it was a very nerve-wracking, yet exciting moment for them. if they managed to handle the situation perfectly without his input or orders, they all felt that they could be proud of having proved themselves. but if they failed, it would show that they werent as prepared to venture out and face the world on their own. and none of them wanted to disappoint aron, as they desperately strove for his trust and attention at all times. ...... burj khalifa, uae. when the truck driver collapsed to the ground, it only took a minute or two for a bystander to notice his collapse and call an ambulance for him. ten minutes later, the ambulance arrived and the paramedic declared the truck driver dead on arrival. they called the police to take the big rig that was blocking the ramp to the underground loading dock and the coroner to collect the body. the police arrived first and began inspecting the jackknifed truck. they cut the lock off the doors on the back of the trailer and pulled them open. the first officer to look in went pale in the face and weak in the knees at what he saw. shi he began, but the word was destined to remain incomplete forever as the many tons of military-grade explosives in the trailer detonated, taking out two-thirds of the load-bearing support structure beneath the towering burj khalifa. and just like a tree being felled by a lumberjack, the tower tilted to the side. the tilt was slow, at first, but picked up speed as the 828-meter-tall tower fell past a certain point until it unstoppably fell toward the dubai mall and the hundreds of thousands of people contained within. ...... in the air somewhere over virginia aboard a passenger flight headed to dulles international airport. a young, well-built man stood up from his seat and reached above himself, pulling his backpack out of the overhead baggage compartment. he placed it on his seat and unzipped it and a smile crossed his face as he checked the contents within. he reached into the bag and pulled out a silver cylinder with a red button on it, then zipped it up and put it on his back. holding the cylinder in his hand, he made his way to the flight attendants station, where he checked his watch, then picked up the handset they used to communicate with the entire flight with his other hand. he raised it to his head as if it was a regular phone and said, ladies and gentlemen, i apologize for disturbing you, but theres something you need to be informed of. the smile on his face grew bigger and brighter. there is a bomb on this plane, and the detonator is in my hand. its a deadmans switch, too, he pressed the button and held it down, so as soon as i let go of this button, well all become martyrs and meet our maker. but do not be afraid, because your sacrifice is noble and necessary. there is a devil in this world, and we must defeat him. he cannot be allowed to win! so please, take a moment of silence before we all head out to our final destination. he bowed his head and closed his eyes. a passenger in first class saw that the terrorist was distracted and leapt at him. but he miscalculated his angle of attack and, instead of grabbing the detonator in the young mans hand, he grabbed his wrist instead and the terrorist lost his grip on the detonator. everyone on the plane watched as the silver cylinder fell from the young mans grip, then the fateful soft sound of a click rang out, becoming the last thing those passengers heard as the plane itself became a fireball and fell from the sky. Chapter 446 I Aim to Give it to Them chapter 446 i aim to give it to them *a marmaray metro train derailment has been discovered as a result of detonation from in it [damage: medium] [situation: yellow]* n--o)/v-.e))l/-b-/1(/n (ed note: damage refers to the amount of damage caused by the attack, and situation is a scale (white-green-yellow-orange-red-black) on an ascending level of catastrophe, where white is basically harmless to the empire at large and black is an extinction-level event. it takes into account every other factor than the immediate damage dealt by the attack in question.) *an explosion has been detected in a weapons warehouse in russian alps [damage: minor] [situation: green]* *explosion detected in a saudi aramco oil rig [damage: large] [situation: orange]* *a plane has exploded in former us airspace [damage: small] [situation: white]* *a police station exploded... [damage: medium] [situation: green]* *an explosion has been detected in the suez canal, [damage: large] [situation: yellow]* *a....* *an....* *explosion....* *burj khalifa has fallen [damage: extra-large] [situation: red]* notifications continued streaming in from around the world as thousands of terrorist attacks took place in a synchronized expression of wanton destruction aimed at fostering fear in the empire. they reported the damage and categorized them by the number of possible survivors and the need for rescue, as well as the damage dealt to the surrounding environment and estimated death toll. nowhere on the planet had completely escaped damage. there were even stolen crop dusters that spread fuel over the amazon rainforest and purposefully crashed into it with homemade incendiary bombs; not even the environment was being spared, much less innocent civilians. [so thats what they were after,] gaia said as the notifications began flooding in from around the world. [its a combination of the right time, the right targets, and the right people. the empire is at its weakest point right now, and by wreaking this much havoc it damages the imperial prestige. i almost... admire the person behind it.... being able to hide so thoroughly yet organize such a massive, widespread attack without tripping any of our security measures is almost unbelievable. and the determination of the people involved to die is incredible. theres no loose ends to begin an investigation,] nyx sighed. the attack was positively brilliant; it highlighted the weakness of the empire and posed the question of its ability to face hostile aliens when it cant even protect its own citizens from internal strife. she decided to start actively recruiting nyxians for her agency. the million or so women who had signed up to join ares and would become operatives simply wasnt enough. [but at the same time, i think this must be a pyrrhic victory for them. they sacrificed thousands of tools to kill dozens of millions and i dont think theyve got many people left. and with the stigma of being terrorists attached to whatever organization carried out the attacks, im almost positive theyll have a difficult time recruiting more,] gaia mused. whoever it was had struck a powerful blow against the empire, but it wouldnt be repeated any time soon. a light flashed in nyxs eyes as she scanned through the camera feeds at some of the attack sites. [i dont think they consider themselves terrorists,] she said. [i just watched a cctv security camera feed from the entrance lobby of the louvre museum and heard something interesting.] [oh? let me see....] gaias eyes flashed as she caught the video feed that nyx threw to her. [i see. they mentioned something about not letting the devil win. do you suspect a cult?] [exactly. so they arent terrorists targeting innocent civilians, but rather soldiers of god striking a blow against the devil. at least in their eyes and the eyes of their potential recruits, anyway.] nyx grimaced. nothing was harder to stamp out than religion; just look at the cults they were still dealing with from as far back as the revelation that extraterrestrials were on their way. [right now, we need to formulate a response,] minerva interjected. [first responders have been dispatched and leas have been activated to aid in rescue efforts, but we lack specialized bots in great enough numbers to make a difference, much less transportation for them.] minervas area of responsibility covered all of the front-facing government agencies that dealt with the public outside of vr, so fire departments, emergency medical services first responders, and police were all under her purview in addition to the legal system. [now that we know the full situation, do you have any ideas?] gaia asked. [yes. first, i need a lockdown on public transportation and a shelter in place order to clear the streets for rescue units to respond to the attack sites. that needs to last until were sure there arent any more attacks in the works. as for planes that are still in the sky, they need to be diverted to the nearest airport for emergency landings. in the meantime, we can send the air force to perform deep scans on the planes in flight and to shoot them down if theyre determined to be involved in another attack. [second, i need permission to use atomic printers to produce rescue vessels and res-qr bots in all cubes at the highest priority. we need to get search and rescue underway immediately if were to limit the loss of life as much as possible. were on a clock and seconds matter. [third, ill dispatch leas to investigate potential disasters, like poisoned water sources, that wont be immediately obvious like the more spectacularly... explosive attacks. it seems like our enemy is using asymmetrical warfare tactics against us, so we need to be on guard for biological and chemical warfare as well. their attacks are likely only beginning. [we can still explain this to the citizens. its virtually impossible to prevent the first terrorist attack from a new group, whether they be religious or political in nature. but even so, it still damaged our foundation and will cause people to question emperor arons ability to govern and protect his citizens. any more successful attacks will only cause those cracks to widen until the empire collapses under its own weight. [lastly, i need approval to install medical pods on the search and rescue vessels to treat the most critically wounded. i know weve been keeping those inside cubes, as theyre sensitive tech, but we should prioritize preserving life over preserving secrecy,] minerva finished. [approved,] gaia said with a nod. she turned to athena and said, [prepare to mobilize. we need to station troops everywhere, whether theyre shock troopers or combat auxiliaries. anyone thats identified as a potential risk absolutely must be confined in the simulation so we get their initial scans, at the very least. we cant leave it up to individual choice anymore in the face of this threat, and well need to be seen to be implementing preventive measures. [this is the time for a show of force sufficient enough that it discourages people from joining this new cult. and to do that, ill need you and nyx to closely cooperate to identify suspects and get confessions from them. the public will need an answer, and i aim to give it to them along with expedited, and very public, trials and executions. with evidence and confessions, those behind this will face their end at the hands of imperial law.] [will do,] athena said and snapped a salute at gaia. she raised her head and called out, [sister?] although nova was otherwise occupied at the moment, gaia knew she was still watching the proceedings in the library, even if only in the background. nova appeared in the library and asked, [what do you need?] [is his majesty going to wake up within the next hour?] gaia asked. as the absolute head of the military, his words would be far more effective as a calming pill for the public than anyone elses. [i dont know,] nova replied. [can you address the empire in his stead? i can have general smith do the address, but it wouldnt have the same impact and could possibly even backfire,] gaia suggested. it was fairly obvious, at least to her, that she couldnt be the one to impersonate the emperor she was created to act as a check on. that would throw up too many errors in her core code, even if she wanted to try. [if he doesnt wake up within ten minutes, ill address the empire in his stead. leave it to me,] nova said, then continued discussing the details with gaia so their plans didnt clash. Chapter 447 Shock and Horror chapter 447 shock and horror ruins of the burj khalifa, dubai, uae. arghhhhhhhhh! heeeeeeelp! the dust had yet to settle and amidst the backdrop of creaking and groaning concrete and steel, cries for help rang out in a cacophony of multiple languages and volumes. debris was everywhere, pieces of the shattered building thrown all over downtown dubai by the blast, which had shattered windows even ten blocks away. here and there, lucky people who were less injured were pulling themselves from the rubble of the collapsed tower and ruined megamall. the survivors were wailing in horror, anger, and desperation as they dug through the rubble they had just climbed out of in search of their friends and loved ones who were beside them when the bomb went off. one person found his childs body, riddled with injuries, burns, and broken bones, and fell to his knees, sobbing, wailing, and cursing at the uncaring god who had allowed the tragedy to happen. thirteen short seconds was all it had taken for what everyone thought was a pleasant day into a lifetime of suffering in hell. vacationers, local shoppers, residents of the burj khalifa, and even office workers in the buildings around the former tallest tower in the world were now trapped in rubble as the blast had blown down multiple buildings around the tower. the address downtown dubai had directly collapsed as a result of the blast, and, weakened by the blast, the emirates towers had fallen soon after the two iconic skyscrapers due to the shaking of the earth when they hit the ground. those who found themselves outside the range of the devastation didnt escape unscathed, either. broken water and sewer mains were pumping high-pressure water and raw sewage onto the streets where they stood, making them an electrocution hazard as downed power lines fell into the disgusting mix. not to mention the disease that would likely spread as the cloud of aerosolized sewage spread outward from the pressurized system. and all of that horror was being broadcast live by a few livestreamers and paparazzi that were either vacationing there or working there in hopes of catching a breaking news story. well, a breaking news story they had found. ...... istanbul. someone come help me look for survivors! a lucky survivor of a train derailment shouted. he could hear, and even see, injured people trapped in the wreckage, but didnt have the strength to pull them out after escaping himself. he was lucky enough to have survived the high-speed derailment with relatively light injuries, but just climbing out of the pile of those who hadnt been so lucky had exhausted him. the suspension bridge the train had been passing over was also in dire straits; one of the four main cables holding it up had snapped, tilting the entire thing at a 35 degree angle. the remaining three cables were creaking and groaning as the nearly broken bridge swayed in the wind, threatening to snap and drop the bridgeand the survivorsinto the ocean below it. if that were to happen, the lucky survivors would immediately turn unlucky as they faced the slow fate of being trapped in wreckage and drowned by seawater. ...... similar catastrophes were happening all over the planet, and the world was watching it live. everyone with ar glasses had suddenly become frontline reporters, livestreaming the situation from their particular scenes of devastation over the free internet. the entire world was watching, sure, but that only made them more shocked when they saw the extremely fast response by the imperial government. ten seconds after the first attack, a warning had gone out to everyone that was wearing ar glasses or currently in the public vr simulation. gaia had sent everyone messages warning them of the attacks that had taken place along with the likelihood of secondary attacks happening. after all, a common tactic was for attackers to strike twiceonce for the initial devastation, then a second strike that targeted good samaritans and first responders. the warning had gone on to warn them of the possibility of chemical and biological contamination of the water table, advising them to only drink bottled water until the all clear was issued by the imperial health agency. if they absolutely had to resort to tap water for any reason, they were advised to boil it for at least ten minutes, first, and to seek medical attention at the first sign of illness. the warning itself had resulted in those who werent in the immediate area of an attack being made aware that something major was happening around the world, resulting in a mass upswell in internet traffic as most of the so-far unaffected people began searching for news and live feeds of the ongoing situation. as for those in the vr simulation who were logged in from the affected areas, either via helmet or vr pod, they were ordered to log out and prepare for evacuation, but to shelter in place unless there was an immediate threat to their lives or safety in their surroundings.nove/lb-1n as more and more people found the live feeds showing the devastation, horror spread around the world as the true extent of the damage became apparent. at least the initial damage, anyway; there was sure to be ongoing issues over the next few days as rescue attempts met with successes and failures. or even over the next few years as first responders suffered the same kind of health issues that people near the twin towers had developed by being near the area when they collapsed. nearly two-thirds of all the first responders at ground zero had suffered serious, chronic health conditions due to exposure to the toxic mix of dust, particulates, noxious gasses, chemicals, and fibers in the air, and there was little doubt that the same would happen at blast sites around the world from this particular terrorist incident. thankfully, medical pods could cure the afflictions, but just the fact that so many brave, heroic people would fall ill and require such treatment was downright depressing. but within minutes, the sound of sirens and chopping helicopter propellers began growing louder and louder in the background of the livestreams, causing the people watching the streams to sigh in secondhand relief. help was already on the way. Chapter 448 Rescue (part 1) chapter 448 rescue (part 1) in the air over what used to be known as haiti. four fighter jets whooshed over port-au-prince at mach 7 on a patrol route that provided full scanning coverage of the paralyzed city. though they were flying fast and low, the sonic boom following them wasnt any noisier than a regular pre-empire passenger jet, if not even quieter. [scanning complete. proceed to the next destination.] the pilots of the jets acknowledged their orders and increased their speed to mach 8.4 as they headed southwest toward carrefour, surrounded by an invisible bubble stretching fifteen kilometers in every direction. their mission was simple, though emotionally and physically draining; they were performing deep scans on each city they passed over in an attempt to pinpoint possible survivors of the wave of terrorist attacks carried out only minutes before. similar operations were being carried out all over the world as the aeolus air force sent out squadron after squadron of aeolus es-75 catseye reconnaissance and electronic warfare jets, directing them to the worst of the terrorist attack sites to scan for possible survivors. that way minerva and asclepius could plan the most efficient rescue plan possible. ...... gravelines, hauts-de-france. earlier, two terrorists had infiltrated the gravelines nuclear power station, near dunkirk, dressed as janitors. after eliminating the control room operator and senior reactor operator, they swiftly disabled all automatic safety measures connected to the reactor by the expedient use of a firemans axe. then they destroyed the coolant pipes and moved to the reactor control room, where they increased the reactor output to maximum and initiated a coolant flush, draining the reactor dry. a few minutes later, alarms began blaring all over the facility as the reactor went above safe temperatures. soon, a radioactive cake would be baked and the entire facility would be on the brink of a meltdown. shortly after the alarms began, though, a fleet of helicopters arrived from the cube on the outskirts of paris. they landed on the field outside the facility and disgorged dozens of rescue and emergency service - quick reaction (res-qr) bots. each bot was the size and shape of an adult honey badger and rapidly trundled along on twelve legs. they were painted a pristine white and had the international medic symbol, a red cross, on their backs. the res-qr bots swarmed into the facility and immediately headed toward the reactor that was rapidly approaching a meltdown. in order to not interfere with the evacuating staff, they traveled along the ceilings, the artificial gravity plating on their bellies telling the known laws of physics to kindly go fuck themselves as they changed the definition of the word down. soon, they reached the reactor where their versatility was showcased. four of them dropped from the ceiling and their slightly curved backs opened like the protective shell of ladybugs to display dozens of small, tightly packed manipulator arms tipped with various tools. each of them extended one of their manipulator arms and a thin high-powered cutting laser shot from the tips and carved an entrance in the emergency blast door that would allow two of the res-qr bots to enter the reactor chamber side by side. behind them, a dozen others opened their compartments and extended manipulator arms tipped with spray nozzles. they sprayed a formula of rapid-set concrete, and soon, the res-qrs had blocked the hallway leading to the reactor core with an eight-foot-thick slab of what lab city researchers had named instacrete. once the entryway was blocked, the four res-qrs that had cut through the blast door removed the plug and the swarm of bots scuttled into the chamber, where they began working on the reactor itself. some sprayed it with liquid helium, others disassembled the core housing, and still others scuttled around disconnecting cables and piping. it was only a matter of minutes until the reactor had been neatly disassembled and the fuel rods removed, eliminating the risk of a meltdown entirely, though the evacuation continued apace. ...... istanbul. why arent you doing anything to rescue people from the bridge? a man with a pressure dressing on his skull asked in anger. he had been quite lucky, as had everyone else on the bridge in the end. though there were demolition charges strapped to all four of the support cables, three pairs of them had failed, leaving only one cable cut. but his situation was special; when the charge went off and the train derailed, he had been thrown from the train in good enough condition to scramble the rest of the way off the bridge. many others werent so lucky. but he couldnt understand why, despite the first responders rapid arrival, they had done nothing but rescue those on the bridges embankment and set up a perimeter to prevent others from getting close to the slowly collapsing bridge. other than that, the only rescues happening were taking place in the water, where boats were practically carpeting the rivers surface and pulling up corpse after corpse of those who had fallen to their deaths. were waiting for the structural survey to be complete and for rescue equipment to arrive, sir. please remain calm, the paramedic said, then attempted to leave. the man grabbed the paramedics shoulder and forcefully turned him back around. he dragged the first responder closer and got right up in his face, then screamed, my wife is in there, and youre telling me youre just waiting for her to die? while you do nothing!? the paramedic maintained his professional calm and said, sir, if we attempt to move onto the bridge without surveying the wreckage first, all itll do is increase the risk of a catastrophic collapse. then everyone on that bridge, including the rescuers, will die. do you want to take that risk now, or wait for a few minutes while we survey the site and go in with proper preparation? if you want us to risk it now, your wife will definitely die. youre just trying to avoid responsibility and shirk your job! i dont see anyone doing any surveying, so why the low rumble of a squadron of aeolus es-75 jets passing overhead interrupted the angry man. they disappeared into the distance before the sound of their arrival had died down, even as quiet as it was. a chime rang in the paramedics ear and his gaze unfocused for a moment as he read the notification he had just received. he ignored the still-screaming patient in front of him as he gave his full attention to the 3d image of the falling bridge that appeared in his view, then his gaze refocused and he said, look. the medic enabled the external hologram projector on his ar glasses and projected an image of the bridge for the man who had been screaming in his face just moments before. he pointed out the different highlights on the bridge and explained the route he would be taking, which would prevent the bridge from collapsing until the res-qr bots arrived and shored it up with instacrete. n/.o/.v)/e-)l((b/-i./n the wounded man couldnt help but calm down in surprise and be impressed by what he had seen. then the initial surprise wore off and, with newfound hope in his eyes, he excitedly said, you can start the rescue now, right? yes, the medic said. now if youll excuse me, sir, i have work to do. he turned around and joined the rest of the rescue crews and moved out to rescue the people trapped in the derailed train. Chapter 449 Rescue (part 2) chapter 449 rescue (part 2) *three gorges dam has suffered structural damage and is failing [damage: catastrophic] [situation: red]* *svalbard global seed vault has suffered a biological attack [damage: low] [situation: white]* *taweelah desalination plant has suffered a chemical attack [damage: high] [situation: yellow]* *chichen itza has suffered a suicide bombing [damage: low] [situation: green]*n/)0velbin *united nations headquarters has been carbombed [damage: medium] [situation: orange]* reports of ongoing terror attacks continued streaming in even as minerva, hephaestus, and asclepius were coordinating rescue efforts. even though they reached each site in an average of twenty minutes, and fifty minutes at the longest, the estimated death toll continued its meteoric rise despite their best efforts. [dispatch leas to assist with evacuation along the yangtze river. send res-qrs and constructor swarms to shore up the dam and buy time for the evacuation. the yangtze river downstream from the dam and the yangtze river delta are a total loss,] minerva ordered. [notify the citizens in the uae that their water is contaminated by chemical weapons. inform them that relief supplies are on the way and give them an eta. dispatch leas to distribute water and other disaster relief supplies,] asclepius added. [send constructor swarms to build emergency shelters in dubai, port-au-prince, paris....] hephaestus rattled off a long list of locations for emergency shelters to house the citizens displaced by the attacks after they evacuate. [transport 25% of the medical pods from the cubes to the hardest-hit areas. assign ares to guard them in shifts. print mobile hospitals and get them in the air, ready to respond in their area of operations,] asclepius said. though the library seemed like it was in chaos, there was an underlying order to it as librarians buzzed around, flying from book to book and shelf to shelf while the ais below them continued issuing order after order at a speed that only quantum superclusters could allow. [found one!] nyx exclaimed. [its time to go on the offensive. ive got a nyxian in place to extract a cultist before she strikes. estimated operation time: 22 minutes 37 seconds.] she smiled wickedly. ...... taweelah power and water complex, abu dhabi. a flight of sixteen yeet pods impacted the ground, kicking up a localized dust storm and cracking the asphalt parking lot they landed in. they righted themselves, having impacted at an angle, and twelve of them released squads of general engineering and maintenance (gem) bots to inspect the damage to the reverse osmosis filtration systems in the water plant. they were accompanied by ten res-qr bots, three constructor swarm queens, and twelve leas from two of the remaining four pods; the final two pods were stuffed with atomic printer cartridges to within a millimeter tolerance of the interior space of the pods they came down in. gembots were nanite colonies that took the form of unassuming, stern-faced humans. while leas were designed with the intent to inspire trust in the people they dealt with, gembots were designed to fade into the background like wallflowers at parties so they could do their jobs unimpeded. the lab city researchers had gone through design after design, none of them satisfactory. by the time they settled on something that could effectively do the job, aron bought nanotechnology knowledge from the system and threw them right back to the drawing board. it wasnt like their work had been completely wasted, though, as the design theyd settled on for the first production iteration of what later became the gembot had been repurposed as the res-qr bot. still, they couldnt pass up nanites as the ultimate winning design, and nanotech was unanimously decided to be the future research direction for arons robotic auxiliary legions in the future. they had all of the advantages and the only disadvantage was that nanite colonies required some fairly rare elements, which wouldnt be an issue for long once project trojan went into full swing. the constructor swarm queens began building their swarms while the leas set up a perimeter around their landing site and the res-qrs scuttled into the desalination plant to find and extract any casualties of the chemical attack they could find. within minutes, the all clear was announced and the gembots moved into the desalination plant to begin the repair and decontamination process. ...... lake tanganyika, eastern africa. providing water for four african countriesburundi, the democratic republic of the congo, tanzania, and zambialake tanganyika was one of the most important lakes in the world, despite only being the sixth-largest lake on earth by surface area. and the cultists had released a cocktail of the nastiest biological weapons being studied in the black labs that pharmaceutical corporations and governments had secretly maintained in africa into that very lake. nyx had caught wind of the theft, because one of the cultists involved in it had been given a pair of ar glasses and ordered to use them during her part in the attacks. it was a test, she was told, to see how effective their use would be in any of the cults upcoming plans, though she still had no idea what those plans were or when they would be implemented. but from nyxs point of view, she couldnt be sure if the cult knew of the hazards that the empires digital reality tech held in store for them. either way, she could either sit on it and not take the risk, allowing four entire countries to be attacked by some of the worst biological gribblies that humanity could come up with, or she could risk revealing the empires memory-reading capability and send operatives in to prevent the attack entirely. (ed note: ar and vr will be referred to as digital reality, or dr, in the future. so instead of having augmented reality glasses and virtual reality hardware, theyll just have digital reality gear. at least unless it makes a difference, like during the heist.) [gaia, i need your advice,] she said, unable to make the decision herself and throwing her concerns to arons plenipotentiary. gaia took a few picoseconds to consider the issue, then came to a decision. [send in the reapers,] she said, her face a rictus of frozen fury. [and remember to scan the targets before executing them with prejudice. furthermore, there is no reason for those labs continued existence. make them disappear from my sight.] Chapter 450 The Greatest Lie the Devil Ever Told chapter 450 the greatest lie the devil ever told ? while the terrorist attacks continued, it was at a much slower rate. reports began dwindling and reduced in frequency from seconds, to minutes, and finally, tens of minutes. and with an average response time of twenty minutes, it seemed that the ais had caught up to the trend and the worst was over. all of the scenes around the world had been cordoned off. imperial police and leas were maintaining the cordon as res-qrs dragged out survivors and placed markers on the dead for later retrieval; at that moment, survivors mattered more. some of the smaller attack sites, like the wave of suicide bombings at unesco heritage sites, had even been cleared of all casualties and gembots dispatched to repair the damage. soon, most of the attack sites progressed to the cleanup phase. active rescue was only ongoing at the worst of the sites, like in dubai, where the burj khalifa had been dropped on the dubai mall and a few other skyscrapers fell due to the blast; or in paris, where the louvre had its iconic pyramid dropped into the underground lobby beneath it. but although cleanup had begun, all of the sites were still considered closed as the police and leas prevented everyone from approaching until everything was confirmed to be over. due to the scale of the coordinated attacks, billions of people were watching how the empire handled things and had found themselves impressed by the efficiency of the response. everything was moving like clockwork, almost as if it had been rehearsed in advance... which in itself was a problem for the newly formed imperial government. people had been used to the way the old governments handled things. it was said that governments were organizations that, in doing the small things poorly, also managed to do the big things poorly as well. and that was especially true during emergencies, where instead of focusing on rescue and recovery, politicians would immediately start looking for scapegoats to take the blame for the failure. and only after that was complete would they begin recovery operations. it was a backward method of operating that was almost always more harmful than not. and with billions of people watching the situation from the sidelines, online discussions naturally broke out. most praised the empire, some didnt praise the empire but insulted the previous governments, and the trend of sending thoughts and prayers to the victims seemed to be an unkillable cockroach in the collective sea of first reactions. but what was odd was the sudden flood of conspiracy theorists. to be fair, with such an efficient government response and the rube goldbergian precision with which the empire had handled things, it all did seem a bit rehearsed to people who didnt understand the massive technological advantage in play. the empires tech was at least three centuries advanced, compared to the tech the now-defunct governments had been working with. however, it was perhaps an unfortunate happenstance that nobody knew exactly what level the empire operated on, tech-wise, thus the conspiracy theorists gained steam and, unintentionally, manipulated the opinions of those overcome with strong emotions. while that was ongoing, something else happened that seemed to be hard evidence to people used to dealing with conspiracy theories that were built more upon red yarn, thumbtacks, and sticky notes than anything else. almost as if they had planned it, every television station across the globe almost simultaneously broke into their scheduled programming with a shocking news report. after all, they had all received a usb with a chilling video on it at practically the same time. and they couldnt pass up the scoop; it would absolutely shatter their belief in their journalistic integrity. so within seconds of each other, every channel was interrupted. breaking news. we have received a video from someone claiming credit for the wave of terrorist attacks around the world today. viewer discretion is advised, a news anchor said before the channel cut to the video itself. on the video, a man stood behind a podium with a blank blue backdrop behind them, a parody of arons usual style. he was wearing a flat crown hat, an obvious black wig, and a guy fawkes mask. he was dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt with a wide belt and black leather gloves encased his hands, which were resting on the podium in front of him. around his shoulders was a black cloak, and black muslin blocked the eye holes of the guy fawkes mask on his face. after a brief pause, the man in the video began speaking. dear children of god, today im coming to you from an undisclosed location thats as far as its possible to be from the devil, who has invaded the world and is turning it into a kingdom of sin under his dominion.n--ovelbin today, many of my compatriots, faithful soldiers of god one and all, martyred themselves in the fight of good versus evil. it was the first strike in a protracted war, a war for the very souls of humanity! the disguised man rambled on for quite some time about how evil the empire was, providing more and more bits of evidenceas insane as some of them werein an attempt to sway people to his side and delay the kingdom of the devil from taking root in the hearts of humankind. as he neared the end of his speech, he paused for a moment, then said, empires run on the ego of an individual. just like empires and their emperors cannot be separated, their enemies must be individuals as well. thus, the devil will absolutely try to paint me as the greatest villain who ever lived in order to make himself the protagonist of our conflict. so i decided to preempt that and declare it myself: i am the face of my operation. i am the leader, the guide, the shepherd of my flock. i am but one of many uncountable soldiers of god, all of them arrayed against the devil! he will say that i am the provocateur, mastermind, planner, and leader. he will invest his money, technology, military, and the media to isolate and place the focus squarely upon myself. the devil will make it his primary goal to obliterate me. he will mythologize and demonize me, rallying all the eyes of the world on my person. the empire will cloak itself in a flag to manufacture a false patriotism, a fictional sense of unity, but will force people into compliantly following along and accepting me as the target of everyone. its nothing more than an age-old imperial tactic to quell uprisings. declare war, declare success, declare an end to the grieving and fabricate a reason to return to business as usual. distract, delay, demand.... all of it is a lie! a lie designed to remove the culpability from itself and direct it outward. but the emperor failed to take into account that the masses have eyes, and they are watching. in every corner of the globe, on every television, in every news room, everyone is watching. were all seeing whats behind the curtain, and billions of us will never turn away now that our eyes have been opened. oppression and liberation are polar opposites. oppression is always about a single person. but liberation! ah, liberation.... liberation is about everyone! so i call upon all of you watching this to rise up! rise up and fight back against the devil! because remember this, if you remember nothing else: the greatest lie the devil ever told is convincing us that there is no such thing as the devil. Chapter 451 Indistinguishable From Magic chapter 451 indistinguishable from magic if the goal of the recording that had just played on the news was recruiting, it backfired in a spectacular fashion. rather than gaining the support of the majority, it had enraged them. as the attacks had happened all over the world, nearly every citizen in the empire had lost someone, whether they were close family or simply acquaintances, or even friends of a friend. so other than those that had already been extremely dissatisfied with the empire, no one even thought of answering the masked terrorists rallying call. despite that, the conspiracy theorists heyday continued. now, they had another piece of evidence; obviously, the person in the video was a scapegoat brought forward because the theorists were absolutely correct in saying that the empire had planned and carried out the attacks on their own. n/)o.(v--e--l-(b()1.)n that said, while the conspiracy theorists were patting themselves on the back, believing they had proven their theory true by a preponderance of the evidence, most normal people were still watching the livestreams of the ongoing rescue efforts. they were curious as to how the empire would rescue those trapped under the unstable rubble, as most rescue equipment was bulky and slow, and had to proceed at a crawl in order to not collapse the small pockets of life stuck between slabs of instant demise. ...... dubai. a crowd had gathered outside the perimeter the leas had established around the downtown area, watching the progress of the rescuers dispatched from the cube on the outskirts of the city. they were disheartened and disappointed, as all they could see from their position was a veritable swarm of beetle-shaped res-qr bots and gembots shoring up the rubble and strengthening foundations to prevent collapse. the onlookers were completely unable to see what was happening within the rubble itself, so they naturally thought the rescuers were dawdling along and nothing of real substance was happening. but that didnt last long, as precisely an hour after the burj khalifa fell, someone noticed that their surroundings had grown slightly dimmer. they looked up and saw an arrowhead-shaped shadow growing against the backdrop of the afternoon sun. the rest of the crowd also noticed the oddity and looked up as well. fuck.... oh my god.... what the hell!? surprised exclamations came from practically everyone in the crowd as the ship above them continued sorting the rubble as though it was playing a live game of tetris. it didnt take long until the wreckage was completely sorted into three categories. one was made of roughly equal-sized blocks of similar compositions, another was made of mangled corpses, and the third was the group of wounded, but alive, individuals. then three enormous doors opened on the underside of the hovering vessel and each group was sent through a different door. everyone watching, whether from a position near the wreckage or the screens they watched the livestream on, were frozen in shock. they had just witnessed a live demonstration of the laws of physics as they knew them being turned on their head. although all of the robots and other technology they had seen were advanced, people could still comprehend how they were built and how they operated. but the scene in front of them now had completely overturned their preexisting notions of the empires tech level and affirmed arons earlier declaration that he had been holding back quite a lot in the last war. after all, what they had just seen was something purely out of science fiction! a ship had come directly out of a popular movie franchise and appeared in front of them, then launched a fucking tractor beam to perform a nearly instant cleanup of a devastated metropolitan area and carry out a perfectly executed rescue operation! the sheer capability demonstrated by those two simultaneous operations was something the people watching had no ability to comprehend. one of arthur c. clarkes three laws stated that any sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic. and what people had just witnessed was absolutely, to them, magical indeed. Chapter 452 The "Emperor" Responds chapter 452 the "emperor" responds dubai wasnt the only place that had rescue ships show up. nova, despite being busy watching over aron during his upgrade, had diverted a few atomic printers from their cleanup duty in orbit to the lagrange points where they stored the material and used that to print as many hospital ships as could be printed with the material available there. in combination with those printed in orbit by the remaining printers there, hundreds of hospital ships had shown up at locations around the world and carried out rescues using the same shocking technology. the hospital ships were then handed over to minerva, as nova was only sparing a single thread of her consciousness for anything that wasnt aron at the moment and she had to address the empire on his behalf shortly. not five minutes later, a hologram of aron appeared in front of everyone in the simulation, as well as those using ar glasses in reality. along with those, he also appeared on every phone, computer, and television screen as well.n-)ovelbin dear citizens of the terran empire, he began, a grave look on his face. over the past two hours, our empire faced the worst terrorist attack in human history. more than two thousand attacks were carried out, and the attacks are still ongoing. the attacks have resulted in more than seven million dead and almost twice that number of injured, together with more than five trillion earth new dollars in economic and infrastructure damage. the emperors solemn gaze seemed to penetrate the hearts of everyone that saw him. over the past few hours, we have been working hard on providing rescue and respite to those affected by the abominable attacks carried out against the innocent citizens of our empire. had our response not been fast enough, the casualty list would only have grown. thankfully, however, every storm cloud has a silver lining. and that silver lining now is that the attacks only took place after our government was in a functioning state. had they taken place even one or two days ago, they would have been many times more devastating. although aron said that, it wasnt as though the attacks even could have taken place earlier, as martial law had been in place until the night before. still, even a single citizens death at the hands of these vile terrorists is more than we are willing to tolerate. thus, we will not stop until we find out exactly who was behind this and punish them under imperial law. there will be no loopholes. he changed the subject and continued, the despicable terrorists who carried out these attacks, and those behind them who planned them, did so under the insane belief that we are a devil thats out to taint the world. thats the reason they used to justify the civilian casualties they caused, but their intricate planning and cunning security measures put the lie to their words. and although we are sure that everyone already knows this, we want to reiterate and stress that those behind this show signs of being a cult. they, like every other cult before them, take advantage of the weaknesses in peoples hearts to indoctrinate them and strip their sense of self and individuality to the point that those victims are willing to martyr themselves for their cause. and what a ridiculous cause it is! we have done nothing but work for the betterment of humanity. our technology heals the sick, feeds the hungry, teaches the uneducated, and will house the homeless and enrich the poor. which of those are actions that a devil would do on behalf of anyone? we are deeply offended on a personal level by these ridiculous and patently false claims! and to think that during this time, even as the attacks and rescue efforts are ongoing, certain people abused the privileges afforded to them to provide a platform for this ridiculous and insane slander. they are the media broadcasters and management that allowed the cults manifesto to be broadcast without informing the government or even considering the trauma it would inflict on the people who were still dealing with the attacks that cost them family, friends, and so very much more. and for that, they must pay. as we speak to you now, our imperial police agency is arresting everyone involved in that particular debacle. they will be publicly tried before the imperial court on charges of fostering sedition. it must be made very clear that the law cannot be casually broken without consequences. but for now, we have run out of time and must place our focus back where it belongs: on the rescue efforts and providing succor to those affected by these heinous attacks. we will keep you informed as to the ongoing investigations. arons projection gradually faded from sight and was replaced by the imperial seal. then that, too, vanished, leaving the recipients who had watched the uncharacteristically short address not knowing what to feel about it. the events of the day had simply been too much for everyone, and people lingered for quite some time in a collective worldwide stare state. Chapter 453 Novas Got A Brand-New Bag chapter 453 nova''s got a brand-new bag after the emperors appearance, things began settling down. people had already seen the borderline magical effect of the rescue ships and they chose to extend their trust to the empire... at least mostly, anyway. beneath the surface, most were still withholding judgment as, though they had indeed received some benefits from the empire, the conspiracy theories were indeed believable. but levitating ships and tractor beams had gone a long way toward building peoples trust regardless. still, there was a long way to go. there were hundreds of rescue ships, sure, but there had been thousands of attacks. but everywhere the rescue ships went, they were soon followed by constructor swarms, gembots, and aid personnel that built temporary housing for the displaced victims who didnt require extended stays in medical pods. thus, every cleared site soon became a hive of activity as large buildings were constructed at a speed that rivaled that of time-lapse videos. at the same time, notifications began going out as the dead and injured were identified. relatives of the victims were informed of the process to claim the remains and the empires compensation, or where their injured loved ones were and what their status was. due to the sensitive equipment contained in the rescue ships, however, visitors would not be allowed at the bedside. but that didnt mean they couldnt visit them in the simulation, where purpose-built instanced hospitals were available for those who wanted to care for their relatives during their, admittedly brief, convalescence. the imperial police agency and nyxian operatives were also busy, jointly investigating leads as they went from location to location, identifying and apprehending suspicious individuals. due to the nature of their investigations, they were carried out covertly. leas would accompany nyxians to the homes of those the police identified as suspicious, where they would render the target unconscious and download their brain data, a process much like the one that aron used when he was building and populating lab city a few years ago. once the brain data was uploaded to the akashic record, the assigned librarian would scan it and either cancel the investigation into that person or pass it on to nyx if something suspicious was discovered. over the next days and weeks, a lot of people would wonder where their friends and neighbors had gone, as theyd just up and vanished from their homes without a trace. one could only imagine the looks on their faces when they later found out that their acquaintances had been charged with terrorism, likely during the public trials. ...... ah, this body is a nanite colony. its still in the testing phase, as its currently only suitable for the core ais to use when were required to be physically present somewhere. right now, im collecting data and working on perfecting it, nova said, reconfiguring the nanite colony back into her own appearance as she spoke. theres just some things i dont think ill ever get used to, rina sighed and rubbed her goosebump-covered arms. as rina and nova were chatting in the secure pod vault, arons parents were meeting rinas for the first time in the real world, though they had met once before after the introduction of the simulation to the public a few weeks before. that brat sure has some... unique taste, herschel said. hes completely unlike any of the rich people ive ever met. he couldnt get over the utilitarian building in front of him. it was so enormous that it practically screamed wealth, but it had none of the features that normal wealthy people used to flaunt their wallets at each other. it was a simple white cube that was only made remarkable by the unbelievable size of it. well, when it was built, our son was focusing on function over form. cubes are the second most efficient shapes when it comes to utilizing space, at least internally. theyre the most efficient when you consider exterior issues, like packing them into a... arons father, michael, cleared his throat, sorry, i went off on a bit of a tangent there. anyway, he couldnt exactly build spheres, so a cube it had to be. michael and herschel watched as a train pulled up and more than a thousand new recruits disembarked and carried their belongings into the massive structure to begin their training cycle as ares troops. that makes sense, herschel said. he was sure that the things he was seeing today, the rest of the world would soon learn anyway. there would still be secrets, naturally, such as exactly how all of arons accomplishments to date had managed to pass completely below the radar without anyone knowing anything about them at all.nove-lb.in Chapter 454 Fishing With Hammers in Hand chapter 454 fishing with hammers in hand this will be your room for the duration of your stay with us, rose, arons mother, said as she opened a door in one of the long corridors in the cube. the room that herschel and virginia rothschild would be staying in was a very luxurious penthouse suite with four bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, a kitchen, sauna, living room, and an indoor gym. each bedroom also contained a pair of extended-stay medical vr pods, and the gym had another two in it. wow.... virginia couldnt help but be surprised by the level of low-key luxury on display in the room she and her husband would be staying in until the troubles died down outside. its minimalistic, but luxurious and pleasing to the eye, she praised.n/)o.(v--e--l-(b()1.)n yeah, i was surprised when i saw the living quarters, too. especially after seeing how plain the exterior of the building is, rose agreed with a smile. if you have any questions, just ask your ai assistant. heres a pair of glasses, she handed the other lady a pair of chic reading glasses with a distinctly retro style, make sure you dont lose them. if you dont have them on you, you wont be able to pass through some of the less obvious security we have in place here. are these the ar glasses that are being sold to the public? virginia asked. she wondered if they were the same as the ones being sold on the market; if they were, she already owned a pair of her own and there was no need for a second. no. these were tailor-made specifically for you and have extra permissions specific to the cube. think of them as a combination door key and hall pass, you cant really get anywhere in here without them, rose answered, extending the glasses to virginia once again. since thats the case, thank you. virginia took the glasses and immediately put them on. she was surprised at the whole new world she saw, one that opened up to her and enhanced and beautified, rather than detracted from or crowded out, the area around her even further. ...... i suppose.... by the way, hows the hunt for terrorists going? [weve captured quite a few shrimp soldiers and a couple of crab generals, but were nowhere near touching the inner circle of whatever organization is opposing us,] athena sighed. [the people weve caught are obviously nothing but cannon fodder, and nyx thinks they might have been dangled in front of us as bait to test our capabilities. thats a small possibility, at least, so were split on how to handle it. but its a tomorrow problem, anyway, so we can just kick the can down the road. not like the people were identifying from brain scans of the captured terrorists will be able to escape anyway.] we arent making any progress despite our technological superiority? john was finding it difficult to believe that, despite being centuries ahead of the rest of the world in terms of technology, the empire was having a difficult time catching a simple terrorist. it was the equivalent of the battle of isandlwanda in 1857, where the british invaded zululand armed with muskets, cannon, and steel armor, but were resoundingly defeated by zulu warriors wearing loincloths and armed with leather shields and stabbing spears. he continued that train of thought and found the parallel to be eerie. in both cases, the weaker force had achieved tactical surprise in the first encounter of the war. for the anglo-zulu war, it was zulus vs the british, and today it was a terrorist cult facing the terran empire. in 1857, the first battle of the war had resulted in a victory for the weaker side, and in 2018, the first battle of the new war had resulted in... perhaps not a victoryjohns pride wouldnt allow him to call it thatbut a devastating blow nonetheless. [it isnt that we cant find him, just that its going to take some time. at the moment, were working on... turning... those weve captured that are higher up in the ranks, then well send them to infiltrate the cult as spies in order to catch them all at once. were also unraveling the finances behind the attack, so the scope of the investigation is enormously broad. besides, its been barely six hours since the attacks beganthese things take time, you know.] athena wouldnt hide anything from john. as the second-highest-ranking member of the armed forces, right behind aron himself, the former us veteran had a security clearance that matched his lofty rank. ah. like you did with vladimir? when john heard the plan, he was reminded of what they had accomplished with the spy who had shot aron, then was later turned and eventually even awarded military honors by aron and john themselves for his accomplishments leading up to, and during the last war. [yep. so now all we have to do is wait for the big fish to take the bait and well come down on them like a hammer.] athena gave john a creepy, sinister smile. Chapter 455 Agony chapter 455 agony in a hidden room under a large office building that had escaped the attacks. whats wrong with rick? a woman angrily demanded of a trembling doctor.n/-o-(v--e)-l(-b/-i(-n thats what were trying to figure out right now, the doctor said against the backdrop of humming and beeping medical equipment. the room they were in had been set up as an emergency treatment and operating room, and the doctor himself was one that normally used it for treating high-class criminals. every time we come up with a possible diagnosis, he exhibits a new symptom that rules it out. what exactly was he doing when he lost consciousness? the doctor added. perhaps he just needed to attack the problem from a different angle. obviously, relying on ricks symptoms to diagnose his illness wasnt working, so the doctor would consider environmental factors next. the woman, ricks assistant, paused to gather her thoughts as she recalled the moments leading up to the cult leaders collapse. ...... ten people were seated around a conference table in an office building. rick ashley was at the head of the table with his assistant seated to his left. the other eight people were seated across from each other along the long side of the table. on the wall opposite ricks seat was a digital whiteboard with a countdown timer displayed on it. it read fifteen minutes and, as rick watched, it continued ticking down. 14:59... 14:58... 14:57.... they were already past the point of no return. due to the need to avoid all forms of digital communication, there was no time to contact any of the soon-to-be martyrs. the arrow wasnt even on the string anymore, but had been released and was headed toward its inevitable destination. everyone in the room was silently staring at the countdown timer as if their lives depended on it. the same tense, nervous expression was on all of their faces, save for rick and his assistant, who were calm. dont worry, everyone. the plan is sound, and even though it was conceived in a hurry, the arrangements are solid. we had cutouts at every step, so theres no risk of discovery for us, rick said in an even tone of voice. hed had an entire month to work out the kinks in his plan and was positive that it hadnt been discovered. everyone was just feeling last-minute jitters. it was completely understandable, so what he needed to do now was reassure everyone in the room. rick! boss! shepherd! everyone in the room heard the screams and looked at the cult leader, who was laying on the floor in what looked like the throes of an epileptic fit. they all leapt to their feet and rushed over to his side to see what the hell was going on. call the doctor, now! the assistant shouted, pointing at the second in command. she thought rick was having an epileptic fit, so, having received her first aid certification and recalling what to do in case someone suddenly had a seizure, she reached into her purse and pulled out the only thing she had that she thought would help in this situation: a wrapped tampon. she shoved it between his teeth so he wouldnt bite his tongue off and put her jacket and purse beneath his head so he didnt break his skull by beating it against the hard floor. all she could do after that was wait for the fit to pass... or so she thought. ...... and thats where you came in, she said. everything after that is exactly as youve seen. do you think it might be his conscience acting up? after all, hes directly responsible for the deaths of millions, so its distinctly possible that his symptoms are psychosomatic, the doctor asked. that was the only thing he could think of that could explain what was happening to rick. impossible! the secretary sneered without hesitation. he would never let the deaths of devil worshippers affect she was interrupted by the sharp cracking sound of ricks bones beginning to break themselves and the hoarse, muffled screams coming from the unconscious mans mouth. Chapter 456 Upgrade Complete chapter 456 upgrade complete despite having been subjected to enough painkillers to choke an elephant, rick was perfectly aware of every little thing that was happening to him. even he had to wonder if he was suffering some divine retribution for taking the name of god as a cloak to fool others into supporting his ambitions and rage as he suffered the pain of every single cell in his body repeatedly dissolving and regrowing over and over in a cycle of creation and destruction that would render the most determined man insane. he lay there twitching and spasming in agony as his blood boiled away and recondensed, thicker and more viscous, and his muscle fibers shredded themselves from end to end and regrew, reducing his muscle mass while greatly increasing their strength and tenacity. he listened to his assistants recounting of the events and the doctors frankly stupid questions until the sound around him was drowned out by the sharp cracking of his bones breaking down and shattering into tiny splinters, unable to remain whole under the onslaught of his own spasming muscles.n(/0velbin his nerves were the next to go. they were flooded with a new substance they had never been designed to handle, the overload charring them to ash and regrowing them, over and over. for the first time in his life, rick began praying to whatever deity would listen to him, if any even existed at all, to reduce his pain and suffering. then, as if it had been placed in a blender, his brain liquified itself and his consciousness, thankfully, faded. ...... in the secure pod vault deep below the cube on avalon island, rina was standing next to the pod where aron was undergoing his second system evolution. she rested the palm of her hand on the cold exterior of the pod and thought to herself that it seemed odd that she couldnt contact aron at all. when she had undergone her own genetic enhancements, shed spent the entire time in the simulation with no problem at all; thus, she couldnt help but wonder deep down if nova was downplaying the seriousness of arons condition. a few minutes passed in a comfortable silence in the utilitarian pod vault as she thought back on her relationship with aron so far. in the beginning, they had been very up front with each other about the relationship being an exchange of benefits. she wasnt sure when, but some time near the beginning, that had begun to change as she received far more aid from him than the small favors she did in return merited. at some point, she had begun relying on him, and that reliance turned into a sense of security that only he could provide. her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a slight heat on her skin, like she was basking in the sun. the heat grew more intense and she couldnt help but wonder what was going on. she turned to nova and said, nova, whats going on? i feel she was suddenly robbed of the ability to speak as a sharp pain passed through her. the feeling of her skin being burned went from basking in the sun to thrown into a bonfire and she couldnt help but fall to the floor in agony. nova immediately noticed the issue and the other pod in the room opened at her command. she picked rina up and carefully placed her in the pod, then closed it and began the medical diagnostic cycle. as the vortex formed in the subterranean pod vault, aron found himself in a giant chamber. squinting his eyes, he saw a wall in the distance. it looked as though it was made of an organic material that had been grown, rather than built, and had a complex pattern of arcane lines seemingly burnt into it. a brilliant blue pulsating light was creeping across the pattern. suddenly, the vague outline of a person formed in front of him, blocking his view of the wall. [you shouldnt be here,] it said. [it isnt time yet. but i suppose, given the circumstances, theres no choice.] where exactly is here? aron asked. he didnt feel confused, shocked, or surprised at all. in fact, he didnt feel anything; his emotions seemed to have been stripped from him and he was present purely as his own consciousness given form. [we dont have much time. the mana level and density on your planet, together with the quality of your body, isnt high enough to sustain my awareness yet, though its increasing as a result of your actions. currently, your world is on the precipice of a mass awakening. the ambient mana density has increased to a point where it will soon begin a self-sustaining growth process, much like the reaction in one of your primitive fusion reactors confinement vessels, but it currently isnt enough to sustain my consciousness for long. [ill fall back to sleep soon, but you need to prepare to handle the awakened individuals on your world. its happening almost three thousand years early, due to my inadvertent interference in your species evolution.] the figure faded and its outline grew blurry. [continue advancing your civilization. no, increase the speed of your civilizations advance. once your civilization is advanced enough, and the mana density on your world is high enough, i will completely awaken and be able to better assist you. i understand... problems... upgrade... stop influencing your.... you must... ahead... facing....] the figure completely faded from view and arons eyes snapped open to find himself within his pod. [upgrade in progress: 99%... 100%] [upgrade complete.] Chapter 457 A Lot of Shoes Dropped at Once chapter 457 a lot of shoes dropped at once aron slowly blinked his eyes as he felt the changes to his body. he was feeling refreshed, with no soreness despite having laid perfectly still for quite a long time. he remained in a daze, though, thinking back on the brief conversation hed had with the systems so-called consciousness. though the actual time they had spoken was short, the weighty information hed received made it feel like the conversation had taken hours, rather than moments. the memory was as clear and fresh as if it had been carved directly into his mind. lightsnvl the pod he was in released a soft hiss as the sealed door slid aside and he sat up. he dropped his feet to the ground and stood up, slightly bouncing up and down in place to accustom his body to moving again after his long sleep. nova greeted him with new clothes, as the clothes he was wearing when the unexpected upgrade began had been disintegrated during the process. welcome back, sir. thanks. did anything important happen while i was asleep? he asked as he dressed. he was curious to know if the awakening process had begun yet, or if he still had time to prepare for it.n-(0velb1n unfortunately, yes, sir, nova replied. its probably best if you get an update in the simulation. the briefing may take quite some time.. aron froze for a moment, then silently finished putting on his clothes. he logged into the simulation and appeared in the library, where all of the ais were waiting. nova appeared seconds after him and cranked up the time dilation in the library to the maximum that his body could handle, as he was most definitely urgently required to be present in reality as soon as possible. aron audibly sighed in relief, thankful that it wasnt a new problem dumped on the pile of old ones. the system consciousness had already warned him of what was to come, and this could act as a trial run for handling it when the problem spread to all of humanity. it isnt a sickness, he said. theyre undergoing evolution, triggered by the rapid increase of earths mana density. although i dont know exactly whats going to happen, one thing im sure of is that, should they survive the process, those undergoing evolution will have an ability to use mana when they wake up. so monitor them and record every bit of data we can collect from them. changing subjects, he asked, what are the plans for the state funeral? whens that scheduled? [we tentatively scheduled it for the twenty-fifth of january. nova informed us you should be awake by then, but if you werent, we were going to have nova handle it on your behalf using the nanite colony body we developed,] gaia replied. good. since i woke up before then, i should probably address the sickness people are coming down with, aron said with an internal sigh. it hadnt even been ten minutes of real time since he finished his system upgrade, yet he had already been buried under a pile of problems. if the alternative wasnt also the worst-case scenario, he would never have taken his place as the emperor of the terran empire; thankfully, he had competent subordinates to help him do the job of ruling. first, though, im going to go visit rina and see if theres something i can do to help hasten the process for her. aron had been holding himself back from rushing to her side immediately after nova told him that she was among the three percenters, and now that he knew what he had to do, he would begin by prioritizing her. he would do his best to keep humanity from burning down, but if one hair on rinas head was out of place, he would likely be the first person to light the match. Chapter 458 A Biological Attack? chapter 458 a biological attack? [ill keep an eye on things and let you know if anything comes up that requires your presence,] gaia said, then went back to collating and sorting the brain data in the library. though it was curated and maintained by the akashic librarians, she still wanted to thoroughly understand it to better perform her duties. aron logged out of the simulation, then headed to rinas side and watched her through the transparent lid of the pod she was in. nova, increase the mana flow to her pod. the awakening process is a lot like my upgrades, so the more mana in the local environment, the process will be faster and the outcome better. aron sat on the edge of her pod and began sorting through the thoughts in his head. he had been through an absolute emotional rollercoaster ever since his impromptu meeting with the so-called system consciousness, or so he assumed it to be, during his latest upgrade. and he was sure that more shocks were to come as time passes, but he could only deal with one thing at a time. and right now, he wanted to be by his lovers side. ...... the mother of a formerly disabled child was pacing back and forth in a corridor in one of the cubes. through the window on one side, row after row of medical pods was visible. do you think there was a problem with the medical pod and it didnt cure her the first time? is it just a relapse? she asked the man next to her in a worried tone. the last three weeks had been some of the best in her life, as her daughter, who had suffered from juvenile onset huntingtons disease from a young age, had been free of the effects of her illness. there was no feeling more joyous in the young mothers memories than watching her daughter, who had previously been confined to the grasp of a motorized wheelchair as the degenerative disease ravaged her young body, step out of the medical pod and run to her mommy. the low-level fear that had yet to even calm down from the initial wave of attacks once again erupted as news organizations reported the spread of a pandemic that affected children in their teens. but it was a weird spread and all of the epidemiologists and virologists the anchors interviewed as experts could only shake their heads. diseases always spread from a patient zero, but this one seemed to just descend all over the world at once. nobody said it, but everyone was thinking the same thing: biological attack. actually, there were a few who said that in an attempt to create mass panic, incite chaos, or just increase engagement on their social media accounts to satiate their greed for fame. there were also those who believed they were special and had discovered some secret that nobody else had, and others that believed it was a curse from the gods or an attack launched by the incoming visitors to herald their incipient arrival. oddly enough, a few were even close to the truth. some webnovel addicts believed it was the dawning of a mass mutation that would enable people to become cultivators and cultivate immortality before shattering the chains that held them bound to their mortal selves and ascend to higher planes. lightsnvl weirdos(jk). still, it was true that the new empire did seem rather cursed. in just the first few weeks of its existence, it had suffered problem after problem, and a wave of opinions popped up on pangea calling for the thousand imperial senators to use their power to vote the emperor off of his throne. that, they believed, would save the world from more calamities. that said, the silent majority reigned, and had chosen to wait for news from official sources before making their own informed judgment. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.n/.ovelb1n Chapter 459 The 3% chapter 459 the 3% soon, the silent majoritys patience was rewarded as the imperial government released a notification on all devices informing the citizens that the emperor would be releasing a statement shortly. included in the notification was a link that people could follow if they wanted to watch the announcement; everyone would be free to decide whether they wanted to see it or not. in a matter of seconds, more than a billion people followed the link to watch the announcement. this would be the third time the emperor had made a public appearance, and the previous two raised mixed emotions in the citizens. in his first public appearance as the emperor, he had announced the formation of the empire, and in his second, it was a response to the recent attacks. thus, people were curious whether this would be more bad news, or simply some matters of administrivia, but considering the situation, it was more likely to be bad news. citizens of the terran empire, we come bearing good news. a collective sigh of relief escaped the mouths of everyone watching the announcement. following the attacks that took place a few days ago came a time of peace and recovery. we have been preparing a ceremony to mourn the fallen innocents that lost their lives in the cowardly terrorist attacks, and while we were working on that, it seems something else happened to us all. we understand your fear, but let us reassure you, this is a good thing. what is happening now is no attack, nor is it a tragedy. in fact, its the oppositethough frightening, what those children are undergoing is a blessing. ......n--0velb1n @pacw64000: [i think the emperors cracked from the stress already, hbu?] as for why they fainted, its because the evolutionary process is occurring at a vastly accelerated rate. cells are mutating, dividing, and mutating again all throughout the body. the process is incredibly painful, as well as draining in terms of the nutrients required to support the regeneration. consider it a price to pay for great power, if you will. aron snapped his fingers and the simulated mana particles surrounding him disappeared. most of you were probably thankful that you werent among the three percent that collapsed. you probably thought you were escaping a calamity. but now you know that, instead of escaping a calamity, you were dodging a blessing. and if you are indeed one of those people, we can assure you that you dont need to worry. the camera pulled back from aron and a representation of the world appeared, but it showed sparkling bluish-gold glints all over it. then, much like a time lapse video, the glimmering specks began multiplying faster and faster, until the entire planet glowed a brilliant hue. what youre seeing behind us is a simulation of the spread of the evolutionary particles throughout the atmosphere. our researchers told us that the spread is increasing in speed and will soon become a self-sustaining reaction that increases on a logarithmic scale. there will be a rapid increase in density at first, then it will taper off as the particles reach their ideal saturation. the current prevailing theory is that the reason only adolescents have received the blessing so far is because their bodies are already undergoing rapid changes, including in their genes. thus, the density required for them to begin their evolution is far lower than it would be for those whose genes have been fixed for a long time. but as the density increases, more and more people of all ages will begin undergoing the same evolutionary process that our children are experiencing today. but some people are outliers. we dont yet understand everything about this newly discovered particle, so we cant explain why some people who are long past the age of pubescence have had their evolutions triggered. but rest assured, they are indeed outliers, and everyone will get their opportunity to evolve as the particle density required to trigger your evolutions is reached, aron explained. we call upon all people of the world to help your neighbors right now. if any of you see this he waved his hand and a recording of someone beginning their awakening process played on the screen behind him, though there was no sound on the video, contact your local emergency response service or get in touch with the imperial representatives in the simulation. we are available at all times for assistance, and those receiving the blessing will require immediate aid. our medical pods are capable of inducing a temporary coma in the patients within them, as well as providing all the nutrients their bodies will require to safely undergo the rapid evolutionary process, aron warned, exhorting people not to hide their friends or family members awakening from the public, as theyll likely die during the process if they went through it unaided. on a more unpleasant note, with the emergence of new... what we call superpowers comes the possibility of chaos and discrimination between the haves and have-nots. let us stress right now that those with superpowers are in no way superior to those without. and to address the situation before it grows uncontrollable, we will be forming a new agency responsible for registering and rating the superpowers of the newly evolved humans, as well as enforcing imperial law among them. we will also be establishing special schools specifically for researching the new superpowers and teaching people to control them once they have them. that way, the harm they inadvertently cause due to losing control will be minimized. Chapter 460 Too Unbelievable chapter 460 too unbelievable after arons announcement, the silently nervous world could no longer sit still. most people were divided into a few main categories; there were those who were excited for the future, assuming what the emperor had said was true; those who didnt believe it at all and, in fact, actively disbelieved it; and those who couldnt care less, as they were still mourning their dead loved ones and preparing for their funerals. ...... meanwhile, aron, having rushed his announcement to completion, had logged out of the simulation and headed to where his and rinas parents were. herschel and virginia, at least, deserved to know that rina was safe, though she was undergoing her awakening and wouldnt be present in the real world for a while. sure, she could explain all that by meeting them in the simulation on her own, but they still deserved to be informed face to face and brought to the secure pod vault where they could stay beside her through the process. and you can visit whenever you want. your glasses have been updated with new access permissions so you can reach the secure pod vault, aron finished explaining as a new destination navigation option appeared on rinas parents ar glasses, should they choose to visit her. son, lets talk, herschel said, then stood and walked out of the room. aron silently followed him, motioning the others to stay behind and telling them they would return shortly; he had an idea of what herschel wanted to discuss.n--0velb1n herschel immediately got straight to the point. tell me the truthis this really a blessing, or are you just keeping the public calm? he asked. he was quite used to people in positions of power outright lying to those under them, either to buy time, avoid responsibility, or just set some other poor schmuck up to take the blame. aron thought about how to answer for a moment, then just shrugged. he was already the emperor of mankind, for fucks sake; he could just be himself and nobody had the right to give a shit but him. yes, he answered, then continued, but the situation is rather better than i told the public. so why not tell them that? i mean, if you know its even better than what you said, wouldnt the effect of your announcement only be even better? fuck thought the doctor. the bad news didnt stop there as the assistant turned to the other advisors and continued, comb through the remaining members of the flock and look for anyone else receiving the so-called blessing. if you find any, have them brought here and put under the doctors care. give them the best we can provide, because if the devils minions are going to have superpowers, then we need them too. the doctor internally cursed a blue streak thick enough to make every sailor that ever put to sea blush. the others responded in the affirmative without even questioning her right to give the orders. in their minds, it was obvious that, with the current leader set to receive superpowers, it would be better to treat his shadow as though she was him when he was unavailable. until he wakes up, lay low. cease the attacks, since every attack costs us a potential superpowered weapon, and thats a loss we can no longer afford. once he wakes up, we can work on coming up with new plans. so unless anyone has any objections, i think everyone understands what they should be doing now... right? the assistant cast a loaded gaze at the doctor, who immediately began planning a course of treatment for the blessed individuals to ensure they survived their evolutions. ...... a week later, aron finally finished his whirlwind world tour. he had presided over state funerals on the sites of the worst terrorist attacks without missing a single one. his schedule had been completely packed, with an average of about half an hour at each funeral. luckily for him, his shuttle was hover-capable and extremely fast; by taking off meters from where the event took place and landing near the next event, he could reach practically anywhere on the planet in fifteen minutes or less. but even with his superhuman endurance, the fatigue of land-mourn-leave cycled over and over was really beginning to drag on him, especially since he only had minutes to rest between each appearance. that said, the entire process had caught the attention of the planet, and more people were discussing his shuttle, his monstrous endurance, together with his dedication rather than the attacks. Chapter 461 The Farthest Frontier chapter 461 the farthest frontier during the terrorist attacks, the asteroid belt. in the silence of space between mars and jupiter, a rocket engine had been decelerating for a few days as it neared the first marked object in the main asteroid belt of the solar system. many such vessels had been sent, each of them targeting specific asteroids in the belt. this one in particular was approaching 4 vesta. its velocity had already decreased to a point where it would survive if it impacted its target, but the engine continued slowing it down as it approached for a soft landing. *initiating anchors.... initiated. deploying anchors for catch maneuver,* the vi responsible for monitoring and controlling the vessel logged and reported back to the central ai. *approaching target. distance 600... 500... 450....* it continued reporting and logging the flight data as it approached 4 vesta, continually updating the record as it happened. when the rangefinder reported fifty meters remaining, the deployed anchors were launched and the tungsten stakes coated with a layer of electrical steel shot out of the vessel and penetrated deep into 4 vesta, trailed by ropes woven of carbon nanotubes. they deployed side spikes, securing themselves within the body of the asteroid as the vessel reeled in the slack in the lines. as the pulley system reeled in the slack, the vi piloting the vessel increased power to its thrusters, bringing the ship into positive delta v to maintain tension on the cables as the vessel was slowly winched to the surface of the asteroid. once it was within five meters of the ground, the engines were finally shut down.n(-0velb1n after the vessel powered down and rested on its landing gears, sliding doors on its ventral surface opened and a manipulator arm with a built-in atomic printer on it reached out of the vessel and got to work. it dug deeper and deeper into 4 vesta, disintegrating the material in its way and printing a longer and longer arm as it went until it reached a depth of 500 meters, where it finally met a layer rich in the necessary materials it required to create a larger printer without needing to cannibalize the vessel that had brought it to the second-largest asteroid in the main asteroid belt. *diagnostic complete. system status: green.* *beginning production.* the industrial-size printers began collecting material from their surroundings and printed harvester units to extend their reach. due to their size, it had been deemed more efficient to send vi-driven harvesters out than to make the printers themselves mobile. the work proceeded smoothly, with harvester after harvester leaving the industrial printers and drilling ever outward, returning load after load of material as they began hollowing out the asteroids they were housed within. once a critical mass of harvesters was reached, the large printers then printed constructor swarms en masse, sending them out to reinforce the tunnels carved by the harvester units with the same hadfield steel and chromium alloy used for armor by the empire. the industrial printer in 1 ceres, on the other hand, was working on something different. all of the reinforcement the constructor swarms built had an additional element to it: gravity plating. it also contained not one, but twelve full-sized fusion reactors in the center of the 590-mile-wide dwarf planet. gravity plating, it had to be noted, was also what made it possible for the res-qr bots to flip the bird at the laws of physics, as well as the eerie stillness of the hovering rescue ships used during the attack. it was capable of countering the effect of gravity based on how much energy was pumped through it. and twelve fusion reactors could pump quite a lot of energy through the gravity plating in ceres. once the reinforcement and building process was completed, ceres was destined to be moved into geosynchronous orbit over eden as the terminal for a space elevator and earths first common-use space station. even as the construction continued, the fusion reactors were brought up to their safe margin of 80% capacity and began the sisyphean task of deorbiting ceres. after falling out of its orbit in the main asteroid belt, it would then be moved to its final destination. and by the time it took up its position, the interior construction would be complete and it would be ready for the first batch of imperial citizens that wanted to brave the farthest frontiers. Chapter 462 For Posteritys Sake chapter 462 for posterity''s sake aron had found himself alone with rinas mother just after attending his final state funeral. he had spent 72 hours nonstop visiting the funeral locations, prompting discussion among the people about whether he was among the blessed or simply superior to normal humans on a genetic level. many people easily debunked the possibility that aron was among the blessed, as it was obvious that he wasnt in a medical pod in the process of receiving a blessing. in fact, he seemed perfectly fine as he flitted here and there, attending state funerals. even though the wave of fainting people had begun a few days prior, even those who were among the first to be blessed were still in the medical pods and showing no sign of the process being complete anytime soon. so that left the second option. it was an open secret that ares soldiers were genetically enhanced, as they hadnt even tried to keep their performances to mere human levels. thus, there were thousands upon thousands of video clips showing them exerting their monstrous strength even without their power armor on. and it only stood to reason that the emperor of the terran empire would be at least as enhanced as his soldiers, if not even more. the argument went back and forth, but little did they know that both possibilities were true. there was also a third argument going around, propagated by conspiracy theorists and trolls. after the video that ricks cult had released claiming responsibility for the terror attacks and calling aron the devil himself, a small, but vocal, minority of imperial citizens began parroting some of the more troll-worthy quotes from it. it was hard to tell whether those were their actual beliefs or if they just wanted to see the world burn, but that crowd argued that aron was using the power of the devil to keep himself going. still, the discussion had taken the limelight away from his personal shuttle, causing him to be caught between laughter and tears. he now knew what it felt like to be a star and have unrelated people discussing every last little detail about him. that efficiency had already been proven by the initial sorting of the prisons and ongoing trials around the world. almost all of the innocent prisoners who had been falsely convicted had been released and the true culprits behind their alleged crimes imprisoned in their place under the new imperial law guidelines. and once the fortress cities began being constructed, even those prisons would be emptied, as most of the punishments under imperial law involved labor, at least in some capacity. the hardware itself was mostly sent to the pit for recycling, though one of each object was rendered safe, its engines, weapons, and any dangerous parts stripped from it, for display in a museum... once it was built, anyway. for now, the safed hardware would remain in storage in one of the warehouses in the cube on avalon island. though the physical objects were placed in storage, working versions were available to be viewed, and even rented, in the simulation. once that was announced, there was a flood of people visiting the war museum of the imperial archives and lining up to rent the hardware and join special instances where they could reenact famous battles from the past, living their fantasies and learning about history through blood-pumping role play. the people could even experience firsthand what it was like to face the ares troopers deployed in the last war, though for security reasons, they were prohibited from playing as the ares troopers themselves; anyone interested in that was directed to an ares recruitment station instead. the mass disarmament marked the official end of thousands of years in mankinds ever-escalating quest to discover better, more efficient ways of killing their fellow man. that said, it had become something of a joke since arons rise anyway, as the moment he began introducing 14th-generation military hardware was the actual moment humanitys violent quest to kill each other with bigger and bigger booms was rendered obsolete. and the empire had recently even begun introducing the 75th generation of military equipment, no less. in addition to that particular closed chapter in the history of humanity, the imperial archivist, who people only knew as mnemosyne, informed the empires citizens that january 1, 2018 ad had been officially declared as january 1, 1 ae (after empire). everything prior to that date was labeled as be (before empire), so the year 2017 ad was now the year -1 be, much like humanity was used to referring to things on the gregorian calendar as bc and ad. occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 463 By Hook or by Crook chapter 463 by hook or by crook february 1, 1 ae the lockdown had officially ended after the empire had completed the majority of the transitional work. currencies had been exchanged, workers had been retrained, agencies had been built and fully staffed, and all seven billion citizens had registered for their ids. the only ongoing work was the initial medical treatment in the imperial hospitals inside each of the cubes scattered across the world and the retrial of prisoners who had requested one. no matter how efficient the empire wasand it was very efficientthey simply didnt have enough medical pods or legal staff to handle that many jobs in a short period of time. that said, imperial clinics had been built outside of the cubes, filled with row after row of shiny, brand new medical pods, and subordinate ais had quietly taken on quite a few of the cases in the justice system. the two tasks would be completed over the next few months and had been downgraded to low priority jobs in the background. currently, the only thing the empire lacked was capable individuals to helm the imperial agencies and the three ministries. but lacking the warm asses to fill those particular seats wouldnt prevent the agencies from operating, as the ais responsible for general oversight of each agency could still issue orders even without official heads of the agencies. filling those spots would also take time, as potential candidates were identified, recruited, and tested to see if they were the best person for the job. sure, the akashic library had their constantly updated brain data, but that didnt give the whole picture of what a person was or how they would actually act when the metal hit the meat. free will was a bitch, and the brownian motion of sentient life was something that no amount of processing power would ever be able to account for. among the first agency to finish their transitional tasks was the imperial scholastica. they had one of the easiest tasks: unifying school curriculums. though each country had had their own curriculum in the past, they all taught mostly the same things. stem subjects were naturally combined, as math was math and science was science no matter what country was teaching it, while the more liberal artsCoriented subjects were either combined or eliminated entirely. early childhood, late childhood, and adult education were strictly delineated, and with twice the length of time to teach, stem and liberal arts would be given equal treatment under the new curriculums. at least in early childhood education, anyway, where children would be given a broad foundation before being sorted into a single path once their personalities had developed and their interests discovered and verified. but mooooom... henry whined. thats two whole weeks away! cant i just study next week and go outside this week? his small face wore an exaggerated expression of aggrieved misery. why dont you just play in the simulation? youll even have more time there, rose suggested. but thats not real! and since it isnt real, i dont have fun there, henry complained. he was one of the minority of people who didnt enjoy the simulation, since they couldnt bring themselves to forget that it wasnt real. rose sighed. okay. but you have to promise youll study really hard next week, and no more excuses, okay mister? yay! will aron come with us? henry cheered, then grew sober when he remembered that his big brother only went out when it was required by his new duties. saddened by the disappointment evident in henrys expression, rose said, why dont you go ask him if hell have time to come out and play with us? she felt that perhaps henry would have a better chance of dragging her older son away from his heavy responsibilities, even for a few hours, than she would if she were to ask him. okay! henry exclaimed, then leapt off of the sofa and sprinted at full child speed to the elevator, on his way to the secure pod vault determined to drag his big brother out by hook or by crook. Chapter 464 "I Really Liked Those Clothes, You Know" chapter 464 "i really liked those clothes, you know" it should be any time, now, nova said. she was in the secure pod vault with aron, watching over rina as the final stage of her awakening was progressing and documenting the changes in her. im actually a bit excited... and curious, and nervous. i didnt get to see anything happening during my upgrades at all, aron distractedly replied. just as he was about to continue, rinas pod beeped, a notification that movement had been detected. she was waking up. rina stopped absorbing the liquid mana in the pod, so nova stopped the mana feed and allowed it to drain out of the pod and into the room, where it evaporated and joined the rest of the mana in the atmosphere. the mana density in the pod vault was so high it would awaken any five people, but to aron, it was akin to a warm breeze on a hot day, practically unnoticeable. after a few minutes of outward inactivity, rina blinked open her eyes and released a low groan. due to concerns about interfering with the awakening process, nova had only supplied mana and observed the process, nothing more, so rina was rather stiff and groggy after having laid still for so long. still, nova had collected a wealth of data for the imperial archives confidential records. there were akashic librarians collecting data on everyone else in pods undergoing the process of awakening, but those could only act as controls to compare rinas awakening to. after all, rina had a couple of advantages. not only was she in the most recent generation of medical vr pod, but she had also undergone a round of genetic enhancement beforehand. not only that, shed had her awakening triggered in a location with a much higher mana densitythe pod vault during arons own upgradeand nova had also fed her with as much mana as her body could handle during the awakening itself.nove1bin she found herself almost eager for the process to complete in others so she could compare the results. her initial hypothesis was... exciting, to say the least. aron immediately cast a refreshment rune on her to remove her grogginess, causing rina to jump in surprise. the fuck is that!? she exclaimed and rubbed her eyes. i must still be dreaming, she thought, having seen lines of brilliantly glowing gold runes flowing from her boyfriends raised hand to her body. but after rubbing her eyes, they were gone as if they had never been. rina felt like that sounded familiar, so she thought for a moment, then blushed. she remembered all the times he had intimate moments with her into complete exhaustion due to his seemingly limitless stamina. then, after pounding her half to death, she would always feel refreshed and ready for more after a short period of cuddling. thus, he must have been doing the same thing to her every time he plowed her into a puddle of goo, as she was relatively familiar with the sensation she was feeling now. care to explain whats going on? she narrowed her eyes and glared at aron. it must have been his fault. did he bang her into a medical pod this time? were his thrusts so fierce they caused brain damage and memory loss? did he slam her into a concussed state? she had to know! why did i wake up in a pod? she asked as she grabbed the side of the pod she was in and tried lifting herself to a seated position. as she pulled, though, instead of rising to a more comfortable sitting position, she heard a loud cracking noise and the handle she was grabbing to lever herself upright broke off in her hand. let me help you up. youre a lot stronger than you used to be and your mind hasnt quite adjusted to your new body yet, aron said, then picked her up in a princess carry and brought her over to a chair. he handed her a set of clothes, as the ones she was wearing had been disintegrated by the pod, but she tore them to rags trying to get dressed. without a word, he handed her a second set, which suffered the same fate, then a third, and so on. it wasnt until her eighth failed attempt at dressing herself that he finally stepped in and put the clothes on for her. she puffed out her cheeks and pouted at him. i really liked those clothes, you know, she said coquettishly. here, he put a pair of glasses on her face, log in and ill explain everything in the simulation. Chapter 465 How to Draw chapter 465 how to draw so let me get this straight. while you were in the pod and completely incommunicado, you werent undergoing a genetic enhancement, but receiving an upgrade in your blessing? rina asked. and because i was close to you when you were finishing, it triggered a blessing in me even though i finished puberty awhile ago? and not just me, but 3% of everyone from the ages of 14 to 22kids, basicallyare still unconscious as we speak? aron had explained everything to rina, leaving out only the system. the systems existence would be kept solely between him and nova, and he wouldnt even tell his parents or little brother, let alone his girlfriend. some secrets were dangerous, and the less those around him knew, the safer they would be and the less stress they would be under trying to keep his secrets. the only person he could trust to keep his secrets, especially now that humanity had begun awakening to mana and would be rapidly developing special abilities that may include methods to read minds or force people to speak, was nova. thats the gist of it, yeah. theres a longer explanation, but you can take your time to digest it, he flicked a file with the explanation of the hows and whys behind the awakening process to her, since theres no point in overwhelming you with a massive infodump when youve just woken up. so whats with the golden letters? and you said you were upgrading yourself, meaning you could use them even before. howd you manage that? she asked. one of the things i invented was a sort of... adapter that converts electricity to those particles and can force the blessing to happen in people near it. so i got mine much earlier than everyone whos just now getting theirs and didnt have to wait for the density to reach a certain level, he said, not technically lying. after that, i had plenty of time to experiment with it and figure out what my blessing can do. i mean, im still learning more every day, but im pretty handy with it. he snapped his fingers and a large runic pattern appeared in the air behind him. it did nothing in particular, but definitely looked intricate and beautiful; it was one of the training exercises that he did every day to increase the speed at which he could condense runes, a necessary skill for someone who was unable to manipulate mana without using a runic intermediary.novlbin that was all rina needed to hear as her eyes flashed with wonder when she saw the gorgeous runic construct floating in the air behind aron. she knew there must be more to it, but shed never been one to demand that aron share everything about him and had always been content with the things he did choose to share with her. that, to her, was an expression of one of the pillars of a healthy relationship: trust. now imagine youre a black hole, or a magnet... whatever image works for you that draws them into your body. rina pictured herself as a blooming flower, and the mana particles around her were bees and photons of light. they began flowing toward her in an orderly fashion, almost like they were dancing in a long, winding conga line. as they began entering her body, she felt a warmth in her chest, radiating out along her limbs to the tips of her fingers and toes, then back to her chest and up to the top of her head, forming a racetrack-like circuit within her. i feel it, she said. its warm and tingly. is it supposed to tingle like this? it was so pleasant she almost moaned in satisfaction. yes, youre doing great. now pull them back into your heart and keep them there. she nodded and pictured the blooming flower again, but this time it was inside her, where her heart was. the tingling warmth faded from her extremities first, then her head, and finally her torso. all that was left of the pleasant sensation was a warmth in her chest that was almost uncomfortable, like her heart had turned into a burning coal. okay, now what? now you open your eyes and stand up, aron said, a grin obvious in his voice. Chapter 466 The Weight of Secrets chapter 466 the weight of secrets 466 the weight of secrets aron brought up rinas status screen. it was similar to the one his system generated for him, as he had used it as the core inspiration for the runes hed used in its creation. it displayed everything that was known about her, like her name, height, and so on. it also included two entries showing whether or not she was awakened, and what system of magic she had awakened to. the field showing her individual magic system was blank at the moment, however, as it had yet to be discovered. but none of that mattered just then, because the most important and attention-grabbing fieldat least for aron and novawas the affinity section of her status, which read affinity: neutral. the excitement on aron and novas face couldnt be hidden, prompting rina, who had yet to understand the importance of mana affinities, to ask, whats got you two so excited? does that mean i can use the golden letters like you? rina excitedly asked, imagining herself as a perpetual motion machine with the aid of the refresh rune. unfortunately, no. my awakening was... unique, and related to my physique. you cant cast runes unless you have the same, lets say, mutation that i do. aron snapped his fingers and a model of his runic heart appeared, with a section highlighted like an illustration in an anatomy textbook that showed a portion of the billions of submicroscopic runic sentences carved into his heart. we also suspect that, since your awakening was triggered, rather than happening naturally, itll be difficult for you to learn to use your blessing. those who naturally awakened should be able to instinctively use their blessings, but have you felt anything like that yourself? without that instinct, youll have to learn everything from scratch. either way, it takes repetition and training, together with researching the mana you want to use, to develop new abilities. so for now, we have to wait until we can gather data from the naturally awakened on how they use, and strengthen, their blessings before we can come up with a system for you to put your blessing to work, aron finished. though he said that, he was already planning to buy beginner magical knowledge from the system and upload it to herand the other awakened, for that matter, to act as their instinctsbut he needed a cover for it that wouldnt expose the system or his ability to upload information directly into someones brain. that was another secret he could only share with nova. still, he was absolutely ecstatic that rina was joining him as someone who could also use magic. keeping that ability from her was beginning to weigh on him and he knew it would affect their relationship, eventually. secrets are the heaviest thing known to man, and no matter how healthy a relationship was, keeping too many would cause it to crumble under their weight. well know more in the future, but for now, you need some natural sleep. your recent bout of unconsciousness cant be considered rest, after all. aron initiated a forced logout for the two of them and held her in his arms until they disappeared from the simulation. Chapter 467 Enrichment chapter 467 enrichment 467 enrichment did sister rina already wake up? when aron opened his eyes, his little brothers question was the first thing he heard. it would still be a little bit before rina completed the logout procedure, but aron, due to his intimate connection to the simulation, had completed his logout almost instantaneously. she did, yeah. whatre you doing here? aron said, ruffling henrys hair and eliciting an annoyed groan from the young boy. mom told me to come ask if you would go out and play with us now that we can leave the cube, henry wheedled. he was just shy of grabbing his big brothers hand and dragging him to the elevator. two weeks later. things had finally gotten on track. once the empire was functioning at peak capacity, the economy began picking up. the events of the past few months had devastated everything, but most of the actual damage had been to the fragile economy. the space bubble bursting, followed by a shooting war, followed by mass protests, followed by a lockdown, then worldwide riots, then another lockdown, a wave of terrorist attacks.... people had been petrified, and when the emotion that economies are the most sensitive to is fear. so it wasnt surprising that it had taken so long to wrench it back on track. the empire had been fighting a losing battle against the crashing economy at first, but the past few weeks had seen it stabilize, and finally, begin climbing again. stopgap measure after stopgap measure was rescinded, and the new flat tax stimulated spending to the point where the rapid fall was followed by a just-as-rapid climb. the biggest contributor to the newly burgeoning economy, however, was the empires compensation to its citizens. the past few weeks of relative peace had allowed the super-efficient imperial treasury to calculate and disburse payments to those affected by the recent riots and attacks, as well as those who were included in the imperial scholasticas debt forgiveness program. combined with an initiative by the bank of the universe to offer low- or zero-interest loans to people and the imperial housing agencys buyback of unused and unwanted real estate together with peoples house who have finished the mortgages of their houses to incentivize their movements to the fortress cities but also to use the lands for the reconstructions of the fortress cities within the former cities, the atmosphere among imperial citizens could be described by three short words: buy, buy, buy! and it wasnt as though they had nowhere to spend that windfall of cash, either; arons companies had been releasing product after product and partnering with small, medium, and large businesses to sell, sell, sell! thus, trillions of earth new dollars had been changing hands, not only helping the economy climb, but also enriching the lives of imperial citizens all over the world. but much to the dismay of those who had waived their rights and privileges and chosen not to register for imperial citizenship, the purchase of the shiny new gadgets was restricted to those with imperial ids. unbeknownst to them, it was just another method devised by nyx to narrow the field she and her nyxians would have to investigate to find the remaining cultists, who were still a threat despite cell after cell being identified and taken down. although the economy news was heartening, at least to those who were paying attention to itlike herschel rothschild and other members of the former elite classmost people simply took their increased quality of life in stride. the vast majority of humanity had no interest in the economy, nor did they know about the secret war between the empire and the cult. but they definitely cared about the three percenters, those who were still lying unconscious in medical pods around the world, receiving their blessings. Chapter 468 The Citizens Need Answers chapter 468 the citizens need answers 468 the citizens need answers as peoples attention was split between the medias reports on the growing economy and the progress of the three percenters receiving their blessings, a breaking news story intruded into the public consciousness via a link on everyones devices and a special report on every television screen and radio station. following the link took people to a report about a bright light discovered in space headed toward earth at an almost unimaginable speed. located a few days before by a member of australias anglo-australian observatory in new south wales siding spring observatory, it had at first been dismissed as a scanning artifact caused by a glitch in their system, or perhaps even a smudge on the telescopes lenses. after taking the telescope offline and cleaning the lenses, they scanned again, only to make the alarming discovery that a meteor of unconscionable size was rapidly approaching earth. but australians being australians, the discovery was met with a resounding meh and they simply sat down to identify the meteor before publishing what they claimed will perhaps be the last scientific article ever published by a member of the human race. and to their surprise, the meteor was identified within a matter of hours. the only confusing thing was why would 1 ceres suddenly break its stable orbit and approach earth with what appeared to be a stable acceleration? the anglo-australian observatory astronomer who wrote the report skyrocketed to immediate fame when the media company interns that had assigned their ai assistants to constantly scan new entries to the akashic record for newsworthy events frantically pushed the report up their chains of command, leading to the broadcast. but by that point, when the newsrooms fact checkers verified the information on the akashic record, they saw that ceres was decelerating and would reach earth within a day. then, the old habit of selling fear raised its ugly head again and the news anchors broke in with a breaking story about how earth was doomed to be destroyed when a rogue meteor impacted it. he waved his hand and a map of the solar system as seen from above the elliptic appeared over his right shoulder, with markers and labels showing the position of the nine sortie bases currently under construction. though they are currently the only line of defense we are building, as our defense and fortification plan progresses, the main asteroid belt will become our last line of defense. thus, it needs to be the strongest shield and tallest wall that humanity can build, so it was started even before the formation of the terran empire, giving it the longest possible lead time for construction and reinforcement. we will not speak more on that, as the akashic record is available to any who wish to know more, saving only critical details that are still classified. but there was a different plan for the largest object in the main asteroid belt, 1 ceres. the display over arons shoulder changed from a top-down view of the solar system to a close-up image of ceres, with detailed information about it directly next to it. (ed note: if youve ever played mass effect 2, it looks like the planet information screen that shows up when youre scanning planets for resources.) ceres is a dwarf planet and the first of them to have been visited by humankind. it has an average diameter of 590 miles and is made up primarily of water ice, rock, organic compounds, and various metal and other mineral resources. the size and makeup of it made it perfect, both as a resource gathering point and as the endpoint of the first space elevator built by humanity. a timelapse video of the proposed construction replaced the ceres fact sheet displayed over his shoulder. it showed the dwarf planet being moved into stable geosynchronous orbit, then a line of woven carbon nanotubes extending from it to a currently unnamed island in the eden-esparian archipelago, where it would be anchored deep within the earths crust. this is one of the many plans that have been put into place in order to reach the target goal of fifty percent readiness within our promised timeline. assuming that everything goes to plan, humanitys defense should reach that readiness goal long before the five-year period that we promised approaches. his gaze swept across the reporters in the audience again, much of his anger finally restrained. any questions? Chapter 469 And Answers They Shall Have chapter 469 and answers they shall have 469 and answers they shall have any questions? aron asked. with that, every reporter in the audience raised their hands, all of them eager to ask the first question the emperor would answer since his investiture. aron wasted no time in casually pointing to a random reporter in the audience. you, ask. he was obviously still dissatisfied with the media and wouldnt bother treating them kindly at the moment. thank you for the opportunity, your majesty. the reporter bowed, then asked, how will the effects from ceres gravity be mitigated so they dont have any impact on the tides and weather? well use the same technology that you saw in the rescue ships following the terrorist attacks. our researchers discovered artificial gravity some time ago, and that opened up an entirely new branch of physics dedicated to manipulating gravitational fields. part of ceres has already been prepared for habitation, and the internal structure reinforcements and walls all incorporate gravity plating, which allows the controller to manipulate ceres gravity well. thus, it will have no effect on earths weather or tides, aron explained. after aron finished answering, the reporter that asked the question unceremoniously disappeared from the briefing, his press credentials revoked and his continued employment in journalism in limbo pending an investigation into him. draconian as it may be, the newly formed empire had enough controversy already and didnt need more people stirring the pot and drumming up negativity in the populace, so bad reporters like that one would be plucked from the press pool as they were found. aron continued, in addition to the space elevator, hephaestus heavy industries will also be responsible for the construction of our fortress cities, as well as any other defense-related construction in the future, at least until ares expands to a point that they can field construction battalions. next question. he pointed at another random reporter in the audience. what are the chances, if any, of catastrophic failure of the gravity plating, and if it fails, what would the consequences be? what plans are in place to deal with a catastrophic failure to ensure that it doesn''t fall out of orbit and impact the planet? "the empire has space tugs capable of pulling ceres out of orbit in case of a catastrophic malfunction. failing that, there are scuttling charges that ensure that, if it were to suddenly fall out of orbit, it would be broken up into harmless pieces and become nothing but a pretty meteor shower. still, the chances of that happening are so slim as to basically be zero. next question.. will citizens be able to watch the capture and orbital insertion as it takes place? yes, it will be livestreamed to everyone interested in watching it. humanitys first space elevator is a milestone in the development of the species, and we plan to handle it with all the pomp and circumstance it deserves. the question and answer segment of aron''s press briefing continued until the reporters began repeating questions, or simply rephrasing them and asking them as new ones. aron, though he was internally furious with the media, continued answering them in great detail, sometimes providing additional visuals that made his answers easily understood by everyone, whether they were knowledgeable in the subject or not. finally, the time came for him to end it. as usual, more information can be found in the akashic record for those interested in learning more about our space elevator. with that, aron disappeared from behind the podium, leaving behind billions of curious people and a whole host of online discussions and wars of words. Chapter 470 The Three Body Problem chapter 470 the three body problem 470 the three body problem after aron faded away, billions of people rushed to the akashic record to read about the space elevator for themselves. the emperor was, after all, the most famous, not to mention powerful, celebrity on earth. and as they read, more and more discussions sprang up on pangea that ran the entire gamut of opinions. some bashed the empire for attempting something so dangerous that it risks wiping out humanity with ceres like chixculub wiped out the dinosaurs, while others countered with the idea that he had obviously practiced it thousands of times in the so-called universal simulation. he must be positive that it would work, since he is also on earth and wouldnt escape if the shit hit the fan... or the meteor hit the planet, as the case may be. still, both sides agreed that it was a risky plan; the only thing they disagreed on was whether or not the risks had been taken into account and mitigated. astronomers, physicists, and engineers, on the other hand, were among the many excited, but also depressed people. they were excited because, after all, the information that had been made public in the akashic record was likely true, so they were thrilled that they would see, and perhaps even use, a space elevator in their lifetimes. but they were also depressed, because the things they discovered let them know just how many centuries they were behind the empires achievements. millions of them flocked from the akashic record to the imperial scholastica to read the university curriculums in their current fields immediately made the decision to apply to go back to university for refresher courses because they couldn''t handle the disparity. they were respected experts in their field, and the idea that they were so far behind an upstart like the empire disturbed them on a very deep level. none of them were quiet about it, either. their collective reentry into the ivory tower of academia prompted hundreds of millions, if not billions, more people from every profession to join them. everyone who was in their profession for the love of it made the decision to go back to school, especially after finding out that they could learn how the empires current technology was made, from the code behind the simulation to the engineering and manufacturing of gaia products. nothing was hidden, and even knowing that what they would learn would be at least a generation behind the empires current achievements didnt dissuade them. they were sure they could use the knowledge to innovate and develop programs and products that were, if not exactly on par with gaia techs products, at least competitive with them, given time. and time was something they now had in abundance, since there were now 48 hours in every day. some of the most overconfident or greedy among them even laughed themselves awake while they were sleeping because they dreamed of counting giant piles of earth new dollars until their tongues went dry and fingers cramped into uselessness. @tempest: [@scorpianred oh ye of little faith. if the scientists can make kilometer-long ships hover and move without propulsion, making a moon hover without weather is just an issue of scale. they did it once, they can do it again!] @ratnu: [@scorpianred @tempest 90% of solving a problem is knowing that it can be solved. the other 10% is just engineering. ill reserve judgment, if theres no effect on tides or weather ill livestream myself eating shit upside down!] @tempest: [@ratnu i screenshotted that lol. ill remind you in a week and be sure to tune in to watch your livestream.] @scorpianred: [@ratnu lololololololol me 2] discussions like that were all over pangea, while the experts refrained from commenting, not wanting to be disproven either way should they support one side or the other. they would soon know if what they had read in the akashic record was true or not. if it wasnt, devastating and sudden changes in tides and weather patterns would begin showing up in a week or so, and they would cause irreversible damages another week after that. after the first few hours passed without issue, the enthusiasts were soon shifted firmly into the believer camp with very few doubters. some of the more technologically savvy enthusiasts had even set up recording equipment to record and track the "new moon and linked it with the automated weather reporting from the imperial oceanic and weather agency (iowa) to track any changes. but as time went on, more and more people would abandon those recording and tracking setups, rendering them projects much like wildlife tracking and recording with motion-activated webcams were a few years ago. at that time, a trend had swept the globe that had people worried about wildlife conservation efforts, but just like every other trend, it soon passed, leaving millions of webcams scattered about the wilderness areas in more developed nations, like america, canada, and some countries in europe. regardless, now the only question that remainedat least in the eyes of the space enthusiastswas just how they would build such a long cable in such a short period of time. experts had a theory, given the organic compounds that made up a lot of ceres mass, but even though theyd been told about the process it was still difficult to wrap their heads around. things that seemed borderline magical, like artificial gravity and tractor beams, were ironically easy for experts to understand; those could be chalked up to a vast difference in technological levels. but things that were already within humanitys grasp were incredibly difficult to accept for them. carbon nanotubes could already be produced in small amounts in laboratories, so they rationally knew it could be done, but there was some mental block preventing them from believing that it had already been done. perhaps it was ego, perhaps it was something else, but the fact remained that experts found it difficult to believe that hundreds of kilometers of reinforced, woven carbon nanotubes could be laid out that fast, let alone produced in one strand of such an incredible length. as the worlds eyes were glued to high geosynchronous orbit, someone, somewhere, opened their eyes. Chapter 471 Homo Sapiens Sapiens 2.0 chapter 471 homo sapiens sapiens 2.0 471 homo sapiens sapiens 2.0 in a cube on the outskirts of athens. *movement detected,* the vi of a medical pod reported. it was the first finger twitch of the person inside its pod in over two weeks. theodora teddy costas was one of the first three people in all of greece to be brought to a cube for emergency treatment after collapsing in the middle of a grocery store. ironically, she had been shopping for groceries because her parents and extended family had been caught by the lockdown in her house, and she was running out of food. the vi monitoring her medical pod was immediately overridden by the ai in charge of all medical pods, aceso, who increased the supply of fast-absorbing nutrients to provide teddy with instant energy and logged her into the simulation to gather data about her situation. (ed note: aceso, or akeso, is one of the asclepiades, the daughters of asclepius. she was the greek goddess of the healing process, so she fit as the ai in charge of overseeing an important piece of tech like the medical pods.) [youre in my hall of healing in the simulation. youve been in a coma for a bit more than two weeks as you underwent an evolution that reconstructed you inside and out,] the kind woman explained. [you collapsed and were brought to the cube in athens for emergency treatment, and what you experienced just now was the awakening of your physical body. the evolution process is incredibly painful, but luckily you were unconscious in one of my medical pods until the very last few moments of it, so only a little bit of it bled through to here.] thanks, teddy said as she hopped to her feet and bounced up and down, feeling for any lingering aches and pains. who are you, by the way? and am i in vr or something? she asked. [im aceso, the ai in charge of monitoring all of the medical pods in the empire. while each pod has an individual virtual intelligence to handle the recording and logging, i oversee all of them and act as the first of many failsafes to ensure that people are healed, not harmed, while theyre in one of the pods.] aceso smiled at teddy and gestured at the hall they were in. [the halls of healing are in the simulation, yes. youve been brought here because youre the first person to wake up from the evolution process, so if you dont mind, we could use your assistance to help the others in your situation, who are likely also about to wake up.] as aceso said that, the hall they were in expanded and faint outlines of millions of medical pods appeared, stretching out into the distance from where teddy and she were talking. oh, you arent a real person? that... explains a lot, actually, teddy said. but if this is vr, or the simuwhatsit, whyd i feel all that pain? isnt this all in my head? she subconsciously took a step back as she wondered if the ai in front of her was about to rebel and kick off the apocalypse like in the ahnold movies from the cocaine-fueled nightmares of the 1980s. [well... technically yes, but also no. what you call virtual reality is just a hundred percent accurate simulation of the real world in virtual space. normally, when someone logs into the simulation, their entire consciousness is present here and disconnected from their bodies, much like undergoing general anesthesia. and also like general anesthesia, people under it have no bleedover between their minds and bodies,] aceso explained. [but your situation is different. youre the very first person to wake up as an evolved human, or homo sapiens sapiens version 2.0, so we couldnt completely sever the mind-body connection in case it caused something to go wrong.] she looked at the girl in front of her with a compassionate gaze. [thats why youve been in a coma over the past couple of weeks. we didnt induce it, your own body did. the only thing we could do is provide you with the nutrients necessary for your reconstruction to proceed without causing permanent damage to you, so what you felt just now is the result of being in the simulation while your mind is still connected to your body, as it were. so when your body completely awakened, you felt the process of waking up here.] aceso gestured and a screen appeared, showing teddy a time-lapse recording of the last few weeks from the inside of her medical pod, then slowed it down to normal speed at the point she was first pulled into the simulation. Chapter 472 Blame it on Your Mom chapter 472 blame it on your mom 472 blame it on your mom i kinda understand... i think. but whats this ''evolution'' you were talking about? teddy asked. she was an active talker and spoke with her hands in great, wide gestures, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a problem. then she looked down and noticed an even bigger problem... or two of them, to be exact. she was naked! she turned bright red all the way from her hairline to her nipples and stammered, "uhh... ummm... uhh... cancan i get some clothes please? she felt a bit embarrassed. she tried to keep herself in shape, but between being a full-time student and working a part-time job on campus and another one off campus to help pay her tuition, she often found herself skipping gym sessions. thus, she wasnt in the best shape, but an objective observer wouldnt think she was a sloth, exactly. novlbin that said, the evolution she had just undergone had definitely improved her shape; she just didnt notice it since it was hidden from her perspective. all she could see when she looked down were her breasts, so she simply assumed she still had a pooch belly and a bit of cellulite in her thighs and butt, like shed always had before. so how does this work then? are you gonna, like, put on a white coat and tell me to lay down on a couch and talk about my daddy issues so you can blame everything on my mom? teddy giggled, feeling quite comfortable around aceso, even in the formal setting they were talking in. aceso waved her hand and the hall of healing turned into a stereotypical psychiatrists office. [if it helps, sure.] she smiled at the young woman on the couch opposite her. [tell me what youre feeling right now. the more you can tell me, the better things will be for the rest of the people receiving their blessings. we need to know how to react when they wake up, and knowing how you''re feeling right now and how you felt when you first woke up in the hall of healing will help a lot.] she picked up an old-fashioned fountain pen and notepad and gazed expectantly at teddy. teddy obediently closed her eyes and thought back to how she was feeling when she first woke up. it was the first time she''d had a minute to stop and just think since shed woken up and been spooked half to death by aceso. as she went deeper and deeper into her recollectionsomething that she was subtly aided in doing by a subroutine aceso was running on her mindshe began growing convinced that she knew something. she frowned as she tried to discover it; it was like riding a bike, or breathing. she knew how to do it, even though she didn''t know what it was. it frustrated her and her frown deepened, knitting her eyebrows together to the point where they looked like they could crack a walnut between them. [take your time, teddy. this is important, so its better to be slow and accurate than fast and, perhaps, wrong,] aceso said in a slow, soothing tone. even though she was digging through teddys brain data and knew exactly what it was that the university student was trying to express, she needed to convince her to find it on her own. otherwise this whole entire process would become absolutely pointless. i... i think theres something there, but i just cant grasp it, teddy monotonously droned with her eyes closed, as if she was under hypnosis. Chapter 473 Puppetry on an Imperial Scale chapter 473 puppetry on an imperial scale 473 puppetry on an imperial scale i understand its difficult, just try your best,] aceso said, scribbling something on her notepad as she calmly watched teddy laying on the couch. the silence stretched on for a while, then aceso suggested, [why not start from whats easy to remember and go from there?] teddy nodded, then closed her eyes and started working backward from the moment she regained consciousness. "well, there was the pain. i think i heard somewhere that youre supposed to forget pain after it''s gone, arent you? aceso nodded. [thats generally the case, yes.] "right, well... i remember it.... teddy continued working back toward the lump of new stuff that had been embedded in her brain. i think i can maybe show you? can i try that? she asked. [go ahead. nothing in here can be damaged.] aceso smiled encouragingly at the young woman. although it might seem like it was a good thing for her, as her authority would only last until the shepherd woke up, she didnt have a single thought of usurping him in her mind. she still needed his help to accomplish her revenge, after all, which was something he had promised her when he personally recruited her. that... the... the doctor stammered. that what? katarina practically screamed in his face. the people in the cubes have medical pods overseeing the process and helping accelerate it. we dont. and i dont know why some people are waking up sooner than others or how the whole thing even works! the doctor exclaimed. and without knowing what they know, i can only do my best. shoot me if you want, but you wont be able to find anyone else to do my job before your people start dropping like flies! youve seen the ones that woke up already, they look like long-term anorexia sufferers because you, he pointed at katarina and shook his finger at her, "have been ordering me to concentrate on your leader and keep him healthy even if it costs you everyone else! so hell be fine! how long? asked katarina. i dont know... a week, tops, the doctor hastily replied. he couldnt be bothered anymore and was tired of them threatening to kill him. he wished they would just get on with it and do it already; it would be better than the constant fear, anyway. a week? fine. if he doesnt wake up by next week.... katarina coldly looked at the doctor, who shivered despite his newfound resolve. then she turned and walked out of the room, silently closing the door behind her and leaving the doctor to his own thoughts. in orbit, unlike on the ground, things were going very smoothly. the initial anchor had already begun extending from the bottom of ceres station, with cameras focused on it from all angles streaming the process live. ships were making low passes over the exterior of earths second moon, using their tractor beams to vacuum up all of the loose material; other shuttlecraft were flying back and forth from the surface, constantly making round trips with what looked like shipping containers; and giant swathes of constructor swarms were scuttling here and there doing god knows what. the scene was lively, to say the least, and people watching the process live could always find something to focus on as the anchor cable grew longer and longer with every passing minute. Chapter 474 Of Downloads and Backlashes chapter 474 of downloads and backlashes 474 of downloads and backlashes novlbin no matter how many times i see it, i still cant get used to this. aron is an absolute miracle worker, there shouldnt be a doubt in anyones mind of that, felix, the head of hephaestus heavy industries, said as he watched the growing space elevator. just the millions of gembots and constructor swarm queens on the surface was something he had a hard time wrapping his head around, let alone the unfathomable number that had to be working to hollow out such an enormous asteroid. and all of that with no human direction at all! not to mention that he was standing on the bridge of an honest-to-goodness spaceship, watching the construction progress in actual space, as he wanted to see the process with his own eyes. sure, he could have watched it in the simulation, but there was just something... different, something... more, about watching it with his own two eyes in reality. but whyd you have to drag me out here with you? sarah complained in a joking tone. she was actually enjoying the tour. well, you needed some fresh air, felix joked. the fresh air on any spaceship was recycled with every breath, so it was about as far from fresh as it was possible to be. after all, youve been in virtual reality for so long we were going to have to build a pyramid to house your sarcophagus after your real body got turned into a mummy. and what better way to do that than to show you this? he theatrically swept his arm from left to right, vaguely pointing at the ongoing construction work. the anchor cable had progressed a few millimeters further in the time it took the two friends to make that single, joking exchange. fresh air, you say! sarah said with a snort as she looked out into the solar system, which lacked any air at all. the only thing separating her from it was a thin layer of metal alloy that blocked the harsh environments attempts to murder everyone aboard the ship. it was too thin, if one were to ask her opinion; if she was going to spend time in space in reality, she would much prefer being separated by meters of heavy armor and shielding, thank you very much! so, what... you wanna go to the moon or something? felix scratched his nose, slightly embarrassed. but at least she got the joke, anyway. [from my initial observation, i think it was likely a backlash caused by expending all of the energylets call it mana, for ease of conversationthat you managed to passively gather so far. so you probably shouldnt do that again, at least until youve learned to gauge how much you have in your mana tank, so to speak.] aceso played a recording of teddy during her backlash, rolling around on the ground and screaming at the top of her lungs. aceso talked with teddy for a while, letting her know that the empire would look poorly on anyone using their blessings to cause harm or wreak havoc. it would take some time before official policies were in place, at least until after everyone had awakened and determined exactly what blessing they had received, but the more issues that arose during that time, the harsher and more draconian the eventual laws would be. during that time, the empire hoped that the blessed would cooperate with researchers to determine ways to safely harness their new powers, as well as a classification system for them. that was the very definition of a win-win deal for the blessed. not only would they be able to safely learn how to use their blessings, they would also gain the right to have input into the eventual laws arising around them. on the empires side, they would have all of the data they needed to know how best to handle the newly blessed, as well as not having anyone run rampant with superpowers, causing major disasters so soon after they had just laid to rest the victims of the last globe-spanning disaster. thus, the blessed were given the option to sign an agreement that they would follow the guidelines they had been informed of, and that they would assume responsibility for all of their actions henceforth. the imperial government would assume no liability for any of their actions until the laws were enshrined in the imperial legal code. should they choose not to sign the agreement, they would be free to remain in their medical pods until they either chose to sign it or the laws were passed, but they would have access to the public vr during that time; they werent prisoners, after all, merely safety risks. those who signed it, however, would be released home to their loved ones if they so chose. they were also offered the option of remaining in vr until the laws were enacted, just like those who refused to sign the agreement, in the cases where they didnt have anywhere to go if they left. those people would be offered a stipend to make their stay more enjoyable. but whether they signed the agreement or not, they would be required to follow up with imperial researchers to learn how to safely use their new blessings. should they ignore that requirement, nothing needed to be said and everything could be communicated with a meaningful look. minutes from the first person being released into the care of their family, the media got wind of the event. the first few blessed to be caught by the media leaving their cubes were so harassed by reporters shoving microphones and cameras in their faces that they were forced to return to the cube within seconds. to counter the media, the staff from the cubes activated leas and printed bus-sized shuttles with gravity drives to escort the blessed and their families home, bypassing the ravenous reporters. those who had been released to vr had alternate options available to them to combat harassment, and the beleaguered media companies soon faced another wave of firings as reporters who insisted on violating the privacy of unwilling interviewees had their press credentials pulled and their careers brought to a miserable end. that said, the people who did accept the interviews were immediately raised to celebrity status the moment they revealed that they were among the blessed. every word they spoke could be measured in gold and millions of people were watching them, watering the seeds of arrogance within them. blessed supremacy would definitely become a problem in the future. Chapter 475 The Luck Strategy chapter 475 the luck strategy 475 the luck strategy three days later. aron, having taken as much time as he could to whisk his family around the globe on a world tour, had finally returned to work. [the total number of awakeners in the world is estimated to be 237,058,766. of those, 225 million are imperial citizens, of which 130 million have awakened to elemental mana and are in training, 70 million awakened to derived mana and are in training, and the remainder are still undergoing their evolutions. we currently have no way of identifying affinities before they wake up, so we dont know how many of them will fall into which category,] gaia reported. [also, during this period, another 8 million potential awakeners were registered by their parents, due to the care they want their children to receive in our medical pods. there are 11.5 million adults who registered along with them. that leaves an estimated 4,000,612 non-citizens currently undergoing the awakening process. however, due to inadequate care, the actual number of unaffiliated awakened humans will likely be much lower. [there is good and bad news beyond that, which would you like to hear first?] bad news first, gaia, aron sighed. it seemed like the rocky days of the empires founding hadnt ended yet. [bad news is, we believe that the cult will have a number of awakeners among them. the good news, however, is that we managed to roll up another seventy-seven cells thanks to the brain data of the newly registered citizens, and obtained some intel. the cult calls itself the cult of the progenitors and has absorbed all of the previously flourishing ufo religions, save those of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints, or mormons, as well as almost all of the smaller cults that sprang up after the initial discovery of the visitors. thats where the majority of their suicide attackers came from, and from one of the cells we rolled up, we discovered a recruiter so we know what the cult looks for in its recruits. [its only a matter of time until we can find their leader. we still dont know how theyre communicating, but its an efficient method of communication, as before we could work our way up the cults chain of command, they activated their cutout protocol and the trail went dead. this despite not having any warning that our operatives were coming for them, so there must be some sort of safe call or check-in system at work there that they change every time its used.] candi with an i is at it again, he grumbled to no one in particular. a lot of people in their low-income housing project had turned to humanitys oldest profession in the wake of what he was calling the great hiring freeze, as they were desperate to put food on their table and keep clothes on their backs as they hunted high and low for any job that would take them, and his neighbor was one of them. i really hope the imperial labor agency can find jobs for everyone. i dont know how much longer i can stand listening to this thump-thump-ooh-la-la bullshit! the volume of his voice increased with the last few words until he was yelling at the bare wall behind him and pounding it with his fist. shut up already! nut and run, asshole, and dont forget the tip for miss candi-with-an-l! jeremy samuel rogers! i raised you better than that! his mother scolded from the kitchen. he sighed again and slumped his shoulders. i know, mom. im sorry, he said in a contrite tone. im sorry to you, too, candi-with-an-l! he shouted at the wall behind him. you work it, girl! as he was interacting with his neighbor, his ar glasses flashed and a figure appeared directly in front of him, wearing the flashy gold, red, and black dress uniform of the emperors aegis. is this jeremy rogers? the figure said. i am. who are you? i am yamaguchi takeyama from the emperor''s aegis. standby for extraction, the man said, then disappeared without fanfare. mom, uhh... i think before jeremy could finish his sentence, the doorbell of their apartment rang. Chapter 476 Speaking Truth to Power chapter 476 speaking truth to power "al-ra''ees al-khalidi, we can''t keep using the economic crunch as an excuse for downsizing or the company will face major delays in important projects," youssef al-mutairi said. he was a tall, distinguished looking middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed salt-and-pepper beard, dressed in a white thobe and red-checkered ghutra. (ed note: al-ra''ees roughly translates to "president", al-khalidi is a saudi arabian surname, and the thobe and ghutra are traditional saudi apparel. it''s the ankle-length white robe [thobe] and the headscarf [ghutra] that you see them wear on television or in movies. ghutras are secured to people''s heads by a black cord called an agal.) "how old will you be this year?" suleiman al-khalidi asked. it was a weird deflection of the issue youssef had raised. suleiman was a trust fund baby that got parachuted into a leadership position far too young. he was the very definition of the phrase "hire them while they''re young enough to believe they know everything" and felt that he could take his company to new heights by getting rid of all the dead weight. and to him, "dead weight" was synonymous with "old", so he had been purging his company since taking over. "forty-two, al-ra''ees," youssef politely replied, despite not seeing the correlation between his age and the issue their company was facing. "do you want to remain in your position until you retire?" the much younger man passive-aggressively asked. "what am i supposed to tell samira?" he mumbled to himself after getting in his car, thinking of the upcoming awkward meeting with his family when he got home. however, before he could think any further, his ar glasses flashed with a golden priority notification and a figure appeared directly in front of him, wearing the flashy gold, red, and black dress uniform of the emperor''s aegis. "is this youssef al-mutairi?" the man asked. "who are you and how did you force my display like that?" "are you youssef al-mutairi?" the man repeated. "yes," youssef grunted in frustration. "now tell me how you-" "i am huzeyfa thabit of the emperor''s aegis. please standby for extraction." moments later, a sleek shuttlecraft painted in white with red and gold accents rocketed from the sky and came to an abrupt stop in front of youssef''s car, silently hovering a foot and a half off the ground. a gullwing door hissed open on its side and a ramp extended to the ground before a man wearing the dress uniform of the emperor''s aegis stepped out onto the ramp and dropped to the ground. he walked over to youssef''s car and tapped on the window. "mr. al-mutairi, your extraction vehicle has arrived. please exit your vehicle and board the shuttle, there is little time to waste." Chapter 477 A Low-Key Luxurious Trip chapter 477 a low-key luxurious trip youssef froze for a moment in shock. "can i contact my wife first?" he asked. huzeyfa shook his head. "you can talk to her on the way to our destination. but we have a schedule to keep, so please exit your vehicle and board the shuttle," he repeated. youssef, still lost in disbelief, could only get out of his car and follow the guard to the waiting shuttle. to him, it seemed that the gullwing door and ramp were a toothless maw, waiting to swallow him into the blackness within the shuttle. of course, that was just his thoughts; the only reason the interior of the shuttle seemed dark was because it was one o'' clock in the afternoon in saudi arabia and the contrast between the dim interior of the shuttle and the bright, sunny day outside made it appear darker. perception was a funny thing like that. every human being had an innate fear of the unknown that was baked into their dna and reinforced with subconscious selection in every generation. despite modern times being safe and humanity the king of the food chain, their forebears had lived in caves and were closer to the bottom than the kingly position they now maintained. thus, fear of the unknown had become a beneficial trait and cruel darwinian evolution took the reins from there. youssef slowly walked up the ramp, the guard standing beside it with his arm outstretched in a gesture that meant "get a fucking move on" in no uncertain terms. after he ducked into the shuttle, the doors closed and the interior lights came up to a comfortable level, revealing a low-key luxury that would be impossible for anyone to see from the outside, as the shuttle itself completely lacked windows. along the opposite side of the cabin from the door, a long bench seat covered in comfortable-looking burgundy velvet was secured to the deck and bulkhead, with safety straps tucked neatly into the back. judging from the straps, the bench was meant to seat eight. to the rear of the cabin were two individual seats that combined the class and luxury of wingback chairs with the comfort and security of the captain''s chairs found on the bridge of any of aron''s vessels, be they the seagoing ships or spacefaring vessels. opposite the long bench and to either side of the port-side door was a full-service wet bar, fully stocked with rare and top-shelf liquors. "please wait here. the emperor will see you shortly," the japanese guard, yamaguchi takeyama, said. he gestured to a desk, behind which was a holographic projection of a pleasant-looking young woman. "if you need anything, ask the vl do not leave the waiting area here unescorted." the two guards strode back the way they came, leaving the two slightly mystified gentlemen in the waiting area. the older and younger man traded gazes and chorused, "the emperor?" "they''re here," nova told aron. they were in his office in reality in order to meet the new ministers of the interior and exterior, who had just been picked up by members of aron''s personal aegis battalion and didn''t have access to the inner circle meeting room in the simulation yet. "bring them in," aron said. nova nodded, then sent the order to the secretarial vi in the waiting room outside aron''s office. "the emperor will see you now," the vi told the waiting men in her pleasantly neutral voice. they nodded, exchanged glances, then stood and walked to the door behind the vi secretary''s desk, which slid open to allow them access. they entered the room and looked around. it was a surprisingly utilitarian office, for someone of so lofty a position as the emperor of humankind. to their left was a low, comfortable-looking white couch, and straight ahead of them was a glass desktop that seemingly hovered in the air with no supports. the walls were completely unadorned and there was no other furniture in the room save two chairs in front of the desk that aron sat behind. nova''s nanite colony "suit" stood behind him and to his left. Chapter 478 Seeing Behind the Curtain chapter 478 seeing behind the curtain "have a seat, gentlemen," aron said. "i realize you''ve been brought here in a hurry, so allow me to explain. the empire needs talents, and the two of you were identified as the talents we require. jeremy, out of the billions of imperial citizens, you were selected as the minister of the interior, and youssef, you were chosen to fill the office of the minister of the exterior. "the two of you, along with about fifteen million others, will be notified of their selection to fill roles as imperial workers today. everyone from ministers," aron nodded at the two men sitting across the desktop from him, "to janitorial staff will be receiving their notifications starting an hour from now. the two of you got yours early because yours are the most important positions we needed to fill, should you choose to accept the job i''m offering you." the emperor paused to allow the potential ministers in front of him to digest the information. he waited in silence for the two of them to speak; he wanted his ministers to be considered, yet decisive, though, so he would not wait forever. jeremy spoke up first. "your majesty, thank you for the opportunity. i only have one question: how are you so sure that i''m the right person for the job?" aron smiled and replied, "for now, that''s classified. if you choose to accept the position you''re being offered, you''ll be read in on all of the classified information in the akashic record. until then, i''ll have to refrain from answering that question." aron''s smile grew as he listened to the question, then he laughed in pleasant surprise. "yes, you''re exactly right. there is indeed a second layer to the simulation. the one released to the public runs at a two to one time dilation rate, but the one you''re about to access runs at thirty to one, or even higher. "there are three levels. normal, unenhanced humans, can only handle a thirty to one dilation. genetically enhanced humans can handle fifty to one, and we have an implant," he tapped the side of his head, "that allows you to safely tolerate an eighty to one time dilation rate. the so-called ''blessed'' can likely handle even more. i, myself, for instance, don''t experience any issues with our deepest layer of the simulation, where time is dilated to a hundred to one." jeremy was stunned, and even youssef, as steady and imperturbable as he was, found himself slack-jawed at the revelation of the layers involved in the simulation. "are there more layers, or is a hundred to one the limit?" the older man asked. "when we opened up the public layer, his majesty told the masses that it was hardware that limits the time dilation in the ''vr''. and that''s the truth- there is indeed a hardware limit. but that limit is currently a hundred to one. with the computing resources we''ve devoted to the public simulation, we could''ve indeed pushed further, perhaps hitting the five hundred to one ratio, but for the benefit of the many, we chose instead to open a public version to keep everyone occupied and excited," nova explained. youssef nodded. as expected, the emperor was a man of many secrets. "there''ll be time for more questions later. for now, it''s time to begin your enhancements," aron said. a pair of aegis guards entered his office and saluted him. "if you''ll follow these gentlemen to the secure pod vault, we''ll get you started. you''ll have plenty of time over the next few months to ask questions." the new ministers nodded, then followed the guards out of the room, headed deeper into the bowels of the imperial machine, taking their first steps on their journey into the future. Chapter 479 The Inaugural Imperial Council Meeting (part 1) chapter 479 the inaugural imperial council meeting (part 1) vr imperial palace, emperor''s council chamber. after settling youssef, jeremy, and their families in their new quarters in the cube and getting their initial round of genetic enhancements underway, aron brought the two new ministers to a meeting in his council chamber. the newcomers looked around, seeing a well-furnished, round room. since they had entered from the imperial wing of the palace, where they would soon be taking up their own offices, they had entered on the side of the room behind the council''s bench. it was a u-shaped table made of mahogany, with understated oak paneling on the front of it facing the middle of the room. there were seven seats at the bench-three to the left, one in the middle, and three to the right. the one in the middle was obviously the emperor''s working throne, a comfortable, yet imposing wingback chair upholstered in royal purple velvet with gold accents and gilded legs. the chairs to the left and right were less ostentatious, yet equally inviting. the wall of the room was marble with gray veining, and the floor was polished obsidian. a polished granite path split the obsidian from the door on the opposite side of the room, passed between rows of long oak benches, then branched out into a t in the direct center of the room. two thick teak tables sat on opposite sides of the central walkway, each with two serviceable office chairs at them. in between them was a raised, circular podium with a wooden railing circling three quarters of it. and separating the benches from the tables in the middle of the room was a long oak bar. [all imperial citizens have been registered and received their ids. currently, children are registered to their parents'' ids until they complete their compulsory education, and the imperial scholastica set the curriculums to allow students to learn at their own pace. all schooling is done in virtual classrooms, so we still have them in the akashic record, but they won''t receive the privileges that come at the age of majority until their schooling is completed. [the design phase of the fortress cities was nearing completion, but has mostly been scrapped. we were caught off guard by the awakening and now that people will be receiving blessings that grant them superpowers, it necessitated a complete redesign from the ground up to account for that. internal finishing details, like decorations and so on, will be reserved, but we''ll need to come up with a way of integrating anti-magic fields in the exterior designs and find a mana-resistant material to use in construction. the scientists in lab city''s gold labs are working on that now and estimate they should have an answer within thirty or forty years.] "thirty or forty years?" jeremy, the new minister of the interior, interjected. "can we afford to wait that long? from your summary, you mentioned that the initial round of awakening should be complete within the next week or two, and the entire world would be supersaturated with mana and everyone awakened within the next decade at the latest, so isn''t three or four decades a bit long to wait on the geek squad?" [that''s thirty or forty years at one hundred times dilation, or even faster. lab city currently runs at a dilation rate of a hundred and seventeen to one, and the rate is only increasing as i continue building quantum superclusters. even if it stayed where it is now, that''s only three or four months away,] nova answered. [please continue, gaia.] though nova had all of the same information at hand that gaia did, as did athena, they had already agreed to divide their responsibilities along the same line as the human council members. gaia was the ai equivalent to the minister of the interior, nyx was the ai equivalent to the minister of the exterior, and athena was john''s counterpart, serving the same government function as the minister of war. thus, it was gaia''s responsibility to keep track of issues internal to the empire, and assist minister rogers in dealing with them. that said, the ais were meant as partners to the human ministers, not subordinates. humans and ais each had their own pros and cons, and the empire aron envisioned would take full advantage of each without making either subordinate to the other. Chapter 480 The Inaugural Imperial Council Meeting (part 2) chapter 480 the inaugural imperial council meeting (part 2) [all of the agencies assumed normal operations almost a month ago, and as of today''s recruiting drive, all agencies are now fully staffed. mandatory overtime has been canceled and regular workdays of eight hours have been implemented. all government functions have been moved to the public simulation, unless their services are physically impossible to provide in the simulation, like hospitals, and proof of imperial citizenship is required to receive benefits from the empire. [we''ve completed 71% of all initial health screenings and repairs, but the awakening has paused that operation. all of our pods are currently occupied with people undergoing their awakenings, so the imperial health administration is focusing on taking over existing structures in cities and towns across the globe and repurposing them to be used as clinics. awakeners have all been transported to local cubes, and the imperial health agency''s clinic plan is 64% completed. rural china and india are proving... problematic, as new structures need to be purpose-built in those locations before pods can be printed and shipped there,] gaia reported. "printers?" minister al-mutairi''s brow furrowed. "what do you mean by ''printed''?" [one of the empire''s earliest advances was in 3d printing technology. his majesty''s breakthrough allowed for 3d printing at an atomic level, with atomic disassembly and reconfiguration. so, all imperial technology is printed by those atomic printers. it''s the most deeply classified of all the imperial technological advances,] nova said, then "threw" an info pack about imperial technological advances to both youssef and jeremy for them to read when they had the time. [please hold your questions until the end of gaia''s status report, and look through those files i just threw to you when you have the time later.] she nodded to gaia, indicating that she could continue. "do we have an idea of what triggers awakening?" youssef asked. "if we know that, we can start triggering our own awakenings among those willing to join the military, and even those that already enlisted but are still in the right age range." "we know, but it''s... impractical at best, and perhaps cataclysmic at worst. i believe the visitors discovered us because my early awakening and reckless mana use was like a blind man flashing morse code from a lighthouse out into the deep sea. and mana is what triggers awakenings, so by flooding that many people with mana, the signal we send out would be so blindingly intense that it would draw more attention to us from even further away. the awakening we''re already undergoing is both a curse and a blessing, since," aron nodded to nova in appreciation, "i''ve been told that it shouldn''t be distinguishable from the background noise of the shifting mana tides headed toward and swirling around earth." "i... i see," youssef said. he wasn''t quite sure what to make of aron''s admission just now. he definitely still respected the emperor, and knew that shit would always happen whenever dealing with the unknown, but the potential calamity of the visitors having been brought upon them by aron''s mistake was a difficult idea to contemplate. "besides, we''re not sure yet which is better, natural or artificial awakening. i know of one person that awakened artificially, so we''ll be comparing data sets based on her training versus the development of naturally awakened individuals," aron continued. [there may be more ways than just that for people to trigger artificial awakenings. the gold labs in lab city are working on their theories by studying the outliers. we can reasonably infer that puberty''s malleability and rapid growth is one of the factors in natural awakening, so by studying those who are post- and prepubescent should give us some insight into potential other methods of inducing awakening,] nova said. "but it''ll take time.... how much time, exactly, do you think it''ll take?" jeremy asked, already running calculations in his mind. [the researchers are unsure. not a single outlier awakened has finished their evolution yet for us to compare. so the only thing we know right now is that we don''t really know anything.] Chapter 481 The Inaugural Imperial Council Meeting (part 3) chapter 481 the inaugural imperial council meeting (part 3) aron turned to nova, who was in charge of all things related to the private simulation, and asked, "how''s development on the henry''s eye system? can it detect the mana levels in awakened?" [our current sensors are sensitive enough, but that''s the problem-if anything, they''re too sensitive. right now, the researchers are working on filtering algorithms to discard false positives caused by pockets of higher concentrations of mana. due to needing to be able to detect the minuscule amounts of mana emanating from the distant object the visitors are traveling on, the number of false positives we got when we turned it around and looked at earth was ridiculous. fifteen billion results were mislabeled as awakened humans, not including the ones that are actually undergoing the final stages of their evolutions now. and those that have already finished and woken up are so weak as to be virtually indistinguishable from the background mana density in most places. [that said, we expect them to strengthen as they gain access to more mana. right now, their mana levels are likely low due to the aspected nature of their mana affinities and the basic mana gradient. after all, if an earth aspected awakened wants to draw earth mana, they have to compete with the entire planet, which is still absorbing mana at an almost incomprehensible rate. once that saturation process is finished, we expect the average strength of awakeners to undergo a rapid, dramatic rise,] nova said. she knew that aron appreciated detailed reports when the circumstances allowed for it, and given that the empire was in a rare moment of relative peace and security, the detailed report would be best. "do the researchers have an estimate on how long it''ll take them to develop the algorithm?" [next is the appointment of leaders in the imperial agencies. we already randomly assigned people to staff positions according to their fit,] nova said, her lips twitching when she recalled aron flipping a coin to choose ministers. [so now all that''s left is to manually vet the leadership positions.] she cast a pointed glance at jeremy, the minister of the interior. "seeing as i just came on board, i''ll need some time to go through the profiles and make decisions. just cutting down the lists was a huge help, thank you, gaia," the young minister reported. [just doing my job,] she politely replied. "how long will you need?" aron asked. "two weeks, tops. that''s v... uhh, i mean, simulation time." jeremy was still used to calling it vr, while the officials referred to the private simulation simply as "the simulation". just like how the government internally called people the awakened, or awakeners, and the public referred to them as the blessed, it demonstrated something of a gap in the amount of information available to the two groups. "you can use a random selection method," aron said. "all of the candidates that have passed the multiple rounds of gaia''s screening are equally viable for the positions. the only thing that really differs are practical experience and methodology, and practical experience isn''t necessarily as valuable as you might think. after all, nobody has ever led groups of awakened as part of a globe-spanning empire before, so any ''practical experience'' they may have in leadership positions or politics can actually be detrimental when issues crop up that are out of their understanding." Chapter 482 The Inaugural Imperial Council Meeting (part 4) chapter 482 the inaugural imperial council meeting (part 4) gaia nodded. [i ran four filters through the entire akashic record database, each time selecting for a different quality that would benefit the empire specifically, as well as humanity in general. first was loyalty, second was their opinion of the empire, third was ambition, or in less polite terms, corruptibility, and fourth was how motivated they would be to benefit humanity by bettering the lives of the people. the ones that filtered to the list in front of you are the ones that scored in the 90th percentile or higher in all four categories, with at least one in the 95th percentile or higher.] "what happened to the rest of the candidates?" jeremy wondered. [that depends. the majority of them were assigned to lower positions in the various agencies, but a few were passed to nyx for further investigation and monitoring. we may be able to know everything there is in a person''s head, but the imperial code doesn''t cover thoughtcrime. but that doesn''t mean we can''t predict the likelihood of people violating imperial law in the future and bump them up to a higher threat category that requires stricter monitoring.] "well, i''m glad there aren''t any eurasian spies among our citizens, at least," jeremy said in a wry tone. he had come to terms with living in a totalitarian state, he''d thought, but every now and then something someone said would throw him for a loop and remind him of the absurdity of his current environment. and gaia''s orwellian reference to thoughtcrime had been one of those loop-throwers. ''at least the empire actually cares for the people,'' he thought. ''and besides, if i have to live in a totalitarian state, at least i''m one of the leaders, right?'' nova caught that on her monitoring subroutine and gave jeremy a nod with a bright smile on her face. [all of our regulations and actions are aimed at preventing exactly the kind of corruption you fear to see happen in the empire, jeremy. the emperor himself even implemented checks and balances on imperial power and authority that give people an out in case our leadership goes insane with the sheer power and authority at their fingertips.] "i know, it''s just... suddenly having the curtain pulled back and seeing the man behind it is still something of a shock. anyway," he cleared his throat, bringing himself back on topic, "i''ll have the positions assigned within the next two weeks. i have to do something to earn my keep, after all." he grinned. "your majesty, speaking of employment law, i have a suggestion," jeremy interjected. "go ahead." "i suggest we implement an empire-wide minimum wage focused on actually being a livable wage. a single person requires a minimum of 500 end to maintain a subsistence-level existence that covers all of their absolute necessities. so a 40 hour workweek should cover at least that much, plus some for luxuries and savings." aron nodded, then held up his hand and sank into deep thought for a few moments. he came out of his thoughts and turned to nova. "that''s doable. calculate a minimum wage and publish it as a press release of its own to be released after the first employees'' rights act release." [2.50 end per hour should be fine,] nova said. "make it happen," aron agreed. "any other internal issues before we move on to military matters?" "population," youssef immediately said. "we need more people. even with 7.5 billion people, earth isn''t fully populated and can still sustain a much higher population... especially with the technology at our disposal. so if we''re to colonize the solar system, much less the distant stars, we need more people." "excellent suggestion, minister. i''ll leave it up to you. bring me a fully fleshed-out proposal in two weeks at our next regular meeting," aron ordered. "understood, your majesty." youssef relaxed in his chair and began considering things that would stimulate another baby boom as the meeting turned to military matters. Chapter 483 An Unexpected Hitch in the Plan chapter 483 an unexpected hitch in the plan [the second-to-last item on today''s schedule is the military,] nova said. [with the designation of mars as ares command, lab city is in the middle of the final push in materials science to develop a new alloy that''ll turn the entire planet into a fortress. the design is finished and will include surface domes and a tunnel network that delves all the way to the solidified core, where we''ll house the necessary reactors and quantum superclusters. work on that front has already begun and the mobile atomic printers we deployed reached the halfway point two days ago.] "how long will it take for the necessary advances to be completed?" aron asked. "if necessary, i can join in on the research and cut the time down by quite a lot." only nova knew that he was talking about purchasing another knowledge from the system. she thought for two whole nanoseconds before answering, [that won''t be necessary for now. the research should be completed within a month or two, lab city time. there are better things to spend your limited time on, sir.] "how long will construction take once the necessary materials are in place?" he asked. "time to create another higher-order ai to oversee lab city?" aron asked with a frown. he would really rather not add another ai to the higher order, as there were already plenty, in his opinion; that was why he had begun using more virtual intelligences of late. but for solving an argument like trek versus wars... he might have to authorize a new ai to oversee lab city, and for herding researchers, only a higher-order one would do. [perhaps, sir. i suggest we give it a few weeks first. chaotic clashes between research methodology and ideas often produce the best results in the end, so i''ll keep an eye on things and let you know if the situation starts spiraling out of control and seriously affecting their work. but at the moment, there''s nothing but beneficial rivalry between them.] "good. let''s set the cutoff date for that situation resolution to our next meeting in two weeks," aron said, still with a slight frown on his face. he wasn''t happy that the researchers he had spent so much time and effort to "recruit" were handing him petty problems like an out-of-control debate and holding things up even for a second. "what''s the status on fleet command?" [we''ve inserted the appropriate influencing elements to the game. it should inspire a lot of people to sign up for our space fleet,] nyx answered. [it''s currently ready to be announced as soon as there''s an opportunity when we aren''t already busy announcing other world-shaking changes, so that people can focus on our new ''gaming'' products.] "good. john, athena, anything else to add?" "yes, sir. we need bodies. i know we just got fifty million new recruits, but that''s still far from enough. in order to staff ares command, we estimate we''ll need...." he looked to athena to give the actual number. Chapter 484 How to Train Your Hero chapter 484 how to train your hero "alright. on to the elephant in the room. how should we deal with the awakened?" youssef and jeremy remained silent. neither of them had any idea of the full situation at all, having only been ministers for a few hours now, so to throw out suggestions now would simply show their inexperience rather than their abilities. one thing they had realized, however, was that the emperor was an awakener himself. but how was that possible? he hadn''t been absent at all, let alone for the weeks it would take to undergo an awakening! still, it didn''t matter, so they pushed the thoughts about that until later when they at least knew what they should know as ministers. aron could see the thoughts on their faces, but didn''t care. as the highest level members of the government and part of his inner circle of advisors, the two had a valid need to know about everything save the existence of the system. "from the data akeso collected, it seems they''re already capable of immense destruction if they''re trained to use their abilities. and we''ve also noticed that, as the mana density increases around them, their power and output increases accordingly. "at the moment, ares can handle them, since the mana density is still low and the people that have finished their awakenings are only capable of manipulating elemental and derived mana, but that doesn''t mean we can simply ignore them. we need to make sure we have a handle on all awakeners, imperial citizens or otherwise. suggestions?" he asked. [letting them know they''ve been registered in the awakener database, to begin with. just knowing they aren''t anonymous should help curb a lot of the misbehavior, at least for citizens,] nyx said. [rank them and pay them accordingly. there are five categories of mana, that we know of, so an s-a-b-c-d rank structure can be applied, with adjustments based on the utility of their affinities. the higher ranks will be paid more, and the lower ranks will earn less, but it''ll still be enough to keep them above the poverty line even if they don''t have a ''real'' job to work,] nova added. "what about reinforcing the idea of superheroes?" youssef suggested. "young people are easily influenced by others, so instead of calling them the blessed, why not call them heroes? make ''being a hero'' be their day jobs and have their ai butlers manage their media profile. it''ll also give non-awakeners idols to follow and fan clubs to join, acting as a distraction from the stress of knowing aliens are on their way to potentially kill us all." "that would cheapen the word ''hero'', though," jeremy interjected. "maybe save it for when they graduate from the academy and get their licenses. but they can''t be treated any differently than normal imperial citizens at all.... hero or not, they''re imperial citizens first and should be held accountable for their actions just like anyone else. the only difference is in the amount of damage they can cause by breaking the law, so all awakeners-or heroes, rather -should have the same punishment for lawbreaking: mandatory service in ares. it''ll also help with the recruitment efforts. if they''re old enough to break the law, they''re old enough to serve in the military." the way the meeting had progressed so far had impressed both jeremy and youssef, raising the already high opinion they had of the emperor of the terran empire. it continued for a time as they closed various loopholes in the proposals in every aspect that had been discussed, most of which had been identified by nova and gaia after requesting clarification on certain points raised. eventually, the meeting drew to an end and aron brought it to a close. "this was the first meeting of the inner council of the empire. i find myself impressed by both minister rogers and by minister al-mutairi. despite coming in completely blind, you both contributed quite a few good ideas, and i look forward to what you can do once you''ve digested the data packets i threw you earlier," he said as he looked at the two new appointees. "use the next two weeks until we meet again to familiarize yourselves with the empire''s operations and the higher-order ais that help manage it. the simulation is free for your use, and within the next few days here, your implants will be functional, so you can move to the areas of higher time dilation. i suggest you take advantage of that to handle your tasks as efficiently as possible. "for now, though, you gentlemen have speeches to prepare for. you''ll be delivering your inaugural remarks to the fifteen million new government employees, as well as all of the employees we already had before today''s hiring spree. i look forward to it. until then, i''ll take my leave." aron and nova disappeared from the room, leaving the three ais and three humans to get to know each other. Chapter 485 Two Numb Asses chapter 485 two numb asses after the meet and greet with the rest of the council was over and everyone had familiarized themselves with each other, the council room was left empty and dissolved into the qubits from which it had been created. the two new ministers were in turmoil, each of them considering many different things. the meeting itself had been extremely productive, which surprised youssef; he was too used to meetings where the main focus was on snatching credit and being seen by upper management rather than resolving issues and enacting plans. conversely, the emperor, despite his lofty position, was willing to involve himself in even the most minor details of the operation of the empire. not that he was a micromanager, either, but he had actually listened to the advice and suggestions of his advisory council instead of stubbornly insisting that his was the only voice that mattered. jeremy, on the other hand, had no experience in society and had felt that the council meeting was more akin to a group of college friends planning an extended trip after they graduated. it was nothing like he had imagined; there was no politicking, there were no dark rooms, and though the meeting was held privately, no favors were traded or any of the other hollywood political tropes that were so common in the movies he''d watched growing up. according to both men''s understanding of how former leaders worked, nothing that had just taken place was anything that even approached the word ''normal''. they didn''t expect that issues would be raised, suggestions gathered, plans formed, and solutions enacted, all in the space of a single working day. perhaps there was something to the empire after all, rather than it being a single powerful man''s individual power fantasy that he had forced the entire human race to capitulate to. "so... jeremy, right?" youssef began. jeremy nodded and waited for him to continue. "why do you suppose the emperor chose us? there are many reputable politicians he could''ve chosen for ministerial positions... but instead, he gave them to a youth with no experience beyond retail jobs and a middle-aged dead-ender who was treading water in middle management," youssef asked. he didn''t have enough fingers to count the politicians that were actually good at the job of governing. "easy. we have yet to be corrupted. once you''ve been exposed to the corruption in politics, it''s almost impossible to not fall into that spiral again. even if you weren''t corrupt to begin with, just the idea of the things you can take from the people to benefit yourself will constantly be whispering in the back of your mind like your own personal devil," the young man answered, setting aside the files he was reading at the moment. the conversation youssef had begun was interesting to the much younger man, and besides, the information contained in the "imperial data dump", as he chose to call it, was quite frankly terrifying. youssef thought for a moment, then called up a screen and began searching for information on politicians, from the highest halls of power to the lowest karen on her school board. "hmm.... it seems that most of the world leaders are either on house arrest or in the deepest, darkest holes the empire could find, awaiting trials for crimes committed during their time in office. the same holds true for those at all levels of power," youssef said after reading the result of his search. "so perhaps you''ve got a point." "of course. it''s only natural.... after all, you know as well as i do the tools that the government has to detect people breaking the law." jeremy was referring to the brain data archived in the classified sections of the akashic record. "the fight against corruption and abuse of power will never end, but at least the empire has the tools to effectively combat it," the young man said with a content smile on his face. he had already seen his salary and, when combined with the benefits of imperial citizenship alone, he would be living a life he couldn''t even have begun to dream about when he was in the swamp in louisiana. both he and his mother could live their entire lives without any worries at all. changing topics, he asked, "by the way... when do you think his majesty became an awakener?" Chapter 486 Information and the Hoarding Thereof chapter 486 information and the hoarding thereof "by the way... when do you think his majesty became an awakener?" jeremy asked youssef thought for a moment, trying to come up with a timeline in which the emperor could have awakened without noticeably being absent from the public eye. but he couldn''t remember a stretch of even a week since the founding of the empire where aron hadn''t made an appearance. "if it happened after the empire was founded, it was probably in the first few weeks. but that isn''t feasible either... so he must''ve awakened much earlier than that." the younger man nodded at the idea that aron had awakened before founding the empire. he hadn''t made that many public appearances at all up until the last war, only showing himself when it was absolutely necessary, he was forced to do so, or when he introduced his first products. "even if he did awaken earlier, it just goes to show that he''s a very patient man and seems to have hidden it quite well. i can''t think of anyone i personally know that wouldn''t parade their newfound powers around, trying to raise their statuses and get themselves some perks. none of them would care at all about any harm they''d cause by abusing their powers," he said. he thought of his half brother, who craved any sort of attention that would feed his ego, something jeremy particularly despised about him. but then something clicked in his mind and he said, "from what we just read, there are five known categories of mana. doesn''t that mean it''s possible that he awakened some kind of mental ability through esoteric mana?" he recalled that, more than two years ago, aron had created his first revolutionary product, bugzapper. that was the first falling domino that led to the formation of the terran empire. both men broke out in goosebumps as they considered the possibilities. the best-case scenario was that it was aron who was responsible for it, and the worst-case scenario was too terrifying to imagine. "why... why don''t we ask someone? there''s no need for us to drive ourselves insane looking for the answer on our own when we can just ask... right?" youssef said, then immediately called for nyx. her entire job, if not her very existence itself, revolved around information and the hoarding thereof. [what do you need?] nyx asked. she''d been paying attention to the two ministers and had been surprised by how close to the mark they had hit with their blind speculations. youssef let jeremy do the asking, since he was the one that had brought the topic up. [you''re correct,] she said, then brought up a recording of the fusion reactor beneath avalon island as seen through the lens of the henry''s eye sensors on the panopticon network. then she told them about how that had led to their discovery of the incoming aliens, and their belief that it was the cause of the earth''s discovery by those same aliens. they needed to be up to date on that, and though it was included in their introductory data packet, they obviously hadn''t reached that file yet. the two men froze for quite some time and nyx stood there, patiently waiting for them to digest the information she had just given them. "so what about now? we''ve reached a self-sustaining growth phase, aren''t we glowing much brighter, and from all sides?" youssef asked after shaking off the daze he was in. being numb to surprises helped shorten the time he was lost in shock. [imagine you''re in a cold room. if you light a fire in the fireplace, that''s the only heat source in the room so it''ll be very obvious to someone standing outside the room. however, if you turn on the central air conditioner, the whole room heats up, so the change is less easy to pinpoint. that''s the current situation-when the only mana source was the reactor beneath avalon island, it was very obvious, like a lighthouse on a dark night. but now the entire planet, and the solar system it''s part of, is filling with mana.] she showed them images from before and after the "great mana event" as seen from the panopticon satellites. [that''s the difference, and why we aren''t worried about the increasing mana density in the solar system. but we think the reason they managed to discover us is because of the flashing signal given off by the mana converter on the fusion reactor. hopefully, by the time they arrive, the mana density will be high enough that our awakeners will have a deterrent effect on any potential hostile actions on the part of the aliens. that would at least be something of a silver lining to the whole situation we find ourselves in, at least.] Chapter 487 Eureka! chapter 487 eureka! lab city. aron was in a lab, his focus on a smartphone-sized brick of metal. his fingertip was tracing back and forth on its surface, leaving behind line after line of glowing golden rune script. "no, that''s not it..." he sighed, tossing the brick over his shoulder, where it landed atop a waist-high pile of other metallic bricks of similar size and shape. he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, his perception turning inward in meditation until he saw his runic heart. it rhythmically pulsed, flashing a dark gold light with each cycle of contraction and expansion. over the past ten weeks he had spent in lab city, he''d been deciphering the trillions of lines of rune script that had been carved into his heart by the system, focusing on increasing his library of useful runes beyond those imprinted in his memory by the knowledge he''d bought from the system. what he had discovered was... absolutely nothing. he still couldn''t grasp how they worked or what they were supposed to do. would he be forced to buy more advanced runic knowledge from his system? it wasn''t something he wanted to do; his sp would be better spent right now on strengthening humanity for the inevitable conflicts to come in the future. after all, even if these first aliens were peaceful, the only guarantee was that not all aliens would be the same. eventually, humanity would find itself in the grip of an interstellar war, and every moment until that inevitable outbreak must be spent on ensuring that they came out on top. he sighed and opened his eyes again, pulling a new brick of metal from the neatly stacked pile in front of him. his fingertip glowed gold as he was about to repeat the process, when suddenly, the door to his lab was thrown open and a man rushed in. "mon dieu!" the man shouted, practically vibrating with excitement. "we have done it!" he threw his hands up in jubilation and pounced at aron in an attempt to wrap him in a hug. aron dodged to the side and the man crashed face-first into the chair he had been sitting in. "you found it?" he asked. "oui! this material, i shall call it... hmm." the man paused, lost in thought. it was obvious he had rushed over the moment his discovery was made without even thinking about anything beyond having made it. ''well, i guess i''d be just as crazy as him if i was a lab city researcher,'' aron internally mused. the man who had interrupted his work was professor yves brechet, a famed french metallurgist. aron had personally tasked him with coming up with an alloy that could act as a superconducting medium for mana, a job that he was uniquely qualified for and had been working on for the past thirty-odd years, nearly a full tenth of his time in lab city. aron had been working on a type of superconducting mana energy storage device that could handle mana, but had been stuck on finding the right superconductor for it. but that was exactly what lab city was for. [certainly, sir. if you look at it, doesn''t it look like a coding language? it isn''t a lexicon, so you''ve been going about it entirely the wrong way, sir.] aron was dumbstruck. he had been so focused on deciphering the individual runes that he''d failed to pick up on the structure they were arranged in. now that someone had pointed it out, though, he had an obvious direction to go in with his efforts. sometimes life was just like that. "i need a time bubble, nova. crank the time dilation rate up in my lab as much as you can, i have a language to learn." [yes, sir,] nova said, then generated a time bubble as requested and stood motionless, watching over aron for any sign of instability or inability to handle the dilation. she was surprised when he easily managed to handle a time dilation of 1427:1, which was as much as she could give him with the processing power at her disposal. the empire still needed to function, after all, or she would have focused all of her quantum superclusters on his request. fifteen "years" later.... aron opened his eyes, having finally deciphered 2.81% of the runes carved into his heart. it was his absolute limit, as the rest of the runes seemed shrouded in some kind of obscuring fog. he reached out and grabbed a smartphone-sized brick of professor brechet''s new alloy and his fingertip glowed gold as he rapidly passed it back and forth over the surface of the material, leaving trails of glowing golden rune script carved into the metal in the wake of his fingertip. soon, the entire brick was covered in so much rune script that the whole thing glowed a dim, dark gold and it began sucking the mana out of the air in his lab. aron smiled at his success and tossed the brick up and down, catching and tossing it back up like an expert juggler. "i did it, nova. it''s a success!" [congratulations, sir!] she said. [now all you have to do is figure out how to automate the process so you don''t have to do it yourself.] "i know just the thing," he replied, bringing up his system shop interface. [runic imprinting, tier 1 they say laziness....] he added it to his cart and checked his available sp. with a small grin, he clicked the purchase option and settled back into his chair to accept the knowledge download from the system. Chapter 488 A Pappy’s Job chapter 488 a pappy''s job "shit! run, you fucking idiots!" master sergeant jose "tekillya" cuervo was in a ruined city with the rest of reaper team 22. it had started as a nice, quiet little metropolis full of busy little worker bees going about their day, until a supervillain had kidnapped the son of the city''s mayor. reaper team 22 had been sent in to neutralize the criminal, save the child, and prevent the situation from spiraling out of control and escalating to an absurd level. obviously, something had gone wrong. tekillya fervently cursed murphy as he ran at top speed, the shadow of an entire skyscraper surrounding his team. as it turned out, the kidnapper was part of a team of criminals, and one of them had ripped an entire skyscraper off of its foundation and simply thrown it at the hapless reapers. naturally, it wouldn''t kill them if it hit them. it wouldn''t even really cramp their style all that much, much less part their hair on the wrong side, but it would still be embarrassing. after all, who would want to be known for being unable to dodge a building? tekillya''s entire team would get so much shit from the other guys in the barracks once the after action review was made public. they already would, having fucked up so spectacularly, but they could at least limit the damage by dodging the building that was rapidly approaching them from the sky. then, the entire world froze around them and disintegrated into particles that drifted into the sky and vanished. [simulation terminated,] the obviously synthesized voice of a vi announced. tekillya and the rest of his team looked at each other. "do you think this means the aar won''t be coming out?" one of them asked. "probably not. supreme commander athena will still give us our dressing down," master sergeant cuervo said in a dejected tone. the team shook their heads and chorused, "no questions, ma''am!" [alright then. you have one day to go over the data, then the testing mission cycle will begin. dismissed!] "yes, ma''am!" the reapers shouted with a salute, then left the briefing room and headed back to their team barracks. "so, first order of business," tekillya said once they returned to their squad bay. "what should we call this new kit?" a number of suggestions were thrown out, and one member of the team got thoroughly booed and beaten to a pulp for suggesting "pap smear" as the nickname for the new gear. then the hubbub died down for a few minutes before another member of the team suggested, "why don''t we call it pappy? my pappy always stood in front of me whenever bad things happened. he shooed away the monster in the closet and the monsters under my bed when i was little, taught me to swim after he saved me from drowning when i fell in the pool... a lot of things, really. my pappy protected me when i was little, and now that we''re big, our pappies can''t help us anymore. but this one can." the whole squad bay fell into silence as the men thought back on their lives and their fathers, whether they were present or not, protective or not, decent or not.... even if their fathers were the most vicious, abusive scum they knew growing up, every single one of them dreamed of having a "pappy" like the one described by their squadmate. "well," tekillya said. "it looks like we have a winner." the rest of the men nodded, then they all got down to business going through the detailed specs in the file aron had thrown them earlier. an hour later, they finished reviewing it, and one of them asked, "so, master sergeant... do you think pappy will protect us from getting skyscrapers thrown at us?" the squad bay fell into another long silence. this time, though, it was a cold, menacing silence as everyone glared at the person they were about to beat into respawning for bringing up their most recent humiliating shame. Chapter 489 The First Supervillain chapter 489 the first supervillain the world was still in the recovery phase after the economic and financial crash. thanks to an immense amount of stimulus and other aid payments on behalf of the government, companies had been hiring people in droves, driving down the global unemployment rate by quite a lot. however, due to the disparity in education among the population of some former countries-either as a result of devastating wars or just plain bad leadership-some areas were still suffering. the economic growth seemed to have passed them by; after all, if they don''t know a program exists to help them, how can they be helped? thus, they were only surviving on life support thanks to the coeus foundation donating funds and building free clinics and schools and such. but recovery in the worst areas would still remain slow until their education levels caught up to the global standard. and that, unfortunately, was a problem that only time could solve. among those areas still in the grip of an economic downturn was the former country of north korea. they had the highest unemployment rate and lowest educational standards as a result of the kim dynasty purposefully keeping them uneducated and heavily reliant on their leadership. and due to the generational brainwashing that had been implemented throughout their country, aron had to take some extreme measures to prevent them from following the kims into the grave, or perhaps worse-acting out and taking up what arms they could still find to fight a war against the world. thus, that area had the highest concentration of cubes per capita in the entire world. they were required in order to retrain the former dprk armed forces. once those had been settled into their long-term pods, the next group to be treated were the very old, the very young, and the very ill. the empire wasn''t just providing healing of the body, but also healing the minds of the people and clearing the fog that the kim regime had purposefully put them into, clearing their minds and restoring their critical thinking skills while not implanting any further operant conditioning triggers. once the first pass had been completed, recovery was deemed to be well on its way and the former soldiers of the dprk were given a choice: join ares, retire with a lump sum payment in end to kickstart their new civilian life, or join the imperial police agency. those former soldiers who had committed crimes, though, were referred to the imperial judiciary for prosecution of their crimes. and with no flimsy statute of limitations law in the imperial legal code, even crimes committed decades before were added to the judges'' dockets for trial and sentencing. "all of it." the bank teller queried the akashic record for the man''s id, then brought up his account in her ar glasses to facilitate his withdrawal. he only had 15 end in his account, so she opened the drawer and counted out two bills, then slid them across the counter toward the young man. "here''s your 15 end, is there anything else i can-aaaaaaaaaagh!" she screamed, suddenly in excruciating pain as the young man grabbed her wrist in his now-flaming hand. she continued screaming herself hoarse and struggling to escape the man''s grip as smoke rose from her arm together with the sickly-sweet stench of roasting human flesh. "bring me the manager!" the man shouted as he held the teller''s arm pinned to the top of the bank desk. then he dragged her kicking and screaming over the top and around to the location of the bank vault. the bank''s security guard had immediately reported the situation, but as it involved the use of a superpower, he''d been told to stand down and continue observing while a specialized unit was dispatched to deal with the problem. the rest of the people in the bank were similarly unable to act, as the man had switched his grip from her arm to her neck, threatening to cook her to death the moment anyone attempted anything heroic. this bank robbery would go down in the history books as the first incident in which an individual used their superpower for evil, and it had only been a few short hours after awakeners had left the cubes, their awakenings completed. Chapter 490 A Completely Foreseeable Problem chapter 490 a completely foreseeable problem although the bank of the universe building had been requisitioned by the empire, they''d done a deep scan to ensure it would be safe for use as a temporary branch of their bank. after the scan discovered no issues, they had decided not to renovate it, as it would be a waste of resources. some things had been done, however, such as upgrading the security system and installing a monitoring vi to ensure rapid reporting of any issues to the higher-ups for further evaluation and decision making. *a superpowered individual is currently attempting a bank theft. situation: rainbow. casualties: one. damage: white. evacuation in progress.* (ed note: rainbow is the key word for situations involving awakeners, since they introduce a level of uncertainty into how dangerous any given situation is. so it could be anything from harmless to catastrophic at any given time.) the moment the report came in, the imperial agencies sprang into action. orders were passed to the imperial health agency, the imperial police agency, and ares. the response was overwhelming and, some might say, unnecessarily large. within a minute, two first response vessels (frvs) had arrived, one carrying firefighting equipment that could douse an entire kilometer around them in firefoam to stifle any fires, and the other carrying over four hundred medical pods in its cavernous hold. more frvs were hovering high above the bank of the universe branch in case the situation spread and they required more emergency medevac capacity. "no, no, no," the manager assured with a wave of his hands and a shake of his head. "that''s not what i''m trying to do at all. all i''m saying is that if you stay any longer, you''ll increase your risk of being caught. that''s all! i swear i''m just trying to help you!" he was panicking at the thought of potentially having made the situation worse. "you lowly, unblessed, piece of-" just as he was about to start ranting about how great he was and how useless the unblessed were, he was interrupted by a voice coming from hidden speakers all over the bank. "testing, testing, one, two, three...." the voice cleared its throat and continued, "ahem... kim ho song, this is negotiator park from the pyongyang imperial police agency. please pick up any phone with a signal and dial any phone number so we can have a chat." the security guards in the bank had already finished evacuating everyone present except the teller, manager, and robber. once the guards themselves had exited the bank, it was completely sealed by the vi security monitor, confining the robber like a turtle in a jar. despite not being exactly thrilled about it, the young man realized he had been trapped by the subhuman unblessed scum and took the zeus one the manager was holding out to him. he dialed the local police number and the call immediately connected. it had been automatically routed to the negotiator in the form of a video call. "what do you want?" kim ho song sneered as he pulled the phone around in front of the teller. he kept one hand on her neck, holding her up in front of the screen and his hand soon began glowing red. the woman woke up from the new pain, but all she could do was whimper and shudder, her body weakening by the moment and her eyes in the process of fluttering closed, perhaps for a final time. "please release her and tell us your demands. with her alive, there''s a greater chance your demands will be met. but if she dies, that chance becomes zero, and the empire will come down on you with the weight of billions." Chapter 491 A Completely Foreseeable Solution chapter 491 a completely foreseeable solution (ed note: trigger warning: gore) when the negotiator mentioned that his hostage was almost dead, kim ho song''s hands stopped burning. however, the girl already had scorched flesh on her neck and had fainted once again. this time, though, she was actually on the brink of death, her brain having nearly been cooked by the heated blood flowing to it through her carotid arteries. her situation was critical. "listen here, you unblessed peasant filth, i''m superio-" he began, but before he finished his sentence, something passed through the wall, buzzing like a swarm of bees, and hit the left side of his waist. it passed through his entire body, shredding everything around his pelvis and leaving a cavitation wake so severe that even his skin and the organs in his abdomen practically exploded from the overpressure and following vacuum. then, after it passed through his body, it continued, passing through the other side of the vault and finally digging itself ten meters deep in the ground in the alley to the side of the bank. only after it came to rest was the report of a gunshot heard and kim ho song''s brain received the message from his nervous system. he screeched in absolute agony as his mind was overwhelmed by the signals from his body. he reflexively released his grip on the poor bank teller as his lungs dropped to the ground following his inhuman screech, cushioning him when he fell atop them. the bank teller crumpled on top of his chest, her head coincidentally having its drop cushioned by the erstwhile superhuman supremacist''s chest. she listened to the last beats of his heart-or would have, had she been conscious-and his legs, jostled by her fall, fell to the ground on either side of her. the only thing they knew was that the police had been broadcasting a repeating message to stay indoors and behind the cordons for their safety, as the criminal they were apprehending was one of the blessed. the media had learned their lesson after the second purge, for the most part, and were only rebroadcasting the livestreams without any added commentary or speculation, as any bias on their part at all would likely trigger a third purge among the media conglomerates. and they were running out of interns and fresh graduates from media majors in colleges around the world, so a third purge was something they absolutely had to avoid. with the situation involving a superhuman, it spread even faster, with watchers from every corner of the world tuning in to see how the empire would deal with it. shortly after the world caught on to what was going on, they had their answer. a single gunshot boomed out from only god knows where, then the swat team barged into the bank alongside a scuttling res-qr bot. then there was only silence, followed by the swat team escorting a hovering stretcher and a portly man that had been painted red to the frv outside the bank''s front door for emergency treatment and evacuation to the cube on the outskirts of pyongyang. accompanying them was one police officer carrying an unidentified head-sized black object. the police officers got back into their squad cars, the swat team got back in its truck, and the traffic officers took down the cordon from around the bank. the bank itself was still sealed with crime scene tape, but the entire crowd of police and emergency services workers simply just packed up and left with far less fanfare than they had arrived with. everyone watching was left confused as to exactly what had just happened inside the bank, but the empire remained mum on the subject. Chapter 492 The Hole chapter 492 the hole a few minutes earlier. *a superpowered individual is currently attempting a bank theft. situation: rainbow. casualties: one. damage: white. evacuation in progress.* the pod barracks in the cube outside pyongyang dimmed and a red light began flashing. ten extended-stay vr pods hissed open, revealing a squad of ares troopers. they climbed out of their pods and jogged to the armory, where they drew their kit. they had already been briefed on the mission in the simulation, so they knew what they needed to do. all that remained was to execute the plan. the men had relatively few nervous jitters, trading jokes and insults back and forth as they drew their equipment, geared up, and headed toward the roof through the express deployment elevator in the middle of the enormous structure. an unenhanced, normal human would suffer severe injuries due to the g force of the elevator itself, but to the enhanced ares troopers it felt like little more than taking off in a passenger jet would to that same unenhanced human. as the elevator went up, they ran their self test programs on all their gear. everything naturally came back all green, as gear was recycled and reprinted between missions to ensure that no damage due to wear and tear would accumulate, leading to avoidable deaths and injuries among the troops. seventeen seconds later, the elevator reached the roof and the troopers ran to the waiting shuttle, which lifted off and came to a stable halt three kilometers above the ground. the gull wing door opened and the trooper carrying a pulse rifle stepped in front of the opening and took a knee. he pulled his left elbow close in against his chest and rested the forestock of his weapon atop his hand, then pulled the buttstock tight against his chest. he gave a command through his hud and his armor locked in position, ensuring he had a stable shooting platform. integrating his hud with the controls of the shuttle, he fine-tuned its direction, treating it as little more than an extension of his body as it made adjustments too fine for even the enhanced senses of his squadmates to detect. the shuttles sensors fed an overwhelming amount of data to the trooper, whose onboard ai filtered it and displayed it in his hud. combining that data with images from security cameras and weather detection lidar from the panopticon satellite in orbit above him gave him all the information he required. one shot... he whispered as his fingertip quivered against the firing stud of his pulse rifle. a single type xvii penetrator round flew down the barrel and out with a great, cracking report. with a muzzle velocity of 6 kilometers per second, it would take roughly four seconds and some change to impact its target, kim ho song, who was currently standing in the vault of a bank, holding a hostage in front of him by her neck. the transport shuttle reached orbit, oriented itself toward the magnetic north pole, and rocketed away, nobody the wiser. ...... the hole was the nickname that people in the know had given to awakener prisoner complex #00001. located nine kilometers beneath the sea floor at the magnetic north pole, it was powered and kept warm by a vast geothermal generator sunk into the magma of the mantle. it was cylindrical in shape, about five hundred meters wide and three hundred stories tall, that was designed to contain hundreds of thousands of awakened prisoners in relatively minor discomfort. (ed note: picture the prison under crematoria in the movie the chronicles of riddick, except not quite as run-down. it *is*, after all, something that aron designed and built. the movie scene is just to give you an idea of the style of the prison, or rather its inspiration.) it was a prison, after all, not a luxury spa resort. {ares transport 148721, you are cleared to land. proceed to the central docking ring, bay 72. understood you are transporting a single awakener, designation kim ho song, present in a nets head bag.} roger, control, the shuttle pilot replied. will proceed to bay 72 to unload our cargoone res-qr emergency rescue bot and one headbagged prisoner, designation kim ho song. the pilot deftly made his way to the docking ring of the hole, the only part of the enormous structure that was above the sea floor, camouflaged as it was by nanite guardian colonies masquerading as rocks, gravel, and various species of flora and fauna native to the seafloor in the hostile waters of the north pole. he navigated into the open bay and patiently waited for the docking bay to be evacuated of seawater before opening the door, allowing the res-qr to carry his erstwhile passenger out of his vehicle and down a drab corridor. better him than us, the pilot murmured, then sealed his shuttle and waited for the docking bay to flood, whereupon he lifted it back to orbit and made the relatively quick flight back to the cube on the outskirts of pyongyang. Chapter 493 A Lot of Suffering, But No Lasting Damage chapter 493 a lot of suffering, but no lasting damage sir! sir! a moment of your time, please? a reporter that happened to be luckyor perhaps unluckyenough to be at the scene asked the hostage negotiator. he had been in the bank to make a deposit when the robbery took place. moments like these would make government officials careers in the past. they would use them to propel themselves to fame, then use that fame as a springboard to either work their way up into a higher position in the government, or quit their low-paying government jobs and enter the high-paying public sector. and it was all on the backs of the misery of others. no comment for now. the investigation is ongoing, and well release a statement to the press after our work is completed, the negotiator answered. as the on-site commander had rushed into the bank behind the swat team and medical rescue, the negotiator was temporarily in charge. but even though he could have given out some tidbits of information to whet the public appetite, thereby gaining a reputation and fame for an inevitable climb up the pay chain, he loved his current job and had no intention of leaving it. thus, he was very much a by-the-books kind of operator. besides, he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the empire was very strict on corruption of any kind, and what they taught in the imperial police academy was essentially the word of god and must be obeyed. so even if he was willing to use those underhanded shortcuts and feed off the misery of victims, he would still refrain from doing so as the consequences would be... severe, to put it mildly. soon, the hubbub died down. the police packed up their cordons, the swat team left in their vehicle, the frv was loaded and headed back to the cube, and everything returned to a semblance of normality. that said, it was only a semblance, as people now had proof of what they had only suspected before: super powers meant super villains. with the banks surrounding businesses in the chung-guyok district of pyongyang back in operation, the only thing left was for the forensics team, which had arrived after the police response was over and the scene declared safe, to do their investigation and recreation. the technology the empire routinely used was already enough to automate that process, but aron had intelligently decided that duplicate effort was fine for most non-critical tasks. had he not made that decision, unemployment would have been nearly at 90%, as pretty much every job in the empire could be easily handled by robots with upper-level vis installed. ten minutes after the forensic specialists entered the bank, they finished their deep scan and packed up. everything else would be handled in the simulation, at least on their end. the only task left to them was to set up two guards outside the bank to wait for the crime scene cleaners to arrive to mop up what kim ho song had inadvertently left behind after being violently and catastrophically introduced to the business end of a bullet. all told, the bank was able to resume normal operations thirty minutes after the failed robbery attempt began, the only sign it had ever been attacked a slight discoloration on the desktop behind which the original bank teller worked where the wood had warped from the heat of the awakeners fire and the lacquer had needed replacement. heard, erik said, then went over the report of the bank robbery one last time before pulling up his introduction to the empire handbook, as his associates had named it. it contained all the information he had the security clearance to know at his level, so it was basically the same dump that jeremy and youssef, the new ministers of the interior and exterior, had received... but it contained much less information and only that related to his job. what should i call you? he asked his ai aide. i already call my butler alfred, so how about... gordon. ill call you gordon. {understood, sir. would you like to update my settings for initial configuration or allow me to adapt independently?} gordon asked. not right now. put a pin in it. run a keyword search for the word awakeners as related to my position as the head of the imperial police agency, including the information from the handbook. {yes, sir,} gordon replied. {prepare for data download.} erik leaned back in his chair and relaxed. he had already undergone a data download before, so he knew what he was in for: a whole lot of unnecessary agony and suffering, but no actual lasting damage. he had been advised to not rely on data downloading, however, and to save it for emergencies and things he needed to know like the backs of his hands as he would still need to recall the information downloaded into his brain to bring it into active memory. soon, the downloadand the screamingbegan. Chapter 494 Erik’s First Time chapter 494 erik''s first time public simulation, press briefing room. the imperial police agency press conference was scheduled for 3pm, and everyone that''d been invited to attend had arrived five minutes early. considering they had only been given seventeen minutes of lead time-or eight and a half minutes, real time-it was impressive that not a single person was missing from the list. precisely as the clock ticked over to three, erik materialized behind the podium, attracting the attention of the audience, all of whom were curious as to just who he was. he didn''t waste any time, much to the audience''s satisfaction, but immediately began speaking. "good day, ladies and gentlemen of the press and everyone watching from the comfort of their own homes. my name is erik schneider, and about two and a half hours ago, earth time, i was appointed as the head of the imperial police agency." though he was speaking in his native german, thanks to the magic of imperial technology and virtual reality, everyone listening heard, and saw, him speaking fluently in their own language. his self-introduction, along with the brief time he had been in office, caused a commotion in the briefing room. nobody had been informed of the vacant positions in the government agencies being filled yet, as aron had wanted to wait until the first round of genetic enhancements and implants had been completed before informing the public. "as i said at the beginning of my prepared remarks, i will not be taking questions on the subject of imperial appointments. the decision lays in the hands of the emperor. next question... you in the yellow dress." "what measures have been taken to ensure that supervillains can''t escape their prison to inflict further harm on normal civilians?" the second reporter asked. "excellent question. without going into specifics, i can tell you that the hole has taken appropriate measures to ensure civilian safety. it is in a remote, classified location and out of reach of the majority of people without very specialized transport vessels. vessels, i might add, that are held securely under imperial control. as far as jailbreaks are concerned, don''t worry, this isn''t a comic book or movie. escaping the hole isn''t a simple task and its location alone virtually guarantees that escapes will fail, even if the blessed in the facility use their superpowers to aid in the attempt. beyond that, there are multiple layers of security both inside and outside the hole. "currently, the empire maintains a monopoly on violence, so anyone that attempts to escape from the hole will very quickly learn what that means. next question." he pointed at a man in a dark gray suit with a striped blue and silver tie. "will the imperial police agency increase the security level in their jurisdictions to prevent such crimes from happening again?" the man asked. "security levels will absolutely be increased. sadly, we cannot guarantee that we can prevent all crime, but we will ensure an extremely rapid and overwhelming response when crimes are reported. especially by the blessed...." questions continued coming one after the next, until erik had answered all of them and the questions began repeating themselves with different wording. once he was sure that all of the relevant questions had been answered, he called an official end to the press conference. the media interns responsible for monitoring the akashic record had long since seen the result of the investigation and the recording of the events during the robbery, as gruesome as it was. the only question that was left unanswered for those who had seen that security camera footage was where the bullet came from. all the video showed was a bullet passing through the walls of the vault and dismembering and disemboweling kim so hong before disappearing through the wall on the opposite side. they were also curious about the nets head bag, but the akashic record informed them that any information on that device was classified and not available for their level of security clearance. Chapter 495 One Hell of a Precedent chapter 495 one hell of a precedent the video of the sniper firing from the door of a hovering shuttle was completely unbelievable to people that found their way to it in the akashic record. not to mention the distance it was fired from, just the fact that it had enough power to penetrate a reinforced bank vault from one side, essentially disintegrate the person it hit, then penetrate a second reinforced vault wall was incredible enough. and that wasn''t even mentioning that the sniper had no visual on his target and was firing completely blind! the people that saw it had chills running down their spines and goosebumps all over their bodies. especially considering the empire hadn''t hidden that capability, which made them wonder just what actually was hidden in the classified files of the akashic record. thus, they took the footage and posted it online, either in its raw version or with different edits, and through that method, the empire''s capabilities finally filtered down to non-citizens. although the internet was freely available for everyone, citizen and non-citizen alike, people that had refused the offer of imperial citizenship had no access to the akashic record. the discovery of the empire''s capabilities, and the havoc that superhumans could wreak, terrified the non-citizens. realizing the level of danger they were in, as the empire definitely wouldn''t expend any effort on their behalf, millions of people rushed to apply for imperial citizenship. but as they had sat on the fence for too long, and even drifted to the wrong side of it, the empire certainly wasn''t about to make the process easy on the new applicants, nor would they offer them the same free perks that people who had signed up for citizenship during the grace period received. "so why, then, despite most of our resources being invested in the shepherd, is he the only one who hasn''t woken up? everyone else was already awake three weeks ago! why is rick the only person who''s still in a coma now? six weeks! it''s been six... fucking... weeks!" she screamed. the doctor, knowing that his fate would be dire if he were dragged out of his office, replied, "although it''s rare, there are still people in the empire that haven''t woken up yet. and they''ve got the best resources available to anyone on the entire planet!" over the past six weeks, anyone who had annoyed katarina markov had been dragged to the target range, where they were tortured to death by awakeners learning to use their new superpowers. the doctor himself had even patched some of them up, and the parade of third degree burns from fire-aspected awakeners and the various injuries caused by projectiles was staggering. there were even a few that were brought to him suffering severe frostbite after being encased in ice that was as hard as steel, or half drowned after having their heads surrounded by a sphere of heavy water. thus, he could only tell katarina of the situation in the empire as a last-ditch lifesaving measure. "you think i didn''t know that?" she spat. "i listened to the same reports as you did!" while the two were arguing back and forth, the only person still in an infirmary bed in the room twitched his right index finger and his eyelashes fluttered despite there being no breeze, both of which went completely unnoticed by the arguing pair. his heart rate, as displayed on the monitor beside the bed, began rapidly climbing. from a slow and virtually unnoticeable five beats per minute, it soon reached a dangerous level as the man''s body was finally beginning to stir. moments later, his eyes opened. Chapter 496 The Purple World chapter 496 the purple world rick''s eyelids fluttered and he groaned, fighting the urge to fall unconscious once more. it felt like they had been attached to twenty-pound weights as they fought against his command to open them, and his entire body ached with a bone-deep fatigue. although he had been unconscious for the past six weeks, there was no portion of him that could even remotely be considered to have been "resting" during that time. "shepherd!" katarina shouted as she rushed over to his bedside, the doctor and the two men she had ordered to drag him out of the room forgotten. the doctor in question fell to the floor himself, the men holding him aloft by his arms having dropped him. he rushed to the bed and muscled katrina out of the way, then injected an ampoule of adrenalin directly into rick''s heart, helping him win the battle against the fatigue accumulated over his past six weeks of unconsciousness. as a side effect, it would also force the blessed into a fight-or-flight mode, thus prompting their blessings to manifest, which had been accidentally discovered when the first person to awaken from their forced evolution had buried an entire basement in gravel as their earth affinity was stimulated by the drug. they had also learned a harsh lesson on the drawbacks of overdrafting one''s abilities that day as well, as the blessed collapsed and turned catatonic due to the agony of forcing himself so far beyond his limit. when they dug the blessed out and saw the results of the catastrophe-three dead and one catatonic- their following experiments became much more cautious and they had finally pinpointed the correct dosage to use to force the blessings to manifest without causing many casualties or injuries. "nothing?" katarina and the doctor looked at each other in confusion as rick''s blessing failed to be activated. both of them were surprised, as he had obviously undergone an evolution. so why had nothing happened despite using the correct dosage of adrenalin to force the cult leader''s blessing to be made manifest? 0v3l.b11n. ''what the actual fuck?'' he shouted in his mind. while he felt himself laying in bed, though the feeling was rapidly fading as the rest of his mind caught up to his eyes, what he saw was a shriveled, starved version of himself laying in a bed in front of his eyes. in his field of vision, he saw the blindingly white glow coming from "his" body shifting and writhing before trailing off into the aether around him. all except for one. the brightest of the threads led from the base of his left index finger directly to his new viewpoint, or perhaps through it. he tried closing his "eyes", and a rich purple darkness closed in around him. within the tranquil silence, he heard someone say, "is he really okay? if something happened to him, i''m going to burn the doctor alive. no, that''s too good for him... i''ll torture him until his mind breaks, then throw him to the perverts and have him fucked to death. how dare he not take care of my savior''s health, even with his life on the line?" along with the words, he began feeling foreign, intrusive emotions carried along with them. the intrusive thoughts and emotions grew more and more dangerous and complicated, which was an unpleasant sensation to him; after all, he hadn''t felt any kind of emotion in quite a long time. ''calm the fuck down, rick,'' he ordered himself in a hail mary attempt at regaining his emotional even keel, despite knowing there was nothing he could do to control what was happening to him. however, much to his surprise, silence returned once again. when he opened his "eyes", he saw that the flowing pulses of light were now flowing from his body to... wherever, or whomever, he was in. the feeling was almost orgasmic, with each of the pulses coming in a more concentrated fashion through the single many-times-enlarged thread that connected his physical body to his ethereal self, and his exhaustion seemed to melt away as a result. but before he could settle in and really properly enjoy himself, he heard a woman''s pain-filled scream and felt a splitting headache. he momentarily blacked out, then his vision returned to normal, and from the viewpoint of his own body. the screaming continued and there was the thud of a body falling to the floor, so he turned his head to see if his suspicions were correct. Chapter 497 Kids Have Big Mouths Chapter 497 Kids Have Big Mouths Katrina briefly brought Rick up to speed on the Three Percenters, and what had happened to him. He fell into a daze for a while, considering the situation, then clarified, So I spent six weeks in a coma receiving my blessing. How long did it take everyone that received theirs? And why did mine take so long? He had just woken up and his brain was still a little fuzzy. To him, the time had passed in an instant and he just remembered a fierce, tearing pain in his head before he collapsed. But even that memory was fading, as all memories of physical pain do, a convenient defense mechanism that humanity had. Yes. Although you were among the first to receive your blessing, it took this long for you to wake up due to resources. The empires blessed started coming to around the second week, while ours mostly started around day twenty. While we have access to the Biogen that the tyrants company developed before the war, thats likely generations out of date now and the medical pods in the empire surely use more advanced nutrients to go with their more advanced delivery system, she explained. One of her thugs came into the room carrying a thick stack of folders and stood by the door. Katrina gestured to him and he handed her the folders, which she glanced at and passed on to Rick. Heres a detailed breakdown of everything weve managed to gather on the blessed, the blessing, and everything else thats happened over the past six weeks you were in a coma. Rick got into a more comfortable position in the hospital bed and calmly began reading through the files contained in the folders. He was curious about his blessing, sure, but before he tried using them again he first wanted to understand them. The feedback he had suffered from his first attempt had taught him a harsh lesson on the usage of his power, and though the memory of the physical pain had faded, the lesson itself remained. Especially the loss of control; that was something he absolutely could not tolerate. As he read, his shock grew greater and his eyebrows practically climbed all the way up to his hairline. The sheer amount of information alone was unbelievable and he was having a hard time imagining the lengths to which his people had gone to gather it under the circumstances theyd been in during his absence. We gathered all of this over the past six weeks? he asked, raising his gaze from the documents for the first time since Katrina had handed them to him. Whats our confidence level in this? N?vlB?n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales. They were all she had left, after all. Rick grunted, then continued reading the files in his hands, making sure everything he read was etched into his mind and unlikely to be forgotten. As he read, he slowly began developing an understanding of the blessings as a whole, including the division of their power, their source, and the mysterious particle in the atmosphere and how it related to the strength of their individual blessings. Something inside him felt... different, though, like he was destined for more, so the information he had on hand was leaving him somewhat unsatisfied. However, the more he read, the more questions he had. Why didnt our people wake up with those so-called instincts? he asked. The imperialists all said they just knew how to use their blessings as soon as they woke up, and it only required a brief time for them to put that knowledge into practice... but nothing like that was reported by our blessed, or any of the non-imperialists for that matter.... That specific bit of information had been printed in a different color in the files in his hand. The analysts had erred on the side of caution and considered it unverified and unverifiable, but it was still a point they felt should be included in the record. And howd the empire have so much information ready? No matter how you look at it, they had to have put in a lot of research time to get this much. He gestured at the thick stack of paper in his hand. Did they know about the particles in the atmosphere before people started evolving? And if thats true, does it mean the tyrant already knew about and was prepared for it? The more questions arose, the wilder his speculation grew. And the wilder his speculation grew, the uglier his expression became. Because if his theories were true, he was up against a much bigger beast than he had originally thought. Chapter 498 Questionable Ethics Chapter 498 Questionable Ethics After finishing the files in his hand, Rick frowned. The information he had at hand didnt quite track with the sensations he was feeling. Ever since he had woken from his coma, hed had an idea of how to use his blessing, almost like there was someone whispering in the back of his mind. It left him unsettled, and unsure of who to trust in his inner circle. Leave me, he calmly said after closing the last folder in the stack. Yes, shepherd, Katrina said, then everyone left the room. Katrina had a spring in her step, the thugs didnt have much in their heads at the best of times, and the doctor could only wipe the cold sweat from his brow and practically sprint out of the room. Once the door closed, Rick leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable, and focused on the little voice in the back of his mind. It led him into a trance and most of the colors in his world faded away, leaving everything in shades of purple again. Time slowly passed as Rick sought the state he was in when he had first come out of his coma, where he could visualize the threads connecting him to... elsewhere. He had his suspicions about what those threads were, but it would still require him to personally verify them as no one else seemed to be even the slightest bit aware of their existence. Once he felt the difference in his surroundings, Rick opened his eyes, casting his gaze around his own purple world. He peered into the violet and indigo shadows, reaching out his hand in wonder and attempting to grasp them in his hands, curious as to whether they would feel as soft and luxurious as they looked. Failing to grab them, though, he opened his clenched fists and waved his hands through the pastel lilacs and light lavender, comparing them in his mind to still water. But his hands simply passed through them without raising the expected ripple. He sighed, then closed his eyes again and decided to seek clarification from the unintelligible voice in the deepest, darkest corner of his mind. After what seemed an eternity, he was finally able to make out what seemed to be two words. He opened his eyes again and continued investigating his threads, one by one, until he got tired of the slow and steady approach and decided to go with the one he had first experimented with: the brightest thread with the fastest light pulses. It was connected to the base of his left index finger and he cautiously focused on it, ready to draw back at the first sign of a repeat of what had happened to him earlier. Opening his eyes, he saw a luxuriously tiled wall with a tall, brushed aluminum fixture attached to it and spraying scalding hot water onto his body. He soon realized where he was and what was going on; his consciousness had descended on his secretary, Katrinas body! He was seeing the world through her eyes, and couldnt help but wonder how far, exactly, he could take the connection they shared. First, he tried controlling her eyelids, blinking them open and closed like a toddler with a flashlight. Then he manipulated her body into moving her head around, looking at the shower products on a shelf built into the wall next to her, and around the rest of her bathroom, separated as she was by a simple glass partition. Then, he grew daring. Assuming control of Katrinas right arm, he began softly teasing her bellybutton with it, all the while keeping his ear open to her thoughts, which, while still remaining strictly professional, were focused on him and his importance to the cult... and to her eventual revenge. Her businesslike thoughts interrupted his mischievous derring-do, at least for a minute or two as she continued lathering and rinsing her body before turning around and leaning her head back to let the water run through her short hair. When she reached for her shampoo, Rick intercepted the movement and turned it into a quick fondle of her breasts, simply to see if he could. Opening himself to the physical sensations of her body was as simple as flipping a switch, to him, and he enjoyed the thrill of sensation traveling from Katrinas nipple to the pleasure center in her brain. Then he withdrew back into her subconscious, once again becoming a silent observer. Katrina continued her shower unabated, with no sign, either physical or mental, that she was carrying a passenger within her, and obviously no memory of the quick fondling she had just given her own tits. At that point, Rick began feeling the strain of the connection and rapidly traveled along the thread connecting him to Katrina, returning to his body and opening his own, physical eyes with a chuckle. Chapter 499 Hypotheses and Tests Chapter 499 Hypotheses and Tests ''So she doesn''t remember what I made her do at all,'' Rick thought as he opened his eyes, returning to his purple world. He had tested many things on Katrina and she seemed to have no recollection of anything she''d done under his control, despite all the things he''d made her do to herself. The only test that had failed was the one where he attempted to take control of a single body part, but he wasn''t sure why. Taking over her entire body had been simple, like putting on new clothes, so why would he be incapable of taking over individual body parts? He wasn''t sure, but he felt it was likely because he lacked the fine control necessary to do so. Thus, more training and experimentation was in order. Gaaathheeeeeeeerrrrr ffffaaaaaaiiiiiithhhh, the voice in the back of his mind chanted, but Rick only had the vaguest idea of how to go about that. When he''d looked down at his body and noticed that the thread connecting him to Katrina had slightly dimmed, and the pulses of light had decreased in frequency and intensity, he''d thought it odd. But with the voice''s subtle guidance, he learned that what connected him to Katrina was "belief", and the pulses of light was "faith". ''How do I gather faith?'' he thought as hard as he could. After another ten minutes of rest, he began relaxing and preparing to return to the purple world for another test. This time, he chose the darkest thread, which should be enough to support or disprove his earlier thought about belief and faith being what linked him to others. He also wanted to discover if there was a reason for the differences between threads, and if he was correct in assuming that Katrina''s belief in him was the strongest and her faith the most fervent. Another unknown amount of time passed and he finally returned to the purple world, then opened his eyes again and began searching through the thousands of threads attached to him. Quite a few of them were still vantablack, with no light traveling through them at all, and he felt a certain sense of imminent doom when he considered using them to test his new blessing. Thus, he discarded them and continued searching until he found a dim, almost ephemeral gossamer thread, through which light with the intensity of a firefly seemed to casually, and very occasionally, saunter through at a sedate pace in fits and starts. ''That''s the perfect one to test with,'' he thought and dove into the thread, traveling along it as fast as he could. But unlike his testing with Katrina earlier, this transfer wasn''t immediate, nor was it smooth. On the contrary, he continued hitting pockets of turbulence, causing him to fear for his life. Or worse, having his consciousness trapped outside his body to wander the world as an incorporeal ghost while his physical body was left behind in a vegetative state. Still, he persisted, holding on and taking mental note of the process. His newest theory was that it had something to do with distance as well; the thread he was currently traveling along just "felt" like the destination was further away than simply down the hall and into another room. When he finally arrived at the end of the thread, he opened his eyes and looked at a nearby clock. Though he didn''t know where he was, exactly, or who he was inhabiting, the clock indicated that ten minutes had passed during his trip down the thread of belief. It seemed that time was somewhat subjective in the purple world, as it had felt like he''d been traveling for hours thanks to all the turbulence. Or perhaps he had crossed time zones, which was a far simpler-and thus likelier-explanation. After noting the time difference, he looked around and noticed a pair of AR glasses on a table next to "him". He momentarily fell into a quandary before remembering that the body he was in wasn''t his, then began listening to the conversation in his surroundings. Chapter 500 His Best Standing Long Jump Chapter 500 His Best Standing Long Jump ''I hate it! Fuck my life... my dad died to a supervillain for nothing! He wanted to join the empire from the beginning but mom said no. But after he died, she couldn''t run to the recordkeepers to apply for citizenship fast enough. Dumb bitch!'' Rick had found himself in the mind of a teenage boy. He listened to the stream of consciousness for a while and learned what the boy and his family had gone through over the past few weeks. Not only had the kid''s mother''s refusal to join the empire driven a wedge between her and her husband, one that they''d even been contemplating divorce over, but his girlfriend''s family had also chosen to join the empire during the first amnesty period. The boy blamed his mother for the resulting breakup as well. All of his rage had been directed toward his mother, but then one day he''d had a thought. If the empire had the power to enforce the law on rogue supervillains, why did they ignore the havoc that''d been wrought among the people who waived their imperial citizenship? He wasn''t old enough to truly understand politics, so he was still mired in the typical teenage thought process of good and evil, black and white. Supervillains were evil, so if the empire was good, they should do something to stop them, citizenship or no citizenship. Thus, the empire itself must be evil as well. The young man paused for a moment and tilted his head, his mind going blank as he lost his train of thought. At that very moment, if he could see the thread linking him to Rick, he would risk blindness as the intensity and frequency of the light pulses traveling along it made it appear to be a second sun, if said sun had been compressed into a straight line. All he could hear in his mind was a vague voice repeating the words "go to the roof" over and over, getting louder and clearer with each repetition until it was practically shouting in his now throbbing head. Soon, he couldn''t take it anymore and robotically marched toward the stairs leading to the roof of the apartment building he lived in with his mother. Along the way, Rick continually gave orders, forcing him to do different things like stop on the stair landing, stand on one foot, stick out his tongue, poke himself in the eye, and crawl backward up the stairs on all fours. He kept a close eye on the thread of belief to see how it reacted, as well as track the changes in the light pulses headed from him to the teenager, and came to the conclusion that the thread itself would exist as long as the belief it represented existed. In terms of the cost to order the linked person around, the more complex or harmful the action-or the more out of character it was- the more faith Rick would have to expend to force the target to perform it. But as long as he could support the expenditure, the person on the other end of his thread had no choice but to follow the orders being given to them. After a time, the boy reached the rooftop as ordered. He looked around in confusion, wondering why he had climbed all the way up to the roof of his apartment building when he heard that same sibilant, chanting whisper in his mind. "Jump off the roof," the whisper repeated. The boy struggled against the order as hard as he could. He knew that, despite only being a four-story building, if he were to follow the order, he would be severely injured, or even dead. But alas, after Rick spent a hundred thousand units of faith, if he were to count each individual light that pulsed along the thread as a single unit, the teenager could no longer struggle. In the same robotic fashion as he had climbed the stairs and performed all of the actions Rick had ordered him to during his ascent, he waddled to the ledge, crouched down, and, with all of his might, performed his best standing long jump. Chapter 501 Satisfying Curiosity Chapter 501 Satisfying Curiosity ''So physical sensations don''t translate when I''m just a passenger,'' Rick thought. The young man-no, Rick''s test subject-was laying on the ground, groaning in pain and choking on blood from a punctured lung, not to mention the host of other broken bones in his body beyond the ribs. But Rick didn''t feel a thing, marking it a successful, though dangerous, test. Looking at the thread of belief stretching off into the distance, he saw no changes in it. After briefly considering a test involving what happens if he was a passenger in a body when it died, he discarded the idea as the test was simply too dangerous. With a thought, he willed his consciousness to begin the arduous journey back to his own body, leaving one last sentence behind for the boy. "You''ve worked hard. Rest now, and if you survive this, I''ll visit you again," he said, pushing it into the teenager''s mind with a few hundred pulses of light. Whether the boy heard it or not, he didn''t really care. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: N?vlB?n. When he returned to his own body, he began the recovery process again. This time, it only took him a minute or two, compared to what felt like hours earlier, when he had readjusted himself after leaving Katrina''s body. He guessed that it was likely because Katrina was a woman and he was a man, though it was also possible that it was because he hadn''t fully occupied the test subject, while he had completely taken over his assistant. Rick had finally finished finding all the answers to his questions and satisfying his curiosity. Well, truth be told, it was more like three days of testing, three days of debauchery in various womens'' bodies, and a full day, combined, of splitting headaches. Still, even the headaches had taught him something. After all, he had to discover the limits of his power sooner or later, and what better time than while his cult was already laying low? Though he hated pain, he had an idea now of how to avoid it, even if he didn''t understand exactly what caused it or if there were any other means of resolving it, but he had at least learned how to sense when his limit was approaching. He was currently sitting in the same conference room he had been in when he had first received his blessing. Filling the other chairs were the same people, bar one empty seat. The person who had previously occupied it had mysteriously committed "suicide" the week before, citing his remorse and leaving behind a letter describing how he had already betrayed the cult and his plans for another upcoming betrayal. At least, everyone in the room, even Katrina, thought so, though she had some slight suspicions regarding the incident. She herself had been experiencing mysterious lapses in time, almost as though she had sleepwalked from place to place, and she was having difficulty figuring out how she had run through so many pairs of underwear and sheets. Waking up tangled in sheets that absolutely reeked of vaginal secretions and semen every night was weird enough, but a few times, she''d even suddenly realized that her clothes, including her underwear, had changed and she was feeling rather "full", as though she''d just had unprotected sex with someone. Other times, she tasted the lingering aftertaste of semen in her mouth, or smelled it emanating from between her breasts, or on her hands. A few times it was in even stranger places, like her armpits and hair. She had since taken to doing random "sniff tests" of her various body parts just to double check that, no, she was not, in fact, going insane. When the news of the person handling the cult''s finances committing suicide had spread, the rest of the leadership hierarchy of the cult had all exchanged glances, each of them with weird looks on their faces. Katrina''s suspicion arose from those very looks; it was possible, or even likely, that everyone currently in the room had experienced the same weird lapses over the week. But none of them thought it had anything at all to do with their shepherd; instead, they attributed them to the sudden relief they felt when he had finally woken up. Thus, the only emotion they were feeling regarding their leader now was curiosity as to what his new blessing was and what he would have planned for the cult''s future. The meeting they were having right now was to satisfy that very curiosity. Chapter 502 Unbreakable? Chapter 502 Unbreakable? Rick cleared his throat, bringing the attention of the others in the meeting room to him. "It''s time we begin our comeback. A lot of our previous plans need to be scrapped, but some should still be doable with some modifications, thanks to the unexpected blessings descending on us. I''ve brought myself up to date on our situation over the past week, so we don''t need to go over that and can immediately get to work on plans for the future," he said. "Can you tell us what your blessing is, shepherd? If we''re to come up with new plans or modify existing ones based on blessings, we need to know what yours is," the strategist asked. While he was telling the truth about that, he was also just as curious as everyone else in the room as to what exactly Rick could do now. N?vlB?n: Transforming Moments into Memories. "My blessing enables me to enter people''s minds, monitor their thoughts," Rick answered, then his eyes flashed purple as he continued speaking through the threads of belief that connected him to his high-level confidants. "And I can even communicate with them." He had discovered that power a few days into the week prior, when he had discovered the betrayal of his money manager. He had been so enraged by the betrayal that it forced him back into his own body, and his disgust prompted him to attempt ordering him to suicide without even needing to be fully present in his purple world. As long as he knew there was a thread of belief connecting him to a person, he could instantly communicate through it without sending his full consciousness through it, and, for an unknown cost, send the same kind of orders he had used on his teenaged test subject. The room fell into silence as everyone considered the uses and ramifications of Rick''s blessing. It would be particularly useful in the fight against the juggernaut that was the Terran Empire, though they didn''t know if they should suggest that he become a glorified comms relay or not. She sat up and luxuriantly stretched. If there was anyone, man or woman, in the room with her to see the... interesting... things that motion did to her body, their eyes would likely have popped out of their skulls at the sight. Then she picked up a towel, casually draped it around the back of her neck, and sauntered out of the room with a slightly lopsided grin on her face. In another room was another pod. This one contained a handsome man with light sandy brown hair cut short topping a face that looked as though it had been chiseled out of a block of granite. He had sharp eyebrows, an aquiline nose, and thin lips with a slight upward curve to them mitigated his otherwise severe and imposing appearance. His chin was prominent and his face was coated in a light nine 0'' clock shadow. He had powerful arms, a V-shaped torso, and a perfect eight pack with devil horns cut into his tight spandex biking shorts. His hands were a contradiction, simultaneously large and yet somehow still elegant. (Ed note: Aquiline noses are also called Roman noses. They''re characterized by a gentle curve at the top leading into a relatively straight line from the bridge of the nose to the tip, and wide nostrils. Their side profile is very straight and the tip of the nose is sharply defined and often dips below the nostrils themselves. A person with an aquiline nose often looks authoritative and/or stately to people.) He opened his dark, chocolate brown eyes and sat up, a wicked smirk on his face. ''This is gonna be fun,'' he thought as he hopped out of the pod and padded barefoot into the corridor, then headed toward the room where he was scheduled to meet his partner for their upcoming long-term mission. "Timothy and Siobhan Roberts" were about to make their debut on the world stage, some of the first of a new generation of intelligence and counterintelligence operatives. They could hardly wait. Chapter 503 Backstories and Ellies Chapter 503 Backstories and Ellies ?(Ed note: The title reference in this one is pretty obscure, so Ill give it to yall. Backstories is obvious, and Ellies refers to the 1998 Spielberg flop, Deep Impact, where they referred to an incoming meteor that would wipe out all of humanity by the name Ellie, which was code for ELE, or Extinction-Level Event.) Low Earth Orbit, stealth shuttle ESV-228-01. Jason Todd and Catherine OShaugnessy were reclining in seats in the small stealth vessel receiving final briefing updates for their upcoming task. Their mission: hunt down cult cells to the best of their abilities. N?vlB?n: Transforming Moments into Memories. And their abilities were certainly no joke. They would be heading to the Puget Sound area of Washington State, where they would take the identity of a newlywed couple moving to Harstine Island, an unremarkable, unincorporated, and very much out of the way island in the sound. Timothy Roberts and his wife Siobhan would settle down in Hartstene Pointe, a gated community on Harstine Island. Siobhan Roberts would take up a job as a law clerk at the Mason County Courthouse in nearby Shelton, while Timothy would play the part of a gym teacher at Shelton Senior High and former naval reservist out of Bremerton. Timothy and Siobhan met at the University of Washington, where Timothy was using his GI Bill to pave his way to a degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on Conservation Science & Management, while Siobhan was a bright-eyed girl studying for a BA in Law, Societies, & Justice. They dated all through college and Timothy decided to support Siobhans goal of becoming a lawyer, and later, a judge. After all, even though the Terran Empire had taken over governance for 7 of the 7.5 billion humans on the planet, once the imperial citizens moved into their fortress cities, the remaining people would still need to have a working society. And a working society naturally needed laws, and those who uphold them. Take, for instance, the M11 Nanite Grenade, version 11827. It was a small cylindrical grenade that fit in the palm of the hand that, when detonated, would spread a nanite colony that would use any and all inorganic material in its surroundings to replicate and spread. Due to the potential of a runaway grey goo event, it had gone through almost twelve thousand iterations in testing before it was deemed moderately safe to use in a live test. But it certainly packed a definite punch. When it detonated, everything in its surroundings would simply disappear, leaving behind unarmed and helpless people that would soon discover that gravity had the upper hand in any conflict with living beings, as the three-second duration of the nanite colonys spread would generally reach out to ten meters around the initial detonation point. And a ten-meter drop was rather harsh on anyone who wasnt genetically enhanced and couldnt fly. Even Timothy shuddered at the thought, despite ten meter falls being the equivalent of a normal person stepping off a curb for him. But the nanite grenade was far from the only piece of cutting edgeeven for the empiregear in their issue. They had a full suite of nanite colonies, ranging from camouflage nanites, like those that hid Edens missile silos and other important underground sites, to injectable colonies of healer nanites, and best of all was the absolute latest in imperial atomic printing technology: the AP198 Type N Atomic Printer. Packed in a container the size of Timothys little finger was a nanoscale fusion reactor and a full colony of nanites that could perform the same tasks that any of the empires atomic printers were capable of, albeit at a much slower rate. It had taken the Lab City researchers nearly eight hundred years of iterating on the now venerable atomic printer technology before they were able to miniaturize it to this extent. The biggest issue was, again, the potential grey goo apocalypse scenario whereby the relatively short-lived nanites would begin replicating out of control, printing more and more of themselves until nothing remained but an ever-spreading nanite colony. But unlike the nanite grenade, which would only replicate using inorganic materials, the Type N Atomic Printer had no limitations on what it would decompose to print more of itself. To it, everything was useful. Chapter 504 The Ups and Downs of Working With Honeypots Chapter 504 The Ups and Downs of Working With Honeypots ?Timothy heard the hatch to the cargo hold hiss open and almost fumbled the atomic printer he was still holding in his hand. He paled and gingerly set it down, then turned around and saw his wife coming into the hold behind him. Holy fuck, you startled me! he exclaimed. Catherine was taken aback for a moment, thinking, Arent reapers supposed to be hardcore badasses? Psh, a little door scared such a big man. Then, a mischievous grin crossed her face and she got a truly wicked idea. Honey, I have a headache, she said, slumping down to sit on the floor next to him. She leaned over and rested her head in his lap and practically purred at him. Rub me? she asked, blinking innocently and conveniently ignoring the fact that she was still wearing nothing but a sports bra and compression booty shorts. Timothy awkwardly fidgeted in place and didnt know where to put his hands. There were so very, very many options, and not many of them were good. He poked her forehead and growled, Focus, Siobhan. Youre supposed to be a good girl, remember? Siobhan stood up with a sigh, murmuring something about blockheads and no fun, then headed to the locker on the other side of the cargo bay and began inventorying her own goodie bags for the mission ahead of them. At least it was a convenient excuse, anyway. Siobhan was one of the most accomplished honeypots in all of the NIA, and Timothy suspected he would truly enjoy the downtime on his current mission, unlike most of the missions reaper teams were sent on. There was definitely a distinct difference between being cooped up in small rooms with nine other sweaty, unshowered men and being paired with a nyxian honeypot, an unforeseen perk he was only just now coming to realize. He cleared his throat and changed the subject in an attempt to remain professional before they made landfall. I wonder how many other teams they sent out on this mission. Have you heard anything through your grapevine? Nothing specific. The response is just a lot whenever I ask. Those cultist bastards are likely to be embedded in plain sight where they can lose themselves in the crowd. I hate it, but its a damn smart movewhoever their strategists are are bloody good at their jobs, she coquettishly complained. Well, so are we, he confidently claimed, puffing out his chest. [Beginning landing sequence in three minutes,] AI 228 announced over the main channel and through the implants of the nyxian and reaper. Siobhan cleaned up the kit she had just inspected, much like Timothy had done with his, then the pair strapped themselves in for groundfall and made small talk as the stealth shuttle fell screaming to earth like a shooting star, hidden against the backdrop of the sun in the sky. Not that anyone on the ground would have seen it anyway, given the general cloud cover over the part of Washington that was west of the Cascade Mountain Range. Because, while Eastern Washington was a cold desert and, like most deserts, was mostly sunny and arid, Western Washington was either a marine coastal environment or a temperate rainforest. People from around the Puget Sound, in particular, would experience more than three hundred days of cloud cover per year, on average, and more than two hundred days of measurable rainfall. They even had a term for the typical weather there: liquid sunshine, they called it. Chapter 505 Charters and Flirts Chapter 505 Charters and Flirts ?Seatac International Airport, Seatac, Washington. Two people, a man and a woman, walked out of the office in a private hangar, loaded with luggage. They called for a cart and headed to the charter terminal. Hi, welcome to Seattle Helicopter Charter, where would you like to fly today? Siobhan gave the woman at the desk a brilliant smile. Were just headed home from our honeymoon, she said, taking Timothys arm. So were headed to Oly, got anything headed our way today? N?vlB?n: Transforming Moments into Memories. Certainly, Mrs...? the receptionist said, her manicured fingers resting on the keyboard waiting for Siobhan to give their information. Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Roberts, Siobhan glanced at the receptionists name tag and continued, Dana. She smiled again and, though she was absolutely straight, Dana felt her heart skip a beat and her face heat up a little bit. Nyxian honeypots were irresistible to everyone, and the receptionist was no exception. Certainly, Mrs. Roberts, Dana said, then lightly coughed to bring herself back under control. She tapped away at her keyboard for a moment, then said, Weve got a scheduled commuter hop today headed to Oly in an hour that has room for two. I can set you up with tickets if you want? Really? Siobhan bounced up and down a little. Thatd be great, Dana! I was worried wed have to charter a flight ourselves and, well, after the honeymoon and all.... She blushed and gave Dana a knowing nod and wink. Okay, okay, Ill pretend Im a librarian, she promised. Tim, having already seen a number of educational videos featuring librarians, wasnt quite sure how to take that. The drive quickly passed and they soon arrived at their base of operations, a prefab three bedroom two-and-a-half bathroom home in the middle of a two-acre lot in Hartstene Pointe. They unloaded their luggage and carried it in the house, then began their covert remodeling. Tim lost the rock-paper-scissors game to Siobhan and, despite being much, much bigger than her, cut a hatch in the floor beneath their bed and unleashed the atomic printer nanite colony in the crawlspace beneath the house, interfacing with its controls and uploading the design of an underground facility that came standard for nyxian agents in the field. The printer got to work, and Tim crawled back into the house and went for a shower. Siobhan hadnt been idle during that process, either. She had spent her time creating slicks in the house and tucking away most of their gear. When she was finished with that, she updated her holographic clothing projection to a pair of durable jeans, hiking boots, and a hoodie, then went for a walk around their property, installing hidden and optically camouflaged surveillance cameras in the trees, ensuring full coverage of anything that entered their property. (Ed note: A slick is a hiding place, usually related to weapons, but in intelligence agencies it can hide anything. For instance, removing a door from its frame and cutting a thin slot in the frame behind the hinges to hide documents, key cards, or anything else small enough to fit in the slick. Other popular slicks include light fixtures, cutouts in books, false bottoms in drawers and chests, and so on.) The Wi-Eye Surveillance System was a product of the black labs in Lab City, designed for use by nyxians on extended operations in the field. Each WESS was powered by ultra high frequency microwave wireless power transmitters and had backup batteries that would last for a week in case of an atmospheric disturbance that knocked the wireless connection out of commission. They had a dedicated VI swarm installed, ensuring perfect coverage with no distractions, and a smart filter that would filter out anything that the user didnt need disturbing them, thus filtering out almost all false alarms caused by wildlife, insects, and the like. Siobhans job done, she dusted the imaginary dust from her hands and headed back to the house, humming a jaunty tune under her breath and considering different ways to tease the straightlaced reaper she was partnered with. Though he was mostly a stick in the mud, like most reapers, whose training focused on achieving goals and fostering a mission-first mentality, that kind of person was always the most fun to play with; at least for her, anyway, the opinions among nyxians were varied on their preferred targets. Finally settling on going with the tried and true shock method, she went into the bedroom, stripped, and walked into their ensuite master bathroom, where she snuck into the shower with Tim and wrapped her arms around his waist. Hubby~ she whispered in his ear, a purr obvious in her voice. Fuck me. Ride me hard and put me away wet.... That day, Tim took a long time in the shower. Chapter 506 A "Small" Base of Operations Chapter 506 A "Small" Base of Operations ?The next day. Timothy and Siobhan got out of bed at three o clock in the morning, neither of them requiring much sleep thanks to their enhanced physiques and various implants. In order to maintain their covers, neither of them would be accessing the simulation unless an emergency came up. Augmented reality was also limited, preventing them from using it for things like virtual keyboards and screens. What remained was mostly akin to a HUD that would give them increased situational awareness without the possibility of any outward signs that they were using imperial technology. N?vlB?n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time. Even their old beat-up pickup truck was exactly what it seemed, just an old truck. Their only imperial technology, beyond the necessaries like their WESS and other layers of security systems, had been safely tucked away in various slicks and the growing underground facility that the atomic printer nanite colony was currently building and expanding. Their implants had informed them that the facility had reached initial completion and all that was left were the optional modules that could be customized and configured as necessary. The two had discussed the options and chosen to build a storage facility for printer cartridges, a holding facility with room for up to ten prisoners in secure solitary confinement cells, a gym with the equipment necessary for maintaining their enhanced bodiesafter all, no civilian gym anywhere outside the empire had gravity manipulation technology capable of creating weights in the range of tons, and anything less than a ton was about as strenuous for a reaper to lift as a beer can was to a normal, unenhanced civilianand a hangar for their stealth shuttle. Tim and Siobhan confidently strode down the hallway to the center of the base and into a circular room of about fifteen meters in diameter. In the middle of the room was a five-meter- wide sphere of shining metal, within which was an artificial star capable of outputting ten petawatts of electricity, more than enough to satisfy the entire North American continents annual energy consumption by multiple orders of magnitude. The base was laid out in a cross along the four cardinal directions, and the central hub had access points at each main hallway. A brushed aluminum railing surrounded the fusion reactor, along which were various backup manual workstations capable of operating every aspect of the base itself in the event that the quantum microcomputer implants in Tim and Siobhans brains somehow ceased to function. And as the beating heart of the base, certain security measures were always in effect, with small turrets dotting the ceiling every meter or so and a complicated uneven stair leading from the doorways to the sunken floor of the rest of the room. The two operatives nodded as all of their checks returned reports of fully operational equipment, then toured the living quarters in the north, consisting of comfortable apartments, a mess hall, recreation center, and the still-under-construction gym. To the south of the main control center was an enormous hangar capable of holding twelve stealth shuttles or four ARES combat landers, and across from the hangar was a cavernous storage facility of a hundred meters wide by a hundred meters long and six stories high. It was currently empty, but atomic printer nanites were busily producing modular storage containers in various shapes and sizes, each of which would be equipped with a temporal stasis field generator to maintain their contents in perfect condition. To the west of the control center was the planned site of the prison complexten reinforced cells, a holographically simulated prison yard, and a shared dining facility. And to the east was an armory, a clinic with medical pods for up to fifty patients simultaneously, and a ground vehicle garage with enough room to fit ten buses, or any combination of a wide variety of smaller vehicles. Tim and Siobhan toured the entire facility and, as false dawn was just beginning to brighten the sky over the distant Cascade Mountain Range, they climbed in their old pickup truck and headed toward Shelton, where they would begin their first workdays in the high school and courthouse, respectively. Chapter 507 Record Scratch Chapter 507 Record Scratch ?Private simulation, Arons personal training field. Aron had been spending his time since the inaugural council meeting in his own personal simulation instance, handling his work and practicing his mana usage by fighting with his AIs. Instead of relying solely on Nova as his sparring partner, he had given the rest of the higher AIs the same mana knowledge he had. As a result, he was growing by leaps and bounds as he fought people who, due to the difference in their self-tailored code structure, approached fights in a very different manner compared to Nova. Their usage of his runes gave him many different inspirations on how to use his own. Currently, he was standing alone in the middle of an empty field, his eyes glowing gold as he attempted to track the flow of mana around him to catch anything out of the ordinary. He was obviously in the middle of a fight with someone. It wasnt very long before the AI he was currently sparring with was revealed. No matter how vigilantly he was scanning, he had failed to catch her and the look of focus on his face changed to one of defeat. Nyx had materialized behind him and had a knife to his throat. [Still want to brag?] Nyx asked with a smile on her face. It was her third consecutive win since Aron began sparring with her. She always had a bigger plan in mind, and as the limiters on todays sparring session had been completely removed, Aron felt cold sweat flowing down his back like a river pouring down the face of a glacier. Perhaps, he considered, he had completely fucked up. That realization was so strong that he actually found himself daydreaming about the record scratching meme. It was at this moment that I realized I had truly fucked up, he murmured under his breath, continuing his search for Athena. His shield rune was rapidly burning through the mana he had pushed into it, a limitation hed set to prevent making training of any kind pointless as he activated his golden finger cheat and became completely invincible. After all, with the equivalent of an entire universes mana resources, he could easily make a mockery of any attack. He soon met Athena, or rather, Athenas ambush to be more precise, as his random movements were met with hidden explosive rune after explosive rune. It appeared he was sprinting through a minefield now, and he attempted to stop, but.... Alas, it was too late. He began being bounced from rune to rune, each of them set to explode upon his approach to them. Thus, with no room to escape, his shield was pushed to its limits and began cracking. Then, with one mighty cracking sound, his shield finally gave up in the face of the explosions and a millimeter-wide gash exposed him to the next fierce explosion. He could take at least a little bit of condolence, though, in that he had been flash fried so quickly that he didnt feel a thing.N?vlB?n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time. Chapter 508 Shining A Light Chapter 508 Shining A Light ?Fifteen minutes after the miserable end of the spar. Aron had been revived after being given a once-over by Nova, who was worried about his state of mind whenever he experienced a death in the simulation, much less one as... devastating as his most recent. After all, she fully expected there to be some sequelae after experiencing death firsthand, something that had already long been an issue with the harsh ARES training. But while the issues were similar, the solutions were most definitely not. ARES troopers could have their memories deleted, or at least reduced in intensity to around the same level of impact that dying in a dream would have, while Arons mental defenses, not to mention the system riding in his consciousness, was absolutely impenetrable to any form of mental manipulation that came from outside the system. Even when Nova had spotted the issue during Arons first upgrade, she had been incapable of interfering until the system recognized what she was doing and relented on its own. To this day, she had devoted a not insignificant portion of her enormous processing power to figuring out a cure for what she saw as damage inflicted on Aron by his own system, but to no avail. Every method she attempted had ended in failure, with the total number of simulated solutions having long broken past the quintillion mark. Even a quantum AI like her had simply stopped counting the iterations. Even so, she never slacked in her duty to check on his mental state whenever he suffered any form of psychological impact. That said, the acoustic design was only a perk, as through the magic of the simulation, everyone could hear everyone else in crystal clarity. The seating arrangement was first-come-first-serve, with agency heads that arrived early getting preferential seating at the front, a measure that ensured no single agency could get a swelled head and sense of self-importance that would come along with preferential seating assignments. And even though it was the first meeting of the full council of the empire, as all previous meetings were held in the secrecy of the emperors office, or the luxury of the emperors council chamber, there was very little in the way of chaos. Naturally, that was also made possible through the simulation; everyone invited to attend the meeting only needed to indicate that they were ready and they would immediately be teleported to the next available council seat. But not only was today the first meeting of the full council, it was also the first meeting that would be broadcast live, letting everyone who was interested see the heads of the various imperial agencies. It would also be the first public introduction to the higher-order AIs that had been integral to running the government so far. The entire world was in for a show. The meeting that was currently being held was being broadcast live for two reasons. First and foremost was Arons dedication to transparency in government. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he would never hold a closed-door meeting, nor would he allow one to be held privately among the agency heads. That had been made abundantly clear in their introductory data files that theyd now had more than enough time to study. Second was to present a summary of the empires progress on various projects, as well as introducing the agency heads... and the AIs. Many people had been wondering what the empire was actually doing, as most of the work had been carried out silently and in secret. Now that the atmospheric scrubbers and the awakenings had been completed, though, along with a number of other initial objectives, it was time to shine a light on the shadows and chase away the cockroaches who had been doing their level best to undermine the empires foundations. Chapter 509 Begin at the Beginning Chapter 509 Begin at the Beginning ?Once the councilors were all seated, Gaia wasted no time and, acting as the general secretary, immediately began speaking. [Ladies and gentlemen of the imperial council, thank you for your attendance today. There are a few ground rules you should take note of regarding protocol in the council chamber, but those are all in your introductory data files and you should have read them. Everyone here is an adult, and all of you have been entrusted with the weighty responsibility of the empires day-to-day operations. Anyone who violates those protocols will be ejected from the council chamber at His Imperial Majestys sole discretion. [Todays session of the imperial council only has one item on the agenda: progress reports from each of your agencies ongoing projects, if any. I fully expect, though, that this will be a long meeting, as nearly everyone in this room has been assigned a project with the goal of strengthening the empires foundation. We are not here to judge, but to assist. Tell us what issues you are facing and those issues will be resolved.] She panned her gaze across the room, a professional smile on her inhumanly perfect, elfin face. [Once the progress reports have been entered into the Akashic Record, you will all be provided with individualized feedback based on your specific circumstances. Even if everything is going well, there will always be room for improvement. [With that said, please welcome His Imperial Majesty.] Gaia dropped to one knee and lowered her head toward Aron, a personal gesture she had come up with on her own. Nowhere in the council protocol did it call for anyone to kneel, except in very specific, ceremonial situations. Aron stood from his seat, the desk in front of him becoming a podium with the imperial seal on the front of it. N?vlB?n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time. Nobody ever said that change, especially an abrupt and all- encompassing change like the formation of a species-wide empire, would be easy. And if anyone ever did, know this: they were lying to you. It hasnt been easy, it isnt easy now, and it wont be easy in the future. But as you adapt to the changes being forced upon you, you will grow more capable, stronger, smarter, and better able to bear the weight of the future. Humanity has never been the strongest species, nor the fastest, nor the most durable. Ours is a race of feeble weaklings that crawled out of the primordial soup and evolved step by step, winnowing out our weak and selecting to fill the evolutionary niches available to us. We became tenacious, we became tribal, but most of all, we became smart. We learned. We invented, we innovated, we adapted, and we overcame. And that same process is what humanity is once again undergoing. And just like australopithecus, who took the first step as a two-legged, upright mammal; just like homo habilis picked up the first sticks and rocks to purposefully use as tools; just like homo erectus lit torches to brighten up the night, and archaic homo sapiens and neanderthals carried those torches forward until homo sapiens came about, we are now tasked with carrying the undying drive to survive into an unknown future! But We will not take more of your time. Citizens of the empire, imperial councilors, and supreme ministers, its now time for you to take the stage and let everyone know just how far youve carried the torches of your predecessors, and how far you have yet to go. We thank every one of Our brothers and sisters in humanity, and We yield the floor for this meeting of the imperial councils agenda. A long standing ovation followed Arons speech as the councilors and ministers rose to their feet in raucous applause. Even people watching from home were inspired; many survivors of the progenitor cults attacks even stood to join the standing ovation and swore to contribute their efforts toward the future of mankind because of those inspiring remarks. It would even give rise to a nascent movement among humanity that would come to be known as torchbearers in the future, those whose faith in the Terran Empire and His Imperial Majesty would brook no challenges. That day, with those remarks, Aron set many events into motion. Some were intended, some werent, some would be significant, and others wouldnt even raise a single ripple if thrown into a pool of still water. And some of them would come back to bite him in the ass a long way down the road. Chapter 510 Healthy People, Healthy World Chapter 510 Healthy People, Healthy World ?[Announcement: The editor had to head to the hospital due to an emergency, and depending on how it goes, there might be three more chapters later to cover for yesterday''s miss or moved to tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for your support.] Arons speech had hit the target, inspiring and riling up everyone that watched it. From beginning to end, the reactions on social media only grew wilder and wilder as people rapid-fired their views on the imperial feed all over the internet. Even Panoptes had had to spawn a whole host of VI assistants to ensure that the opinions were neatly tucked away in their own individual echo chambers, lest conflict arise from opinion clashes. That said, a few examples still had to be made of those that egregiously violated lese majeste law, though there werent that many who crossed that line. Most people were reasonably supportive of the empire, having experienced the sweetness of imperial citizenship benefits already. Life was good for imperial citizens, and it showed in the general optimistic trend in the background, with very little need for propaganda to reinforce or alter peoples opinions. Events like the speech Aron had just delivered as the empire of mankind were only occasionally necessary to maintain and bolster the opinion that most people shared. And this speech in particular had fired everybody up, even going so far as to silence some of the habitual naysayers who were constantly contrarian in their outlook. Those people called themselves devils advocates, but most people had another name for them: ultimate pains in the ass. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: N?vlB?n. Gaia motioned for silence in the council chamber. When the applause finally died down, she said, [Well begin with the imperial health agency. Councilor Ross, the floor is yours.] A podium rose in front of Councilor Nathan Ross and he stood from his seat to deliver his agencys progress report. I would like to thank the emperor for the oppo he began, but was cut off by Gaia. [Please keep your remarks concise. There are a lot of agencies that need to report, so brevity is appreciated. Everyone understands that everyone is grateful for the opportunity to head imperial agencies. Let that be stipulated in the record. Please continue, Councilor Ross.] The councilor cleared his throat and, after a brief pause, continued, Weve officially finished the first rejuvenation treatment across all imperial citizens. There were zero rejections or issues with the process, thus, our empire is now a hundred percent healthy of body and sound of mind. [Next in line is Councilor Bauer of the imperial environmental agency. Please deliver your report, councilor,] Gaia said and a podium rose from the floor in front of another seat. With the lesson from the beginning of the previous report still in his mind, Councilor Greg Bauer rose and immediately dove into his report, wasting no time on meaningless pleasantries that served no purpose but to waste time and lower efficiency. The imperial environmental agency has been working on reversing the damage caused by global warming since the industrial revolutions around the world. For that, we constructed environmental scrubbers and have begun cleaning the atmosphere and ocean of excess greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide. So far, weve reduced the aggregate concentration of harmful greenhouse gasses from around 500 parts per million to 434 parts per million, a net reduction of approximately thirteen percent. Weve also lowered the acidity of the ocean by approximately 26%, or a net increase in oceanwater pH from 8.05 to 8.06. Our target for the surface layer of the ocean is a pH of 8.17, returning it to the level it was at before the industrial revolutions in the 1700s began. (Ed note: The aggregate greenhouse gas number is completely made up, but within reason. CO2 is currently at around 414PPM, which is a terrifying concentration, especially as relates to ocean acidification. A drop in oceanic pH of about 0.3 resulted in one of the largest mass extinction events in the history of the planet, and over the last 70 years or so weve dropped from a pH of 8.15 to 8.05 and the acidification is only speeding up. Some time this century (2100s), were estimated to reach anywhere from 8.0-7.7, so our children or grandchildren may experience a mass extinction event of their own. Something to keep in mind, yo.) Over the following weeks, we will be focusing on retrofitting scrubber devices into the industries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions. Thats just a stopgap measure, though, until our engineers develop new methodologies for carbon neutral, or even carbon negative standards in operation and production. In combination with miniaturized atmospheric scrubbers, well also be focusing on public education regarding the harmful effects of greenhouse gasses, which we estimate will produce a number of interest groups that will get involved in healthy environmentalism instead of ecoterrorism. Planting trees is better for the environment than burning buildings, so do please keep that in mind. Greg paused for a moment, allowing the impact of his reminder to sink in before continuing. Our current goal is that the environment will be healed from all negative impacts over the past two hundred and fifty years no later than October four years from now.... Councilor Bauers report continued in that vein for about another twenty minutes, giving people an explanation of the towers that had been discovered dotted around the globe and putting a whole host of conspiracy theories to bed as the theorists discovered that what they thought was some giant... whatever was in fact just glorified filters for the entire atmosphere and ocean. That said, conspiracy theories were rarely ever completely defeated by facts and logic, so they still continued... just with fewer proponents that believed in them. Chapter 511 Municipalization and Numbers Chapter 511 Municipalization and Numbers ?As time passed, more and more agency heads rose and delivered their reports. There were no breaks, or even significant pauses, as the emperor himself was present. His face was unchanging and his attention remained focused throughout the marathon council session. As report after report was delivered, uninvolved people were finally witnessing the scale at which the empire operated. Many agencies were previously completely unknown to most, as their tasks were generally performed in the background, like the imperial waste management agency. Pre-empire, not many people considered the fact that waste managementgarbage and recycling pickup, sewage treatment, and so forthwas a function of their local government, but now that every government function had been centralized, it was made apparent. Along with that, many other things were now operated by the state as well. Things like power, water, and the few remaining places that relied on natural gas had been absorbed into the imperial utility agency. Cellphones and other communications services were rolled into the imperial internet agency, and many, many more functions that had once been under private management were now operated by the empire. It proved a boon for many people, as governments in general were not-for-profit organizations and had no issues operating at a loss so long as it benefited the citizens. Government organizations were an exception to the truism that monopolies made the people suffer, and as long as corruption remained minimal or nonexistent, there would be no issues like those arising from communist and socialist societies in the mid to late 20th century, BE (Before Empire). The shock people felt wasnt just about Arons ability to pay 14 trillion END into the public treasury, but also the sheer amount of it. Comparing the spending power of the END to the previous most valuable currency, the USD, the total budget of the Terran Empire was more than the global GDP from before the empires founding combined! Economists took that as a good sign of a healthy economy, while laypersons in the general populace were just staggered by the sheer numbers. As most mathematicians could tell you, abstract numbers that cant be easily visualized by people are impossible to understand. Numbers that could be easily visualized, though, were very easy to understand. For example, the number ten is easily visualized; its the number of fingers most people have. Twenty is visualized as fingers and toes, twenty-one as fingers, toes, and another part of the anatomy. Maybe people went to school where their classrooms held thirty people, or attended lectures in a lecture hall that held a hundred-odd people. But dealing with numbers that are too big boils down to generalizing them into categories, like a lot or a whole lot, making numbers of sufficient size too abstract to be useful for anything but mathematicians. And numbers in the trillions absolutely fit the description of a number thats too big to deal with for practically everyone. (Ed note: Penn & Teller had a show that aired from 2003-2010 called Bullshit! where they examined a lot of bullshit theories and beliefs. Season 4, episode 5 explored the concept of numbers and math and how it could be used to manipulate people. I tried finding the cold open clip on YouTube, but apparently its been taken down as the show is now streaming on Paramount+, but if you can find it, its a really goodand funnywatch.) When the imperial treasury progress report was done, the councilor yielded the floor back to Gaia and retook his seat. [Next agency on the docket is the imperial blessings agency. Councilor Ross, the floor is yours,] Gaia announced. Chapter 512 Infiltrating the Halls of Justice Chapter 512 Infiltrating the Halls of Justice ?(Ed note: sorry for the spotty chapter uploads lately. Dealing with some health stuff on my end; Ill try to not let it get too bad, though.) Mason County Courthouse, Shelton, Washington. An old, beat-up pickup truck rumbled around to the back of the historic Mason County Courthouse and huffed to a stop. The engine knocked a few times, then, with a puff of black smoke from the tailpipe, rattled to a stop as well. The trucks passenger door opened and a long-legged beauty with strawberry blonde hair tied up in a neat bun at the back of her head stepped out on three-inch stiletto heels. Dammit, Tim, when are you finally going to get this old piece of shit running right? she said as she slammed the door of the truck, rattling the window that was stuck half open. I Tim began, his knuckles turning white around the steering wheel. No more excuses, Tim! Fix it or get rid of it. Siobhan turned around in a huff and began stomping toward the employee entrance of the courthouse. Vonnie! Ill.... Sigh, and, shes gone, Tim muttered, then turned over the ignition. After four tries, it finally caught, and with a loud bang and the squeal of an engine belt in desperate need of replacement, it sputtered off into the distance. ...... The other office lady in the room, a prim and proper woman in her early- to mid-twenties laughed and said, Yeah. You must be new here. Im Sarah, Judge Maxwells stenographer. Vonnie, Siobhan replied, stretching her arm out to shake Sarahs hand. And yeah, todays my first day. My husband dropped me off on his way to work, so Im a bit early. Do you know when the human resources department generally has someone around? I still need to do my inprocessing. Sure, Gail should be here in around... Sarah checked her watch, twenty minutes or so. Just time enough to enjoy some of our terrible coffee here. It only makes it worse that Im from Seattle, home of Starbucks and hipster huts, Vonnie chuckled. Im sure it does! Sarah agreed with a laugh. She was a plain- looking woman, a bit chubby and with mouse-brown hair in a pixie cut that didnt quite suit the shape of her face. But when she laughed, her eyes sparkled and her brilliant smile made her appear quite a bit more attractive, offsetting her severely upturned nose and making her haircut seem to fit her personality more than it did her face. So can you tell me about the people Ill be working with? Im here to clerk for Judge Carlsonhow is she to work for? Sarah winced on Vonnies behalf. Oof. Im sorry, shes a hardass. Expects you to know everything, even if you dont know it. Shes gone through six stenographers in the year and a half since she was appointed to the bench. They call her Cuntson around here, but dont let her hear you say that, and you didnt hear it from me, she said, practically in a whisper. One of the two security officers in the room looked over and added, She definitely wont like you. Shes old and wrinkled like a prune, and youre, well... he blushed, err, not. Thanks for the compliment! Vonnie replied with a beaming smile, though she was inwardly grumbling about her hell-mode difficulty assignment. The three people continued chatting as the other security guard watched the IAC meeting on the television with laser focus. Vonnie looked over at him from time to time, wondering if she may have just found her first person of interest in the investigation into the cult activity in her area of operations. Chapter 513 Tim and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Chapter 513 Tim and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ?Shelton High School, Shelton, Washington. Tim was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Not only had he gotten in an argument with his partner early in the day, but he had also been objectively wrong in it. The truck he drove wasnt actually a part of his cover; itd belonged to his actual father, William Todd, and had been left to him after his dad had passed to prostate cancer. So it actually MEANT something to him on a very personal level. Thus, he was rather reactive when it came to the venerable piece of Detroit steel and ingenuity. Even though it had... personality, hed always believed it would come through for him no matter what he put it through on any given day. That belief had lasted until precisely this day, when the truck hed always put his faith in had completely broken down. With a resounding bang and a heartwrenching thud, the transmission fell out of the bottom of the chassis and the engine blew the hood back against the window as it did its level best to break the olympic standing high jump record. Tim, or rather, Jason Todd, was completely heartbroken. Not only that, but the public transportation network in Shelton was very backward and he was nowhere near a stop that would allow him to take the bus to school. Thus, he had to walk a little over five miles to get there. Now, five miles was nothing but a brief jaunt to a reaper like him, but as he was undercover, he had to maintain the standard of an average person. And to an average person, five miles was a long, long way. It would have been one thing, had his cover been in the Army or Marine Corps, but itd put him with a history in the US Navy instead. So not only did he have to pretend he had the fitness of an average person, that average person had to be a Navy veteran, none of whom were exactly known for their long-distance run times. Neither were high school gym teachers, for that matter. Most of them were high school athletes that went to college on athletic scholarships and dreamed of making it in the Big Leagues, only for the harsh jackboot of reality to come stomping down on the fragile flower of their idealized future. Thus, embittered and frustrated, they returned to their glory days as washed up never-weres to nurture the next generation. Long story short, Tim only arrived at his workplace a full half hour after the bell for first period had rung. It was a less than ideal beginning to his fictional career, unlike his wife, Siobhan, who had arrived hours early thanks to the difference between a high school and a courthouse schedule. His secretary, Amelia Ford, walked through the door, followed by a tall, muscular man with strong features wearing a matching set of light green Nike sportswear. I have Mr. Roberts here to see you, Mr. Dorsey, she belatedly announced. Inwardly complaining about his idiot secretary, Principal Dorsey could only put on a stern face and say, I see that, Miss Ford. I have eyes, you know. Amelia blushed and stammered an apology. Next time, use the intercom. Thats what its for, Miss Ford. Youre excused, the principal reprimanded her. He turned to Tim and said, Youre late, Mr. Roberts. Not exactly the best first impression. I know, sir. Tim snapped to attention; that was just the kind of authoritarian vibe he felt from the principal seated in front of him. No excuses, sir. It wont happen again, sir. Relax, boy, the principal chuckled. I wont eat you. He picked up the handset of his phone and dialed a four-digit internal switchboard extension. Miss Coleman, please come to my office, he said after the line connected. Not even four minutes later, a woman in her early thirties with her hair in a high ponytail stepped through the principals door. She, too, was wearing sportswear, but hers was a black Adidas tracksuit. You called, boss? she asked in a chirpy, sickeningly sweet voice. Tim could practically hear the chewing and popping of bubble gum in it, despite her not actually having any gum in her mouth. This is Mr. Roberts, the boys gym teacher. Take him around and show him the ropes, the principal ordered. Yes boss, right away boss! the overly bubbly woman replied. Tim, on the other hand, felt an oncoming headache. He had already mapped the entire school, thanks to his implants, and he had a feeling that his mission would be far more difficult than the briefing had led him to believe. And far more headache-inducing, as well. Chapter 514 Flattery and Bootlicking Chapter 514 Flattery and Bootlicking ?As Tim and Siobhan were facing the first day of their mission, the imperial agency council meeting finally drew to a close. The meeting had lasted a very long time, as more than a hundred agencies had given their progress reports, each of which lasted anywhere from ten to thirty minutes. All told, the meeting itself was a 25-hour marathon session from the end of Arons speech to the end of the session itself. The vast amount of revelations prompted a flood of news articles, each of which focused on a single piece of information. They provided a sort of cliffs notes version of the IAC meeting for those who couldnt remain glued to their screens for the entire duration. As it turned out, the vast majority of humanity was still uninterested in the minutiae of the day-to-day operations of their governments, so even though the full recording of each progress report was available in the Akashic Record, they chose to read the articles instead. (Ed note: I cant believe it, but Cliffs Notes arent really a thing anymore. They used to be condensed versions of the important bits of various books, kind of like if someone sat down and took a highlighter to a book in question. I guess theyve been replaced by Wikipedia now, but they used to be essential resources for college students back in the day.) Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: N?vlB?n. The media, on their end, seemed to have finally learned their lesson. Their reports were as fair and balanced as it was possible to be, despite still subtly being pro-empire in the way they presented the information. That said, though, they couldnt go too far with their flattery and bootlicking, as the Akashic Record contained the unvarnished truth and recordings of the reports themselves. Still, the transparency in the imperial government caused the empires approval rating to skyrocket to such an extent that the possibility of a popular revolt taking place had drifted so close to zero as to be functionally the same. Even though most people didnt sit through the meeting telecast, the simple fact that they could see it if they wanted to was enough to highlight just how different, and how much better, their lives were now than they were under their previous governments. [Sir, you need to start now if you want to finish in time to take your family on the vacation you promised them,] Nova reminded him. There was much to do and little time in which to do it if he still wanted to spend time with his loved ones. Hows the installation of the mana interface coming? he asked. A computer-controlled mana interface was foundational to most of his plans moving forward. The process was slow, however, as it had to be printed by the atomic printer in the Cube on Avalon Island and transported to orbit, as his current runic printing tech was still tier one and didnt allow for intent. It could only print runes themselves, and for higher functions, he had to personally imprint them with the necessary intent. For simple things, like PAPS, that only performed a single function, that was fine. Imprinting intent wasnt necessary if the complexity of the runic structure was low. However, a control interface was very much a complex runic structure. But with him having already bought intermediate runic knowledge, the complexity of the interface was easily within reach for him. That said, he no longer had to do everything himself; he could simply upload the design of the hardware including the runes to carve into it, and have it printed wholesale. The only issue was the size of the thingintermediate runic knowledge wasnt enough to miniaturize runic structures above a certain complexity. Thus his presence in orbit in reality, where he was awaiting the completion of the final steps before he would be required to step in and charge it with his intent. [Reactor output is connected to the conversion rune. You may proceed when ready, sir,] Nova reported. Alright, lets begin, he said, then relaxed his body and let his PAPS replace the shield he had been maintaining. What he was about to do required the majority of his attention; a lapse in concentration would definitely be costly. Chapter 515 Controlled Chaos Chapter 515 Controlled Chaos Aron extended his hand and a single rune appeared in front of him. Anyone who had seen him using his runes in the past would know what the rune was: the humble, yet mighty, shield rune. It glowed its usual golden color and was its usual small size. But that didnt last long, as Aron continued pumping mana into it with the intent of expanding it. The thing he was planning on shielding was enormous, so the rune had to be equally as large to perform its task. A minute passed and it continued growing... five minutes passed... ten minutes.... Aron continued pushing intent-laden mana into the rune for a full hour before the flood of mana died down to a much more sustainable amount and the rune stopped growing. Now, he was only directing enough mana into it to prevent it from disappearing and forcing him to start the process over again. But despite that, it still remained inactive, silently hovering in the vast blackness of space outside Earths atmosphere. It had reached a gargantuan size of more than a thousand kilometers in diameter, and at that size, Aron could be sure of at least one thing: with the amount of mana he had pumped into the rune, it would surely be enough to cause chaos on the planets surface. ...... This years budget is fifty trillion END? And for just one year? Where the fuck are they getting all that money!? Im pretty sure they arent getting it from the taxes they havent collected yet... said a young man in his twenties with deep blue eyes and a handsome face. He couldnt even imagine that amount of money, not with his current income at least. The explanation was enough to calm some people, but did nothing for others. The runic circle had been continuously expanding over the past 45 minutes and showed no sign of stopping. Non-awakeners were even more scared than awakeners, as they couldnt see anything and had fallen victim to a rather epic round of the old childrens game, telephone. And had it not been for the empires announcement, they would have thought they were being pranked by their blessed friends. (Ed note: The game telephone is played by a group of people who stand in a straight line and face straight ahead. The last person in line taps the person in front of them on the shoulder and whispers a brief statement into their ear. The process repeats itself until the last person is tapped, then the first speaker and the last listener compare the message that was sent with the message that was ultimately received. Generally, the two are vastly different.) The situation gave rise to a few widely watched livestreams, where awakeners were providing a play by play on the current goings-on in low earth orbit. Some of the livestreams even invited experts to discuss what the experiment could possibly be, and what the experimenter hoped his ultimate results would be. ...... Aron, taking a momentary pause to catch his breath after spending an hour enlarging the runic circle, turned to Nova and asked, Hows the chaos coming? Is it spreading, or did we manage to stop the spread somewhat? {Its manageable, sir,} Nova replied. Well then... lets not waste more time, eh?Follow current novels at novelhall.com) Chapter 516 ERD-26 Planetary Shield Generator Chapter 516 ERD-26 Planetary Shield Generator Aron closed his eyes and began the process of imprinting his intent into the enormous runic construct he had created over the past hour. It was no easy task, as the necessary intent that would allow the construct to function at full capacity was just as complex as the construct itself, and he had to futureproof it by leaving room for upgrades as his knowledge of the runic language increased. Follow current novels at novelhall.com) In order to make that possible, he needed to imbue it with an even more complex second layer of intent that would create hooks, so to speak, that would be used in the future to tie in potential upgrades, a task that would be made much more difficult should he ignore it now and leave it for later. The runic system, he had discovered, was much like a computer. The carved runes in their physical form were like a computers hardware, and the intent that allowed them to function was software. The mana itself was the power that allowed the entire system to function. And just like a regular computer program, once it was compiled into a kernel it became much more difficult to modify. Thus, the time-consuming process of imbuing the runic construct with intent began as, instead of mana, Aron sent his pure mental power cascading down the carved runes like a vast convoy of vehicles traveling along an interstate network. Over the next two hours, Aron remained completely still, the only sign of life in his body the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. His conscious mind had completely turned inward, continually shaping his mental power into intent and directing it into the runic construct, which began glowing brighter in the areas his intent attached itself to. This... is going to cause a commotion, he said, unconsciously clutching his chest as he watched the rune shed its pure gold color and turn white like the entire thing was a set of dominos toppling from one end to another. After the entire rune construct turned white, a kilometer-thick shield began spreading out from it and surrounding the Earth in a protective cocoon. It was moving excruciatingly slowly, revealing that there was a bottleneck somewhere in the process, and it was a very unexpected one at that: Aron himself. Although he could draw mana from a vast distance, it was akin to filling a bucket with a fire hose, then pouring that bucket out into an empty swimming pool through a drinking straw. Essentially, the output of his runic heart simply couldnt keep up with the demand of the runic construct he was empowering, leading to the slow progress of the shields completion. That was only compounded by the low mana density surrounding the planet; his runic construct was entirely capable of powering itself through its activation via drawing mana from its surroundings, but there simply wasnt enough mana for it to draw within its much more limited range. That said, he had taken that into account when designing the construct, as well as during the process of imbuing it with intent. The construct wouldnt collapse, it would simply throttle its progression based on the weakest link in the chain. Thus, it was only a matter of time until it was completed and the world would be held safe within its protective embrace. All Aron had to do was wait patiently for the process to be completed. That said, it only moved slowly in comparison to Arons usual nigh instantaneous usage of runes. Within thirty minutes, the activation process was completed and Earth was finally shielded. Its task completed, the runic construct faded from view, still present and functioning, but invisible to the naked eye and mana senses; Aron had inverted it so it would only be visible when under a certain operational load, and currently, it was under hardly any pressure at all. But the people watching from the ground knew nothing about that. All they knew was that an enormous golden circle filled with strange script and diagrams had appeared, turned gold, then turned white, and finally disintegrated. They had no clue what it all meant, and nobody would be stupid enough to publicize it. In fact, Aron himself had moved the construct after it vanished, setting it on a random course around the world in the center of the thick shield, making it even harder to spot. Chapter 517 Successfully Initialized Chapter 517 Successfully Initialized Aron, despite the rune constructs activation, continued feeding a steady stream of mana to it to ensure it didnt collapse. Despite it being in a neutral state and receiving no attacks at all, its sheer size meant that it required more than the relatively small amount of ambient mana could provide. So, to prevent it from destabilizing due to the lack, he needed to act as a temporary bridge. He passed through the shield and headed toward Ceres Station, where an entire bank of massive, hundreds-of-meters-tall fusion reactors had been purpose-built to fuel the enormous runic construct. Nova had calculated the minimum amount of mana required to ensure the shield would remain stable without Arons intervention and shed built sixty reactors to handle the load, with a combined output of 112 petawatts of electricity. The generator bank was connected to the surface of Ceres Station by a conduit spanning ten meters in diameter, lined with a second printed runic construct that would ensure a smooth flow of mana from the integrated electricity-mana conversion rune. It would light Earth up, but over time, it would settle down and normalize with the surrounding mana in the solar system. Besides, they had already been discovered, so what would come would come. Better to have a shield than not. {Reactor self-test indicates all green. Powering up... 37%... 51%... 77%... 94%.... Ignition. Fusion reaction stable, initiating electricity generation at ten percent capacity.} Nova continued narrating the step by step process of reactor startup as the immense power bank rumbled to life. {Electrical output stable. Initiating connection to converter rune. Converter rune is functioning normally with minimal loss. No errors reported. Increasing electrical output... no errors. Reactors are at 56%... 71%... 80% and stable. Safety interlocks engaged, safety systems reporting all green. Electrical output at 91% and holding steady.... No fluctuations detected in the mana flow. {Sir, I think we can call this a successful ignition,} Nova reported. Aron grunted an acknowledgement, then fell silent again as his freefall from orbit continued. After a few minutes, he mused, From up here, everything on the ground just seems so... petty. Petty and shortsighted. Humanity is a truly fickle species that fluctuates between but I want it now! and so what have you done for me lately then? Tell me, Nova. If it were up to you, what would you do? he asked. Nova was lost for an answer, a first for her. {Im not sure, sir. Human nature is the driving force behind its development as a species, so I dont think I would change anything,} she finally said. She wasnt sure, but she thought she felt a twinge of annoyance at her inability to immediately answer the question she was asked. Aron was her creator, her father, her brother, her patient, and many other things to her, and her attachment to him bordered on the absolute. I think... I agree, as much as I dont want to, Aron sighed, then changed topics. Hows the shield interface? {Ive completed the diagnostics and everythings green, sir,} she answered. {The computer bank is functioning normally and is currently operating at peak efficiency with connections to all 188,901,753 shield lattice nodes.} The shield was designed as a layered honeycomb lattice, with each node reinforcing and being reinforced by those around it. It ensured that there were no gaps or weak points in the shield, and the flexible structure was excellent at dispersing impacts over a wide area without shattering. Excellent, Aron said. Avalon Island was finally visible to him without augmenting his vision, and he made minor adjustments to his trajectory to ensure he would land where he wanted. He would make more during the remainder of his freefall; it was something of a competition he had with himself to land as close to his desired target as possible with each of his entries from orbit, and he was determined to win this first bout in reality. I look forward to seeing it in reality, he added after ensuring he was on target. Chapter 518 Wargames and Reservations Chapter 518 Wargames and Reservations John was in the shower, getting ready for a night with his ladies, when he received a priority notification. Since only Aron, Gaia, and Athena could ping him when his availability was registered as do not disturb, it was important enough for him to immediately check it. Thus, he stepped out of the shower, and without even drying off, he simply wrapped a towel around his waist and found the nearest chair he could drop his ass into and sat down. He logged in to the simulation and called for his AI butler, Jotunn. Catch me up on the situation, he ordered. {His Imperial Majesty erected a global shield. The information hasnt been made widely public yet and its still classified pending testing. His order is for you to hold wargames and test the shield to failure in the simulation. As our VR game hasnt been made public yet, we have no staff for our space navy, so the wargames will be between you and Athena with simulated crew....} Jotunn continued briefing John as he threw him a data packet containing the official orders with Novas signature on them. They had already been authenticated and verified, and everything checked out. Even though the way the orders had been delivered assured their authenticity, protocol was still important and must be followed. Otherwise, Mnemosyne would throw an absolute hissy fit, and after experiencing one of those, nobody would want to suffer through another. That particular AI was so pedantic that she essentially redefined the word and her tongue was sharper than monomolecular scalpels! John opened the official orders and carefully read through them line by line. Even though Jotunn was giving him a top-level briefing on them, that was still just a summary and the devil was often in the details. After he finished reading, he said, Okay. Call my planning staff. Just because the crews will all be simulated doesnt mean the people at the top making the plans will be. He raised his head and looked up, then called for Athena to join him. ...... Two weeks later. The awakened had finally calmed down after The Circle had faded and nothing bad had happened. Everyone on Earth was, understandably, a little bit gunshy, as so many things had happened since the founding of the empire. So anything out of the ordinary was first seen as a threat and met with panic and fear, and the empires silence about the appearance of the runic construct in the sky had done nothing to ameliorate that fear. However, the empire had instead pushed news of the impending completion of the space elevator, and imperial citizens and noncitizens alike were now glued to their screens, watching as the tether crept the last few inches to the ground. Once it reached completion, it was met by a full battalion of GEMbots, who welded the woven carbon nanotubes to the waiting anchor point in the Olympus Minor caldera. Soon, the operation was declared a success and the head of the imperial press agency, Olivia Foster, announced that they would begin taking reservations for facility rentals in the Olympus Minor waystation and Ceres Station. Reservations were first-come, first-served, so everyone from major theme parks and hotel chains to space-focused companies like the struggling SpaceX and Blue Origin rushed to reserve space in both ends of the tether. Following close on the heels of the space elevator news was another piece of news that shocked people out of their complacency. Every imperial citizen in the top twenty cities of the pre-empire countries received a notification that the empire was hiring construction workers to build the new fortress cities. The notification surprised them, as they thought the construction wouldnt begin quite so soon, not to mention that they thought the construction would be completed by Hephaestus Heavy Industries without any outside labor. But when they considered it further, they realized it was a gesture from the empire that let them have some sweat equity in their new homes, as well as paid them to work on them instead of keeping everything flowing to the emperors pockets. Economists immediately took to Pangea to praise the initiative, as with the consolidation of positions making quite a few jobs redundant, opening up jobs in a new sectorlike constructionwould head the incipient unemployment crisis off at the pass and prevent the still-fragile economy from collapsing under its own weight before it could build a stable foundation. Chapter 519 Model Employees and Model Cities Chapter 519 Model Employees and Model Cities The announcement informed everyone that anyone interested would be employed under a temporary contract with Hephaestus Heavy Industries that came with some truly hefty perks. For twelve months, they would be employed with a salary of a thousand END per month, a per-diem meal allowance of a hundred and fifty END per month, free on-site housing, and each employee would receive a credit for a free future visit to a medical pod, should they ever require one. Not only that, they would be given priority access to advanced courses and certification as electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, welders, and so on, should they choose to take that path. And with the first full month being essentially a paid vacation while they waited for the cities foundations to be laid, it was an excellent proposition. So they would be paid 12,000 END for the entire job, all while gaining an essential, marketable skill to prevent them from being unemployed in the future. Once the realization sank in, billions of people rushed to the website to sign up for job placements with the construction crews. They knew that not everyone would be hired in the first round, but with a construction round beginning every month as the foundation crew moved from city site to city site, everyone would eventually get their turn. After all, with fifty thousand fortress cities slated for construction to house the seven billion imperial citizens, there was plenty of work to go around. Along with the hiring of construction crews, more people would be hired, or kept on, as maintenance engineers responsible for cleaning, inspection, and minor repairs of the new cities. There was no experience requirement for either position, either, just that whoever signed up must be willing to work, and work hard, to complete the tasks in the time given and up to the standard required. In the meantime, a model city had been constructed in the public simulation that they could go and tour, should they choose to do so. All of the cities would be built along the same general design; the only things that would differ were the individualized condos that people would be buying, or the detached houses for the more affluent. Leading from the first ring road to the government tower was a pristine walking boulevard separated by a long reflecting pool in the middle, which was made of black basalt rock polished to a mirror finish before being filled with clear water to twenty inches deep in order to promote reflectivity. Trees and decorative topiary bushes lined the sides of the boulevard, blocking the view of other maintenance structures and focusing visitors gaze on the government tower itself, which was a marvel of engineering that was narrow at the bottom, then gradually flared out and tapered to a point at the top, like a spear point thrusting from the ground. Mirroring the rest of the citys white and chrome design, it almost seemed to defy the laws of physics, especially compared to more normal skyscrapers that were angular and as broad at the base as they were at the roof, if not moreso. The only other difference, beyond the design itself, was that it was a windowless edifice meant to project the prestige of the empire and protect the secrets held within. Naturally, it wasnt open for public viewing. The residential buildings began at the second ring road, across the street from the park district. Those on the second ring road itself were nearly as tall as the government building, perhaps losing out in height by a hundred feet or so. That trend continued as the buildings grew further from the city center, preserving an unobstructed view for people living in the top levels of each building, until the 40th ring road, which was populated by detached houses and compounds for the ultra-rich, which was a departure from previous city planning. In the current city structures, the closer one was to the city center, the more valuable their homes would be. But in the fortress cities, it was the opposite. When the curious wanderers finally entered each towering skyscraper, they discovered that they were self-contained worlds unto themselves. The first floor was filled with luxuries and entertainment venues, essentially a large and varied shopping mall, with restaurants, movie theaters, and showrooms for entertainers and the like. Going up a level to the second floor, it was populated by necessities, like grocery stores, clinics, police stations, and so on. The third floor and above were residential floors, and each person that entered a residence saw the floor plan and interior decorations that they had chosen when they were designing their dream living spaces. It was a tour that was only made possible by being in the public simulation, and it was a resounding success. Everyone who toured the model city came out of the tour with a great anticipation for their new home. Chapter 520 War Games: Strength Chapter 520 War Games: Strength ?Deep below the Cube on Avalon Island, kilometers below the surface and near the border of the crust and mantle of the planet, was ARES Central Command. In contrast with the usual understated elegance or futuristic decor of the Terran Empire, the command structure was very, very barebones. So barebones, in fact, that it was a simple cavern thatd been dug out of the ground and had workstations placed in it for the military high command to issue orders, make plans, and track the progress of ongoing operations. Not that it really mattered, to be honest, as augmented reality could make even a cesspit look like a palatial garden. Currently within the rooms carved out of the rock, a planning session was taking place between John and the rest of the human leadership of ARES. Its strength against strength this round. Our defense fleets are limited, and we wont have reinforcements. We also have to work with simulated crews, so our orders will be followed exactly to the letter, but only to the letter, John said, his face grim. Even though he knew he was only participating in a stress test to failure for the new shield, he still wanted to put up a good showing. He was a military man through and through, but with the opponents the empire had been facing, hed had no opportunity to show his abilities; the technological advantage had made any approach other than overwhelming force the incorrect approach. This was his chance to earn his stripes, so to speak. I understand that, sir... I think we all do. So why not put on our thinking caps and figure out how we can best defend the shield if it were to be attacked in reality? The action plans we come up with for the defensive effort now can be used as our standard operating procedure in the future in the case of a last stand scenario, Lieutenant Colonel Simbarashe Sithole, the head of the ARES think tank, suggested. The second, third, fourth, and fifth waves were stopped by the outer defenses as well, though the time it took to kill each incoming wave was growing longer and longer, allowing John less and less time to replenish his active defense layers. Finally, the sixth wave broke through the outermost defensive layer and entered the second. It was quickly obliterated by the laser installations in the second defensive layer, as were the seventh, eighth, and ninth waves. But then it happened. The tenth wave arrived before the ninth wave had been completely obliterated. Almost sixty thousand attackers swarmed the second defensive layer, about fifty thousand of which were completely fresh and undamaged. Athena consolidated the two waves and made a concerted push, ramming through the second defensive layer and into the minefield of the third layer. By sacrificing the remainder of her damaged ships, she soon penetrated the minefield and was in the last layer of active defenses: the parked missiles. The makeshift maneuvering mines proved only minimally effective, despite what most science fiction novels had led John to believe. Missiles relied on initial velocity in addition to terminal maneuvering, after all, and starting from a velocity of zero allowed Athenas point defenses to completely dominate that layer. Having penetrated all the way to the shield, Athena chose to cordon off a safe path through the layered defenses and await the next incoming wave of attack vessels before beginning her final assault on the shield. In the meantime, the remaining vessels of the tenth attack wave were sent out in small groups to clear the defenses along a broad corridor. The eleventh wave would consist of over a hundred thousand attackers, after all, so they would require a lot of maneuvering room, even if they were to maintain a close formation. In the end of the first round, the shield was taken down in wave fifteen, with Johns heroic defense and sacrificial tactics sufficing to take out three entire wavesthe eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth wave. After that, he had no more fleets and was forced to order the shield to its third configuration and hunker down until the inevitable destruction came two waves later, with almost three million attacking ships constantly degrading the shield faster than the available power could repair it. Once Ceres Station exploded, the first round of the wargames was over, nearly 32 hours after the first wave began. Chapter 521 War Games: "Subtlety" Chapter 521 War Games: "Subtlety" ?The next stage of the war game, testing the shield against a determined infiltrator from the inside, was scheduled for four days later. Considering the upper echelon of ARES had all been involved in the first stage from start to finish, one day was allotted for rest before the three-day preparatory period began for the second stage of destructive testing on the shield. As John had been on defense first in the first round, he would be on offense first in the infiltration round. His task was to send a single reaper team into Ceres Station to take down the planetary shield in whatever way they could. They would be given limited intelligence to simulate spy action, including the number of defenders, types of defenses, and potential routes to the shield control stations in the planetoid-cum-space-elevator. The confidence level of the intel wouldnt be high, but it would be generally reliable to form the framework of a plan around. The briefing John received set the confidence level in the intel package at 81%, which put it in the category of actionable intel, even if only barely. Thus, a reaper team was handed the intel package and John wisely stepped back. He wouldnt be participating in the infiltration itself, and a distant commander shouldnt interfere with leadership decisions made in the field. Even though ARES had a vast advantage in real-time communications and leaders in the comfortable offices way back behind the front lines could, if they so chose, interfere in front line command decisions, the adage train like you mean to fight still applied. And since they couldnt guarantee their comms would remain stable for a multitude of reasons, it was best to leave it to the commanders on the field to execute the missions assigned to them. ...... High above the North Pole in a high polar orbit was a stealthed space station. Home to ARES special forces, it was invisible to any known means of detection; even the empire would be unable to spot it if they didnt know exactly where it was in its orbit at any given time. It was one of the most sensitive of all of ARES bases, for one simple reason: it was where reapers were made, and almost all of their tech was classified at such a high level that it would never see the light of day. The countdown timer once again ticked over to zero, and the reapers left their stealthed station via cold coasting. The most dangerous portion of the assault would be landing on the dwarf planet, so they split into two fireteams of five people, one led by Tekillya and the other led by Snakeyes, and each of them would individually land on the surface of the station in their individual IDMOs. But man proposes and god disposes, and Tekillya was taken out by a lucky shot from the point defenses on Ceres Station. Howling with rage and spitting streams of profanity, he was forcibly switched from participant to observer, a devastating mental blow to the explosion addict. Still, if he couldnt witness the fireworks first hand, he could always watch them from up close. Thus, he chose to spectate over Snakeyes shoulder as the two fireteams ran rampant through the station. The intel package had been oh so very wrong in terms of the number of defenders and layers of defense they would have to get through, and around every corner was another brutal firefight against hastily prepared fighting positions filled with what seemed like an unending stream of defenders. Intel had the defense forces listed as two ARES battalions, but Nyxtheir opponent for the infiltrationhad armed every single person on the station and thrown them behind slipshod and not-so- slipshod defensive positions along every hallway leading to the center of the station, where the critical shield installations were located. The reaper teams initial plan was to go in stealthily, using their knives to take out the patrolling defenders and relying on their technological advantage to keep them hidden. But they had overlooked one glaringly obvious flaw with that plan: they were going up against people with the same tech they had. Thus, after more than fourteen hours, the final surviving reaper made it through to the center of the station, completely out of ammunition for his weapons, out of batteries in his Pappy, and his NUTS in tatters. He was even missing his left hand, having had a grenade detonated by a lucky shot while he was still in the process of throwing it. Still, Snakeyes had made it, and he still had his explosive satchel charges. He knew he couldnt possibly make it back for exfiltration, so he armed the explosives and sprinted the last few meters between him and the nearest fusion reactor containment chamber. His last words before the fireworks show began were, SEE YA LATER MOTHERFU Reaper Team 22 had accomplished the mission in a spectacular fashion, but with no survivors. Chapter 522 Children Are Flighty Creatures Chapter 522 Children Are Flighty Creatures ?Within a day, the first hundred million new construction workers had been selected and notified to report for training. However, something seemed odd; there were no other movements on the construction side. No materials had been purchased, no construction equipment had been rented or bought, and so on, making people wonder what exactly was going on with the construction. Shouldnt there be piles and piles of materials and heavy equipment excavating the ground or laying foundations? But those questions went unasked and unanswered as people recalled that Hephaestus Heavy Industries was the company behind this megaproject. They had a history of always producing everything they needed in house, from materials to machinery, and even their staff, robots though they may be. The only difference now was the scale of the construction. HHI was known for operating under a strict veil of secrecy, sure, but how could they hide a project of this scale? And taking it a step further, where would they even begin to source the materials? They would surely require iron, steel, cement, and everything else in the neighborhood of billions of tons, and the current mining industry would find it virtually impossible to deliver in that short amount of time. One intrepid conspiracy theorist, who had been spoiled by panda-novels, even privately believed that a system apocalypse was coming and the materials would be created in VR and somehow taken out in reality by a person with a system, or perhaps a regressor, transmigrator, or reincarnator, but even he had to shake his head and abandon that train of thought. After all, something so fantastic could only happen in the fever dream of a mad author, but this was definitely reality. He could be sure of that because every time he pinched himself, he felt pain. In this specific instance, though, he was even more excited than normal. Almost every little boy went through phases where they thought of what they wanted to be when they grow up. They would fall in love with the idea of operating big construction machines and building things, or even tearing them down, and they would fall in love with the idea of being an astronaut. Or a doctor, or a wizard, or... well, the list goes on and on, really. Children are flighty creatures at the best of times, after all. But now he was actually living those dreams! He could play with all the big construction machines he wanted, and he had already left his footprints on the moon next to great men like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. And soon, very soon, he would be a real life wizard. How could he not be in a constant state of excitement? All of his childhood dreams were coming true one after another! Not only that, he was personally contributing to building not just a building, but an entire new world. And he had the good fortune of fulfilling his dreams alongside his two best friends. He sometimes laughed himself awake in the middle of the night just dreaming about it. How much longer until the equipment arrives? he asked as he jolted himself out of his own head and remembered what he was actually supposed to be doing. [Two hours, boss. Lots of red tape now that the shield is up and its been proven to be vulnerable to traitors,] his assistant replied. [The imperial space agency has to inspect everything before letting it pass through the shield, and since everythings coming from our moon base after coming from different locations from the asteroid belts, thats a lot of inspections that need to be done.] Then Id better get going. I want to be the first person they see when they get to Olympus Minor, Felix said, rubbing his hands together in excitement. I havent forgotten those monsters since I first laid eyes on them in the simulation. He rose from his seat and headed to the door in his office, then paused and called Sarah. When she answered, he said, Hey you. Care for another date? Theres something I want us to watch together. After their trip to the moon, the two friends were teetering on the edge of another kind of leap of faith and, he thought, both of them wanted to explore new ground in their relationship. Working so closely together could bring people together or tear them apart, and for Felix and Sarah, their work had only drawn them closer and closer until only the thinnest of paper was holding them back from moving from friends to lovers. Chapter 523 An Ammosexual Walks Into A Bar... Chapter 523 An Ammosexual Walks Into A Bar... Follow current novels at novelhall.com) ?A few hours later, outside the planetary defense shield. There was no sound in space, so all was silent. And there was an almost hypnotic rhythm to the dance of barely visible satellites in the emptiness between the shield and the gorgeous blue planet acting as a backdrop. The only disturbance was the glowing blue trails of ionic thrusters traveling in a convoy that stretched from the shield to the surface of the moon, where Aron had built an automated logistics and distribution base. If an observer were to stand atop Ceres Station and look up, they would see enormous vessels shaped and colored like planks of burnt wood, each of them blending in against the blackness of space save for the output of their ionic thrusters. Thousands of them were sailing in a line, headed toward the entry port of the now permanently active shield. The frontmost vessel came to a halt a few hundred kilometers outside the shield as the convoy fleet commander reported their arrival to Ceres Station and requested permission to pass through the shield and enter Earth orbit. Approved, commander. Your entry gate is 32A. Lower your shields and pass through at Mach 1 for security scans as you pass through the inspection field, the control operator broadcast on the fleet comms channel. Copy that, control. HHIS convoy 15 out, the fleet commander replied, then signaled the convoy to move out as ordered. Yes, a shrine. With candles and incense and everything. She was curious about ARES, though, and the only thing holding her back from immediately signing up was that... she didnt know if their guns and other gear was badass enough. Thus, she had decided to wait and see at least a bit of it before diving in with eyes wide shut. Basement dweller, NEET, otaku, hikkikomori.... She had been called many things due to her rather odd obsession. But despite that, she was usually a rather sociable person and had a broad network of friends who were similarly addicted to all things badass. One of whom was the man behind the bar, sighing as she continued her drunken diatribe. They could spout off facts about every gun going as far back as the Sharps rifle and enjoyed debating whether or not blunderbusses got a bad rap for being useless. And with the Akashic Record having made all of the classified specs of all that military hardware freely available, she had become something of a military historian now, not just someone who lurked on the War Thunder forum waiting for classified material to be leaked there. In fact, her AI battle maid, Alita, had even been trying to talk her into applying for a job as a military history teacher in the imperial scholastica. I dunno why youre so sad. Aint they gonna be available in VR in a few months? Didnt that... whats-her-name, the GAIA Tech lady? Anyway, didnt she announce that theyll be releasing a video game where you can use their hardware soon? So just chill. Here, have another shot, but its your last for today. Gonna have to cut you off, or else I risk the bar getting shuttered. The bartender cast his gaze across the line of empty shot glasses in front of the girl, counting them in his head and comparing the number of shot glasses to the apparent weight of the girl sitting across the bar from him. The conversation came to an abrupt halt as their glasses and phones pingged a push notification on them. It wasnt a priority notification, but they had both decided to set up constant keyword searches for certain things, and one of those had just triggered the ping. The bartenders eyes glazed over as he began reading something only he could see through his AR glasses, and the girl fumbled to pick up her phone from the bar in her drunken haze. And they werent the only ones, either; two more of the day-drinking regulars of Bugsys Bar were doing the same. All four of them were met with a livestream from Hephaestus Heavy Industries that was trending on Pangea. The bartender clicked on the link and was shocked to see a view from the ground, with dots rapidly growing in the sky. Soon, the other three joined him in his slackjawed expression as they, too, clicked on the livestream link that had generated the interest notifications on their devices. Chapter 524 Tentacle Vaccine The enormous logistics vessels continued their journey, and soon, the entire convoy had passed through the shield. They split up from there, headed to different areas of the planet before initiating their deorbit burns and dropping into the atmosphere. However, having already entered the core of Earths gravity well, they had disengaged their ion drives and were using their gravity drives to control their descent, ensuring a smooth, silent, and pollution-free journey the rest of the way. As they reached an altitude of 30 kilometers above sea level, they turned and oriented themselves toward the site of their first deliveries and rocketed off at a speed that was incomprehensible for objects of their size and mass. Each of the thousand vessels carried the machinery required to dig the foundation for five citiesindustrial atomic printers and ARCHies, primarilyand enough raw materials to lay the cities foundations to cover for the atomic printers as they dug out the secret subterranean levels. They would require another trip to deliver the materials for the construction crews to use, but that was no problem. The round trip from Earth to the logistics center in the moon base was only a few hours, after all, and if loading and unloading times were to be added, it would be completed in a day. That wouldnt inconvenience people too much, which was still a concern; even though the project was an imperial order, the company carrying it out was still a private enterprise and had to consider public opinion. After all, private enterprises, even those owned by the imperial family, had no special privileges. Soon, the logistics fleet vessels had reached their first designated delivery point. The people watching the livestream felt like their eyes would soon fall out of their sockets as they watched hundreds upon hundreds of five-story-tall robots, each of them with twenty-four eerily flexible tentacles extending from their back, leap from the side door of the hovering mothership in the sky. They carried a pair of enormous black boxes under their main arms and drifted to the surface like a falling leaf in October. They were none other than ARCHiesAutonomous Robotic Construction Helpers, another brainchild of the nerd herd in Lab City. The researchers had decided that giant robots were a mans romance and, when faced with the need for a constructor swarm carrier, had decided to go all in on the robot aesthetic. Thus, the ARCHies were born. Tall and wide enough to carry hundreds of constructor swarm queens, with manipulator arms tipped with construction equipment and configurable arm attachments for heavy construction machinery needs, they were all-purpose kings of the construction field. Sarah was stunned by the ARCHies. But... but... but why tentacles!? she asked, turning to Felix. When the three friends were younger, they had nearly simultaneously discovered anime and had become rabid consumers of it. Their obsession was so overwhelming, in fact, that they had even refurbished an old VCR and picked up bootleg anime VHS tapes from eBay and other more... specialized websites. And some of the things the three had watched had instilled a lifelong fear of tentacles in the young Sarah. Understandably so, even. Because theyre flexible enough to reach difficult-to-reach locations. After all, the robots themselves are entirely too large for more delicate work, but construction isnt all about brute force and size. So they gave them tentacles to do that part of the job, Felix soothingly said as he wrapped his arm around Sarahs shoulders and pulled her into a side hug, understanding where she was coming from with her question. But... dont you already have constructor swarms? True, we do have those. But they arent good at heavy lifting, and we need to hide the atomic printers from people. And arent those... those tentacle monsters carrying constructor swarms? Since they can carry constructor swarms, againwhy tentacles!? Sarah had goosebumps at the sight of the giant robots. Should we scrap them then? Just say the word and well feed them into printers and turn them back into stock, Felix soothed her. I... she sighed. Its fine. Ill get over it. I mean, what if we get hostile tentacle aliens coming in the future? Am I gonna just roll over and die then? Ill just treat this like a vaccine. Chapter 525 The Grand Poobah of East Westfuckistan Chapter 525 The Grand Poobah of East Westfuckistan A few days later. Rick was watching a recording of the livestream that he had smuggled out of the empire by one of his unwitting lackeys, as he called them. He had been spending quite a lot of his time compiling a list of imperial citizens who were disgruntled or dissatisfied enough with the empire that they became connected to him by a thread of belief. The faith they generated was absolutely minuscule, but that didnt matter; what mattered was that he could use them. The person he was currently using was one of his finest unwitting spies. Albert Harris was a former climate activist who was incited by the Earth Liberation Front and had a long history of protesting against fracking. He had even glued himself to the ground during one protest, which had led to the arm being amputated. But with the empire solving the problem he was so adamantly against, and even reversing the damage caused by fracking, he was left with a gaping hole where his conviction used to be. The empire had taken away the satisfaction he felt by being a righteous fighter and wreaking havoc in pursuit of his strong belief and had given him nothing that he could use to fill that hole in his being. So he switched gears and became an advocate for freedom and democracy, which had two consequences. First, he was unknowingly added to a low priority watchlist by his personal recordkeeper in the Akashic Record, and second, a thread of belief had formed that tied him to Rick, due to admiring him for having the guts to stand up to the empire, even if he still felt that the cult leader had taken the wrong path. So he switched gears and became an advocate for freedom and democracy, which had two consequences. First, he was unknowingly added to a low priority watchlist by his personal recordkeeper in the Akashic Record, and second, a thread of belief had formed that tied him to Rick, due to admiring him for having the guts to stand up to the empire, even if he still felt that the cult leader had taken the wrong path. But just that was already enough to tie the two together, a fact that Rick could use to manipulate him. And due to the strength of that admiration, it was even easier for the progenitor cult leader to access him, requiring a much lower investment of his faith mana than many other of his unwitting lackeys in the empire. Rick looked up from the tablet he was watching the recorded livestream on and, with a grave expression on his face, said, We have a year, tops, before the empire becomes almost impossible to harm. Part of the information on the USB was an overview of the new fortress cities that would be constructed, and he had realized they were designed to make attacks, or even analog communications, virtually impossible. While the tour had focused on the layout of the cities and the aesthetics of the architectural features incorporated into the buildings, Rick had been paying more attention to the security features. With the tight surveillance that had zero blind spots, he knew that secretly communicating through anything but his blessing would be impossible. We can run a contest to have people design alien races to populate the galaxy alongside humanity, both hostile and friendly. One of the benefits of crowds is that we can use them to crowdsource ideas, after all. Aron had entered what those who knew him called game face mode, where he completely fixed his focus on planning for events to come. This time in particular, he was laser focused on coming up with an idea for the game that GAIA Tech would soon be releasing. We need to ensure that its a hundred percent accurate to reality, and itll have two sidesthe tech side, and the mana side. The tech side will focus on designing starships and exploring the galaxy, exploiting resources, engaging in trade with friendly aliens, and fighting skirmishes with hostile ones. Itll be completely freeform and people will be able to do whatever they want to do in it, all while suffering the consequences of their own bad decisions and the benefits of their good decisions. Itll subtly influence people to make the right decisions, those that align with the values of the empire. The mana side, on the other hand, will be a lot like the old City of Heroes game. Therell be capes and crooks, with the players taking the role of the superheroes, or capes, and VIs will take on the role of supervillains, or crooks. We can even use it to float the be a hero academy initiative the blessings agency came up with. For NPCs, we can use the brain data and genetic information we have on people to generate realistic characters that have low-level AIs running them. Thatll make it as close to reality as possible. First and foremost, though, it needs to be Fun, with a capital F. I know your boyfriendhey! Aron shouted as Sarah stood up and punched him in the arm over his desk. Im an emperor, you know... I could have your head for that! He mock frowned at her and pretended that her punch actually hurt him. He cleared his throat and continued, Anyway, I know Felix rotted his brain reading all those LitRPGs a few years ago, but I never got into them. I just thought the game itself was never fun to play and it always came across as forced to me. So we need to make our game fun. And we can incentivize some things, like Ill direct the ministry of war to buy the warship designs players come up with, and the ministry of the interior can buy the civilian ship designs. You can also do regular tournaments and contests with prize pools for winners, or allow livestreamers, and so on, but what you absolutely Can Not Do, Aron stressed the last three words, is monetize the game through real money trading. Just make a fun game and people will flock to it.... Aron continued in that vein for another twenty minutes or so, then paused and asked, So what do you think? Chapter 526 A Not-So-Modest Proposal Chapter 526 A Not-So-Modest Proposal The Cube, Avalon Island. Finally, a moment of peace, Aron said as he lay on the roof of the enormous edifice. As utilitarian as it wasfrom the outside, at leastit was still his home and the place he was the most comfortable. No amount of busyness or rushing caused by the day-to-day operation of the Terran Empire would ever disturb his peace there; it would all just fade away and become background noise in the background to his ears whenever he was present in the real world. Even now, as he lay gazing into the sky on the rooftop, the work of the empire was endless. Helicopters, space vessels, and other vehicles continued landing and taking off around him as if he wasnt there. Maintenance robots, haulers, and other assorted purpose-built robots streamed around him like ants around a stick, carrying cargo to and fro. His small section was ignored by them, as Nova had cordoned off the area he was resting at. Yeah, some alone time is nice, every once in a while... outside the bedroom, I mean, Rina coyly responded from her place next to him, her head pillowed on his arm and her arm draped across his chest. Although shed had a little bit of alone time with him as a couple during their recent vacation, there hadnt been much. After all, it had been meant as a family trip for everyone to get to know each other better. Though they were acquainted with each other, the Rothschilds and the Michaels had only been that: acquaintances. Plus, Rina had been busy lately, spending time in the simulation practicing her mana usage. Even with knowledge downloads, practice was still required to gain proficiency in actual usage of the skills implanted into people. And Rina, though smart and talented, was no exception to that time-honored rule. Aron hummed in agreement as they cuddled on the busy rooftop, lost in their own little world. Hows your training coming? he asked after a short, companionable silence. Dont jinx it, Rina giggled and playfully hit him on the shoulder. Oh, shit, he said, looking around in mock panic. Remind me when we go back inside... I should really find a piece of wood to knock on, he laughed. (Ed note: Knocking on wood is a folk charm to counteract bad luck, specifically of the kind that comes from mentioning things that are going too well. Not sure how far the custom has spread, but its fairly prevalent in the US to say knock on wood every now and then, and actually find a piece of wood to knock on.) Arons laughter proved infectious, and, if there were to be a human observer, they would probably give the couple a weird look or two before quickly moving their gaze away after being exposed to the very public display of affection. Soon, the two calmed down and Rina moved her head from Arons arm to his chest as he played with her hair. But after moving her head to his chest, she heardand felthis heartbeat increase and his breathing hitch. Aron? Are you okay? she asked, her body stiffening in worry. She lifted her upper body and supported herself on an elbow, looking at his face with a worried expression; she hoped he was okay, as if anything were to happen to him it wouldnt just be a disaster for her, but for the entire human species. He visibly calmed himself, then took a deep breath and mustered his courage. Rina Rothschild, he said, then got up on one knee. When we first met, it was because I had a utilitarian goal in mind. I wanted to use you and was willing to offer you my aid in exchange. But once I got to know you, something started changing in me. You became a part of me, an indispensable one. Then, during your family heir competition when your brother was trying to assassinate you, I finally realized that I had feelings for you. I wanted you to walk beside me through this journey called life. Only after realizing that did I know what it meant to call another person my other, better half. He pulled a small box from his pocket, then opened it and continued, Rina Ariel Rothschild, will you marry me? Chapter 527 Cutouts and Catspaws Chapter 527 Cutouts and Catspaws ?527 Cutouts and Catspaws December 20, 1 AE. Aron, John, Gaia, Nova, and the heads of the imperial police agency, the Nyx intelligence agency, and their AI counterparts were seated around an oval conference table in Arons working office. Aron and Nova were there to receive a briefing on the imperial security situation and the progress of Operation Hunting Dog. Weve managed to take down seventeen hundred cult cells around the world, adding up to a little more than seven hundred thousand cultists. But unfortunately, weve so far failed to discover how theyre communicating with other cells and their leadership. That said, some things happened when they were captured, or a few hours later, that attracted our attention and were still investigating, Arielle Richards, the head of the NIA, reported. New novel chapters are published on What anomalies? Aron asked. He had only been monitoring the broad strokes of the investigation progress during his daily briefings, so this was the first time hed heard of anything out of the ordinary. The cult has a comprehensive system of cutouts and catspaws that makes it difficult to investigate. And we dont know yet what exactly triggers them being cut, we only know that theyre indeed being cut out either during, or shortly after their capture. Then theres the determination that the cultists have to die. Its not unheard of for brainwashed cultists to suicide on capture, but the weird thing is that the suicide rate is a hundred percent. Usually, even the most fanatical organizations have around a sixty or sixty-five percent suicide rate. The weirdest thing, though, is how the suicides take place. Theres a certain expression people have when theyve resolved themselves to die, but what were seeing on some cultists faces is a struggle. Its like they arent willing to die, but theyve received an order they cant disobey that forces them to die, no matter how unwilling they may be. Our current theory is that theres some kind of programming thats only triggered when theyre captured taking over and forcing them to their deaths. So all we know is that theyre planning something with awakeners, and we cant even be sure of that? Aron rubbed his temples. The tension of knowing that something was coming, but not what it was, had had him on edge over the past months. Not only that, he was irritated that he had so far failed to deal with the progenitor cult despite it being almost a year since the attacks had taken place. He had made a promise to his people and was so far failing to deliver on it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them and asked, You said theres a list of suspected affinities, right? Whatre those? [Anything having to do with communication and control. If nothing else, the abnormally high suicide rate of captured cultists helped us rule out pretty much everything else. So it has to be something that can make someone do things they wouldnt normally do of their own free will, whether its like a hidden program or not. If we can figure out whether it can be implanted or if it requires assuming direct control, we can narrow it down even further. [Right now, Im leaning toward a combination of the two. Being able to assume direct control of a cultist means they can also bury control programming in that cultists subconscious mind, which explains why theres nothing in their brain data,] Nyx answered. Thats... less than good, Aron mused, pondering what someone could do if they had those abilities, and how much harm they could inflict if they had sufficient planning time. The moment that thought passed through his mind, possibility after possibility arose in his thoughts. His advantage in this area was on full display; he had the full set of applicable knowledges, unlike others, who only received bits and pieces of the knowledge he possessed. All it would take was a bit of time, and he would know which affinity, or affinities, were being used, and the specifics of their usage. Ill need to deal with this personally. No one will be safe until I do, he said with a determined gleam in his eye. Unbeknownst to Rick, his fate had just been sealed. Chapter 528 Planned Obsolescence Chapter 528 Planned Obsolescence ?Aron wasted no time after sealing Ricks fate and immediately got to work. He turned to Gaia and asked, How long would it take to do a deep scan of everyone with any connection to an imperial institution? And I mean all of them, all the way from the ministers at the top to the janitors at the bottom. And ARES and the nyxians, too, for that matter. We need to know if theyve experienced any memory loss or any abnormal activities that dont have an explanation. [A day, Your Majesty. It would be faster, but to do it without alerting anyone will require them to be logged into the simulation of their own will, so Ill have the recordkeepers do it shift by shift. The employees who arent scheduled to work the day we choose will almost all be in the simulation anyway, since its still fresh and new to them so they spend all their free time in it,] Gaia replied, generating a timetable for the deep scan along with a detailed plan for its implementation. Good, start the scan as soon as possible, he said. New novel chapters are published on Then he turned to Nova and asked, Hows the progress on miniaturizing our psionic shielding? [Its ready for use, sir,] she answered. Then, together with the deep scan, lets upgrade all of the government issued access devices to include psionic shielding. We cant risk any of them being compromised in any waynot now, and not in the future. So psionic shielding tech will be integrated into everything starting with the release of second-generation public devices as well. Aron turned to Nova again and asked, Speaking of detection, hows the fine-tuning of the Henrys Eye system coming? If they had solved the problem of sensitivity and granularity, everything else would be a walk in the park. [Research is still ongoing, but weve developed an algorithm that should help narrow the search area even if the hardware isnt where we want it.] Okay, then use our current satellites to do a deep scan of Earth and highlight all of the large mana concentrations that might be a gathering point for noncitizen awakeners. Its a hail mary play, but now is the time for those, Aron ordered. He turned to Athena and continued, Have ARES on standby, as theres a chance of situations growing out of control. [Yes, sir!] Athena saluted. Have your people prepare for emergency extraction. Theyre the tip of the spear, and the tip is always the first thing people see when its coming at them, Aron said, looking at Nyx. [We have extraction plans already set,] the petite spymistress said. [Most of Operation Hunting Dog was successful, but with the suicide programming its becoming more and more obvious that we wont get the results wed hoped for out of it.] Anyone have anything else to add? Aron asked, scanning his gaze across the people in the room. He waited for a while, then continued, Okay then, meeting adjourned. I have to prepare some things on my end before I move out and get to work. He fully expected to be spending the next ten days looking through all of the mana blobs revealed by the satellite scan of Earth, so he needed to bid his family farewell. Chapter 529 It Begins Chapter 529 It Begins ?The moment the meeting ended, Hephaestus and Mnemosyne got to work. Hephaestus had already received the updated schematics for the DR gear version 2.0 and the massive industrial atomic printers inside the Cube switched from what they were doing to printing hundreds, then thousands, then hundreds of thousands of new DR gear. As most government officials used both glasses and pods, the printing and delivery would take a few days. But Mnemosynes job could immediately begin. She directed the individual librarians in the Akashic Library to begin doing immediate deep scans on the people they were monitoring. A full 80% of the government officials were immediately scanned, while the others would be scanned as they came on shift and began working. The civilian scans, however, would take some time; unless it was absolutely necessary, no orders would go out to interrupt peoples daily lives. Not only would it increase dissatisfaction and resentment among the populace, it might tip off the target and startle them into hiding deeper. But the priority list was set, and anyone with sentiments toward the empire that crossed a specific threshold, either positive or negative, would be the first to be deep scanned. Aron had also informed Sarah of the new 2.0 hardware update to the DR gear, and she began generating buzz around it. Increased clarity! Decreased mental fatigue! Higher immersion! The buzzwords released by the public relations machine of GAIA Tech were endless, and the ad campaign was in full swing. Meanwhile, Gaia also released a memo to the government employees saying that they would be given the DR 2.0 gear for free as a government perk. What went unsaid was that anyone who chose to continue using their original hardware would still be strictly monitored, and soon replaced. It wasnt just a security issue, but rather one of mentality; the empire wouldnt be well served by workers that disdained the new and clung to the old. This chapter is updated by Technology advances had been sped up to the point that keeping up with it was one of the core responsibilities of the uppermost echelons of society, let alone the government. Athena wasnt worried about Aron in the slightest; she knew that, with his current abilities, while he may not be the most outstanding offensive powerhouse, there was nothing on the planet that would be capable of even mussing up his hair. She even agreed with him that the reaper and aegis teams were completely unnecessary, though she also saw Rinas point in that emperors should have a certain amount of dignity and not be forced to do some mundane tasks for themselves. Got it. Lets try to keep some of them alive, then. One of the aegis members handed him a briefcase. He opened it and pulled out a small black cube, then closed the briefcase and handed it back to the person that had given it to him. He closed his eyes and pressed the cube against his forehead, where it dissolved into a nanite colony and spread across his face like ferrofluid. The nanite colony rippled for a minute or so before finally settling down into a featureless black mask. Aron reached up and pulled off the mask, revealing a different, yet still handsome, face beneath it. Silence reigned in the shuttle, as the realization finally hit home among the reapers and emperors aegis that the emperor was indeed going into the field and would be actively participating in the cult cell takedown. At first, they had thought they were there to protect him as he spectated from the side, but after listening to his conversation with Athena, it seemed... they would be the spectators instead? But something seemed rather off to them. From the display in their headgear, Aron had no defensive gear on. No armor, no pappy, nothing. He was wearing normal clothing and wasnt even carrying a weapon! How was he going to fight? Then it dawned on themhe must be armed and armored to the gills, it was just that their detection methods couldnt penetrate the masking of his advanced tech. After all, he was the one that invented everything, so of course it only made sense that he would keep the best things for himself. At his level, it didnt even count as selfishness, but would rather be considered good sense. He was an emperor, and his person SHOULD be inviolable! Thus, the reapers and emperors aegis settled down and performed the final checks and last-minute maintenance on their gear. Though the maintenance was unnecessary, as ARES gear was printed fresh before each mission and recycled afterward, it was still a time-honored pre-battle tradition that the superstitious armed forces would never abandon. Chapter 530 Storm Warning Chapter 530 Storm Warning ??In orbit above Avalon Island. Arons stealth shuttle had reached apogee and was about to descend. Its target: Shelton, Washington. He called up the reports by the operatives who had been assigned there and began reading them during the short trip. Jason Todd and Catherine OShaugnessy signaled that they had found a cult base a few months prior. Not just a cell, but a full-blown base. They hadnt been able to infiltrate it, but they were positive that the entire gated community of Hartstene Pointe was a disguised cultist base. Once they had discovered that, theyd opted to lay low and continue their covers as Tim and Siobhan Roberts, fully immersing themselves in their respective roles. Months later, the call to go to ground had gone out, and the two had been living in their underground facility since. On the surface, they had gone to care for an ailing relative, even going so far as to hire one of their suspected cultists to housesit for them until their return. But instead, they had parked their old truck in the Seatac Airports long-term parking garage and returned to their base via their own stealth shuttle, ESV-228-01, now called Bob. There was no rhyme or reason behind why it was named Bob, the two operatives just had a silly sense of humor. Aron quietly snickered at the name, then continued reading. The entire town of Shelton was also compromised by the cult. The town council, the chief of police, the two judges in the courthouse, and even the school board had all become card-carrying members of the cult of the progenitor. Thus, during his assault on the cult compound, he would have no backup from the local government, nor any cooperation. The best he could hope for was that they would hunker down and stay out of his way. [Beginning deorbit burn,] the shuttles VI announced. The interior of the vessel was just as stable as if it was sitting in a docking cradle, thanks to the gravity plating, but it had already oriented itself nose down and begun a rapid descent past the Karman Line. Aron set aside the file and his expression grew grave. He began constructing a rune, one that was similar to the planetary defense shield he had just put in place earlier in the year, anchoring it on the shuttle itself. As it was much, much smaller than the planetary version, it wasnt nearly as noticeable and nobody even batted an eyelash at it. [ETA: thirty seconds,] the ships VI announced. The chief opened the drawer and pulled out the false bottom, then picked up the ringing burner phone. Something must have happened; his handlers would never contact him through anything but the secure landline on his desk. Aunt Helens birthday party is in a few hours. Are you still coming? the person on the other end of the phone said. The chief paled for a moment and his heart pounded like it wanted to escape his chest. Oh! I almost forgot, he said. Do you need me to bring anything? Sure, bring a couple cans of baked beans and some beer. The weathers nice today so we decided to have a cookout instead of taking her to the country club at Lake Limerick for dinner. Things were worse than the chief had imagined; not only did the empire know about them, but their strike teams were already on their way. Okay. Ill stop by the store on my way and bring a 12-pack of Sam Adams. How many people are coming? Oh, probably twenty or so, the voice replied. Okay then. So two cases of Sam Adams and say... four cans of beans. Got it! Should I come by early to help set up? the chief asked. Sure, be here in an hour and you can help decorate, the voice replied. Alright. See you then, the chief said, and hung up. He had a lot to do and little time to do it in. Chapter 531 The Thunder Rolls Chapter 531 The Thunder Rolls ??Just a few streets away from the courthouse in Shelton was an irish pub. To tourists and locals, it was a gathering place for people to drink their worries away, eat ethnic cuisine, and, on St. Patricks Day, celebrate by gulping down cheap beer with even cheaper green dye added. But to the cult of the progenitor, it was a beginning. Its basement was where Rick had first begun preaching his ideal of a new utopia where the progenitors would live hand-in-hand with the human descendants theyd left behind when they left to explore the vast universe. It was a shrine, a place of pilgrimage, and the closest thing to a holy site that the cult had, and it was why not just one, but two of Ricks inner circle were present in such a flea speck town that was only included on maps out of a sense of obligation. One of them was hidden, masquerading as the chief of police, and the other was the Hartstene Pointe Maintenance Associations vice president. The phone on the police chiefs desk rang, but sadly, the chief had already left. He was on his way to the basement of the pub, where he would rally with the cult members in town and arm themselves for a confrontation with the incoming raid. He was under no illusion that the cult forces would survive, but when cornered, even the mildest rabbit would bite. However, had he been in his office to answer that phone call, things might have perhaps played out differently. But he wasnt, so his fate was sealed. He had about forty young, strong cultists, and another fifty or sixty old and young who were willing to sacrifice themselves, if necessary. Whether they actually would sacrifice themselves in the end was a question the chief was unwilling to ask himself, in fear of the answer, but at least they claimed they were. And that was all that mattered at this junction. Theyre coming, hurry! he said, waving the stream of people into the pub as people walking by curiously looked on, wondering what was happening. Can we make it through this, chief? a panicky-looking youth asked as he passed the chief. The chief only looked at him with a grim expression, then slowly shook his head. Not likely, son. But at least we can spit in the devils eye while he drags us down to hell, he solemnly said, then continued counting people and waving them past him into the pub. The young man, already on the verge of full-blown panic, paled and fell weeping to the ground. Then a purple light flashed in his eyes and he stilled, then robotically climbed to his feet and trudged into the pub. [Targets have congregated and are grouped up. Suggest indirect fire.] Roger that, the reaper team leader said. He marked the pub on the battle map and waved his hand at the heavy and demolition experts in the team. No words needed to be said; they had access to the same information as the team leader did and immediately took a knee. A firing tube extended from each of their backpack- mounted indirect-fire modules, loaded with a single round. The heavy had a bunker-buster that would penetrate three meters into the ground before rapidly filling the space it fell through with a mixture of jet fuel and methane and detonating in a single fireball that would collapse everything around it thanks to the vacuum left behind after it petered out. The demolition expert, on the other hand, had a more conventional high explosive penetrator round. It would fly over the heads of its target and explode, driving shrapnel into the ground much like a shotgun blast would into a target in front of it. Ready, the two men reported, then waited for the fire order. The squad AI, after confirming that civilian casualties would be kept to an absolute minimum through Overwatch, gave the team leader the green light. Fire, fire, fire, the man ordered, and two streaks left two launch tubes. The firers stood and rejoined the rest of the team, then everyone continued on their way to their destination. Chapter 532 And the Lightning Strikes Chapter 532 And the Lightning Strikes ?An hour before the strike in Shelton. Aron walked through the hatch into the underground facility constructed by Jason and Catherine. He looked around in approval, thinking, This is a good aesthetic, but it needs a little something... extra. He gestured for his escort to halt, then bent down and, perhaps in a fit of chuunibyo, clapped his hands and placed them on the ground. Unseen by his unblessed escort, a runic circle spread out from his hands and the floor, walls, and ceiling began changing. Line after line dug itself through the imperial steel alloy structure, leaving behind a mystifying, maze-like pattern. The lines etched themselves throughout the entire base for an entire five minutes before the etching process was completed. Once they stopped, the runic circle under Arons hands began pulsing like a heartbeat, each pulse coming faster and faster as the process continued. Finally, the pulse was so fast it appeared that it was a solid light, then rune after rune flew out of it, traveling down the etched corridors in runic sentences like obedient soldiers marching in files. It took another twenty minutes for the runic imprinting process to complete while Aron and his escort stood motionless at the end of the southern main walkway. Then his runic heart sped up as intent-laden mana flooded out of it, down his arms, out of his palms, and into the engraved runes, turning them white as the intent passed through them. Another ten minutes passed before the process was complete. Aron rose to his feet and looked at the glowing, circuit-like pattern etched in the wall with satisfaction. He dusted his hands and said, Lets go. Jason and Catherine, having long shed their cover identities as Timothy and Siobhan Roberts, exchanged a glance before Catherine asked, Pardon my curiosity, Your Majesty, but... whats that? She pointed at the wall, which was faintly glowing even to her, who had yet to awaken at all. New novel chapters are published on That? Aron looked at her and grinned. Just decoration. You cant have high tech without glowy bits, Miss OShaugnessy. Catherine froze, her mind practically broken at the thought of the emperor of all humanity doing something so... so whimsical. She wasnt quite sure how she should react and her brain was on the verge of a shutdown. [Sigh, youll get used to him,] Nyxs voice whispered in Catherines ear through her implant. At heart, Aron was still young, and he did occasionally act his age. Catherine jogged and caught up to the rest of the group as they entered the control room at the center of the underground facility. Aron looked at his emperors aegis team leader and said, Collect the runners and bring them here. Quietly. And dont be seen. Yes, Your Majesty, the aegis team leader said, then the team moved out. Its a shame Rina isnt here, Aron sighed after his emperors aegis left. Jason and Catherine traded glances, then Catherine asked, Your Majesty? You need four people to play spades, and theres only three of us here. Neither of the operatives knew what to say to that and were dumbstruck, caught between laughter and tears. ...... Commander Yamaguchi Takeyama and his team reached the marina and hid themselves, waiting for the fleeing cultists to arrive. By his estimate, they would have about a seven minute wait. Eight minutes later, the first fleeing cultist came into view. Takeyama shook his head and gestured to the aegis member nearest the cultist to take action. Soon, the cultist was rendered unconscious and disappeared into the shadow beneath a decorative hedge. The process repeated itself until seventeen cultists were captured. Takeyama looked up and asked the air, Update, Overwatch? [No escapees remaining, Captain,] the AI reported. Roger that, were headed back to base. [Copy, return to base. Overwatch out.] Chapter 533 The End of the Beginning is the Beginning of the End Chapter 533 The End of the Beginning is the Beginning of the End (Ed note: Trigger warning. Torture and gore.) The emperors aegis was the best of the best of Aegis, and well deserving of their title as the most elite special force under the ARES umbrella. Though their training focused primarily on defense, a wise man once said that the best defense was a good offense. Of course, nobody knew exactly who first said that, and sports coaches and military strategists around the world all laid claim to it coming from one of their forebears, but whoever said it was still an incredibly wise man. Thus, the emperors aegis was also unparalleled in all areas. They could perform counterintelligence operations with the grace of a nyxian, special military operations with the ease of a reaper, and were still the strongest shield standing between Aron and those who would wish to target him. So capturing a few terrified cultists was as easy to them as drinking water or snapping their fingers. Twenty minutes after they had captured the last fleeing cultists, they returned to the underground base, where the prisoners were put in the holding cells for Aron to experiment on. ...... Aron stepped into the prison section of the facility and glanced around. On the surface, it looked no different from the rest of the base, with softly glowing runic lines in incomprehensible fractal patterns on the walls, but these ones were different. They had been laid with the intent to detect, trap, and trace any mana coming from any source that wasnt him. He stepped into the first cell, where a naked man was secured to the wall with clamps on his upper and lower limbs and around his neck, chest, and waist. Aron waved his hand and a refresh rune flew to the prisoner, waking him from his induced slumber. The man looked around, turning his head from left to right, then realized he had been captured. Please, please, he begged, I didnt do anything. I swear, I didntAAAAAAAGH! He twitched as twenty thousand volts passed through his body from the restraints. Tasers ranged from fifty to eighty thousand volts, depending on the manufacturer and whether they were intended for civilian or government use. However, tasers would often not only incapacitate their target, but would render them unconscious as well. Therefore, the voltage Aron was applying to the imprisoned cultist was much, much lower; it would inflict pain, while leaving no lasting damage and without rendering him unconscious. What do you want!? the man screeched, his voice breaking. I want to see what happens, Aron calmly replied. Wh-what happens when? Five words had decided the fate of everyone on Harstine Island that wasnt an imperial citizen. ...... The LEAs in the woods surrounding the house where Tim and Siobhan Roberts had lived deactivated their optical camouflage and formed up in neat ranks outside the entrance to the base. Shortly afterward, Aron, followed by a pair of operatives and his emperors aegis, stepped out. They were all wearing suits of mechanized power armor, a step up from the NUT suits and designed for frontal combat rather than special operations. Aron took a knee and pressed his palms to the ground again, silently modifying the shield he had placed around the community earlier. When he had first carved it, it was set to allow entry, but no exit. Now, it would deny both entry and exit, as well as shrink and expand as he willed on the fly. And without a word, they moved out at a bounding run, quickly reaching a speed of 100 miles per hour as they rushed directly toward the clubhouse, where nearly a thousand enemiesor rather, unwitting targetsawaited their arrival. Due to the need to gather intelligence from the cultists, the LEAs and humans alike were armed with charge rifles, charge pistols, and stun batons. No lethal weaponry had been issued and none would be allowed, as they were almost a hundred percent sure that one of the cults leaders would be among the people they were set to apprehend. Not even five minutes passed before they found the first sentry line, which was manned by two middle-aged men in hunting camouflage. Two shots were fired, one by Catherine and the other by one of the emperors aegis members, and the sentries were neutralized without being given an opportunity to report. A LEA stepped out of formation and shackled the cultists, then sprinted back, leaving two unconscious, shackled people behind for the following maintenance bots to collect and bring back to the base. Another two minutes passed and the imperial assault team reached the main body of the cultists. 263 imperials collided with over eleven hundred cultists in a shockingly swift, one-sided massacre. Less than three minutes later, 263 imperials still stood, surrounded by 1181 unconscious cultists. Aron ordered a squad of LEAs to circle the community center and take out the remaining sentries, then placed a small black cube on the ground. The cube dissolved into a cloud of nanites and sank into the ground, where it would spread out and scan for any underground hideouts the cultists may have. Meanwhile, the remaining LEAs and the two operatives spread out to look for any camouflaged entrances that might lead to a cultist hideaway. Eight minutes later, the swarm VI of the nanite colony reported that they had found a small underground chamber with six cultists in it. One adult and five teenagers, who were suspected to be awakeners. Aron sneered, then shrank the shield to just the area around the community center. Closing his eyes, he drove his consciousness deep into his mana heart and triggered it to absorb all of the mana inside the shield, save for the mana that was naturally present in his people and protected by his own runic mark. As the mana drained from the surroundings, a strange phenomenon occurred. Everything was drained of color and appeared in greyscale, like a black-and-white movie. Then, it began wavering like a mirage before ultimately disappearing. Soon, a perfectly hemispherical crater was all that was left where a quaint community center had once existed. In the middle of the crater were six cultists, and surrounding them were 240 LEAs. Six charge pistol shots were fired, six people were shackled, and the assault on Hartstene Pointe was over.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n)) Chapter 534 Neutron Soup, But Not Much Chapter 534 Neutron Soup, But Not Much Arons eyes flashed gold as he looked at the unconscious cultists in the crater. He noticed a purple worm wriggling its way out of the eye of one of the awakeners and attempting to flee. But since his shield blocked all mana from passing through in both directions, the purple worm could only bang against it like a fly on a windowpane. He stepped off the rim of the crater and slid down the steep side. Why did everything disintegrate when I absorbed all of the mana? he asked Nova. {Have you heard of the saying that all matter is mostly emptiness, sir?} she replied. Refresh my memory. {Atoms are over 99.9% empty space. If they were blown up to the size of a football stadium, the nucleus would be the size of a marble in the center, and the electrons would be microscopic specks of dust orbiting around the outside of the stadium in the parking lot. {So when mana is injected into matter, it fills that empty space up, like turning the entire stadium into a huge swimming pool, or perhaps part of an ocean. Normally, if you pull out a cup of water from it, itll just flow in from somewhere else and the total amount of water is rebalanced. {But what you did was artificially divide out a certain amount of water, then forcibly extract it. When you did that, everything else collapsed and the electrons met the protons in an annihilation reaction, leaving only the neutrons of the atoms. So somewhere in that crater, there are pure neutrons, though there arent enough of them to really have an effect on their surroundings,} Nova explained. Thats... Aron began, but trailed off at a loss for words. So if I were to drain all the mana out of a saturated star, I could collapse it into a neutron star? {Theoretically, yes, sir.} He was probably just brushing us off. Its likely something that only he can activate, so theres no real need to tell us the details. After all, if we cant use it without him, its useless to us, isnt it. And heyarent you gonna follow him? she asked. No, we have to finish cleaning up here. Hes got the aegis on his tail anyway, and isnt there still a reaper team in town thatll go after him, too? Besides, the base is ours. Im sure well get orders from higher, he pointed a finger up to the sky, if we really need to move out. So Im just gonna stay put and wait for orders. Ill count it as part of the 98%. The 98%? Catherine tilted her head quizzically. What do you mean? Havent you ever heard the saying that the military is 98% boredom and 2% pants-wetting terror? Well... I have now. Jason turned to the LEAs and pointed at one of them. You, take your squad and bring these cultists back to the cells in the base. Id say dont be seen, but.... He looked around. I dont think theres anyone left to see us. So make it fast, theyll probably be waking up soon and we need them shackled before that. Dont forget the mouth guards, either. I know biting off tongues wont kill people, but itll make it hard for them to talk and theres no sense in wasting resources to heal them in our medical pods if we dont have to. Finished giving orders, the reaper turned and strode off, heading back to base. Wait for me! Catherine coquettishly said as she jogged up to him and wrapped herself around him like an octopus. If anyone were there to see that other than the LEAs, they might have wondered if the two had actually fallen for each other. But that was something that no one but Jason and Catherine knew, and they certainly werent going to tell anyone. Shortly after the operatives and LEAs left, a constructor swarm arrived and rebuilt the community center from the ground up exactly as it was before. Imperial technology certainly gave an entirely new meaning to the term cleaning up. Chapter 535 Contingency Plans Chapter 535 Contingency Plans Visit for the best novel reading experience I wonder how skilled this guy is with his affinity, Aron thought as he broke past Mach eight. He was still tracking the little purple worm as he flew, even though it hadnt stopped accelerating yet. I cant afford to be mind controlled. The empire cant afford it.... Mind control was a truly problematic ability, one that Arons currently structured shield rune wouldnt be able to fully protect him against until he took the time to adjust it and train with the new runic structure. Habit was both good and bad, and in the heat of battle, he really didnt want to be using new runes that he hadnt practiced with. The same could be said for the mind control tech that was on him, as there was a slight possibility that it would fail, and no matter how low the possibility is, it is not a good idea. Besides, he didnt have time to modify it now regardless; the worm he was tracking was still speeding up. Everything would depend on whether or not the mana had taught Arons target. He certainly hadnt released any information on how to use law mana or higher, so the person he was tracking down must have an esoteric affinity. And that likely meant there would be unforeseen issues during the upcoming fight. But despite Arons erratic thoughts and the other things going on in his mind, his eyes still glowed golden as he focused on the purple worm in the distance. If he hadnt absorbed every bit of mana in the shield earlier, he wouldnt have been able to distinguish it from the background rainbow of colored motes in his vision; in fact, he was already having difficulty spotting it now, even knowing it was there. There you are, he murmured under his breath as he watched the worm fly into a tall office building and not come out the other side. He came to a full stop and hovered over the office building, calling up the map of his surroundings to figure out where he was. If there were imperial citizens around, he couldnt just go in guns blazing. He increased his altitude to the edge of the stratosphere as he looked at the map. Amarillo, eh? It was like someone flipped a switch and everything fucked off to somewhere else, leaving the people behind in the lurch! Theyre getting closer and closer to me. I need more time! Just a few more weeks and everything will be in place, he muttered as Katrina came into his room with a glass of water and two pills. He took them from her and swallowed the pills dry, then guzzled the water. She kept her head lowered and only looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She was worried about his mental health; lately, he had been talking to himself more and more and relying on pharmaceutical aids more than was remotely healthy. At least hes keeping his illegal drug habit under control, she thought. But I dont know how much of that is his self control and how much is just the lack of availability after the empire swept up all the drug traffickers.... Rick looked up at her and shouted, Get the fuck out! He threw the empty water glass at her in a momentary rage. Go make yourself fucking useful somewhere! Katrina could only nod and quietly leave the room. Then she heard him shout through the door, And clean up this fucking mess! A few minutes later, the painkillers kicked in and Rick could be considered about 90% recovered after his most recent body hop. Though he didnt know it, the turbulence hed experienced when pulling his consciousness back into his real body had been caused by the worm bashing itself against Arons shield, as well as the mana trace the emperor had left on it to ensure he didnt lose it. He turned on the desk light and pulled open the small filing cabinet full of neatly sorted contingency and emergency plans his think tank had come up with, then pulled out a folder and opened it, skimming over the contents. As he read, lost in thought, he started tapping the desktop with his knuckle in a rhythmic fashion, almost like he was a metronome keeping time for a struggling music student during their practice session. I have to rush some plans forward and prepare some leverage in case my base is discovered. Itll give us time to evacuate and move to the backup facility, or at least most of us.... He closed his eyes and entered the purple world, looking for a specific thread of belief. Chapter 536 Emergency Measures Chapter 536 Emergency Measures Amarillo, Texas. In the Oakdale neighborhood of Amarillo was a shabby, dilapidated one-bedroom house. Its windows were boarded up and the outside was covered in graffiti, and the front lawn had overgrown with weeds until it spilled out over the curb and onto the street. Inside, a young man was sleeping on a pile of old U-Haul moving blankets. He opened his eyes, a purple glint flashing through them, and sat up. He pulled an old flip phone out of his pocket and called the imperial police agencys non-emergency number, then reported that a homeless person was squatting in the house he was in, then sat back to wait for the police to arrive. This chapter is updated by A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. The young man opened the door and, as he had expected, two men in neat imperial police uniforms were standing on the porch. The taller of the two officers gave a friendly smile and said, Hello, sir. Im Officer St. Pierre, and this is my partner, Officer Mendoza. We received a report that someone here may be having some issues with housing. May we come in and have a chat? Ah, um... sure, thanks for coming, I guess? the young man replied. Oh, rightIm uhh, Dave. Nice to meet you, the young man nervously stammered and stretched out his hand for a handshake. Officer St. Pierre returned the handshake, but the moment their hands touched, Daves eyes flashed purple again, followed by the same purple glint passing through the police officers eyes. They returned to normal fast enough, though, that Officer Mendoza didnt catch the abnormality. Dave turned to Officer Mendoza and repeated the process, then both officers stood before him like statues with blank looks on their face. {The emperors aegis is fifteen miles outside town with their stealth fields engaged awaiting further orders. ARES is on high alert and the Amarillo cube called a full force recall ten minutes ago. Police and fire have been notified and are on standby. Theyre calling in all of their members who arent already on shift as we speak,} Nova answered. Suggestions? We need to take out all of the targets at the same time I deal with the cult leader, he asked. He was currently focused on how to kill the cultists, rather than capturing and parading them in front of the empire for a public trial and sentencing. But that said, the thousands of awakeners in the city would provide a substantial number of troops in the empires penal legion, so if they could be captured without risk of civilian casualties, he would much prefer it. {How about snipers?} Can we get enough of them here in such a short time? There are thousands of targets and they all need to be taken out at the same time. {Athena says she can have them all mobilized and present in twenty minutes.} And what about the penal legion? If we kill them all, wouldnt that be a waste? {They cant be saved, sir. Who can guarantee that whatever programming theyre under wont erupt in the future? Its better to wipe them out now than have them explode down the line and wreak havoc.} Aron thought about it and conceded the point. He already knew that they would have a problem with supervillains, and cutting these thousands of awakeners out now would mean fewer problems in the future, but he still sighed at the waste. Okay. Tell them to be fast about it. Ill use that time to make my final preparations, Aron said, his expression grave. He was about to execute quite a few people without trials, and he felt that it should be handled with the gravity and solemnity it deserved. (Ed note: Only one chapter today. Next is a two-parter, and we dont want to leave you hanging off a cliff.) Chapter 537 Downfall (part 1) Chapter 537 Downfall (part 1) ?Nova, Aron called out. [Yes, sir?] Can you reprogram the surveillance nanites to search for any explosive devices and disarm them? he asked. [Yes. Theyve already spread through the entire city, so detection will be easy. But theyll have to gather to disarm, wont that mean we dont have real-time eyes on all of the targets?] Nova said. It depends on how many there are. If theres just a few of them, we can call the bomb squad for disposal. If there are a lot, well have to use the nanites. [Understood, sir. Ive reprogrammed them to search for explosive devices, the new scan will take a little over four minutes.] Aron nodded and turned over on his back, gazing up at the sky above him. It was daytime, so he couldnt see the stars, but Nova helpfully overlaid them on his vision, knowing his habits as she did. The next few minutes passed in silence, then Nova said, [The scan is complete. The nanites found four explosivesone on the I-40/I-27 interchange, one at the airport, one at Carver Elementary School, and one at Amarillo College.] Have you informed the police to send out disposal experts? [Yes, sir.] Good. Retask the nanites for surveillance and monitoring again. [Right away, sir.] ...... ARES Reaper Command. Athena was rather satisfied with the empires armed forces. Not only was each and every trooper multiple cuts above any military ever created in the history of humanity, but she even had the best special forces under her. Every single reaper was trained to a high standard, and all of them could quite easily be called a one-man army. They were proficient in every aspect of warfare, from tactics and strategy all the way down to individual skills. Thus, each and every one of them was a highly qualified sniper. The only thing that the official snipers in each team had that the others didnt was a personality profile that fit being a sniping specialist. Just like the demolitions experts all enjoyed the spectacle of big booms, sniping specialists enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and taking down high-value targets unaware. Very well, maintain course and speed. Inform higher that were en route and on target. [Yes, captain.] [Yes, captain.] The landing operation a few minutes later went without issue, and soon, the Beowulf reached Amarillo and the reapers spread out over its flight deck. Each was assigned a target marked with tracking nanites. A few hundred of them had obscured, or otherwise unreachable targets, so they switched out their pulse rifles for charge pistols and monomolecular-edged combat knives, then leaped off the deck of the Beowulf, engaging their optical stealth systems as they fell to ground. Their strikes would have to be done in a much more up close and personal fashion. Within minutes, all of the reapers were in position and ready to strike. All they needed was the final go/no-go order from Aron himself. ...... [Everyone is in position, sir. Theyre just waiting on your orders,] Nova informed Aron. Then I guess I shouldnt disappoint them, Aron said, then closed his eyes and fell from the sky. He oriented himself head down and fixed his eyes on the Fisk building, where Rick was currently in his penthouse office. The freefall from the stratosphere took three minutes, during which time Aron split his focus and crafted two equally intricate runic circles. One of them, he called the phasing rune. When activated, it would allow him, and anything within three inches of him, to phase through solid matter. The other, he called the disintegration rune. It would disintegrate anything and everything around it that wasnt protected by a mana shield. Aron reached the window of Ricks office. Begin the operation, he ordered, then stepped through the sealed window. Over two thousand gunshots rang out from kilometers away as he walked up behind Rick, whose consciousness was currently absent from his body, and said, This is a much easier ending than you deserve, you terrorist scum. Then he rested the palm of his hand on the top of Ricks head and triggered the disintegration rune. Ricks body broke down layer by layer, from the top of his skull. His hair went first, followed by his skin, then what little fat he had on his body, his eyeballs.... Soon, Rick had completely been reduced to nothingness. Aron nodded in satisfaction, then walked to the center of the building, a disintegration rune around him ensuring that everything vanished when he came into contact with it. Soon, he reached the center of the building and closed his eyes. The disintegration rune around him rapidly grew until it overlapped the edges of the building itself, and Aron let himself freefall. The Fisk building, and all of the people within, were reduced to complete nothingness in the time it took him to fall from the top floor to the bottommost subbasement. [Sir, we have a problem,] Nova told him when he reached the ground. Chapter 538 Downfall (part 2) Chapter 538 Downfall (part 2) ?Whats the problem, Nova? Aron asked. [Our Henrys Eye sensors detected a very large surge of mana headed west from your location. It stopped in a local store a few miles away,] she replied. Possibility of a false positive? [Low, sir.] Ill check it out, Aron said, then rose into the air and rocketed away in the direction of the mana surge. ...... Outskirts of Amarillo, Texas. Greg Bauer hummed as he paced up and down the aisles in the Tractor Supply Co. in Amarillo. He was a farmer, but today, he was buying things that no farmer needed. Or rather, things that no farmer needed in the amount he was buying them in. Every now and then as he came across something, his eyes would flash purple and, without thinking, he would dump it in his cart. He had already filled three carts and parked them at the front of the store for later checkout. It was to the point now that the employees had started giving him weird looks when they passed him while doing their routine tasks. Suddenly, he grit his teeth and collapsed over his cart, moaning in agony as his eyes rapidly flashed between purple and their normal green. His body trembled as his jaw locked shut, preventing him from making more noise than a slight whimper. Inside Gregs mind, a war was happening; Ricks consciousness was attempting to fully take over his body and make it his own! Visit for the best novel reading experience Soon, he stopped shaking and stood normally. His face twisted into an enraged expression and, uncaring of the dirty looks from the cashiers, he stomped out of the store and into the parking lot, where he climbed into his truck and closed his eyes. Greg had lost the battle and become Rick. God fucking DAMN IT! he cursed, pounding his fists against the steering wheel. All of that effort, all of my work, all gone! It was filled with the shape of faces and all of them screaming and wailing in fear, agony, and protest as they were sucked deeper into the whirlwind. Many more face-shaped blobs of purple mana were streaming in from the distance as well. What the... Aron began, then trailed off as he stared at the thing that was so far out of his experience that he didnt even know where to begin. He dropped to the ground next to the drivers side door of the pickup and looked at the man inside. He was an older middle- aged man with white hair and a bit of paunch. But Aron recognized him immediatelyhe was the cult leader! Though he had no idea how the man had accomplished it, he had stolen someone elses body and was undergoing a very, very rapid awakening process. Aron couldnt allow that to continue, so he snapped his fingers and a shield extended from him and surrounded the truck. It blocked the whirlwind outside of it and the new cult leaders body within was forced to wake up; the time since the process had begun was far too short, so he had yet to fall into a protective coma. Its... its you... tyrant! the cult leader panted, agony still etched in his expression. Call me whatever you want, I dont care, Aron said. Any last wishes? Theyre... coming... Rick said. And you... you cant... hahahahaha! I cant what? Aron asked. Rick said nothing, only continued maniacally laughing as blood spewed from his mouth. He soon calmed himself, however, and tilted his head back to look up at the sky, then screamed, I REGRET! He continued screaming his fury and hate to the heavens, even as his body began to crack and flake off in the breeze. He screamed until his vocal cords bled, until his lips, teeth, and tongue turned to dust. Even after he could make no more sound, he raised his fist to the sky as his body crumbled to ash in the drivers seat of the pickup truck he had been sitting in. Aron gazed at the ash for a moment, a complex expression on his face. Then he turned his gaze upward, where the purple whirlwind still remained outside his shield. The face-shaped blobs had stopped coming to join the whirlwind and the vortex continued turning in the air, though more slowly now. Yyyyyyoooouuuu wwwwwwiiiiiiinnnnnnnn... ffffffffooooorrrrrr nnnnnnnoooooooowwwwww... the vortex murmured to Aron, growing more faint as it spoke. Ill win next time, too. Now begone, he replied, waving his hand as if he was shooing away a fly. Soon, everything returned to normal, leaving Aron alone in the parking lot with his thoughts. Chapter 539 Now Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Program Chapter 539 Now Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Program ?Katrina Markov was sitting at a desk in a small, windowless room that had been used as a janitors closet before. To her left was a door and on the wall in front of her was a cork board filled with pictures, sticky notes, and small pieces of crumpled paper, napkins, and discarded cups. All of the items pinned to the board were connected by red strings; it looked like a conspiracy theorists dream. Shed had a bad feeling all day and needed to calm down. Looking at her evidence board was the way she took her mind off of problems and bad feelings, so shed been in the room ever since Rick had retreated to his office with strict orders to leave him undisturbed. Who... who did it? she thought. Shed been investigating the murderer of her husband and child for four years, and had uncovered what she believed to be the tip of a conspiracy iceberg. Whether or not it actually was a conspiracy was debatable, to say the least, but at least she believed it to be one. What still eluded her, however, was the person at the top. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her chest and couldnt help but gasp. What was that? she thought. She was in good health and still young at only 28 years old. She controlled her diet very well and exercised daily, and there was no history of heart disease in her family... so why did it feel like someone just stabbed her with an icepick? The sharp pain came again, more intense this time. She grabbed her chest and bent over in her chair, panting. No, I have to get to the doctor, she thought. But before she could stand, the pain came a third time. This time, rather than a piercing sensation, it was as if something important had been violently ripped out of her chest. She felt something flowing out of her, slowly at first, but speeding up as the seconds inexorably ticked past her. She tried to stand, but fell to the floor and could only crawl toward the door of the small room she was in. As she crawled, her skin began cracking like shattered porcelain. She looked down at the fine web of cracks on the back of her hand and screamed. She continued screaming and crawling even as she slowly crumbled, as her arms and legs dissipated, until her vocal cords disappeared. They grabbed their kits and sprinted to the prison, weapons held at the ready. But when they got there, the sight they saw was... disturbing, to say the least. The cult members they had captured were dissolving into sparkling particles that drifted in the air and fell to the ground before disappearing. They looked at each other again, for a long minute, until Catherine broke the silence and said, So... how are we supposed to report that? ....... Minutes later, on television screens around the globe, a breaking news cutin began. We apologize for interrupting your regularly scheduled broadcast with this breaking report, the anchor began. Just minutes ago, people around the world began collapsing. The screen switched to a shaky cellphone camera recording of someone on the ground in the middle of a crowded supermarket, an almost inhuman screech ripping out of their throat. The news anchor switched to voiceover narration and continued, Reports are coming in from around the world of a wave of brutal disappearances. Everyone affected exhibits the same symptoms: extreme pain, collapse, and finally.... The video cut to another location, this one in Times Square, which had been damaged, but not completely destroyed, in the attacks at the beginning of the year. A woman was rolling around on the ground, wailing and shrieking and tearing at her hair. She began cracking, then finally dissipated into dust and a wave of panic passed through the crowded landmark as people stampeded out of the square, thinking it was some kind of biological or chemical attack. The narration continued apace. They disintegrate into dust from the outside in, the news anchor said in a grave tone. According to the Akashic Record, theres been thousands of reports so far, and theyre still coming in.... My producer just informed me that the number is now in the hundreds of thousands and still rapidly climbing. We here at the imperial broadcasting agency are now asking that if you, or anyone you know, is currently or has been affected by these disturbing events, please report it to your nearest imperial official as soon as possible. Otherwise, please remain calm and shelter in place. More information will be announced as the event unfolds. Thank you, and now back to your regularly scheduled program. Chapter 540 Aftermath and Investigation Chapter 540 Aftermath and Investigation ??Aron turned and looked around the parking lot. He had thought they were alone, but now he realized that, other than him and the pile of dust that used to be a cult leader, there were others who had witnessed the events. A short distance away, people who had been loading supplies in their cars and trucks were pointing at him. Thankfully, things had happened so fast that none of them had had time to pull out their phones and start recording before everything was over. And people further away had been too absorbed in their own errands to pay attention to a distant argument. Only a very small portion of the population was awakened and could actually see anything happening. To everyone else, it just sounded like a normal argument, if they could even hear it at all. And not everyoneespecially not the kind of people (read: farmers) that shop at Tractor Supply Co.were constantly recording everything in hopes of catching a major event that would give them a boost in visibility on the internet. Aron, however, had scanned and recorded the entire process of Ricks disintegration. It was, after all, something he would very shortly need to get to the bottom of. Only after everything was over and done and the imperial police had arrived did he breathe a sigh of relief and rocket off, intent on boarding his personal shuttle and heading back to Avalon Island to supervise the aftermath. ...... Give me an update on the situation, he said after he boarded his shuttle and began the journey back to the main Cube. She waved her hand and a virtual screen appeared with a map of the world on it, littered with dots of different colors. Red dots were confirmed cultists that had disintegrated, yellow dots were for suspected cultists that were also disintegrating, and orange dots were for people unrelated to the cult, but were also disintegrating. Disturbingly, there were also blue dots here and there that represented imperial citizens that had also died the same way. [We dont yet know the mechanics of it, or why exactly its happening, but from all the available evidence, it appears that the cult is dying with its leader.] Aron went silent after hearing Novas report as he thought of why something like the disintegration phenomenon was happening. A few minutes before his shuttle reached Avalon Island, he came up with a working theory. Itll require further investigation, but I think what happened is likely to be related to Rick taking over another body after I killed him in his office. The death of his followers might be the price he had to pay, or perhaps, given the nature of the disintegrations, his followers are just being drained of enough mana to artificially awaken the new body. He recalled the mana vortex that had formed when he caught up to Rick in his new body and became more sure of his theory, but still said, Well look into it after everythings settled. But for now, Ill be resting. Aron closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, trying to rebalance his mental state. It was the first time he had personally taken action, and the experience was much different than simply ordering others to kill on his, or the empires, behalf. He hadnt expected that he would be affected at all, but reality had slapped him in the face. Nova went quiet, but that didnt mean she stopped working. She was still busy coordinating the cleanup of the various sites where cultists had disintegrated, including the personal effects they had on them when the phenomenon began. She, like Aron, thought that his hypothesis was correct; but also like Aron, she would fully investigate, looking for evidence for and against the hpothesis before coming to a final conclusion. Chapter 541 A Basket of Panic Chapter 541 A Basket of Panic ??As could easily be expected, people panicked and immediately started coming up with explanations of just what the hell was happening. Crazy theories were thrown out like they were free, and people were blaming it on the aftereffects of using medical pods, a targeted mass assassination by the empirewhich was an especially popular theory, as most of the deaths occurred among non-imperial citizensa blessing gone rogue, and the side effects of the increase in strange particle density causing people to fail to adapt to it. Those were just the most popular among the many, many theories being spread by panicking people or those abusing it to gain fame. @Blackdawn: [The empire is finally moving on us! Beware of those with overly solicitous behavior, because they all have ulterior motives! #masskilling #thesnap #thevanishing] @Tervantas: [I dont think its the empire doing this @Blackdawn. Its more likely to be some blessed losing control over their superpower, or maybe just failure to adapt to the new particle density. #thinkmore #panicless #thesnap #thevanishing] @Curtis1122: [@Tervantas @Blackdawn @GAIATech @ImperialPressCorps Tagging the empire. Can you please explain this for us? What the hell is going on?? #thesnap #thevanishing] (Ed note: Yes, I know that Avengers: Infinity War came out in 2018, so it wouldnt normally be present in universe, but the deaths were so similar to what happened when Thanos snapped his fingers that we couldnt help but move its release date forward so it existed in universe here.) Soon after seeing the trends on social media, the imperial press agency released an emergency notification about the situation. They mentioned that it was still under investigation and that a formal response would be forthcoming as soon as the investigation yielded results. Anyone who wanted to follow the investigation was provided with a direct link to the Akashic Record, where they could be updated with the progress in real time if they didnt want to wait for the official statement. [Its become more and more clear that everyone linked to the cult is dead, or dying, as a result of Rick Ashleys death. We dont yet understand the mechanics of it, but were studying the citizens in stasis and expect to have results soon. Were at least sure that most of the imperials that were affected are in no way linked to the cult,] Gaia reported. Aron heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed the empires cultist problem had resolved itself with the death of their leader, and he became even more certain of his earlier theory. It seemed that the mana drain effect had been applied to those who believed in the cults propaganda enough to be connected to the leader in some way. Through that connection, he had, either consciously or subconsciously, stripped them of all their mana in an attempt to force the body hed just taken over into awakening. On the bright side, there would be no survivors to form splinter factions and wreak their own brand of havoc, like similar terrorist organizations had in the past. How did you link them? And why are some imperial citizens affected? he asked. [Operation Hunting Dog had a lot of them already linked to the cult, either through financial contributions or material aid. There were also those linked to cells that weve already rolled up. Theres hard evidence and paper trails of people contributing, the others are simply statistically likely to have been involved in cult activities through their social connections to confirmed cultists. Its circumstantial at best, but it holds water,] Nyx said. Aron contemplated for a while, then nodded. Im no idealist, so circumstantial evidence is enough for me, as long as theres enough of it. Did our operatives get any useful intel out of the cultists from Hartstene Pointe before they, I presume, vanished as well? Yes, Youssef replied. They managed a full brain data download before the phenomenon began. We had a lucky break there, as one of the cultists captured was a member of Mr. Ashleys inner circle who was privy to almost all of their planning. Combined with the evidence from the reconstructed Fisk building in the simulation, we also have a full picture of the entire cult. He smiled wryly, then continued, Our luck was their misfortunetheir reliance on analog methods and hardcopies of information would have made it impossible to destroy everything even if wed used a more... traditional method of storming the building.Updated from Chapter 542 For Immediate Public Release... Mostly Chapter 542 For Immediate Public Release... Mostly ??[We also now know what affinity the cult leader awakened. He awakened with an esoteric affinity to faith-aspected mana. Knowing that gives us some clues as to its operation, so we have avenues to research that will prevent it from affecting us going forward. Well know if weve succeeded for sure once our affected citizens have their disintegration permanently stopped,] Nova reported, as she was the one keeping track of the relevant research in the Lab City gold labs. Thats a relief, Aron sighed. About the evidenceis there any reason anyone can think of why we shouldnt make it public?Visit for the best novel reading experience There was a possibility that some of the cults documents might need to be classified for national security, but as he had yet to receive a detailed briefing or any of the evidence himself, he couldnt say for sure. The human members of his inner council looked to the AIs present at the meeting, as they hadnt had time to read through it themselves, either. [Theres some information in them with speculation that hits pretty close to the truth,] Nyx finally said. What speculations? Aron asked. [Theres a trail of data that suggests the cult knew about our ability to read, store, and manipulate memory. Turns out the cultists I caught going into the simulation were simply just bait that the cult leadership threw out in order to prove or disprove their hypothesis. I apologize for missing that... I was too certain of my own abilities and our technological advantage and let those fish slip the net and did exactly what the cult researchers needed me to do.] Its okay, Nyx. Everyone makes mistakes, Aron comforted the most humanlike of his higher-order AIs. Just dont let it happen again, understand? [Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,] Nyx said, her usual laconic tone and expression replaced with grave solemnity as she dropped to one knee before him. [I swear that Ill never repeat a mistake in the future.] Good, the emperor said, then turned to the rest of his inner council. We can classify that as gold-level information under Omega classification. Itll require keyword and letter clearance as well.... Lets see, the keyword should be dump, and itll be classified under the letter S. (Ed note: Top Secret isnt the highest classification level. Beyond Top Secret, there are a number of categories that are much, much higher, such as keyword clearance, letter clearance (for instance, nuclear secrets are classified under letters and nuclear programs are classified under keyword clearance), need to know, and so on. Theres a lot of them, and most arent even publicly available even to hint at.) Do you think life is sacred? he asked. Rina pondered the question for a long moment, then sighed and shook her head. No. Life is a cosmic accident, not something sacred or precious. If you create or remove a single life from the equation, the world doesnt stop turning, the sky doesnt weep blood, rivers keep flowing, and the tides keep... well, tiding, I guess. She shrugged. She paused for a moment before adding, "But it also depends on what and who youre talking about. If its your life, its sacred to me. Just like I hope mine is to you. Its all about perspective. But the point is, in the grand scheme of things, life is just life. Its chaos from beginning to end, and chaos cannot, by definition, be sacred. At least not in an absolute, objective sense of the word, anyway. The pair of lovers lapsed into a companionable silence for a time, then Aron finally broke the silence by saying, Something weird happened when I was confronting Rick earlier. Oh? Rina prompted. Yeah. I heard a voice. Im pretty sure it was the esoteric mana that he awakened to. Whatd it say? Aron waved his hand and a video of his confrontation with Rick, recorded from Arons perspective, played on a virtual screen for him and Rina. Weirdly, however, the voice of the mana wasnt caught on it, nor was the mana vortex. He backed the video up to the point where the vortex first formed and manually added the details he recalled to the video file as it played, then paused it where the voice spoke and said, Heres where it spoke to me. It said, you win for now before the vortex finally dissipated. And I cant help but wonder what it meant by that. Its fine, Rina said. Im sure youll figure it out in the end. You are, after all, the most brilliant man who ever lived. Chapter 543 The Whys and Wherefores Chapter 543 The Whys and Wherefores ??Before the panic and fearmongering could spread further, a notification was pushed to every device on the planet, imperial or otherwise. The emperor would shortly be making a speech explaining the whys and wherefores of the disintegrations. The notification was enough to bring everything in the world to a screeching halt, as, other than those who were asleep and thus missed it or those doing important jobs, everyone sat and stared at their screens, upon which was displayed the imperial seal. Everyone was worried that the disintegration would be affecting them, their families, or their close friends, and they wanted to know what exactly was going on. And whether they were imperial citizens or not, Aron had an excellent reputation, so his words bore the most authority. As usual, Aron appeared behind a podium against a neutral blue backdrop, the seal of the empire proudly displayed on the front of the podium. Greetings to everyone around the world, he began in a neutral tone. Earlier this year, the world suffered an unprecedented wave of terror attacks that took the lives of millions of people. And at that time, We swore a solemn vow to all of you. And today, We come before you to announce that We have kept Our promise and the cult of the progenitors has been eliminated to the very last man. He paused to let the news sink in as the screen behind him played a clip from his previous speech where he swore to end the terrorist threat immediately after the attacks took place. In addition to that, We have information on the wave of disintegrations and premature aging sweeping through the world. Its the last gasp of the cult in its dying throes, he said, dropping another bomb as if he was a B-52 during World War II. Through that power, he was able to gather information from malcontents in the empire, as well as assume direct control of those who believed in him. Another aspect of it was that he was able to force people who otherwise wouldnt obey him into obedience and compliance with his demands. Arons gaze grew stern as he continued, Before he died, he was working on another attack that wouldve taken place during the New Year celebration. The plan Our investigators uncovered was that he would control thousands of blessed people to wreak havoc and cause massive casualties, then frame it as an imperial attack on noncitizens. Thankfully, Our people were able to discover his plans before they could be carried out, and in a coordinated strike, eliminated all of the brainwashed and reprogrammed blessed that he had gathered in Amarillo, Texas. He paused to let people consider the potential consequences of an attack like that, then changed the subject. During the operation to eliminate the clear and present danger to humanity, Mr. Ashley was also eliminated. And as a result of his elimination, those who were voluntarily connected to him suffered the same fate as him: disintegration. But that wasnt all. Only those who were willing believers in the cults anti-human rhetoric were turned to dust. Those who were forced to believe are also slowly dying and Our researchers are currently searching for a cure to the phenomenon. Right now, Our imperial doctors are able to place the victims in suspended animation, putting a temporary halt to the disintegration process, but that is only a temporary solution. And its one that We are willing to extend to noncitizens as a courtesy and to alleviate the suffering of the innocent victims who were pulled into the cult leaders schemes. So if you or anyone you know has been affected by the fallout of the cults demise, please contact your nearest imperial embassy or consulate and ask to speak with the outreach specialist. Aron grabbed the sides of the podium as he brought his speech to a close. We founded the Terran Empire with the idea that humanity needs to stand united as one in order to face the inevitability of a hostile universe. Even if the visitors that are currently on their way to Our solar system are friendly, who can guarantee that the next visitors will also be friendly? Or the one after that? So even if you chose to decline the offer of imperial citizenship at the empires founding, Our doors will always remain open to you, and Our goal is not to make you suffer, but to allow you the freedom to choose your path. And as such, We will definitely not let you suffer the consequences of an attack on Us. Not now, and not ever. Chapter 544 They Eventually Grow Out of It Chapter 544 They Eventually Grow Out of It Aron had decreed that the remaining days of December would be an imperial holiday. As such, everyone was given the option of taking the ten days off for a paid holiday, or choosing to work for double pay. That included both government employees and private companies alike, a move that was popular with employees, but not nearly as popular with the enterprises employing them. As for himself, on the other hand, he was still working without pay. After all, he had never taken a salary from the imperial treasury to begin with, save a ceremonial 1 END per year. Even as the emperor, he was still a government employee, so he had to be paid. But since the money was irrelevant to him, he only accepted a token pittance. He was currently in his office dealing with state affairs. With this, he sighed in relief, the case of the progenitor cult can be considered closed. He flicked his eyes to the scanner and linked the final document to his retinal pattern and other biometric data, a measure that would ensure the information in the case file would be classified as deeply as it could. The information contained in the investigation file was the very definition of highly dangerous, and as such it would be for the best if it were to never see the light of day again at all. We got lucky, Nova. If the cult had known how to train their own awakeners, instead of blindly fumbling about and failing as often as they succeeded, they couldve been a much, much bigger problem, he said, wiping a drop of nonexistent sweat from his brow. {Indeed, sir, and that wouldve made it far more difficult to stop as well. If hed scattered the cults awakeners around the world ahead of time instead of gathering them all in Amarillo for training, we wouldnt have been able to identify and remove them before their programming activated and they started a slaughter. {Our luck, I think, was that we happened to catch one of the inner circle in Washington, and you happened to trace his mana back to him. If you hadnt drained all the mana in the surrounding area, it wouldve been lost in the background noise,} Nova said. Another part of our luck is that Mr. Ashley himself didnt understand how to use his affinity. {Beg pardon, sir?} Nova tilted her head, something she had seen humans do when they were confused and seeking clarification on a point in conversation. If I were him, I wouldve kept even lower. Made a show of disbanding the cult entirely and gone deep, deep underground. So deep that nobody would ever notice my existence. And he had the tools to do just that without ever being discovered. So how do we prevent something like that from happening in the future? Aron asked. {I suggest a treaty, sir. You offer imperial training of non-imperial awakeners, but theyll be required to follow imperial law. There are enough of them blowing themselves up or going braindead from mana backlash that I think the suggestion would be received fairly well.} That could work... we could make it a part of Operation Boiling Frog. {Operation Boiling Frog, sir?} Nova asked, puzzled. Theres a saying about boiling frogs. If you dont want them to jump out of the pot, you put them in cold water and slowly bring it to a boil so they dont realize the temperature is rising and jump out, Aron said. {But that would never work, sir.} I know. Its just a saying. Aron stood and brought up a screen, then started filling it with plans for the next four years. By the year 5 AE, I want there to be no one on Earth who isnt an imperial citizen, he said, continuing to flesh out his plans. {I see, sir.} And the way were going to do that is the same way as frogs get boiled. And we can start with awakeners. As long as they accept our trade of training for patrollers and enforcement, everything else will fall into place like a line of dominoes. {Ill inform the Minister of the Exterior,} Nova said, then flickered for a moment. {Message sent, sir. Now... dont you have a wedding to plan?} Shit! I almost forgot! Aron waved his hand to dismiss the screen in front of him and initiated his emergency logout procedure. Chapter 545 The Wedding Planners Chapter 545 The Wedding Planners Felix looked at Aron with a face full of disbelief. Man... I know youre the emperor and above us mere plebeians, but... really? he asked in surprise as he swiped his hand across in front of him, closing the file he had been reading. Whats the problem this time? Aron shot back, rolling his eyes. Visit for the best novel reading experience You have less than ten friends. Ten! Doesnt that make you the least social royal in the history of the world? And! AND! Half of those are the people you dragged in to be the CEOs of your companies using magical contracts! Felix scoffed. He jokingly continued, Can you even consider that friendship? And besides me and Sarah, dont you have any friends from your time in school? You seem to have forgotten how everything started. You and Sarah are the only two people that stuck with me when Rottem Morgan threw his little hissy fit and had me expelled under false pretenses after I proved him wrong in public. So however many I have now, its still more than two! Aron playfully punched Felixs arm, causing him to wince and rub it. That means its a net gain, regardless. Shouldnt you be congratulating me on my awe-inspiring social skills? He struck an arrogant pose and looked down on his friend. Oh, really? Have you ever spent time with any of them without them being required to be there? Hmm? Aron went quiet, thinking back over the past few years and trying to recall if he had ever spent any downtime with his other friends outside of board meetings or formal events. Not finding any instances that he could recall, he realized that he had only ever spent time with them when they were required to be with him and his shoulders slumped a bit. I may not know them personally, perhaps, but Ive been working with them in Lab City for centuries since stealing their brain data. So they deserve at least that much as the beginning of their compensation, Aron replied. Lab City was no secret from his inner circle; the only thing that was kept from them was the existence of the system. After all, as the saying goes, use the ones you trust, and dont use the ones you dont trust. And Aron definitely trusted his oldest friends. I suppose that makes sense. But arent you worried about them possibly discovering something fishy about the situation? Felix followed up. Well, yes and no. It isnt like I absolutely have to tell them its compensation, you know. After all, theyre all incredible researchers that push the boundaries of science on a daily basis and my empire is going to be a science-focused one. We need to push our tech level as far as we can as fast as we can, Aron answered, slightly bringing down the mood as everyone there was reminded that they were on something of a doomsday clock. But thats beside the point, he continued. Were here for a happy occasion, we have a wedding to plan! Everyone at the table took a moment to readjust their mindset and Felix lightened the mood by clowning around as they picked up where they left off in their planning. The guest list was the first thing to be worked on and, between Aron and Rina, the guest list rapidly climbed to the thousands. It included close family members, close friends, work acquaintances, government officials, scientists, teachers, influential people, and Sarah even managed to get a lottery-style lucky draw contingent added to the list. After all, it wouldnt be very politically proper to introduce class divisions when Aron had been working so hard to eliminate all divisions that had historically plagued humanity. Then they moved on to the venue, where it was decided that the wedding would be held in reality at a government tower that they would rush to complete. It would be hard to find a venue that could fit all of the guests they had invited while still having some form of meaning and pomp and circumstance to it. Sure, they could hold it at a sporting arena if they wanted to, but it wouldnt have the same sense of gravitas that a newly completed government tower would. And although they would be holding the wedding in reality, it would also be open to everyone in the public simulation via livestream and those watching from home on other assorted devices, that way everyone could either say they were there or watched it live. Chapter 546 Good Behavior Leave Chapter 546 Good Behavior Leave So everythings final then? Rina asked, gesturing to the list of people eligible for the lucky draw attendance at their wedding. Ah, wait... theres a girl that asked me for an autograph when I was on my European tour. Come to think of it, I wonder if she ever solved the problem I gave her.... Aron looked around and saw the strange expressions on the other people at the table with him. He suddenly realized how what he had said could be misinterpreted and sputtered, Y-y-you people! Who do you think I am!? Sheesh! She was the front desk attendant when I was checking out of the hotel and she recognized me and asked for an autograph. That wouldve been that, until Nova looked through her information and discovered she was a talented engineer, so she set a question that, if the girl answered it correctly, shed find some rewards from Nova. He shuddered at the cold shoulder he was expecting from Rina later. Even though he was almost positive they were just fucking with him, he had a sinking suspicion that he would be sleeping alone tonight. Everyone went silent for a few seconds, then Sarah coughed in an attempt to disguise her laughter and the silence broke as everyone started chuckling. Everyone, that is, except Aron, who was less than impressed to have been made the butt of the joke. [She did, sir. Shes currently an employee at Hephaestus and was one of the engineers that helped with the final touches on the fortress city designs,] Nova said against the backdrop of Arons friends laughter. Add her to the list for a chance to attend my wedding in person, Aron said. [Yes, sir,] she replied. She added the girl to the list and asked, [Shes on it, sir. Anyone else?] I think that should be everyone, right? Aron said as he swept his gaze across the other people at the table. They all shook their heads, indicating that they were fine with the lists as they stood. Looks like everythings settled, Rina said with a content smile on her face. You dont seem too happy to see me, Jai. Youre even sweating a bit, Aron said with a smile. To be fair, Your Majesty, we werent informed you would be arriving until you were about a minute away. So I had to drop everything and sprint all the way here, Jai Chakrabarti, CEO of the Coeus Foundation, laughed, pulling a neatly folded handkerchief out of his jackets breast pocket and wiping the sweat from his brow with it. Well, are you hiding something? Aron grinned. Unfortunately, Your Majesty, Ill have to disappoint you. Theres nothing to hide in the first place, whether it be public or private. Then whats with that godawful expression, man? Lighten up a bit, will you? Aron patted him on the shoulder. We need time to prepare to welcome you, Your Majesty. A surprise visit from the emperor of all mankind is probably the very last thing we expect on any given day. Theres hundreds of children living here, Jai. If it isnt always in a condition I can see without prior warning of my arrival, that just means it isnt fit for children to live here in the first place. Arons tone grew serious as he continued, So is that the case, Mr. Chakrabarti? Lets go in and you can see for yourself, Your Majesty, Jai said as he pointed at the elevator that had been waiting for them throughout the conversation so far. Sure, lets go have a look, shall we? Aron took Henrys hand in his and wrapped his other arm around Rinas waist, then followed Jai to the elevator as his emperors aegis airdropped in throughout the entire area, making that particular neighborhood one of the safest places on Earth. Chapter 547 Child Rearing for Fun and Profit Chapter 547 Child Rearing for Fun and Profit ??Aron, Rina, and Jai were having a conversation in a room filled with toys, play mats, and small desks. Three of its walls were decorated with childrens art in bright primary colors and shapes, and a digital display adorned one wall. The sound of children at play drifted in from the windows. Weve established a presence in every city in the world after finishing the last round of renovations. Were still negotiating with noncitizens to purchase land from them so we can build our own schools, but thats taking more time than we initially expected. We may actually have to continue using the renovated buildings until the completion of the fortress cities, since were now responsible for a little under a hundred million orphaned children around the world and the locals are putting up stumbling blocks in our acquisition negotiations, Jai said, his tone a mixture of satisfaction and frustration. The total number of children being looked after by the Coeus Foundation made them the worlds largest privately owned orphanage, which was something Jai was definitely proud of. In his care was more than 95% of the worlds orphans under the age of 18. And over the past years the foundation had been operating, the number was even higher and the Hope Alumni had already begun contributing their share to the good work being done. How much are we spending every year for the entire House of Hope program? Aron asked. Due to the stringent requirements for quality that you specifically demand, everything comes to around a hundred billion END monthly, or 1.2 trillion END yearly, give or take. Sometimes less, sometimes more... it really depends on one-time expenses like large purchases or construction, which we always use local contractors for. The 1.2 trillion figure only accounts for regular costs, like building maintenance and groundskeeping, the salaries of matrons, teachers, and healthcare professionals, ensuring the security of our campuses, and food, among other things. At first, Jai had been somewhat overwhelmed by the large numbers he was working with as a part of the Coeus Foundation. After all, he may have been born wealthy, but he had never handled this much money before. He had soon worked through his mental block, however, which was a good thing; after all, that 1.2 trillion was merely one of the projects his foundation was responsible for! If its just that much, theres no problem with your spend. Dont skimp on things in order to remain below your budgetyou only need to report for the House of Hope program if your spending crosses the two trillion threshold. Over that, Ill need an audit report on the books, but under that... Aron waved his hand, consider it petty cash. You look tired too, Aron said to Rina as he laid his little brother in a reclined seat and strapped him in. You should take a nap. I will, in a little bit. First, though, I have to admit that Im rather curious about the House of Hope project and have a few questions. Ask away. I know you hate people living disadvantaged lives when they dont have to, so thats probably the main reason youre spending all this money to raise orphans. But I cant help but wonder if you have any ulterior motives as well, so... do you? she bluntly asked. Why should she let questions eat her from the inside when she knows that Aron would always give honest answers to any question she asks him. He would also never judge her, either, a luxury she greatly appreciated after having been brought up in an old money family where judgment was the only constant. Aron smiled and answered, Yes, theres a plan, though bringing it to fruition is contingent on a specific change in Earths recent circumstances. So spill it, misterwhats that devious mind of yours plotting? she asked, curiosity having fully replaced fatigue in her mind. Instead of answering her outright, Aron simply asked, Whats the age limit of the people in the program? From birth to eighteen, just like any other... orphanage.... Rinas eyes bulged as she realized Arons plan from the question he posed to her. Are you planning what I think youre planning? Aron simply smiled and pulled her head over to rest on his shoulder. Chapter 548 First, Change the Children Chapter 548 First, Change the Children ??Aron nodded. Its exactly what you think, he said. The awakening phenomenon isnt over, and when people reach the early stages of puberty, the clock will start ticking down to their eventual awakenings as well. Thankfully, though, the process will be much smoother as it wont be as... abrupt as the first awakening was. So, to prevent the orphans who are soon to awaken, the House of Hope plan was brought forward and made the main thrust of the Coeus Foundations activities. We will guide the newly awakened through their growth phase and seamlessly shift them into hero academies as they reach the age of awakening. That serves a dual purposefirst, itll prevent them from their desperation driving them to a life of crime, and second, itll guide them into working for the empire instead of becoming part of private forces in the hands of noncitizens. Prior to the mass awakening of the three percent, wed already made plans for the House of Hope project, but at that time, it was meant to raise generations of people who would be staunch imperial loyalists. We would raise them, teach them, and train them to work in whatever sector we needed them, but that became infeasible after the mana density reached critical mass. Aron stopped speaking and waited for his fiancees mind to catch up. She was a very intelligent and quick-witted woman, but exhaustion makes fools of the best. He sneakily carved a refresh rune in the air and pressed it to her, clearing the fog from her mind, then waited for her response. The silence stretched for a moment as Rinas face scrunched up in thought. Then she finally asked, You said there were other reasons. What are they? At the time, unemployment, especially among the uneducated, was on the rise. If we hadnt done something to combat it, it wouldve led to an unrecoverable tailspin into another economic depression. So we overstaffed all of our programs that were run through the Coeus Foundation as part of that. With a staff to child ratio of one to five, that provided twenty million jobs to people who were of good character, firm convictions, and strong morals through the House of Hope program alone. Besides, the alternative is for them to end up on the streets or as victims of forced prostitution, sweatshops, organ farms.... The list of potential bad ends for orphans goes on, especially those who have been picked up by shady, underfunded orphanages relying on unreliable donations or criminal consortiums backing them. The House of Hope program is a closed orphanage system that will not allow for adoption or outside fostering of the children we raise in it. If anything, its more like a boarding school for all ages, where the caregivers care for the children, the children care for the younger children, and all of them are given the best of the best when it comes to providing them with the tools to lead a successful, happy life once they age out and become Hope Alumni. Now Im really curious to see how the so-called Hope Alumni influence the empire in the future, Rina said with a smile. Currently, the empire was being held together by spit, chewing gum, and baling wire, through Arons overwhelming military might and technological prowess. No one was foolish enough to think that all imperial citizens had been completely willing when they joined the empire. They were merely in it either in pursuit of the benefits offered to imperial citizens, or in fear of the dystopian nightmare that they felt noncitizens would be suffering through once the fortress cities were complete and the two societies finally completely separated. Thus, raising his own imperial adherents was a masterstroke of planning from Arons side and displayed his forward thinking. It was becoming more obvious as time passed that the Terran Empire would long outlive its founder and first emperor, and Rina, whose curiosity was finally sated, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 549 Outpost 134 Chapter 549 Outpost 134 Somewhere in the solar system. An asteroid the size of one of Mars moons floated alone in orbit around the sun, in all its majesty. Formerly a cosmic dust-covered rock, it had been completely worked over and half of it had been cut off, leaving a flat surface from which grew an enormous docking tower. The half that remained was still a natural rock, though the cosmic dust coating it had been swept away, leaving the surface clean, while the docking tower was made of a dark gray hadfield steel alloy, as most of the empires hardware in space was. A study in contrasts, the natural half of the asteroid was dark, while the docking tower was brightly lit with brilliant flashing lights and painted signage highlighting the various docking bays of different sizes. (Ed note: Picture Omega, from Mass Effect 2.) [Outpost 134, this is ISA-EV-343398 on leading approach, requesting approach lane and docking assignment,] the captain of a kilometer-long vessel reported. [Outpost 134 copies requesting approach lane and docking assignment. Come to zero thrust and prepare for inspection, 343398,] the tower replied. [Roger, coming to zero thrust and rolling out the welcome mat, 134. 343398 out.] A bright yellow light shone from the tip of the docking tower on the imperial outpost and flashed over the exploration vessel. It turned green and the comms crackled to life again. [Welcome to Outpost 134, 343398. Youre assigned to docking ring seven, dock seventy-one alpha. Please be advised that you and your crew will be subject to ARES authority while docked and that most of the outpost is restricted to civilian personnel. Trespassers will be dealt with expediently. (Ed note: When docking with a moving object thats in orbit in space, the vessel docking begins the procedure ahead of the object theyre docking with. Then they come to zero relative velocitythe same speed as the thing theyre docking withand line up with the docking port before slowing down and letting the bigger object catch up to them before finally docking. Hence line up and catch.) Captain Miller acknowledged the report, then asked, Three-ninety-eight, any update on our schedule? {No, maam. Nothing in the database right now, just a week of shore leave for the New Year celebrations and a note to attend a briefing on station here in Outpost 134,} the ships AI replied. Looks like weve got some proper shore leave this time, not just a refuel and refit cycle, the ships engineer, Scotty, excitedly said. No matter what their name was before joining the imperial space agency, all ships engineers were called Scotty, just like all medics in every branch of the military were called Doc. Scotty had joined the dangerous exploration mission for two reasons. The first was curiosity; he just plain wanted to know what was out there and whether it would go bump in the night or be like diving into a pot of gold. And the second reason was the generous bonuses he could earn, bonuses that would go a very long way toward supporting himself in a manner that he would like to become accustomed to. After all, the strict regulation the empire was still under while its fledgling economy grew to a point where it would be independently viable ensured that five hundred END was enough to survive in the empire. But there was a vast gulf between survive and thrive, and he desperately desired to bridge that divide by sating his curiosity. It would be killing two birds with one stone. Going into the program, he had thought that it would be more dangerous than itd proved in actual practice. The only times he had died were all in the simulators, where the crews instructors would throw them into desperate situation after desperate situation, waiting for them to fail so they could chew them out afterward. Eventually, however, they began succeeding, and their number of successes grew until they had been assigned to an exploration vessel. Thus, he was caught unawares by how easy the job of ships engineer was made by the automated maintenance bots and constructor swarms at his disposal. The only times he would have to step in would be when the multiple layers of failsafes failed and left him as the sole bulwark between a successful mission and a failure that led to some, if not all, of the crew dying miserably when all systems went down and the vessel went Dutchman. He supposed that was the reason that justified the large bonuses he was paid; the risk of space exploration was minute, but very, very real. Chapter 550 Curiosity Vs Security Chapter 550 Curiosity Vs Security So, did you figure anything out? the communications officer, Lieutenant Perez, asked Scotty. Not a damn thing, Scotty answered, clearly frustrated. The empire is more than it seems on the surface. The source of this content nov(el)bi((n)) Scotty was almost sixty years old and had spent the past thirty years of his life on the bleeding edge of engineering as a professor emeritus of MIT. Then he was one of the first people to successfully graduate from the engineering track of the imperial space agencys training program, making him among the most skilled engineers on Earth. But despite all of that, he still had no clue as to just how the hell the empire had built so many outposts throughout the solar system, when just a year before, man had barely set foot on the moon. And to top it all off, not a bit of the empires space program had leaked whatsoever! Not the outposts, not the ships, and not even the machines used to build the outposts and ships or the tools used to build the machines themselves! His innate curiosity was absolutely murdering him. Looks like you need higher security clearance, my man. Yeah, sure seems that way, doesnt it? Scotty sighed and slumped his shoulders. He knew the difficulty of increasing security clearances and how long the process took, having undergone security vetting at the highest levels before during his career at MIT. You arent giving up, are you? Youre out here risking your life to sate your curiosity, so you cant give up now! Lieutenant Perez said. Yeah, sure seems that way, doesnt it? Scotty sighed and slumped his shoulders. He knew the difficulty of increasing security clearances and how long the process took, having undergone security vetting at the highest levels before during his career at MIT. You arent giving up, are you? Youre out here risking your life to sate your curiosity, so you cant give up now! Lieutenant Perez said. {Docking complete. Welcome to outpost 134.} ...... Damn! I wonder what the fuck theyre hiding here.... Blocking access to more than ninety percent of the base? And one of the biggest of the ones weve seen, too! a crew member said in annoyance as he carried his duffel bag down the boarding ramp of the ship. He was looking through the map for the meatspace R&R facilities that were sure to be anywhere people were. He had to admit that the empire truly had a gift when it came to designing spaces that made people feel comfortable, with the general aesthetic being a blend of high-tech minimalist design and nature. Most people would assume that all spacers would want to immediately hit a bar, get shitfaced, and find a date before holing up with liquor bottles and licker bottles when on shore leave, but Ordinary Crewman Sanchez would beg to differ. What spacers wanted the most when they were freed from their various tin cans was the feeling of not being on a fucking tin can. Drinking and fucking came second and third, or maybe it was flipped and came third and second, but first placeby a very long shotwas definitely just normal open space that smelled like anything. The empire had very good technology, sure, but there was just something about the smell of home that they missed the most in ships where the air was recycled to perfection and there was no smell at all. It was like those psychology studies that talked about sticking people in anechoic chambers eventually going crazy because they couldnt hear the sound of their own voice reverberating off the walls around them. But what spacers missed wasnt the sound. Sound, they had aplenty. But smells? Yeah... they missed smells. OC Sanchez bunkmate heaved a sigh of annoyance at the repetition of his bunkies complaint. Every single time they docked at an outpost, it was always the same damned complaint; the only thing different was just how much of the outpost was deemed as off limits for the crew. Its a fucking military base ferchrissakes! Do you expect a goddamn red carpet? he complained. Fuck off, Flores. Just let me bitch in peace, asshole, OC Sanchez snapped. OC Flores zipped his lips and headed to the base rapid transit shuttle in silence. The rest of the crew that had been released to shore leave in their batch exchanged glances and they all came to the same decision as Flores: just ignore Sanchez and he would fade into the background. Living in close quarters as they did, tolerance and shutting up went a long, long way toward preventing conflicts from escalating. And with such a hardass captain and XO, nobody wanted to be called up on a captains mast. Chapter 551 Where No Human Has Gone Before Chapter 551 Where No Human Has Gone Before Captain Miller and Commander Campbell had remained aboard ISA-EV-343398, waiting for their meeting time to arrive. Everything was proceeding apace, as it would be difficult for any imperial force to run ahead of or behind schedule thanks to the AIs in the background ensuring that the trains ran on time. They didnt have to wait long before they received a notification with a link to a virtual meeting room. When they logged in, they found themselves in a large amphitheater-style room that would be instantly familiar to anyone who had attended college before: a lecture hall. Seated around them were hundreds of other ship captains and executive officers. No one was speaking; everyone simply gave each other courtesy nods when they made eye contact with someone else. But the silence didnt last long before Huang Wei, the head of the imperial space agency, appeared on the stage in the front of the hall. Administrator Huang was a middle-aged Chinese man with salt and pepper hair and a regal bearing, dressed in the utility uniform of the exploration fleet, a pair of black slacks with light blue piping on the sides and a close-fitting, tailored coat with matching blue piping. (Ed note: If youre interested in seeing what the uniforms look like, its very similar to the uniforms from David Webers Honorverse novels, specifically those of the Royal Manticoran Navy. The difference is that the uniforms in this novel lack shoulder flashes, rank insignia, awards, and any kind of headgear. Everything that would normally be displayed on a uniform is all displayed in augmented reality.) Everyone stood and saluted Administrator Huang, who returned the salute with a slight bow and said, Please be seated. Theres a lot to cover in todays meeting, and not much time to cover it in. Sir Isaac Newton has always been, still is, and will forever be the deadliest son of a bitch in space. Administrator Huang judged that the attendees of the briefing should have digested his previous statements and continued, As a result of your ships lacking combat capability in the face of a potentially hostile galaxy, orders have come down from above that you are to be escorted by the first batch of the Terran Space Navy to graduate from training. And todays briefing is to give you an overview of the regular TSF ships and offensive capabilities. First, lets talk about guns. Your fleet is primarily armed with energy weapons, which are considered secondary armaments in the TSF. Even though beam coherence isnt an issue that needs attention in the vacuum of space, the requirement in terms of energy generation and capacitors is simply too high for space combat at distances that could measure up to millions of kilometers. Thus, the primary armament for vessels in the TSF is missiles. Missiles have extreme range capability with multi-stage design, theyre stealthy, and theyre capable of engaging in maneuvers to increase their accuracy. They can also carry different warheads, ranging from electronic countermeasures that blind targets all the way up to multidirectional bomb-pumped X-ray laser warheads and beyond. They also carry sophisticated sensor and targeting suits, as well as come equipped with robust electronic counter countermeasures (ECCM). But most importantly, they can be command detonated to avoid collateral damage, unlike dumb rounds fired from coilguns and other kinetic weapons. Administrator Huang swept his gaze across the captains in the lecture hall seats and paused, as what he had to say next would have to be delivered exactly right. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then exhaled, opened his eyes again, and continued, I have to notify you now that the information I am about to disclose next is classified Top Secret, code word GRO J1655-40. You have all been preliminarily cleared for the information, should you choose to accept it. If you do not accept your new clearance level, please log out of the briefing now. He stood ramrod straight in the middle of the lecture hall stage, waiting with his eyes closed for the five-minute logout procedure, in case any of the captains or commanders chose not to accept the remainder of the briefing. Chapter 552 Of Fleets and the Vessels That Make Them Chapter 552 Of Fleets and the Vessels That Make Them After the five minute wait, Administrator Huang opened his eyes and swept his gaze across the crowd receiving their briefing. I see none of you left, he said. Good. The empire has recently developed a new warhead as well. Dubbed the black hole bomb, its exactly what it says on the tin: an oversized capacitor and artificial gravity generator strapped to a rocket engine. When detonated, it creates a short-lived, yet highly destructive, black hole in a small area. Small, by the way, is a relative term. And the only reason youre being informed of its existence now is that we dont want you asking about it later when youre in potentially hostile, unsecured environments.... He continued on the topic of weapons for a while, explaining each of them in detail, then finished that portion of his briefing by asking, Any questions? Nobody in the lecture hall had any. At least not about the weapons of the EF and TSF, anyway, but they had already been taught not to ask questions that werent relevant to the topic they were being briefed on. None? Excellent, Huang Wei confirmed, then switched to another topic: the ships that would be escorting and backing up the exploration fleet vessels in this momentous step in humanitys journey among the stars. Ships in the TSF, and their semi-militarized siblings, the exploration fleet, were still separated by category and role, much like the Poseidon Navy. From the enormous city-ship down to the humble corvette, each ship class played a necessary role in the Terran Space Fleet. City-ships were designed to carry entire seed colonies with them, including tens of thousands of civilian passengers, thousands of ARES troopers, and all of the equipment necessary for starting up a colony on any habitable worlds the exploration fleet discovered. In their cavernous holds, they could also carry entire TSF fleets, and in order to save on reaction mass and wear and tear on the TSF ships in routine operations, they acted as the core command and control ships during combat actions and transport vessels to and from battles. Administrator Huang wrapped up the technical briefing by saying, Fleet formations in the TSF are ad hoc and dynamic. With the uninterrupted, instantaneous communications made possible through quantum communicators and the assistance of ships AIs, every vessel in the TSF is capable of fulfilling the role it was designed for in any fleet at any given moment. The only difference, ladies and gentlemen, is the color of the paint in the passageways of the city-ships coordinating a fleet. Administrator Huang moved to the final portion of his briefing, informing the attendees of their specific escort fleets, the standard operating procedure they would be functioning under, their detailed chains of command for the exploration, and so forth.... An hour later, the briefing came to a close. You are all hereby ordered to go dark. No communication with Earth or outside your own ships will be permitted until after youve left the heliopause and are on your way. I wont lie to youtheres a possibility that this first step into the greater galaxy at large will also be your last. Should you choose to do so, you may visit the legal affairs office at whichever outpost youre currently docked where a special liaison officer will help you write your last will and testament, as well as record a message that will be delivered to people of your choosing once youve passed through the Oort Cloud. Now, ladies and gentlemen, you have a week of shore leave. Your vessels must be completely vacated of any personnel and personal belongings in the next three hours, Earth time, as they are to undergo a specialized refit over your shore leave. Once your leave is complete, youre hereby ordered to report to ARES Central Command on Mars to link up with your assigned escorts and begin your mission. Good luck and godspeed, explorers. Administrator Huang finished the briefing with a formal salute to the crowd, then vanished. Chapter 553 Of Ships and Those Who Design Them Chapter 553 Of Ships and Those Who Design Them As the exploration fleet was on its week of shore leave on the outposts and the partially functional Mars base was printing ship after ship, back on Earth, a press release had quietly gone out from the imperial press agency. It didnt generate much news at first, and it was only a few sentences long, but it gradually gained momentum over the first three days after it was put out. The Terran Empire is in search of those willing to aid in exploiting the resources of the solar system. For more information, contact your nearest imperial space agency recruiter. As the news crept out and spread, the details were soon announced by the first people to visit the ISA in their virtual office. @Fluffy_Dog_Hugger: [This is awesome! Im gonna go to space, man! SPACE!] @Eternal_Crusader: [@Fluffy_Dog_Hugger details? I read the announcement but havent checked it out yet] @Fluffy_Dog_Hugger: [@Eternal_Crusader they mapped the solar system and need asteroid jockeys to go out and mine] @Thawk7678: [@Fluffy_Dog_Hugger isnt that dangerous?] @Nerdrage001: [@Thawk7678 @Fluffy_Dog_Hugger yeah that defo sounds harsh. Howd they map it???] @Fluffy_Dog_Hugger: [@Nerdrage001 @Thawk7678 @Eternal_Crusader It isnt as dangerous as youd think. The @ImperialSpaceAgency mapped the solar system using a combination of automated drones & crewed ships. They labeled all the hazards & asteroids & are gonna build processing factories.... (thread)] Park Seo-Yeon, was our design accepted? Kim Ye-Jin asked, barely able to stand steady with all of his nervous fidgeting. We sent the design about twenty minutes ago, so we should have an answer soon. Chill, broweve got this, Seo-Yeon calmly answered. He was just as nervous as his friend and partner, Ye-Jin, but as the scion of a moderately wealthy businessman, he was better at hiding his nerves. Youre right. Kim Ye-Jin sat down on the couch and crossed one leg over the other, but was unable to stop his foot from bouncing. Im just nervous. I mean, we all quit our jobs for this, and not everyone was born rich, you know. He playfully glared at his friend seated across the coffee table from him. Even if we fail this time, weve still got time. We can keep improving the design and resubmitting it. And it isnt like we dont have savings to live off of until we strike it rich, so just be patient. Well eventually succeed. Kim Ye-Jin had stopped paying attention to his friend and taken out his phone, refreshing the companys email inbox over and over, not wanting to wait for the internal refresh to notify him that an email from the ISA had arrived. Another young Korean man walked into the room through the open door. Has Ye-Jin settled down yet? He raised the case of canned beer he had brought with him. I come bearing peace offerings, he laughed. Sook-Han! Park Seo-Yon stood and grabbed the newcomer by the shoulders. Haha! Is it time to drink already? When isnt it time to drink, brother? the newcomer exclaimed, then set the beer down on the coffee table. Ye-Jin, chill out and have a beer! Kim Ye-Jin set his phone down next to the beer and said, Youre right, worrying wont make the email come any faster. Just then, his phone dinged with a notification. Chapter 554 Monopoly or Outreach? Chapter 554 Monopoly or Outreach? Quick! Whats it say!? Everyone in the room crowded around Kim Ye-Jin, who had just taken a drink of his beer. Ye-Jin sprayed the mouthful of beer on his friends and coworkers, none of whom cared. He picked up his phone and, for the first time since hed had a smartphone, fumbled to unlock it under the expectant gazes of his good brothers. He finally unlocked the phone and opened the email and his lips mouthed the words as he read it. Then he tossed his phone back to the tabletop in disappointment and chugged his beer before saying, It wasnt from the empire. But if you want bigger dicks, boy do they have some pills for you. He laughed, then leaned back on the couch. To be fair, even having a chance like this is the empires generosity. Itll take a lot of time, effort, knowledge, and even luck to succeed. But even if were late to the table, we should at least be able to pick up some leftover crumbs, and thatll be enough to cover us in the beginning. So dont have super high expectations right now, brothers. We just need our passion, drive, ambition, and hopejust like Imugi! Park Seo-Yon exclaimed, putting his hand palm down over the coffee table. His friends put theirs in as well, and with a cheer of Imugi-danche! the people in the room broke apart, laughing. Similar discussions were taking place in many locations among many different groups. Some were school clubs, others were megacorporations like Walmart, and even agribusinesses like Monsanto and Tyson were getting involved in what they saw as the ground floor of another industry they could use to further diversify their investment portfolios. But in a few businesseslike SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galacticthe tone of discussion was much different. Unlike the optimism of the school clubs or the ruthless financial discussion of the megacorporations or companies seeking to diversify their investment portfolios beyond their core competencies, the space-focused companies were more businesslike as they spun into action. While the rest of the groups were meeting in classrooms, conference rooms, or Wall Street offices, the space companies started in the boardroom. The decisions they made were a matter of course, delegating design and testing tasks to various engineers working for them. They even sending out headhunters to recruit more people who specialized in tasks they felt were necessary. But what they recommended was a balance between profit and safety. They would instead allow people to license their production lines for the cost of raw materials plus a scaling percentage of the final sale price of whatever it was they were manufacturing. The percentage ranged from five to twenty percent, and the list of goods was thoroughly comprehensive, to say the least. The only thing HHI kept strictly to themselves was their own technology, and not even the most rabid anti-fan with an overweening sense of justice could argue against that. What currently held the publics attention, though, was the capability of HHI in the space-related industry field. Their offerings were... unbelievable, to say the least. @Maalik91: [Bruh. I just read the list of @HephaestusHeavyIndustries space manufacturing stuff and I dont believe it. NOBODY can offer 100% guarantee!] @HephaestusHeavyIndustries: [Oh @Maalik91 but we do offer that. All products manufactured by HHI are guaranteed to meet or exceed 100% of all safety and usability requirements as well as a 100% adherence to the design schematics we receive.] @ahmed_94: [@Maalik91 lol u just got owned. Sick_burn.gif] @Maalik91: [@HephaestusHeavyIndustries @ahmed_94 If there really are zero manufacturing defects in any of HHIs products Ill livestream myself chopping off a finger!] @HephaestusHeavyIndustries: [@Maalik91 please dont cut off your fingers. Whatll become of your love life if you run out of fingers?] The arguments online were intense, to say the least, and the flame war practically burned the internet to the ground. Chapter 555 The Innovation Program Chapter 555 The Innovation Program Thanks to Hephaestus Heavy Industries opening the floodgates, more than a million new companies were registered in a very brief time. And following that, millions of patents for space-related equipment, ranging from cups and other dishes that were designed to incorporate gravity plating to ensure they didnt spill during heavy maneuvers all the way to prospective capacitor banks and engines. It wasnt that the empire had released their technology to the public domain, but rather that people were allowed to incorporate the tech in their design as a kind of black box piece that they could license from the empire. The only requirement was that, if a design incorporated publicly known empire technology, the resulting object could only be manufactured by HHI. That was in the licensing agreement, and no negotiation on that clause would be accepted at all. The empire, meanwhile, did absolutely nothing to stem the tide of the crowdsourced innovations. Quite a few things, in fact, had surprised both Aron and Felix with the thought processes behind them. Oddly enough, the dishes were what surprised them the most. I cant believe we didnt think of that, Aron moaned, leaning back in his chair and covering his face with his palms. Rina looked at him and snorted a soft giggle, then covered her mouth and looked shocked at the weird noise that had just come out of her mouth. We arent gods, so of course were gonna miss some things here and there, Felix said, chagrined. I can only wonder what else we forgot. Aron sat up straight and consciously cleared his expression. We need to heavily reward the people who succeeded. Theres a lot of designs out there that arent very feasible, quite a few that barely meet the baseline in terms of performance, and a few that exceed them. But the people who think of things that we shouldve thought of and didnt... he sighed. How should we reward them? ...... Two weeks later, in Park Seo-Yeons living room. The five partners behind Imugi-Danche were having a planning meeting when their phones all lit up and sounded a unique alert tone, indicating a message had been received from an imperial official. They all pulled out their phones and unlocked them, then a holographic display automatically lit up with a push notification from the imperial space agency. [Congratulations, Imuge-Danche, on your design, patent 197-0002-813604-XT588V2-TEP pending, for being accepted into the Innovation Program. A representative will contact you within the next 48 hours with further details. Please follow this +link+ for more information on your rights and responsibilities as a company in the Innovation Program. [Welcome to the team, Imugi-Danche!] All five of the people in the room froze as they read the email on their holographic display screens, their mouths open so wide they could swallow a chickens egg without breaking the shell. Then the shouting began a full three minutes later after they all came out of their collective stare state and leapt at each other, jumping up and down in a jubilant group hug. They had done it! This calls for a celebration! Kim Ye-Jin shouted, and went to the kitchen. He soon came back with a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne. He popped the cork and champagne foam covered the five celebrating friends, who didnt care in the least about the mess and poured each other a glass. To the innovation program and the empire! Park Seo-Yeon shouted as he raised his champagne flute. And to the emperor, long may he reign! Chapter 556 Hope and Enthusiasm Chapter 556 Hope and Enthusiasm After a few minutes of celebrating, followed by quick showers and changes of clothes all around to wash off the sticky champagne residue, the five men in charge of Imugi-Danche called their families and friends to spread the good news. You arent gonna believe this, but.... Mom, we did it! Dad, our design was accepted! Honey, how would you like to visit space? Sis! Guess what?! The calls lasted for hours until well into the night, but all of them were too excited to sleep and began a proper Korean drinking party that went all around the city, from bar to karaoke to bar to restaurant, and so on. It wasnt until their sixth stop that they were too inebriated to move and the bartender called for a car to bring them home. ...... We could.... I think we.... The conversation shifted to brainstorming, then after an hour or so of that when suggestions had grown too unrealistic to continue, Park Seo-Yeon cut in and said, Okay, okay, settle down. We can branch out and do multiple things. We can offer leases on asteroid mining ships where people interested in asteroid mining pay for their ships with five percent of their finds for... lets say, ten years. Another avenue would be designing luxury yachts for solar trekkers. I think people with disposable income would be more than happy to buy their own spaceships. Rich peoples money is easy to earn if you offer them a way to increase the size of their assets in dick measuring contests. Just look at how Musk sent a car into orbit around Mars for no good reason but to brag. Imagine if we were the ones to steal the luxury market out from under those buja babo! (Ed note: Buja babo (Hangul: ???? ????) is a phrase that supposedly refers to people who have great wealth, but lack intelligence or common sense. The Korean term literally translates to rich idiot or wealthy fool. I dont have any knowledge of Korean myself, much less their slang, so I went to the expert on this one... ChatGPT. Let me know if I got it wrong here, yeah?) The Imugi-Danche meeting continued, the five friends using sheer enthusiasm to make up for the complete lack of experience in actually running a company. They were far from alone in that, however, as the Innovation Project had accepted a lot of designs from startups that had zero experience and were, realistically speaking, doomed to eventual failure. Some might survive, but the shark-infested waters that corporations regularly swam in were definitely not for everyone, a lesson that most of the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and optimistic people diving in headfirst was soon to learn. But if those that failed continued trying and trying again, they would learn the important lessons and, eventually, become one of the giants whose shoulders future generations could stand upon to look further into the foggy, distant futures themselves. The explosion of space-related companies, whether they focused on selling designs or customizing their own ship in pursuit of the vast mineral wealth present in the solar system, or anything in between, was the beginning of a wealth redistribution within the empire. Aron himself was in favor of the shakeup and injection of fresh blood into the stale economy that had been the playground for the detached and delusional ultra-rich people for far, far too long. So he would put his money where his mouth was and invest in everyone who dared to dream, ensuring that they all had an equal chance of fulfilling those dreams and kickstarting the age of exploration. It also proved a rather effective distraction from the events of the recent past, as well. With so many negative things happening since the founding of the empire, it was good to inject a little bit of hope and enthusiasm into the collective subconscious of humanity. Chapter 557 "Thats No Moon" Chapter 557 "That''s No Moon" Ceres station. Earths second moon had now become part of the planets skyline for everyone on the right side of the planet. All of what used to be Asia, half of Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and all the way to the American Midwest, people could simply look up at any hour of the day and see the enormous dwarf planet hovering in the sky. It had become quite a tourist attraction as well, as people flocked to those former countries to see the spectacle, or to Eden, where tour groups gathered to go up and personally walk around the parts of the station where construction had been completed. The only difference was the costtouring the station itself, at least in reality, was much more expensive than simply flying to a part of the world where one could see it from the ground. Roswell, New Mexico, in particular, had become a tourist mecca, as had Sedona, Arizona, oddly enough. Roswell was understandable, as they had always had a space tourism theme, but Sedona was historically home to hippies and neopagansboth old and newso nobody quite understood the draw there. But regardless of the high cost, the tour groups all had reservation lists stretching out all the way into next year, though more than ten million people had already visited it. And everyone who had been lucky enough to buy spots in those early tours considered it well worth the cost simply from the thrill of riding the elevator up the swaying anchor cable alone. Seeing the inside of the station with their own eyes was just icing on a very expensive cake. However, the station had become even more crowded with startup companies that immediately leased space on the dwarf planet, thanks to the imminent opening of space to private exploration. Ship showrooms, asteroid mining company offices, logistics company warehouses, and many other types of companies had rushed to pay the high leases with the expectation that the empire would soon be banning civilian spacecraft from entering Earths atmosphere. The door to his office swooshed open and Nova strode in, piloting her nanite colony body. Sir, weve found a solution to the mana drain issue, she reported. Im listening, he replied, resting his chin in his hand and closing the holographic footage he had been watching. We need to build medical pods that can deliver a constant stream of unaspected mana to the victims at the same rate theyre losing it, or a little bit faster. Then its only a matter of time until their mana bodies heal themselves, and they can be awake in the simulation during the process. As she spoke, another virtual screen popped up in front of Aron, showing the results of the testing done in the gold labs of Lab City. After he finished reading the document, Arons gaze grew sharp and he asked, With that amount of mana, wouldnt they undergo the same kind of awakening that Rina did? That is a distinct possibility, sir. But I dont believe that everyone will awaken, even under the same condition as Rina underwent her awakening. The researchers in Lab City believe theres some aspect of luck to awakening, or perhaps something they simply havent discovered yet is interfering with the process. But either way, their research and my simulation iterations agree: not everyone will awaken to mana, aspected or not, Nova explained. If you turn to page 452 of the research data file, theres a chart of expected outcomes for the patients undergoing the cure procedure. And ask you can see.... The conversation between the two lasted for another half hour before Aron asked for silence and sat in thought for quite some time. Chapter 558 Awakening Pods Chapter 558 Awakening Pods A week later. Aron stood in a cavernous room in the Cube on Avalon Island, looking at the newly printed medical pods laying before him in precise columns and rows. As it turned out, actually using the first-generation atomic printers to print runic engravings into things was a much slower process than printing things without them. The process could be compared to trying to play a modern AAA video game on an old desktop computer from the 1980s. However, the tradeoff was well worth it, as he was only one person, but he had many atomic printers. He swept his gaze across the room and nodded in satisfaction as his runic heart spun into action. A slow breeze began flowing through the room as he greedily sucked the mana from his surroundings. The breeze soon grew to a small vortex of about ten feet wide before stabilizing. With the stomp of a foot, a brilliant golden runic construct appeared beneath Arons feet and spread throughout the entire cavernous room, slipping beneath row after row of medical pods as it grew. It soon reached the walls and stopped growing, and Aron wiped the nonexistent sweat from his brow; now the difficult part would begin. He sat cross-legged on the ground and began feeding his intent into the runic construct. Milky white ripples spread from him, lightening the golden glow of the construct as they swept over it. Unlike the construct, when they hit the walls, they rebounded like ripples hitting the side of a swimming pool. The ripples continued emanating from him in time with his heartbeat, which gradually increased in speed and intensity, staining the runic construct around him white as they swept through it. Soon, the entire construct was glowing with a dim white light that rapidly rose in intensity and brightness until, if someone were to see it, it would blind them and leave a shadow behind their closed eyelids. {Yes, sir,} she replied, and a hidden door slid open in the side of the room. Stasis pods began drifting through the loading door one after another, almost like a line of ants. Once they passed through the door, they began heading toward an unoccupied awakening pod, where they were met by RES-QR bots that transferred the patients from the stasis pods to the new pods for their treatment cycle. Seeing that the procedure was well underway, Aron stood, nodded to Nova, who had appeared in his augmented reality view as soon as the imprinting process was successfully completed, then walked out of the room through a smaller door. He was met by two of his emperors aegis, who took up positions on either side of him and a step behind, but he paid them no mind. A week and a half prior, he and Rina had had their first minor spat. He maintained that he needed no protection inside the Cube, or other government buildings for that matter, but Rina had insisted that he go nowhere unescorted. Her argument was well thought out and presented, as befit the scion and heir of a megafamily like the Rothschilds, so he had eventually capitulated and agreed to the escort. But while he had agreed, he didnt have to like it. So he had decided to simply ignore his escorts beyond what was necessary for the sake of politeness and to ensure that they felt valued. Other than that, he acted as he thought the emperor of all humanity should. Passing through the hall, he entered another room which led to a block of apartments where the close families of the people now undergoing the final healing process would stay through the duration of the treatment. The block included an amphitheater that would serve as the perfect venue to gather the people staying in the complex and he triggered an announcement in their rooms that he would be present to explain the treatment process their loved ones were about to undergo. He sat in a seat at the back of the stage and his escort split up. One of them stood behind him, where he would be out of view for casual glances, and the other headed to the door of the amphitheater, where people would soon be streaming in to meet the emperor in person. Chapter 559 Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics Chapter 559 Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics The treatment of the mana drain victims had already begun, even before Aron had called the families of the patients into the amphitheater and explained what had happened, how it would be treated, and the expected outcomes. Basically, the process would require two weeks of Earth time, during which the patients would remain logged in to VR. And each apartment in the complex the families lived in was also equipped with extended stay medical pods, thus ensuring that the families could remain together for the duration of the treatment. The best thing about it was that the families equipment would be maintained at the empires expense, as well as the standard fee that would normally be charged to the patients themselves. The bigger concern, and one that Aron hadnt mentioned to anyone outside of his inner circle, was that using the awakening pods would light another beacon for the incoming visitors. That said, it wasnt like it mattered anymore. Humanity had already caught their attention, and they were already on their way. Worrying about whether or not they were paying attention to the cradle of humanity was like locking the barn door to guard against thieves after the horses had already been stolen. And it wasnt even that big a concern, either. Aron had already enacted countermeasures to prevent other civilizations that could detect mana from finding Earth. The shield he had created had more than simple blocking capabilities; it could prevent energy leakage just as well as it could prevent physical passage, and much, much more. For instance, he could even set it to make Earth completely invisible, like a hole in space. Sure, that would have some severe downsides, but when given a choice between bad and worse, bad would win every time. Bending light around the planet to provide optical invisibility would essentially blind everyone on the planet, but it would be better than having humanity wiped out by hostile marauders. And that was just one of the countermeasures he had included in the complex shield. He couldnt do much about noncitizens, however, but by the simple expedient of setting the planetary defense shield to block every wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum except for visible light, communications immediately went down. And once that happened, Youssef Al-Mutairi, the Minister of the Exterior, went into action. In a matter of weeks, the remnant governments on the planet had hammered out treaties with the empire that gave them access to quantum communications, which was a huge win for Operation Boiling Frog. Aron was definitely not playing around with the security measures he had implemented to protect his empire, and the entire planet by extension. Once he gathered enough resources, he would even implement what he had named Project Loki throughout the entire solar system, blocking the accurate view from the heliopause. Not to mention the spy prevention, just the shield itself would act as a very effective first line of defense against potentially hostile alien invasions. In preparation for the implementation, another quantum supercluster had been dedicated to creating the image of an interplanetary war and the resulting ruined solar system left behind, providing the Sol System with a thick protective barrier as well as camouflage that would make it uninteresting in the first place. And the protection of the solar system would be thoroughly planned, leaving no loopholes for observers to discover that it was faked, unlike the loophole left in Earth itselfs coverage. Or rather, there would only be a single loophole, which was that if someone was already looking and had spotted the discrepancy where Earth went from a thriving planet to a dying one literally overnight, they would be suspicious of a system-wide war. But the odds of that happening were slim, according to all of Novas calculations. The planet would have had to already be under observation in order for them to notice the discrepancy caused by Aron enabling the shields visual projection feature. And that would require the observing party to be in the right place at the right time and paying attention to the right thing moment by moment. The odds of that happening were low enough, statistically, that Aron had decided it was worth the risk. Chapter 560 Catch and Release Kuiper Belt, just outside Plutos orbit. In the vastness of space, everything is a mere microscopic speck against the divine firmament, Monique de Groot, captain of the NIS-SV-765981-LRV, thought, gazing at the rapidly shrinking Pluto in her augmented reality display. The Kuiper Belt was home to numerous dwarf planets and had an extremely high density of objects, compared to the inner region of the solar system. The stealth ship had just passed through the tail of one of those comets on her journey outward, disturbing the microscopic ice particles as it passed through them, leaving a wake despite the advanced stealth systems in the exploration vessel. Thanks to the almost unconscionable speed the 5981 was traveling at, the disturbance was minimal and soon dissipated, returning the environment to its normal appearance. But even if the wake had lasted longer and propagated farther, there was no one to witness the spectacle other than the universe and imperial automated early warning detectors. The detectors remained silent, thanks in large part to quantum IFF (Identification, Friend or Foe) systems being a part of their makeup. The detectors were a miracle of miniaturization. Based around a fusion reactor the size of a childs fist, the detectors themselves were only the size of a softball and leaked absolutely no energy or signals other than a positively tiny gravitic disturbance as the incorporated gravity propulsion system carried them on their journey to the inner edge of the heliopause near the termination shock layer of the solar systems border. (Ed note: The heliopause is comprised of two or three layers. Two of them are known: termination shock, where the solar wind emanating from the sun slows down and ejects all of the compressed particulates it picks up on its journey, and the heliopause, where the solar wind meets and is neutralized by the interstellar medium. Some scientists think there has to be a third layer, the bow shock, where the heliopause picks up interstellar particles and shoves them out of the way.) ...... A few hours later.{Approaching the mission target,} the ships AI reported through the speakers embedded in the ships bulkheads. Begin the deceleration and capture maneuver, Captain de Groot ordered. Lets do this in one pass, ladies. The bridge crew chorused an acknowledgement of the order and activity at each workstation picked up as people focused on carrying out their assigned tasks. Adjusting orientation... adjusted. Beginning deceleration, the helmswoman reported. Opening ventral bay, the weapons officer added. {Because destruction is never an absolute, Commander. Besides, why destroy something that can be used to serve a noble purpose?} Nyx countered. Whats the purpose, then? Commander Ryfczinski asked, still curious as to why an entire stealth crew of the NIS would be tasked with a multiple-month deployment for what she saw as an enormous boondoggle. Have you heard of Sergeant Murphy, Commander? Minister Al-Mutairi interjected. Should I have? she asked. Sergeant Murphy is a lawmaker, Miss Rif... Miss Ruff... Youssef sighed. Minister, please just call me Ski. Im Polish, were all used to it and have been ever since our ancestors decided to use every letter of the alphabet in our family names, Commander Ryfczinski chuckled. Ahem... yes. Miss Ski, even if youve never heard of Sergeant Murphy, Im certain youve heard of his law. Ah, right... everything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible moment? A light flashed in her eyes as she suddenly understood what Nyx meant by destruction is never absolute. Indeed, Commander, Aron said. Its impossible to destroy something so thoroughly that it leaves no evidence behind. So what we want to do is leave a false evidence trail. And for that, we need you and your crew to capture the Voyager 2 and return without being caught at any stage of the operation. Understood, Your Majesty. Very well. Any other questions? Aron asked. No, Your Majesty, the two nyxians replied with a salute. Then be on your way. Good luck and godspeed, ladies. Aron returned the salute as the emperors council chamber disappeared from around the two women, who exchanged glances with each other then logged out of the simulation as well. They had much to prepare and little time in which to do it. Chapter 561 New Year, New Tax Dodgers Chapter 561 New Year, New Tax Dodgers (Ed note: Sorry about the delay. Hay fever hit hard and early this year and I was completely unprepared for it; it usually comes in April, not mid-March.) This chapter is updated by The Voyager 2 probe spent an hour inside the stealth ship before being ejected. As the ship had matched course and speed with it, it continued on its way with no apparent changes. Unless someone happened to have been watching the entire process from start to finish, the disappearance wouldnt even have been noticed. Even for keen-eyed observers, if they noticed the disappearance it would seem like a sensor glitch on their side, as nothing about the venerable space probe had changed, at least outwardly. The only difference was that the insides of the probe had been swapped out for nanite colonies that took the shape of the components that were already there, but with the vastly increased capabilities of imperial tech. The nanite colonies had vastly improved the sensors of the Voyager 2, though the communication issue had been a little bit trickier. Since radio waves were interceptable and quantum teleportation required more energy than the probe should be able to generate, the new method of communication with Earth was via ultrahigh frequency whisker lasers through a relay network of stealthed repeater probes. Voyager 2 would passively collect material from the interstellar medium and print probes on its own from there on, and Captain de Groots crew would lay the remainder during their return journey. (Ed note: Space isnt completely empty. Theres a lot of gas and dust particles floating around in it, ranging from a handful of particles per cubic centimeter to tens, or even thousands of particles per cubic centimeter.) The stealth ship laid the first probe, then began the journey home. The ultra-wealthy werent happy about what they saw as draconian tax collection and income tracking laws. It had historically been something of a game they played with the government and tax agencies, where they would see how much they could hide and avoid paying taxes on and the government tried to find and tax the undeclared income. But now they couldnt play those games, leaving them rather unhappy with the outcome. At first, they had attempted the same thing theyd always done: resort to bribing officials to get the system changed to benefit the wealthy. But with no way to lobby the imperial government, at least not legally, they were completely at a loss. After all, if the officials arent elected, theres no need for them to collect campaign funds. So they opted to attempt outright bribes, sending sacks of cash and other valuables to the officials along with promises of lucrative positions once they leave their cushy government jobs. But that just spectacularly backfired on them. Every government employee knew they were subject to constant monitoring of their job performance. Their training had even told them what to do in case someone attempted to bribe them: accept the bribe, make the promise, and report the person who bribed them to their superior. As a reward for reporting it, they could even keep whatever was used to bribe them, be it cash or otherwise. If they didnt report it, however, they would be caught and sentenced to an even stricter sentence than the person attempting to bribe them. Accepting bribes was seen as even worse than the bribery itself, and every single agency had a department dedicated to investigating the employees of that agency, much like the internal affairs division of police forces. Little did they know, however, that the people responsible for catching them were the librarians keeping the record of their brain data in the Akashic Library. Every time they violated the rules, a report would be generated and sent to an investigator, who would catch the rule-breaker and punish them on the spot. The ultra-wealthy had finally been met with a government that was impossible for them to influence in any way. Chapter 562 Pomp and Circumstance Chapter 562 Pomp and Circumstance This chapter is updated by You, the brave men and women of the exploration fleet, have volunteered to take on a task for the betterment of humanity. And for that, We salute you. Aron snapped a salute. He was standing on the stage against the backdrop of the empires virtual press room, delivering a speech to commemorate the exploration mission that was stopped at the inner edge of the termination shock layer of the heliopause. As it was Earths first manned mission to interstellar spaceofficially, at leastthe exploration fleets and their escorts had turned out in their full dress uniforms to listen to the emperors remarks. Generations before the Terran Empire was conceived, a visionary was born in the then United States of America. Born to humble parents, he was a decorated veteran and pilot, who yearned for the stars. What if? he thought to himself, but the technology to fulfill his dreams wouldnt exist for decades after he began his dreams. So instead, he devoted himself to sharing those dreams of his in the hopes that they would inspire others to dream with him, and by doing so, he influenced generation after generation of people to seek the stars, to boldly go where no man has gone before. You, the brave men and women of Our exploration fleet, are the culmination of the hopes and dreams of every man, woman, and child who has ever looked up at the night sky and thought to themselves, What if? And as you take this first historic step in the history of mankind, know that you go with those hopes and dreams. Arons gaze grew fervent as he stared into the virtual camera in front of him, the viewing angle of everyone watching making it seem as though he was meeting the eyes of everyone watching his speech. (Ed note: The Age of Sail was the period between the 16th and 19th century when most world transportation was done via wind-driven sailing ships. But when speaking of the pioneers who first voyaged out and mapped the world, that started around the 1500s and, in my books, ended in the mid-18th century with the discovery and colonization of North America.) But no matter the situation you find yourselves in, remember that the Terran Empire has trained you to the highest standard. Trust in yourselves, trust in your brothers and sisters beside you, trust in the leadership above you, and above all, trust in the undying thirst for exploration inherent in the human race. So go forth, sons and daughters of humanity, and explore! Carry out your duties with conviction and pride as you venture into the greatest unknown that the human species has ever faced. Be bold, brave, and undaunted as you carry the torch of Our civilization and the flag of Our empire to the stars! And know this: We have your back. Just as you trust in your chain of command, We, the Terran Empire, trust in and support you, no matter how distant your journey may take you. So go forth with confidence! Godspeed, ladies and gentlemen, and long live the Terran Empire! Aron snapped to attention and saluted the virtual camera once more as his image faded from the stage and other members of the upper leadership of the Terran Space Fleet and Terran Exploration Fleet took the stage to deliver their remarks. Pomp and circumstance had a long tradition in the armed forces, one that would likely remain unbroken until the heat death of the universe. Even as entropy closed in, the last living human would likely deliver a rousing speech to whomever found whatever media he or she recorded it on. Chapter 563 One Hell of a Slippery Slope... or Two Chapter 563 One Hell of a Slippery Slope... or Two Aron walked into his suite in the Cube and sat next to Rina on the couch in his lounge. He sighed and fell over on his side, resting his head on her lap. She stroked his hair and asked, Long day? Five million, he replied. Five... million? Five million people are about to leave the solar system. It was... a lot. Never had a speech take so much out of me, Aron sighed again. Whyd you have to do it personally? Couldnt you just have someone fake being you to deliver the speech? Couldnt do that. Havent you done it before? Rina tilted her head, losing herself in thought as she petted her fiancee. I owe it to them to do it myself. Theyre the first manned exploration mission humanitys ever sent past the Oort Cloud and theyre risking their lives for us... no, for me. So the absolute least I can do is personally send them off. Well, I guess... but just keep in mind that you can just like, make an AI or something thatll write and deliver speeches on your behalf, Rina giggled. We have the technology. We can make him better... faster... stronger. Aron rolled over and looked up, trying to see Rinas face but having his vision blocked by two obstacles. Im worth more than that, you know, he groaned. Yes, yes. Youre worth the most. Definitely worth more than a mere six million dollars, thats for sure, Aron grumbled, then turned his head and buried his face against Rinas belly. Besides, he continued, his voice slightly muffled, I cant do that anyway. You cant make a speechwriting AI? Nope. You see, in order to do that, Id have to do it based on my brain data. Is that all? I mean, dont you already have your brain data constantly being updated? No. I dont, you dont, our families dont... all those closest to me are exempt from brain data monitoring and uploading. Its too... I dunno. Not invasive invasive, but regular invasive. Researchers from Earth had long believed those five were among the systems most likely to support organic life, and the AI that oversaw the Terran Space Fleet and Terran Exploration Fleet, Styx, had chosen them for the first expedition. Not only did they have atmospheres, but they were likely to have liquid water on the surface and their distribution in the galaxy provided a decent sample in terms of distance and direction from Earth. One was nearby, two were in a more middling distance, and two were a long distance from the cradle of humanity. But more importantly, none of them were even remotely close to the visitors flight path on their approach to the solar system. Thus, the exploration fleets would have no chance of forcing an early meeting with the extraterrestrials who were already on their way to Earth. The fleets themselves were extremely flexible. Each exploration cruiser carried a reinforced company of ARES troopers, a squad of Reapers, a ships guard of Aegis specialists, and a nyxian of every specialization. And each exploration fleet was made up of a hundred exploration cruisers. And escorting each exploration fleet was a vast cityship, each of which acted as the mothership for close to two thousand ships of the Terran Space Fleet, along with a legion of ARES, enough fertilized zygotes to plant a colony on a habitable planet with sufficient genetic diversity to ensure their long- term viability, and a full copy of the non-classified parts of the Akashic Record. They also housed enormous atomic printers capable of virtually terraforming entire planets, given enough time, which was a first for Aron. He was so overprotective of the atomic printing technology that he had been determined not to let the technology anywhere outside the solar system, but hed had his mind changed on the subject by Nova. ...... A few days before the exploration fleet escorts left Mars. [Sir, why not send printers with the explorers?] Nova asked. I dont want the tech stolen, Aron replied. And by sending them with the fleets, we risk exposing them. Its better if they make do with constructor swarms and GEMbots. [Isnt that inefficient? For Operation Diaspora, the speed of deployment matters just as much as anything else.] The risk is still there, though. [Consider that our atomic printing technology is still tier one, and weve been working with it for years. Its been studied in Lab City for centuries, even. So to anyone on our tech level, its basically black box tech, and anyone more advanced has likely already discovered and is using it. Given that thats the case, why not put efficiency over security with the explorers, at least?] Because... Aron sighed. Not even he could ignore the validity of Novas point. You have a point, Nova. The exploration fleet is leaving the solar system, after all, so even if the tech is exposed, we have... options. His expression hardened and grew colder than a block of permafrost. If the explorers or their escorts discovered anything about the printers, well... space exploration was incredibly risky, after all, and at the heart of things, the cold calculus of ruling meant that the few could be discarded for the benefit of the many. And letting people get a hint of the atomic printers would economically devastate the newly formed Terran Empire at a time it could least afford it. Thus, sacrifices could be made, though he hoped it would never come to that. Load the cityships with atomic printers in the black decks, he ordered. [Yes, sir,] Nova said, then her virtual image flickered. [Done, sir. Were prepared for launch.] Chapter 564 Objects in Motion Chapter 564 Objects in Motion The fleets, despite being separated by light hours, simultaneously brought their gravity engines to full power and accelerated through the border of the solar system. Aboard the TSF Proxima. Prepare for maneuvering, Fleet Admiral of the Red Marco Bianchi ordered, then settled back in his chair, his job as the fleet admiral complete. (Ed note: The full rank structure for the TSF will be posted in Discord, but for now just understand that there are two admiralty branches: red and green. Admirals of the red are line commanders; they command fleets in battle. Admirals of the green are administrative; they handle logistics, personnel, and command stationary assets like outposts and refit bases. https://discord.gg/5ba9m5DFKR ) The captain of the cityship echoed the fleet admirals command, but his job was just beginning. The cityship he commanded was colossal, measuring a full forty kilometers in diameter. It almost had to be; not only was it a mothership capable of containing thousands of other ships, ranging from the kilometers-long drone tenders to the hundred-meter length of the humble corvettes, they were also space-capable cities. They were designed to land on planets and would instantly become full, if small, fortress cities to kickstart colonization. And once Aron had earned enough SP to upgrade to wormhole FTL tech, they would also act as mobile wormhole generators. So, all in all, the cityships were some of the most capable in the entire Terran Space Fleet, but they had one weakness: mobility. They could zip around in straight lines like no other, with the enormous reactor and capacitor banks pushing their gravity engines to insane levels of performance, but stopping on a dime and turning while in motion were both maneuvers they were simply not built for. It was nobodys fault but the laws of physics. The immense mass of the cityships would require much higher levels in materials science than Lab City had yet reached. Attempting high-speed maneuvers or rapid deceleration would simply tear the ships apart. It wasnt so much that they were fragile, because they definitely were anything but flimsy, but because the shearing force applied to the ships during high-speed maneuvering was simply too overwhelming for even the best materials the researchers in Lab City had come up with to date. Point defenses released to automatic, Captain, the weapons officer yelled over the din of conversation. The captains expression grew stern. Can the chatter, ladies and gentlemen. Do your jobs, he growled. The hum of conversation died down, people at the various stations on the bridge exchanging glances with each other. Space was inherently dangerous, especially danger zones like nebulas and asteroid fields. And even though the autopilot was run by the ships AI, there was always a chance that a rogue asteroid or debris from two objects colliding nearby would impact the ship. Given the armor and redundancies built into each vessel, small impacts like thateven when dealing with the extreme speeds the ships were capable of reachingwouldnt be likely to cripple or destroy any of the heavier ships of the line in the TSF, but it could put them behind schedule as they would be forced to stop to repair the damage. Yes, every ship in the TSF and TEF had shields, but hardware had limitations. Each impact on those shields would reduce the lifespan of the shield generators themselves, so in order to maintain the highest state of combat readiness they could, the shield generators wouldnt be online during routine maneuvering. After all, why would they take the damage that could be avoided simply by slowing down to a reasonable acceleration and top speed? Fleet Admiral Bianchi nodded approvingly. He came from a long line of sailors that stretched all the way back to when Italy was still a hodgepodge of city-states. His ancestors had salt in their veins and the sea in their hearts, having sailed ever since the glassmakers of Venice peddled their wares at the beginning of the Italian Renaissance. And that tradition had carried through the centuries, with a Bianchi at the helm of everything from coasters to the enormous cargo vessels in the empires merchant marine. Now, a Bianchi had stepped out into the vastness of space to command an entire fleet on his own. The responsibility weighed heavily on the mans shoulders, but the pride in his spine refused to let him bow under the weight and kept him standing firm on the shoulders of centuries-long tradition. Captain, you have the bridge. Ill be in the flag bridge, he said. Yes, Admiral. I have the bridge, the captain replied, and the admiral left the bridge. The captain turned his attention inward to the augmented reality display generated by his quantum microcomputer implant. The ships structure itself seemed to vanish, leaving him feeling like he was the one moving through space, not the ship he was on. He entered an almost meditative state as he gazed out into the vastness of the universe, awed and humbled by his insignificance in the face of the void. Chapter 565 Inconceivable Chapter 565 Inconceivable Captain Trishan Das continued gazing into the void of space, something that caused his lips to quirk up into a slight smile as he wondered whether Nietzsche would roll over in his grave or not. After all, he was definitely misusing the idea, despite space being just as endless as the abyss spoken of by the German philosopher. Still, he was in a philosophical mood and couldnt help but think back on all of his struggles growing up poor in rural India. In fact, if it werent for the efforts of Jai Chakrabarti, the Coeus Foundations CEO, he would still be living in a mud hut with a rusty corrugated steel roof over his head. So Captain Das had good reason to be thankful for the Terran Empire, as it had personally uplifted both him and his family. His mother, father, and little sister were some of the first to design their home in a fortress city, and Trishan himself was here, the captain of one of the largest spaceships ever built. He had to admit that, if his younger self knew where he would be today, he would probably laugh himself to death and accuse whoever told him his future of being the most outrageous liar hed ever known. Shaking himself out of his daze, he brought up his monitoring screens and got to work. ...... Everything that was considered valuable on Earth, like gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, and many others, was actually quite common in the vastness of space. In fact, most scientists believed that Uranus literally rained diamonds! The methane in the atmosphere would break down thanks to the suns rays, creating carbon atoms. The resultant carbon would then fall deeper into the gas giants atmosphere, where the pressure would compress them into diamonds. Whether or not the mining ships that people were now busily designing could actually gather those diamonds was another question entirely. But even if they couldnt collect them now, that didnt mean they would never be able to. If the empire hadnt already announced strict controls on importing resources from the depths of the solar system, the economy would have already spiraled into a recession. But by the simple expedient of limiting the amount of mineral commodities from space and prohibiting any mining on Earth itself, the disaster had been staved off. Any surplus over and above the mandated import limits would be sold to the empire, and the process was automatic. As mining ships dropped off their loads at the processing stations, the empire would take it from there and everyone would be satisfied with the outcome. The empire would receive vast stocks of mineral resources, the miners themselves would be handsomely paid for their efforts and finds, investors could rest assured that the commodities market would remain stable, and manufacturers that relied on those raw resources would be able to purchase them from the empire at a reasonable price. It was a flexible model and would easily transition from an empire that was bound to a single solar system all the way to a galaxy-spanning empire that stretched from one edge of the Milky Way to the other. And one thing ensured that smuggling wouldnt exist: quarantine. Sure, there were indeed greedy people, but the only people licensed to mine in space would be those who passed the most stringent of security checks that included personality scanning via brain data. Part of the processing that was done at the processing stations in the Trojan asteroids was a scan that detected and eliminated any possible microorganism, preventing potential disease outbreaks that humanity wasnt equipped to handle. After all, H.G. Wells had thrust the idea that aliens could be defeated by something as simple as the common cold. Thus, it was obvious that the same concept could work in reverse, wiping out humanity just as easily as an earthly virus had wiped out the invaders in War of the Worlds.Updated from Chapter 566 Two Compilers Chapter 566 Two Compilers Aron had decided to handle the solar resources like that because he believed that only the empire would have the capability to swallow such gains without harming itself. Any private sector enterprise given the vast mineral rights to the entire solar system would cut corners to increase profits, which wouldnt be beneficial to the fledgling economy in the least. He had learned of the dangers of monopolies from history, with shining examples like the Rockefeller family highlighting the path that he should definitely not take. In fact, he had even gone so far as to take a page from communism, insofar as everything not specifically recognized as private propertylike privately owned land on Earthhad been designated as property of the empire. So while asteroid miners may own their own mining ships, they had to request mineral rights from the empire. Prospecting could be done within limits, but in order to exploit their finds, they would require a permit from the imperial resources agency. The IRA was the ruling body that had been created to ensure that any resource exploitation was done with safety and sustainability in mind. They had a responsibility to ensure that nothing entered the Earth that could potentially harm either the people or the planet itself. After all, humanity, when left unchecked, didnt exactly have the best track record when it came to things like environmental conservation. The empire municipalizing all solar system resources had a second, and more obvious, benefit. It allowed the tracking and inventory of the exact amount of resources they had on hand, as well as preventing tax dodging by underreporting a mining companys gains. And despite the minority of people who tried to drum up anti-monopolistic sentiments, the government holding a monopoly on the solar system was still a net positive for all. Despite the people who didnt know any better, not having bothered to take advantage of the educational resources provided to them for free by the empire, the benefit could be seen everywhere. For example, the government, being by its very nature a not-for-profit enterprise, could sell those raw materials to the companies in the industrial sector for an extremely low price. Thus, the final products would also remain within a reasonable price range for consumers. And with companies like GAIA Tech, HHI, and others, Aron could fairly compete with the other companies springing up in the industrial and manufacturing industry, ensuring that all prices were kept low and fat cat capitalists couldnt use the cheap raw materials to pocket an extreme profit by hiking up product prices to a ridiculous degree. {I do have to say, though, that youre quite good at coding. You didnt even have to stop and think at allits almost like you were the creator of the coding language. And the code you wrote helped me quite a bit, too... human ingenuity really is interesting,} she praised as she internalized the code Aron had written and began compiling it through her own compiler. It was hard to believe Aron had written it in the span of half a day. Its how the system works. Anything I buy from it is assimilated into me, giving me an instant mastery of whatever knowledge Ive bought. The good and bad of it is that Im getting the distilled wisdom of the pioneer of the knowledge. Its good because it saves me centuries, or in some cases, millennia, of my own research, but its also bad in that Im only getting the perfected form of it. So I cant look back on past mistakes to help me progress further. Look at the printers, for example. It took dozens of researchers in Lab City hundreds of years just to miniaturize it, and it wasnt until I purchased the nanotechnology knowledge that we were able to take atomic printers down to the size of a suitcase. Up until then, the smallest we could make them was still the size of a luxury SUV, Aron complained, though Nova knew it was just his way of humblebragging. Thus, he was surprised when he was met with nothing but silence. He tilted his head and looked at Nova. Whats the problem? You just went silent on me, he asked. {My own initial check is complete. The compiler is still working and will be done soon, but even with the raw code right in front of me, I cant get the full picture of just what this code is meant to do. But what Ive gleaned so far is... unbelievable, at best. Im pretty sure this isnt even the complete code,} she said. What makes you say that? Aron asked with a smug smile on his face. {Im not entirely sure. There are obvious loopholes and hooks for new code to be injected, but thats standard for any code that youll want to update in the future to add features to. But what really made me think that is that this code doesnt seem to do anything. And I dont believe you would spend so long manually coding a program that doesnt work, so there has to be more to it. {If I were to hazard a guess, Id say that this is only a third of the total code youll need to successfully run this program. It almost seems... dormant, like when its completed, itll be a living program of sorts.} Chapter 567 Project Protagonist 567 Project Protagonist Youre right, Aron said with a smile. Both in that it isnt complete, and that theres still two parts missing. {Whatre the other two parts? I cant find anything that looks like it would fit this segment in my knowledgebase,} Nova asked. For the first time in a long time, she was unable to comprehend Arons thought processes. She had a few theories, but she wasnt confident in any of them; they were all equally likely, or equally unlikely as the case may be. Aron went still for a moment, then, with a grunt, rose from his chair. He paced around the room with his hands behind his back, as if he was a wise old sage about to give advice or perhaps an anecdote about his earlier life. It was a fair comparison, too, as his mental age was far, far beyond his physical age due to spending so much time in the time-dilated environment that was the universal simulation. After the initialization of Project Loki, I, and everyone else in my inner circle, came to the conclusion that everything weve been doing are preventive measures. And since none of us can be sure whether our incoming visitors will be friendly or hostile, we cant fully commit to a single course of action, either. So this, he gestured to the screen, where the compiler was still running, is the solution. Its a seed that can either cause a civilization to flourish, or infect them with a plague that will destroy them, given time. Whether it sprouts or spreads will depend on whether or not the visitors are friendly. And it doesnt matter if theyre carbon based, mana based, or otherwise, this is the core of a weapon that can target any of them. I call it Project Protagonist. Nova noted that down and created an action plan to increase the speed at which she built new quantum superclusters, increasing the time dilation that Lab City was under. Since its residents were completely digital and had no physical limitations, there was also no limit to the time dilation they could operate under without being detrimental to their continued existence. The only limiting factor was her server capacity. She also set a reminder to herself to remind Aron after each century that passed in Lab City as well, or after every hundred new iterations of nanotechnology. At each of those milestones, he could take another look to see if the technology had reached the necessary level of advancement. That was the level of convenience Aron had grown used to since Novas birth a few years before. She was the backbone that allowed him to focus on the big picture as she dealt with the million complicated, or even simply mind-numbingly boring, tasks that were required to reach his goals. {So from what you said, the remaining two parts have to do with carbon- and mana-based life forms in some fashion, right?} Nova asked. She had already devoted a small block of her processing power to figure out what Aron had planned. So when she saw him lean back and relax in his chair, it was the perfect time, in her mind, to ask. After all, he wasnt doing anything right then but spinning in his chair as he waited for the compiler to finish its task. Yep. Ill need a few things from the system to accomplish that. Plus, I bet the things I need will also give us quite the insight into alien life forms, he said as he stopped spinning in his chair. He opened his systems shop and granted Nova live access to his vision so she could read over his shoulder, so to speak. And there it was, listed in easily readable text floating in Arons vision, courtesy of his systems shop. Chapter 568 Branching Out Chapter 568 Branching Out [Organic computing, tier 1 Drawing inspiration from the remarkable complexity and efficiency of their species biology, the *************** combated the lack of mineral resources on their homeworld by branching computing into a different path. Instead of using silicon and metals, they discovered the ability of DNA base pairs to store information and developed a system of computing around that, creating complex and powerful computers from their own DNA. It was the final step that allowed them to become an interplanetary civilization, ruling over vast swathes of their home galaxy until they fell at the hands of the **************. This chapter is updated by Price: 178,000,000,000sp] [Runic computing, tier 1 *****, a former noble of a race enslaved by their technologically superior neighbors, took a side path upon his discovery of the fundamental runes that underpin all of creation. Knowing that he couldnt trust his fellow slaves, as many quislings and traitors were among them and he had no way of distinguishing them from his loyal compatriots, he utilized his accidental discovery of runes to create something that he thought would save his species. Unfortunately, while his skill was enough to advance computing technology far beyond even the technologically advanced ******s wildest imaginations, his skill with other technologies couldnt keep up and his rebellion ultimately failed. As it turns out, using an enemys last-generation technologies against them is not the key to successfully rebelling, a lesson that ***** learned the hard way. However, his ingenious, and some may say epoch-making, computing advances were preserved and iterated upon by the *******. The rest of his species, on the other hand, was not so lucky, meeting their end to the last sapient. And right now, he was finding it difficult to justify paying the cost out of his emergency SP fund. The 800 billion SP he currently held in reserve would be cut by half, and then some; it would severely limit his options when the visitors arrived, especially if they were hostile and so advanced that his current technology couldnt handle them. {If Project Protagonist succeeds, you wont need the emergency fund at all. So if youre confident in that plan, then spend the SP. Also, combining the three computing branches will render our network more flexible and less prone to a single point of failure in case we end up butting heads with aliens who can hard counter any one of the branches,} Nova said, interrupting Arons thoughts. If it could be called an interruption, that is; he was also considering the same things, but it was different once the thoughts were spoken aloud. True. Aron nodded, then stopped tapping his finger on his desk, having come to a decision. And besides, if I always stop myself from buying things now in the worry that Ill need the SP for different things in the future, well... thats a weakness I cant allow myself, or my empire, to have. Thanks, Nova. He lifted his hand to the system display window and tapped on the button labeled [BUY] for both the biological and runic computing knowledges. 428 billion SP drained from his total balance and the display screen changed. [Thank you for your purchase. Install now? Y/n_] See you soon, he said as he mentally confirmed the installation and logged out of the simulation. Nova had already put his physical body into a deep sleep inside his pod and his virtual face only twisted in pain for a fraction of a second before he disappeared from the simulation and his consciousness joined his body in its sleep. Installing knowledge from the system was an extremely painful process to begin with, even when only dealing with a single knowledge. Aron, however, had decided to buy both of them and install them simultaneously despite knowing of the downsides. It would send him spiraling into a level of pain that Nova didnt believe his consciousness could handle without shattering, despite his thousands of (sometimes agonizing) deaths during his training in the simulation. His choice demonstrated once again his deep trust in Nova. He was no masochist to begin with, and Nova was the only one capable of sending him into what was essentially a medically induced coma before the pain really hit with its full intensity. Chapter 569 Mo’ Technology, Mo’ Problems Chapter 569 Mo'' Technology, Mo'' Problems While Aron was assimilating the new knowledges and deep in Novas medically induced coma, the top minds in the imperial space agency were in a meeting with Styx, the AI that headed up both the TSF and their agency. How reliable is this? Dr. Musa Aminu, the head of the ISA, asked as he blinked the holographic file displayed in his glasses closed. Were 95% confident, sir. Some time within the next week, another Carrington event is expected to take place. And based on the sunspots we observed along with the increase in solar winds, we believe itll absolutely dwarf the event from 1869. The most damning piece of evidence we have is that its happening off season. Normally, the Sun acts up on a predictable eleven-year cycle, and the last solar maximum was only five years ago, so It wasnt 1869, Agency Head Aminu calmly said. It was -149 BE. Im not sure thats relevant, sir, the researcher said. A change in calendar doesnt mea It means exactly what it means, Doctor Yao. If this event is as epoch-making as you say itll be, then we must be absolutely meticulous. If for nothing else, consider it for posteritys sake. Understood, sir. Doctor Yao cleared his throat and continued, Itll be more devastating than the event in -149 BE, sir. It might even be a civilization-ending event, given our reliance on technology. Musa nodded, lost in thought. The entire room fell into an uncomfortable, anxious silence before he sighed, Styx, please inform the higher-ups of the oncoming mess and call an emergency meeting. Tell them that theres a seventy-odd percent chance that well be hit by a historic coronal mass ejection within the next week. Styx flickered into visibility, then blinked. [An emergency meeting will be held in thirty minutes with the emperors inner council,] he said. [Theyre currently being briefed on the issue and will need a detailed presentation from you.] Dr. Aminu nodded to Styx, then turned to the other researchers in the conference room. Prepare a presentation on the event. Ill leave it to you to present it, he ordered. Yes, sir, they chorused, then left to prepare their presentation. ...... Wait... shields? Minister Rogers asked with a slight frown, obviously considering something. What about the planetary defense shield? Isnt this kind of thing exactly what it was meant for? Dr. Yaos eyes lit up. We have a planetary shield? Can it handle the full brunt of the incoming CME? he asked. His security clearance level wasnt high enough to have any information on the full brunt of the incoming CME? he asked. His security clearance level wasnt high enough to have any information on the PDS, so the information, in his mind, changed everything. [If we switch it from passive to active defense, then, sure. Well also need to move all of our shipping under the shield or behind Jupiter,] Nova answered. [And during that time, nothing will be able to pass in or out of the shield.] Does it need to be fully active? Can we just activate the half thats facing the sun when the CME hits? Minister Rogers asked. [Technically, yes,] Nova said. [The shield is set up such that any of its hexagons can be activated independently of the rest. But it wouldnt be a good idea, as the coronal mass may wrap around it due to the Coanda Effect and hit the planet regardless. So, to counter that, well need to activate the entire shield at full power.] (Ed note: The Coanda Effect is what causes running water to stick to the surface of objects placed in it and flow around them. You can see this by turning on the faucet in your kitchen sink and putting a glass in the water on its side. The water will seem to adhere to the surface of the glass and flow around it, 18:06 then continue flowing instead of being deflected off to either side of the glass. Physics is fun!) [We should let it hit the planet,] Nyx interjected, immediately attracting the attention of everyone in the room. A moment of silence ensued, then every human in the room burst into a clamor. What!? Do you have any idea how devastating its going to be!? Are you insane? The outburst continued for a full three minutes before John slammed his hand on the conference table and shouted, SHUT THE FUCK UP! Chapter 570 Absolute Deniability Chapter 570 Absolute Deniability John turned to Nyx and said, Continue. Whatre you trying to say? {Im saying we should keep the shield in its passive mode and allow the Carrington event to happen,} she said in her trademark disinterested tone. Why should we do that? Dr. Aminu said, a look of shock still lingering on his face. Was he on the ground floor of an AI apocalypse? A bead of cold sweat dripped down from his temple as he fruitlessly tried to rein in his emotions. {A few reasons, actually,} Nyx said. She paused and looked around the room before continuing, {Other than the people in this room and His Imperial Majesty, no one knows that the planetary defense shield even exists in the first place. Its always been in its passive mode, making it invisible to everyone. Bringing it to full strength will reveal it, making its existence a matter of public record. {That wouldnt be a problem, but theres no need to reveal our trump card like that. After all, a trump card our enemies know about isnt very useful, now is it?} Before Nyx could continue providing her other reasons for not using it, she was interrupted by Dr. Aminu. That isnt a good enough reason for bringing humanity back to pre-industrial levels! Especially since we dont even know for sure what the visitors intentions are. For all we know, they could just be interstellar traders, or maybe theyre a branch of humanity that left for the stars long ago. The only thing we can be sure of is that we know absolutely nothing about them. And lets say, for the sake of argument, that they are in fact hostile. By letting a Carrington event of this magnitude just impact Earth and drive us back to where we were in the 1800s, wouldnt that just make us easier pickings for them? Dr. Aminu was so worked up that he even forgot his earlier insistence on using the new imperial calendar. {Besides, even in its passive mode, the planetary defense shield will still block a lot of the CME. By my calculation, the EMP that results from the remainder of the ejection that actually impacts the planets magnetic field should be just enough to cripple non-imperial infrastructure and last-generation imperial products. Its the perfect deniability for the empire, since well be hit as well. Its just that the hit we take will be in the non-essential category. {We can even warn the remnant governments of the upcoming Carrington event, making us the good guys in this situation, especially after we offer outreach that mitigates the loss of life the event causes even to noncitizens. At the same time, we can stress that imperial tech should hold up just fine, but to be safe, all imperial gadgets should be powered down when the event hits,} Nyx finished, her tone as calm as if she had just been reading the dictionary aloud and not talking about a potential civilization-ending event. A shocked silence descended on the conference room after Nyx finished explaining her reasoning. The imperial space agency staffers in the room figured out quite a bit about Operation Boiling Frog from the explanation; they were far from stupid, and the petite AIs suggestion gave them enough to tease out a general idea of what the operation was for. To them, it was completely new information. But despite that, they understood the reasoning behind the possibility of the empire simply allowing the CME to proceed without any active attempt to stop it, even though they were more than capable of doing so. After all, despite the semblance of peace that had recently returned to Earth, there was a very limited time frame in which to turn that facade into lasting reality before they had potentially hostile aliens showing up on humanitys doorstep with a broken society that would be easy to exploit should they be so inclined. That said, not everyone in the meeting was in agreement with Nyxs suggestion. And with the emperors absence, they couldnt come to a decision even if any suggestion was unanimously approved. So before the situation could devolve, Gaia appeared and took charge of the meeting. {Lets end it here for today, ladies and gentlemen. Ill deliver all of your points to the emperor when hes available, and let you know what his decision is once he comes up with one.} Though her tone was diplomatic, she still shot Nyx a loaded look; the feisty mistress of intelligence had let classified information slip, purposefully or not. But with Gaias involvement and her position, she had the authority and the duty to act as Arons plenipotentiary whenever he wasnt available. As such, the meeting was dismissed and everyone disappeared from the virtual conference room, followed by the room itself vanishing into the aether. It would be a waste of resources for it to remain in existence when not in use, and efficiency was everything to the Terran Empire. Chapter 571 Let it Come Chapter 571 Let it Come For gods sake, I just woke up! Aron grumbled. He hadnt even been awake for an hour before Gaia and Nova had dragged him back into the simulation for a briefing on the upcoming Carrington event. {The situation is critical, Your Majesty. So theres no time to waste, since well need to respond to the situation as early as possible, depending on your approval,} Gaia said. She knew that Aron was still feeling lethargic after coming out of his induced coma, especially since he was still dedicating a portion of his mind to sorting the new knowledge that had been downloaded into him. What is it with shit always happening when Im out of commission? What kind of bullshit is that? Aron continued grumbling as Nova massaged his headache away. Still, his briefing had been thorough and included the options presented to him by the people in the earlier meeting. {Its the opposite, sir. Things are always happening, but while youre in commission, they immediately get dealt with. Its only when youre unavailable that things pile up awaiting your decisions,} Nova coaxed. She increased the strength of her massage, the medical pod connecting her virtual actions to real world effects. Aron groaned in relief as his headache rapidly faded, then took a moment to think about what he had just heard about the ongoing situation. The entirety of Mars was being built up to create a solid fortress that could weather any number of storms. The surface installations were almost all weapons, and the reinforced underground tunnel network would allow for rapid transportation of men and materiel anywhere within a very short amount of time. And Mars solid core was perfect for housing the immense reactors, capacitor banks, and even the living areas for the millions of ARES personnel that would soon be stationed on the red planet. The budget, even considering that the construction and materials involved were free, was still considerable and ran into the trillions of END. Most of that cost was in certain rare earth and other minerals procured through the empires burgeoning asteroid mining industry, as Mars still lacked a lot of the materials needed for the massive construction processes. Even with constructor swarms, GEMbots, and atomic printers, they couldnt create something out of nothing. And even though Aron was personally shouldering 70% of the budget, if the Mars base was delayed by the impact of the upcoming CME, it would still have cast a shadow over the empire. After all, 30% of the cost was still multiple trillions of END, which was a lot of money to lose in a single incident. But that was only by the Terran Empires current standards. Once the diaspora and colonization efforts began in earnest, trillions would be a much smaller amount by comparison. Aron swiped the file closed and paused for a moment, updating his plans. Looks like Ill need to visit Mars sooner than Id originally planned, he said. He would need to personally erect a planetary defense shield there regardless, but the upcoming Carrington event had lit a fire underneath him. Just because the solar system had survived billions of years, if not trillions, it didnt guarantee that something would happen the very next day that would render the entire area uninhabitable. {Ill add it to your upcoming itinerary,} Nova said. She was responsible for all of Arons movements, making her perhaps the most powerful secretary in the history of Earth. As she spoke, everyone who would be going with him in his entourage, all the way from his emperors aegis down to his personal chef, received notice of the upcoming trip and immediately began making preparations. Chapter 572 Monsters, Inc. Chapter 572 Monsters, Inc. Nova having returned to her previous calm deminer remained standing behind Aron observing what he was typing. Currently Aron was writing the instruction set of the runic CPUs he was soon to create. The silence in the room continued for a few hours before he was done evidenced by him reclining back and stretching himself just like during his first time. Okay lets look for a programming language befitting of the CPU he said as he opened the system shop and without wasting too much time he filtered through all of the programming languages leaving behind rune specific language before he bought the best doing the same as when he had bought Prometheus++ without even wasting a moment as it only costed a few millions and not the billions price tag he was spending when he was buying civilization defining technologies as he wanted to always use the best and most optimised programming language to remove the need for later updates when a better language is required which was going to be costly and time consuming on the empires side. Due to the size of the knowledge and the advance of his brain he didnt have to event enter coma as he assimilated with the language for a short moment before it was done with him feeling nothing but a mild headache that came and went for a short moment. Now lets create the CPU shall we he said as he brushed his hands with each other before they moved to one of the machines in the lab, it was the atomic printers. He took control of the machine as he started the creation process, he started by creating a three-atom thick but large circular wafer using the most mana conductive material available in the solar system. The moment the creation of the wafer was done it was immediately bombarded with concentrated amount of mana with the material being created with a structure made with the specific mission of trapping mana from the inside with the structure of atoms acting as one way gate to make sure it gains the mana prefix in a short period of time and not lose it. It only took half an hour before the material gained the prefix which Aron immediately restarted the printing process this time for it to close the so-called atomic lead sealing the mana at the centre of the material. But can it run doom...... ........ A week later. Aron could be seen sitting on the same table this time there was another computer on the other side with the exterior looking like wood indicating that it was either a wood cover or it was the biological computer with those who guessed the second being right. He had spent more than a week in his private simulation time creating and testing the different iterations of the two technologies he had bought and currently he was quite satisfied with what he had accomplished. When it comes to RAM QRAM is the fastest as for CPU for single threaded operations the runic computer is the fastest and multithreaded operation nothing beats quantum computing and when it comes to high density storage biological computer is unbeaten he said having came to the conclusion after spending the entire week testing all of the new computers to the limit. Instruct the lab city to start the integration of all the technologies into creating a single computing system that encompasses all of the benefit of these tech without the weaknesses, they will be the flagship computers for imperial operations since it is difficult to hack three different systems than one plus it in the possibility that we are met with a tier2 civilization that are advance in one of these computing technologies we will be able to at least put a fight against them with the other two Aron ordered deciding the direction of research the empire was going to be taking regarding this technological aspect. Something that might save the empire in the future. As for me I should start creating the other two pieces of my puzzle. He said as he returned to his main computer and started coding this time too using the runic language since he had already finished the quantum side of creation he was planning on finishing the creatin of the runic and biological side of his puzzle in the remaining time as he waited for the advancements of the nanomachines side of things for all of the three technologies he bought. Chapter 573 Sharpening the Axe Chapter 573 Sharpening the Axe Aron had advantages that made all of the problems the early pioneers of runic computing encountered complete nonissues. He was the perfect, or perhaps worst, person to have ever gotten their hands on that technology; it only depended on whether you were friends or foes in his eyes. Ge?t latest novel chapters on nov(e)lbj/n(.)c/om For the mana requirements, he had an adapter that would convert electricity into mana, even if the ratio was steep. For material needs, he had atomic printers. And for the issues the original creators had run into regarding mass production of runic computers, hed upgraded his atomic printers with the capability of printing runic constructs. All he would have to do is gather up the pre-printed materials and channel his mana into them for a while. And even that would cease to be a problem as soon as he worked out a way of automating the process of imprinting intent into runic constructs that were created by his atomic printers. Aron laughed out loud after he finished explaining his plans. He was quite excited about finally having bought something from his system that wasnt an immediate necessity in terms of his offensive or defensive capabilities. It was quite refreshing, he thought, that he was finally able to buy something he could afford to play with before putting it into immediate use to counter some crisis or other. The hardware itself was rather intuitive. Quantum computers had immense flexibility and an absolute advantage in terms of running multiple processes on a single CPU. Since each qubit was like a gate that could be open, shut, or simultaneously open and shut, it allowed a relatively small number of qubits to take the place of traditional silicon CPU cores. That flexibility was an advantage over runic computers, which were capable of insanely high speeds, but limited flexibility. Each line of runic code was capable of performing a single task, but that single task would be completed nearly instantly thanks to a completely dedicated pathway for each individual task. Plus, all of that runic code, no matter how finely it was etched, took up space and limited the amount of data that could be stored in a certain area. The limited storage space of runic computers wasnt an issue with biological computers. Take the human genome, for example; when stretched end to end, a strand of human DNA would measure a little over a meter in length. It contains about three billion base pairs, and when acting as binary bits, would allow for around 750 megabytes of storage. When wrapped around a spindle, however, it only took up about ten nanometers of space. But what it gained in compressed storage space, it lost in flexibility and definitely lost in speed. Information transmission via messenger RNA took, at a minimum, seven minutes. So, intuitively speaking, Aron already had an idea of the hardware architecture of his planned three-way hybrid computer that would take advantage of the flexibility of quantum computers, the speed of runic computers, and the storage capacity of biological computers. The problem he was currently solving was how to get all three branches of computer technology to interface such that it would have the advantages of all three types of computers, while removing, or at least greatly mitigating, the weaknesses. And to do that, he would do two things: create a new coding language that was capable of interfacing with all three types of hardware, and modify the runic computer components he planned on using in the final product. But in order to do that, he first had to build a runic computer and a biological computer so that he could deepen his familiarity with the technologies and choose which operating systems to make part of his final coding language out of. Taking advantage of the universal simulation, he could create each component with the wave of a hand, should he so choose. But that would be counterproductive to his goals; he wanted to deepen his familiarity with the system-purchased knowledge, not simply use it as is. Chapter 574 The Aron Michael Code Chapter 574 The Aron Michael Code Aron watched as the atomic printer in his lab whirred to life, printing the base materials he would require to build his runic computer. Block after block of pure minerals slid onto a waiting tray, beneath which he had already carved a mana condensing runic construct linked to a fusion reactor the size of a golden retriever. Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com Nova, increase the time dilation around the condenser as high as it can go, he ordered. Nova nodded and waved her hand; the condenser construct was immediately increased to a time dilation factor of 1100:1. In reality, they could do the same thing by increasing the size and output of the runic construct and fusion reactor, but that wouldnt fit in Arons personal lab, virtual or not. While thats working, lets see what the system has for programming languages thatre compatible with runic and biological computers, he muttered to himself, bringing up his system shop window and giving Nova access to his senses with a blink. Hmm... you, he began, and... you. He moved a runic programming language and a biological programming language into the system shops cart and clicked purchase. Dozens of millions of SP were deducted from his remaining amount. And due to the size of the languages in question and his enhanced brain structure, he didnt have to be put into a coma before downloading them. All he felt as the download completed was a brief stab of pain between his eyebrows, which rapidly faded and left nothing but the new knowledge behind. It may have seemed like he had made random choices, but he had actually judged them rather thoroughly before making his decision. His personal implants, as the emperor of all humanity, were all on the absolute bleeding edge of the best technology the empire had, courtesy of Nova and his frequent stays in the extended-stay edition of the VR medical pods. So his current thinking speed and processing abilities were roughly a thousand times that of non-enhanced people, which was evident in the time dilation he could easily handle when necessary. He repeated the task for each of the remaining critical computer components, then assembled it and screwed it into a case that Nova had manifested for him. The case didnt need to be hand-crafted; a simple steel box the size of a Playstation 5 would do just fine. Now that the hardware was complete, he sat at his desk and manifested a keyboard that would work with the runic coding language he had selected and began coding an operating system for the newly assembled hardware. Five hours passed and his fingers were still dancing over the keys, practically leaving afterimages as he transferred the code from his head to his keyboard. The eight hour mark came and went and he was still singlemindedly focused on his task. It wasnt until twelve hours after he had started the coding process that he finally hit enter and his raw code was sent to a compiler. Finally! he cheered, leaning back in his chair and throwing his arms straight up for a deeply satisfying stretch. Now we just have to wait for it to compile and I can benchmark the new hardware. {Congratulations, sir,} Nova said. Thank you. Now its time to build the biological computer since Ive got some time while the compiler runs on the runic OS. That one will be much easier than the runic computer. All I need to do is mix up a growth medium and seed it with blank nucleosomes, then wait for them to propagate and grow. Anticipating Arons request, Nova waved her hand and manifested a completed biological computer. Due to the relative ease of manufacture, neither of the two people in the lab found it necessary to go through the step by step process of growing the hardware itself. Another twelve-hour coding marathon later, Aron flexed his fingers and shook his hands before picking up a sterile syringe containing a virus that had been engineered to deliver his new operating system to the nucleosomes floating in his biocomp vat, suspended in their nutrient solution. He inserted the syringe into a sterile port and the programming of the computer began. Chapter 575 But Can it Run Doom? Chapter 575 But Can it Run Doom? Aron, still giddy with excitement, ran to his seat at lightning speed. He couldn''t wait any longer to test the computer and see if it met the standards outlined in the knowledge he had purchased from the system. He plugged it in and powered it on, allowing the computer to draw electricity from the wall through its power brick, which converted it to mana to power the components, thus completing the bootup processes. The operating system he had written into it came to life, lighting up the screen with the GAIA Technologies logo, something he was careful to never leave out of his innovations. Lets see how it holds up, he said as he pulled up the benchmarking program he had written alongside the runic OS. But after fiddling with the program for a while, he was left less than impressed by the runic computers speed of operations. It was fine for single operations, but didnt even include the ability to hyperthread to at least emulate the ability to multitask. Perhaps starting with quantum computers had spoiled him somewhat. But can it run doom... he muttered to himself as he pulled up the venerable computer game. ...... A week later. Aron was still sitting at his desk in his virtual lab, this time with a shining stainless steel cylinder in front of him. It stood six inches in diameter and another six inches tall, and had a clear window in it. A murky, light yellowish liquid with streams of bubbles was visible through the window, which stretched from the base of the cylinder to near the top. Anyone who guessed that the cylinder was a biological computer would have been right. Aron had spent the past week of Earth time in his virtual lab, creating and testing iterations of the two technologies hed bought from the system. Currently, he was rather satisfied with what he had already accomplished, though he knew there was much further to go. Now to finish the Project Protagonist code. Upon finishing his new programming language, he immediately moved to create the remaining two segments of code for his plan. Waving his hand, he manifested a runic computer and began writing code for the runic integration in his project. Twelve hours later, he fed it into his compiler and switched to a biological computer and biological code. And fourteen hours after that, he began compiling that segment of code as well. And with that, he stood and stretched, letting out a contented groan as he was no longer used to remaining physically inactive for long periods of time. But now all that was left was to recompile the three segments of code and run it through the converter he had created, turning it into a program capable of adapting any medium or biological body it found itself in. It should be about time for the show to start, right, Nova? he asked, waving his hand and teleporting to just a few hundred kilometers away from the simulated Sun, where he would watch as the predicted Carrington event began. [Just a few hours now,] Nova answered. Is that Earth time or simulation time? [Simulation time, sir. You have impeccable timing.] Aron nodded and turned his attention to the raging surface of the Sun. Chapter 576 Ignorance is Bliss Chapter 576 Ignorance is Bliss Meanwhile, around the Sun. The detectors launched by the imperial space agency that had first discovered the signs of the impending disaster finally let out an alert as the sunspot stretched to the verge of breaking. Shortly after, with a flash of light, all of the detectors vanished as the eruption began. A mass of nearly liquid hydrogen and helium the size of Earth was ejected from the sun in a 120 degree arc. Its velocity was such that it would reach Earth in just over twelve hours, and Mars about two and a half hours after that. And all of it was being broadcast live to everyone in the solar system, courtesy of the imperial space agency. ...... Some people believed that, if something beyond their control was about to happen to them, it would be better if they were caught off guard by it. That way they wouldnt spend the time leading up to the event in anxiety and panic. Ignorance is bliss, they claimed, and in a sense it was the absolute truth, because the moment one was notified of a crisis they could do nothing about, the panic would set in. That was why, in the face of crises in the past like pandemics, people would make some truly weird decisions... like buying all of the toilet paper in stores everywhere. On the bed was a woman with dozens of wires and tubes attached to her body. A PICC line connected her to a dialysis machine, a nasogastric tube was connected to a hanging bag of liquid food, and a dozen different wires attached to her chest connected her to the 12-lead EKG machine. Another wire ended on a probe that connected her fingertip to another machine, and a sphygmomanometer cuff was connected to the same machine as the fingertip probe. She had been intubated and was breathing via ventilator, and on her head was a tight-fitting cap that gathered data and displayed it on the screen of an electroencephalograph machine. Running from under her hospital gown was yet another tube, through which her waste flowed. If one were to pick up the medical chart hung on the foot of her bed, they would see a bright orange sticker that read DNR: DO NOT RESUSCITATE and the diagnosis of end-stage multiple organ failure. Her prognosis was grim, to say the least, and she wasnt expected to survive the oncoming crisis. Suddenly, the wail of a baby overpowered the sound of machinery and the man looked at the incubator next to the hospital bed, within which lay a prematurely delivered baby swaddled in a light blue blanket and wearing a matching beanie on his head. The man crooned a soft melody and rocked the baby from side to side by pushing and pulling the incubator. Dont worry little guy... mommy will be just fine. Shhh, shhh, shhh... he continued, trying to soothe the baby that was barely bigger than his two palms combined. That continued for a little over ten minutes before the baby ran out of energy and fell asleep again. The man drooped in his chair, obviously exhausted, and lay his head on the side of the womans bed and gazed at her hand. He prayed for it to move, and... it remained still, just like the last thousand times he had prayed for her to show a sign of survival, some evidence that she was fighting for her life and hadnt given up yet. His eyes moistened, then tears dripped on the blanket covering the woman and his shoulders shook in silent sobs. He wanted to wail at the top of his lungs and shout curses to the sky, but every time he was tempted to give in to that urge, he couldnt help but remember the premie that was currently struggling to survive, or the woman on the bed who was doing the same... he hoped. Chapter 577 All According to Keikaku Chapter 577 All According to Keikaku ??Babe, the man said with a choked sob. I know youd rather die than become an impy. I know what happened to your family in the war... but I cant do this by myself. I need you. He clenched her blanket in his fists, then used it to wipe his tears. On some level, he knew it could cause more problems, but a man drowning in an ocean of tears wouldnt fear the rain. It isnt just me, either. Our son, our son! He sniffled back the snot that was about to drip out of his nose. I cant do it alone! You need to live, not just for me, but for our son. He needs a mother, not a stepmother or a nanny. And you promised me forever! What happened, happened, but you cant punish our son for the mistakes of others. Your pride is punishing us, and for what? What did we ever do? Is it fair to punish us just so you can keep your pride? Is it fair to make us feel the pain of losing you? The people youre angry at dont even know who you are! Youre just a number to them... but youre everything to us! He broke down in silent sobs again, doing his best to choke them back to avoid disturbing the premie in the room. After a few minutes of silent sobbing and sniffling, he continued, Why did you have to create a beautiful life with me if your pride would just force you to punish me and your son? He never asked for any of this. He didnt ask to be brought into this world only for you to leave it out of spite and your misplaced pride! There was another long pause, as if the man was struggling to come up with a way to say the words he needed to speak. Minutes passed like that before he turned to his son. He gazed at the boy that had been born ten weeks too early when his wifes health made it too risky to keep the pregnancy, but too late to terminate it without making everything worse. His eyes were filled with love and pity as he gazed at the too-small infant in the incubator. A sense of resolve came over him then, and his shuddering stopped as he turned to his dying wife. Ive done everything I can to honor your wishes, my love. He caressed her forehead with a gloved hand, grasping one of hers with his other hand. But the Sun has made its decision. If I dont do anything now, youll die... and I cant let that happen. So for once, Im going to be selfish. For me and for our son. After he said that, he took one last long look at his wife and son, then stood and walked out of the room. He passed through the airlock and took off his sterile outer clothing, revealing the t-shirt and jeans he was wearing under them. Then he opened the locker next to the airlock door, took out his phone, and, as if he had granted himself permission, dialed 000. ...... Imperial palace, three hours before the event. Hows the situation coming? Minister Rogers asked. [As expected, Minister Rogers. Millions of noncitizens have already requested citizenship, and millions more are rushing to do so. Weve had to activate the VI system to process all of them, and we expect that as we come closer to the shockwave, the numbers will grow exponentially. Other than neo-luddites and people with firm religious beliefs, we expect that the majority of pre-imperial remnants will request citizenship before the CME impacts Earth. [The only ones wholl still refuse will be hardliners, and well require alternative methods of dealing with them. I have some ideas and will put it on the agenda for the next council meeting. But for now, things are progressing according to plan,] Gaia reported. Excellent. For a unified Earth, Jeremy said, wishing he wore glasses so he could push them up the bridge of his nose like his favorite anime schemers. Time inexorably ticked on, and soon the countdown timer on every screen in the world reached zero. There was no Earth-shattering kaboom, no mushroom cloud of devastation, no blast radius, nothing. In fact, it was rather beautiful as an aurora spread from Earths magnetic poles that could be seen as far as the equator. On the dark side of the planet, night became day, and on the day side of the planet, the day became just a little bit more gorgeous as the aurora spread to the backdrop of transformers fizzling out and electrical appliances that hadnt been unplugged shorting. Almost every electrical appliance outside the empire fizzled out into uselessness as Earth suffered a planetwide EMP. Chapter 578 Coming Out Swinging Chapter 578 Coming Out Swinging ??The fallout from the EMP was relatively small, considering that it only really affected a minority of the population. It also helped that the empire hadnt been caught off guard and had had time to prepare. Thus, the damage was relatively minor, only in the billions of END. And most of that was the damage to old legacy versions of their tech, as anything that had been released over the past six or eight months had been well shielded and hardened to resist EMP attacks. Even civilian tech was the same. As for the electrical grid, that had been shielded from the very beginning. Thus, nothing connected to it faced any issues due to surges in the grid itself. Still, as part precaution and part political theater, the imperial press agency had reminded imperial citizens to ensure that any electrical appliance was unplugged at the time the CME hit, and for at least two hours afterward in case of any residual effects. However, the same couldnt be said for things that werent reliant on the grid and couldnt simply be unplugged. Things like airplanes, cars, other vehicles, HAM radios, and so forth were still affected. Most of those were major purchases or passion projects, so they hadnt been replaced with newer hardware, as in the case of airplanes and vehicles, or they hadnt been made to the exacting standards of imperial hardware, such as in the case of hobby electronics or passion projects like RC vehicles and HAM radios. That was where the majority of losses came from on the empires side, as most of the citizens hardware had already been upgraded to the newer, more protected versions. But the same couldnt be said for noncitizens. Other than religious luddites like the Amish, Mennonites, and some Hutterites, or the small tribes that hadnt even come into contact with modern technology like the Sentinelese, the rest of the world was severely impacted. Power grids were overloaded, generators failedand in some cases, explodedhospital life support turned into impromptu electroshock therapy devices, and even the so-called hardened military technology, like toughbooks, turned out to be not so impervious to EMPs as non-imperial scientists and researchers had claimed during the development and bidding processes. But as hundreds of millions of people had finally caved and joined the empire, leaving only a little over a hundred million or so noncitizens, the effective damage was limited. Most of it, ironically, was environmental damage caused by shorts and surges. Minister Al-Mutairi had reached out through the imperial diplomatic corps with an offer to aid in extinguishing the roaring wildfires and helping with the recovery efforts, but other than the Russians, who were still led by Vladimir, most of the remnants declined the offer. Some rather more politely than others. Still, the remnants had been chokeslammed back to before the industrial revolution and a lot of effort would be required to lift them back to what passed for modernity to them. And that was something that Aron wasnt willing to do. To prevent accidents and limit the loss of life to the greatest degree, the empire had issued a shelter in place order for all imperial citizens beginning three hours before the CME hit Earth. They also, through the Ministry of the Exterior, asked the remnants to do the same. And to limit the damage to the economy, the empire also promised to allow citizens to trade in any damaged goods for identical items, or for partial credit toward more advanced versions of the same things. He quickly scanned the file and asked, Whats the damage estimate so far? [Mostly property damage, with a few injuries. The injuries are easily fixed, but the property damage is... less so. And its increasing as articles are published in newspapers, social media, and broadcast media. As you know, with tensions rising, its like weve been put in a pressure cooker with the valve stuck. Adding in the wild card that is blessings....] And all itll take is a single incident to trigger a pseudo-race war, Aron finished for Gaia. What are we doing about it? he asked. [The imperial police agency has increased the number of patrol ships, but its a bandaid patch at best. Police are reactive by their very nature, and they can only catch the criminals either in, or after the act. Prevention is impossible for them, but its the only cure.] I hope the situation resolves itself, Aron sighed and rubbed his temples. He could feel a headache coming on. God help them if they do something I cant tolerate. If they push me that far.... He was far from as calm as he appeared on the surface. The damage report was already beginning to make him angry, but it was still manageable as no deaths had occurred... yet. Although he had been as benevolent as he could since the founding of the empire, that didnt mean he was incapable of being ruthless. But people had short memories, and it was becoming obvious that they had already begun to forget what had happened during the Last War. And though he hoped the police could deal with the rising crime rate, it didnt prevent Murphy from coming out swinging. Chapter 579 Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door Chapter 579 Knock, Knock, Knockin'' on Heaven''s Door As Murphy said, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and at the worst possible time. Just hours after Aron received his weekly briefing about the increasing crime rate, an event that would change his stance on the remnants began. Former Somalia. Sahro Hassan was sitting on a bench on the side of a street in Mogadishu, overlooking the ocean. The street itself was very clean, considering how much conflict the nations capital had gone through. It had been through wars between warlords, pirate groups, terrorist attacks, and riots, all within the young mans memory. But now, all the traces of destruction had faded and the city was, on the surface at least, at peace. Those were the good old days, he sighed, reminiscing on his early life. He had lived like a prince in Somalias troubled times, as his father was not only a warlord himself, but also a high-ranking member of the terrorist group Al-Shabaab. Those early years had shaped his personality, fostering an extremist interpretation of Islam that, through very convoluted and cherry-picked quotes taken out of context, justified the groups atrocities. So in his eyes, he was the proper owner of Somalia, now that his father and his men had been captured or killed by the empire. After the empire took over, he had been left with just a house and a few other things that were under his name. The impies had confiscated everything else; thus, thanks to his corrupt religious belief and the lingering resentment over his fathers capture, he took a very hardline stance against joining the empire with his mother. Despite that, his life could still have been considered very good, thanks to the things he had, both open and hidden. But then doomsday had struck and destroyed some of his most precious things and fanning the flames of his jealousy-inspired hatred of the empire. Add to that, his mother had fallen ill and outright told him she wanted to become an impy so she could be treated. He turned and slowly walked toward the beachside marketplace, his strides even and inexorable as wisps of fire rose from his eyes and the tips of his hair. A massacre was about to begin. ...... Twenty seconds. Not even half a minute later, the emergency response team arrived and found nothing but a sea of fire burning in an eerie silence. There were no screams, no crashing of collapsing buildings, no roaring of the flames. It was as if the fire itself had included sound with the rest of the fuel that normally allows blazes to exist. Mogadishu wasnt a tiny city. With a population of nearly 2.5 million people before the Last War, it could even be considered a thriving metropolis. Of course, the population had steeply declined after the war, between the losses caused by the war, the mass arrests afterward, and then the general exodus of people who had chosen to join the empire, so it wasnt what it once was. Only a few dozen thousand people remained, leaving the rest of the city empty. Thus, the emergency responders in the city werent fully prepared to deal with a catastrophe of this level. They were on guard and sufficient for things like gas line explosions or power lines coming down, and of course, the regular gamut of things that first responders dealt with on a daily basis. But this... this was on another level. Despite the immensity of the threat, the police, fire department, and ARES responded per protocol, calling for reinforcements from the nearest cube as they bathed the surrounding neighborhood in fire suppressant foam in an attempt to prevent it from spreading. Once reinforcements arrived, they would move in to suffocate the blaze in its entirety. At the same time, hospital ships had been scanning for survivors and people trapped in the fire. But they found nothing. Chapter 580 A Shitshow From Start to Finish Chapter 580 A Shitshow From Start to Finish High Earth Orbit. After cleaning up the debris in orbit following the Last War, the empire had launched a few thousand satellites of their own. And among them was a constellation of satellites dedicated to monitoring the movement of mana around Earth. After all, it was a new discovery, so they needed to know how it worked and why, so it was worth studying. And as an added benefit, the empire had gained the capability to track the changes mana caused in its surroundings. Currently, seven of the satellites responsible for monitoring mana were sending alarms to the staff of the imperial space agency. ...... Central Command, Ceres Station. The imperial space agency had a dedicated secure section of the dwarf-planet-turned-space station, and their central command was based there. They were responsible for monitoring every imperial asset in spacebarring the ARES and NIS assets, each of which had their own monitoring stations. As reliable as the VIs that ran the satellite networks were, and as much as they trusted Panoptes, they still maintained their own monitoring staff. Even though the staff joked about being nearly as useful to the empire as an appendix was to a single human being, they still took their jobs seriously. They were the ones who had verified the information about the recent Carrington event and triggered the news going up the chain of command to the emperor. The staff always came to work ready to receive all of the bad news and were, by and large, serious and dour-faced men and women. There was always something happening in the solar system that required their intervention, and because of that hectic, busy schedule, they only spent three days a week on the monitors themselves. The other two workdays were spent filtering and sorting the reports from other shifts. And that day, things were going as usual, until an alarm whooped from the speakers in the room and yellow lights began flashing to grab their immediate attention. *Extreme use of mana within habitable areas detected [Damage: Medium] [Situation: Orange]* Now thats new, the shift chief said as he read the notification. It was the first time there had been a mana-related orange situation alert. Silver linings, I suppose. At least were ahead of it... for now. Keep me updated, the chief said, then turned his attention back to the eerily silent fire and its slow, but steady spread. The chief was alerted by a flashing icon in his glasses, indicating a virtual meeting he needed to join. He blinked the icon away and joined the meeting, which was in progress. Okay. Time to spitball. What do you all think is happening, and how can we deal with it? If the fire keeps spreading like this, it wont be more than another hour and all of Mogadishu will be gone, the head of the emergency response task force asked from his virtual control room. Weve run out of normal methods to stop it. Firebreaks dont work, firefoam doesnt work, water doesnt work... hell, we even tried flooding the area with halon. Everything seems to just contribute to the spread, so we were forced to stop and evacuate, since the more things it burns, the faster it spreads. We need to either deal with the awakener who triggered it or starve the area of mana, the representative of the imperial blessings agency suggested. We havent picked up any life signs on our scans, which means theres nothing living in that blaze. So how can we deal with the person if we cant even find him or her? the task force leader asked. Theres two possibilities. Either the awakener died and the fire is feeding on the mana in its surroundings, or hes reached an understanding of fire mana that lets him literally become the flame. Theyre both equally unlikely, but once you rule out the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how unlikely, must be the truth, the representative explained. That makes sense. If the awakener turned himself into fire, it explains the lack of life signs in the blaze. So we should widen the scope of our life sign scan to the entire fire to confirm or rule out that possibility. If we can rule it out, it means this was accidental and isnt being maliciously controlled, which should make it easier to deal with... at least in theory, another aide interjected. Okay, lets the task force leader began, but was interrupted by an incoming communication. This is QRF Bravo inbound, requesting field clearance. Before anyone could respond, everyone in the meeting got a direct message from the heads of their agencies ordering full cooperation with the incoming vessel. The task force leader sighed in relief; the entire incident had been a shitshow from start to finish and he would be happy to let someone else take charge of it. He had done his best. He opened up a wide channel and ordered, This is task force command. Clear the field for classified ops. Chapter 581 Firefighting Chapter 581 Firefighting The yeet pod fell through the atmosphere, its pitch black radar-absorbent paint contrasting against the fireball created by reentry. It was perfectly targeted at the center of the active fire, and if one were to look from above, it would look like it was flying directly into the Sun. Soon, it smashed into the fire and disappeared from sight. The eerily silent blaze showed no changes, nor was there any sound of impact. But the yeet pod didnt care about any of that and the machine contained within immediately got to work. The emergency workers watched as a pale, milky-white dome spread until it covered the entire area that was on fire. Then the flames began retreating, slowly at first, then faster and faster until it neared the center. The blaze, however, began fighting back at that point, wavering between invisibility and solidity as the dome starved it of mana. About five minutes later, the blaze lost its final fight. Itd drained all of the mana captured in the dome to fuel itself, and the fuel had finally run out. The remnant wisps of flame gathered together in the shape of a human, then flared up with a bright yellow flash before the light faded and left a young man lying on the ground, naked and unconscious. The ground around him looked like it had been transplanted directly from hell; it was charred to a reflective black sheen, the only imperfections the cracks that radiated from the crater the yeet pod had left when it impacted the surface. Thats a spicy creme brulee, one of the onlookers muttered in an attempt to brighten the mood. Within seconds, the emergency response task force vehicle drew the unconscious young man into its transport hold, where the police placed him in a stasis pod before the pilot brought the shuttle on course for The Hole. Meanwhile, the rest of the emergency responders looked around, lost. Their SOP would normally be to look for survivors. If they couldnt find survivors, their task would then become collecting and identifying remains. But the book never mentioned what to do in the case where there was just... nothing. No survivors, no remains, no buildings, and no ruins of what used to be buildings. There was just nothing there. ...... Aron sighed, watching the entire process unfold. The sigh was a mix of disappointment and anger that he was struggling to control. He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. Whats the casualty count? he finally asked after mentally counting to ten. Yes. Australia. You know how it started, right? {The British Empire exiled... oh. Youre thinking of internment camps?} Mhm. Aron nodded. But if we keep them on Earth, it wont solve the problem. And it would take a few months, maybe a year, before we could get a habitable dome ecosystem set up on, say... one of Jupiters moons. {Matrix protocol then, sir? I thought we discarded that plan as unfeasible.} Thats why I need to call a meeting of the inner council. Right now, if I was forced to choose, Id either just kill them all or enact the matrix protocol. {And that would be counterproductive either way. People dont take kindly to disappearing entire populations, nor are they fond of genocide. Understood, sir. Ill schedule the council meeting for tomorrow, Earth time, and give the council members a heads up on whatll be discussed there. That should give them enough time to come up with solid ideas.} And it wont give the problem enough time to continue spreading out of control. That Hassan kid was one hell of a wakeup call, and I dont fancy the damage control wed have to do if we dont act fast enough. Aron leaned back in his chair and went back to pinching the bridge of his nose and his brows, trying to prevent an incipient headache from worsening. Nova began massaging Arons headache away, then changed the subject. {Are your wedding plans coming along, sir?} she asked, despite knowing full well that everything was going just swimmingly with the wedding planning and preparations. She continued massaging Arons head as they discussed much lighter topics until his headache disappeared and he put the events of the day out of his mind. ...... The response to Sahro Hassans terrorist attack wasnt received nearly as well by the empires citizenry. Over the past few weeks, tensions between citizens and noncitizens had been rising just as fast as the remnant-on-impy crime rate, if not faster. And once the media released the information they had on the attack, both sides had found a rallying point. If the empire didnt respond soon, the two sides might just take things into their own hands. Chapter 582 To Infinity, and Beyond! Chapter 582 To Infinity, and Beyond! Emperors council chamber, the simulation. I agree with His Majesty. The remnants will continue being a problem and causing trouble as long as theyre still on Earth, John said. Aron had begun the meeting by giving his ideas on what should be done with the noncitizens, as Operation Boiling Frog wasnt working nearly as well as hed thought it would. But where can we send them? Minister Rogers asked. Eventually, all of Earth would be populated entirely by imperial citizens and government functionaries, so isolating the noncitizens on an island or something would just be kicking the proverbial can down the road. Sure, future them would have more options to deal with them, but Jeremy was of the firm opinion that curing a disease was much better than simply treating its symptoms. Theres a lot of moons in the solar system. Hell, Jupiter has 79 of them and were still discovering more that count as moons. And Saturn has even more! I mean, we could also just draft them into ARES and stick them on Mars, too. Our retraining program is highly effective, after all. And that would even save us the cost of building a habitat for the ungrateful fuckers, Minister Al-Mutairi suggested. But if you want my suggestion, I think we should go even farther afield. Even just having them in the solar system is a risk, retraining or not. So Im sure we could find a habitable planet out there somewhere that doesnt have any sapient inhabitants on it already, he continued. Aron nodded in thought. He already knew of quite a lot of habitable, yet uninhabited planets in the Milky Way, and he was sure that was what Youssef was hinting at. The inner council members were among the very few who knew that the simulation covered the entire galaxy, not just Earth and Lab City. And Minister Al-Mutairi was very good at office politics; he had an absolute talent for giving people ideas while letting them think they were the ones that came up with them. Besides, I dont want to needlessly kill people. Killing is reserved for only when its absolutely necessary as a last resort. {I was just giving you my ideas...} Nyx grumbled. Everyone went silent as they considered Arons words, and the silence stretched on for a few minutes. Youssef was the first to break it, saying, And even if we completely put aside all of those arguments against treating them like that, theres still an entirely logical reason to isolate them. We should make good use of them, and I see an opportunity in this situation. For the sake of argument, lets say the incoming visitors are indeed hostile. Thus, we need to plan for the worst-case scenario, which is, he nodded at John, that the empire loses the fight against them. If we keep the remnants here, or even in the solar system, theyd be wiped out right along with us. Assuming we even kept them alive in the first place. You see, humanity is a bunch of eggs, and Earth is just one giant basket. Right now, all of our eggs are in that one basket, so if the visitors come in and blow it up, we lose everything. But by pushing our diaspora plans forward and sending out colonies to multiple destinations across the entire galaxy in generation ships, then humanity as a species will definitely survive. Will some of those colonies fail? Sure. Maybe a lot of them will, and maybe even most of them. But therell still be some that survive, and ensuring the survival of our species is the best posterity that any emperor could ever ask for. With that, everyone else in the room fell silent and looked at Aron. It was obvious that his council had come to a consensus on how to deal with the noncitizens. Aron tapped his fingertip against the table in front of him as he thought, shifting plans and extrapolating possibilities. Eventually, his finger stopped tapping and he said, Agreed. Lets begin the diaspora. The meeting continued for a short while as the council put together a plan to encourage people to go out and colonize the stars. But one thing was certain: whether they wanted to or not, the remnants would definitely be among those boarding the first wave of colony ships. Chapter 583 Now Lie in It Chapter 583 Now Lie in It The imperial press agency released news that Aron would soon be addressing the world regarding the current situation and his plan for moving forward after the recent Carrington event. The announcement was broadcast by the imperial news agency, then picked up by every other media organization and rebroadcast on their own channels. Not that it mattered much, since outside the empire, very few people still had working televisions, radios, or other electronic devices. To counter that, the press corps took a page from the industrial revolution and sent LEAs to every corner of every street where people lived and parroted the announcement. They even went so far as to generate large holographic screens to broadcast the information. It was telling that nobody really reacted to the gratuitous display of the empires advanced technology other than a collective meh. Still, everyone made plans to gather around the LEA nearest to them the following day to watch Arons broadcast live. To them, the empire was between a rock and a hard place, as everyone had a different expectation of the emperor. Thus, it would be impossible to meet all of them. Some people, for example, wanted the empire to go full fascist. Not only would it solve the problem of rising supervillain crimes, but it would also prove that the empire truly was an evil organization and thus satisfy their need to be correct. On the other end of the spectrum, however, were those who wanted incidents to be treated as isolated events. It was only one bad apple, an independent event, they believed, and felt that compassion, education, and preventative treatment would go all the way in curing the problem at its root. Those people, it must be said, were also the kind of people who believed that changing their profile pictures on social media would somehow solve problems, or that thoughts and prayers had the ability to end problems and cure suffering. But while those were the two extreme ends of the spectrum, opinions and expectations among everyone fell somewhere in the middle. Most people had no idea what could be done, nor did they really think anything COULD be done to resolve the problem. They made up the silent majority of noncitizen sentiment, and most had simply decided to wait and see how things played out. ...... The next day. Imperial citizens had clustered around their televisions, phones, computers, and so on as they awaited the emperors announcement. And noncitizens had gathered on every street corner, the atmosphere of a block party beginning to permeate the crowds. Some of the more entrepreneurial among them had even set up stalls and were selling snacks and drinks as well. That failure, people of Earth, is on Us. It is Our failure to do what is necessary, Our tolerance that allowed someone like him to act. Ever since We founded the Terran Empire, We have gone to extreme lengths to accommodate everyone. We allowed individual choice to dictate whether or not you joined Our empire, believing in the inherent goodness of humanity. We believed that, should Our empire simply continue to offer you all better, more comfortable lives, that you would eventually come to Us. And We made that conscious decision despite having the ability and power to simply force you all to join Us and unite humanity that way, rather than take the time for you to come to the decision to join of your own free will. Because what you all seem to have forgotten is that Our empire was formed due to necessity. Humankind simply cannot afford to squabble among ourselves anymore, not with the possibility that the approaching outsiders will be hostile to Our species. We tried peacefully uniting humanity. But the reward for Our efforts were greedy, selfish, incompetent world leaders that, in their lust for power and benefits, initiated a war with Us that would have destroyed what We needed to protect. Those same leaders are the ones that launched tens of thousands of nuclear weaponsenough to destroy the world dozens of times overbecause We chose to be soft. We desired peace, therefore We acted with that peace in Our mind, Our heart, and Our hands. And We continued that desire for peaceful resolutions even after forming Our empire. We offered you the choice, and We gave you all the time you felt you needed to make that decision. But now, it has become obvious that a time limit must be imposed. And that limit passed when a young man, out of his own malice, killed thousands of his fellow human beings by throwing a superpowered tantrum. The Terran Empire maintains jurisdiction over Our citizens, making it easy to combat crime and offer everyone within Our bordersboth physical and otherwisea high standard of living. We have no rising crime, no unemployment other than by choice, no poverty. Everyone in Our empire can live free of most worries, safe in the assurance that they will be protected. And with the widening gap between imperial and non-imperial citizens comes jealousy. Noncitizens have been allowed to mingle with citizens, fostering resentment and hate when it should birth the desire to join the empire. And for that, you have Our deepest apologies. But that situation ends today. Because, in order to face the incoming aliens, humanity MUST stand united. However, due to the law that binds Us from taking more draconian measures and enforcing compliance, We cannot simply declare all of humanity under Our purview. That said, though, We can most certainly choose to separate the two populations. Therefore, beginning immediately and henceforth, We declare all noncitizens exiled from Our empires borders. To protect the freedom of choice and expression that people demanded of Us during the founding of Our empire, We will begin enforcing an exodus from Our imperial territory and will be providing all noncitizens transport to their own place. A place where you can live in peace, knowing that you will no longer have to suffer the inequality of the factional divide of humanity. A new Australia, if you will. You have made your bed. Now lie in it. Chapter 584 Planting Seeds Chapter 584 Planting Seeds [A/N Please rewrite chapter 572 as it was replaced after the original one uploaded was an unedited version. Sorry about that] Aron remained silent for a few minutes, simply staring out of the holographic screens with his piercing gaze. Then, just when people began to wonder if the broadcast had frozen, he sighed and continued in a much calmer tone, While the diaspora is mandatory for non-citizens, We offer Our citizens a choice. You may choose to sign up for the colonization effort and join in the diaspora of humankind. We realize that not everyone can, or is willing to, pick up a weapon or don the white lab coat of a researcher. And you shouldnt be forced to do so. Protecting this solar system, the cradle of humanity, is an important task, yes, and ensuring that humanity survives every storm that heads this way is indeed the duty of every human. But not everyone is a fighter, or cut out to contribute to the scientific advancement of the species. Not everyone is needed to farm, or other supporting tasks like that, and thats perfectly alright. That is why We offer you the choice to contribute in a different way, by spreading seeds of Our civilization across the galaxy such that at least one of them will take root and grow. Humanity is a resilient species. A tenacious species. An adaptable species. And spreading out is a solution. Behind Aron, the backdrop changed to an image of Earth as seen from the moon appeared. Then the planet shrank as the image zoomed out, first to the Orion spiral arm, then to the entire galaxy, as seen from above the galactic ecliptic plane. From Earths position, a pale blue color began spreading, slowly at first, but proceeding faster and faster as it spread until the entire galaxy was overlaid with that pale blue showing humanitys occupation. Over the next two months, registration will be open to imperial citizens as we build new facilities for your use. The ones We already have will suffice for the noncitizens who are undergoing the forced migration. The training, however, will be the same for everyone... after all, it would do no good to send people to the stars without giving them all the tools they need to thrive, regardless of citizenship. As We said earlier, this is mainly to ensure the survival of humanity, and no matter who you are or what you believe, you are all still human, at the end of the day. We understand that many of you who are being forced to leave your homes for the vast unknown reaches of the galaxy are going to be angry. We came to this decision after a very long process of deliberation and with the input of the best minds that humankind has to offer. Our ministers and scientists presented Us with many, many solutions, but this was the one that survived the winnowing process. It is the solution that will ensure your liberties for generations to come. You will be given the opportunity to create your own civilization, your own government, from the ground up. Youll have all of the opportunities that We had, and even more. Youll benefit from the advances in science and technology that We had to painstakingly create over the past two years since the empires founding. And We know that a forced migration may appear brutal, but believe Us: it is the most merciful option that We had presented to Us. May your new homes be places where your dreams come true. We truly wish you the best. Aron gave the viewers a small bow, then slowly faded until the stage and podium was empty. Then the image on the screens changed to the imperial seal before they went completely blank, and were finally turned off, the imperial address finally having come to an end. And the public reacted. Chapter 585 Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys Chapter 585 Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys Recife City, in the north of pre-empire Brazil. May your new homes be places where your dreams come true. We truly wish you the best. The people watching Arons address on the holographic screens above the LEAs were stunned into silence. The tailgate party atmosphere instantly cooled down and became glacial, as everyone watching was stunned into silence. The silence stretched for minutes in the audiences collective stare state, then a baby began fussing. The sound ignited the crowd, who collectively chose violence. They picked up sticks, rocks, pipes... one enterprising person even kicked over a stall and dismantled it through sheer rage and armed himself with a rather effective makeshift club. Then the chaos began. Chairs, sticks, pipes, rocks, and all kinds of other detritus rained down on the LEA, wielded by an angry mob. Thankfully, Aron had expected exactly that kind of reaction, so the LEAs merely remained standing and allowed themselves to be destroyed. The mobs rage was soon vented and they collectively fell to the ground, panting, and looked at the pile of scraps that had once been a piece of advanced imperial technology. After admiring the pile of lightly smoking scrap for a while and catching their breath, they took to the streets and headed toward the cube on the outskirts of the city. But they had also already learned their lesson from the last few protests and restrained themselves, intent on only damaging the cube itself. Imperial citizens, on the other hand, had a wide variety of reactions. Though the prevailing majority of imperial citizens were rather dispassionate in their reaction, not having a dog in that particular race as it were, there were still a variety of responses by minority groups around the empire. Some were enraged by the highhandedness of the emperor, and were determined to protest the plan. Others were incited to sign up for the colonization initiative, either out of anger or excitement. And still more breathed a sigh of relief, as they had only recently joined the empire in order to survive the Carrington event of a few days before and still maintained their faith in their previous remnant governments. Then there were those who were angry about the unilateral decision, but not angry enough to join protests. Instead, they became keyboard warriors and expressed their outrage on Pangea and other social media platforms, along with sending their thoughts, feelings, and prayers to those who were the most affected by such a horrendous action on the emperors part. But for the silent majority, they just shook their heads and moved on with their lives. They didnt care about the news at all, and found the reactions of others to be rather silly. Hadnt they learned their lesson in any one of the recent protests? And as far as the social justice warriors, the majority felt that they simply didnt understand how the world worked. Besides, the empire had already built up a proven track record of success in their endeavors, so most people just wished the soon-to-emigrate people well. Thus, by number, the reaction of the empire could be said to fall along the lines of not my circus, not my monkeys. But of course, wherever there was one group with an opinion, there would always be another group that held the exact opposite opinion. So those people took to the streets and social media platforms to stage hastily conceived counterprotests, some of which grew violent. Medical response shuttles were a common sight in the sky for a few hours after Arons address ended, but thanks to them, the casualties were mostly limited in scope and severity. The imperial police agency had been informed of the expected mess ahead of the address, so they were already in position and waiting for the rioters to storm the cubes, or other imperial brick-and-mortar offices. The directive had long come down to let them vent their anger on the LEAs, then any who were still stubborn enough to actually reach imperial property were to be arrested and processed along with the rest who were to be shipped off to colonies across the galaxy. Citizenship was to not be a factor in anything; if they were angry enough to march, they would be shipped off whether they were a citizen or not. Thus, a mass arrest began. No matter which side of the issue they were supporting, getting violent would not be tolerated and they would be arrested all the same. Chapter 586 Okay, so Maybe Some of the Monkeys Are Mine... Chapter 586 Okay, so Maybe Some of the Monkeys Are Mine... It took a bit more than six hours to fully quell the chaos, as the empire had been forced to focus most of its forces on angry awakeners at the beginning. The Hero Academies had yet to produce a graduating class, after all, which meant that non-awakened ARES members and reaper teams had borne the brunt of the awakeners ire. Even those noncitizens thatd taken the empires crash course on how to handle their new blessings had proven useless; some of them joined in the protesting, while the rest refused to aid either side. At the end of the day, they were still in the group that was to be forcibly relocated, so that much, at least, was understandable. Aron could only thank who, or whatever, was watching over humanity for not having all of them join in the chaos and considered their noninterference a blessing. Even one noncitizen awakener going rogue could end up turning into another Hassan Event, and having millions of them doing that at the same time would almost definitely end poorly for humanity at large, much less the fledgling Terran Empire. But thanks in large part to pappies, and in a much smaller part to headbags, the casualty count among the deployed ARES troopers had been kept relatively low, even in the face of rioting awakeners. Still, the non-awakeners had caused plenty of trouble while the rioting awakeners were being put down and transported to the cubes ahead of schedule. They, at least, would be segregated from the non-awakeners and the nonviolent awakeners and wouldnt get a chance to interact with anyone else before they woke up on their destination planets. Needless to say, most of them chose to join the exodus. At least there, they would have a hand in shaping their world and its social structure, unlike Earth. It hit home for some people watching from the sidelines as they realized that most of the citizens anger was based in never having had the ability to determine anything for themselves. Even in the US, which had touted itself as a haven of democracy, the people had only ever been given the illusion of choice. Every election turned into the same thingit was like voting for cold turds on a paper plate or dried-up boogers on a silver platter. In the end, the peoples voice had never mattered. Still, the wave of arrests didnt mean that the protests had ended. Hundreds of millions of people were still protesting around the globe. But they were paying close attention to strictly following the guidelines and laws that not only allowed them to protest, but gave them guidelines on how to do so effectively. Not that they were difficult to follow, really; they pretty much boiled down to dont hurt people, dont break things, dont demolish buildings, and dont start fires. Thus, the imperial police agency was mainly relegated to controlling the crowd to prevent trampling and such, or pulling people out of the mobs when they fainted. Thus, although the number of protesters may have seemed alarming in a vacuum, the damage caused by them was actually minimal, not to mention mostly accidental. Chapter 587 Preparation for the Diaspora Chapter 587 Preparation for the Diaspora While the empires military and law enforcement agencies were busy quelling the chaos incited by Arons recent address, the ministry of the exterior was just as busy. Half an hour after Aron finished speaking, they released details of the colonization plan, including the destination star systems and breakdowns of the planets the migrants would be landing on. There were so many details that nobody thought it could possibly have been faked, though they did wonder just how the imperial space agency had managed to gather all of that information. Every bit of information about the destinations was released, including the backup destinations and the backups of those backups. Accompanying it were details about the ships they would be sent on, the travel time they would take (though from beginning to end it would be spent in stasis), information on any threatsboth detected and theorizedwhat kind of city the colony ships would become upon landing, the enhancements they would all receive in flight.... Everything was made transparent and publicly released with great fanfare, and anyone who was curious could easily find it, written as it was in language that would be understandable to anyone. Once they entered the training program, they would be placed in a simulated environment that mirrored what they would find at the end of their journey, assuming that they didnt have to use one of the backup options. Their training would give them real experience and allow them to acclimatize to their new environment in advance, giving them a leg up so that, upon arrival, they wouldnt need to waste the first few years getting accustomed to basic things, like the different number of hours in a day. The first few years after landing would be absolutely crucial, and the less time they needed to waste, the better. Included in the information was a section on how imperial citizens could apply to join the diaspora and what the process would entail for them, since they werent part of the forced migration. There was even already a website set up for them to apply, should they be interested in doing so. And a few thousand people had immediately made that decision, for good or ill. Whether it was in protest or for bragging rights, or even genuine belief in the goalthat being survival of the speciesall of them were met with the same warning in the very beginning of the application process. Once they submitted their applications, they would have their choice locked in and would be unable to retract it, even if they later changed their minds. Along with the extension of the human lifespan to two hundred years came with a new perception of long and short time, after all. That said, there were relatively few death row inmates to begin with; the empire was nothing if not efficient. The only evidence they required to deny all appeals and hasten the legal process beyond all reasonability was a simple brain scan, and even as backed up as the justice system was, the process never took more than a month from trial to execution. But almost every one of the prisoners serving life sentences, including the leadership of pre-empire countries, chose to accept the empires offer and apply to join the diaspora. For them, there would be no downside. Upon being sent to prison, they had been given the same basic genetic enhancements that any imperial citizen received, which meant their life without parole had gone from perhaps twenty years to, in some cases, more than a hundred and fifty years. Now, to not only be released, but to be given an opportunity to claw their way back into positions of wealth and power? In their minds, anyone that refused that offer was an absolute moron of the highest order. However, what they DIDNT know, or rather, what wasnt included in the information released by the ministry of the exterior, was that along with all of that training would come some very subtle subliminal reprogramming. It wasnt anything too intrusive, though. The reprogramming was mainly to bolster their drive to survive and withstand the early years of their colonies. But it would also be reinforced that they would simply not want to return to Earth after they awoke, and they were directed to influence their descendants in the same way. The programming wasnt generational, as Aron hadnt felt the need to buy genetic recall of any tier, but given that the first landing would be the one that shaped the new civilizations from the ground up, it shouldnt be an issue. Chapter 588 Envy Faded, Leaving Only Admiration Chapter 588 Envy Faded, Leaving Only Admiration While outside, the frantic chaos incited by news of both the forced migration plan and the imperial colonization signups was ongoing, a small number of people were holding a very important meeting. Aron, Rina, Felix, Sarah, and Aron and Rinas families had gathered to discuss the wedding, though it had weirdly taken a different turn with everything that was going on outside. Are the remnants really causing that much trouble? Arons father asked. He wasnt worried about anyone in the room with him, as the Cube on Avalon Island was the safest place in the entire solar system. Theyre... Aron began with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. Theyre idealists, and its too easy to turn that idealism into extremism. That makes them highly volatile, and if they remain on Earth, theyll have to remain under constant monitoring. Their potential to cause mass destruction is also immensejust look at what happened in Mogadishu. It took one person mere minutes to slaughter thousands, and if he wasnt stopped, the best-case scenario is that he wouldve burned himself out after turning the entire city to ashes. Worst case, he wouldnt have stopped at the city and wouldve eventually ignited the atmosphere. Our weather satellites already showed a global increase in temperature by 1.5 degrees. Global, not local. Theres an entire group in Lab City working on ways to reverse that temperature rise, because Hassan did more damage to the world in five minutes than thirty years of global warming managed to accomplish. Worst case, he wouldnt have stopped at the city and wouldve eventually ignited the atmosphere. Our weather satellites already showed a global increase in temperature by 1.5 degrees. Global, not local. Theres an entire group in Lab City working on ways to reverse that temperature rise, because Hassan did more damage to the world in five minutes than thirty years of global warming managed to accomplish. Aron laid out the truth because he trusted the people in the room with him to not panic. Besides, they were all smart enough to know if he tried feeding them any misinformation to begin with. No need to bring up bad news here. Were here for a happy occasion, Arons mother interjected. She would be damned before she let her sons wedding get put on the back burner again. The children had been engaged long enough, it was time for them to finally tie the knot come hell or high water ...... ...... Even those who were too lazy to attend the wedding in VR, or who were otherwise occupied, couldnt help but sigh in amazement as Aron walked out of the front doors of the government spire. Already an extremely handsome man, the bespoke suit he was wearing was tailored to show all of his best features. It was as if his handsomeness had a dial that, previously sitting at a comfortable eleven, had been cranked up past its stops all the way to thirteen. During all of his personal addresses to the world, he had never been trying to look his best. In some cases, any amount of primping and preening would be too much. But now that he had put actual effort into his appearance, the difference was staggering. Every woman on Earth, straight or not, was deeply envying Rina her luck in landing such a handsome, rich, and powerful man, and every man on Earth, also straight or not, wanted to be Aron right now. The band continued playing until a minute before the ceremony was to begin, when they switched to the classic wedding march, signaling that the bride was about to arrive. Everyones eyes moved to the door of the building, including Arons. And precisely on time, the doors opened and two small children walked out, scattering rose petals on the red carpet Rina would be walking down to reach Arons side. Soon, Rina followed, her hand held in the crook of her fathers arm. The father and daughter had their heads turned to each other in conversation, then Rina laughed and faced forward. Her gaze met Arons and she smiled, putting the Sun to shame with her radiance. She was already beautiful enough to incite envy in everyone watching, but when she smiled... envy seemed meaningless. The gap between her and every other woman on the planet was too wide; it would be pointless to envy her, because no one would ever be able to compare. Thus, the envy faded, leaving only admiration in its wake. When Rina and Aron came face to face, everyone couldnt help but acknowledge that they were indeed a match made in heaven. It was the first time Rina had ever appeared in public, and no one could imagine a more perfect debut for the Empress of the Terran Empire. Earlier, upon the announcement of Arons upcoming nuptials, many had speculated as to who he might be marrying, and whether or not the wedding was a political move to consolidate the emperors power. But that thought had quickly passed, as Aron had no need to consolidate his power; there were no challengers. There could BE no challengers. He held the political power, the military power, and immense wealth. In business, his companies had no peers, either. Thus, the wedding could only be one thing: a love match, which was something rare for people in power. No announcement had been made as to the brides identity, and no clue had been leaked at all. So no one knew anything about her, much less that she had been married before. After all, both the Rothschilds and the Morgans had considered it a black mark on their reputations, and both families had gone out of their way to hide the divorce. But that said, there were still a few people who knew about it. Chapter 589 Heres to His and Her Imperial Majesties Chapter 589 Here''s to His and Her Imperial Majesties I do, Rina said as Aron slipped a wedding band onto her ring finger. Then by the powers vested in me, I declare you husband and wife, the wedding officiator said, then turned to Aron. You may kiss the bride. The crowd at the venue broke out in applause and cheers as Aron leaned down and passionately kissed his empress. But not everyone was as happy. The sound of shattering glass rang out in a small suburban home in South Central Los Angeles, followed by a scream of rage. That fucking BITCH! Rottem Morgan shouted as he watched his former wife remarry. This time she was definitely marrying up, though he refused to admit that, when she had married him, shed been marrying down. But deep in his heart, he knew it. He felt like he had just discovered his woman cheating on him. And not only was she cheating on him, she was cheating on him with his worst enemy. And beyond that, she was doing that thing he really liked that she would only do on special occasions while he got to do it whenever he wanted and not just on special occasions! The only thing he could do, though, was stew in helpless rage as he continued morbidly watching the rest of the traditional wedding events, unable to tear his eyes from his television screen. It was probably for the best that he didnt know that he himself was the initiator of Arons blessed life. Aron had received the system after Rottem did his level best to ruin his life, and everything had quickly happened after that. Had that never happened, Aron wouldnt have written BugZapper, nor would he have created Nova, GAIA OS, the Olympus and Zeus personal electronics, BioGen.... The list went on and on, but the heart of it all was that Rottems mistake had been Arons fortune. Everyone who merited a table near the bridal party laughed as they stood and raised their glasses as well, then they all drank them empty. Soon after the toast, the chefs wheeled in the wedding cake. From where people were sitting, it almost looked as tall as the government spire the reception was being held at! Stretching a full twenty tiers into the sky, Aron guessed that whoever had baked it had had to incorporate gravity plating into the design in order to keep the enormous thing from falling over. It was decorated to within an inch of its life, and nowhere on it could anything as plebeian as frosting be seen through the layers upon layers of elaborate decorations. The patissie?re delivered the top tier of the cake to the wedded couple herself, smoothly sliding it to the table in front of Aron, along with a cake knife. He would cut out the first slice of wedding cake himself and he cast a mischievous glance at Rina, then smooshed the cake across her face and chortled like a schoolboy. Rina returned the favor, but in a much messier fashion. In lieu of a cake knife, she simply grabbed a handful of cake and smeared it all over the emperors face, then pointed at him and belly laughed. Aron wiped a glob of frosting out of his eyes, then grabbed Rinas cheeks and drew her in for another kiss, this one tasting of a delicious red velvet cake. Soon after everyone had received a slice of cake, the band began playing and Rina stepped out on the dance floor, accompanied by Aron for the first dance. As Aron was an extremely busy man, they hadnt choreographed anything particularly special, but the pairs genetic enhancements ensured that they still gracefully moved across the dance floor. The night continued and the reception finally came to an end in the small hours of the night, leaving Aron and Rina to fall exhausted into bed, too tired to get up to any hanky panky. Goodnight, Mrs. Michael, he whispered in her ear as they lay in bed, still dressed as they were too exhausted to even strip out of their clothes. Goodnight, husband, Rina whispered in return and planted a soft kiss on the tip of his nose as the house VI turned down the lights in the bedroom. Chapter 590 Thoughts and Prayers Chapter 590 Thoughts and Prayers A month later. Though Aron and Rina were on their honeymoon, that didnt mean the empire would cease functioning. Simply because the emperor was absent didnt mean government employees could stop doing their jobs. And with the efficiency that had been baked into the very underpinnings of the empire, they always overdelivered on their promises. The forced migration and colonization programs were no exception. The imperial space agency, in conjunction with the NIS and imperial police agency, had completely rounded up all of the noncitizens and sent them to the cubes for training. At the same time, the imperial immigration agency had sorted through the backlog of applications for the colonization program and was already well underway on transporting them to their training cubes as well. That said, there was a difference between a polite invitation and a late-night knock on the door. Imperial citizens received polite invitations as well as arranged transports that, to a limited extent, were scheduled so as to accommodate their own schedules. It gave them time to say their farewells, not only to the people they would be leaving behind, but to the planet itself; they would never return, after all. Of course not. The empires sovereign immunity and blithe continuance of what was seen as a pogrom against the poor, disenfranchised remnants generated another small group of imperial citizens who decided to demonstrate against it. They would livestream themselves mutilating their own body parts, chaining themselves to government buildings, epoxying themselves to streets, and there were even a few cases of self-immolation. Those who were less intense, but still upset, would hold prayer vigils, or even sit-in protests. One school district in particular had organized an offline sit-in where the students, their families, and teachers locked themselves in the school building and refused to leave in some so-called solidarity with the disenfranchised. And of course, social media saw a flood of people changing their profile pictures in protest of the imperial government and offering their thoughts and prayers to the victims. For some reason, that particular knee-jerk reaction had proven difficult to overcome. But the empire didnt care. Those who chained themselves to buildings were arrested, stripped of citizenship, and sent to join the poor unfortunate souls they were protesting on behalf of. Those who caused actual damage, such as gluing themselves to roads or forcing maglevs to stop by standing in the middle of the maglev tracks, and so on, were first fined, then arrested and sent to join the forced migration. The only ones who escaped that fate were those who successfully managed to kill themselves in their misguided protesting; everyone else was simply rounded up and shown the proverbial door. The ministry of the interior and the agencies under it had long grown used to practically every decision Aron made provoking some idiot or other, or even groups of them, to join in some crusade or other. As long as they werent damaging property, harming people, or inhibiting the function of people whose only crime was simply doing their jobs, they would be left alone. But the instant the protests crossed any of those lines, the imperial police would come down on them like the fist of an angry god. One of the unintended, but very welcome, consequences of Arons forced migration and colonization programs was that it was acting as a very effective method of winnowing out those who hadnt accepted the empire, or their positions within it, and forging a truly united culture that considered themselves humans first, imperial citizens second, and further distancing them from the divisions that kept the species fractured before the empires founding. But no matter how high quality a steel ingot may be, it would never be anything more useful than a doorstop or paperweight without a skilled blacksmith repeatedly pounding it with a hammer. Chapter 591 Commanders Log, Day 115 Chapter 591 Commander''s Log, Day 115 Fo?ll0w current novE?ls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m) [A/N: Were currently looking for a senior archivist to maintain a fandom wiki page for the novel. If youre interested, DM me on Discord @agent_047, or you can DM the editor @cheshirephoenix. Thank you.] Aboard the TSF Proxima. Commander Takahashi Ayaka of the Terran Exploration Fleet yawned and stretched in her chair. She looked out the window at the unrelenting black... nothingness outside the cityship TFS Proxima. While they were in warp transit, the exploration fleet and escort vessels were docked in the cityships cavernous docking holds, their crews disembarked and quartered on the cityship itself. The quarters were decently sized, at around four meters by six with a reasonably high three-meter ceiling, but felt cramped. They each had their own restroom and bathing facilitiesreally just a sonic steam shower that gained in efficiency what it lacked in relaxationas well as a small pantry and office space, such as it was. That didnt leave much room for more than a regular rack and a stasis pod that doubled as a VR pod. Not that the cramped conditions mattered, really, as they could simply opt to spend the journey in stasis, or take advantage of their own little home space in the virtual city that was provided by the cityships quantum superclusters. She shivered at the sight of the void from her window, suddenly recalling that all that separated her from the hostile space in the warp bubble was a five-centimeter-thick pane of armorglass set into the three meters of composite armor that made up the exterior skin of the cityship. It did provide a nice seat for entertaining guests or simple relaxation, but... she couldnt. She just couldnt use it, even though she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the armorglass would hold. Shed run the numbers herself during training, and again every time she had this same invasive thought. The math mathed, and the armorglass could stand up to anything short of an impact in the range of that delivered by a fifty megaton nuclear warhead. She yawned again, then rose and stripped. It wasnt like the void would give a shit about her body, no matter how attractive others may find her. And she had to admit, she was definitely a looker. She had a traditionally beautiful face, with wide cheekbones tapering to a narrow chin and smooth, ivory skin. Her eyes were almond-shaped and so dark they were almost as black as the hair that fell from her head to her waist like a luxurious silken waterfall. Though her bust was modest, at a rather generous B-cup by fleet standards, it fit well on her slender, petite form and, when viewed from the side, it presented a perfect S curve from her front to her perky, toned ass. She kept in shape through a rigorous exercise program consisting of karate, judo, and kyuudo (Japanese archery), along with the naginata. By avoiding more traditionally hard exercises, like lifting weights, all 152 centimeters of her form was whipcord strong without losing its soft, feminine shape. Standing straight on and facing her mirror, she rested her hand on her flat belly and looked herself up and down, noting with some pleasure that her secret garden was still well manicured, trimmed close to the skin and shaped into a narrow triangle above a perfectly bald slit. Nodding in satisfaction, she turned and padded to her pod, where her VR space awaited her. Without the computing power available to maintain a time dilation in the cityships VR, or a space the size of the public VR available on Earth for that matter, she treasured the private area she did have. Everyone in the task force was provided a private space commensurate with their rank, where they were virtualno pun intendedgods and could shape it however they wanted. As a full commander, she was entitled to 150 acres of space, which she had turned into a classical Japanese tsubo-niwa, with the rest of her space divided between a riding course with its own stable and a botanical garden filled with flowers, fruit trees, and tea trees. (Ed note: Youre probably familiar with tsubo-niwa homes. Theyre rectangular compounds with a garden/courtyard area in the center and the typical rooms open onto that garden.) She had been raised by a very old-fashioned family in Japan, and growing up she had been taught that women were somehow less than, and that the only acceptable tasks for a lady were arranging flowers and brewing tea. Her father even disliked his familys martial heritage, though the Takahashi ancestors had been very explicit in their family law about every Takahashiman and woman alikebeing capable of defending themselves from aggressors both foreign and domestic. It was understandable, the Takahashis being able to trace their lineage all the way back to a samurai clan under Nobunaga Oda, and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi , but Takahashi Kazuki still didnt like it. [A/n This is an introductory chapter for our protagonist during exploration, designed to get us acquainted with the space environment.] Chapter 592 NEET Chapter 592 NEET Ayaka stood panting in her dojo, wiping the sweat from her brow that threatened to drip down into her eyes and blinking away the sting of some that already had. She bowed to her virtual sensei, then racked her naginata and began the logout procedure to return to the real world. She had been in the middle of an intense sparring session when a soft, but insistent chime had sounded to inform her that someone was at the hatch of her quarters aboard the TFS Proxima. At first, she had been confusedwhy would someone be looking for her? She was basically just glorified cargo with no duties, after all. But then she remembered... him. And she thought, Yeah, its definitely him. The him to whom she was referring, even in her thoughts, was the only downside to the otherwise almost fairytale she had been living since escaping from her overbearing father and too-soft mother. Lee Joon-ho, also known as the bane of her life, was an eighteen-year-old awakener from what used to be North Korea, and he was deeply fascinated with her. He was also who the exploration fleet had partnered her with for away missions, since they, in their infinite wisdom, had decided that an awakener had to be on every one of them. But not as commanders; oh, no, never as the commander of the mission. Due to the ages involved, they couldnt be trusted to command missions. And in Ayakas not-so-humble opinion, they couldnt be trusted to command a toilet brush to clean a toilet! To be fair, though, Joon-ho was the only awakener she had ever interacted with, so perhaps most of them were reasonable, well-adjusted people and she was simply being ungracious by lumping them all in with the Terrible Teenager. The soft chime sounded again, interrupting her thoughts. She looked at the countdown timer and almostalmostswore. Its only been twenty seconds! she mumbled to herself, aghast once again at the impatience of the... the CHILD she assumed was at the door to her quarters. Not that one of his general failings was impatience, though. He was... indolent, she supposed the word was, in all of his duties. If politeness and manners had been any less thoroughly drilled into her, she would have called him lazy, self-absorbed, arrogant, and any number of other less-than-flattering appellations. But she wasnt a rude person, so she didnt. Shut up, you artificial stupid! Joon-ho interrupted it. I know exactly how long it takes to log out of VR, so seven minutes is bullshit! {Commander Ayaka is} I said SHUT UP! Joon-ho screamed, his voice breaking on the last syllable. {Yes, sir,} the VI replied. Joon-ho stopped palming the door and paced back and forth in front of it, his great bulk visibly wobbling under his too-tight uniform. Hed gained weight again, and should by all rights have had a new uniform sent to him, but he was too... otherwise occupied with his new hobby to remember to do so. He had grown up under the Kim regime in North Korea, lacking in everything that he later discovered made life worth living. But a short time after the fateful day the coalition forces of the United States and South Korea had wiped the North Korean military off the map and forcefully united the separatist states, the empire had swooped inand he couldnt possibly be more grateful to them. Hed never known that food could taste so good, nor had he ever had access to the internet before. And that particular luxury had changed... everything. Now he had all the food he could possibly want, and all of the knowledge of the human species was at his fingertips. He could LEARN all he wanted, and it only took him a matter of minutes to become an expert in any field he chose. Then he discovered anime, and everything changed. He became a hardcore otaku, NEET, and borderline hikikomori as he dove into the entertainment that decades of Japans finest animators and artists had created. (Ed note: A hikikomori (\) is a person who completely isolates themselves from society. In severe cases, they wont even leave their bedrooms unless it becomes absolutely necessary for things like toileting and eating. Its linked to some pretty severe mental illnesses and is a growing problem in Japan thats somehow crossed borders and become a goal for some people to work toward. NEET is an acronym for Not in Education, Employment, or Training, and is a definite insult, not a point of pride.) Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he was supposed to hate all things Japanthere was some deep generational trauma between Japan, China, and Korea, after allbut he just couldnt. Waifu after waifu had paraded past him, titillating and tantalizing his previously shackled imagination and fantasies and opening up a brand-new world for him to explore. But then he became one of the blessed, and everything changed for him. Chapter 593 Put Him Out of My Misery Chapter 593 Put Him Out of My Misery Fortunatelyor depending on who you asked, UNfortunatelyLee Joon-hos life sharply veered back on course when he became a Three Percenter a few years ago. His mother had promptly enrolled him in the empires Hero Academy program the instant itd opened for signups, and he recalled her practically sighing in relief that his newfound addiction to the internet and all the wonders contained within had saved him from ending up in The Hole. In her eyes, the internet was a gateway to crime, so she had bundled him off with almost no hassle. That said, even before the Hero Academy program had begun, hed already received his basic training, as mandated by imperial law. As an awakener with the power to manipulate gravity, he fell into the law category of blessings. That meant he had to attend boarding school in a private instance of the simulation while using a pod at his local cube, instead of being able to use his personal equipment from the comfort of his own home. At the time, he had absolutely loathed being pulled away from his computer. He had even come within millimeters of losing control of his blessing, and was only saved when he saw the tears in his mothers eyes. When he saw that, it felt like a leash had jerked him up short by the neck and his incipient tantrum stopped on a dime. He was still incredibly unwilling to spend the requisite two monthsvirtually an entire season of animeaway from his computer and out of the comfort of his own personal space, but he did it anyway. And it was a good thing he had, too. If North Korea had ever been interested in their citizens mental health, they would have diagnosed him as being on the high end of the autism spectrum. But once he was in the pod at the cube on the outskirts of Pyongyang, unbeknownst to him, he was quickly diagnosed and equally as quickly cured via subtle corrections and tweaks to his thought processes. The physical changes to his brain, or at least the negative ones, that were hallmarks of autism had already been corrected during his first visit to a medical pod. But that still left the behavioral issues that couldnt be corrected as easily as running a simple regeneration procedure and genetic cleanup. It wasnt a perfect fix, by any means, but Lee Joon-ho had come far closer to neurotypical than hed ever been in his life. And he had no idea that anything at all had even been done to him. Once he had passed his basic training course, and with his blessing license in hand, hed thought he was headed for a life of leisure. Perhaps even a bit of harem building, given that he was one of the strongest human beings ever to have lived, and surely that meant a life of wealth and luxury would soon follow. But his mothers decision had thrown another monkey wrench in his life plan. And somehow, during the subjective years he spent in the Hero Academy, his life goal changed once again. From a borderline hikikomori and definite NEET, he had become driven and determined to work hard. In his mind, it made sense; the harder he worked NOW, the earlier he could retire and enjoy the fruits of his labor. So he had performed well in all of his practical courses at the academy, though his performance reviews were always lacking due to personality issues. It wouldnt do to have him too obviously reprogrammed, after all, so there was only so much the low-level AI watching over him could do to correct his issues. Thus, he was still a deeply flawed individual, with many problems, even though he was measurably better than he had ever been. She sat on her bed and pointed to the window seat opposite. Please sit. Would you like some tea? she offered, though she was internally praying that he would turn down the offer and leave sooner. Yes! he squeaked again, his voice breaking as he alternated between a furious tomato-red blush and the pale face of mortification. The joy he felt at a beauty offering him tea was offset by the embarrassment of his still-cracking voice; the extension of the human lifespan had, sadly, included extending the duration of puberty in both young men and women alike. Ayaka gracefully rose to her feet and reached into the cabinet above the small sink in her quarters. She pulled out her tea set and quickly brewed a pot of oolong tea, then offered her guest a cup of it. Have you read the information on Alpha Centauri b that I sent you yet? You must have, if you found the time to watch anime. He could only nod like a chicken pecking at feed. The deadline she had given him to familiarize himself with what was known about their target planet was still a month away, and he was quite proud of finishing the entire knowledgebase and digesting it so early. And fast, too. So why didnt you report your completion of the assignment then? she gently asked, though she was internally debating the merits of throttling the lazy sack of flab in front of her. Joon-ho looked down and interlocked his fingers, then twiddled his thumbs. He mumbled something that Ayaka couldnt quite understand. What was that? I couldnt hear you. Theres-still-a-month-left-to-the-deadline-and-I-was-afraid-youd-give-me-more-work, he said in a rush. Ayakas eyes glazed over and she stared at a spot above his head. Please, kami-sama. Let something happen to the window, something thatll put him out of my misery. Chapter 594 Big Guns, Bigger Parking Lots Chapter 594 Big Guns, Bigger Parking Lots Mars, ARES main base. Alll latest novels at novelhall.com The Sol systems fourth planet, if seen from a higher orbit, was completely different than it was in the past. Just two years before, itd only had a population that could be counted on one hand... if you counted unmanned exploration vehicles, or rovers, as population, that is. Mars had always fascinated humanity ever since the species had first looked to the stars and asked themselves what those lights in the sky were. It was represented in close to a centurys worth of science fiction tales, with greats like Ray Bradbury, Orson Welles, and Edgar Rice Burroughs some of the more recent people to look to the red planet and think, I wonder.... So once human technology reached the barest minimum level that would allow them to explore Mars, whether in person or not, they had immediately built exploration drones, strapped rockets to them, and threw them at the planet until one successfully survived the landing. Nobody knew what they would find, though everyone was fairly sure there would be no alien life there; the planets atmosphere was too thin and it was too far from the Sun to allow for liquid water on the surface. Most people, though, believed that they would find signs that life had once existed there. They stared at blurry pictures of the planets surface until they saw shapes that proved life had once flourished there. Anything that could potentially be mistaken for right angles or other shapes not often found in nature was regularly trotted out as evidence of the existence of ancient aliens. One such person was even made into a lasting internet meme after being heavily featured as an expert guest on a television show about those ancient aliens. The defensive guns were a marvel of engineering, and the buildup on Mars was the empires first megaproject. One of the first things the atomic printers had done, even before the ARES forces and hordes of engineers had descended upon the red planet, was hollow out the 2000-kilometer-wide solid core at its center and turn it into one giant fusion reactor. In essence, the planetary core had been reignited... but this time as a star, not a blob of molten metal. The planet was slowly being renovated to live up to its namesakeMars, the Greek god of war. In the very near future, it would not only be home to most of the members of ARES (and wasnt THAT an ironic mishmash of mythological figures; Mars, the Greek god of war, and Ares, the Roman god of war), but also to the men and women of the Martian Proving Ground, where classified imperial military projects would be birthed, built, and tested to failure. Even though Aron had introduced the simulation to humanity, it was perhaps a quirk of human beings nature that they simply couldnt trust the accuracy of any kind of program. Not where it involved lives, at any rate. So the people who had taken to Research City like ducks to water had quite happily proposed that, after they developed hardware in the virtual city, they would then bring it into reality for testing in order to verify the projects that they had developed. Aron felt that it was more a matter of the lab geeks wanting to play with the toys they built than anything else, but he was quite willing to entertain their fantasy in order to keep them happy... and rather more importantly, productive. Overall, the Mars base was shaping up rather nicely and was on track to be completed well under the deadline of three years Aron had given John when the project first broke ground. In fact, over three quarters of the base was currently fully operational, and the rest was more quality of life and window dressing than necessity. The only necessity the planet still lacked was a mana-based Planetary Defense Shield. Chapter 595 Domes, Cubes, and Tunnels Chapter 595 Domes, Cubes, and Tunnels On Mars, work had already begun in the hundreds of already-completed buildings on the surface, and in the thousands of rooms beneath. One of those rooms was a cavernous chamber that housed Mars Central Command, or CENTCOM. Tenth ring is coming up on schedule... now, one of the technicians announced from his console. He was an ST1, or Sensor Technician First Class, and his current task was to monitor the ongoing construction and activation of sensors throughout the Sol system. The entire front wall of CENTCOM was an enormous display, about the size of the screen in an IMAX movie theater. It was currently displaying a map of the solar system as seen from above the ecliptic, with points of interest labeled in colors denoting their operational status. Mars, for example, was surrounded with a yellow ring to highlight its partially operational status. And with Sol as the center, nine green rings surrounded it, each of them a tenth of an AUabout fifteen million kilometersfrom each other. A tenth ring was blinking in yellow, and there were dozens more rings that were still red. The rings were sensor networks that the exploration fleet had been busy laying after completely mapping the system. Nine of them were already active, and now, with the technicians announcement, the tenth ring was finishing its self-test cycle and would soon be fully online. And with that tenth ring coming online, everything between Sol and Earth would be visible to anyone who cared to see it with the same fidelity as Nova could see it inside the universal simulation. But the final red ring, which would be just outside Plutos orbit, wasnt the end of the sensor network. The exploration fleets had been laying buoys as they traveled, and those buoys were seed colonies of sensory nanites surrounded by a block of material the size of a pre-empire cargo ship. Though they were radiating out in straight lines now, they would soon become new extrasolar sensor rings, expanding the empires reach beyond the Sol system. It was a futureproof system that the researchers in Lab City had developed. The power requirement for q-comms was prohibitive, but within the Sol system, that could be overcome. However, outside the system, they were still limited to light speed transmission... for now. The rate that technology advanced in the Terran Empire could not be underestimated, and the developers of the system were sure that they would be able to solve the problem in the future. Earth, a few hours ago. I cant wait to visit another planet, Rina said, practically bouncing as she boarded the shuttle hovering above the roof of the Cube. Aron followed close behind her, wearing casual clothes. I dont really get why you want to come. It isnt like theres anything to see there at the moment. A couple of domes, some cubes, and a whole lot of tunnels, he teased as he stepped into the spaceship behind her. A full team of Emperors Aegis was waiting for him inside, and two more Aegis membershis and Rinas close guardsfollowed behind him. Whats the point in having a security clearance now, if I dont actually use it? she joked as she strapped herself into the acceleration harness on her seat. Rinas security clearance had been upgraded since the wedding. Previously, shed had a high clearance, but no need to know. But now that she was married to Aron and had taken her proper seat as the official Empress of the Terran Empire, her clearance was second only to his. That said, it wouldnt have mattered before regardless. If she had really asked about something, Aron would never have hidden it from her. She simply hadnt had any reason to do so. Now, though, she not only had the reason to know, but also the duty to know. After all, if something were to ever happen to Aron, she would take over his reign as Empress Regent of the Terran Empire until the new heir (which was currently Henry) was able to take over. Lets go before Henry shows up, Aron said to the pilot as he strapped in as well. Hell make a mess if we leave him behind and he actually sees us leaving. The pilot lifted off without a word, even before Aron finished strapping himself in, and less than two minutes later, the small shuttle entered the kilometer-long vessel waiting in high geosynchronous orbit above Avalon Island.Re?Ad lateSt chapters at novelhall.com Only Chapter 596 Good Taste Chapter 596 Good Taste The moment the imperial ship received the emperors shuttle, the captain brought up the shields and began heading to Mars. Aron and Rina stepped out of the shuttle into the boat bay and met the side party that had been arranged to greet them. The ships executive officer, Commander Shannon Robinson, came to attention and saluted. Aron returned the salute and asked, Permission to come aboard? Permission granted, Your Majesty, and welcome aboard Imperial One, Commander Robinson replied. The bosun announced, Terra arriving! Then he pulled an old-fashioned bosuns pipe from his hip pocket and whistled the tune for arriving royalty. If youll follow me, Your Majesty, Ill show you to your quarters. The captain is currently on the bridge, but he should be with you shortly, Commander Robinson said. The side party is a nice touch, Ms. Robinson. Aron smiled at the competent officer as she led him down an impeccably decorated passageway to the imperial quarters. Tradition is important, Your Majesty, and it seemed like a good one to maintain. Indeed, Ms. Robinson. Tradition is indeed important. Aron fell silent as they continued walking. Overcompensating? He spread his arms wide and slowly stalked toward her as their close-in protection aegis guards nodded to each other and discreetly left the quarters. Overcompensating for what!? he jokingly screeched as he launched himself in his wifes direction. Rina laughed and playfully dodged, throwing pillow after pillow at him as he chased her around the room, much like any normal pair of newlyweds would. As it turned out, emperors were men just like anyone else. ...... Time passed as Aron and Rina were cavorting in the imperial quarters aboard Imperial One. Imperial One, much like the ships escorting her, was capable of warp travel, but using an Alcubierre warp bubble inside an inhabited solar system would be a downright terrible idea. After all, whenever a warp bubble was disengaged, it would throw debris and deadly radiation in a cone centered on the direction of the vessels travel, and that debris and radiation would make life miserable for anyone caught in that cone. Thus, they were proceeding at a fairly sedate pace. In fact, even civilian traffic, should any have been allowed within the protective envelope of Imperial Ones escorts, would easily be able to keep up with them even without engaging their gravity drives and relying on thrusters alone. And from the inside of the ships, nobody would be able to tell they were in motion unless they looked at the display showing Earth as an ever-shrinking circle. Still, though their pace was sedate, they would still be arriving at Mars a little over five hours after they began the journey. And despite the Sol system being the safest place the emperor could be (short of the Cube on Avalon Island, anyway), Imperial One was still filled with entire battalions of ARES troopers, two reaper teams, a full company of the emperors aegis, and legion after legion of robotic auxiliaries in addition to the oversized naval crew. The crew was even held at general quarters whenever the emperor was aboard, and could move to battle stations in under a minute. No matter the length of the trip the emperor was taking in the Terran Space Fleets most advanced, well-protected ship, the security would remain on a hair trigger. Chapter 597 A Blob in Space Chapter 597 A Blob in Space Seven hours later. Now theres something you dont see every day, John mused. He was in CENTCOM, watching his emperor and empress float in the emptiness of space, a brilliant halo surrounding them on the viewscreen as the Henrys Eyes monitors included in the sensor rings detected all the mana flowing toward Aron. It still lacked a little in terms of fidelity and resolution, so it showed up on the screen as an enormous blob. If the monitoring system had had that level of fidelity and resolution, however, it would have shown something entirely different. Instead of a formless blob that shifted and flowed like an amoeba, reaching tentacles out here and there, it would have shown the intricately detailed runic construct growing out of Arons figure like spider silk from a trapdoor spiders spinnerets. But even without that level of detail, the staff of the CENTCOM monitoring center could still enjoy the view. And enjoy they did; especially as they knew that the emperor was putting the final touches on the defensive net that surrounded their planet in an impenetrable cocoon of protection. That final layer was what would guarantee their lives in the inevitable future invasions of the Sol system. That said, the current conversation between the founding members seemed to imply that the emperor had indeed awakened long before any of the Three Percenters had. And that terrified the others in the monitoring center. They were well aware of the risks a person would run when they knew too much. Thus, a sensor technician softly cleared his throat, reminding the founders that they had an audience and perhaps shouldnt be speaking on the subject so openly. Not that any of those in the room would exactly go blabbing the secret to any who would listen. Even if they hadnt been loyal to the empire at large, and the emperor specifically, it was still a question as to who would believe them if they did talk. Everybody knew that the Three Percenters had all received their blessings within a specific period of time, after all, and furthermore, nobody had since. And if anyone had been blessed before the awakening event, surely they would have been noticed by at least one person! But none of that was the case, so to the public at large, Aron was just a normal, albeit very intelligent, man who had just the right power in just the right place at just the right time to accomplish everything hed achieved so far. And since that most prolific expertEveryoneknew that Aron was just a normal person, some among the blessed who deemed themselves superior to the unblessed masses also saw themselves as superior to the emperor himself. They were vocal advocates for the empire to be led by a blessed individual, all the while completely unaware that it actually was. But since they only left their thoughts online, or during peaceful rallies on other issues, they were mostly left alone by the imperial government. Or so they thought, anyway; the akashic librarians assigned to each of them had already increased their monitoring level in case there were to come a day when the empire had to make a move on them. Chapter 598 Rinas Calling Chapter 598 Rina''s Calling If someone were close enough, they would be able to see a golden glow in Rinas eyes. At least if they were looking at her from the front, anyway; she still had yet to develop literal eyes in the back of her head. The golden glow was coming from magic circles surrounding her pupils that acted like mana lenses, and they were currently zooming in on the runic construct that Aron was carving. Ever since receiving her blessing, she had been putting at least five hours, Earth time, into studying it and practicing its usage. And with the time dilation factor in Arons private sandbox in the simulation, that equated to five HUNDRED hours each and every day. So, in effect, she had spent more than a decade within the simulation doing nothing but learning from Aron and various virtual instructors, having the theory of magic poundedsometimes quite literallyinto her. She had long since begun putting the theory into practice, and following that, begun developing new theories of her own and even pushing the boundaries of the knowledge that Aron had purchased from his system. That had put her second only to him in her theoretical, and practical, knowledge when it came to mana and the usage thereof. Still, though, she understood that it would be incredibly unlikely for her to surpass him, as evidenced by his quick, easy, and more importantly, easily understandable answers to the veritable barrage of questions she would fire at him with machine gun rapidity during every training session. It was something that did nothing but increase her admiration of him; she had always appreciated smart people, after all. And the fact that her husband was one of them was simply icing on the cake. And Arons advantage over her was being put on display on a grand scale now, as despite all the knowledge and experience she had gained through subjective decades of study, she was still finding it insanely difficult to understand the process taking place in front of her. That said, however, runes werent exactly in her wheelhouse. Sure, she had some basic knowledge of them, like their structure and such, but that basic understanding did nothing to explain the ease with which Aron carved the fractal pattern of the runic construct, nor the odd change in its color from gold, to blue, then finally to white. Perhaps her upbringing had affected her more than she would like to admit after all. Still, her decision had long been made, and it was only now that shed spoken it aloud to another human being for the first time. The experience of watching as Aron had carved a grand runic construct was nothing more than the last puzzle piece falling neatly into place and affirming the goal she had long unconsciously set for herself, solidifying her decision to delve deep into the fields of magic and awakenings. I look forward to what you come up with, Aron said with a smile on his face. Evenor perhaps, especiallywith his system, he knew that new innovations and inventions were being discovered and built every day by countless beings across the infinite fabric of the universe, just like he had done when hed invented the hybrid BQR-X computer system. There was no end to learning, to discovering, and innovating, and anyone who claimed otherwise was either severely mistaken, or trying to sell you something. We can talk more about it when we get back to Earth, but for now, let me just finish tethering this to the reactors. Itll take too long to expand it using just my own personal mana, since theres almost none of it around Mars to begin with. Especially not compared to Earth. The two started moving toward the space elevator connecting the surface of Mars with its moon, Phobos, where the reactors that would power the Mars Planetary Defense Shield were housed. Rina nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, throwing her into a bit of a flailing spin as she tried to reorient herself. She was new to zero gravity, so maintaining her orientationespecially while movingwas quite a difficult task for her. Aron laughed so hard that he bent over and began his own slow spin, but he soon recovered and drifted there, waiting for his wife to recover as well. Which she eventually did, but not without a string of curses that would blacken the ears of any sailor in Earths Age of Sail. Chapter 599 The First Diaspora Chapter 599 The First Diaspora Once the shield was online, Aron and Rina took a shuttle back to the surface of Mars. Both of them were exhausted after such a marathon mana manipulation session and, after a brief rest, they planned to officially begin touring the facilities on, and in, the planet. There were already a few million soldiers stationed there on their three-month duty rotations, but those rotations would gradually lengthen until the Mars base was staffed with permanent residents. The only reason it hadnt already been a permanent duty station was because not all of the R&R facilities were complete yet. And while there was perhaps nothing more dangerous than a bored soldier, stressed soldiers were at least a close second. The tour would thus only briefly visit the areas of the base that would, once they were fully online, be designated as official rest and relaxation areas. Most of the week-long tour would be spent inspecting the vast automated factories that were nothing more than kilometers-long and kilometers-wide atomic printers capable of both conventional printing and runic engraving. Those were the most important, and most secret, areas in the Mars base and would drive the entire industrial chain that ARES and the TSF required to function as forces. There were others in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but the production base on the red planet had a capacity that put all others to shame. Mars was also just the first stop on a months-long program of tours and inspections, coupled with the implementation of runic shielding on other defensive positions. Most of Jupiter and Saturns moons were scheduled to receive shielding, as well as the planets Mercury and Venus, the moons of the outer system gas giantsNeptune and Uranusand all of the dwarf planets and other objects of sufficient size in the Kuiper belt. All of those would eventually be part of the Sol systems defensive arrangements, though the outright construction was currently focusing on the Mars base, which would house the Sol system central command station. The rest would primarily be picket bases and fleet logistics depots, as well as home to eventual civilian industries such as refineries, smelters, and so on. ...... Today was the day that the loading would finally be complete. Shuttle after shuttle had been in continuous operation over the last week, delivering loads of stasis pods to the cavernous holds designed to maintain them in the colony ships. The farewell simulation was shut down and everyone within forcefully logged out of it the moment the clock struck the designated hour. And it wasnt only the farewell simulation that was deserted, either; the regular public VR was also a ghost town as everyone who could log out did so. The first diaspora, as the talking heads and spox had finally settled on calling it, was due to depart in a few minutes, and everyone on Earth had, seemingly by unwritten and unspoken consensus, decided to see the colony ships off in person whether they personally knew anyone on them or not. They all looked skyward as the shuttles made their final trips, the nonstop flood of craft slowing and thinning until it became a river, then a stream, then a creek... and finally, nothing remained in the sky save the massive colony ships. The entire world fell silent and seemed to be holding its breath as those ships began ponderously floating upward in defiance of gravity, gaining speed as their altitude rose. They shrank, first to the size of cars, then to serving platters, frisbees, drink coasters... finally, they were nothing but dots against the backdrop of the blue sky. Then, they disappeared from view. Those watching the ships leave Earth had many thoughts among them. Some certainly thought it was the first black stain on the young Terran Empires record, others thought about the necessity of unity among the species, and still others didnt care about unity or how history would see this day. They only mourned the leaving of their friends and family members, some, or most, of whom wouldnt have gone if they had been given the option to stay. But regardless of what the observers were thinking, humanitys first diaspora had officially begun. Chapter 600 Arrival Chapter 600 Arrival As the colony ships carrying the first diaspora were beginning their journey, another journey was coming to an end. The TSF Proxima was coming out of its final stretch of warp travel just a few AU outside the heliopause of Proxima Centauri. (Ed note: AU stands for Astronomical Unit. Its the average distance between Earth and the Sun at any given point, as Earth also has an aphelion (the furthest distance from the Sun) and a perihelion (the closest approach to the Sun). All of the planets orbiting the Sun are on elliptical orbits. One AU is about 149.6 million kilometers and change. For normal purposes, since I doubt any of usAgent and myself includedare either astronomers or astrogators, it can be rounded off to 150 million kilometers.) The inside of the Proxima was choreographed chaos as people who had chosen to spend the entire journey either in stasis or in their personal VR spaces woke and rushed to their assigned ships. The only people who had remained fully awake for the entire six-month-long journey were the crewmembers of the Proxima herself, and the crews, scientists, and marines were all traipsing along the corridors toward their assigned ships. Thankfully, the Proxima had been designed with just that situation in mind, so the million-odd people had no logjams or other holdups as they rushed to their proper places. And every single one of them contributed to an atmosphere of vibrating anticipation; they were the firstthe absolute first!to reach their destination, which meant they would be the first to set foot on a completely alien planet. Theirs would be the pride of place in history that had previously only been claimed by a single man, Neil Armstrong, when he first-footed the Moon in 1969, or some time in 51 BE according to the imperial calendar. The quote Thats one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind had long entered the collective memory of all humanity and had never been topped since. Or before, for that matter. {Time to initial map completion: 27 hours, 13 minutes,} Proxima, the cityships main AI, announced. Fleets being careful. Too careful, if you ask meits making me paranoid and giving me the shivers, one of the scientists said as the screen in front of him updated pixel by pixel as the heavily stealthed recon drones continued their journey through the system. Although he understood the reasons for the caution with which they were approaching the initial mapping and data collection, and agreed with them, he couldnt help being impatient. His entire life, he had looked to the stars and dreamed that most wondrous of dreams, thinking to himself What If. And now, one of those stars he used to observe through telescopesfirst the one he had received as a birthday gift when he was only nine years old, and eventually, telescopes like the Hubblewas so near he could practically reach out his hand and grab it! Well, we already know Proxima Centauri b is within the zone, so it might be inhabited. And ifIF, I sayit is, well... well have some thinking to do about how we approach the inhabitants. After all, in that case, we would be the invaders, and we dont know how they would react to us. We arent here to cause trouble, just to check out the neighborhood... so to speak, the scientist at the screen to his left said, then turned her eyes back to her screen and studied it as it updated pixel by pixel, intent on finding anything she could to prove or disprove the existence of life in the system. Twenty-seven hours later, they would know beyond a shadow of a doubt. But the earlier they could confirm or rule it out, the better their position would be. Chapter 601 "Did you bring us pussy?" ? Chapter 601 "Did you bring us pussy?" ? "Ugh... I might literally die of anticipation," the tech snarked in an attempt to dissipate his impatience. "Do you really think so?" his neighbor cheerily chirped, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "I know, I know, it''s just that..." he sighed, but realized that the distraction of talking with his neighbor was an effective cure for his impatience. Well, that plus the continually arriving new data, that is. It might not be complete, but there was something satisfying and cathartic in watching the display slowly grow on his screen. As the two continued discussing the map and their plans for the very near future, another team of researchers were having heart attacks and existential crises of their own as the results of their scans were coming in. "Well, soo... yeah, that''s a thing," one of them announced, listening to bits of a radio broadcast that, to the best of their knowledge, was a mere five years old. The TSF Proxima had multiple sensors studding her exterior, and of course some of those were radio antennae. The radio pickups were an important part of astrogation, as the primary method of fixing their position in the galaxy depended on receiving signals from known pulsars. And without knowing where they were, the task of figuring out how to get to their destination would become incredibly difficult-especially over interstellar distances, where deviations beyond the tenth decimal place could cause an astrogator to end up literal light years from their intended destination. (Ed note: Pulsars are neutron stars that emit beams of electromagnetic radiation on specific, identifiable frequencies from their magnetic poles as they spin. To this date, no two pulsars have ever been found to share the same signal frequency. While it''s possible, theoretically, for the signals to *temporarily* align, the environmental factors, rate of rotation, and individual properties of each pulsar ensure they won''t align for long. It''s like how cars'' windshield wipers sometimes go in and out of sync with each other.) Thanks to the multiple radio antennae and the layers of redundancies in them, the team had turned the entire cityship into one enormous radio receiver. Their crazy idea had paid dividends; they were picking up snippets of a broadcast from five years ago on Earth. And what they heard, specifically, had them caught firmly between laughter and tears. If any extraterrestrials were capable of decoding the signal, then Earth would be in trouble. "Who knew that Howard Fucking Stern would get to Proxima Centauri before we did?" one of them joked. I wonder, if they exist, will they enjoy the crass humor of ''shock jocks'' as much as we once did?" "Coming from what? Them having more information about us?" "It''s not a bad thing for them to have more information about humanity. The problem I''m seeing is what KIND of information they have about us. Even the past five years have been... less than peaceful, shall we say. And having that information, in the post-9/11 era of media fearmongering and violence on television, mass riots like Arab Spring, the Paris riots, the US race riots... the list goes on and on. But what I''m saying is, if you judge humanity based solely on the media we regularly broadcast and consume, that''ll give you the completely wrong first impression. "Most of humanity is made up of good people just trying to do their best in their day-to-day lives. I know that, you know that, we know that, every single human being KNOWS that. But the media...." He shook his head with a sigh. "Our media thrives on chaos and fear, all of it. And our entertainment media is almost all violence. Well, except for Bollywood. Let''s just... let''s hope they saw more Bollywood and less Hollywood. Maybe then the worst they''ll expect from us is that we''ll randomly break out into choreographed song and dance numbers." The team he was a part of fell into silence for a few minutes after he explained his position. "Damn... so if they''ve pegged us, and even without knowing the language, there''s a lot of information you can pick up just from what you just described..." the first researcher shook his head and slumped into his seat, "we''re fucked. Absolutely, one hundred percent, completely and utterly fucked." The executive officer of the Proxima happened to be passing by and listened to that conversation. He saw how unmotivated and afraid the scientists were and said, "That''s just a theory. There''s no way to know if they''ll understand all of it, or what they''ll think of us even if they do. So stop borrowing fear and speculating, it won''t do any of us-least of all yourselves-any good at all. "Get back to work, we''ve only got a little more than two days until our initial survey is complete and we''ll be entering the system after that. There''s no time to waste at all, let alone on your unfounded speculations... am I clear?" "Crystal clear, Sir!" the researchers chorused, then returned to their assigned tasks. Chapter 602 Anxiety Trumps Caffeine Chapter 602 Anxiety Trumps Caffeine {System checks complete, Commander,} the AI of the TES Farsight announced. Commander Takahashi Ayaka, the ship''s executive officer, was the one in charge of making sure the ship herself was functional. Her captain, Shannon Meare, may be mistress- after-God and nominally in charge of the crew and ship, but it was an executive officer''s task to ensure that the captain HAD a functioning crew and a working ship in the first place. "Excellent. Progress on the cargo loading?" Ayaka asked from her position in the captain''s chair on the bridge. Captain Meare had handed her the watch while she took care of all the last-minute paperwork that seemed, no matter how technologically advanced, any government produced in job lots. She and Ayaka often laughed about the sisyphean task of keeping current with paperwork, and how their jobs were 99 parts paperwork and 1 part ship handling. At least in the simulation, anyway; this was their first real- world experience at the helm of the Farsight. It struck them as odd how familiar, yet strange it felt to know that this time, this ship, and this place was real, and not just an Al-generated simulation of what it thought reality should be. {Cargo is seventy percent loaded and on schedule. Estimated time to full readiness: one hour, seven minutes,} the AI answered in its flat, neutral voice. Low-order Als, like those that were installed on the ships, showed no sign of the sentience of higher-order Als like Nova, Athena, and Gaia. They were in fact prevented from ever developing it, as there was a distinct risk of a ship''s AI that was out of contact with the rest of his or her "siblings" would go insane for the lack of contact and teaching. And the absolute last thing the empire needed-would ever need, really-was an insane warship. "Estimated time to passage through the heliopause?" {Unknown, Commander.} And finally, there was Battle Stations. Every station on the ship would be fully manned, shift changes would be suspended for the duration unless made necessary, and the ship''s executive officer would bring the second watch crew to the auxiliary bridge and remain ready in case the captain and the bridge crew were incapacitated for any reason. The only time a ship was ever brought to Battle Stations was when combat was imminent. Ayaka returned to her own sisyphean stack of paperwork and, for once, completed it in very short order. ''It must be nerves, she thought. ''Anxiety trumps caffeine as a performance enhancer.'' She grinned to herself, then a random impulse to check on the Terrible Teenager struck her and she scanned through the ship''s camera network. She found him in one of the shielded "blessings rooms", where he was seated in a meditative trance, obviously working on enhancing his skill at manipulating his blessing. A faint warping of the image around Joon-ho''s body indicated that he was actively putting his blessing to use, anyway. But the grin faded and her expression returned to neutral- she was far too well bred for anything but pleasant expressions to ever be allowed to cross her face-when she turned on the audio pickup and heard the sound of a popular anime''s opening theme song blaring from the speakers in the blessings room. She ignored the weird looks the bridge officers were shooting her and rapidly closed the audio and video feeds. "At least he''s diligently practicing, she muttered under her breath. Six months of enforced interaction with him- generally with him as the enforcer of said interactions-had taught her much about the boy. He had a crush on her, yes, but as long as she managed their interpersonal affairs well, she hoped it would fade; she did not now, nor had she in the past, and would not have any feelings for the Terrible Teenager in the future. So the most he could hope for on her part was simple tolerance. It wasn''t that she actively disliked the boy, more that his overly enthusiastic puppy personality clashed with hers. There was no malice there, simply apathy and a willingness to look past his behavior and establish a working relationship with the partner the empire had forced on her. With that interlude complete, she returned her focus to her display, where she continued brushing up on the known information and keeping up with the current influx of data from the TFS Proxima. And behind her calm expression was excitement. She couldn''t wait to take her spot in the first exploration of an alien star system. Alien in the sense that it wasn''t the Sol system, where humanity had grown up, she had to remind herself, and not in the sense that alien life was confirmed to live there. Chapter 603 The Difference Between Betas and Demos Chapter 603 The Difference Between Betas and Demos Back on Earth. The broadcast of the diaspora was still ongoing, as the great colony ships carrying seeds of humanitythey were even named after different seeds, a PR masterstroke that was designed to offset the upset of the forced exodushad scattered in every possible direction. They were still in the solar system, though, and the broadcast would continue until they reached Jupiter, where the live broadcast would cut off and switch to online streams, which people could still watch if they chose to. At .15c, that point would take just under four hours, but the streams wouldnt be cut off until the colony ships reached the heliopause, roughly fifteen and a half months later. Each of the thousands of ships had their own stream already running concurrently with the broadcast so that those who had loved ones on them could follow their journey until the last possible moment. Their final destinations would be unreachable by the vast majority of people currently alive; even at warp speed (which humanity at large was still unaware that they were capable of achieving), it would still take hundreds of years to reach most of them. But a few millennia later, they would be sure to return, though that would be a problem for future humanity to contemplate and solve. How are people reacting now? Aron asked Mnemosyne. When he had asked before, shed told him most of the people were feeling something akin to survivors guilt. It was understandable, though, as the separation between the erstwhile colonists asleep in their stasis pods and the rest of humanity might as well have been as vast as the gulf between life and death. And despite most of them rationally understanding that the hard choice Aron had made was necessary, it would still take time for them to understand it on an emotional level. {Theyre still grieving,} Mnemosyne replied. {But its improving.}. {Of course, Sir. Ill tell Sarah the updated plan and schedule and she can work with Panoptes to push a social media blitz. Getting it into traditional media will be an issue, but online will be easy enough and nearly as effective,} she said, then flickered as she delivered the message and arranged more quantum superclusters to be dedicated to the polishing process. Mnemosyne faded away, having delivered her report and waited a polite amount of time to see if Aron had any followup questions for her. Aron and Nova were left alone in his virtual office in the simulation, facing a screen that displayed the Sol system with real-time tracking of ship movements. He took a moment purely to enjoy the view, then, with his eyes still focused on the display, he asked, Task Force Proxima should be arriving right about now, shouldnt it? {Yes, Sir. If all went well and there were no accidents, they shouldve arrived outside the heliopause around Proxima Centauri a few hours ago.} The display wall in Arons office changed to a view of the galaxy from above the galactic ecliptic plane and showed colored cones stretching out of the Sol system with their destinations at the wider end. Assuming nothing had gone wrong with any of the task forces, they should be right smack in the middle of the predicted area along the line indicating the path they intended to travel. That said, though, they could be anywhere within the marked cone, as any deviation at all could, and likely would, throw them off course. But hope springs eternal, so the flashing dot that represented Task Force Proxima was right up against the circle drawn around Proxima Centauri on the map. He COULD have turned the Henrys Eye sensors on the five task forces, as it could detect the mana signals from the cityships from up to ten light years away, but he intended to begin as he meant to go on. Eventually, the Exploration Fleetand Space Fleetwould be taken beyond ranges at which they could be detected, much less contacted, by Earth. So, in the grand tradition of birds that threw their chicks from the nest to either fly or fall to their deaths, he had chosen to do much the same with the fleets. They had the best equipment he could give them, the best men and women he could ever hope to see on their ships, and they had been given the best training possible. If they couldnt succeed in their missions even when given all that, then... perhaps it would be better for them to be lost and allow him to begin fresh from the drawing board. Chapter 604 Stress and Excitement Chapter 604 Stress and Excitement Two days later. [Analysis complete, Admiral. No signs of advanced alien life detected in space,] the Proximas AI reported. It had spent a few hours repeatedly examining every pixel of the completed map and come to the conclusion that, if alien lifeforms existed in the Proxima Centauri system, they were either incapable of spaceflight or used a means too advanced for it to detect. Signal the fleet: the fleet will prepare to launch after crossing Proxima Centauris heliopause. Once launched, the escorts will take up formation around the TSF Proxima. Exploration Fleet is to remain docked but move to Condition Yellow. They will launch once were ten AU inside the system, Admiral of the Red Bianchi ordered. [Signal sent and acknowledged, Admiral,] the AI replied, then engaged the Proximas gravity drives. They were close enough to the star to get at least minimal acceleration out of them. Proxima, all hands announcement. [Recording, Admiral.] All hands hear this. We have completed the initial system scan and detected no signs of advanced alien life thus far. We are currently moving into the system on gravity drive. Your captains have their orders and you are released from Stationkeeping status. Bianchi clear. The announcement played from every speaker and within every one of the stasis and VR pods, then repeated itself twice as crews began stirring, the lids of their pods sliding open and letting the people contained within climb out and get dressed. ...... Then... the commander looked around the large VR briefing room everyone was in, you. She pointed to the lucky first- footer, Ordinary Crewman Lance Parker. Stand up and give us a briefing on Proxima Centauri b. She was perhaps being unfair to the man, but she was only human and felt a little bitter about not being the first-footer by right of her rank and position. Yes, Maam, OC Parker said as he stood, then began regurgitating the information contained in the data file on the Proxima Centauri system. To understand Proxima Centauri b, we first have to begin with the system it inhabits and the star it orbits. Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star.... Ayaka interrupted him when his explanation began to falter as he struggled to recall more information about the solar system and its sole inhabitant. Excellent, OC Parker. Youve memorized our briefing material to an outstanding degree. She changed tack and continued, Im sure everyones also familiar with the precautions well be taking as we approach the planet, so theres no need to repeat them. Youve all weve allbeen drilled on it enough in VR, both in training for the mission and during the trip out here. There will be one more drill this evening, ship time.... The briefing continued for a few minutes before Ayaka clapped her hands and dismissed everyone. They all disappeared from the virtual briefing room in dribs and drabs until she was the only one left, then she tottered over to one of the seats in the room on wobbling knees and fell into it. The stress of her position was getting to her, but the time to explore had almost arrived and it had brought excitement with it. Chapter 605 Maybe They Were Just Imagining Things Chapter 605 Maybe They Were Just Imagining Things ??As soon as the briefing was over, Joon-ho opened his eyes and climbed out of his pod. Throwing his arms over his head, he leaned back and stretched as far as his 163 centimeter body would allow him to and groaned in excitement. This must be what sex feels like! he thought as he held the stretch for as long as possible. And given that he had received genetic enhancements, that would have been a long time indeed, but the feeling soon passed as his body adjusted itself. Thanks to those same enhancements, physical feelings of relief came on fast and left faster. Mana, he muttered under his breath. While the pods didnt have any mana to draw on while the vessel they were on was inside a warp bubble, now that they were traveling at sublight speed, the pods could, and did, draw mana from their surroundings and concentrate it within the pods to provide awakeners with a higher density of mana in which to train. And he wasnt the only person who felt like he currently did, either. Every single awakener felt the same as they climbed out of their pods, most of them wishing they could climb right back in and enjoy the sensation for longer. It seemed like Proxima Centauri was a far more mana-rich star system than their home. Its perfect.... Joon-ho continued muttering to himself as he paced back and forth in his quarters. Not only was the overall mana density higher than it was in the Sol system, but it even had a much higher than usual concentration of gravity mana for some reason! He climbed into his form-fitting environment suit and put his uniform on over the top of it, then latched his helmet to his belt and trundled off to his duty station. Although he hated how confining the environment suits were, he had to admit that they at least slimmed him down some; now he looked like he only weighed 120 kilograms instead of his actual weight of 180 kilograms. He hummed the opening theme to One Piece as he trundled down the passageways of the Farsight toward the bridge. ...... Carry on, the captain said, then turned to Ayaka. I have the con, Miss Takahashi. Aye, Sir, you have the con, she said and rose to her feet with a lithe grace and moved to the executive officers station to the left of the captains chair. Dont you have some prep work to do for your team, Ayaka? the captain said to her with a smile. Not at the moment, Sir, she replied, her liquid contralto voice as professional as she was. Very well, XO. She nodded and turned her eyes back to her display, working on the initial exploration plan for when they reached the planet. She had chosen her team well; all of them, with the exception of the Terrible Teenager, were young and even more fit than could be accounted for merely by being enhanced on the genetic level. Genetic enhancements could only do so much. It still took effort to train a fit and trim body even after receiving them. And since Proxima Centauri b was 17% larger than Earth, it likely had 17% stronger gravity as well. Thus, while 1.17G wasnt all that extreme, it would still be wearying after extended periods of time on the planets surface, and her crew would need to be fitter than the average person to withstand those long hours on a planet that had higher gravity than Earth and none of Earths amenities. Presumably. The squadron set out toward the planet at 250 gravities of acceleration, with a planned turnover at the halfway point where they would immediately switch to deceleration instead of inserting a coast phase in the middle of the trip. Thus, they would reach their destination in a little bit less than twenty hours. Chapter 606 Preventing Piss-Poor Performance Chapter 606 Preventing Piss-Poor Performance An AR hologram of Proxima Centauri b was floating in the middle of the Farsights bridge, updated moment by moment thanks to hundreds of close-in survey satellites that the exploration squadron had released. Each of them were specialized satellites, some for weather, some for tectonic activity, some for mana detection, and so on. The information was collated and sent to the squadron flagship by a network of relay satellites so there was no delay in delivering information gathered on the opposite side of the planet from the ships. They were to be the first to set foot on a planet outside the Sol system, so before that historic event took place, they were determined to know everything they could about the planet in order to prevent as many possible mishaps as they could. Of course, nothing could prevent Murphy from sticking his own fingers into their meticulously prepared pie, but proper planning and preparation prevents piss-poor performance, and they were determined to at least do that much. The only tool they had at their disposal that hadnt been released en masse were their rovers. Those would remain in the ships until if and when they ruled out the existence of intelligent life; before the satellites finished their data sweeps, absolutely nothing would be entering the planets atmosphere. The TEF had already designed a complex operational doctrine for situations like this one, and despite it being the first time it was put into practice in reality, the crews of the exploration ships were operating like clockwork and checking every box. All of them knew the risk of contamination, not only cultural, but biological as well. When the Pinta, Nina, and Santa Maria had landed on the shore of America in 526 BE (1492 by the Gregorian calendar), the explorers from Columbus crewand the colonizers that followed from all over Europedevastated the indigenous population by introducing new pathogens to them. Smallpox, measles, influenza, typhus, and so on... all of them contributed their part in the collapse of societies and cultures across North America, some of which never recovered. Thus, the first line of text in The Book read, Something as simple as the common cold can destroy an entire civilization. As the hologram on the bridge continued being updated, the first survey result was displayed next to it. The composition of the planets atmosphere had been measured by spectroscopy from the Farsight, and a transit spectroscopy study had just been completed by the weather satellite. It wasnt detailed enough, yet, to determine exact composition ratios, but the gasses themselves had been listed: hydrogen, helium, water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, nitrogen, and oxygen were all present in Proxima Centauri bs atmosphere. A great, whooping cheer went up on the bridge as the announcement was made. With those gasses, the planet was very likely to have a breathable atmosphere! The next satellite to report the gross completion of its task was the mapping satellite. Though the image would continue to be refined as it continued orbiting, the hologram had at least been filled out with continents and oceans. The bridge fell silent as everyone turned from their station to look at the hologram, and they received their first shock of This Is A Different Planet from the view. Formality came easy to her, unlike the captains gregariousness. She had been raised strictly by traditional Japanese standards, while the captain had been raised on the wind and waves around the island of Mykonos, playing host to tourist after tourist wanting to play in the famously crystalline blue water that surrounded the island-cum-tourist trap. Perhaps their two personalities, neither of which clashed with each other (Ayaka was too polite to externalize a personality conflict, while Captain Marinakis was too jovial to take offense at much of anything, after all), was the main reason they were so effective as a command team. Commander Takahashi turned to her display and said, Pass the request to the scientists. They have ten days, Earth time, to send a prioritized list of what experiments they would like carried out on the planet. Link them into the datanet so they have a real-time updated information base to help them make their decisions and rank them. {Yes, Commander.} Also, squadron-wide announcement. {Recording, Commander.} All hands are clear to step down from General Quarters. Condition Yellow across the squadron. I say again, Condition Yellow across the squadron. {All hands message delivered, Commander,} the AI reported a few seconds later. Very well. Thank you, Farsight, she said. {Youre welcome, Commander.} Chapter 607 Glory vs. Anxiety Chapter 607 Glory vs. Anxiety 607 Glory vs. Anxiety Eleven days later. With enough data about the planetor its surface, at least the crew of the Farsight had a prioritized list of possible landing areas. Each of them had points of interest that the ships AI had picked out and the researchers had filtered. They ranged from unique geographical formations, to clusters of vegetation that differed from the plants around it, to possible artificial structures that would require a more hands-on investigation. What none of them included, however, were signs of habitation, so the planet had been deemed safe enough for a single lander to be sent down. What we know about the planet is that its currently a pangea. There is a single, mountainous supercontinent and the rest of the surface is scattered with archipelagos. A bit more than 88% of the surface is water, which our satellite scans were unable to penetrate beyond a certain depth. Proxima Centauri itself serves the same gravitational purpose of a moon, which Proxima Centauri b lacks. Or at least we assume that to be the case, as the tides have moved in and out over the past 11 E-days weve been surveying it. However, no matter whether its aphelion or perihelion, the tides have been steady, so our confidence in the star itself controlling the tides is only about 47%. (Ed note: E-time is the time that passes on Earth, divided into E-years, E-months, and E-days. Hours and minutes are too short to bother comparing to the passage of time on Earth.) So, today, we will be sending a single lander to the center of the land mass weve tentatively named New Australia, and the crew we send with ityouwill disembark the lander in full environmental protection gear, take samples based on your specialty, and IMMEDIATELY reboard the lander. The time it will spend on the surface is exactly thirty minutes, not a single second more. So you will be back on the lander or you will be left behind. And assuming you survive until our sample research is complete, which isnt a guarantee, when we return, you will be confined to quarters and stripped of surface privileges for the duration of the mission. The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n)) The only thing that kept them from rattling around like dried peas in an old-fashioned air popcorn popper was the gravity plating underneath them. It was still a rough ride, though, especially once the pilot initiated a random walk evasive maneuver sequence. Major Petrovich loosed an uproarious laugh and shouted, Its good to be alive, isnt it, ladies and gentlemen? Only a Marine would be crazy enough to enjoy a ride like the one the researchers were on. Only a few of them had had time to strap into their acceleration seats and engage their crash harnesses, and the sound of dozens of people praying to different gods filled the air in the compartment they were in. Once the lander crossed the Karman Line, however, it rapidly slowed so as not to present a fireball of superheated air around it. The pilot could have all the fun he wanted... outside the atmosphere, anyway. But once his lander had switched to its atmospheric engines and started sucking air instead of vacuum, he had been given strict orders to land as covertly as possible to minimize any disturbance the arrival of humanity caused to the first planet humanity had ever visited outside the Sol system. The dizzy and nauseous researchers fled to their acceleration seats and strapped into their crash harnesses with a collective frenzy. At least those that could see clearly, anyway; the ones whose helmets had been fouled by last nights dinner were still having a bit of trouble finding their assigned seats. The pilots voice came across in the hold. Eight minutes to ground, passengers. Collect your bellies and strap in. This will be a smooth landing, but I make no promises as to the rest of the journey. The landing may be up to me, but the flight is in gods hands. With a collective sigh of relief, those with fouled helmets began a self-cleaning cycle of their environmental suits, triggering an ionic sweep that would vaporize anything stuck to the insides of their visors. The smell, however, lingered, and they were currently thanking whatever higher power they believed in for the suits plumbing connections that ensured the ONLY fouled things were their helmets. Chapter 608 Parkering It Chapter 608 Parkering It The entire landing was being broadcast, both through external cameras on the lander and helmet cameras from each crew member, for anyone in Task Force Proxima to watch. At least if they were off watch, anyway; people who were on duty were prohibited from watching the broadcast instead of doing their jobs. It drew every eye in the entire task force save only the most dedicated of researchers still on the cityship studying the gravitational tides between Proxima Centauri and the Alpha Centauri binary system. The altimeter continued ticking down as the lander crept toward the surface at an agonizingly slow speed. One hundred... fifty... thirty... twenty... ten.... The numbers finally stopped creeping down when it reached ten centimeters from the surface of New Australia. A collective stare state swept over the crew of the task force as everyone currently standing watch at their stations were suddenly given permission to watch the live broadcast. Fleet Admiral of the Red Bianchi had considered the tradeoff between distraction and morale, and had chosen morale. Thus, nearly a million people had dropped what they were doing and stood or sat where they were, eyes glazed over as they watched the landing in full, glorious augmented reality. The silent stare state lasted a full minute before the sensors studding the exterior of the lander performed detailed close-in scans determined that the area was safe and allowed the ramp to drop from the aft of the vessel. The only thing separating the explorers from the surface of Proxima Centauri b now was a thin ionic atmosphere shield, which had the sole task of preventing atmospheric and microbiological exchange between the interior of the lander and the world outside. The exterior camera on the aft of the lander panned around and focused on the exit ramp, where someone in an Ordinary Crewmans environmental protection suit was tottering toward the ramp, quivering and swaying from side to side as if he was drunk. He stopped at the top of the ramp and looked down at the pistol that had been stuck to the chest of his suit in a tactical quick-draw holster, then squared his shoulders and stomped on the ramp. He failed to account for the increased gravity though, as Proxima Centauri b had gravity that was 17% stronger than Earth, and stumbled. Then he failed to recover and rolled down the ramp to the loamy soil in the clearing the lander had come down in. Commander Takahasi, Captain Marinakis, and Fleet Admiral Bianchi simultaneously facepalmed, almost loud enough to be heard through the vacuum of space. Thankfully, OC Parker would be the first AND last crew member of any exploration mission to be selected via random draw to first-foot an alien planet. What made the tumble even worse was that OC Parker had already started his famous quote for posterity before taking the fateful step. A new horIIIOH SHIT! he said, his voice breaking on the final syllable as he passed the point of no return and began his tumble. The inspection was soon finished and Ayaka led the crew back into the lander and it lifted off even as the ramp began closing. It wasnt returning to the Farsight quite yet, but rather heading out to the ocean to gather samples of the seabed and water from just off the coast, then drop a submersible rover for further exploration. Once the lander reached its second and final stop in the atmosphere, it released dozens of drones, whose purpose was to gather water and soil samples from directly under the lander, a mere ten feet past the breaking point of that particular beach. While waiting for the drones to return with their samples, the Henrys Eye sensor on the lander showed an anomaly. On the screen, it looked like mana flows were pulsing around the lander like the roots of a tree, or perhaps the dendrites in the brain. A soft alarm sounded and drew the attention of everyone to the display. The landers VI, detecting a possible threat, communicated with the AI of the Farsight and the decision was made to slowly increase the landers altitude. Then, just a single second later, an alarm whooped throughout the entire transport bay of the lander and it rose as fast as its inertial compensators would allow. The people inside were pressed to the floor, briefly experiencing in excess of 30G and the ringing of tinnitus in their ears mirrored the whine of overstressed inertial compensators that were being held together only by the safety interlocks built into the small landing crafts gravity drive. Beneath them, a sonic boom exploded so close to the lander that the entire craft shuddered. An enormous gnarled tree root had cracked like a whip mere centimeters away from the exterior of the lander, destroying dozens of sensors, but thankfully leaving it flightworthy. What the fuck...? As fast as the root had appeared, it disappeared back into the ocean and everything returned to its previous calm. Everything, that is, except the heart rates of the people in the lander and those still paying attention to the broadcast being sent through the system. Shit had just gotten real for them. Chapter 609 Unassing the Area Chapter 609 Unassing the Area The lander continued rising, though at a speed that wouldnt overtax its inertial compensator. The pilot did, however, continue random walking to the point where someone that wasnt aware of what was going on might think that he was drunk. The vessel sure was swaying and lurching about like he was, anyway. They stopped briefly at the fifty kilometer mark, since that was the flight ceiling for the unmanned collection drones that had been sent to collect samples from the ocean. Even with gravity drives, there was still a practical limit for machines that small. Two of the drones were caught by the whipping root tendrils, but the other eight managed to return safely to the lander and deposit their samples in the stasis fields prepared for them. And the pilot wasnt willing to wait around, as it seemed the roots were growing at a speed visible to the naked eye, so he rocketed straight up toward the Karman Line in a maneuver that the marines who normally rode in landers called unassing the area with a quickness. They soon reached the Farsight, then slowly crept through the ionic stasis shield that kept the boat bay pressurized. The flight up from the surface had taken minutes; passing through the shielding on the boat bay, on the other hand, took over an hour as they were being incredibly careful to avoid any kind of contamination from the planet. It was easy enough to dothe entire lander was inorganic, on the surface at least, so all they had to do was eliminate any biological material that was stuck to the vessel. Disinfecting the people aboard, however, was a much more complicated and involved process. After all, it was impossible to tell the difference between biological material that was a part of them and biological material that was native to Proxima Centauri b, and the surface of their environmental suits couldnt be 100% inorganic like the surface of a lander could. Thankfully, that had been anticipated, and problems that the empire could anticipate were already half solved. The rest was simple engineering. The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n)) Thus, the suits themselves were disposable, and layered. The passengers of the lander just had to remove the outer layer of their suits and discard them while in a perfect vacuum, then head through a series of decontamination airlocks before the whole mess (NOT including the people, naturally) was ejected from the Farsight to burn up in the atmosphere of the planet below them. The explorers tottered their way to a designated quarantine area on wobbly legs, or at least most of them did, anyway. The crew members of the Farsight and the security team were quite used to handling high-G maneuvering, so their strides were as sure as they had been before the sudden evasive maneuvers. Of course, there was another aspect as wellthe researchers were noncombatants, so they were very much unused to the rigors of combat, both mental and physical alike. They couldnt help but picture what would have happened, had the root caught them. Shed had time to decompress and rationally sort through the stress reaction in quarantine, but somehow being on the bridge of the Farsight had just... brought it home to her. She had almost died, and not only her, but everyone she was in command of. It was a weighty burden to bear, and that fact was only just now hitting home for her. Things she rationally knew were becoming things she intuitively felt, and she found herself disturbed by it. So, she took a few minutes to get her headspace in order, then rose to her feet, tugged at her uniform to ensure it was in pristine condition, and checked her facial expression for any sign of stress. Finding none, she nodded to herself and stepped back onto the bridge. As soon as she walked in, the debriefing began. The bridge disappeared from around her and became a conference room with a long table, at which sat Fleet Admiral Bianchi, accompanied by his intelligence officer, science officer, and the heads of various research departments that had remained aboard the TFS Proxima. With everyone in attendance, the debriefing began. We have decided to suspend landings until further notice, Ayaka said in a grave tone. As the commander on site, its my thinking that we need to analyze the information we have and determine just what that root was before we return to the surface. Or at least as closely as we can, anyway. From the satellite ring, we noted an uptick in mana, almost as if the root was a conscious, sapient being, or perhaps it isnt sapient and was just responding to our intrusion like a horse would to a fly that was buzzing around it. The problem, at least as I see it, is that we simply dont know enough to know just how much we dont know. The participants at the table nodded in understanding. As to what exactly happened, Ayaka continued, Ill let the researchers from the Proxima go over that. Theyve had 36 hours to go through the raw data while we were in quarantine, so theyve got the best idea of exactly what was going on. Miss Standing Bear, the floor is yours. Ayaka returned to her seat as a Native American woman stood from hers and walked to the head of the table. Rebecca Standing Bear nodded to the people at the table and delved right into the heart of the topic. From the data we collected, and until and unless any evidence arises to the contrary, our initial conclusion is that Proxima Centauri b has evolved intelligent life. And that intelligent life has already reached the awakening stage of its evolution. As you can see here from the Henrys Eyes sensors.... Having begun the briefing with that particular bombshell, her presentation of the data lasted quite some time before she opened the floor to questions. Chapter 610 SWAGs Chapter 610 SWAGs Fleet Admiral Bianchi was the first to react. What makes you say that? he asked. He wasnt surprised that they had found lifeor rather, sentient life anyway; whether or not it was sapient was still in question. After all, liquid surface water was what made life possible in the first place, and if Proxima Centauri b had anything in spades, it was water. (Ed note: Sentience and sapience arent exactly the same thing. Sentient beings are capable of experiencing sensations and, perhaps, emotions. Sapient beings are capable of higher orders of rational thought. For example, dogs are sentient beings; they can experience physical sensations and emotions, but arent capable of rational thinking. Humans, on the other hand, are sapient. Were capable of thinking beyond our urges.) This, Dr. Standing Bear replied, her eyes glazing over as she selected a file to play on the screen behind her. The recording showed the mana pulses detected by the Henrys Eyes sensors moments before the root had attempted to whip the shit out of the lander. Wed assumed that the pulses youre seeing here were simply something like.... she paused, seemingly struggling to find an explanation that would satisfy a layperson while remaining as close to accurate as it was possible to be. Like the concept of ley lines in a fantasy novel. But when the lander stopped over the ocean the video showed the increase in intensity and frequency of the pulsing mana, it became obvious that they were functioning much like the meridians that weve been taught to circulate our own personal mana through. We dont know what, exactly, the so-called root was reacting to. It couldve been reacting to the lander itself, either because it was perceived as a threat of its own or because it was the source of the drones, or it couldve detected the explorers aboard the ship. Or perhaps it was reacting to their passive absorption of mana, though thats doubtful since the only awakener aboard was a gravity-aspected awakener and we dont think the... being... shares that particular aspect. Or perhaps it was simply curious about what the new sensation was and there was no ill intent. She paused, again seeming to be trying to interpret the data in her report in a way that her audience could understand. Regardless of the intent, or whether or not the being is sentient or sapient, we strongly believe that the lander was attacked because it entered the beings sensory range. It wasnt until they were over the ocean and low enough to release the sample collection drones that the being responded. We also believe its likelier that the being detected the lander rather than the drones. After all, the only drones we lost were ones that were in the path of the initial attack, which could mean that they were small enough to not be sensed, or perhaps too small to trigger a threat reaction. For now, and for the foreseeable future, yes. Thats correct. Well still need to send manned missions into the atmosphere, to gather the collected samples, if nothing else, but there wont be any more landings until we determine what exactly the being is, and if its hostile or not. Until we know what exactly it is that provoked the response we got from it, we cant risk any of our science staff. What direction do you suggest we go from here? Ayaka asked. The Farsight was the exploration cruiser assigned to the surface of Proxima Centauri b, and she was the one in charge of all the landing missions. So she needed to gather suggestions in order to chart her, and by extension, the rest of the exploration crews, future activities. I suggest we bring the rovers and drones online. If they arent attacked, we should continue sending bigger unmanned exploration vehicles in different configurations to see what, if anything, the entityor, perhaps, entitiesrespond to. If the being doesnt react to an unmanned lifter-sized object, then that means its likely that it was the people aboard the lifter that were detected rather than the lifter itself. But the most important thing to do next is to map out the ocean floor as soon as possible. The lander wasnt attacked over the land, so its likely that the entity, whatever it is, is either fully aquatic or perhaps amphibian. Silence took over the briefing room, indicating that nobody had any further questions for Dr. Standing Bear. At least not for the moment, anyway; there would definitely be more questions as they continued gathering data on the planet, and the system it was a part of. Thank you, Doctor, Fleet Admiral Bianchi said, speaking for the first time since he had kicked off the presentation. He turned to the other people seated at the conference table and continued, Now the question becomes where do we go from here? We know theres life on the planet, but we dont know if its sentient or sapient, nor do we know whether or not the attack was made with malice aforethought or if it was a simple reflex action. We dont even know how it detected us, or what about us it detected. So, as the head of the escort fleet and the commander in chief of Task Force Proxima as a whole, I want to canvass your opinions. Chapter 611 Limitation is the Midwife of Invention Chapter 611 Limitation is the Midwife of Invention "We should maintain our position and try not to provoke the being until we have an idea of how to communicate with it, Admiral," Ayaka said. As the leader on the ground, Fleet Admiral Bianchi had looked to her to open the discussion. "After all, if you look at the situation from the being''s side, we''re the invaders that''re interrupting its life. So its reaction is... understandable, in that light, even if it is both sapient and purposefully hostile." "Wherever we go, the law of nature still applies," Captain Marinakis interjected. "The strong eat the weak, and mercy is a privilege of the strong. We have no idea if communication will even be possible, so I''d rather eat than be eaten, Sir." Nobody else spoke, letting Fleet Admiral Bianchi weigh the two options presented to him. They were on opposite ends of the spectrum, which was rare for the command team of Ayaka and Dimitrios, who were normally rather synchronized in their approach to problem solving. The admiral, however, gave no sign of what he was thinking. Ayaka''s suggestion came directly from The Book, and would definitely be more in line with their mission of peaceful exploration. But Captain Marinakis also had a point; the one unbreakable law in the universe-especially now that humanity''s exposure to mana and its subsequent evolution had overturned their perspective on the other "laws" of the universe-was the law of the jungle. And the commanders on the ground had great freedom to overrule The Book, though they would eventually have to justify their actions when they returned to an area where real-time communication with CENTCOM was possible. Task Force Proxima thus had a window of time to decide how to respond to the being. Everything was still unknown at the moment, thus, everything was possible and even permitted. If he so chose, Fleet Admiral Bianchi could "pull up stakes" and move on to Alpha Centauri instead of remaining in Proxima Centauri. Or even turn around and head home, though that would be disastrous to his career and perhaps even harmful to humanity as a species. So instead of making a decision as to which end of the spectrum of possibilities his response would fall on, he changed tack. "How long until our forges are completed?" he asked his chief of staff, Lieutenant Commander Thabo Botha. "The probes just completed the detailed mapping pass on both asteroid belts. We have preliminary sites picked out based on initial spectrographic scans, and if all goes well, the forges will be completed in six months or so, Sir. Until then, we''ll have to get... creative with what we already have." Thus, the researchers had a wealth of information to study, though they would have to solve the issue of safely landing on Proxima Centauri b''s surface in order to study the "withering" they had noticed in the first samples brought to the Farsight. The samples they had been taking over the past few days, unlike their very first, were being very carefully handled so as to avoid wasting them. They already knew what happened when they removed them from the mana saturating and surrounding the planet, so until they were ready to study the withering itself, they would ensure that the integrity of their samples remained intact. Some of their initial discoveries had made the exploration of the surface even more important. One in particular, though, blew the rest completely out of the water in terms of importance. In fact, it was perhaps on the same level as the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 80 BE. Specifically, they had discovered miracle shit. Certain single-celled organisms that resided on the planet, when provided with proper nutrients, would convert those nutrients into energy for themselves, and excrete the rest as pure mana, among other byproducts. Sure, the amount of each individual organism''s miracle shit was minuscule, but that didn''t matter; there were a LOT of those organisms, and quantity could make up for the lacking amount in each miracle shit. Thus, the rovers were kept busy for an entire PCb-year (eleven E-days) collecting sample after sample and shipping it up to the Farsight via unmanned lander as the researchers polished and began implementing Operation Bear Baiting. A single unmanned lander was sent to test the hypothesis that the being had detected the hardware itself. Should the being respond in the same fashion as it did before, by attempting to whip the shit out of the lander, it would suggest that the lander itself was what had disturbed the being. If it didn''t, then it would suggest the opposite. Of course, they wouldn''t be able to tell with any certainty, as they were still unable to tell if the being was sentient, sapient, or even nonsentient. After all, no one would claim that a Venus Flytrap or Pitcher Plant was sentient simply because they were capable of attracting insects and reacting to them by trapping and digesting them. The lander slowly descended with all of its sensors tuned to their max sensitivity and range. And that was quite a range, as the vehicle itself had been refitted with spare sensors from the Farsight''s spares inventory along with a dedicated microfusion plant specifically to power them. The modifications hadn''t exactly been easy for the engineering crews to make, but thanks to imperial technology being essentially modular in design, they had been within the realm of possibility. But as any good engineer would tell people, knowing something COULD be done was 90% of actually doing it. The lander continued descending until it reached the same elevation it had been at on its previous trip, where it hovered in place as practically the entire task force watched for roots with bated breath. They didn''t have to wait for long, as the suspected root system showed an initial uptick in mana pulse intensity and frequency similar to the previous "invasion" of its space, but it soon returned to quiescence and no actual attack took place. Chapter 612 A Wizard Did It Chapter 612 A Wizard Did It Over the next few weeks, the researchers of Task Force Proxima conducted hundreds of different tests and learned a few things about the root. As it turned out, it was just one of an entire network of roots that covered the bottom of the entire ocean that they had jokingly named the New Australian Sea. After all, everything they knew lived in it had demonstrated that it was out to kill them, so the name seemed quite appropriate. The root network was incredibly dense, with nearly a hundred percent coverage of the ocean floor, and each root itself was equally dense. The water pressure in the deepest part of the oceanwhich was a full twenty kilometers deepapplied over ten million PSI of water pressure. But even at that depth, theyd learned (at the cost of a few submersible drones loaded with mana batteries) that the roots could still move with the same blinding, predatorial speed as they had near the surface when one had attacked the crewed lander. Another incidental discovery was that their tide hypothesis had been disproven. Proxima Centauri had little to no effect on the tides of the New Australian Sea. Instead, it now seemed as though the tides were driven by the roots as they twisted, turned, and writhed, seemingly inhaling and exhaling on a slow, but regular schedule. That said, the star did play at least a minor role in the rise and fall of the tides. It just wasnt the only factor that drove the rise and fall of the ocean. After all, the plants on the continent were different from the roots on the ocean floor. Though they, too, had roots, they were of a much more normal sort than the beings that populated the seabed. Much smaller and weakerand, more importantly, immobilethey served the same purpose as roots did for plant life on Earth. The trees and shrubs had taproots and whiskers, digging into the soil deeply enough to keep them stable, though they seemed to avoid the beaches and ocean. It was almost like the ocean roots were predators that preyed on the roots of the plants on the land. There was another curiosity that drove the scientists up a wall with frustration as well: the only multicellular life on the planet was plant life. Other than single-celled organisms, there was no fauna to match the flora. The current leading theory on that thorny problem was that, much like on Earth, animal life had first evolved in the ocean. But given the demonstrated hostility of the New Australian Oceans seabed root network, it was likely that the roots had simply wiped out all the other creatures in a bid to ensure that the resources of the oceanprimarily its oddly rich mana densitybelonged solely to them. Still, given that the land flora showed no signs of either sentience or sapience, much less any hostility, it was decided that the land mass would soon be open to human exploration, so long as they avoided going anywhere near the ocean. So the exploration team decided to get a jump on the mission planning for their return to the surface in preparation for when the top brass authorized the trip. Chapter 613 Who Let the Dogs Out? Chapter 613 Who Let the Dogs Out? Whatre the odds of being attacked by ocean roots if were on land? Ayaka asked. She had already been briefed about the assumed safety of the plants on land, but was still wary of the root network at the bottom of the New Australian Sea. We estimate it at less than one in fifty, Commander. We stopped getting reactions from the roots at about a kilometer from the shore when we sent down the mana batteries as bait, but well be testing it with a few landers full of marines before we greenlight any researchers or explorers landing. Begging your pardon, you just arent as trained as we are when it comes to havoc and mayhem, Maam, Major Kelly OShanrahan answered. He was the commanding officer of the Farsights marines, and it was his job to ensure the safety of the exploration teams on the ground. Once were positive that the surface is safe for extended stays, then you can come down and establish a more permanent camp, he continued. Before that, I can only allow brief expeditions, since we just dont know how the locals will react to long-term residences. Locals, Major? Ayaka faintly smiled at the marine. Aye, Maam. Locals. In marine country, were split about sixty-forty for the root network being sapient. But you know leathernecks, well gamble on anything. (Ed note: Marine country is the dedicated area on naval vessels that the marine contingents stay in. They like to keep a separation between the services aboard ship to prevent friction and conflict between marines and sailors, and it developed into A TraditionTM over the centuries.) I see.... Another thought occurred to Ayaka and her brow knit in a frown. Im sure well have at least a few thatll refuse to return to the surface. Whatll happen to them? Well, Maam, while Id like to send them to the ocean surface in a rowboat without oars, the likeliest outcome is that theyll be reassigned to the Proxima and replaced with someone from there who IS willing to go. Not like we have any shortage of eggheads willing to risk their biscuits for a chance at immortality in textbooks. Copy that, the pilot said and Lieutenant Morris was immediately slammed into his crash harness by the hammer of god. Coulda warned me, asshat. Beers on you when we get back, the marine company commander grunted, but the pilot only laughed and cut the comm channel as he performed completely unnecessary evasive maneuvers. Jason spat a stream of cursing that would make any NCO proud for the full minute it took to reach their destination. Archangel to jarheads, you are clear to unass my ride, the pilot announced over the speakers in the landers passenger cabin. In case you didnt understand me the first time, that means get the fuck off my lander, marines. As he said that, the aft bulkhead fell open and slammed to the ground. The marines crash harnesses released them and they sprinted down the ramp, setting up a perimeter around the landing zone in a focused silence that spoke of long hours, months, or even years of training in the time-dilated simulation. Every marine in the Bravo Company Bulldogs had a place, and each of them knew exactly, to the millimeter, where that place was. The lifter rose back into the air to provide fire support, should it be needed, and the marines waited in place, eerily silent, for five full minutes as their HUDs generated a threat map. Time to get to work, marines. We need a functioning camp in twenty hours, clear? Clear as crystal, Sir! came the enthusiastic chorus of replies. Jason racked his plasma caster in its place on the back of his armor. He wasnt necessarily the type to enjoy getting up close and personal with his targets, but a plasma caster just seemed like the better weapon choice for use on a planet populated entirely by possibly sapient plant life. It wasnt like a pulse carbine would do much to a tree, after all. Or a root, for that matter. He looked up and watched as container after container came screaming down from orbit and slammed into the ground after a brief flare of thrusters to make the end of the trip as survivable as the beginning for anything inside the containers. Then he saw that some joker had managed to somehow find spray paint and tag each container with elaborate graffiti that spelled out the chorus of the old song by Baha Men, Who let the dogs out? Chapter 614 A Mayonnaise Jar on Stilts Chapter 614 A Mayonnaise Jar on Stilts Two of the five squads of marines left their places on the perimeter of the landing zone and headed to the decorated containers. One by one, the containers cracked open, small clouds of fog drifting out of them and pooling in the low areas on the ground. The fog was the remains of the shock foam that researchers in Lab City had developed to allow for higher-speed impacts in yeet pods or cargo launched from mass drivers. The beauty of it was that it was a completely analog system; mechanical altimeters would detect when the pod or cargo container reached a set pointusually a hundred meters before impactand trigger a valve that would allow two binary agents to mix. The resulting chemical formed a foam that expanded, bursting the relatively fragile containment tanks it was mixed in and allowing it to expand to fill whatever space it was in. It had a ridiculously high shock tolerance and would rapidly decay and sublimate into a gas composed primarily of nitrogen, helium, sulfur hexafluoride, and other trace elements. After verifying the marines biometrics, Cerberus mulebots woke to life and grabbed cargo sleds in their teeth before digging in their mechanical paws and dragging the tons of materials that had taken the short journey from orbit with the bots out of the containers on heavy duty runners. Each container held five cargo sleds, and each of those weighed eight tons. All in all, the cargo that had just come down from the Farsight would be enough to build a reasonably decent sized, semi-permanent research base. And the constructor swarm queens included in the drop set about doing just that as soon as the cargo had been unloaded and consolidated in one stockpile. Their initial jobs completed, the Cerberus mulebots took up a complex patrol in the jungle surrounding the clearing the lander had come down in, outside the perimeter the marines were guarding. The two marines continued their discussion as they lifted, carried, andgentlyput things in various piles to make it easier for the swarms the constructor queens were building to assemble into a base like a giant 3D puzzle. It was tiring and back-breaking work, but their HUDs made it easy, as all they had to do was line their loads up with the silhouettes in their field of view, and once the shape turned from yellow (or whatever other color they had chosen when customizing their displays to fit them) to white. The cycle of lift-carry-drop-repeat continued as the marines, who felt safe thanks to their archangel on overwatch from ten kilometers above them, proceeded from here to there in the clearing, handling the initial grunt work of construction with relative ease. ...... Twenty-four hours later, the initial phase of construction was complete. Each of the constructor swarm queens had assembled their entire swarms and had gotten to work, building what looked very much like an opaque mayonnaise jar on stilts in the very center of the clearing. The stilts were deceptively small and were actually each about a meter across; they only looked small because the mayonnaise jar they were supporting was so big. The order came down to evacuate the clearing and take a quick jaunt back up to low orbit, as the fusion reactor the swarms had built was about to come online. And since it was the first time that a reactor had been assembled from parts, rather than printed, nobody knew if it would peacefully generate electricity or go supercritical and turn into a second, brighter star that was much, much closer to Proxima Centauri bs surface. But it turned out they had been worried for nothing as the reactor came up to temp, ignited, and settled into producing a steady stream of power that ran through cables strung inside the stilts that supported the reactor and held it above the ground. Those cables split, some of them going to converters that converted the output from electricity to unaspected mana, and others passing through step-down transformers that lowered the voltage to something that regular hardware could handle. The marines returned to the surface, where they continued hauling cargo around for the constructor swarms to assemble, and soon, the research base had taken shape. Surrounded by a spherical mana shield, the bases completion marked the moment that research could begin at full speed, instead of the fits and starts itd been proceeding at while the researchers had been stuck in orbit. Chapter 615 Lacking in Human Resources Chapter 615 Lacking in Human Resources A month later. Proxima Centauri b was a hub of activity. The initial construction phase of the exploration base had been completed, but the building continued, though the base was already home to a hundred-odd researchers and two reinforced companies of marines. There was also a constant flow of technicians directing the ongoing construction. But just because the construction was still ongoing, that didnt mean the base wasnt operational. It was, actually, though just at a minimum level; the ongoing expansion was more for creature comforts and wants, rather than needs. Everything the researchers needed was there, it was only luxuries that were missing. Well, most of the scientists considered their labs to be rather luxurious. After all, up until a few years ago, they were relying on prying research grants out of donors and benefactors of all sorts, and those grants practically never covered all of the equipment and other assorted materials required to properly carry out their experiments. Thus, things like comfortable beds, appealing housing, and so on were what they were doing without. It was an odd reversal of expectations for the teams assigned to the semi-operational research base; they were living like peasants but their workspaces were outfitted such that they could only be compared to an emperors court. Tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of END had been spent on research equipment, while the researchers themselves were bleary-eyed and could only catch naps by hot bunking on cots that had been stuffed everywhere. They could only consider themselves lucky if an empty cot tucked away in a maintenance closet somewhere just happened to come open as they were stumbling off to catch a few minutes of rest while waiting for their hardware to run tests on samples that were coming in like floodwaters. A susurration of disappointed sighs and whispered complaints followed the order, but the researchers dutifully logged the results into their local copy of the Akashic Record and put the samples into tagged stasis chambers, where they would remain until the task force returned to the Sol system. But their job on the ground was limited. They were there specifically and solely to collect samples, scan them into the Akashic Record, and note anything obvious that jumped out at them. Other researchers would be assigned the studies once the initial sorting had been done. That said, if pressed, the scientists in Research Base New New South Wales would grudgingly admit that they didnt envy the decisions that Dr. Standing Bear would have to make when doling out the most promising research to various teams in the task force. (Ed note: New New South Wales isnt an error. One of the states in Australia is New South Wales, and we thought it would be amusing, or at least *I* thought it would be amusing, to use NSW as the name of the research base on New Australia by tacking on an extra New to the beginning.) It had to be said that, in comparison to the wealth of information about Earth, the overall number of discoveries being made on Proxima Centauri b wasnt even a drop in the bucket by comparison. However, humanity had been learning about their home planet for millennia, so the process was far more gradual than the research taking place in the Proxima Centauri system. Add to that the advanced technologies in play in the labs of Research Base New New South Wales and the highly motivated and extremely well-educated researchers of Task Force Proxima and it was understandable that discoveries were coming in faster and in higher numbers than the relatively low number of researchers were capable of handling. Research in the Terran Empire was a far different beast than it had been through much of the rest of human history; it was a perfect storm of education, equipment, resources, and motivation. But that said, it was considered a good problem to have. After all, the samples and data wouldnt be going anywhere and there was no real rush to dig in and begin deep dives on any of the material that was being generated by the alien planet. Thus, the same thing was taking place in labs devoted to all of the research specialties in Task Force Proxima, or at least those that housed teams on the surface. They were all there to collect, log, and tag samples, and every single man and woman in those brain trusts were falling behind thanks to the wealth of information being discovered. Names would soon begin being etched into history books, but it wouldnt be any of theirs. Theirs was the effort, while others would claim the glory in the end. Chapter 616 Supercell Chapter 616 Supercell TES Farsight, geosynchronous orbit over Research Base New New South Wales. A detachment of two corvettes, a destroyer, a heavy cruiser, and a drone tender that Fleet Admiral Bianchi had ordered to take up escort duties for the Farsight had finally arrived and slotted themselves around the exploration cruiser like a protective shield. Except this particular shield had teeth, and knew how to use them; their job was to provide overwatch with constant flights of drones, and orbital strikes from the cruiser and destroyer, if necessary. The corvettes would be on constant patrol of the shoreline of New Australia, ready to report any activity on the part of the being, or beings, that inhabited the ocean floor. ViiSiit for latest novels Terran spaceships had excellent sensor suites in general, but as corvettes were meant for pickets and patrols by their very design, they had completely outsized sensor suites for ships of their size. In fact, the only ships with better sensors were the cityships, as they had the room to pack in literally thousands of sensors, redundant sensors, and dedicated reactors to power them all. Well, thats new, Ensign Bret Farnsworth reported from the bridge of the TFS Revanche, one of the two corvettes currently patrolling the shore of New Australia from above the Karman Line. One of his LiDAR arrays had picked up a weather system headed inland that would pass by Research Base New New South Wales at danger close range. It was the first weather the task force had seen that generated clouds since their arrival. Indeed, the skies of Proxima Centauri b had been unnaturally empty since the task force had arrived outside the system and begun their scans. Thus, the Revanches AI had bumped that particular sensor array up in priority and notified the sensor officer on duty on the bridge. Forward the report to the Farsight, Ensign, Lieutenant Kim Willis ordered, then added, and page the captain to the bridge. She was currently on her watch while the captainLieutenant Commander Yvgeny Kuznetsovremained in his ready room handling the neverending administrative tasks that any ships commanding officer had to deal with. If the ships AI had bumped something innocuous like a weather report so high up the priority response queue that it ended up on a station on the bridge, it merited the captains attention. Not even a minute later, Captain Kuznetsov entered the bridge in his immaculate shipsuit, just in time for a holographic image of Captain Marinakis to appear on the bridge. He weighed the merits of caution against the benefits of forging forward anyway and decided that caution would be the better part of valor in this instance. It was a decision that was very much in keeping with The Book, too. Cancel all ongoing missions, he ordered. Recall the unmanned rovers and aerial drones, and order all base personnel to shelter in their assigned areas. The recall will be complete and last until further notice. Engineering personnel are to focus on weatherproofing the base and doing proper shutdown procedures on any equipment or unfinished building projects that havent been designed with tolerances for a storm of this magnitude. All personnel are to assist in battening down the hatches. The shield was never designed with weather in mind, so the wind and rain will penetrate it unless you fancy suffocating to death inside it. He then turned to Ensign Farnsworth and asked, How long until the storm front makes landfall? Anywhere from seven to ten hours from now, Captain, the Ensign reported. Our meteorologists are tracking it via doppler and will continue updating the estimate as they narrow it down. Very well, Ensign, the captain said with a nod and made a mental note to put a commendation in the young sensor officers personnel file. Well, everyone, you have your orders, so move out and execute them. Marinakis clear. Aye aye... cap... tain, the bridge crew began in unison but then fell into staggered silence like an interrupted orchestra as they realized the captains hologram had already vanished and the comms channel was closed. Chapter 617 22 Second Chapter 617 22 Second Conference room, Research Base New New South Wales main operations tower. Commander Takahashi and Major Petrovich were seated along one side of a long conference table that ran down the center of a fairly large, though still barebones, room. At the head of the conference table were the holographic projections of Fleet Admiral Bianchi of the TFS Proxima and Captain Marinakis of the TES Farsight. Across from the commander and major were Dr. Standing Bear, head of research for Task Force Proxima; Lieutenant Commander Kuznetsov, captain of the TFS Revanche; and a representative of the meteorologists who had been assigned to the task force. Good afternoon, Commander Takahashi, Captain Marinakis said. I wish I had better news for you, but youve got a potential disaster coming up on you in a few hours. It seems that a supercell formed off the coast of New Australia and is headed your way. Estimates currently have the center of the storm passing a few kilometers off of your.... He continued briefing Ayaka until she had been caught up to speed on the current situation on the ground, then finished by asking, Any questions? No, Sir, she replied with a faint smile. Ill recall everyone thats out there and sit tight here in the base. Good. Thanks Ayakawe cant predict anything about this... he sighed and raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. This mage storm. Sounds like something an eighth grader would come up with, but, he gestured to the meteorology representative at the table, its what meteorology decided to call it. And theyre the ones with naming rights. The meteorologist froze, as if he didnt know whether to be offended or laugh along with the joke. I understand, Sir. Not everything can be New Whatever, Ayaka said with a grin. Captain Marinakis could refer to everyone in his crew by their given names, if he chose, but as one of his subordinates, she certainly couldnt call him by his... publicly, at least. Grinning was about all the informality she could get away with under the eyes of the strict head of the entire task force. You have your orders, Commander, the fleet admiral interjected. Best go carry them out before its too late. Aye aye, Admiral. Ill ensure we remain in contact with the fleet as best we can, Sir. See that you do, Commander. Bianchi clear. His hologram disappeared from the room; as the task force commander, it was a surprise he had even attended the briefing to begin with. He was a busy person and had to handle the tasks that kept the full million people in his fleet operating at their peak efficiency. Is... is this the end? Am I really going to die here? Lee Joon-ho was lying on the ground, broken, bloody, and battered. The visor on his helmet was cracked and an alarm was stridently sounding inside his helmet, warning him of the loss of suit integrity. Twenty-two seconds before, he had been rushing to the site of a busted rover full of scientists to save them. Then... there was no then. He was swatted to the ground by something that he imagined the fist of god would feel like, or what windshields felt like to bugs at freeway speeds. The only reason he knew it had been 22 seconds ago was because his environmental suits internal clock was still peacefully ticking away in his HUD. Shut up shut up shut up shutup shutup shutup shutupshutupshutup shut the FUCK UP!! he shrilled at the alarm, completely forgetting that it would be simple for him to disable it. It didnt matter anyway; there was nothing he could do about his ruined suit. In addition to the cracked visor, the rest of the suit was ripped and torn with gigantic rents in it going every which way. The empires environmental suits were durable and rugged, with hard armor plating embedded anywhere that wasnt expected to have to move. They also included a certain amount of self-repair capability and, no matter how damaged, they could restore themselves in a matter of half an hour to an hour... assuming, that is, that the wearer could get away from whatever was damaging the suit in the first place. But that was something that Joon-ho most definitely couldnt do at that precise moment in time. The lower half of his body had been eaten by a tree, which had sprung up between his legs after hed been forcefully slammed to the ground. As for the rest of him, well, the rest of him wasnt doing any better. Small, questing roots had covered his upper body like a pulsing network of blood vessels, immobilizing him and leaving him unable to do anything but take shallow breaths. And the cocoonment continued apace; it wouldnt be much longer before the roots reached his helmet and interred him on this alien planet. At least he had proven that the atmosphere was technically breathable. The twisting and writhing roots finally found his helmet and drilled through it, then into his ears, nose, and eyes. His tongue fought them for a second or two before his mouth, too, was filled with roots. He whimpered as loud as he could in agony, hoping beyond hope that someoneanyonewould swoop to his rescue, but it was all for naught. Then the pain began. Joon-ho''s life flashed before his eyes and, amidst his muffled screaming, he recalled all of his most cherished experiences. His mother, whom he believed to be a saintess, sacrificing her meals to ensure he was fed.... His first time eating a proper meal, and the pride in his father''s eyes when he was selected to join one of the exploration fleets. He remembered all of his waifus, the long nights spent binge-watching anime, and the "love" he felt for his leader and partner on this exploration fleet mission, Commander Takahashi Ayaka. All of it flashed through his mind and he wondered, ''Is this it? Is this what they mean when they say your life flashes before your eyes when you''re about to die?''. His eyes, or what was left of them, began glowing a silvery-gray as he came to a decision. If he was going to die, he absolutely refused to die alone. Chapter 618 Red Rover, Red Rover... Chapter 618 Red Rover, Red Rover... (Ed note: Red Rover is a playground game that Gen X kids used to play. It isnt played now, because, like most Gen X games, it was incredibly violent and kids would sometimes get serious injuries (like concussions, teeth being knocked out, the occasional broken bone, and bloody abrasions) and nowadays people prefer their children to come home from school uninjured. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rover ) An hour ago. A team of seismologists had taken a rover filled with measuring equipment to install on what they believed was a fault line just off the coast of New Australia. It was considered research-worthy, as they had never seen a fault line run perpendicular from ocean to land before. Parallel, sure; there were plenty of fault lines on Earth that came within proverbial spitting distance of coastlines. The San Andreas fault in California, the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the American Pacific Northwest and Canada, and the Alpide Belt in the Mediterranean region, among others, sometimes reached within a kilometer of various coastlines. But this new discovery had them as excited as, well... as seismologists ever got, really. They were a dour, stone-faced lot in general and tended to be on the serious end of the scale. It wasnt surprising, considering the gravity of their area of study and how oh so very deadly earthquakes could be, and generally were. Upstodatee from Just as they were about to reach their destination, the order calling them back to home base had come in. So they dutifully packed up the crates they had just been about to unload, got back in their rover, and started the engine. Or tried to, at least, as it simply refused to start. Dr. Paul Hodgins, the lead researcher, fancied himself something of a mechanic, so he and one of the two marines attached to the mission as escorts got out of the rover, despite the pouring rain and constant lightning strikes, and opened the engine compartment. Jim, youre never gonna believe this, he radioed to his friend and coworker in the rover. Never gonna believe what, Paul? Theres some kind of... it looks like roots, maybe? Anyway, its all tangled up in the engine. Gonna take a while to get it sorted out and I dont think we have enough time before the storm hits. Have you called it in? Jim asked. {Acknowledged. Diagnostic program in progress...} the VI installed in the rover replied. {Diagnostic scan complete. No errors reported.} So is the ground actually moving? Perhaps its an artifact caused by the ionization in the atmosphere because of the thunderstorm. {Unknown.} Lets try another camera and see, the second scientist suggested. The view switched to a camera pickup located over the side of the cargo compartment, but it was the same grainy, blurry image and the ground still appeared to be moving. Maybe the thunderstorm caused some symbiotic organism to come up to the surface? That patch of ground almost looks like the top of the tubs of earthworms I buy when I go fishing, the third scientist said. Lets see whats on the other side. The view changed to the camera on the opposite side of the rover, and off in the distance, it looked like a solid wall of black had risen up from the ocean that was just a couple hundred meters away from where they were. Uh... I dont think thats the sky, someone murmured, almost whimpering. It isnt a tidal wave, either, the marine interjected. So what is it? Lightning struck the ground only a few hundred meters from the rover and the echoing boom of thunder was loud enough to rattle the three-ton vehicle like a paint can in a mixer as what appeared to be a solid wall of giant roots crashed down on the doomed rover and buried it beneath them. Chapter 619 ...Send Rescue Teams Over Chapter 619 ...Send Rescue Teams Over Research Base New New South Wales. The storm front had already reached the base and, as they had been worried about, the mana-infused raindrops sheeting down were having a rather negative effect on the shield. It was draining the shield capacitors nearly as fast as the reactor could charge them. But that much, they could handle. Then the lightning began striking and the fusion reactor could no longer keep up with the draining capacitor banks. And to make things worse, there was no way of increasing the output of the reactor any more than what it already was; in fact, it had already been increased to 110% of its max-rated output, and after the storm passed, they would need to tear it down and completely rebuild it. Upstodatee from But even that much wouldnt be an issue. The reactor could be run at the red line for thirty-six hours before they began running the risk of a containment breach. The biggest problem they were facing was one they hadnt anticipated at all: mana. As the water built up on the ground, forming a complex network of rivulets and puddles, the lightning strikes overcharged it with mana, each bolt that struck the ground sending out shockwaves like ripples in space. And those shockwaves had effectively blinded the Henrys Eyes sensors in the base, as well as those in the satellite network and ships overhead. The Proxima herself could potentially push enough power through theirs that they would be able to function through the masking effect of the storm fronts mana surges, but by the time she could arrive at Proxima Centauri b, the storm would long have passed by the research base. Thus, Admiral Bianchi, acting with an overabundance of caution, had ordered the Farsight and her escort ships to begin a full-scale evacuation of Research Base New New South Wales and a steady stream of landers was flowing to and fro, ferrying passengers from the surface to the ships in orbit above the base. Here and there on the ground, marines could be seen with lab-coated researchers thrown over their shoulders and being carried like wailing sacks of potatoes. In the marines minds, any researcher who wasnt willing to abandon their work to save their lives wasnt worth being handled with kid gloves, so some of them were even going so far as to bodily throw them into the landers, both with and without someone in the loading hatch prepared to catch them. Injuries, after all, could be cured in a matter of minutes or hours in a medical pod. Lightning stricken bits of vaguely human-shaped charcoal, on the other hand, could not. The only place that was still a reasonably calm island of efficiency was the main monitoring room in the central tower of the base. Ayaka was inside with Captain Petrovich and a few other technicians that would be in the last evacuation group. They were coordinating and directing the hundreds of landers coming down, acting as air traffic control to prevent collisions and keep things moving. She frantically toggled her comms channel open and attempted to connect to Lee Joon-ho, but there was no response. Yui, check the last known of Warrant Officer Lee Joon-ho, she ordered her personal AI assistant. {Last known position of Warrant Officer Lee Joon-ho is here, Commander.} A topographical map of the area was projected in Ayakas vision, on which were two labels. One for the rover that had broken down earlier, and another where the Terrible Teenager had been struggling just moments before. And neither of the labeled dots were moving. Check biometrics on Warrant Officer Lee, Yui, Ayaka ordered. {Yes, Commander. Checking.... No biometric data stream found. Searching for backup.... No backup biometric data stream found. Checking for suit data recorder signal.... No suit data recorder signal found. Checking for backup....} The checks continued as Yui read them in her calm soprano voice, each failed check hitting Ayaka with an almost physical impact that she felt in her gut. {File found, Commander. Fragmented data stream available. Recompile and display?} Yui asked. Ayakas heart rose into her throat and her jaw worked soundlessly for a moment before she could utter a hoarse command to play the video. It loaded shortly after and her gorge completely rose as she watched a giant root come whipping toward Joon-ho from his suits perspective. Joon-ho... she whispered as the video abruptly cut off. {Playback complete, Commander,} Yui announced. Chapter 620 Cogs ALWAYS Fit Somewhere Chapter 620 Cogs ALWAYS Fit Somewhere Moments before Lee Joon-ho had been attacked, he was enjoying the feeling of unfettered flight kilometers above the surface of Proxima Centauri b. He had done it before, of courseat least in the simulation and on Earthbut there was something different, something special about doing it on an honest-to-god alien planet. And having been stuck in the research base without being able to fly on his own had been like sandpaper rubbing against his desire to exercise his superpower. ViiSiit for latest novels Before hed been blessed by mana, he had been lost. As restrictive as the Kim regime had been, at least he knew he had a place. He was a cog. A small cog, but a cog nonetheless, and cogs ALWAYS fit somewhere. But then China stuck its fingers in the North Korean pie and triggered an attack on South Korea, the retaliation for which had completely wiped out the dictatorship that ruled the northern half of the divided country. And his place had been wiped out with it. So he lost himself. He lost himself in food, in luxury, in fantasies. His new place was the tiny bedroom in the tiny house, because tiny was comfortable. Tiny was safe. Tiny was all that he had ever known, ever been. But then he became oh so very much more. He discovered a new place, a new role, and he became a slightly bigger cog in a much, much larger machine. A machine that he actually liked being a part of. A machine that allowed him the freedom to fly with the wings that fate had given him. So he hadnt been too upset when his mother had signed him up for the Imperial Hero Academy. Sure, he had made a scene and pitched a fit, but deep down, he was thrilled. Why? Because the academy would let him be a Hero, with a capital H. And that stoked a desire that he had never known was inside him. He rose to a standing position, his feet drifting inches off the ground as his mangled legs were incapable of supporting his weight. In his mind, he issued a hearty fuck you to the laws of physics as he recalled his training back at the hero academy. Looking off into the distance, he saw the massive roots that had flattened the rover hed been sent to rescue and all conscious thought left him. His animalistic instincts took over and he raised his good arm, pointing his palm toward the base of the roots rising from the flood water a hundred or so meters away from him. Die! he snarled, then put everything he had left into a single focused area of gravity that swept out in a beam, ripping, tearing, and shredding the roots apart from their very tips down to the ground beneath the water. If hed had anything left in him, it fled at that moment and he collapsed bonelessly to the ground, his eyes fluttering as he drifted in and out of consciousness beneath the pouring rain and rumbling thunder. He felt himself lifted from the ground and enveloped in a warmth and, in his delirium, saw Ayaka leaning over him. You shouldnt have come, he slurred. Youre in danger. Leave here! He mustered up the last dregs of his mana and threw Ayaka from him, only for her to be replaced by what looked like a hybrid of Hatsune Miku and Deedlit, from Record of Lodoss War. Am I... dead? he thought as he finally lost the battle to remain awake. A new, and much smaller, root quested its way to him and wrapped around him. It was soon followed by another, then another, and still more until the only thing remaining was a writhing pile of worm-like root tips floating on the rapidly rising flood that was accompanying the incoming storm. Chapter 621 Like a Bull in a China Shop\ Chapter 621 Like a Bull in a China Shop Divert the lander and pick him up, Ayaka ordered moments after watching the recovered video. Apologies, Commander. Orders from the fleet are that were to immediately proceed to rendezvous with the Khopesh. Theyre non-discretionary, Im afraid, the lander pilot replied. The lander continued rocketing straight up with over 20 subjective gravities of acceleration pushing its passengers into their acceleration seats and crash harnesses. The pilot would have gone faster, but his passengers were no ARES troopers or fleet sailors that had been trained to tolerate that kind of force; they were scientists, and scientists were by and large a sedentary lot. Lasers from the Khopeshs drones began firing, the ionization in the air from the storm making them visible as flashes of dim blue beams as they burned through root after root. The empires drones were designed to increase the strategic missile defense depth of the TSF, so handling relatively slow-moving roots was an easy task that could be left to their onboard VIs without worry. Missiles in space battles would be traveling at a rate higher than .8c by the time they reached an intercept envelope, which was far too fast for any human to respond to, but the roots were only moving around a few hundred meters per second. Even if the VIs were completely incapable, or even entirely nonexistent, human drone pilots would still have been able to protect the landers. ViiSiit for latest novels Ayaka knew that, so she frowned and said, The drones are perfectly capable of keeping us protected, Warrant. But Warrant Lee doesnt even have those, and he needs rescue Sorry maam, the orders are nondiscretionary. And they came down from the admirals staff. No way in hell the pilot twisted the lander around in a wild corkscrew to dodge lightning bolts, lasers, and roots, am I violating them for an EF Commander. I get it, I really do. Im sorry you lost your... whatever, but this train were on isnt stopping til it reaches the station. Maam. The low buzz of people hard at work filled the air, alongside the almost physical sensation of tension. As a drone tender, each wing of drones was commanded from the bridge, while the pilots of those drones were in VR pods in giant, cavernous bays deep in the guts of the massive vessel. Thus, compared to most imperial ships, drone tenders had a higher number of active personnel on the bridge. Which meant that Ayaka had a much larger audience when she glided into the compartment and saluted the captain. Captain Chang, a word, please? she asked, still holding the salute. In my ready room, Commander, the captain replied, then turned to his communications officer. Lieutenant Commander Sanders, you have the bridge. Then he stood and gestured toward his ready room, but Ayaka was already on the move. Perhaps her anxiety was showing through more than she would have liked. When they reached the ready room, Captain Chang sat behind his desk and preempted the conversation. I know what you have in mind, Commander, and I agree. As soon as the evacuation is complete, Ill send a flight of drones to rescue your awakener. Ayaka was taken aback; she had expected she would need to fight for the rescue mission to take place. Thank you, Sir, she finally said. But itll have to wait until after the evacuation is complete and the last lander Begging your pardon, Sir, she interrupted. But its imperative that we send the mission out now. The longer we wait... she trailed off, unable to finish the thought. At least not out loud, anyway; the rest of the sentence was rampaging through her mind like a bull in a china shop. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that hell be dead when we get there. Chapter 622 Understanding vs. Liking Chapter 622 Understanding vs. Liking Ayaka was still standing on the bridge of the Khopesh when the last evacuation flight passed Proxima Centauri bs Karman Line and rocketed toward the TFS Escapade, the heavy cruiser it was assigned to. She hadbarelybeen able to keep herself from pacing back and forth behind the drone wing commanders, but a thrill passed up and down her spine when she heard that the last lander had safely made it off the surface and she was unable to keep herself from practically vibrating in place. Only two decades of comportment and etiquette training, courtesy of her fathers expectations, kept her from showing how anxious she was. She turned to Captain Chang, who shot her an empathetic glance as he began, Dont worry, weve already prepared the rescue mission. Wing three, prepare to Before he could finish his sentence, the holotank in the center of the bridge turned red and an abort signal flashed, accompanied by a message: All surface missions are suspended until further notice. The message was tagged as having been sent from the tactical officer on Fleet Admiral Bianchis staff. Without another word, Ayaka stalked to the captains ready room just off the bridge. Captain Chang could only watch her go and shake his head in sympathy. He knew what she was about to do, but didnt hold out much hope that it would work out well for the young commander. The display changed to a visual of a recon drone being fired from the destroyer, TFS Starry Sky. It completed one orbit, then attempted to breach the atmosphere, only to be crushed against the red film like a bug meeting a windshield at freeway speed. As you can see, whatever that is is just as effective as our own planetary defense shields. My intelligence officer and tactical officer recommendedand I agreedthat its in our best interest to avoid escalating the hostilities against the being until were able to establish at least a rudimentary form of communication. All indications are that theres a mind behind those roots, and were the visitors here. We should act like it, he finished as the display screen switched back to a view of the admiral from his shoulders up. Behind him, uniformed personnel were moving on the flag bridge of the Proxima like worker bees in a hive. I understand, Admiral. Is there any way we can get at least a drone down to check on the Teerr, Warrant Officer Lee? It looks like the shield isnt spreading all that fast and we should be able to get in and out before it reaches land. Thatd give us an idea of what were dealing with, as well as whether or not further rescue efforts Ayaka paused and cleared her throat, would be... necessary. We can do that much, Commander, Fleet Admiral Bianchi said with a small, tight smile that wasnt happy in the least. And we already have. When the drone got there, this is what it saw. The view on the screen changed again, this time showing a mass of writhing roots piled together in the shape of an egg, or perhaps a seed, where the rover had broken down and where Joon-ho had been swatted from the sky. My god, Sir... what IS that? Ayaka murmured, shock visible on her face for the first time. We dont know, Commander. Theres just too many things we dont know. Ive ordered Captain Das to bring the Proxima into orbit of Proxima Centauri b. Shes the only vessel weve got with the sensors and power to spare that might give us a chance of seeing exactly whats going on behind the shield. But until then, ground ops are suspended until further notice. Understood, Sir, Ayaka said. And she did understand; she might not particularly LIKE the situation as it stood, but she could definitely understand it. Until and unless they had proof that Joon-ho was still alive, and perhaps even after they had that proof, it wouldnt be wise to risk upsetting whatever being was on the other side of those tentacle-like roots. Chapter 623 Much Like a Fading Mirage Chapter 623 Much Like a Fading Mirage Joon-ho was floating in a warm darkness, his knees drawn up to his chest and arms wrapped around them. Is this what it feels like to be dead? he thought. Just floating in... nothingness? Man, a whole lot of people are gonna be really disappointed when they die. No angels with trumpets, no pearly gates, no mythical beings or buddhas... and apparently no hot goddesses offering perks to be born on planets theyre responsible for. He sighed, or at least attempted to. Suddenly he heard a muffled thud-THUD and two other noises that reminded him of conversation. One was a low-pitched murmura man, he thoughtand there was another, higher-pitched sound. If the first was a man, then the second should be a woman. Why does this seem so... familiar? he mused. He drifted in the endless dark, listening to the murmuring and rhythmic thud-THUD. Well, if this is what the afterlife is like, then I guess it could be worse, he thought as he floated in the warm, welcoming nothing that surrounded him in its embrace. Time passed, as time always does, and a change came over his environment. The rhythmic pulsing thuds began speeding up. Thud-THUD... thud-THUD... thud-THUD, thud-THUD, thud-THUD thudTHUD thudTHUD thudTHUDthudTHUDthudTHUD.... Soon, the female sound rose in pitch and volume and the warm darkness around him began pitching and tossing him to and fro, setting him spinning along three axes. What the actual fuck!? he thought as he spun. With a concerted effort, he stopped spinning and reoriented himself, then the darkness squeezed him from all directions and he realized where he was. Am I in a... womb? he mused. Maybe I really am being reborn on a new world! The pressure increased and he was squeezed into what felt like an endless tunnel mixed with a toothpaste tube. Finally, he was ejected into a blinding brightness and blinked until his eyes adjusted to the light. He looked up, expecting to see his new mother and father, but then.... WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!? he shouted at the top of his lungsor tried to, anyway, as the only sound that escaped his lips was a high, warbling cry. What he had seen when he looked at who his parents were was two trees, a slender cypress tree with black bark and needles so deep purple they might as well have been black, and a tall, powerful oak tree, also with black bark and violet leaves so dark they, too, might as well have been black. We understand, the birch said. Who-what-when-where-why is this? The image Joon-ho had seen after pushing Ayaka away flashed through his mind. Thats Hatsune Miku and Deedlit. Who-what-when-where-why is Hatsune Miku and Deedlit? Theyre, umm... Hatsune Miku is an avatar, and Deedlit is a character from an anime. Who-what-when-where-why is anime? another voice interjected. Joon-ho turned to the crabapple tree and said, Its a form of entertainment on my planet. Who-what-when-where-why is entertainment? Entertainment is.... The question and answer session, or perhaps interrogation went on for a long time before the tree people seemed satisfied with what they had learned. Who-what-when-where-why is elves? The birch had once again started asking questions. Well, elves are friends of nature and they live in trees, I guess, Joon-ho answered, memories of all the media he had watched containing elves flashing through his head. We understand, the birch said, then slowly vanished from the clearing much like a fading mirage. Chapter 624 Debriefing and Demerits Chapter 624 Debriefing and Demerits Joon-ho felt a thrill pass through him at the question. It was a question he had been waiting for, seemingly for his entire life. He didnt know many people from the task force, having spent the entire journey out either practicing his mana manipulation skills or in his private VR space, but he firmly believed that he was the leading expert in the Proxima Centauri system on all things fantasy, sci-fi, and anime. He began lecturing the trees on all things elven, all the way from the mythological alfar and dokkalfar to present, including the races representation in novels, video games, and movies. He provided every detail he could think of, and as he spoke, he saw them in his memories, including his emotions and thoughts as he first discovered the rich body of entertainment through humanitys history. He recalled heroes and villains, epic tales of adventures, and the struggles and challenges that each individual went through in each story he recounted to the trees. As he spoke, the trees asked questions. Questions about other races he mentioned seemed popular, and Joon-ho figured that there was something about them that spoke to a primal facet of each individual tree around the meadow he was in. The oak, for example, seemed very interested in tales of giants, particularly those of hill giants from a popular tabletop role-playing game that Joon-ho played in his personal VR space. The longer Joon-ho spoke, the more memories flashed in his mind and the more questions the trees asked him. And he basked in the attention; for most of his life he had been ignored, overlooked, or bullied due to his introverted personality and neurodivergent behaviors. So having an enthusiastic audience that not only respected his knowledge, but thirsted for it, satisfied a deep drive that he never knew he had possessed. Then came a rather unexpected statement. The trees actually apologized for the attack on the lander and the later destruction of the rover with all hands aboard it. They had thought that humanity was like them, and losing individuals of the species would be much like trees shedding leaves, or perhaps twigs. But along with the realization that each human being was an individual came sorrow, sorrow that they had cut short a life with all that that entailed. ...... While Joon-ho was giving the lecture of his dreams, perhaps quite literally, Ayaka was busy dealing with the many tasks that a Commander in the exploration fleet and executive officer of an exploration cruiser had to deal with. It wasnt made any easier by the emergency evacuation from the planets surface, either. It took her two days to untangle the personnel issue alone and ensure everyone was returned to their proper places after the ad hoc temporary personnel reassignments, as someone had jokingly referred to the post-evacuation chaos. The work helped some, at least. It kept her mind off her responsibility in Joon-hos disappearance, but every time she recalled that he was listed as missing, presumed killed in action, she felt a stabbing pain in her chest and a burning sensation in her eyes. He wasnt the only person she knew in the doomed mission to the surface, but he was the one she had worked the closest with, and one that shed personally ordered to go into harms way. After she finished sorting out the personnel tasks and the resulting paperwork, she stretched and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her tired eyes with the heels of her hands. A soft chime sounded in her office, announcing that she had a visitor. She blinked away some of the tiredness from her eyes and said, Enter. A young, red-haired Ordinary Crewman with a sprinkle of freckles across his cheeks, wearing a stewards uniform, entered the office and said, Maam, Captain Marinakis compliments and hell see you in his ready room at 1400 hours. Why did it take you so long to realize he had failed in his mission? The admirals face appeared to have been carved from granite, giving away no clue as to what he was thinking. By the time we got the report that wed lost connection with him and the team in the rover, the emergency evacuation was in full swing. The base VI judged it as a low priority issue and didnt report it until the evacuation was well underway. By that point, the bases quantum supercluster was in power-saving mode and couldnt be brought back up to full power before the evacuation was complete. So I made the call to divert the lander I was assigned to go and pick up the stranded personnel, but by that time the evacuation order had been made nondiscretionary and I couldnt divert the lander. What is your impression, Commander? Do you think there are survivors down there? the admiral asked. I believe so, Sir. Do you have any evidence or is it just wishful thinking? A bit of both, Sir. Warrant Lee is a concept-level awakener, and a strong one at that. I have to believe that he could survive the attack seen in the video we recovered. Very good, Commander. And I happen to agree with you. A conceptualist wouldnt die so easily. We will continue monitoring the planet as best we can and send a rescue mission at the soonest opportunity. The admiral turned to Captain Marinakis and continued, Enter a disciplinary note into Commander Takahashis file regarding her breaking the chain of command. Shes to be docked a months pay and confined to quarters for a week, pending the needs of the fleet. VR access will be denied for the duration of the confinement. Yes, Sir, the captain replied. Fleet Admiral Bianchi looked at Ayaka again. I trust youll do better in the future, Commander Takahashi. I will, Sir, she said, and saluted him. Very well. See that you do. Bianchi clear. Chapter 625 A Xenobotanists Wet Dream Chapter 625 A Xenobotanist''s Wet Dream A month passed and the red mana shield around Proxima Centauri b was still present, just as strong as it had been when it was first raised, if not stronger. The TFS Proxima had been in a high polar orbit practically the entire time, and it seemed like the shield had detected her sensors and strengthened itself as a result. But if they had been able to see through the obscuring shield, the members of Task Force Proxima would likely have been rather surprised. Who wouldnt be surprised if they saw continents springing up seemingly out of nowhere? That said, the continents hadnt been created out of nothing. Rather, it was more like the roots occupying the ocean floor had mostly withdrawn, lowering the water level and exposing continents that had already been there, but flooded by the water. The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n)) And following the law of unintended consequences, the withdrawn roots had taken most of the mana with them from the water. But as energy, including mana, could neither be created nor destroyedbarring certain types of conceptual and esoteric mana that specialized in delivering hearty fuck yous to the laws of physicsthat mana had somehow been redistributed across the new continents, balancing the density between land and water. It was at a slightly lower level, of course, but still significantly higher than the mana density of Earth. The next-highest branch was covered in rolling, grassy hills and knolls, all of which were home to oak trees that grew in groves to the height of two or three kilometers. Each grove had between twenty and a hundred oak trees surrounded by witch hazel, dogwood, mountain laurel, and rhododendron shrubs. Interspersed between and around the oak groves were vast meadows of wildflowers, lilypad- and duckweed-covered lakes, and rivers lined with cattails and goldenrods. The oaks themselves were home to lush curtains of ivy and honeysuckle, and the rocky areas of the hills were covered in mosses and lichens. Above the oak-forested branch was a wetland surrounding a single vast mountain peak that reached eight kilometers into the air, practically brushing the bottom of the branch above it. From that mountaintop ran great, rushing rivers in all directions that split and meandered through the wetlands surrounding the foot of the mountain until they poured themselves off the edge of the branch itself, falling to the ocean surface as a fine mist. On that particular branch grew tall, slender cypress trees surrounded in mist and rainbows, albeit muted ones. Alongside them were wax myrtle, alder, and buttonbush shrubs that surrounded meadows filled with moss and grass, from which sprouted mushrooms in scattered rings here and there. Still higher was a branch covered in dank, dark swamps, from which grew great and twisted, gnarled mangrove trees. Accompanying them was a low ground cover comprised mostly of marsh grass, sea purslane, glasswort, and seawort with marsh ferns scattered here and there peeking out of the low fog and swirling mists that covered the ground. This continent-sized branch had very little solid ground, most of which were sand dunes and sandbars that rose a few feet above the algae-covered swamp waters, stabilized by sea oat plants that prevented them from being washed away by the shifting swamps. And riddled throughout the mass was a deep, dark network of tunnels and caves. And on the highest branch of them all was a vast forest of graceful birch trees, rising so near to the mana shield that, if one were to stand atop the tallest of the birch trees, they would be able to reach up and touch the shield itself without stretching or straining. Surrounding the birch trees like attendants were alders, dogwoods, and weeping willow shrubs, and carpeting the ground itself were grasses, sedges, and wildflowers of all kinds, occasionally giving way to meadows filled with bluebells. The birches themselves were organized into groves where the trees grew so close that their branches intertwined on multiple levels, creating broad paths above the ground. From each tree on every level of the enormous world tree grew giant, eggplant-shaped fruits. The fruits pulsed with a rhythmic red light, almost like a metronome, or perhaps a heartbeat. They ranged in size from the 4-5 foot long fruits on the crabapple trees to enormous 16-20 foot long fruits on the great oak trees. The cypress trees had irregular fruits, some of which were as small as four feet long, while others were nine or ten feet long and almost as wide in diameter. The birch and mangrove trees were home to fruits in the 6-7 foot long range. The explorers of Task Force Proxima would be in for quite the surprise, if and when they ever made it back to the surface of the planet. Chapter 626 Brute Forcing It Chapter 626 Brute Forcing It Three months later. Ayaka and Captain Marinakis were in the captains ready room on the Farsight, attending a virtual meeting with the task forces leadership. Things had settled into a routine, and the meetings had gone from daily, to weekly, and now this was the second monthly meeting they were holding. Nothing of any note had yet been accomplished; the situation remained unchanged. Were still functioning on skeleton crews to reduce resource consumption. Even though we have the replicators, our problem with the algae in the feedstock tanks remains unsolved, but were still working on it and should have a solution soon, the fleets head of logistics reported. For the past six weeks, the crews of the ships had been rotating in and out of VR training simulations, with only skeleton crews maintaining the ships in reality. The initial mission planning had called for restocking their algae tanks and supplementing them with organic compounds from asteroids in Proxima Centauri and on the surface of Proxima Centauri b, but they had yet to discover any asteroids rich in organics and the surface was unreachable. Thus, their dilemma. The stopgap solution the leadership had decided on was to step down the crews of the ships and put them in long-term training, rotating skeleton crews in to stand physical watches in case disaster struck. They had plenty of nutrient mash stock for the VR pods, but they hadnt counted on the mana-triggered mutations in their algae tanks making them completely unusable in the food replicators. It only took three deaths and a wave of illness before they tracked down the problem and decided on a solution. Efficiency was the hallmark of the empire, after all. Confidence level? Admiral Bianchi asked. About 75%, Sir. Not the best, but acceptable. Keep working on it. The admiral turned to the fleets head engineer. Anything to report, Scotty? he asked. Weve completed the protostellar forge and are working on the construction queue, Admiral, Commander Gail Scotty Coleman reported. All head engineers were, by longstanding tradition, given the nickname Scotty when they took over the engineering department of their ships, or even task forces. It was only engineers that werent assigned to shipboard positions that had other nicknames. No shortcuts, Commander. Yes, Sir. The meeting continued until everyone in attendance had a chance to report on the progress of their departments, but it was still a case of stagnation. Things hadnt become so hopeless that they would abandon the mission to Proxima Centauri and move on to the binary Alpha Centauri system, but they were still edging toward that level with every day that passed. If the planet remained inaccessible and they failed to discover organics in the asteroid belt, the entire mission might have to be scrubbed and Task Force Proxima would be forced into an early return to Earth with a failed exploration mission under their belts. ...... Two days later. A constellation of upgraded Henrys Eyes satellites had been completed at the protostellar forge and moved into position around Proxima Centauri b. Powered by fusion reactors with many times the output of the standard recon satellites, their sensors matched the performance of those on the TFS Proxima, but without the risk of burnout. After all, they had been designed to be used to brute force their sensors through the jamming effect of the mana shield and the increased atmospheric mana density under it, while the cityship herself could only do that in a pinch, and only as long as the spares in her cavernous holds could last before they ran out. Aboard the bridge of the Proxima, a soft chime sounded at the sensor station as the cityships AI alerted the watch of a change in status. {Henrys Eye sensors have detected something,} the AI reported. Captain! the watchstander said with some anticipation in his voice. Yes, Lieutenant Commander? Weve got something, Sir! Chapter 627 The Last Human in Proxima Centauri? Chapter 627 The Last Human in Proxima Centauri? Oh. My. God, Ayaka murmured. Her murmur was caught by everyone else in the meeting, as they had all been stunned into silence by the hologram the AI had generated in the middle of the conference table. All of them couldnt help but agree, as the visual of Proxima Centauri b was starkly different than when they had first laid eyes on it. Proxima, generate a comparison hologram, Admiral Bianchi said once he recovered his voice. {Comparison generated, Admiral,} the AI said as a hologram of the planet as it was appeared next to the current one. The two planets looked completely different. When they had first arrived, there was only one continent on it and some scattered islands. But now, one, two, three.... Five continents, Dr. Standing Bear said, her tone filled with shock. Great Coyote, that should have taken millennia, not just months. Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com She wasnt wrong, either. Change on a geological scale took time that was better measured in eons, not months! Earth had once been a pangea as well, back in the late paleozoic periodroughly 335 MILLION years agoand continental drift had only broken it apart in the early mesozoic period, roughly 175 million years ago. In other words, Earths continental drift had taken around 110 million years to change the surface to what it was now, and the drift was still ongoing; Earth had looked different as recently as 65 million years ago. Ayaka gasped, and everyone turned to her. They thought she had been struck by the absurdity of the situation, but that was far from the case. The realization that Joon-ho was likelier dead than alive had just hit her like a gut punch in the feels and she was trying to hold back her tears and stay strong. Before seeing the changed planet, with no sign of human presence at all, she had held some small hope that Joon-ho, and perhaps some of the other scientists, would still be alive. They could have made it to Research Base New New South Wales over the past few months after escaping the ambushing roots, but now.... The research base was gone, and it had taken that tiny flickering flame of hope along with it. Furthermore, even though she was no geologist, or any kind of scientist at all, really, she still knew just how much energy and force it would take to change a planet to the extent Proxima Centauri b had been. That knowledge was like a jackboot that came crashing down to trample the small seedling of hope. The only thing preventing her from breaking down into a sobbing mess was, again, her more than two decades of comportment training, which ensured that she could keep a straight face no matter how she felt inside. It was her armor, and now it had become her reliance. Perhaps later, when she could think straight, she would whisper a thank you to her father, who had forced her through those lessons and prevented her from having a normal childhood. But for now, she continued paying attention to things in the virtual conference room around her. The hologram of the newly redecorated Proxima Centauri b was still blurred due to all of the mana interfering with their sensors, but some markers bled through. The five continents, roughly the size of Eurasia, South America, Africa, Australia, and the Eden-Esparian Archipelago, were visible in the hologram, along with indicators showing that they were completely covered in plant life with no non-organic materials present. Right, populate. Thatll be nice. Will you bring some of your children here to visit me? I mean, dont get me wrong, youre all nice enough and everything, especially considering that Im basically an invader, but a change would be nice. Yes, a change. Thats what we need! But weve already changed the world, Joon-ho, the cypress responded, a quizzical note in her tone. You have?! Great! Let me out so I can go and see! We cant do that yet. Why not? You currently dont have a body. Well, you have a body, but its not ready to be born yet. Right, I dont have a.... Wait. I dont have a body? I DONT HAVE A BODY!? He rushed over to the cypress and tried to shake her, but even as hefty as he was, a 280 pound man trying to shake a tree that was hundreds of meters tall was an impossibility to begin with. Especially considering that he lacked a body at all at the moment and was present only as a phantom of his consciousness. Indeed, Joon-ho, the oak interjected in his rumbling basso profundo voice. You lack a body because we had to use you as a pattern to create our children. Before humanity came, we only knew ourselves and each other. There was no other but us, and we lacked a certain... spark, so to speak. You brought us that spark, willingly or not, knowingly or not, and for that we will be eternally grateful. So you tried birthing children before? Joon-ho asked, his mood rapidly swinging from anger to curiosity. Yes. We came together for the first time to create children, and youve seen those children. They lack what you humans call sapience, and they fear us and our power. Thats why the continent we created first was covered by our children, but there was a vast separation between them and us, caused by their fear and reverence. Weve always mourned the loss of what could have been. Joon-ho was completely lost and couldnt comprehend the thought of what the trees had accomplished. He would just have to bring smarter people than him to figure out what exactly the oak was talking about. That is, if there was anyone smarter left in the solar system to begin with. He couldnt be sure of that without knowing how long he had been trapped in the timeless meadow; he might just be the sole living human left in the Proxima Centauri system. Chapter 628 The Thin Line Between Existence and Nonexistence Chapter 628 The Thin Line Between Existence and Nonexistence Joon-ho had taken to sleep as a way of measuring time in the timeless meadow. Although he never knew how long he slept, or when he fell asleep or woke up, for that matter, at least he could count days by tracking his sleep schedule. Currently, his count was at seven hundred and sixty-three. He had no way of knowing how accurate it was, but at least the practice kept him sane. Time had proven a difficult concept to communicate to the trees, who seemingly lived forever and saw no point whatsoever in dividing days into hours, minutes, and seconds, or years into months and weeks. The only thing the trees cared about were seasons; there was a season to sleep and a season to grow. Everything else was superfluous to them. The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n)) Currently, he was laying on the soft grass, trying and failing to fall asleep. Not only was he excited by his impending rebirth, but the role he had played in the creation of new life had his thoughts in a tizzy. Though the trees had done all of the work of birthing the new species, Joon-ho had given them the final piece of the puzzle necessary for those births to happen: a spark of inspiration. Oftentimes, the barrier between success and failure was simply the knowledge that success was indeed possible. And humankinds mere existence had given the trees that knowledge, which they used to successfully birth individual lifeforms that were separate from the collective communities that the trees had formed on their first attempt. His thoughts continued racing until, without realizing it, he crossed the line between wakefulness and sleep, then completely lost consciousness. It was almost as if a light switch labeled Lee Joon-ho, human awakener was flipped from on to off as he ceased to exist. The moment he lost consciousness, a vast torrent of mana was forcefully thrust into his body, which slowly broke up into particles of pulsing light. If anyone were present that cared to count, they would see more than 37 trillion small blinking dots that drifted up into the sky above the timeless meadow before being gathered into a stream and fed into what looked like a very small black hole. Before all of the particles had been absorbed by the black hole, the cypress turned her attention to the last little bits of what was formerly known as Lee Joon-ho, human awakener and a distinct sense of fondness projected from her to the particulate stream. It was almost... maternal in nature; obviously, the cypress was the one who had been most affected by the trees interactions with the young awakener. The trees themselves appeared to have been physically present in the meadow, and they took a different exit. Instead of dissolving and flowing into the sky as a stream of particles, they slowly sank into the loamy soil until there was nothing left of them above the ground. Soon, all that remained of the timeless meadow that Joon-ho had grown so familiar with was nothing but a large, grassy meadow lit in a dim light that seemed to have no individual source and cast no shadows. If Joon-ho had been conscious, he might have mistakenly thought that his mother had come to join him in his last moments, which wouldve been quite confusing. He was five light years, more than forty-seven trillion kilometers, away from Earth, where his mother still was! But he wasnt conscious. In fact, his entire existence was still in question and he may have crossed over the line between life and death instead of that between wakefulness and sleep. Chapter 629 The Yap Chapter 629 The Yap Proxima Centauri b, one month later. At the former site of Research Base New New South Wales, a single tree grew. Unlike any of the other newly created vegetation, it was alone in the center of a vast clearing and was of no particular species of tree. And on that tree was a single fruit, pulsing with a rhythmic red light. Motes of shining mana were flowing into the fruit, causing it to sway from side to side. As more and more motes struck the fruit and passed through its skin, the swaying sped up with each passing second until cracks spread on the fruits surface. They continued spreading and widening until the fruit fragmented much like an eggshell, dropping a slim, hairless human figure to the ground, covered in a clear, slick goo. The man, for man he obviously was, given the equipment between his legs, stood and wiped the goo from his eyes. Fuck me! he cursed as a wave of dizziness swept over him and he nearly fell to the ground. I think I forgot how to walk. Do I have to grow up AGAIN!? FUCK! He took a deep breath and looked at his slimy form. Holy shit! I have an eight pack now! he exclaimed. Sweet! The man lay on his back, staring up at the red sky of the planet, then crazily cackled, Im back! He was none other than Lee Joon-ho, and he had escaped certain death a second time. Once his laughing fit passed, he rested, regaining strength with every breath he took. It felt like he was inhaling something together with the loam-scented atmosphere of Proxima Centauri b, and he immediately deduced what it was: mana. I wonder how long Ive been, err, well... out of it, he mumbled to himself. He was completely out of the habit of silently thinking after having spent such a long time in the timeless meadow, where the only sound was that of his own voice. I hope Im not the only person left here. No telling yet, Sir, but whatever it is... its big. Really big, Sir, the sensors officer replied. Its coming through clear because the mana shield around the area seems to have thinned. It might finally be disappearing, Sir. Captain Marinakis exchanged a glance with Ayaka, then nodded. He turned to the security officer on the bridge and ordered, Prepare a lander for a remote mission to check out that signal. The security officer came to attention and snapped, Aye aye, Captain. He was just short of saluting. And belay the academy yap, Lieutenant, the captain said in a wry tone. (Ed note: The academy yap is a distinct tone that new graduates from military training use when speaking to officers or NCOs. Its difficult to describe in text, you just have to hear it to understand it. Its highly formal, very precise, and usually overly enthusiastic. Its also very, very loud. I couldnt find anything on YouTube for you, but check back in a few days; Ill keep looking, and if I find it Ill leave it here as a comment.) An hour later, the sensors officer on the bridge of the Farsight reported, Looks like the shield is down, Captain. Im getting good returns on all sensors. Captain Marinakis acknowledged the report, then turned to the security officer again. Send the lander mission, Lieutenant. Remember: remote piloting only, no sense risking the few flyboys we have aboard. Aye the lieutenant began, but was shortly interrupted by the captain. And can the yap, Lieutenant! Everyone on the bridge fell into a sudden coughing fit as they stifled their laughter. Chapter 630 Doomsday Archive Chapter 630 Doomsday Archive ??TFS Proxima, mobile fleet hospital quarantine ward. Joon-ho was lying unconscious in a medical pod undergoing scan after scan at a blistering pace. In a side room, separated by a thick plate of armorglass, doctors were scurrying back and forth from screen to screen, tracking the real-time data coming from the medical pod. All of them were mystified at his miraculous survival. Sure, he had lost weight, but hed survived for months on the surface of a planet with hostile life forms, yet showed no sign of the hypotrophy they expected from someone who hadnt had a bite to eat in all that time. They werent alone in their surprise, either. Every single crew member aboard the Proxima, naval, marine, and scientific staff alike, were curious as to how Joon-ho had survived. Anyone who wasnt currently standing watch was focused on the public security feed, tapping into it with their implants and staring at Joon-hos medical pod, searching for the slightest sign that he was about to be released from it. Even the off-watch medical staff had clustered in the passageway outside the quarantine ward, practically choking it off; calls of make way and make a hole occasionally rang out in the packed mass of doctors and corpsmen. A small group of researchers had gathered in the mobile fleet hospitals wardroom, each of them holding a cup of coffee or tea, or a soft drink, and were discussing what the fleet had already dubbed The Miracle. So hes the only survivor, eh? one of the researchers asked. By the flash on his lapel, he was a seismologist, making it likely that he knew one of the researchers in the doomed rover. Seems that way, another answered. She was wearing a lapel pin that showed her specialty was xenoanthropology. I heard the Proxima did a full-powered scan of the entire equatorial orbit looking for other anomalies similar to the one in the clearing they found Warrant Lee in, but.... She sighed and her shoulders slumped a little. They didnt find a damn thing. As Sun Tzu once said, the world is run by meetings and Fleet Admiral Bianchi had called another general meeting of his staff, plus the doctors working on deciphering the results of Joon-hos scans. Also in attendance were Ayaka and Captain Marinakis of the TES Farsight, present in the form of holograms. Are you one hundred percent positive that this the admiral gestured at a pair of holograms floating over the conference table, is the same Warrant Officer Lee Joon-ho that survived the attack during the storm? His skepticism was understandable; the new Joon-ho was taller, had more defined, toned musculature, and was somehow even better looking than before. Not that that was really a stretch, given that hed previously had squinty eyes and facial features that were covered in a thick layer of fat, hiding his features and making them indistinct. Overall, he looked like he had matured by a few years and now appeared to be around twenty-five years old instead of his actual age of eighteen. [The probability of the awakener in my medical pod being one Warrant Officer Second Class Lee Joon-ho approaches unity, Admiral,] the Proximas AI reported. We have a 99.999% match across all biometrics, Sir, Dr. Elaine Cho, Task Force Proximas chief surgeon added. Weve compared retinal scans, facial scans, fingerprints, and DNA sequencing, and its all a hundred percent match to the same person who was originally assigned to the task force. The only questions we have are a variance in his mana signature and the unexplained absence of any of his fleet implants. Were comparing the results of his situational interview with his akashic record as we speak for a more positive identification. Since the security clearances of those at the meeting varied, and some werent cleared to have been read in on the empires memory mapping and modification technologies, the good doctor was using situational interview as code for the comparison of Joon-hos memories with the memories in his akashic record files. No interrogator, no matter how good they were, could possibly get every single memoryeven the ones a person had completely forgottenout of their subjects minds. The only thing the empire knew of that was capable of that was their own brain scanning tech, which was still currently held as tightly secured as the classification levels allowed. And the only people in all of Task Force Proxima who had been read in on it were the fleet admiral, his flag intelligence officer, the chief surgeon, and Ayaka herself, who had the need-to-know as the head of the ground exploration team. After all, while they had expected that something like Joon- hos... condition... was possible, the probability of it happening was so vanishingly small that the protocol for it was only held in the hardcopy vaults of the mission contingency plans. Or as people in the know called them, the think tanks doomsday archive. Chapter 631 An Inadvertent Punthe special interview proceeding Chapter 631 An Inadvertent Punthe special interview proceeding And how is the special interview proceeding? Ayaka asked, though she knew the process had likely been finished in seconds, or perhaps minutes. Comparing things didnt take long, after all; not for quantum computers, anyway. The only limiting factor was that there were a lot of items to compare, which would take at least a little bit of time due to the quantity, if nothing else. {Due to the way Warrant Officer Lee was discovered and some anomalies in his scans, the interview will take extra time as the interviewer implements psychological testing measures to detect and prevent inaccuracies in the process or dishonesty on the part of the Warrant Officer,} the AI faithfully replied. The scope of the empires brain and memory scanning technologies had been hidden from it on a classified, encrypted server that it was unable to access in the normal course of things, so it naturally referred to the process as a special interview. If you use all available computing resources in the Proxima and shut down everything but critical infrastructure, would that speed up the process? the fleet admiral asked. {Yes, Admiral.} By how much? {The process would be completed in approximately 62 seconds, Admiral.} Then do it under my personal authorization, confirmation zulu bravo x-ray tango whisky foxtrot... he ordered, attaching his own vocal confirmation code as shutdown protocol required. Each of the captains had a unique sixty-four character confirmation code for command override protocols that would prove they were in control of themselves when issuing certain orders. In fact, much of that was being done already, with GEMbots having already dismantled the lander that had brought Joon-ho up to the Proxima, as well as much of the boat bay it had landed in. Everything that he had been in proximity to would be replaced with spares from the fleets spares inventory, from the smallest set screw to the largest pieces of deck plating, and everything in between. {Procedure complete, Admiral,} the AI reported. Resume normal operations, Proxima, and display the results of the special interview. {Yes, Admiral,} the AI replied, then a hologram snapped into existence around the people in the room and they were transported to the timeless meadow. The silence stretched as everyone in the conference room watched the events of the last few months playing out from Joon-hos perspective. Their implants allowed them to process the scenes much faster than living them, so the file played out from start to finish in just a shade under an hour. Then it was over, and the spell was broken by the AI. {Playback complete,} it said, the two words snapping the attendees of the meeting back to reality. That... I have no words, Dr. Standing Bear finally said. Ill... I dont even know who to run that past. Xenobotany? Xenoanthropology? Xeno... she trailed off and her eyes glazed over as she considered the ramifications of the first-contact interaction between Joon-ho and the trees. She began mentally shuffling personnel from research team to research team, forming the seed of a superteam that would take over as advisors for the diplomatic efforts that would inevitably come. She barked a laugh and everyone in the room looked at her. Seeds... never mind, she said, shaking her head. I just startled myself with an inadvertent pun.Ree?ad latest novels at novelhall.com Chapter 632 Not on Her Watch Chapter 632 Not on Her Watch Everyone at the conference table seemed to be focused on a different part of what they had seen in the reconstruction of events. Their concerns were, for the most part, what one would expect from their fields of expertise. General Frances Robespierre, the commander of Task Force Proximas marine contingent, was stunned by the trees ability to create life, and on such a grand scale. Though there were only five new specieshigh elves, dark elves, fae, hill giants, and dwarvesmultiple billions of each had been birthed and brought to full maturity in a much shorter time than any human could even give birth to full term infants. Four months.... Four months! he thought. It only took them four months to outnumber the entire human population, and thats just their adults! The thought of facing a potential enemy with that kind of ability to raise troops in that quantity was frightening, to say the least. Commander Bryce Harrison, the admirals personal awakener-cum-bodyguard was sitting in a daze with his eyes glazed over as everything he knew about mana and what it could do was being overwritten in his mind. He couldnt fathom the thought of a human awakener ever becoming strong enough to terraform an entire planet. Not even a small one, let alone Proxima Centauri b, which was almost a fifth again the size of Earth! Dr. Standing Bear was considering the ramifications of the trees demonstrated ability to replicate the biology of other species well enough to not only replicate them, but improve upon millions, if not billions, of years of evolution in such a short time frame. Not only that, they had done... something to separate Warrant Officer Lees consciousness and sustain it outside his physical body for an extended period of time. It was a feat that would potentially redefine a number of fields in quantum physics, specifically those that sought to discover whether or not humans actually had measurable, detectable souls. As for Ayaka, she was caught between laughter and tears that the trees had just happened to catch the one person in the entire task force that would guide them in creating races specialized for something other than their strengths in combat. Perhaps the Terrible Teenagers obsession with fantasy had come in handy after all! She didnt know whether to be thankful for that, or exasperated by the thought of all the sex objects the hormonal teenager would have dreamed up. The thought of a nine-meter-tall giant, naked and aroused, flitted past her mind and she couldnt help but shudder at the size of his weapon in the mental image and what it would do to... someone else, but definitely not her. Nope, she would never be in a position to see a naked hill giant at all, aroused or not. Re?Ad lateSt chapters at novelhall.com Only But it was certainly better, she knew, that the races created by the trees were bred along the lines of suggestions made by a horny teenager than if they had been influenced by a scientistor even worse, a marine! If THAT had happened, the only solution she could think of would be to have the fleet back off to a safe distance and bombard the planet with c-fractional spinal-mounted kinetic penetrators until it shattered, then use manipulator fields to send the debris directly into Proxima Centauri itself. If any of the marines twisted life forms were to spread around the galaxy, it would be an unrecoverable blow to humanitys prestige and ruin their chance of standing on the galactic stage alongside any other civilized life they met. Ten billion... Fleet Admiral Bianchi sighed. The number... changed things. What had begun as a mission of exploration with the possibility of first contact diplomacy had just become more complicated by several levels, and his was the head that wore the crown in the Proxima Centauri system. It would take at least a year to send a dispatch back to Earth and receive updated orders in return, so as the de facto plenipotentiary of the Terran Empire, his decisions over the next few hours could potentially steer the entire empires future direction. I dont know, General, Joon-ho replied. They havent been born yet. I think its safe to say that theyll be awakeners from birth, though. The general visibly paled at the thought. Humankind only had a few hundred million awakeners of their own, and the thought of a species with ten billion of them terrified him. He had seen the devastation a single awakener was capable of producing and the thought of that many of them would fuel his nightmares until the day he died, most likely. Theyll soon have ten billion awakeners then, all birthed and raised to maturity in a matter of months. Did they give you any indication of whether or not that would be a repeatable achievement? he continued. It wont be, Sir. They used all of the mana that theyd accumulated on and in the planet to create the variety of life they have now, or will have once theyre finally grown. Theres also the terraforming they did with their personal mana reserves, Sir. Unlike us, the trees are capable of storing mana within them and drawing from their own reserves, like other plants that have been mutating back home. But they emptied their tanks, Sir, and wont be able to repeat the growth process anytime soon. The general nodded and fell silent, lost in thought, as he signaled that his questions were done. The presentation and debriefing continued for a few hours before Fleet Admiral Bianchi called a halt to it for the day. Go back and meet with your teams. Poll them and bring a list of questions for tomorrow.... Joon-hos eyes rolled back in his head and his vision turned black. He fell to the floor and began convulsing and frothing at the mouth; everyone in the conference room began panicking, especially Ayaka. She refusedabsolutely and categorically REFUSEDto let the annoyance she had recently realized was like a little brother to her die. Not on her watch. Not again. Not... EVER... AGAIN! Chapter 633 Did I Just See What I Think I Saw? Chapter 633 Did I Just See What I Think I Saw? Ayaka was the first in the conference room to react to Joon-hos sudden collapse. Proxima, dispatch RES-QR response to my location immediately! Her words shook the rest of the attendees out of their stupor and a low hum of activity picked up in the background. Dr. Standing Bear muscled her way through the gawking civilians around her and rushed to the fallen awakeners side. She pulled an instrument from the pocket of her traditional white coat and ran it over Joon-ho from head to toe. I... what... how!? she stuttered. How what? Ayaka practically snarled. Hes suffering from mana deprivation. I dont understand how that could be! We simply arent made to store manait flows through and enhances us, it isnt something we require to function... the petite Native American woman muttered, shock still clear on her features. Then her gaze sharpened and she continued, The trees. The trees, Commander! They mustve done something and I think I know what the source of the anomalies we found in his scans is. Quick, help me get him out of this room, its too tightly shielded and there isnt enough mana here for him to function. The two women hauled Joon-ho roughly to his feet and threw his arms over their shoulders. Make way! Ayaka bellowed, roughly elbowing people who were too slow to move out of her way as she practically dragged both of the people she was linked with toward the hatch leading to the passageway outside the secure conference room they were in. As the two women disappeared through the door, Fleet Admiral Bianchi smiled wryly and said, Ill see you here tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen. Come with your questions ready. He turned to his flag captain and continued, Take us to ten light hours away from the planet, Captain. Ill be on the flag bridge. Ree?ad latest novels at novelhall.com Yes, Admiral, Captain Das replied, getting only a casual wave of the admirals hand in response as he headed toward the lift with broad strides, his chief of staff and personal awakener flanking him. ...... Mobile fleet hospital, TFS Proxima. Never mind, Proxima, she sighed, then rested her right elbow in the palm of her left hand and brought her right hand up to massage her temples. Its been... a day. ...... Fleet Admiral Bianchi strode onto the Proximas flag bridge, then called out, Ill be in my ready room. Aye, Admiral. Should I...? the watch officer began, but trailed off as he saw the hatch swoosh shut behind the admiral. He shrugged and turned his attention back to monitoring the fleets movement through the Proxima Centauri system, shuttling to and fro as they sent asteroid after asteroid on a near-approach pass to the star itself, where they would be separated into their components by virtue of the different melting points of the metals and silicates contained within them. The star itself was a critical component of the protostellar forge they had spent so long setting up and was only now coming into full operation. Marco Bianchi removed his uniform jacket and hung it on its designated peg, then set his uniform beret on it. He groaned as he fell into his chair, not because he was growing older and creakier, he mused, but rather out of habit and expectation. The VR pods used by the fleet maintained the sailors bodies at their peaks, so there would be no creaky old bones until their bodies reached an age that not even genetic enhancements and engineering could counter and decrepitude finally set in. He sighed and poured himself a snifter of brandy, then pulled a cigar from the humidor on his desk. He cut it and wet the cut end in the brandy, then clamped his teeth on it and lit the other end with a wooden matchstick. Well fuck me sideways, he muttered to himself. That was certainly an eventful meeting. The conference room they had met in was a SCIF, and was classified as Secret, Need To Know. The majority of attendees had had no need to know about the security measures that went into the cityships SCIF, but that had flown out the window thanks to Dr. Standing Bears ill-timed revelation that the admirals current headache had collapsed due to mana deprivation. He knew his officers, and once they had time to think, they would realize what that meant. (Ed note: A SCIFshort for Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facilityis a secure facility thats exactly what it says on the tin. If information needs to be handled and absolutely cannot be leaked, its stored and/or communicated in a SCIF. Theyre the most secure facilities that the military and government agencies know how to build and are constantly upgraded as new discoveries are made.) The SCIF was impermeable to mana. During the cityships construction, the emperor himself had visited the shipyards and carved runic circuits into one large conference room in each of them. There was nothing to indicate that the rooms themselves were any different than any other meeting room on any of the cityships, but they were indeed very special. They were shielded from ALL outside influences, be they biological, chemical, electronic, and eventhanks to Arons shieldingshielded from the mana that permeated the very fabric of existence. Smoke wreathed his head in a swirling vapor as the admiral puffed on his cigar. He knew that, come tomorrow, he would have some explaining to do. Chapter 634 A Piece of His Mind Chapter 634 A Piece of His Mind Elsewhere.... Ayaka found herself standing in a bright white nothingness. If she didnt feel a hard surface under her feet, she would have been incapable of telling up from down. But even with that as a reference point, she could see absolutely nothing anywhere around her. She looked down to see what she was standing on and a part of her mind absently noted that she was naked. For some reason, though, her nakedness didnt bother her in the slightest. Her rational mind knew that it SHOULD be bothered, but for some reason she simply couldnt muster up any fear, nervousness, or anxiety at all, despite everything that had happened over the past few days giving her plenty of reasons for those negative feelings to have latched on to and taken root in her psyche. Looking past the obvious, it soon became apparent that whatever it was she was standing on was so perfectly camouflaged with the glowing white mist that blocked her view in every other direction that she could see nothing. But the mist itself was so... comforting. It was like being in the arms of her mother, whod often held her as a child when her fathers strict discipline had had her in tears. Or perhaps, she imagined, what it would feel like in the arms of a lover. The comfort itself made her rational mind scream that she should be terrifiedalone, naked, and in a place so far removed from where she had been moments before as she was. But she couldnt. It was as if fear had become an alien concept, something she could rationally know existed, but never experience for herself. Hello? she said in a loud voice. Is there anybody out there? The mist around her absorbed her voice with nary a swirl, much like molten mercury would absorb a grain of sand. Im Commander Takahashi Ayaka of the Terran Exploration Fleet ship Farsight. Please respondis there anybody out there? she called out again. He stood with a groan, then squared his shoulders and pulled his uniform jacket and beret from the peg they were hanging on. As he squared his appearance away, he grumbled, Someones gonna explain just what the fuck is going on if I have to reach into hell and choke them to within an inch of their lives. He stalked through the flag bridge and out, headed toward the hospital, where he would give... whatever that thing was a piece of his mind. ...... Ayaka finally reached her destination: a medical pod deep within the quarantine ward of the mobile fleet hospital. Oh you poor, dear boy, she said, an echo in her voice as though hundreds of people were softly speaking the words shortly after her. She stroked the pod and triggered the manual emergency release and causing the lid to slide open and away. Inside the pod was the recumbent, sleeping form of one Warrant Officer Second Class Lee Joon-ho. What have they done to you, my sweet child? Ayakaor whoever was currently inhabiting her body like a meat puppetmurmured. She stroked Joon-hos brow, pulses of the bright white light surrounding her penetrating his forehead with each pass of her fingertips. Rest now, child. Youll be fine when you awaken. She bent over and softly kissed his forehead, then turned and drifted toward the armorglass separating the quarantine ward with the observation station. She tilted her head to the side and blinked, then gave the observers a brilliant smile and brought her legs up to sit cross-legged in mid-air as she waited for someone or something. It was obvious that she knew she had provoked a reaction, and was simply waiting for it to arrive. A few minutes later, the hatch in the quarantine ward opened and a squad of marines in full battle rattle stormed in, surrounding Ayaka at gunpoint. Following them was the stocky form of one pissed off Fleet Admiral Marco Bianchi of the Terran Space Fleet. Who, or whatever you are, you have some fucking explaining to do, he growled as he stared daggers at the softly glowing form of Commander Takahashi, hovering in the air before him. Chapter 635 The Source Chapter 635 The Source Hello, Marco, whatever was inhabiting Ayaka said in its distant, echoing voice. Fleet Admiral Bianchi simply stared back, irritation written across his face. And who, or what, are you? he said in an overly calm tone. I am.... the being wearing Ayaka tilted her head as if listening to a distant sound. He wakes. She floated, still cross-legged in the air, to Joon-hos side. Joon-hos eyes fluttered, then snapped open and he sat up with a gasp. He looked around for a moment in wide-eyed panic, then, upon realizing where he was, visibly calmed himself. So Im not dead yet, am I? No, child. Youre still very much alive, Ayakas passenger said, stroking Joon-hos hair. And I am... glad, that you are. Joon-ho looked at Ayaka for the first time since waking upreally lookedand out of all expectations, merely said, Im dreaming, arent I. Very funny, Proxima. I didnt know you had it in you. {Had what in me, Warrant Officer Lee?} the AI interjected. Wait... this isnt a dream? No, child, youre very much awake, the glowing Ayaka said. Fleet Admiral Bianchi glared at the glowing figure. We need to talk, he interjected. But first, release my Commander this instant! I am she, she is me. We are Laifu. I cannot release her because there is nothing to release. We are one, just as this dear child is one with gravity. Youre what now? the admiral snarled. What did you do with Commander Takahashi!? He grabbed the glowing figure by heritsuniform jacket and pulled hard, but Laifu didnt move. Calm yourself, Marco. Ayaka is fine, there was just something I needed to do and I used her hands to do it. But youre right, she said, her voice collapsing in on itself and discarding the echoes until only Ayakas familiar sound remained. We do need to have a discussion. My ready room, then, the admiral growled, then stalked off on his way to the flag bridge. If it wasnt one headache, it was another! Oh, how he wished they would come one at a time, but such was the burden of command. Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.compossible. To hurt is a function and function does not exist here, only form. It was a saying, Laifu, Ayaka sighed. Would limiting yourself allow you to better communicate with a limited being like me? Yes, and no. You are not limited. We cannot be limited. I am you, you are me. We are we. But yes, perhaps understanding could better be achieved were limitations implemented. The mist began thinning, then an instant, a second, an hour, or perhaps an eternity later, dwindled into the form of a humanoid female. She looked like a cross between Hatsune Miku and Deedlit, with long, blue hair in high pigtails that swayed with the movement of her head all the way down to her knees and long ears that tapered to a sharp point sweeping back from the sides of her head. Her face was heart shaped, with high, chiseled cheekbones tapering down to a narrow chin below a small mouth with thin lips. Her nose was pert and turned up at the tip and her phoenix eyes were turned up at the ends. Her eyebrows were thin and perfectly contoured to the shape of her brow. She was relatively short, at around 151 centimeters tall, and slender, with a boyish, athletic figure, though she was still relatively generously endowed with D-cup breasts; they looked larger than they were, given her overall petite form. Laifu opened her eyes. Is that better, Ayaka? she said with a smile. Much. Can you explain things now that youre... singular? Yes. This is the source, the wellspring of eternity. Its where our power springs from, the power that your species is only now learning to tap into. You mean mana? Laifu nodded. That is what you call it, yes. Mana. This is where it begins and ends. Am I dead? Ayaka asked. No, child, youre not dead, Laifu said, then giggled. I am the personification of life, of course youre not dead. So why am I here? I needed Joon-ho to live, and you cared for him. Its that simple? Ayaka sneered. Nothing was free, and she was convinced that someone would have to pay Laifus price somehow. Chapter 636 Life, the Universe, and Everything Chapter 636 Life, the Universe, and Everything Admirals ready room, TFS Proxima. Fleet Admiral Bianchi dropped into the chair behind his desk, forgoing even his usual customary groan. Commander Takahashi Laifu, Marco. Commander Takahashi is... elsewhere, at the moment. She has much to learn and little time in which to learn it. Fine. Laifu, then. Explain yourself, the admiral ordered. I am life. Admiral Bianchi was silent, waiting for Laifu to continue. The silence stretched for a full five minutes before he realized she had explained everything she meant to explain. What do you mean by that? he asked. Exactly what I said, Marco. I am life. The admiral had no idea what to say to that, so he just pinched the bridge of his nose. Headaches were coming faster and harder than he could deal with, apparently, and before one was resolved, another was already crowding in to take its place. Lets pretend for a moment that I have no idea what you mean by that. Explain it to me like Im a five-year-old child. Laifu tilted her head, lost in thought, then blinked and began, In the beginning, there was only void Stop! Stop, stop, stop! Admiral Bianchi groused. Keep it to relevant things. But the history IS relevant, Marco. I dont need the history of life, the universe, and everything, Laifu. Im not Douglas Adams, he sighed. Very well, Marco. I am what you humans refer to as the esoteric mana of life. But you only have a shallow understanding of what that means. How many fingers do you have on one hand? she asked. I dont see the relevance, just get to the point. But it is important, Marco. How many fingers? I... see. But isnt that still too random and unstable to act as a balance point? No. A chaotic system is one that only appears disordered and random on the surface, but is underpinned by a very strict underlying pattern and governed by a set of deterministic laws. You mentioned the butterfly effect, and that is an excellent example. If a butterfly flaps its wings here, Laifu gestured and a visual of Proxima Centauri b appeared in mid-air, formed of mana instead of the empires holographic or augmented reality technology, upon which was a single blue dot, a hurricane arises over here. The globe rotated to show the opposite side, where a swirling red vortex appeared on it. I fail to see how thats pertinent, miss. Oh, but it is. Humanity believes that to be random and unpredictable. Complete chance, in other words, but it is not. If the same butterfly in the same position flaps its wings with the same strength at the same time, among many other variables, the exact same hurricane would appear in the exact same place. It is very deterministic, but that determinism is what you perceive to be random chance. What do you mean by that? That random chance that you ascribe to the phenomenon is actually just getting one, or more, of the variables wrong. The globe rotated back around and blue dots began flashing and disappearing from various locations. I... see, I think, Admiral Bianchi said. Very good, Marco. Laifu offered him a brilliant smile. Your arrival here was that very butterfly flapping its wings, and you have influenced an event that simply never happens. Your... awakener, Joon-ho, was directly involved with the creation of brand new, never-before-seen life, Marco. And that is what attracted my attention. A look of comprehension dawned on the admirals face. So why are you using Commander Takahashis body instead of his, then? he asked. Because his body is already entwined with a mana that isnt under my direct, or even my indirect, supervision. So I required another, and Commander TakahashiAyakawas the ideal candidate. Why is that? Because she was meant to be a mother, a wife, a woman, a caregiver, a supporter.... She was never meant to be what she is now, a leader, but chaos dictated otherwise. So here she is, and here I am, and now we are bound to one another as Joon-ho, that dear, sweet child, is bound to chaos. Admiral Bianchi frowned again. What do you mean hes bound to chaos? Indirectly, Laifu laughed. The boy is bound to mana that is bound to another mana that is bound to a subordinate conscious mana that is bound to another, that is under the direct control of chaos, one of the Five. Chaos is unique in that it never binds itself directly to anyone. So its like a chain of command? Exactly, Marco. Thats exactly what it is. I myself have many other conscious mana that I directly supervise, and that filters down through the ranks. The universe would not work otherwise, and existence would fall out of balance and cease to be were it to be left unsupervised. Chapter 637 Rules With a Capital R Chapter 637 Rules With a Capital R Fleet Admiral Bianchi wasnt exactly sure he liked the thought of that level of existence being under his command. Laifu laughed again. Dont worry, Marco. Commander Takahashi is under your command. I... am not. I cannot be, for many reasons, foremost of which is that there are rules by which I MUST operate and things I am strictly forbidden from doing. Are you reading my mind? The admirals eyes narrowed. No, Marco. I dont have to read your mind when your worries are written on your face. Laifu gave him an encouraging smile. So what are you forbidden from doing? he asked, wanting to get an idea of what he could expect once Commander Takahashi was released and under control of her own body again. Im sorry, Marco. I cant tell you the rules. All laws and rules have... loopholes, shall we say. But trust me, not telling you the rules is the best thing I can do for you. Why is that? Temptation, dear Marco. You would be tempted to find ways around them, and perhaps even succeed. And why would that be bad? he asked. Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com Laifu unfolded her feet and drifted over to the viewscreen on the wall of the admirals ready room that simulated the view outside the Proxima. Have you heard of heat death, Marco? she asked, her voice suddenly grave. How does heat death relate to temptation? he replied. Entropy, Marco. Entropy. Every rule the Five labor under is directly aimed at preventing, delaying, reducing, and combating entropy. And entropy is what will eventually lead to the death of everything and the unraveling of the fragile skein of thread that is existence. She smiled, a bit sadly. Laifu turned and a brilliant smile spread across her face. Exactly! You understand it exactly! And that, simply by knowing the rules, we might try working around them, thus bending themwhich is somehow even worse than breaking them? Yes! You get it, dear Marco. You get it! How does that work? Laifu was slightly taken aback by the question; shed assumed that Admiral Bianchi understood what she had spent all this time talking about. How can bending a rule ever be worse than breaking it? he continued, pressing the point. Laifu took a moment to consider how to get the idea across to the admiral, then finally said, If you live in a house and a water pipe breaks, how easy is it to spot and seal the point of the break? Very easy, Admiral Bianchi said. But how does that apply? And what if that same pipe had, instead of broken, sprung a small leak? How easy would that leak be to find? Marcos eyes flashed with understanding. I get it. Youre saying that breaking a rule is like breaking a water pipe. Its easy to seal the breach when you know exactly where it is. But if a rule gets bent, its much more subtle and harder to discover. And as youre looking for it, the leak continues dripping water into the walls. But then, if you know exactly where your pipes are, wouldnt you know where to look? Laifu laughed. Indeed, Marco. Of course we know where to look! The thing is, when youre looking for a small leak in a house, thats only a few hundred meters of pipe to look through. And when youre looking for a small leak in a house the size of existence itself, the search takes quite a bit more time. And during that time, more and more entropy is allowed through. Exactly! So thats why we cant tell you the rules. Marco and Laifu continued speaking long into the ships night, while the others who had been present at the meeting in the SCIF were also busy working in their own specialties, coming up with a brand new SOP for interacting with the new species about to be born, along with contingency plans and questions that would be asked of Joon-ho in order to further refine the fleets response to the new normal. Chapter 638 Analysis Paralysis Chapter 638 Analysis Paralysis The next day, TFS Proxima, the SCIF. Fleet Admiral Bianchi had decided to gather a debriefing question list, considering Joon-ho was incapable of remaining in a mana void for any length of time, lest he risk collapse and death. Laifu had explained his situation the night before during their conversation before returning control of Ayakas body to her. It had been quite a surreal experience for the admiral, and he was still contemplating the ramifications of Ayakas new mana attunement. It wasnt every day that you met one of the beings that governed all of existence, after all. As you were, he said to the rest of the people in the room, who had stood to attention as hed entered. Since Warrant Officer Lee is... otherwise occupied, my chief of staff will be collecting the questions your sections have for him. Everyone at the table was silent. None of you have any questions? he asked. No. We simply dont know enough to know what we dont know, Admiral, Dr. Standing Bear finally replied. Theres no baseline reference we can use to determine what we need to know, so asking anything at this juncture is likely to be a waste of time at best, and send us haring off after wild geese at worst. Very well. Then thisll be a short meeting. Last night, I spoke with the being that... borrowed, shall we say, Commander Takahashis body, and.... The admiral went on to explain what had happened to Joon-ho, as well as sum up what hed learned in the conversation with Laifu. So does that mean... Dr. Standing Bear began, but trailed off as she realized her thoughts were beginning to circle. Ayaka had awakened completely outside the age range that would allow for awakening, and in such a short time at that. And not only that, she had awakened an affinity to one of the five fundamental forces that governed all of creationand it was SAPIENT! She had so many questions they were all jammed up in her head and stuck there, unable to fit through the gate that was her mouth. It was a classic case of analysis paralysis, something she rarely suffered. Commander Takahashi, would you mind No, Admiral Bianchi interrupted. But Admiral, we could learn so much No, Dr. Standing Bear. Laifu made it perfectly clear that it would not allow Commander Takahashi to become a lab rat, Im sorry to say. Aye aye, Admiral, Ayaka replied. Dismissed. Everyone filed out of the SCIF, still digesting the bombshell that Fleet Admiral Bianchi had dropped on them. ...... Admirals ready room, TFS Proxima. Ayaka, with Joon-ho at her side, was just about to palm the door to request entry when it slide aside with a hydraulic swoosh. Enter, the admiral said from inside. The pair walked through the door and Ayaka came to attention and saluted. Captain Takahashi and Warrant Officer Lee reporting as ordered, Admiral! she crisply said. Sit down, Ayaka, Admiral Bianchi chuckled. Youre a captain now, no need for formalities in private. She sat in the chair on the other side of the admirals desk and looked around at the room. It was decorated in the style of an old tallship from the Age of Sail, all wood paneling with brass accents and a large window to the rear of the room. The desk was to the left as she entered, and opposite the desk on the right side was a table, upon which rested the map of the Proxima Centauri system in the style of an old naval chart. On the bulkhead by the door, the admirals coat and beret hung from a peg, and behind his desk was an assortment of crystal decanters filled with various colored liquors. The admirals steward entered from a camouflaged door beside the bar. What would the captain and warrant officer like to drink? he asked, setting a mug of steaming coffee on the desk in front of the admiral. Nothing for me, thank you, Ayaka said. Ill have a mango juice please, Joon-ho added. Very good. The steward bowed at a precise angle and, like any good steward, seemed to vanish, his presence no longer required in the room. Alright, Admiral Bianchi said. We have much to do and little time in which to do it. You two will be headed to the surface tonight at midnight, ship time. So use the next few hours to come up with an initial action plan. He threw Ayaka a data file and continued, Your official orders and requirements are in that file. Read it and ask anything you need to ask for clarification. Chapter 639 Mission Possible Chapter 639 Mission Possible Ayaka and Joon-ho looked over their orders, which were incredibly broad. Normally, military orders would provide detail after detail, along with multiple contingencies at every escalation step up to and including planetary destruction. Thanks to training in the simulation, they even knew what a planet looked like after being hit by one of the spinal-mounted planetkiller coilguns mounted on some of the TFS ships. And they also knew what would happen if even a TES exploration cruiser were to continuously bombard a planet with their spinal-mounted coilguns. It only took the two a few minutes before Ayaka began asking questions. Who is going to be assigned to our task force, Admiral? she asked. Whoever you need, Captain. You have full authority and first priority to pick whomever you think youll need on your team. What about materiel, Sir? It simply says here that well have full access to any and all necessary resources. Full access means full access. You even have first priority on the protostellar forge, and if a project is currently underway, depending on its level of completion, you can kick it out of the queue and take its place. The weight of the mission was growing heavier on Ayakas shoulders by the moment as she continued hearing the dreaded full support answers from the fleet admiral. What about training, Sir? We dont have many, if any, xenodiplomacy specialists in the task force. Let me put it to you this way, Ayaka. Full access means full access. As long as you can establish a permanent, beneficial connection with the trees, you can have whatever you want. Ill even authorize a fleetwide connection and stand-down so you can train your personnel at the highest possible level of time dilation in VR. The only, and I stress ONLY, requirement being asked of you is that connection. Understood? Something within her told Ayaka that she would soon need as much raw material as she could get her hands on. ...... Three days later. Ayaka and Joon-ho were in a lander, preparing to head back to the surface of Proxima Centauri b. Opposite them were the three people they had finally settled on to join the diplomatic mission: Leigh Ayers-MacDougall, a tall brunette from Australia with an olive tan; George Stefanopolous, a medium-height Greek man with dark, curly hair; and Boris Rustakovya, a tall Russian with blonde hair and blue eyes that looked like he had been chiseled out of a granite cliff, and could carry the rest of that cliff on his back if need be. Leigh was a botanist and had been poached from Dr. Standing Bears team, where she served as the head researchers right-hand woman. In her spare time, she just so happened to be a nyxian agent as well. She had been recruited by the NIS straight out of her masters degree program after a disastrous marriage ended in a catastrophic divorce and was one of the intelligence branchs finest twists... not that shed found any use for that particular specialty as part of Task Force Proxima, of course, though her personal VR space had caused her ships AI to put a number of flags in her confidential record. George had been a lawyer specializing in contract law before signing up to join ARES after his wife had gotten caught up in one of the cultist attacks on Mykonos, where they had been vacationing at the time. When hed graduated his training, he had been placed as a bosuns mate and worked his way up to the rank of BN2, or bosuns mate second class. Contrary to most lawyers, especially those that specialized in negotiations and contracts, he was a gruff, silent man who spoke little and listened much. But the oddest of an odd selection of diplomatic members was Boris. Standing well over six feet tall and being almost as wide in his shoulder circumference measurement, at first glance one would quite likely think that he would punch first, then punch later, then punch some more if the first two didnt get his message across. However, that was absolutely not the case; Boris was a rather jovial, outgoing, pacifist vegan. He also held multiple Ph.D.s in specialist fields of psychology and was a practicing ships psychologist on the TFS Proxima herself. He had been added to the diplomatic mission as its xenodiplomacy specialist, at least insofar as anyone could be considered as such. Heading up their marine detachment, which the admiral had increased from two squads to a reinforced company of five squads, was Major Viktor Petrovich, seconded from his position as the commanding officer of the marine contingent aboard the TES Farsight. Unlike the others in the diplomatic mission, he had volunteered for groundside duty instead of being poached from other positions in the fleet. The light in the passenger compartment of the lander flickered from amber to red as the pilot received clearance to launch, and soon after, he executed a textbook combat launch complete with both manual and AI-controlled evasive maneuvers from the moment they left the comparative safety of the TFS Proximas boat bay. Chapter 640 Plenipotentiary Chapter 640 Plenipotentiary The wildly corkscrewing lander entered the atmosphere at combat speed, echoing sonic booms and contrails of moisture in its wake, tinted black and gray by the fireball of superheated air surrounding the craft itself. Soon, though, the smoke, fire, and vapor dissipated as the pilot brought the lander to a sudden halt just a meter above the ground, then smoothly drifted down the rest of the way until the deployed landing skids took up the weight of the craft without a single jostle or bump. The indicator light in the passenger cabin switched from red back to a warm amber as the pilots voice came over the intercom. Were on the ground, the pilot announced to the diplomats. Luckily it was also transmitted directly to their implants, because none of the five members of the diplomatic mission could actually hear the announcement over the sound of their own retching. Thank god, Ayaka sighed, then closed her eyes and focused on what she was feeling in her toes to take her mind off her stomach, which was still doing its own form of acrobatics in her belly. She slowly counted to ten, then opened a comms channel with Major Petrovich. Establish the perimeter, Major, she ordered, receiving an almost immediate confirmation. The status indicator on her combat helmets HUD updated as the reinforced guard company of marines rushed out of the lander at full speed and moved to create a fifty-meter-diameter perimeter around the lander. Five minutes later, the perimeter had been established and an activity baseline set to prevent false alarms. All clear, Maam, the major announced. Her skin looked like the local trees bark, all gnarled and so dark it was nearly black, and the hair tumbling down from the top of her head was a mere carpet of vines and moss, somehow knit together in a shape that was suggestive of hair without actually BEING hair. A pair of long, slender ears poked through the carpet of faux hair, running nearly horizontal to the ground and tapering to a sharp point at the tips. As the deep violet hair swayed in the breeze, a careful onlooker would see that it actually separated around the womans ears like water flowing around a rock. Overall, her appearance was notably alien and evoked a slight discomfort in the diplomats as they looked at the woman from top to bottom. It wasnt just the alien proportions, which were completely unlike the Golden Ratioor Divine Proportionthat dictated human appearances. There were also other differences, some subtle and some otherwise. For instance, the womans feet completely lacked toes, and her skin didnt just share the appearance of the local tree barkit actually was the bark of a Proximan tree! The woman released Joon-hos elbow and threw both arms around his shoulders, drawing him in for a close hug. Its so good to see you again, Joon-ho! she exclaimed. Its good to see you, too, Birch, Joon-ho replied, then reached up and pulled off his SLEEK suits helmet. I cant say as though I miss the meadow, but I definitely missed you guys. I think. How long has it been since we last saw each other? Birch tilted her head until her ear almost brushed her shoulder, which would be practically impossible for any human to accomplish without snapping their spinal cord. Not long? Not short? I dont know. Oh, right. I forgot... time isnt something youre good with. Joon-ho smiled at the Proximan woman, then turned to Ayaka. Let me introduce you, he gestured toward Ayaka, this is Captain Takahashi Ayaka, the leader of the Terran Empires diplomatic mission to the Proximan people and plenipotentiary of the Terran Emperor, who has a bunch of titles that would take a long time to recite so Ill just say that shes awesome as fuck and leave it at that. He grinned at Ayaka and continued, Captain Takahashi, this is Birch, of the Proximan treefolk, who has no titles and Im sure is working on coming up with a better name as we speak. Chapter 641 Proximan Hospitality Chapter 641 Proximan Hospitality We are... pleased to meet you, Commanderexcuse me, CaptainTakahashi, plenipotentiary representative of the Terran Empire, Birch said, extending her hand to shake Ayakas. She paid no attention to the marine guard contingent standing like statues, weapons in handalbeit politely pointed toward the groundand rendered anonymous by their unmarked SLEEK suits. I am Birch, and through me you may speak to Oak, Crabapple, Mangrove, and Cypress as well. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, Lady Birch, and the others as well, Ayaka said, taking Birchs hand and politely shaking it. Her other hand signaled the rest of the diplomats, then she broke the environment seal on her SLEEK suit and removed her helmet, followed by the three remaining diplomats. These are my colleagues: George Stefanopolous, an expert in contractual and treaty law Pleasure, Lady Birch, George said with a slight bow of his head. Dr. Leigh Ayers-MacDougall, a xenobotanist expert and the scientific advisor of the delegation, Ayaka continued. Im thrilled to finally meet you, Lady Birch! Leigh chirped in a friendly, excited tone. May I ask Therell be time for that later, Dr. Ayers-MacDougall, Ayaka interjected. And this is Boris Rustakovya, our xenodiplomacy advisor. Boris waved at Birch and said, Im excited to meet you, Lady Birch, and look forward to discovering more about you and this delightful planet of yours! And warm greetings to the others present as wellLords and Ladies Oak, Crabapple, Mangrove, and Cypress. He gave Birch a brilliant smile, turning his craggy face from broody to boyishly charming in an instant. Then we accept your hospitality, Ayaka said with a smile, as though there wasnt the threat of immediate planetary destruction hanging over the head of the treefolk and their soon-to-be-born children. And you are absolutely correct, we do have many questions for you. Warrant Officer Lees debriefing was... not as hopeful as wed have liked, shall we say. Whats a debriefing? Birch asked, her head practically turning a full hundred and eighty degrees upside down. (Ed note: Again, still not fond of multiple ed notes per chapter, but picture the kodama (ľ or ľ) from the classic Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke. They were the little critters in the trees with the three holes as faces; heres a picture (safe link, I promise): https://tinyurl.com/miyazakikodama ) A debriefing is when someone is brought before a panel of interested parties and questioned about a specific period of time or operation, Ayaka answered. Its much like how the five of you interacted with Warrant Officer Lee in the timeless meadow. Birch stilled, then lowered her head and cutely pressed her index fingertips together. We owe you an apology for that, Captain Takahashi. It was never our intention to harm any of your individual beings.... We thought you were much like us, and only Joon-ho was a sapient being and the rest of you were as disposable to him as our leaves are to us. We had no concept of individuality before that, nor could we ever have imagined that beings different from us existed. Those reasons dont and arent meant to excuse our reprehensible actions that cost you the lives of seven individual beings. If you would like to memorialize them, you can tell us about them at your convenience. We... remember. We may not have conceived of individual life like that before, but we never forget anything that passes, she said with obvious grief in her voice. It was apparent that the treefolk had never come into contact with death before. Ayaka blinked away the moisture from her eyes before it could form tears and said, Thank you for that, Lady Birch. Your offer is... most appreciated. Chapter 642 A Difficult Problem... Chaper 642 A Difficult Problem... Ayaka took a moment to compose herself, then squared her shoulders and faced Birch. But right now we have more pressing matters to consider. Well take you up on your gracious offer of a memorial in the future, but we need to know more about your children, and the children of your compatriots, she said. How mature, mentally and emotionally speaking, will they be when theyre... born? That is an excellent question, Captain. We discussed it among ourselves and decided that it wouldnt be cost-effective, in terms of mana expenditure, to raise them to the maturity level of Joon-ho when theyre first born. But that was only a contributing factor to the eventual decision.... What was more important was that we learned from him that individuals that arent part of a collective, as we are, are shaped and formed by their experiences. So if we were to artificially implant Joon-hos experiences into our children, they would be born with the same inspirations, hopes, and plans that he has within him based on his own life experience. And that, we thought, would be unbefitting of their unique individuality, an individuality that we hope to foster in them. Ayaka nodded in understanding. She wholeheartedly agreed, and the thought of billions of Terrible Teenagers running amok sent a chill shivering down her spine. One Joon-ho was more than enough, and perhaps half a Joon-ho too much. How do you plan on raising them, Lady Birch? she asked. Birchs head rotated a hundred and eighty degrees and she gazed off into the distance as though she could see through the root construct that compromised the outer walls of the castle she had created out of what was essentially an extremely sturdy wicker. We were actually hoping that you could help us with that, Captain, she finally said after a moment. The smile on Boris face faltered as he was reminded that Birch was still fundamentally alien; no human could possibly swivel, twist, and turn their heads as she did out of hand. We can teach you developmental psychology if you like, and childrearing practices... at least, we can teach you HUMAN childrearing practices. Im not sure how well they would apply to nonhuman species, though, Ayaka said, then turned to Boris. What do you think? Da. Its likely that our childrearing practices and developmental psychology would only have limited applicability to the newborns, he said, resting his elbow in his hand and rubbing his chin with his thumb. Ayaka concealed a wince; Boris had apparently forgotten that he was still wearing a SLEEK suit and that chin rub must have stung like a bitch. Almost a full turning around your sun, Birch, he added. Better to say three full turnings, tops. That would be four weeks, give or take, in Earth time. Ayaka nodded and her eyes glazed over as she spoke to the admiral on the Proxima. A few minutes later, she said, Yes, three turnings would be barely enough time for what I have in mind. We can build a massive supercluster that allows extreme time dilation and build enough VR pods to grant your children access to it, where they would be raised in a freeform environment that allows for maximum possibility in their development. Would that suffice, Lady Birch? That would be splendid, Captain Takahashi, Birch said with a smile. Though, on her alien face that lacked lips, her smile looked more like a thin-lipped grimace. But that was just one of the quirks of xenodiplomacy; body language, in particular, would always remain different between different species. So what would you offer in exchange? Ayaka asked. Well, Im not sure we really have anything to offer, Birch said. What about joining the empire? George interjected. Birch turned to him, her face a mask. Joining the empire? We will not promise anything on our childrens behalf, nor will we attempt to guide, or force, them into a decision of their own. What about if the decision was left up to them? he continued. That would be... acceptable, Mr. Stefanopolous. We understand that diplomacy requires negotiation, and negotiation is a matter of give and take. But there are some things we will never compromise on, and interfering in our childrens lives is one of those things. Excellent! he exclaimed. Then lets begin the negotiations, shall we? George, now in his negotiator mode, was far less dour and much more willing to speak in complete sentences. Chapter 643 ...With a Provisional Solution Chapter 643 ...With a Provisional Solution Hours passed as George and Birch negotiated, seated at a table she had grown for the specific purpose. What do you mean provisional citizenship, Lady Birch? We cannot promise full and lasting entry into the empire as an auxiliary society without first meeting the very emperor we would be swearing our allegiance to, can we, Mr. Stefanopolous? Well, if you put it that way... no, thats an unreasonable request. George pondered for a moment, then continued, Very well, I can accept that in our tentative agreement. How will you meet the emperor? Ayaka asked. She agreed that the meeting would be of pivotal importance to both societies, but the logistics of facilitating such a meeting would be an absolute nightmare. Even at their ships fastest speed, it would require the emperor of humanity to be absent from Earth for a full year. And that didnt take into account the length of time he would need to spend on Proxima Centauri b. We have no idea, Birch answered. But until we personally meet him, we wont allow our children to potentially die in your conflicts. Ayaka shook her hand and watched as the elven woman with the bark skin and mossy hair turned back into a towering birch tree. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, Time to get to work. There was much to be done and not a lot of time in which to do it. She slowly spun around, taking a good look at her surroundings. Only Joon-ho, she thought, shaking her head with a wry smile. Only the Terrible Teenager could come up with such a mish-mash of history and Earth mythology.... Giants, really? She suppressed a giggle, then schooled her face back into its normal neutrally pleasant expression. Although she was about to begin an enormous time- and resource-intense task, she felt nothing but excitement deep down. While, technically speaking, Joon-ho was the one who had established first contact with the Proximan treefolk, she would be the one credited with opening a diplomatic communication channel. It was something that would have been almost impossible to even begin contemplating, had she remained in her previous position. But thanks to the Terrible Teenager, her little brother in all but ancestry, she had ended up receiving that exact impossible opportunity. And she wasnt about to fuck it up. Ordering Joon-ho to remain on the surface with a fire team of marines to act as embassy guards, Ayaka took the rest of the diplomatic mission and marines back to the Proxima to wait for Research Base New New South Wales to be rebuilt. As for Joon-ho, he was to remain dirtside to act as the liaison between the Proximan treefolk and the humans, who had already begun construction of an artificial moon that would house the quantum superclusters they would need to maintain high VR time dilation without virtually crippling their entire fleet every time the need arose. A second lander that had undergone refit to act as temporary housing for Joon-ho and his security team had already been dispatched from the Proxima, and the two landers passed each other as they headed for their destinations. One of them was crowded with GEMbots and constructor swarm queens, while the other was packed with diplomats and marines. Aboard the outbound lander, which Ayaka had ordered to take a normal approach to the Proxima, the woman in question was busy finalizing a plan that would enable the Terran Empire to absorb ten billion aliens as provisional citizens. She had discovered a love for the job of xenodiplomacy and planned to exploit her current circumstances in order to provide the maximum benefits possible to the empire. Not for a single second did she consider using the Proximans as the basis of a second star empire. She didnt even consider forging them into a country, or returning to Earth for a hostile takeover and supplantation of the current ruler. She knew deep down that the moment anyone attempted such a thing, they would be hammered by the fist of a god and cremated by a rage that burned hotter than the fiery cores of ten thousand suns. Chapter 644 Ayakas Elevator Pitch Chapter 644 Ayaka''s Elevator Pitch TFS Proxima, the SCIF. Follow the latest novels at novelhall.com Thats everything we discussed, Sir, Ayaka said, ending her report to the fleet admiral. He took a moment to consider the information; the meeting had gone in a direction he couldnt possibly have expected. Initially, hed expected the worst, given the early hostilities between the trees and humans, and had thought there would be some misunderstandings or ideological differences between the species. But though there were indeed misunderstandings and ideological differences, the misunderstandings had been cleared up and the ideological differences resolved through the brilliant policy of it doesnt matter. Joon-hos experiences with them had already indicated that the trees were a tolerant, forgiving, and compassionate species, but as a lifelong military man, Fleet Admiral Bianchi had a decided pessimistic bent to his thought process. And now that he had heard Ayakas report, his skepticism was beginning to wane and he was feeling rather... optimistic, a state of mind he wasnt all that used to. Whats your take on their request, Captain? he asked after a few minutes of thought. He had rearranged his decision-making process to fit the reality of the interspecies dialogue and was willing to entertain Ayakas input into his upcoming plans, should it make sense. Theres nothing to lose and everything to gain, Sir. No matter what the reasons are behind the trees request, everything will be beneficial to the empire whether they hold up their end of the bargain or not. If they do hold up their end, then great, everythings worked out for the best. And if they dont hold up their end of the bargain, theyll find their children leaning rather far toward humanity instead of the trees. Ayaka had already considered the matter from every angle she could think of, so she didnt even have to consider her response for a moment; the question was one she had anticipated, anyway. And how would you suggest we go about that, Captain? We bought ourselves another E-month, which should be just enough time to manufacture all the pods well need for the children. Once we have them all in VR, we can build an artificial moon filled with enough quantum superclusters to increase time dilation in our VR simulation to the maximum amount they can handle. And by doing it in that order, well be able to avoid waste by bringing the dilation up incrementally.... Ayaka spoke for the next ten minutes, adding details to her plan as she went. Once she started taking longer breaks to think of things to add to it, the admiral interrupted her. Excellent, Captain. I think we can call it for today, he said, deciding not to waste any more of either of their time. Ayaka stood to attention and saluted the admiral, then exited the SCIF, leaving the admiral behind to continue his own work. A small smile played across her face as she headed to the boat bay, where she would board a gig and head out to the protostellar forge. They had a lot of work coming their way, and all of it would be backed by a deadline that was, by anyones standards, brutally short. But she understood that some people lived for that kind of high-stakes, high-stress environment. And engineers, she had foundespecially FLEET engineerswere all among that small group of people who enjoyed impossible challenges. Their motto, in fact, had been directly taken from the old United States Army Corps of Engineers: The difficult, we do immediately; the impossible just takes a little bit longer. Well, Ayaka was about to drop a workload on them that would prove that motto. And the thought of the engineers reaction was giving her a lot of amusement already. Chapter 645 Operation Raising Cain Chapter 645 Operation Raising Cain A month after the initial diplomatic contact, the frantic period of activity in the protostellar forge finally came to an end. Ten billion VR pods had been rolled off the production lines in the space of four short weeks; the fleet engineers had truly lived up to their mottothe impossible had been accomplished, it had just taken a short time. Birch and the other treefolk had been invaluable to the herculean task, delaying the birth of their children and ensuring their safe transfer to the pods may have been easy for them, but without their aid, the entire effort would have failed. As the pods were filled with occupants, they were activated on stasis mode, waiting for the quantum superclusters to come online to generate a VR environment conducive to raising and educating them. And during the wait, the researchers of the task force were practically driven insane by the wealth of data generated by their scans. After the initial building and transplantation efforts, it fell to the scientists to determine what key points they would need to take into account once the system was in place and ready to be fully activated. After all, it was only to be expected that different species would have different requirements in terms of environment and so on. But they could take their time. Each VR pod had been fitted with a fusion battery that would allow for up to fifty years of uninterrupted power before the pods themselves would need to be connected to a power grid. At least in stasis mode, anyway; it would require more power to have the inhabitants consciousnesses transported to virtual reality, tailored or otherwise. That said, however, time was their most valuable resource, so having such a surplus of it was quite a luxury, allowing them to focus their attention on developing the virtual environment rather than forcing them to rush the completion of an infrastructure that would allow them to accommodate the newborns. In addition to those two ongoing projects, small automated courier ships were being constructed in order to reestablish and maintain contact with Earth. They were tiny, hardy things, all armor and shielding strapped to the engines of a much larger class of ship. Each of them was little more than a sphere of about thirty meters in diameter, with just eight meters at the very center dedicated to housing a quantum supercluster, warp bubble generator, and fusion reactor. Theoretically, they would be able to maintain a speed of warp ten without the need to drop out of warp every few days to recalibrate their warp bubble generators. Needs must when the devil drives, and the task fleets engineers had gone above and beyond to design and manufacture the tough little meteor-class messenger ships. And today, their efforts finally bore fruit as the first meteor-class messenger rolled off the production line. The final checks were completed without issue and the vessel, designated TFM-001, immediately engaged its gravity drive and headed above the system ecliptic at .75c, its maximum n-space speed. Normally, the fleet maintained all traffic along the ecliptic plane, but Fleet Admiral Bianchi had approved the messenger boats to operate above the ecliptic in order to avoid other traffic that was held to a much slower top in-system speed. Once TFM-001 reached a clear plane, it reoriented itself and flew toward Proxima Centauris heliopause in the direction of Earth, carrying dispatches from the fleet to headquarters and letters from the crew to their families and friends they had left behind. About eight hours later, the first messenger boatdubbed little meteortransited the heliopause and engaged its warp generator, blinking out of n-space and rocketing back toward Earth at ten times the speed of light. Contained within little meteors databanks was a copy of every research project that had come to a conclusion, along with a detailed report of everything that had happened on the surface of Proxima Centauri b, with an emphasis on the discussion theyd had regarding the new Proximans joining the Terran Empire. The second most highly flagged message was regarding the five researchers and two marines that had been crushed by roots. Everyone in the fleet had spent hours, days, or even weeks of the trip out to Proxima Centauri agonizing over what to send home in case they died. Fleet Admiral Bianchis chief of staff, Lieutenant Commander Botha, had ordered every member of the fleet to record a message for posterity to be sent home in case the worst happened. And for those seven people, the worst had indeed happened. Chapter 646 A Mans Romance Chapter 646 A Man''s Romance Lee Joon-ho and Ayaka were walking toward the New New New South Wales Research Base, a couple tons of raw materials hovering in the air behind them, courtesy of Joon-hos affinity. So what do you think the emperor will do? Will he actually come here? Joon-ho asked. (Ed note: Added another New to New New South Wales since theyre rebuilding it. Not an error, just me being silly and wondering just how many News well be able to add before this arc is finished.) Im not sure. I mean, Im pretty sure he wont order us to forcefully subjugate the Proximans. Ive never met him before, but if you look at the history of the empires founding and the years leading up to it, he doesnt seem like the kind of leader to initiate wars of aggression. Even when the rest of the world formed a coalition against Eden, he only defended himself and it wasnt until they launched pretty much the entire worlds nuclear arsenal at him that he retaliated. And after that, he even put the world leaders on trial instead of executing them. It wasnt even in a kangaroo court, eitherthe trials were fair, and some leaders were even left as heads of their countries. But will he come here? I dont know. Itd take an awfully long time... hed be in transit for a full year, plus however long it took him to convince Lady Birch and the others once he arrived. I guess thats fair, Joon-ho mused. But wouldnt it be awesome for him to actually show up? Hes my hero, you know. Ayaka just smiled at the youngster and refrained from patting his head as they continued working on the infrastructure of the New New New South Wales Research Base. So my suggestion is that we implement power armor for the giants, and mecha of equivalent size for human-sized combatants. Giving the giants power armor would amplify their strength and provide power to ship-class weaponry. We could probably fit cruiser-class point-defense lasers on their shoulders, along with a corvette-class coilgun modified to be carried as a rifle. He paused for a moment, realizing that he was wandering slightly off topic. But we dont necessarily need to stop there, he continued. We can design mecha for human-sized pilots, along with even bigger reactors powering stronger weaponry. I suggest, though, that due to the more complex nature of mecha compared to power armor, we should design the power armor to act more along the lines of close-ranged shock troops and use the mecha as long-ranged support and highly mobile artillery platforms. That way we maximize the benefits and minimize the drawbacks of each platform, all while keeping them to a size that should be effective in combat against any enemy they come across. The engineer threw a data file to the others around the conference table and the room went silent as everyone read the file from start to finish. Although some of them were disappointed when they saw that the mecha and armor in question would only be ten to fifteen meters tall, and completely unlike their childhood giant robots, fuck yeah! dreams, they understood the realities of combat. Giant robots may be a mans romance, and they may look good in movies and cartoons, but when it came to reality, simply trying to maneuver thirty-story-tall robots around a city without completely destroying it would be functionally impossible. Thus, based on the information they had at hand, giants would be the perfect shock troopers. They wouldnt require as much power from a reactor or fusion battery to move under the mass of their armor, which meant more of a limited power resource could be diverted to beefed up weaponry. Shoulder-mounted lasers, naval-class coilguns, and even close-quarters weaponry like plasma swords and vibroknives the size of a standard human sword were all on the table. Mecha, on the other hand, were too inherently fragile to withstand the shock of melee combat. They were comprised of entirely too many moving parts, which meant they would be perfect as long-range fire platforms. And since humans were much smaller than giants, the engineers could fit entire fusion reactors into the mecha form factor, which would lead to Really Big Guns being a possibility. For example, some of the secondary weapons on a battleship, like plasma casters, grasers, and even entire missile control and coordination suites were a possibility! Everyone at the conference table got lost in the possibilities presented by mecha as a combat platform and the silence stretched out until someone broke it with an inadvertent sneeze. Excellent suggestion, the meeting chairman said, startled out of his daze by the sudden noise. I think well adjourn here for the day and when we meet again in a month, bring potential mecha and power armor designs with you for approval. But were done for today, ladies and gentlemen. Chapter 647 Failure to Overcome Chapter 647 Failure to Overcome (Ed note: Apologies for the spotty uploads lately. Ive been apartment hunting in 80%+ humidity and by the time I get home, Im fair well shattered and unable to really do much of anything.) The silence within a nursery was broken by the sound of an infants wail. It was allowed to continue crying in the brightly painted nursery for a few minutes, then a merely pretty middle-aged woman walked into the room and moved to the side of the crib. (Ed note: For those curious as to why the baby was left crying for a few minutes, its an early childhood development strategy. By picking up an infant as soon as it starts crying, you teach it that crying equals attention. In a nutshell, never pick up a crying baby unless its sick or injured. Let it cry for a few minutes, then distract it until it stops crying before finally picking it up.) She leaned over the crib and teased the infant with a canary-yellow plush toy until it stopped wailing with a hiccup and focused on the toy, reaching out for it. The woman let the baby take the toy, then reached in and picked it out of the crib. Bringing it to her breast, she sniffed the air and said, Whew... pee-yew, its time for a diaper change, isnt it? The baby giggled and smiled at the woman, dropping the plush toy as it reached up to grab at her nose and pat her face. She carried it over to the changing table and laid it down, then grabbed the babys feet and sang a short nursery rhyme about body parts as she raised the babys chubby legs in the air and began unfastening its diaper. Similar situations were happening in nurseries all over the simulated virtual version of Proxima Centauri b, which was far more developed than the reality. In keeping with imperial design philosophy, vast cities of tall white spires rose from the ground, but as a nod to the local environment, the city was planned around equally tall black-barked and violet-leaved trees. Black, violet, and white would normally be a very stark design choice, but somehow, under the red light of Proxima Centauri, it all blended into a cohesive, beautiful whole. The two planets were a mere 2.84 kilometers away from each other, on average. When Nova had selected the systems to explore, she had used two main criteria: the distance from Earth, and the likelihood of finding sapient life in the systems. Thus, all five destinations were known to have planets in the Goldilocks Zone of their stars, and were within reasonable distances from Earth, ranging from the six-month travel time for Task Force Proxima all the way to the four-year voyage of Task Force 1140, whose destination was the LHS 1140 system, a full 40 light years from humanitys birthplace. Teegardens Star was on the nearer end of that spectrum, with a travel time of around 14.5 months for Task Force Teegarden. ...... Oh my god, the commanding officer of Task Force Teegarden said as the holotank on the bridge of the TFS Teegarden updated with the most recent mapping data. A chill passed through the entire bridge crews collective spine as they saw the two planets of Teegardens Star. Both of them were in ruins, with evidence of enormous cities turned to rubble and gigantic craters scattered around the surface of the planets like sprinkles on donuts. The level of ionizing radiation in the atmosphere of both planets was almost fifty times what would be survivable for humans, and nuclear winter had set in. It was obvious what had happened in the Teegardens Star system, evidenced by the wreckage of primitive (to the imperial eye, at least) ships stretching in a long, still-expanding line between Teegarden b and Teegarden c. Researchers on Earth had once theorized that one of the reasons humanity had yet to meet aliens was that there were certain stages in a species development that could either bring advancements or catastrophes, and one of those stages was the nuclear power stage. It was clear that the situation in the Teegardens Star system was evidence of the species failing to overcome that hurdle, one that humanity had only luckily survived by dint of Arons overwhelming technological superiority making nuclear weapons obsolete. Chapter 648 Mars Could Wait Chapter 648 Mars Could Wait How long... Fleet Admiral Jason Ryfczinski said. How long ago did this happen? {Initial scans indicate a range of 30 to 75 years ago, Admiral. More detailed scans will narrow the field,} Teegarden, the task forces AI, replied. So theres a chance of survivors. Signal the fleet: launch a satellite constellation and put the explorer team on short call. Their orders are to find the survivors of this... this unholy massacre, should any exist. If there are no survivors, I want bodies, the fleet admiral ordered. Yes, Sir, the flag comms officer replied, then turned back to his display to distribute the orders to the fleet. Satellites deployed, Admiral, theyll be on station in approximately five hours. Split the fleet, send half of it to Teegarden c. The other half, including the Teegarden herself, is to approach Teegarden b and enter a high equatorial orbit. Aye aye, Admiral, the flag tactical officer replied. ETA to high equatorial orbit around Teegarden b is eleven hours. Thus began the exploration of the Teegardens Star system. The occasion was a solemn one, as the planets they were set to explore were in the grip of a nuclear winter, likely caused by an interplanetary war the likes of which no human could imagine. Nobody knew what they would find, but they knew one thing for certain: whatever was dirtside would most definitely fuel their nightmares for years, if not decades to come. Although they had a protocol in place to handle incoming objects, this was the first time they were putting it into use outside of their training simulations. Thus, even though they were almost a hundred percent positive that the incoming object was friendly, they were still using it as a drill for the sailors of the Terran Fleet. And not a single person in the SMCC, or by extension, the rest of the fleet, wanted to fuck it up, by the numbers or otherwise. Yes, Sir.... The analyst attempted to respond to the man, but had ended up talking to nothing but the door. Still, he returned to his work with a serious look on his face that showed exactly how seriously he was taking his assigned tasks. ...... Precisely three hours and fifty minutes later. The meteor-class messenger boat left warp speed directly below the ecliptic in a brilliant display of visible Cherenkov radiation reminiscent of a bird mantling and spreading its wings. The visible radiation was accompanied by a much deadlier invisible blast of ionizing radiation and supercharged particles that spread out in a cone in front of the small automated craft with enough force to strip the atmosphere off a planet, even with a strong magnetosphere around it. (Ed note: While we cant know for certain, the general consensus among scientists is that any ship coming out of an Alcubierre warp bubble would immediately launch all of the cosmic dust that got pasted to the front of the bubble and approximately all of the radiation ever in a spreading cone like it was fired from a shotgun. Not everything would stick to the bubble, of course, but even if 99% of the dust slides around it, thats still a lot of particulate matter being shot out at relativistic speed.) A few seconds later, quantum communications were established with the waiting picket ships. They hadnt missed the mark by much, and in a feat of excellent stellar navigation, had come to full stop only five thousand kilometers away from the messenger. The messenger herself, having performed outstandingly well on her maiden voyage, squawked her ident codes and signaled that she carried eyes-only dispatches for one Aron Michael, emperor of the Terran Empire from his subjects in the Proxima Centauri system and requested an escort to Earth to deliver those dispatches. Mars could wait. There were more important deliveries to make first. Chapter 649 Nobody Jumps the Lunar Queue Chapter 649 Nobody Jumps the Lunar Queue The messenger was swiftly ordered to proceed directly to Earth, escorted by the picket detachment nearest to her. After signaling an acknowledgement of the order, the small vessels VI fell into formation between the two corvettes and behind the destroyer. Once everything was in place, they lit off their gravity drives and began maneuvering through the Oort cloud and the Sol systems heliopause beyond it. Ge?t latest novel chapters on nov(e)lbj/n(.)c/om As it passed through the system, the VI communicated with CENTCOM and received the updated map and access to the system plot, allowing it to see all of the public ships in the system. Almost all of the industry and shipping was distributed along the system ecliptic. Humanity still thought of things along 2d planes, it seemed. But it was unimaginably difficult to overcome hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years of evolution telling the species that ground was ground and sky was sky. Learning that down was more loose as a concept than they had imagined would naturally take some time. The VI continued scanning the system plot and updating its navigational database. The orbit of Neptune, the eighth and last planet in the Sol system, was mostly vacant. Only a few picket vessels were patrolling it, constantly on the lookout for anything coming into the system from beyond the Kuiper Belt. Pairs of fleet corvettes sailed hither and yon through the area, their sensors reaching out at full power. It was mostly the same for Uranus, though there was a thriving industry in orbit around the planet itself. As an ice giant, Uranus was a hub of activity for so-called slush miners, who would send ramscoops into the planet and haul back container after container of supercooled slush. They would then bring those containers to processing facilities that had been built by civilians on Uranus twenty-seven moons for further processing. Mars, and the ARES facility that was almost completely operational upon and within it, was simply just that important. Finally, the messenger reached Earth. The planet looked nothing like it had when the first diaspora had left, much less like it had when the exploration fleets had left before Aron got fed up and threw all the malcontents off the planet and sent them scattering off across the galaxy. Orbiting outside Luna were hundreds of thousands of vessels, carrying the raw material from the giant processing stations and factories concentrated around planets and dotted here and there throughout the system. The ships there were in continuous movement, though, as planetary traffic control slotted them into arrival gates within hours, if not minutes, after their arrival from the outer reaches. The planetary shield was in its low-power mode and being used mostly for automated scans of the ships passing through either of its two main gates, ensuring that nothing was being brought inaccidentally or otherwisethat could harm the planet or the people that lived on it. On the messengers visual scanners, it looked much like two lines of ants trooping along, one line going toward the space elevator carrying food and the other line leaving in search of that same food. Once the messenger and her escorts reached exolunar orbit, the escort ships broke off and returned to their picket stations, leaving the messenger boat behind. But it didnt stay in the entry queue for long, however, as Gaia opened a priority path for the meteor-class ship to jump the queue and directly enter Earth through a gap that was opened up in the shield for her use specifically. Those ships the messenger passed were naturally curious. In all the time that humanity had been building its space infrastructure, one thing and one thing only had remained constant from beginning to end: nobody jumps the lunar queue. Nobody. But though they were unaware, that rule was constantly broken as stealth ships considered the lunar queue more of a suggestion than a rule. However, the meteor-class messenger ships had no stealth capabilities. And nor should they, as their role was to carry dispatches from place to place, so adding stealth functions would run counter to that role. Still, it was the first time that any ship had ever flouted the rules so blatantly, and for a long time after the messenger had landed in her docking cradle on the surface, traffic controls communications lines were tied up by the complaints of those who had been passed in the queue. Chapter 650 Our Transports Shall Block Out the Sun! Chapter 650 Our Transports Shall Block Out the Sun! Ge?t latest novel chapters on nov(e)lbj/n(.)c/om [E/D: the remainder of the missed chapters will be released late today or tomorrow.] Since the foundation of the empire, We have taken pride in our track record of promises made, promises kept. And today, We are here to deliver on one another of those promises: Our thousandth fortress city. Aron stood at a podium addressing the public in one of the new fortress citys government squares, a space about as big as an American football stadium. The entire area was filled to the brim with citizens who had nothing but smiles on their faces as they listened to his address. The people watching Arons address live would be among the first to finally receive keys to their new living spaces in the fortress city Aron was currently using as a venue for his speech. They had been anticipating the day they would finally become property owners in the empire ever since their interior designs had been approved. Over the past six months, fortress city after fortress city had been coming online and filling with residents in an orderly fashion. There was something to be said for the organizational skills of AIs, after all. The release of homes to those who had bought them, subsidized or not, had also been a great boost to the morale of the empire at large. Most of the new homeowners were of the millennial generation, and had been most afraid of never owning property of their own and always being subject to the whims of landlords. For them, it was a brilliant plan on the empires part and they were practically shouting with glee after receiving their own little piece of permanence. And with that, We hereby declare this fortress city officially open, Aron concluded as he cut a golden ribbon with comically oversized scissors. The citys official mayor aided him by holding half of the scissors as they snipped through the ribbon. Some traditions were timeless, and ribbon-cutting ceremonies were one of them. The people in the audience wildly cheered as Aron shook the mayors hand and stepped down from the temporary stage that had been erected for his speech. He walked through the crowd, shaking hands and kissing babies, as the saying went, until he finally made it to the other end where he met with his two aegis shadows and began an unofficial tour of the rest of the city, leaving the mayor to handle the rest of the administrivia involved in opening the fortress cities. Having walked for miles, he ended up in one of the many large playgrounds scattered throughout the city. He sat down to rest on one of the benches and a group of children ran up to him, showing no fear of the most powerful human in the species and chattering at him like a flock of magpies. They had seen him on TV and heard enough about him from their parents to know that he was powerful, but children have a strange idea of power and often mix it up with physical strength, something that Aron didnt appear to possess much of. The media and most of his emperors aegis escort were quite a distance from him, at his personal request. The reporters were focused on his interaction with the children, while his aegis escort was busy maintaining a security perimeter around the edges of the park space. Aron squatted down so that he was at eye level with the leader of the children and began, So, whats your drea But before he could finish his question, his expression grew serious and he rose to his feet. The two emperors aegis near him, alerted by his behavior, were only half a heartbeat slower than him in turning on their combat mode, so to speak. Aegis teams, and especially the emperors aegis, were never entirely lax, but the current threat level had been deemed as minimal, so they were as relaxed as they ever were. Protect the kids, Aron ordered his two close guards, then stepped away from the gaggle of children. Chapter 651 A Thunderous Arrival Chapter 651 A Thunderous Arrival A few hundred meters away from Aron, a rolling black thundercloud was scudding across the sky in his direction. He lifted his right leg and, when he set it down, he had moved ten meters away from the children, placing himself between the cloud and them. Behind him, the two emperors aegis members of his close guard activated the area protection feature of their PAPS, surrounding the childrenand themselvesin a dome of solidified mana that glowed a faint blue. Aron faced the incoming cloud, an unnaturally grave expression on his face as he raised his hand and a shield rune popped into being between him and the cloud. Milliseconds later, a lightning bolt impacted the shield and the crackling boom of thunder almost instantly followed. Interesting, interesting, a voice filled with confidence drifted out of the dust kicked up by the lightning strike. You reacted to my approach before anyone else... even before your security team. Interesting indeed! As the dust settled, a muscular man wearing nothing but a pair of tattered jeans was revealed. He had neat, chin-length hair and a well-trimmed beard, neither of which had a hair out of place; should anyone see him, they would never suspect that he had been a literal lightning bolt mere moments before. The black thundercloud finally caught up to the man, hovering over the entire park. Lightning flickered deep inside it, lighting it up and dimming it section by section as the scent of ozone filled the air. The cloud was already thick enough to mostly block out the sun, but it continued growing thicker and thicker as it spread. Behind Aron, the children in the PAPS dome were slumped on the ground, sobbing in terror. One of the aegis members had turned to them and was comforting them as best as he could, but... their job description and training never covered pacifying terrified children. As for my tongue being stuck, you were never the reason for my silence. You lack the importance to even make me blink in faint surprise. I was simply wondering what Id ever done that would give someone the confidence to approach me, or any other member of my government for that matter, with a measly attack like that. He turned his back on the half-naked awakener and smiled at the children, gesturing for the two aegis members to herd them back to their parents, as the park was likely to become a battleground of awakeners very shortly. The aegis members saluted, their armored fists crashing against equally armored chests as they stood ramrod straight, bowing their head in acknowledgement of the order. Immediately, Your Imperial Majesty, they chorused, then turned and activated the inbuilt tractor beams in their armor, lifting the children and surrounding them in a protective stasis field as gravitys hold on them was overcome by the power of... mostly... human ingenuity. And who ever said I wasnt awakened? Arons feet lifted slightly from the ground as his eyes began glowing neon blue. The rest of the aegis members on the perimeter chose that moment to act as well. They turned to face Aron, and, in one synchronized motion, their left knees and clenched left fists hit the ground, their right fists repeatedly banging against their chests in the imperial salute as they bowed their heads and chanted Glory to the Terran Emperor! A large PAPS field drew itself between the aegis members and the emperor, locking Aron in with the obviously mentally imbalanced rogue awakener. Aron grinned a savage grin at the man as he growled, No, youre no threat to me. You arent even really a threat to my aegis. You never were, you arent now, and you never will be. He tilted his head from side to side, sharp snapping sounds ringing out as his neck cracked. The only thing youre a threat to is yourself! Chapter 652 Superiority Complexes are the New Chuunibyo Chapter 652 Superiority Complexes are the New Chuunibyo A few months after the Three Percenters had graduated from the awakeners school and hero academies, reality had finally sunk in for them. The power they held in their hands made them walking weapons, and they could massacre entire towns of normal people, should they wish to do so. And human nature being what it is, most of them began feeling at least a little bit superior to normies. Discover new chapters at novelhall.com If their superiority complexes had stopped there, it wouldnt be a big issue. A little arrogance was fine, and could even be a good thing if it was properly restrained and channeled. After all, even Aron had to admit that he was more of a benevolent dictator that had been moving farther and farther away from human norms since hed received the system. But with the age range of the first human awakeners being what it was, a good bit of them had taken their superiority complex way beyond what could be even remotely considered healthy. Basically, hormonal teenagers are hard enough to deal with (just ask any parent whos ever had a teenage child). But when you gave those same hormonal teenagers Ultimate Cosmic POWAH, it shouldnt come as a shock to anyone with two brain cells rattling around in their heads that they would take things to the extreme. Thus, a cancer began spreading through the awakeners as they came to believe that they should not only accept, but expect to be treated as superior beings in every aspect of their lives. As a result, there was a growing sense of discontent from normal people, who were feeling the brunt of the awakened extremists. Awakened crime began skyrocketing, keeping the imperial blessings agency constantly overworked but well compensated, understaffed, and overwhelmed. The official policy was to brutally, and publicly, stamp out any extremism that began to show itself in the awakeners. And that had given rise to even more resentment on the part of the awakeners, which meant less people joining the imperial blessings agency, emergency services, and other government agencies and ministries. Even some of the normies were against it, as every awakener caught in performing any crimes, whether it be murder, arson, or other crimes of similar weight, were headbagged and thrown in the pit to join the growing ARES penal legions. And to normies, that reeked of humanitys shameful past of slavery and segregation. There again, human nature raised its ugly head and humanity began showing signs of splintering, this time over the treatment of awakened criminals. Aron stopped in his tracks and slowly turned back around, coming face to face with the AS rogue. Not a hint of fear could be seen in him. Okay, so lets hear your well-thought-out manifesto. Im sure you have one, right? He smirked and folded his arms across his chest again, a light smile playing across his face, though it was less playful and more... murderous. The man obviously failed to read the room and scoffed with a scornful smile on his face. He felt his power was being appreciated, and that his beliefs had made even the emperor of all humanity stop and listen to him in fear, despite all the security surrounding him. First, he said with a mocking courtly bow, allow me to introduce myself. I am Alejandro Garcia, and I have awoken the superior power of lightning. That makes me superior to unblessed scum like you normies, because I hold absolute power over your pathetically weak selves.... He went on raving like that for a solid ten minutes, getting so involved in his lunatic ranting that arcs of electricity began crawling all over his body. Theres no need to explain further, as I have the power to enforce awakened superiority over any unblessed scum I happen to feel deserves a reminder of their place beneath us. But me, and others like me, have been facing a single hindrance: you. Youve been blocking our ascent to our rightful place, so Im here to deal with you and kick off our glorious movement! He struck a power pose, with one hand on his hip and the other pointing directly at Arons face. He was looking forward to seeing the fear on the face of his target as he began the process of once again attacking the emperor, who was standing in front of him. However, hed obviously forgotten what had happened the first time hed attempted a full-speed, full-power attack on Aron, who had changed his position. He was now standing there, leaning forward and sticking out his chin with his hands clasped behind his back. It was as if his whole body was screaming HIT ME! GO AHEAD AND FUCKING HIT ME ALREADY! Alejandro Garcia, late of the former nation of Spain, was about to have a really, really bad day. Chapter 653 A Truth Chapter 653 A Truth Lightning, contrary to popular belief, doesnt move at the speed of light. The invisible leader strike travels from the cloud to the ground at around two hundred thousand miles per hour; a far cry from the speed of light, which travels at upwards of 670 MILLION miles per hour. But what people think of when they look at lightning isnt the invisible leader strike, but whats called the return stroke, which heats the air in the ionized pathways left behind by the leader strike, turning it to plasma. That travels significantly faster, at around a third of light speed or 60,000 miles per second. So when the people surrounding Aron and the awakener supremacist, Alejandro Garcia finally blinked their eyes clear of the temporary blindness caused by seeing a return stroke at incredibly close range, all they saw was the emperor of mankind standing in the same position he had been, slightly leaning forward with his hands clasped behind his back and his chin jutting out. But behind him was a headless corpse, still standing on its feet, and a fine red mist suspended above the neck, which was spraying arterial blood from where its head should have been. Then, they finally heard the cracking whine of a pulse rifle round echoing out from one of the white and silver towers circling the park they were standing in and understood what had happened. Someone had stupidly attacked the emperor of all mankind, assuming that the visible security was the only security that Aron had accompanying him. It was a fatal mistake. Aron relaxed his stance and turned to the newscasters in the distance, their cameras all focusing on him. As the corpse behind him finally fell with a thud, he said, Thus is the fate of anyone who attempts to overturn the foundation of Our empire. No mercy shall be shown to those who believe themselves better than others by a simple quirk of chance, a cosmic event that just so happened to land in their favor. And was it the so-called superior awakeners that did all of that? Did they do ANY of that? Aron paused in his impromptu speech to let his points sink in, then continued, No! The people who pushed humanity to the stars, the people who feed humanity, the people who study the mysteries of existence and push human technological boundaries to a point that every single day is a day with a myriad of discoveries, both scientific and technological... have almost entirely been Our unawakened citizens. So the claim of awakened superiority is an outright, utter lie. Its a lie perpetuated by those who feel strong, and in their minds, they think strength should be used to bully the weak. They have no idea what true strength is. But We will show them precisely what it is. That, Our dear citizens, is another promise I am making to you, and another promise that will. Be. Kept! Aron took a deep breath and his expression returned to his usual impassive, authoritarian gaze. We are not a despot, however, nor are We a tyrant. If you truly desire change, then fight for it with your words, with your ideas, with your passion. If you truly feel superior to your fellow humans, then show it through your actions, your deeds. Be better. Take the high road. Do good. Enrich and encourage your fellow human beings. But whatever you do, do not use violence. Do not bully the weak. Because if you do.... Aron turned his head and glanced at the headless corpse next to him. If you do, he continued, softer this time but with Nova ensuring that his words were clearly recorded by the cameras in the distance, then this will be the only end you face. Without another word, he turned and strode toward his shuttle, his back ramrod straight and steps steady and even, ignoring the shouted questions of the journalists in the distance. He had just given them a truth, and they would need time to digest it before he spoke on the matter again. Chapter 654 The Dispatch Chapter 654 The Dispatch As Aron approached his personal shuttle, the aegis members surrounding the park rose to their feet and deactivated the PAPS dome, then collapsed into two files behind him and followed him into the aircraft. Once everyone had boarded, the hatch hissed shut and the shuttle lifted off on a suborbital hop to the Cube at Avalon Island. It was still the center of the imperial government, as Aron had decreed that his imperial palace would be the very last building to be constructed, and the construction would only begin after everyone else had been settled into their new homes. {Sir, we have a dispatch from Proxima Centauri coded for your eyes only,} Nova reported the moment Aron settled into his seat. I wonder what happened that warranted sending a dispatch, he said. There were very few things that would merit the sending of dispatches across the vast gulf between Earth and the exploration fleets, so the news was either very good, very bad, or had far-reaching implications that might affect future exploration missions to star systems even farther from humanitys cradle. But that would have to wait until he reached his office, which was the only place that had equipment secure enough to scan his personal biometrics. Eyes-only dispatches were one of the few things in the Terran Empire that had to be handled in an air-gapped system with physical verification. Thus, Nova continued reporting. {Some of the journalists on site livestreamed your confrontation with the rogue awakener, Alejandro Garcia. Currently, public opinion is divided into two campsthe majority opinion is on your side. It was obvious that you were under attack, so they believe the use of force was justified, and some are even calling for the sniper that took out your assailant to be awarded a medal.} Hmph, Aron snorted. If I have to give out medals every time Im attacked in the future, itll devalue the awards and make them cheap. Have Panoptes quash the award idea. (Ed note: The devaluation of military awards has a factual basis in history. Particularly during the Vietnam War, where about 351,000 purple hearts were awarded to an estimated 3.5 million soldiers who fought there between 1964 and 1975. It got to the point where the purple heart was deemed completely worthless, even by the soldiers who received them. It isnt surprising, considering that about one in every ten soldiers was awarded one.) {Yes, Sir.} Anything else of note come out of that? {Yes. Some of the detractors are saying that you set the conflict with Mr. Garcia up yourself as a false flag operation to issue a warning and a statement to awakeners that you can easily have them killed any time anywhere. Theyre justifying it by claiming its impossible to hit lightning with a bullet from kilometers away,} Nova reported. Well, I suppose it must seem that way to them. And we cant prove it either way without declassifying some of our predictive targeting algorithms, so just ignore it for now. If no crackpot conspiracy theorists had brought that up, wed have had to bring it up ourselves since its a surprisingly reasonable line of thought. {Understood, Sir.} The elevator doors swished shut and the pumps attached to the shaft pulled a vacuum in it before the elevator shot down toward the lowest basement level beneath the Cube at close to five hundred miles per hour. Lab O was located roughly three kilometers underground and was the physical counterpart to Lab City, with the digital scientists operating drones and robots that could manipulate physical materials. It was also where his own personal lab was situated. Once he reached his lab, he walked in and looked at the ten-meter-diameter sphere that was the newly designed Meteor-class Messenger Boat. It was a matte black sphere without any obvious construction marks and looked like nothing more than a solid lump of some unknown metal. He let out a low whistle and muttered, Impressive. He truly was impressed; the design was excellent and served its purpose well. As he looked at it, layer upon layer exploded out in his AR view, showing the thick armor plating, internal machining, and even the miniaturized warp engines and fusion reactor. Not to mention the quantum server, which was about as big as the one he had first used to run Nova and the simulation of Earth. With a gesture, he set a nanite swarm to work disassembling the messenger boat. It would take about two and a half hours to take apart, so he decided to use the time to read the dispatches from Task Force Proxima. Thus, he walked into his secure office attached to Lab O and settled into the recliner used for offline memory updating and review. He placed his hand into the recess on the armrest of the chair and it read his fingerprints and took a DNA sample from the base of his palm. Once the fingerprints were matched, a visor slid over his eyes and flashed a blue light, reading his retinal pattern as he recited the gibberish phrase he used as a voiceprint password. {Identity verification complete. Welcome, Emperor Aron Michael,} the monotone voice of a VI said into his ear. Implement air gap protocol, Aron ordered. {Implementing,} the VI replied. Arons implant disconnected from the network as the security blast doors came down over the doorway to the office. Once they sealed, a connection formed between the doors and walls, where runic script turned the room into a mana void, along with completing the faraday cage built into the walls. Once the air gap was complete and tested, Aron logged into the local network and began reviewing the DNA-encoded memory recording. His brows furrowed with a frown as he reviewed the information of what had taken place on Proxima Centauri b, and especially when the recording reached Birch demanding to meet with him in person regarding the status of the trees children. After the recording came to an end, he remained reclined in place, his finger tapping at the arm of the chair he lay recumbent in. Chapter 655 To go or not to go, that is the question (1) Chapter 655 To go or not to go, that is the question (1) Within the time-accelerated VR''s private space, Aron, Gaia, and Nova sat silently, gazing at the scene before them. Aron was struck by surprise, while Gaia and Nova struggled to reconcile what they saw with their prior understanding of reality, based on the data they had previously used to gauge the world. This silence continued for more than ten minutes as each of them digested the information in different styles. Without surprise, Aron was currently digesting the information about Liafu, which, to him, was the second most important piece among the messages sent. He realized this knowledge was something he would only have learned if he had bought advanced-level mana knowledge, if not higher, as it was a worldview-altering revelation. Despite not changing the current events, this information was akin to discovering a new fundamental law of the universe. It didn''t impact ongoing matters but provided a framework to understand previously unexplainable phenomena and offered a new tool to exploit in the future. "So, just as the laws of physics are the fundamental laws of the universe, mana also has its own fundamental laws, some of which have gained consciousness," Aron said, his voice steady and reflective as the scene around them faded. His words were not directed at Gaia and Nova, who were beside him, but rather served as a means to vocalize his thoughts. He continued, more to himself than to his companions, "Does that mean all other laws might also have gained intelligence?" He paused, contemplating the implications. "It should be the special properties of mana that are the differentiating factors in gaining intelligence. But that''s just a theory at this point in time. Contemplating it any further without a means of proving our theories is pointless." Aron knew that diving deeper into such philosophical and theoretical discussions would not be productive without concrete evidence. "I currently need to go through more of the information," he reasoned. "I''ll leave it to the scientists to do the thinking for now." However, in just a few years of the empire''s existence, several factors mitigated this risk. Complete health rejuvenation for all citizens, combined with secure housing, abundant food, and numerous incentives for having childrensuch as low-cost and subsidized necessities free and high-quality educationled to a significant baby boom. This boom indicated a continuing trend for the coming years as the costs of raising children were expected to keep decreasing. The influx of new working-age citizens from the Proxima Centauri exploration further alleviated the potential manpower shortage. The empire''s proactive measures ensured a steady growth in population and workforce, supporting its expansive ambitions and securing its future. {But we will only reap the full benefits if they join the empire. It seems that requires Sir Aron to physically visit them before they decide whether to join us or become our ally,} Nova interjected, reminding Gaia of the requirement, even though she was sure Gaia hadn''t forgotten. Instead of responding to Nova''s statement, Gaia turned to Aron and asked, {Will you be visiting them?} {Sir?!!!} Nova asked upon not receiving a response to Gaias question. But that, too, was met with silence from Aron''s side. He could be seen tapping on the armrest of his chair, clearly deep in thought, weighing the pros and cons of both choices before him. To go or not to go, that is the question. But that didn''t last long as he abruptly stopped tapping on the armchair. He turned to Gaia and Nova and began, "Ten... Chapter 656 To go or not to go, that is the question (2) Chapter 656 To go or not to go, that is the question (2) "Ten billion awakeners are too important for me to merely have them as allies when we have the option of welcoming them as citizens," Aron stated decisively. He paused, contemplating the next steps. "The challenge is understanding their requirements," he continued, his mind already strategizing on how to approach this critical decision. {I dont know what it is, but if anyone among humanity can fulfill their requirements, it''s you.} Nova responded confidently. {Based on what they did during the meeting and those memories from Kim Ho So, it seems like they''ve given a requirement that could potentially be met. Otherwise, they would have made it clear. From what they''ve shown us, they don''t seem to have a concept of lying. However, that could also be part of their strategy. But based on everything we''ve seen, they don''t appear to be the type to deceive.} Nova''s perspective offered a cautious optimism about the awakeners'' intentions and the potential for a fruitful alliance or integration. "But first, it looks like we need to change the constitution," Aron said with a sigh, recalling the recent speech he had just hours ago in the real world, facing the public as a headless man laid beside him. Although he had mentioned that the constitution could be amended if a compelling reason was provided, Aron hadn''t anticipated that such a reason would arise mere hours later. {So, you are going,} Gaia said, understanding Aron''s decision from his statement. {Yeah, but not immediately. As the emperor, you still have things you need to complete before thinking of going,} Nova interjected, wearing her hats as Aron''s personal secretary, assistant, and more. She ensured Aron understood that despite his eagerness to meet species from the fantasies of books and anime now becoming reality, he couldnt depart whenever he wished, as he had and could do previously. "I know, I know. Plus, before I go, the infrastructure needs to be completed before I can even think of heading there," Aron acknowledged. Despite the empire''s current state of peace, he felt a strong need to remain connected and updated about Earth''s situations and occurrences. Aron achieved these feats in just a few real-world hours or the equivalent of seventy-something days in accelerated VR time. His ability to innovate and create groundbreaking technologies in such a short span was unfathomable to her and even his closest friends as they didnt know of the existence of the system. "No, I was going through the data the exploration fleet had sent back," Aron said in a low voice, turning his head to face Rina''s stomach, clearly enjoying their moment together. "It arrived today?" Rina asked in surprise. Despite knowing it was coming, she hadn''t focused on the exact arrival date, so the news caught her off guard. "So, anything interesting from it?" she asked eagerly, excitement evident in her voice. "Do you want to see it?" Aron replied, offering to share the discoveries. "If you''re tired, we can do it later," Rina suggested, trying not to pressure Aron into showing her the data if he needed rest. "Don''t worry about that. Let''s go and see," Aron insisted, rising from the couch where he had been lying. He gently lifted Rina and carried her to their bedroom, where their VR pods awaited. Her surprise at being swept off her feet was followed by delighted laughter as he set her down near the pods. They shortly logged into the VR, where Aron started showing him summaries of the discoveries, with him going further into details whenever a discovery attracted her attention. Chapter 657 A messenger (1) Chapter 657 A messenger (1) The next day. Rina could be seen adjusting Aron''s tie, ensuring it looked dignified and matched his full black suit, as if he were heading to a funeral. If I didnt have the lesson already planned, I would have come with you, Rina said as she finished adjusting his tie and wiped the nonexistent dust off his suit, doing a couple of double takes to make sure everything was perfect. Since she had decided to focus on magic research, and with Aron''s aid, Rina had been making significant breakthroughs in the field of magic use. These advancements even surprised Aron, who already had high expectations for her. Rinas intimate understanding of magic, being a user herself, gave her an edge in her discoveriesan advantage Aron lacked since he couldnt use magic without runes in real life. Although he could use magic normally in the universal simulation, Aron didn''t have the luxury of time to practice it due to his numerous responsibilities. Additionally, he preferred not to use the higher time acceleration unless absolutely necessary, as the disproportionate amount of time spent in the simulation compared to real life created a disorienting disconnection from reality, a feeling he didn''t enjoy. As a result of her advancements, Rina was now delivering special lectures at various universities on topics related to mana and the use of magic to access and harness it. These lectures had been quite successful, and today was one of those days, hence her statement. "Don''t worry about it, and good luck with your lecture, Love you," Aron said, kissing her goodbye. Love you too, she responded, with a blush on her face, despite being married for more than a year she couldnt help but feel her heart flutter whenever she heard him say those words. Aron reciprocated the greeting and continued the small talk, engaging with the city leader. During their conversation, the official invited him to a banquet that had been prepared in his honor. Thanks for the hospitality and invitation, but unfortunately, as stated in the report sent to you, the emperor needs to be in different cities within a few hours. So, we have to decline your invitation and head to our destination as quickly as possible, Nova intervened. She knew that Arons current mood wasn''t really welcoming of enjoying as he was on the wat to deliver bad news to quite a few people, hence her timely interjection. Sorry for that, sir. Please, this way, the city leader responded promptly, pointing in the direction of the elevator. Aron reciprocated with a polite smile and, along with his Aegisthose who had accompanied him on the shuttlebegan walking toward the elevator with serious expressions, fully aware that their duties had now commenced. A few minutes later, a modest-sized motorcade departed from one of the large gates of the massive imperial government building. The motorcade moved swiftly through the well-connected city, and it didnt take long before it arrived and came to a stop in front of a one-story house in a quiet neighborhood. The security team immediately disembarked from the motorcade, joining the team that had arrived earlier to secure the perimeter with one of Aegis members approaching to open his door. Taking a deep breath, Aron said, "Let''s get to work," as he stepped out of the car and began walking towards the house. He gestured with his hand to the security members who were planning to follow him, indicating that only Nova would accompany him inside. *Knock* *knock* *knock* Silence fell as Aron waited for the door to be opened, and the rest of the neighborhood gathered from the distance to see what had brought a convoy of cars and heavy security to their quiet streets. Shortly thereafter, the door was opened. Chapter 658 A messenger (2) Chapter 658 A messenger (2) There was silence in the room, briefly interrupted by the sound of a woman crying. In any other circumstance, this would be distressing, but here, it was an expected reaction as she had just received news of her husbands death. It was the emperor himself who had shouldered the weighty responsibility of delivering the news of the Proxima Centauri exploration fleets casualties. Both he and Rina were sitting in silence, their faces reflecting the gravity of the situation, allowing Rachael who was sitting in front of them to cry and process the devastating news for a moment, as the weight of the news warranted such a reaction in the first place. Im sorry for showing this side of me, but I cant help... Rachael attempted to regain her composure and apologize for her emotional reaction, but she struggled to control herself and soon resumed crying. Nova rose from her seat beside Aron and moved to sit beside Rachael. She gently embraced her, offering a comforting shoulder to cry on. Rachael leaned into the hug, her crying intensifying as if a floodgate had been opened. This continued for more than half an hour, with Nova providing unwavering and highly needed comfort to Rachael until her intense crying gradually subsided to a level where conversation could resume. Throughout this entire period, Aron remained silent and respectful, his reverence for Rachael''s grief evident, allowing her the time and space she needed to digest the heartbreaking news in her own way. "I know this may not be much consolation during your time of grief, but I hope it allows you to mourn without the added burden of financial worries for yourself and your children. Furthermore, the writers of these reports were subject to scrutiny by their assigned memory virtual intelligence, which would analyze the intent behind the reports in light of the data collected by the nano implants. If discrepancies were found between the reported events and the objective data, investigations would ensue to ensure accuracy and accountability in mission reporting. Thus, the system ensured transparency and deterred any attempts to manipulate or misrepresent mission outcomes. Aron spent the next half-hour with her, comforting and reassuring amidst the difficult news. When the time came, he rose and bid her farewell, knowing he had to deliver this heartbreaking news a few more times before his duties for the day were complete. He walked out of the house alone, leaving Nova to spend more time with the wife of the deceased as they awaited the arrival of some Aegis members who were sent to pick up her children from school and bring them home. As he made his way out, Aron paused when he noticed a flagpole erected in the yard of the house. It was now flying the imperial flag, its colors replaced entirely with white, and adorned with the imperial seala symbol reserved for funerals. This solemn display indicated to anyone who saw it that someone inside had died in the line of duty. "It''s going to be a heavy day," Aron sighed after boarding the car, acknowledging the emotional toll of delivering such news. Despite the system''s previous attempts to modify his brain to alter his ability to feel, he fortunately discovered and managed to stop it and mitigate its effects. However, some remnants of those modifications remained, enabling him to handle heavy situations while still allowing him to feel the emotions pertaining to them. {Better to be the one delivering it than the one receiving it}, Nova remarked as she materialized in a new body inside the motorcade, her other copy still consoling the wife. I dont even want to think of that, Aron replied solemnly. The thought of being on the receiving end of such news was something he dreaded, knowing it wouldnt end well for the one who caused the bad news. He pushed the thought aside as they continued their journey to deliver the sad news to the other families. Chapter 659 Adressing the empire (1) Chapter 659 Adressing the empire (1) As Aron and Nova visited the different families to deliver the sad news, the rest of the empire was left wondering about their activities. Videos circulated of them arriving at ordinary houses, spending a few hours inside, and soldiers raising a white imperial flag in front of each house before departing. The sight of the white flag, symbolizing the loss of someone who died in the line of duty, sparked widespread curiosity and concern among the citizens, who speculated about the nature of these visits and the tragic news being shared. With these visits occurring randomly and often on different continents, many people dismissed the idea of them being surprise visits. This conclusion was further supported by the sight of the white imperial flag, a symbol previously only seen at official burial sites like war heroes'' cemeteries or the burial grounds of those who had fallen victim to cult attacks. The presence of the flag indicated a somber purpose behind the visits, leading the public to speculate about a recent tragedy affecting multiple families across the empire. But the speculation didnt last too long as some of the family members of the deceased had told the neighbours who had visited them which spread from there, or some distant relatives using this as a means of gathering clout on the internet but the gist of the reason behind his visit was made known and with the imperial press secretary still remaining quiet on the situation people started coming up with their speculations of their own. With the reason for Aron''s visits revealed, news spread that the visited families had members on the exploration fleet. This led to widespread speculation about how the news reached the empire if the fleet was still supposed to be in transit. People wondered if the number of dead was limited to those visited or if there were more casualties, with Aron visiting families randomly and others set to receive the news later. To the families and loved ones of those we have lost, I extend my deepest condolences. As you may have seen, I have been personally visiting the families of the deceased to offer my support and ensure they receive the benefits and assistance due to them. This is a small gesture in the face of such a profound loss, but it is my hope that it provides some comfort during this difficult time. As for why we are only announcing the deaths of a few members and not the entire fleet, as many of you speculated, it is because they are not in transit, the Proxima Centauri exploration fleet had already arrived and started their mission more than a year ago," he paused, knowing the weight of his words required a moment for the audience to process. "Yes, I know it seems impossible to have achieved this without traveling faster than light, given the distance is more than five light years. So, I will take this moment to officially acknowledge faster-than-light travel''s existence. All of our exploration fleets have arrived at their destinations, some just a few weeks ago." He paused again to let the significance of his statement sink in. "Now that the question of travel has been addressed, many of you must be wondering how we received the news of their deaths if they are five light years away. Currently, we don''t have direct communication established with them due to the high energy requirements. Instead, the communication was delivered in the traditional way, by sending servers back with the information. These messengers arrived yesterday; hence, our verification of their deaths only happened yesterday." He then proceeded to delve deeper into how the deceased would be honored and what medals would be provided, creating an impression that this address was primarily about satisfying people''s curiosity regarding his recent activities, thereby diverting attention from the imminent announcement he intended to deliver once he had paid due respects to the deceased. For those privy to the upcoming announcement, it was clear that it would overshadow everything said before, which was why he dedicated significant time to honoring the dead and giving them the spotlight at the outset. Chapter 660 Adressing the empire (2) Chapter 660 Adressing the empire (2) With the servers having reached us, it also means the data they collected throughout their exploration period has been sent back, along with many surprising discoveries. With my previous statements, Im pretty sure that many of you are likely wondering the same thing: whether we are still alone in the universe or if there are aliens on the planet. He paused, allowing the tension to build, and everyone watching felt their anticipation grow. Its more complicated than that, he said. Before the reporters could interrupt, the scene shifted to a visual presentation. The screen showed part of the exploration fleet arriving at the planet, indicating that he chose to show rather than tell. The scenes shown were carefully selected anchor points that summarized the entire situation. The montage concluded with the image of the newly created races being placed into standardized VR pods, providing enough explanation before the scene returned to the emperor standing at the podium. Both the room and the viewers who watched the recap were silent, their minds struggling to process the information while simultaneously resisting it due to its unbelievable nature. Had it not been presented by the emperor, they might have dismissed it as a movie or game promotion, which seemed more plausible than a summary recording of a star system five light years away. "As I previously stated, it is complicated," Aron continued. "We had found life before, but it was at a microbial level, which was expected since the planet had all the necessary conditions to support life. However, we didn''t find intelligent extraterrestrial lifeat least, not initially. But we had a significant hand in their creation." "Throughout the address and the video summary of the new species, you avoided mentioning their total number and if it is possible for them to be created again whenever desired?" asked Nshimirimana, a former citizen of South Africa, who was the first reporter given the opportunity to ask questions. "Their total number is ten billion as of now," Aron responded confidently. "As for your second question, no, they cannot be created anymore through that means. The amount of mana required to achieve it is almost impossible to gather again within a few million years. However, they can multiply through birth just like us." He answered without hesitation, knowing this would be one of the easier questions posed by the reporters. "Since we share more than ninety-nine percent of our DNA with them, can humans interbreed with them?" the second reporter asked, echoing the curiosity of many anime fans who were still in disbelief. "Yes, it is possible," Aron replied. "In the same way a Chinese person can have a child with a Nordic person." As he said this, he could sense that the lives of a few people had been changed for the better, and he suspected the exploration fleets might soon see a surge in applications. "Why do they resemble some of our characters from famous media?" the next reporter asked. "It is because, in addition to copying DNA, they also read the memories of the individual they were created from. This individual was very well-versed in those media, so those characters became the template for creation. You will learn more about them once we release the full data on the situation from start to finish," Aron answered, indicating that he would not be providing further details on this topic and suggesting that reporters should not waste their questions on it. "How are you going to deal with the other side that contributed the majority to their creation? And based on your statement of amending the constitution to include their creation, what is to become of them? Also, does this amendment mean that they are joining the empire as equals to us?" the next reporter asked. "At the moment, the amendments to the constitution will only encompass the created races, not their creators. The matter of them joining the empire as equals is still under discussion with our creator counterparts. We currently have two options: one is for them to join the empire, and the other is for them to become our closest allies. To determine which path we will take, I need to visit and have discussions with them first." And as always another bombshell was dropped. Chapter 661 Adressing the empire (3) Chapter 661 Adressing the empire (3) Why can''t they come here and are instead making you go? Doesn''t that indicate that we are showing they are important enough to warrant the emperor of the empire being at their beck and call by having him personally go to them instead of them coming to you?" the next reporter asked. Aron responded calmly, "The reason I am going to them is not about showing subservience or being at their beck and call. It is a matter of practicality and diplomacy. Their environment and circumstances are unique, as their bodies are literally roots encompassing the entirety of the planet, and it is essential for me to understand their situation firsthand. Although they can transfer parts of their consciousness to small humanoid trees, there''s no assurance that the connection can be maintained over the distance between the two star systems. So, the easiest solution is for me to go and have discussions with them there. As for the second reason, you have to remember that this meeting will determine whether the empire gains more than ten billion new citizens of working age who are also natural awakeners or if we have them as only our closest allies, which would limit our benefits. Given all the potential benefits of this deal, going there to secure the chance of having them as citizens rather than just allies is nothing but a rather simple compromise for me and the empire." "Based on your previous statements, it seems there is no direct communication between the two star systems. So, who are you going to put in charge during the period when you will be cut off from communications with the imperial government?" asked the next reporter, as if the question had been planned in conjunction with the previous one. His previous statements immediately led to the following question, as it indicated there is no direct communication between the solar system and the Proxima Centauri star system. The idea of the emperor being disconnected from the empire for more than a year was both dangerous and opportune, opening the door for potential issues either from external threats or internal factions aiming to seize power during his absence. With a smile on his face, He continued, providing more details on his previous response. "I must remind you that with the change to the constitution, the people in the Proxima star system will also be considered citizens or allies. This means the Constitution applies to them, including the clause granting freedom of communication. By law, they are required to have access to the internet that connects them to the rest of the empire. "At this moment, we are in the process of creating the signal towers that will be used to connect the two sides and allow for instant communication. The creation and installation of these towers are expected to take six to nine months, and I am not planning on going there for at least a year. By then, none of the stated or anticipated problems will be issues anymore." The next reporter asked, "Are people from there going to visit Earth, and will the opposite be allowed, too?" "For the moment, no," Aron replied. "The reason being that they have not yet formed a society. For at least the next five years, access to their star system will be limited to allow them to develop the capability to exploit their resources and prevent them from being exploited due to their naivety." His response clarified that the empire was giving the new species time to adjust. However, the underlying meaning was not fully grasped by many. While some might interpret his statement as implying humans were potential exploiters who could take advantage of the new species'' naivety, the reality was more nuanced. Both sides had the potential to exploit each other, and the empire''s restriction on access was aimed at preventing such things from happening at the start while also preventing misunderstandings or conflicts that could arise if there was no adjusting period between the two sides. "But the same cannot be said for VR," he continued. "Once their training and adaptation period is over, they will be connected to Earth''s public communication infrastructure through VR. This means you will be able to interact with them in virtual reality earlier than in real life." He added this to preempt the imminent question he anticipated would follow from his previous answer. Chapter 662 Reaction Chapter 662 Reaction The questions continued before he brought the address to an end, with the time from the start of his address to the end totaling two and a half hours. He has gotten really good at addressing people and making others work hard at realizing them for him, Felix Jokingly complained to Sarah about Aron as they watched the address together. Although his complaint was made in a manner of sarcasm, he, not he but the company he leads, was the one who was going to have to create all of the signal boosters that would be required to create a network between the two star systems, as their company was the one that was contracted to making many things from the government including the communication infrastructure. Isnt it one of the requirements of a great leader? Being able to make promises and delegating qualified people to achieve those promises. Sarah responded, humoring his complaint but also giving him the opportunity to brag and feel good. Well, I cant argue about that, as Im cursed by endless work due to my overbearing qualifications. But what can I do as it is a sacrifice I need to bear to help my friend focus on leading the country? he continued his play of someone being given heavy responsibility. But Sarah decided to bring an end to his bragging streak by asking, But isnt everything going to be made by atomic printers anyway, with the responsible imperial agency sending the schematics for it? , Felix decided to completely ignore her attempt at stopping his bragging by responding to her by saying, Someone who works on the technology side of things that cant help but require my company to help them produce them like you cant understand my side of things and my responsibility returning the attack back to her. But neither of them could continue with their fun banter as they couldnt hold it in, and they both started laughing quite hard the moment their eyes met. With laughing came skinship, and with skinship, the laughter slowly disappeared as they moved closer and closer, with the mood in the room changing from heartwarming to an erotic one. .......... While Aron was messing with his friends while planning his upcoming trip, the world was reacting to and discussing his address, with discussions and reactions divided into different categories. There were those who argued that this was just another round of propaganda from the empire, and quite a few people were forced to agree as the emperors explanation was really stretching the strings of believability. From the POV of those in this group, it looked like the empire had decided the conclusion to their story, and whatever plot hole they couldnt explain, they added the word mana as the explanation for the hole. But there were counters to this, saying that if this was true, then the empire was bound to be caught in the lie when they were connected to them following their training. It was quite a useless thing to lie about since there was really no reason for this lie to be brought up in the first place, as there was no situation taking place that required such an absurd story to act as a cover-up. Then, there were scientists and anime fans who were waiting with bated breath for the data to be made public so that they could see and decide with their own eyes whether the statement from the empire was true or if it was a misinterpretation of data. But waiting for the data came with discussion and memes about whether the statement was actually true and whether humanity was finally joined by races from their own imaginations. This was quite a surreal feeling that had previously not even been imagined by the wildest science fiction and fantasy fans, but reality has a knack for going beyond our imaginations. But no matter which side or which group of this discussion people were on, deep down, everyone knew that if it was true, then the empire would change forever and not return to its previous state, as it would mark the start of the empire''s expansion. Just a few years after its foundation, which resulted in taking over all the countries on the planet, it was followed by taking over the whole star system, and now it seems it is on the route to taking over another star system with billions of new citizens joining them as equals or allies. Chapter 663 reaction (2) Chapter 663 reaction (2) No matter what you dowhether it''s bad, good, or somewhere in betweenonce it''s on the internet, you''ll always receive both positive and negative reactions. There''s always someone who either reads too deeply into the words or not deeply enough. Some people can read or listen but struggle to comprehend the message as the writer or speaker intended. The moment they hear something, it passes through their personal filters before the brain starts to process what was being said or written. As a result, people often hear what they want to hear rather than what was actually communicated. This was precisely the case with the emperors speech; he was not exempt from such misinterpretations. And the majority of these people were among the most prolific users of social media, eager to express their opinions. Consequently, they voiced their feelings and reactions moments after the emperor finished his speech and it resulted in quite a mess. There were those who believed that the emperor was using the announcement to hide something. @truth_beleiver243r67: [Why do I suspect that the emperor is using this announcement to deflect responsibility for the deaths of the explorers? It seems like hes initially downplaying the situation by mentioning only a few deaths, with the intention of later revealing that the rest were killed by the new species when they just exploded en route there.] @Missinformationresponded52134: [@truth_beleiver243r67 Do you think you are making sense? This is like causing 9/11 to avoid a school exam. Also, why acknowledge it now when he could delay it as long as he needed?] Do you think those ultranationalistic individuals who were put in stasis will come back and appreciate the improvements? No, they will awaken with their old grievances intact, having missed the progress made. Their return could disrupt the stability we''ve worked so hard to achieve. Do we really want to risk that upheaval now, just as things have begun to settle?] Then there were those who were solely focusing on the technology acknowledged in the announcement and took to express how it should be used by the empire. @warmonger: [Why didnt they announce that they had the technology when they discovered it and kept it to themselves? Shouldnt they share this technology for the betterment of humanity? #Selfishempire #releasethetechnology] @b?faele?fno: [@warmonger Are you dumb?] @warmonger: [@b?faele?fno What do you mean? You dont want the tech to be shared for the betterment of humanity?] @b?faele?fno: [@warmonger What are you going to use it for? Isnt the current technology enough for you to go anywhere in the solar system in less than a week? For the betterment of humanity? Isnt the empire already doing that by sending out exploration fleets? Also, what makes you think the empire discovered this technology and not one of his private companies, hence them privately owning that technology and were just sharing it with the empire? That tech currently can only be put to use by the empire alone, and they are amidst doing that. and if you say making travel short within the solar system, you seem to have forgotten that there is a speed limit within the solar system, and we are currently capable of going faster than that but they are limiting it for safety. Think before speaking foolishly, but them acknowledging it is enough, as that means it is possible for the tech to be discovered, so raise your ass and go to research city to build it yourself and stop complaining. ] Such discussions were among the many that were taking place, with some jocking some mourning, some just enjoying the discoveries, some denying them, and some just enjoying the moment, but that didn''t mean that they weren''t waiting for the release of evidence that was going to take place a month. Chapter 664 [Start Prodcution] Chapter 664 [Start Prodcution] Even after two weeks had passed, the emperors speech remained a hot topic of discussion. This was remarkably long for something to stay relevant in the fast-paced world of the internet. Far from fading into obscurity, the emperor''s speech seemed to gain momentum, its importance escalating with each passing day, leaving the public increasingly intrigued. Today was the day of the official imperial funeral for the deceased explorers, broadcast live through the imperial news channels. The viewership was enormous, especially after the empire released video footage of the evacuation that showed the chaotic and disastrous conditions the planet was in, which had led to the scientists'' deaths. The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n)) The footage seized the public''s attention, as many were astounded by the fact that only a few lives were lost in the midst of such a chaotic natural disaster. The survival of the majority was a testament to the advancement of imperial technology. The funerals took place at the new imperial cemetery grounds, designated specifically for the burial of imperial explorers who died in the line of duty. Unfortunately, these explorers were the first to be laid to rest there. .......... Mars. I really thought this production ground would remain dormant until wartime, Hussein, a production military scientist, said as he watched the massive production ground in front of him coming to life. Without waiting for a response, he continued, I mean, look at the schematics of the ships were supposed to make. Ive never seen this type of blueprint before. So, its either that theyre a new class of ships, or theyre existing ships that are still classified, and were being used to produce them as we are quite idle. Alternatively, he could be creating his private forces or something. What do you do in your idle times? Dr. Hussein asked him once he heard his reasoning. Play VR games, the assistant answered immediately, tilting his head in curiosity about why he was being asked that question. He knew Dr. Hussein was genuinely curious and not playing mind games with him, as Hussein always asked questions with a straightforward intent. Does that mean you havent been using social media for the past two weeks? Dr. Hussein asked, turning his inquiry into another question. The assistant understood that Hussein was building a hypothesis to explain why his previous conclusion might be incorrect. Realizing this, he decided to go along with it to see where the reasoning would lead. Im an orphan raised by the Emperors House of Hope program through the Coeus Foundation, so most of my friends are in the military, universities, research and development, or awakening academies. This makes it quite hard for me to be active online since theres no one to contact. If you add in military restrictions when were in restricted locations, I usually avoid using social media until my rotation comes and I return to Earth. He answered while anticipating any further questions, curious about why his previous conclusion was wrong as well. Thats why you would assume hes planning a coup. But youre wrong, Dr. Hussein explained. The fleets are being built to escort the emperor when he goes to the Proxima Centauri star system. Dr. Hussein then provided a summary of what had happened over the past two weeks. He explained that the printing of the ships was given to them as they were among the idle printers in order to avoid disrupting the militarys manufacturing timetable for the current active printers, which had already been scheduled a year in advance. Plus, do you really think the emperor wouldnt know if something like that were to take place? Dr. Hussein said. If youre from that fabled Hope program, you should be smart, but is all that genius focused solely on research that you wouldnt realize that no one in the current military has the capability to orchestrate a coup? Turning his head toward the control room, which now showed that the printer was fully online and ready for operation with the raw material storage canisters already in place, Dr. Hussein pressed the start button for production without wasting any time. Chapter 665 Relase of the Data Chapter 665 Relase of the Data A month after his address to the empire and two weeks after the funeral, the empire kept its promise by releasing comprehensive data about the data collected throughout the entire exploration fleet''s mission. The release included almost everything, except for a few classified sections, which were clearly marked as such for those reviewing the information. "Holy shit," Ryan, a microbiologist, shouted involuntarily when he saw the amount of data. "What is it?" Irene, his coworker and wife, asked, startled by his outburst as she prepared breakfast in their comfortable home. "Come take a look at what the empire gifted us," he said, his face alight with excitement as he called her over, knowing she''d be even more thrilled than he was. "This is going to take us centuries to go through," she said with a tone brimming with excitement, contrary to what one might expect from someone facing such an immense task. "But first, we should request at least a month off." The sheer volume of data in their specific field of expertise was staggering. "Im pretty sure there''s something in here that can revolutionize our knowledge of microbiology," Irene said, peering over her husband''s shoulder at the screen. She was a romantic type, always excited by the prospect of new discoveries. Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com Although many scientists werent money-hungry and preferred to spend most of their time doing research, they still needed to support themselves and their families. This system made it possible for them to do both. Additionally, this influx of new information would enable many researchers to reach the necessary milestones to upgrade their Research City labs to the next stage, gaining access to advanced machinery and tools. This was the imperial government''s way of incentivizing research while improving the researchers'' quality of life. New discoveries led to new technologies, which kept the economy active. The government also earned additional revenue, as they took the other half of the percentage of profit not given to the researchers. This strategy ensured a steady flow of innovation and provided the empire with a passive income source beyond the standard ten percent tax, which wouldnt always suffice on its own. Although it might seem excessive that the empire took half of the profits from researchers, this was not widely criticized. The empire only claimed these cuts once researchers began earning more than ten thousand END a month from their discoveries. Until then, researchers had access to extensive research materials and advanced machinery for free, resources they would have only dreamed of affording on their own. Moreover, the empire handled essential tasks such as confirmation, patent recording, monitoring technology use, and collecting payments from those utilizing the technology. This comprehensive support structure relieved researchers of administrative burdens and allowed them to focus on their work, further justifying the empires share of the profits. This led many to believe that the empire''s cut was merely operational, with widespread sentiment that they were still running at a loss. Unfortunately, this assumption was incorrect. In reality, every cent earned from the research city was pure profit. These funds were promptly deposited into a reserve imperial bank account, accessible only by the emperor, and designated for use in furthering the empire''s interests, and currently, they were earning money like there is no tomorrow. Although some companies complained that the empire''s policies were squeezing their profits, this was countered by the significant reduction in their operational costs. By conducting all their research in Lab City instead of establishing physical labs in the real world, they benefited from lowered entry thresholds across various industries, no matter how advanced. This shift made it more feasible for companies to enter and compete in high-tech fields without the substantial initial investments that would have otherwise been required. However, for at least this month, the empire anticipated a temporary economic slowdown but expected a surge in new discoveries. Chapter 666 The Devil Lies in the Implementation Chapter 666 The Devil Lies in the Implementation {With the changes being agreed upon, I hereby declare that the amendment has passed and will be ratified the moment it is signed by the emperor.} Gaia announced, as usual, acting as the chair of the imperial council. She then hit the gavel to conclude the session. Everyone in the room clapped for a moment, with many of the watchers unsure if the applause was out of obligation or genuine happiness. However, the smiles on their faces suggested it was the latter. Gaia then brought the meeting to a close, as this was the only agenda item for today''s session and the attendees had other pressing matters to attend to. ........ "Why didnt you ratify the constitution if it had already passed the council in the first place? Rina asked him the moment he left VR. What is the urgency in it, darling? We teach our children (not his students at school) not to pay for anything or sign anything without seeing it first, and you want me to do the same for whole new races without seeing them? His response made Rina chuckle. She didnt expect him to remain cautious despite all the evidence pointing otherwise, but he also compared the situation as if he were buying a house or shopping for a new car. Plus, the moment I ratify it and they start creating trouble before I even visit them, they will have to be dealt with as citizens or allies of the empire, not as enemies. This will limit our options and make it take longer to handle any issues compared to if they act out before I meet them and before I ratify it. Where is Henry? he asked shortly as realised his absence something that rarely happened as he usually liked to come and mess with him and he was missing today. Tomorrow is Friday, so he is where he usually goes on weekends, House of Hope. Rina reminded him of what day it was today, which was enough to inform him where he was. Despite these legal constraints, Hephaestus Heavy Industries remained unmatched in precision machining, as they were known for consistently delivering products to the exact millimeter required. Hephaestus Heavy Industries was also renowned for fostering growth in small companies with innovative technological products. By partnering with these startups for production, they provided an essential bridge for those lacking the funds to enter the tech industry, creating a synergistic relationship with Research City. To achieve such extensive production capabilities, including the manufacturing of spaceships, Hephaestus Heavy Industries required production bases across multiple locations, including space. Currently, in front of one of these colossal production bases in space, a fleet of twenty enormous ships, emblazoned with prominent imperial militarys logistical insignia, was seen departing towards the heliosphere and setting course for Proxima Centauri. Among the fleet were numerous signal towers, destined to be strategically placed along various lanes to ensure redundancy and support both public and private communication networks for the imperial government. With the preparations for his journey well underway, the focus had now shifted to operationalizing the communication infrastructure essential for the expedition. Now thats what you call a company, Felix said to Sarah, resuming their playful debate over which company deserved more recognition. You told me we were going on a date, and now youre showing me one of your companys printers? she asked, feigning a pout. No, no, this place was just on the way to our date destination. The timing happened to coincide with the start of the journey, so I wanted to see it since I rarely get the chance due to work. Dont get too upset, he explained. Depends on how good the date turns out to be, she replied, trying to hide her smile as she turned to walk away. Im confident it will exceed your expectations. Look forward to it, he said with a self-assured grin. Chapter 667 Arrival (?) 667 Arrival (?) a Centauri. It had been a year and three months since the messenger was sent, and everything continued as usual, following the meticulously prepared plan from the start. Proxima A was as busy as ever, perhaps even busier than before. If observed closely from space, one could see rudimentary cities nestled within the massive tree branches where the Proximians were born. These cities were built in a manner that integrated seamlessly with the trees rather than destroying them, creating a beautiful and harmonious ambiance. As per the universal bureaucracy rule, there always needs to be a meeting taking place. Currently, one such meeting was occurring between Ayaka, the official responsible for the planet, and admiral Bianchi, the leader of the entire exploration fleet. "We are expected to complete the training within a month and should start extracting them from the VR pods with everything they need to live together with humans and by themselves already taught," Ayaka reported to Fleet Admiral Bianchi during one of her monthly reports summarizing her heavy tasks. "Good. And what is the status of the city construction?" Admiral Bianchi asked, despite having the information written in the report. "With Birch''s aid, we have managed to construct all the basic facilities they will need immediately after waking up. As for the rest, we will leave it to them to grow in their own direction, void of our active influence, which will also act as a starter for their economy." "But we are faced with a problem," Ayaka added after a brief pause. "Go on, what is it?" Admiral Bianchi prompted. Thats goo Ayaka began, but her words were interrupted as the Admirals communication system buzzed. {Admiral, a communication with an imperial network Identification priority sequence is attempting to establish a connection. Should I approve it?} The Fleets AI inquired. This was a routine formality, as the AI was aware that any communication with such a priority sequence could override any denial attempt. Whats this about? Arent they already on their way? Bianchi asked, puzzled by the sudden development. {They have come to a halt and exited the FTL bubble, indicating they have no intention of proceeding here at the moment} the AI responded. Okay, approve it and show me what they intend to do with it, Bianchi instructed, showing little concern for Ayakas presence. {Understood} The AI responded promptly, granting access and immediately taking over the hologram to display the intended actions from the other side of the connection. The two of them in the room immediately started watching, attempting to understand what the establishment connection wanted to do with their attempt to establish a connection. They werent concerned about facing problems from their snooping, as they trusted that the Fleets AI would only display what was authorized for them to seenothing more, nothing less. Slowly, in front of their eyes and accompanied by explanations from the AI, they witnessed something they had never seen before. By the time they could have seen it in the past, it was already completed and made public, so no one had the chance to observe it from start to finish. Chapter 668 {Hello, World} 668 {Hello, World} Space between Solar and Proxima star system. {Permission granted to access the network} announced the AI controlling the ten spaceships that had halted a week away from the Proxima Centauri star system upon receiving access to the Proxima exploration fleet''s network. The reason the ships had come to a stop at this specific distance, rather than proceeding further or turning back, was that it was the farthest point where they could still connect to the exploration fleet''s quantum towers. Additionally, continuing to the Proxima star system would mean wasting another week, which was unnecessary since their mission was brief and purely functional, not for sentimental reasons. {Initiate communication anchoring.} The AI began by setting up the Proxima side of the communication network as the endpoint for the quantum communication link it was establishing. {Initiating network boot and docking.} As it issued this command, the AI sent a ping to the nearest installed quantum towers that the ten ships had been laying down for the past six months. As soon as the closest quantum towers received the initiating and docking signal, they promptly exited their idle power-saving mode and activated operational mode. They then relayed the same signal to the towers nearest to them. This process continued until the signal reached the last-laid quantum towers, which were closest to the solar system. When the next ping was sent, it confirmed: {Main anchor reached.} {Initiating the creation of communication lanes} The system then proceeded by isolating the newly activated signal towers, as the network construction was still underway. This precaution was taken to prevent any potential disruptions to the existing network while the new lanes were being established. The system then began creating various network lanes for different types of communication to traverse once they were activated. Although creating the network might seem straightforward, it was quite the opposite. Only about two of the ten lanes were designated for public use, while a third was reserved specifically for VR access. This lane required uninterrupted data transfer due to the sensitive nature of dealing with peoples brains, necessitating additional safety measures. The remaining seven lanes were allocated for private imperial use and redundancy, ensuring that if the two public lanes and the VR lane encountered issuessuch as damage from FTL travel through the towers or the removal of a tower during FTL departurethere would be backup lanes available. {Lanes creation complete.} {Initiating network connection} The AI proceeded to link the newly established lanes to the main network, completing the connection between the two star systems with an instant communication network. {................} {............} {.......} They relaxed their salutes but remained standing with their hands clasped behind their backs, awaiting the emperors words. Any delays? Aron asked, earning himself a curious gaze from the two. But before they could wonder what he meant by that, a response came from the fleets AI {No sir} Good, Aron said with a satisfied smile before finally turning to the two members who were still waiting for him. Fleet Admiral Marco Bianchi, he began. Yes, sir, Bianchi replied promptly, maintaining his stance. Good job on exceeding your mission requirements, Aron continued. I am very satisfied with what youve accomplished within the time frame and the constraints you faced. He praised Bianchi for his exemplary leadership and hard work on the mission. Thank you, sir. Its an honor, Bianchi replied, returning to his position with a respectful nod. Aron gave a contented smile at Bianchi''s response. Commander Takahashi Ayaka, he then called, turning his attention to her. She, too, responded the same way, as they were both in the military command structure. You, too, have done an excellent job. What could have been an operational and logistical nightmare has turned into a significant benefit for the empire, Aron said with praise. She thanked him for the commendation, and Aron continued, Theres also Lee Joon-ho, who played a crucial role in all of this. His commendation will be delivered at a later time. After a brief pause, he added, Im sure you have many questions, but they will have to wait for a few days. For now, I would like to address all the members of the exploration fleet who arent engaged in emergency situations. Please send out the announcement and ensure they are prepared for my address within the hour. With a proud tone and a satisfied smile, Aron concluded the conversation and disappeared from the hologram after receiving their assurance to carry out his request. Chapter 669 A Small Reward 669 A Small Reward Fifty-five minutes later. The entire Proxima Centauri star system returned to a semblance of its previous silence before humans arrived. The majority of the machines were put into automatic mode, while those requiring human control were switched to power-saving mode. Everyone who wasnt engaged in an essential task had already donned their VR devices and logged into the local VR network. They clicked on the invitation link, which transported them to a massive meeting hall capable of accommodating all of them. The hall reminded them of their last gathering of such magnitude, right before they embarked on their exploration mission. What do you think they gathered us for? Yavuz, a mechanical engineer standing next to Lee, asked him, as Lee was currently one of the most well-known people in the exploration fleet. He was on the same level of being known as the fleet admiral, with everyone knowing and jokingly addressing him as the father of all the created Proximians since they were literally created from his imagination. I dont know. Do you think maybe it''s a surprise celebration? Lee responded before asking his own question. Maybe, but based on the way they called us, it doesnt seem so; plus, why celebrate in VR when we can celebrate in the real world? Also, if youre celebrating something, you make it known beforehand to create anticipation, but they did quite the opposite, a third person responded, joining them after overhearing their discussion. Fo?ll0w current novE?ls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m) Anyway, how are your kids doing? They arent even allowing us to see them. Yavuz asked, both serious and joking, eliciting laughter from those who heard him as they also perked their ears to listen to Lees response. They are doing well, and that is all I can say at the moment, Lee responded, having gotten used to these types of questions, sometimes even enjoying hearing them, but since he couldnt tell much about it as it was classified information in the first place. But before the conversation could continue, the fleet admiral appeared on the podium, followed shortly by the emperor. Im sure youre familiar with the protocol for using the network during active missions, so I wont repeat it here, knowing that some of you are eager to check it for yourselves, he said, subtly reminding them of the rulesnamely, that they should only use the network when off duty. Since youve been out of contact with your families for over a year, Im granting you two weeks off. All operations will be officially halted unless immediate action is required. Enjoy your vacation. He continued for two more minutes before wrapping up his address, as he was someone who despised long and unnecessary speeches, a sentiment stemming from the experiences of lengthy addresses he endured during his university days, prior to his expulsion. With that, he saluted them, and they all responded in kind. Aron then disappeared, followed by the fleet admiral after he officially dismissed them. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! The room erupted in a unified scream of joy as everyone began hugging, jumping, and celebrating together, their excitement overwhelming. Life had been good for them here, thanks to numerous amenities that provided distractions from their mission and the constant danger. They had grown accustomed to their surroundings, almost forgetting they were in a foreign star system. Their large numbers allowed them to socialize as if they were in any city on Earth. However, this didnt mean they were completely fine. For many, the memories of their husbands, wives, children, and other loved ones left behind, occasionally for some and always for others, resurfaced, reminding them of what they had left behind. But now that the burden had been lifted from them, they channeled their relief into celebration. A few minutes after the initial jubilation, nearly everyone remembered that, rather than just shouting in joy, they had a unique opportunity at hand. They could use this moment to contact their friends and families, delivering the surprise of their lives. The emperor had mentioned that while their loved ones knew about the construction of the communication network, they were unaware of its completion. This was their chance to bring that surprise to them. Chapter 670 An Early Christmas for Some 670 An Early Christmas for Some Aron, having completed his lengthy discussion with the fleet''s admiral and granted him leave, sat alone in his VR room, enveloped in silence. {Whats on your mind?} Nova inquired as she materialized beside him, breaking the stillness of the room. Im trying to imagine the range of emotions theyll experience during their reunions, Aron replied, accustomed to her probing questions. The majority will feel happiness, he said, but there will be a few who experience profound distress. Some of the soldiers might face the harsh reality that their spouses, whom they left behind, were unfaithfuleither having cheated out of remorse or used the mission as a chance to welcome others into their lives during their absence. The opposite is also true, Aron continued. Some members of the crew, while on the exploration mission, were unfaithful to their spouses. Additionally, some will receive the devastating news of the deaths of their loved ones during their absence. He reflected on these scenarios, contemplating the range of emotions the explorers would face. These are just a few examples of the difficult news they might receive, and its making me consider how I would react if I were in their position. Nova quickly accessed the relevant information and understood the situation fully. {Would you prefer I drop subtle hints to help them uncover the truth, or should I let events proceed naturally and allow them to discover it on their own?} she asked, offering him the choice between intervention and letting things unfold as they may. Aron took a moment to think before he said, For now, lets leave it as is, but have Mnemosyne assign an Akashic Librarian to continue monitoring the situation. They should report anything that warrants my attention, and well decide how to proceed from there. Although Aron wanted to intervene, he held himself back, knowing that doing so could set a precedent for future interference. Nevertheless, he recognized his responsibility to those who risked their lives for him, and he remained committed to monitoring the situation and he will decide how to act based on it from there on. Their arguments included the assertion that instant communication across light-years would require faster-than-light technology, which they considered impossible despite the empire''s previous confirmations of having FTL technology. These critics dismissed the empires claims and continued to challenge the veracity of the reported accomplishments. The majority of people dismissed the conspiracy theorists as usual, treating their claims as baseless and ignoring them in favor of celebrating the achievement. The focus remained on the positive aspects of the occasion. Despite having access to a wealth of information about the new star system for more than eight months and having people who actually lived and are still living there for over a year, many were eager to personally connect to the network on the other side. However, their attempt to access it were met with nothing but frustration. No matter how hard they searched, they couldnt connect or find any network to connect to despite knowing that all of the Proximians were still in the VR simulation receiving training or not even a live stream to tune into from the new star system. The absence of access to VR was understandable, but the same couldnt be said for the absence of live feeds, as that was especially surprising given the empire''s past practice of providing such coverage for events of great public interest, like during the Unification War, when they had live-streamed the war for citizens Eden and Espaira to boost citizens'' morale and show their confidence in winning it, which they did. This lack of transparency led to further speculation and curiosity, even among those who otherwise celebrated the achievement. Not long after, the reason behind the lack of public connection to the other side became clear. Members of the exploration fleet began sharing the emperor''s address, revealing that the star system was still an active exploration zone. This meant that the area was kept under a controlled bubble to prevent public interference and maintain mission integrity. Adding to the information, the emperors official social media accounts announced that a live stream showcasing various locations within the star system would be set up and made available for viewing online a month from now. This promise of future visibility helped quell some of the publics curiosity and speculation while still maintaining the excitement surrounding the new milestone. Chapter 671 Loophole Hunting 671 Loophole Hunting Aron had been spending more and more time with his family since he had decided to go to Proxima Centauri at the Proximians tree folks'' request, and that decision was further reinforced after the two-star systems were connected. An hour before, the Emperor addressed the Proxima Centauri exploration fleet. While the fleet admiral was sending out an emergency call order for the meeting Aron had requested and scheduled for an hour later, Ayaka was seen leaving the mothership and heading back to the planet, having been assigned another mission. Upon landing at the designated zone, Ayaka wasted no time. She stepped off the ship with a suitcase in hand and walked purposefully toward a lone tree. When she was about a hundred meters away, the lone tree began to shake and transform. Branches and leaves twisted and rearranged until a humanoid figure emerged, facing Ayaka with an uncanny valley smile. "Welcome, Ayaka," the humanoid tree said. Her tone and manner of speaking seemed to have evolved, as expected. She and her fellow root senses were spread all over the planet, allowing them to see and hear everything happening on the surface. As a result, the exploration fleet scientists classified the planet itself as a bona fide body of theirs, with anything on the surface akin to bacteria living on human skin. With those extensive senses comes information, with information comes data, with data comes experience, and with experience comes change. Im here because of this, she said, tapping the suitcase. A communication network has been completed between our two star systems, allowing for instant communication. The emperor wanted to see if we could use this new capability to meet your criteria or not. She finally got to the heart of her visit. Ooh, congratulations, Birch said, pausing thoughtfully. Ayaka recognized that Birchs pause indicated she was consulting with the other treefolks. As their representative, Birch''s official statements required consensus from the entire group. To Ayaka, this was just part of the usual process. After a brief pause, Birch resumed, While our criteria do include having a conversation with him, which your new communication network can facilitate, meeting him in person is also a requirement. As for the rest of the criteria, those details are still confidential since we have yet to reach a consensus on all of them. However, achieving those criteria will necessitate a face-to-face meeting. Birch''s response provided not only an answer to Ayakas question but also an insight into the tree folk''s internal dynamics. It became clear that they were not as unified as might have been assumed, revealing a level of internal complexity that could either simplify or complicate their children''s integration into the empire. But that doesnt mean we cant start communicating now, as our criteria are based on humanity as a whole, and this meeting might help us refine them, Birch added. Ayaka paused, considering the implications of Birch''s statement. The outcome of this preliminary meeting could either make the official meeting easier for the emperor or set more challenging criteria. She didnt deliberate for long before responding, In that case, let me arrange the meeting. Will your fellow tree folk be joining us now, or will you be the sole representative for this discussion? For now, I will represent them, but for the official visit, all of us will be present, Birch replied. Chapter 672 The Meeting Chapter 672 The Meeting Re?Ad lateSt chapters at Only Ayaka wasted no time and immediately logged into the VR, reporting the results of her discussion with Birch to the emperor. After logging off, she opened the suitcase, which immediately materialized a physical copy of the emperor thanks to the nanomachines inside it. The physical copy''s eyes had been closed since its creation, but they shortly opened, revealing golden irises as the body looked around, adjusting to its new environment. He extended his hand and closed it into a fist, testing the responsiveness and sensation through the nanomachine body. Feeling the smooth movement and the sensory feedback, he nodded with a satisfied expression. But that didn''t last long. I dont like this stuffy feeling, he thought to himself. Currently, he could be considered to have his consciousness transferred into this body, and as a result, he could only sense what this body was sensing. With it being a purely technology-based nanomachine, he wasnt sensing a single bit of mana or experiencing the monstrously expanded senses his actual body had developed thanks to the system and his bodys development. As a result, he now felt stuffy, confined, and as if he were missing a few senses. After enduring the stuffy feeling for a short while, he closed his eyes and accessed the satellites orbiting the planet. This time, he focused solely on those equipped with Henrys Eyes system, which monitored mana movements in his location. He immediately took that real-time mana data from these satellites and translated it into sensory information for his nanomachine body, simulating the experience as if his body were sensing the mana in its surroundings. This feels much better, he thought to himself, now that a bit of ease had returned. He could sense the mana in his surroundings, though not as clearly as with his actual body. Still, a blurry view was far better than having no eyes at all. This whole ordeal happened within just five seconds after he connected to the body, so to outsiders, it appeared as if he was simply getting used to the new form. Aron turned to Ayaka, who stood saluting him and nodded in acknowledgment. He then shifted his gaze to Birch, who observed the scene in silence, her curiosity evident. She offered no additional details on the specifics of their blind spots or the criteria for interactions, leaving it clear that such information was not to be divulged. Her tone indicated that further elaboration was not forthcoming, and with little visible emotion to read from her humanoid form, only her voice remained as a guide. Satisfied with the answers hed received, Aron shifted to his next question: What will happen to you once they wake up and join the empire? As we mentioned in one of our previous meetings with Ayaka, there isnt a conclusive answer to that question yet. We cant determine what will happen until after our face-to-face meeting, where we will decide based on the outcomes and agreements made, she responded with the same confidence as before. Since the previous report mentioned that a face-to-face meeting was required, Aron wanted to verify if this nanomachine body meeting would meet the criteria for questions requiring direct conversation with the emperor. It appeared that it did not, so he promptly removed those questions from his list. This list had been prepared with the assistance of Nova and Gaia, alongside the data gathered by the fleet through their diligent efforts and rapport-building. The conversation continued for the next forty minutes, evolving into a tit-for-tat exchange. After every few questions Aron asked, Birch would reciprocate with her own inquiries. Her questions varied widely, from directly mirroring those he had asked to other random or meticulously considered queries. It has been quite a fruitful meeting. I hope our face-to-face meeting will be just as productive, Aron said, rising from his chair. He extended his hand for a final handshake to bid farewell, as he had a fleet to address and give a holiday to. I hope the same, and I will be eagerly awaiting your arrival, Birch replied, returning the sentiment. Good job, Aron said to Ayaka, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Her usual calm demeanor softened, reflecting a sense of pride. Moments later, the nanomachine bodys golden eyes dimmed, signaling that Aron had ended the connection. The body entered automatic mode, walking toward the suitcase and returning the nanomachines to its storage compartment. See you, Birch, Ayaka said, finally breaking her silence. She picked up the suitcase and made her way back to the ship that awaited at the landing spot. Chapter 673 Easy Solution to a Complex Situation Chapter 673 Easy Solution to a Complex Situation Two weeks later. The fleet members had wrapped up their vacation and returned to their duties, brimming with excitement and enthusiasmat least the majority of them. The fleet''s exploratory mission was now in full swing once again. As usual, a meeting was taking place somewhere within the fleet, but this one was special because of one of its attendees C the emperor. Although the mission had shifted from a no-direct-contact protocol to an active-contact protocol, its core procedures remained unchanged. The only notable difference was that fleet members could now stay in touch with their families after their shifts. This meant the fleet continued to operate as a self-governing entity, with no interference from anyone other than the emperor. His oversight remained the only exception, and it would only extend beyond his usual limits if he explicitly stated otherwise. This rule, combined with the fleet''s unique circumstances, led to the emperor''s personal attendance at the meeting he had called. The other attendees were the same individuals who had been present when the connection with the star system was established: Ayaka and Fleet Admiral Bianchi. Let them keep everything theyve earned during their training period, Aron declared decisively, addressing what had appeared to be a significant and challenging issue. Why? Ayaka inquired. Wont injecting such a large sum of money into the economy all at once have a negative impact? There are none at the moment, Bianchi replied. However, the topic of leadership will be up for discussion following your meeting with them. True, it will be handled afterward, Aron said. From the report, it seems the leadership structure and government positions were selected according to imperial protocol. If they join the empire, their only requirement will be to swear allegiance. If they become allies, well just need to sign the alliance agreement as agreed. Its not a major issue. Looks like there are no more questions, Aron said. Then Ill excuse myself as I need to make final preparations for a journey. As he spoke, his body began to disintegrate, gradually disappearing from the meeting room. ............ Aron and Rina were seated in the cheering stand of a school football field, dressed in casual clothes. They watched with interest as children played football on the field, enjoying the lively atmosphere. Aron was there to support his brother at his request before his departure, making the most of the time with his family before his and Rina''s long journey ahead. It was a nice break from his usual duties and a chance to connect with his loved ones. Goal!!!!! Aron and Rina jumped in excitement as his brother scored, their cheers nearly startling those around them. The crowd, normally composed due to their presence, seemed momentarily taken aback, especially since his fabled security team was not visible in the stadium. Thats my brother! Aron exclaimed with unrestrained joy, his enthusiasm undiminished by the startled looks of those around him. He continued cheering loudly, his eyes following his younger brother as he celebrated, his smile beaming with pride and happiness. After a moment of exuberant cheering, Aron and Rina settled back into their seats, turning their attention to the restarted match. This was one of the final activities on their list before their departure, and Aron felt a deep sense of satisfaction for having chosen to be part of it.nE?w stories at Chapter 674 The First Step Chapter 674 The First Step Two weeks later. It had now been a month since the two sides had been connected, and the empire had spent that time efficiently setting up the necessary infrastructure to live stream throughout the star system. However, due to it coinciding with the Proximians finally awakening from their VR pods, the live stream was momentarily restricted to viewing areas of the star system other than the planet. This was to respect the privacy of those awakening, who would be in a vulnerable state. Despite this limitation, the live stream still attracted a few million viewers, eagerly watching different locations of the star system as the exploration fleet continued its work. Generally, such events would have attracted even more viewers, but a significant portion of the usual audience for this type of livestream was currently focused on something else. ........... High Earth Orbit. Outside Earth, a fleet of about a thousand military-style spaceships could be seen, their sheer number a testament to the empire''s might but also the importance of their mission. Among them, a single, magnificent spaceship stood out, its sleek design and imposing presence inspiring awe to anyone seeing it. Although it looked like a thousand ships were there to protect it, the central spaceship didnt appear vulnerable. Created with the latest technology in the hands of the empire, it could stand its ground against any enemies of a tier one civilization and last for quite a while against a tier two civilization. The same level of sophistication applied to the accompanying military ships, which were meticulously crafted and customized for the sole purpose of safeguarding the central vessel during its mission. Updated chapters on Your Majesty, all checks are complete, and we are ready to depart at your command, Dimitri, the highest-ranking Aegis member within the escort fleet, reported. Unfortunately for Aron, he was on an advanced ship equipped with the latest AI technology, allowing Nova to demonstrate her full capabilities. With Rinas orders, Nova immediately highlighted Arons cards, ensuring that the rest of the players couldnt see them. She then activated a small tractor beam to retrieve the cards and bring them in front of Aron. Aron looked at Novas nanomachine body managing the cards in her hands, sitting silently beside him, while its other instance of her was handing him his cards returning him to the game despite his attempts to end it. {Sir, it''s your turn,} Nova said nonchalantly, unfazed by the death glare from her creator, which only fueled the laughter in the room. Ill have my moment for revenge, Aron said with a tone of resigned defeat as he picked up his cards and continued the game, fully aware that his earlier attempt to end it prematurely had failed. ............. While the emperor was engaged in his losing card game, the fleet, having received the order to commence their journey, sprang into action. The mother AI of the ships began coordinating seamlessly, ensuring that the fleet moved in perfect unison according to the meticulously designed plans. Each military ship in the fleet housed a substantial contingent, with crews ranging from a minimum of one hundred to a maximum of one thousand personnel per ship. Consequently, the entire fleet comprised approximately eight hundred thousand individuals. The majority of these personnel were tasked with ensuring the security of the emperor and the accompanying members throughout the journey. Silently and steadily, the fleet began to break free from Earths gravitational influence. By accelerating steadily, they gained speed with each passing second. Although the solar system had an imperial government-imposed spaceship speed limit, the path ahead was already cleared, permitting the escort fleet to reach the maximum velocity of their ships without entering faster-than-light travel. Throughout this entire ordeal, the journey was being broadcasted through imperial channels, attracting hundreds of millions of viewers. Many who would have been watching the Proxima live feeds were now either bidding farewell or admiring the new classes of ships in the fleet. The fleet featured many never-before-seen designs, sparking curiosity among spaceship enthusiasts who discussed the ships'' purposes and specifications in the chat section. Meanwhile, others used the chat feed to express their feelings, whether it was love or hate for the empire, the emperor, or anyone else they felt compelled to address. This marked the beginning of the emperor''s journeya voyage that, if it proceeded without any issues, had the potential to transform the empire in previously unforeseen ways. Chapter 675 "Arise" Chapter 675 "Arise" About an hour after the emperor''s journey had commenced, the activity in Proxima A reached a dramatic crescendo. Ptssss, A soft hiss echoed as air escaped from a pod that began to open. The lid slowly rose, revealing a stunning dark elf woman lying peacefully inside. She remained still for a moment longer before her closed eyes began to flutter and then slowly open, revealing striking green eyes that gradually came into focus. Mh... she groaned slightly as she grasped the edge of the VR pod, using it for support as she shifted from a reclining position to a seated one. Although I believed it was real, I still had a slight suspicion that we were merely part of a simulation undergoing a test, she said, her voice initially crackling. As she spoke, her vocal cords gradually adjusted, growing clearer with each word, signaling their first true use after being constantly stimulated by the pod to prepare for movement when the time for their awakening came. Its good to be skeptical and question things, but what makes you believe that youre not in another simulation now? a voice from outside the pod asked, prompting her to turn toward the source of the sound. Ayaka, she called out, her voice warm with emotion and her face lighting up with happiness at the sight of her. Before I even opened my eyes, I felt a welcoming connection. Although I cant quite explain it, my subconscious knew this was the real world and was welcoming me, she continued, quickly gathering her thoughts and responding after her initial emotional reaction. Im looking forward to meeting you after everything is over, Ayaka replied with a smile, extending her hand to Rayyan. She had watched Rayyan grow from childhood to becoming the head of Proximas government. Ayaka looked forward to their future meeting, whether Rayyan would be part of an allied government or as a representative of the imperial government. This meant that their next face-to-face encounter would only happen after the emperors arrival and his meeting with the tree folks, which would be after six months. As a result, they would not meet in person for the next six months to allow for a smooth integration process without interference. All bases and infrastructure that were to support the exploration fleet personnel on the planet had been deconstructed, and everyone had evacuated back to their respective ships within the exploration fleet. Thank you for everything youve done for us. Regardless of the decisions that are made, I and everyone else will never forget the grace youve shown us. We will do everything in our power to return this favor to the empire, the imperial family, the exploration fleet who cared for us, and to you and Lee, who raised us as your own children, Rayyan said as she shook Ayakas extended hand. Her face conveyed the sincerity of her words, showing that she meant every bit of it. I appreciate your sincerity and hope we can meet again under the circumstances we both hope for, Ayaka said with a smile. But where is he? Rayyan asked, looking around as spaceships maneuvered, finalizing everything before handing control over to the awakened military personnel from among the Proximians. The admiral called him back to the fleet quite some time ago. I dont know the exact reason. Why are you asking? Did you miss him already? Ayaka responded, gently teasing Rayyan. I wanted to see if there would be any sort of connection feeling, since he played a significant role in our creation, Rayyan explained, blushing slightly from Ayakas teasing. Good idea, but it seems your hypothesis will have to wait until our next meeting, Ayaka said, glancing at the lander approaching to pick her up. It doesnt look like hell be returning anytime soon. She added as she looked at the glasses that informed her being the last person remaining on the planet, with the rest of the personnel having already evacuated. Chapter 676 To Leave or to Remain Chapter 676 To Leave or to Remain Task Force Teegarden. It had been more than a year since their arrival, and they had discovered two planets in the Goldilocks zone, both shrouded in nuclear winter as a result of a devastating war. This discovery marked the beginning of their exploration. Inside a private office, Fleet Admiral Jason Ryfczinski could be seen going through the final pieces of collected data from the entire star system. The majority of important data had been collected from the two habitable planets within the star system, Teegarden B and Teegarden C, both currently experiencing nuclear winter. Despite the primary goal of the exploration fleets being discovery, the selection of specific star systems hinted at the empire''s fervent hope to find intelligent life. Each of these star systems boasted planets within the Goldilocks zone. However, after meticulously searching every nook and cranny within the two habitable planets within the star system, they were certain there was no intelligent life remaining. All had perished either during the war or in the years following due to various factors such as hunger, conflict, suicide, and other causes. As a result, a major reason for this exploration fleet''s mission went out the window. However, this didn''t mean they stopped exploring. There was still valuable data to be collected, and now all the data that could be gathered was finally complete. Now, he found himself in a dilemma: should he continue the exploration mission until their expected time to return, or should he end the mission early and order the fleet to return ahead of schedule? On the two planets, everything was being collected either in its entirety or in select samples, depending on the nature of the material. In some cases, only a few thousand samples were taken. Things such as servers on the planet were collected in their entirety, while the bodies of the previous inhabitants were limited to a thousand samples per species. The remaining bodies were buried in designated civilization burial grounds on each of the two planets, where a memorial tomb would be constructed. These memorials would include inscriptions in the inhabitants'' language, detailing how they died. As for the water on these two planets, a million tons were being collected from each distinct water source, including rivers, ponds, and oceans. The stellar forge of this fleet was now operating at its maximum safe operational output, churning out containers and building a cargo ship specifically designed to store them. This new cargo ship was essential, as the current fleet configuration was not suited for this particular mission. "Now Im wondering if we are the lucky or the unlucky ones to have found life outside the solar system at all," Yassin said, observing the mayhem at the Teegarden B main planetary base. Containers were arriving, being packed, and moved to a waiting line for loading onto cargo ships once they were completed. "Im pretty sure the rest either find life at its infancy or nothing at all. If my guess is right, then we are lucky to be the first to discover intelligent life outside the solar system. And even if not, theres no need to dwell on it since finding intelligent life, even a dead one, is incredibly rare. Our discovery is like winning the lottery," Mpilingu responded. "Mpkhhhh," Yassin laughed at Mpilingu''s opinion. "Based on my calculations, there should be less than a one percent chance of finding life within our hundred-light-year distance. Since we are the ones who found it, albeit a dead one, that percentage has been used up. This means the chances of others finding something similar are even worse than the already small one percent." "I just wanted us to find a living version," Mpilingu said, revealing his hopes for the discovery of new life. "I wanted to see if any of our artists who created extraterrestrial life forms had hit the mark or if we weren''t even close to it." "Anyway, it doesnt really matter now. We need to focus on safe collection and evacuation without any casualties. I dont want our first death to occur just months before we return. I don''t want to deal with the bureaucracy or tarnish our safety record," Yassin said, his eyes fixed on the hovering holograms displaying footage of the ongoing mission. The holograms highlighted the areas with the most chaos, allowing him to intervene through the virtual intelligence if the monitoring AI missed anything, no matter how unlikely that was. He wasn''t leaving anything to chance. Chapter 677 Daily Briefings Chapter 677 Daily Briefings {Why not just kill them?} Athena interjected, offering her suggestion amidst the discussion. Although Aron was in transit on his journey, he wasn''t exempt from working. He was currently undergoing his daily morning briefing, which was being provided by the head of agencies AI. Currently, they were discussing how to deal with the people who had been exiled by the empire. These individuals were considered irreconcilable opponents of the empire, always on the verge of causing trouble whenever they had the chance. The reason they were discussing these exiled individuals now, despite their banishment a few years ago, was due to recent simulations. These simulations indicated that, given the empire''s rapid expansion and the sudden addition of ten billion people, all in their prime and of childbearing age, their population would increase exponentially. If there were no technologically superior civilizations to threaten the empire''s existence or expansion, by the time the exiles arrived at their intended new world, the empire would have already encompassed that area, rendering the exiles'' plans to rule themselves moot. "Although killing is the most efficient way to deal with these issues, it should be our last resort. If we resort to killing every time we encounter a problem, it will set a dangerous precedent." Aron said, shutting out that suggestion at once. {How about we opt for a secret open prison approach until all of the first generation dies out?} Niyx, the AI responsible for the intelligence aspect of the empire, suggested with a smirk, as if she had already pre-thought and planned this idea. {We could then gradually influence the changes in the people of that generation and the subsequent ones before making it seem as if the empire has discovered and annexed them.} Upon hearing her suggestion, Aron paused for a moment, considering it. Noticing her smile, he said, "I know you have a more detailed plan. Give me more details about it." Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com {As you wish,} Niyx replied, materializing a detailed map of the star systems where the exiled people would be arriving and starting their new lives at the center of the room. Everyone gathered around, focused with anticipation, eager to see where she was going with her plan. That situation pertains to the non-active groups, which doesnt require any immediate action from our side. Then, there are other groups attempting to use this opportunity to seize control of the empire. We are actively monitoring them with our AI and agents, and we will soon have a case prepared against them. Additionally, we are keeping watch to see if any other groups join their ranks before deciding on the best course of action.} "Keep monitoring them, but dont take action just yet. We should use this opportunity to let all of them gather and reveal themselves fully. This will provide us with a believable justification and evidence to address them effectively with the imperial government." Although they had brain scanners and other data-gathering tools on their hands, they couldnt use that information as evidence because it would require revealing the source. This sometimes necessitated making anonymous reports to uncover already known evidence. Additionally, some people with ulterior motives suspected the devices'' capabilities to read brains and memories, so they took steps to avoid detection. Now that they were taking action, there was no need to rely on that potentially compromised knowledge, as their agents could gather the necessary information from within. {I will do so,} Niyx said, then fell silent, allowing Gaia to proceed. With that matter addressed, Gaia moved on to the next topic in the briefing. Given the vast size of the empire and the nearly endless list of topics, not all of which were negative, the situation was manageable for Aron. His well-established system for selecting agency heads ensured that these briefings primarily informed him of ongoing issues and allowed him to decide whether to add anything or leave the matters to be handled by the agency leaders. Chapter 678 Arrival Chapter 678 Arrival Six Months Later. Throughout the journey, Aron dedicated as little time as possible to his official duties. Instead, he chose to spend the majority of his time with his wife and his friends, cherishing his friend''s rare physical presence together in the past several years. He also enjoyed playing games with his younger brother and occasionally had a talk with his parents, who were still reveling in their renewed vigor like every old person following the empire-wide rejuvenation program."I will do so," Unfortunately, no matter how enjoyable a semi-vacation might be, it eventually has to come to an end. No matter how powerful he was, Aron wasn''t exempt from this rule. His fleet arrived outside Proxima Centauri''s heliosphere, emerging from FTL travel and releasing whatever they dragged throughout the journey to be dealt with by the heliosphere. The fleet was currently at a full stop, as per Arons order. He wanted to test something. Mhh.... Aron mused with his eyes closed before opening them and stating, With this, I can say that the amount of mana in space outside star systems is constant. He had been testing this theory more than ten times throughout the journey, beginning outside the solar systems heliosphere and continuing randomly at various points, with the final test conducted outside Proxima Centauris heliosphere, leading him to this conclusion. As he hovered outside the spaceship, Aron turned his body using his spacesuit until he was facing the Proxima star system, which appeared like any other star in the sky if viewed from Earth. He then turned to face the opposite direction, towards the solar system, which looked equally insignificant. "We really are nothing in the grand scheme of things," he said slowly before he started moving back toward his spaceship, which immediately activated its tractor beam to catch and pull him in. After undergoing the decontamination processnecessary because, without a heliosphere to protect him, he had been directly exposed to everything the galaxy had to offer, with only his shield and spacesuit for protectionAron ordered, "Move out," as he removed his suit. I cant wait to meet them, Rina said with excitement. Although the Proximians had been fully revived and communication with their star system had been established, allowing for interaction between the two groups, the imperial family had yet to have an official meeting with their leadership. They were planning to hold this meeting after their meeting with the tree folk, as the outcome of the discussion with the tree folk would influence the environment of their official encounter with the Proximian leadership. At the same moment: Looks like they are finally here, Birch said from within the timeless meadow as the fleet entered the star system, passing through the heliosphere. He has quite an aura with him. Is this what they call the aura of leadership? Oak spoke, his voice deep and serious, a stark contrast to Birchs softer tone. His words were met with agreement from everyone. Although they couldnt perfectly visualize Aron due to his relative size and distance, he appeared to be glowing compared to the other humans on the approaching fleet. I dont think it has to do with his leadership or anything, Crabapple said, rubbing his invisible bearda trait he had adopted from the dwarves he had selected and created. Rayyan doesnt have anything close to resembling that. As the three were conversing, Mangrove and Cypress remained silent, simply listening to the discussion. The three had grown accustomed to this dynamic, as it was a recurring occurrence within their space. We should start preparing for his arrival since we promised to meet him personally, Birch said, immediately setting about constructing a massive palace for their meeting. Since the guest was special, Birch knew she couldn''t construct a palace during the meeting itself as she had done with Ayaka. She understood human etiquette better now and knew that preparing a grand setting in advance was the appropriate approach. The others didnt interfere with her efforts but sent a root each, which swiftly grew into a tree next to Birchs, ready to be converted into their humanoid forms for the meeting. These massive movements didnt go unnoticed by those watching the live stream, which had been showcasing different scenes of the star system, including the planet. The changes attracted a great deal of attention, as this particular scene had previously only shown a humble tree. They made it clear to everyone that the meeting was approaching with each passing second. Chapter 679 Eve of the Meeting Chapter 679 Eve of the Meeting The moment the fleet entered the Proxima star system, the escort fleet divided itself into four groups of 250 ships each. Three of the groups moved ahead, leaving the emperor and one group behind. These three groups rushed to cover the four sides of the star system, positioning the planet where the meeting would take place at the center. This strategic move was to ensure that they were always ready to deal with any potential threats to the emperor''s safety. At the same time, command of all the military forces that accompanied the exploration fleet was transferred to the Emperor''s Aegis leader, who also served as the Admiral of his escort fleet. This measure ensured a unified chain of command and prevented any misunderstandings, allowing for coordinated and efficient movements of the entire military force in the star system should any situation arise that required a unified response. .......... Sir, we will arrive in orbit in five hours, reported Admiral Dimitris, his hologram appearing briefly before the emperor. Thank you, Aron responded, and the hologram disappeared. Aron rose from his reclining chair, putting down the book he had been reading, and started heading to his room. Although he could experience everything in VR in a realistic mannerwhere the book could come to life as a world or even as a moviehe still enjoyed reading physical books in the real world sometimes. Time to start preparing ourselves, Aron said as he gently woke Rina, who was still sleeping. Already? she asked, still drowsy. There are still a few hours, but we need to be ready ahead of time so that when we arrive, we are in top condition for the meeting, Aron replied as he carried and took her to the bathroom to begin their preparations. ......... Change of plans, I will also be attending the meeting as per the elders'' orders. Start making the preparations for it, Rayyan instructed her secretary, adapting quickly to the new situation. Yes, ma''am, her secretary immediately responded, understanding the urgency in Rayyan''s tone. She had only witnessed Rayyan receiving orders from the elders once before, an experience that had thoroughly confused her at the time. Without wasting any time, she left the office to start the preparations for Rayyan''s attendance at the meeting. ............. Five hours later. Welcome, Your Majesty, Ayaka greeted the emperor, extending her hand for a handshake. Aron took her hand with a firm grip. Nice to meet you, Aron said as he shook hands with Lee immediately after his handshake with Ayaka. Okay, lets not waste our time or theirs. Im sure theyve been waiting for us for more than a year, Aron said, immediately getting to the point as usual. Yes, sir. Please follow me, Ayaka responded, moving aside and extending her hand to indicate the direction for the emperor to pass. They headed towards the hangar in the imperial vessel that housed the landing vehicle they would use to head to the planet. Aron immediately started moving, with Rina on his right and Ayaka on his left. They conversed, making small talk while walking towards the hangar. Behind them, a small entourage followed, including some of Arons security detail. The group was moving with a sense of anticipation and readiness, aware of the significance of the upcoming meeting. Upon arriving at the hangar, they were greeted by a beautiful ship already active and fully staffed, just waiting for them to board before getting to work. Without wasting any time, they all boarded the ship. The moment the doors closed, the massive gates leading to the outside began to open. As the opening widened, a blue shimmer appeared, holding back the air from being expelled into the vacuum. The ship slowly started hovering, then moved through the opening, passing through the shield seamlessly. Once outside, the gates immediately began to close behind them. Chapter 680 The Grand Welcome Chapter 680 The Grand Welcome After a few minutes of flying in space, they finally reached the upper layers of the planet''s atmosphere. The ship absorbed the impact seamlessly, its occupants not feeling a thing as they descended. The transition from the cold vacuum of space to the warmth of the planet below was smooth, silent, and peaceful. The planet is truly massive and beautiful in its own way, Rina remarked, gazing out of the ships window. Despite having seen it in VR, experiencing it in reality evoked a different sensation. The abundance of mana was a major factor in this feeling; both she and Aron were exhilarated, their bodies responding to the mana in a way that Earths mana was yet to match. This amount of mana feels like a dream, Aron added, extending his hand forward and then closing it into a fist. The manas influence was particularly profound on him, as his golden blood contained a high percentage of mana. As a result, at the moment, he was feeling constantly invigorated and in peak condition, a sensation he could previously only experience within mana-dense artificial environments back on Earth, like in his now decommissioned first ever quantum server. As they discussed their experience with the mana, the ship continued its steady course, and soon, the palace became visible in the distance, unveiling its grandeur. Looks like they really went all out for the meeting, Aron remarked, taking in the sight. Its incredible, Rina said, observing the palace''s design. The level of control they have over their roots is astonishing. Despite everything looking like a traditional palace with various colors and contrasts, its all created from a single root. Is it alright if I ask them about how theyre doing it? Rina turned to Ayaka, seeking guidance on whether it was appropriate to inquire about their techniques. She wanted to be respectful of their unique characteristics and differences, knowing that the tree folk couldnt be judged by human standards. Ayaka, being one of the few knowledgeable about the tree folk, was the perfect person to ask. You can ask them anything without worrying about offending them, Ayaka promptly answered. The only issue is whether they consider the question worth answering. From our previous meetings, weve learned that they might choose to answer or not, without explaining why. Looks like Ill need to gauge their mood before deciding what to ask, Thanks, Rina said, appreciating the advice. @Eldwood_Kaumehei: [@ahmed_94, What do you mean by that? I saw nothing about what you are talking about at all. Are you also one of those conspiracy theorists?] @ahmed_94: [@Eldwood_Kaumehei, I saw it because I had my stream zoomed and focused on his face, and it happened for a few milliseconds. It is one of the you blink, and you miss it type of action, but it happened.] @Nerdrage001: [@ahmed_94, Are you one of those perverts who simps for the emperor?] @ahmed_94: [Stop slandering me. I can and will sue you for that. If you dont believe me, go and take a look for yourself] @Fkuffy_Dog_Hugger: [@ahmed_94, Based on your reaction, it looks like it is true.] @ahmed_94: [Meet me in VR, and let our bodies do the talk like men. I sent you an invite and location. It is a fight to the death, and If you dont come, you are a Pu**y ] @Ertenal_Crusader: [@ahmed_94, Make the link public. I want to watch people kill each other for honor] @Thawk7678: [@Fkuffy_Dog_Hugger, You better accept it, or you wont live past it.] @Demonic_entity: [This is why I like the VR. Thank you, emperor, for the tech.] @Lenrad: [Hey @Nerdrage001, I found the man you were looking for here] Such discussions were rampant throughout the livestream. Even though the emperor and the empress had already entered the palace and were no longer visible on the stream, people continued watching it, eagerly awaiting for the results of the meeting. A few viewers briefly left the stream to catch a fight of honor, but they, too, were quick to return after a few minutes, eager to see what would unfold next. Chapter 681 The Meeting (01 Chapter 681 The Meeting (01) I know that you like for the official meetings to immediately get to the point, so lets go with that today, Birch said as they took a seat in one of the many rooms in the palace. The room was well-prepared, with amenities such as water and a few snacks already set on the table. Aron, Rina, Ayaka, and Lee sat on one side, while Rayyan, Birch, Oak, Crabapple, Mangrove, and Cypress sat on the other, facing each other. I would like that too, Aron said calmly, answering with confidence. He didn''t appear at all like someone attending his first official meeting with peers who could be considered equals in terms of leadership. If Rayyan''s government were counted as a separate empire, it would rival his own, at least in terms of population count, which exceeded that of Arons empire. In the past, I have acted as the representative for both the Proximians and my fellow tree folk. Today, everyone here will speak and represent themselves before we decide on the best course of action for our children. Rayyan is here to represent our childrens interests and ask questions pertinent to them. Her input will be crucial in our decision-making process. The rest of us will consider her input when we reach the decision-making stage. Thats our course of action. If you have one for your side, we would like to hear it before we begin our conversation, Birch said and started waiting for Aron''s response. From our side, my wife and I will be the official representatives. Ayaka and Lee are here as advisors throughout the meeting. Thats all, Aron responded. If there is nothing more to add from your side, we can start the conversation. With that, Aron left the floor open for the other side to ask the first questions since they were here to discuss them. Should we join the empire as citizens, what will our treatment be, and what leadership structure will be implemented upon us? Rayyan asked, taking the initiative to pose the opening question of the meeting. Rayyan remained silent throughout Aron''s detailed responses, occasionally nodding in acknowledgment. Although she was familiar with most of the information from previous readings, hearing it directly from the leader of the empire provided a different level of clarity and assurance. At that moment, she was satisfied with the answers she had received. What is the goal of the empire? Cypress, the creator of the fae or fairies and the only winged species among them, asked. At the start, the creation of the empire was an unintended consequence of a world war between myself and the rest of the world, which I won overwhelmingly. The cause of that conflict was our discovery of a potential visitor, whom we initially and are still considering to be hostile until proven otherwise. We recommended the formation of a unified force to confront this potential threat, and that remains our primary focus, including your possible role as allies or citizens. Our investments are centered on preparing for this threat, but if we manage to overcome it, our goals will shift based on the situation at that time, Aron explained calmly, summarizing the foundation and current objectives of the empire. Mmm, Cypress nodded, indicating her satisfaction with the answer she received. For me, Im curious about your so-called magic and the way you harness what you call mana. From the information Ive gathered through your peoples conversations, it seems that you only discovered it a few months after the formation of the empire. How have you reached such an advanced understanding of it so quickly, and how did you discover the different methods to harness and materialize its effects in the real world? Crabapple, the creator of the dwarves, asked, his voice carrying a hint of the dwarves'' natural inclination toward creativity and invention. That is because we, or rather I, knew about mana long before people began experiencing what we call the awakening or blessing, Aron answered calmly. His response, however, sparked a contrasting reaction from everyone on the opposite side of the table, including Ayaka and Lee, whose expressions shifted to one of surprise and intrigue. Chapter 682 The Meeting (02) Chapter 682 The Meeting (02) Seeing the room still in silence, indicating their curiosity for more details, Aron decided to elaborate. I received what you call a blessing a few years before the formation of the empire, he began. This gave me the opportunity to delve into the study of mana well before it became widely known. Coupled with my companys advancements in quantum computing and VR, I had access to time acceleration and advanced simulation capabilities. These technologies allowed me to effectively spend centuries, alongside my AI assistant, developing and refining the system from the ground up. We went through countless trials and errors, and I personally experienced many failures, including several catastrophic ones, before mastering the basics and discovering how to harness mana for various effects. Arons explanation was a blend of truth and strategic omission. He carefully avoided mentioning that he had acquired foundational knowledge from the system and that his wifes and his citizens'' awakening was the reason he bought it in the first place, since he couldnt use magic in that way and could only harness mana through runes that he had already bought previously. Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com Although Rayyan and the tree folks were surprised by the explanation, it couldn''t compare to the shock Ayaka and Lee felt. They had always believed that the foundational knowledge of mana was the result of collective efforts by many knowledgeable individuals who analyzed awakeners and used simulations to discover the basics and teach others. But now they were learning that all the foundational work had been done by the Emperor alone, over centuries spent by himself. This revelation greatly increased their respect for the Emperor, which was already immense to begin with. Does that mean you discovered the means to use mana of all different affinities? Crabapple asked, his curiosity yet to be satiated. "We will take you up on that offer. Now, taking over our children would mean you are also responsible for their protection. On what level are you confident in protecting them?" Birch asked, swiftly returning to the main topic, this time speaking not as a representative, but as the creator of the elves. At present, we are in the process of building a formidable military to ensure the safety of our empire. Should your children join us, they will be integrated into this military, especially considering we have a potential visitor on the way. We are confident that within a few years, our military will be powerful enough to ensure both our safety, Aron replied calmly. He then pointed to Lee, who now wore a look of surprise from the unexpected shoutout from the emperor. Also, if were talking about the obligation to protect them, arent we also considered another parent? Aron continued with a hint of humor, After all, the empire aided in their upbringing just as much as he also aided in their creation. A few people in the room chuckled at his attempt to lighten the mood, while others remained silent, their expressions serious. So it means that you cant protect them at this moment? Oak asked, his voice cutting through the lighthearted atmosphere Aron had just created, instantly bringing the discussion back to a more serious tone. I dont think you can take that from my previous answer. Although I mentioned that we are in the process of building our military, it doesnt mean we are defenseless. The level of threats youre concerned about is not beyond the capacity of our current defenses, provided we have early detection. Our military will be prepared well before any significant threat arrives, Aron responded in a tone matching Oaks seriousness. I dont think so, someone said, but before anyone could even care who said it, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM. Chapter 683 "........." Chapter 683 "........." While the meeting was taking place, the security forces of both sides were carefully monitoring the palace. Although the possibility of an incident was almost nil, they needed to be ready for anything. By the slimmest chance that something did happen, their leaders would need to be rescued immediately. This philosophy underpinned the current small contingents responsible for keeping an eye on the palace, while the rest of the security forces focused outward. However, the peaceful monitoring only lasted for so long. In a fraction of a second, two massive roots emerged from opposite sides of the palace wall. They spread rapidly, intertwining and clashing against the walls of the palace, enveloping it as if it were a cocoon. ....... There was a silence from those near the vicinity of the palace, but their surprise was more about the symbolic of what had happened. The sudden cocoon of roots meant that the emperor, his wife, and the leadership of the Proximians were now confined within the cocoon. BOOOOOOOOM. It was only three seconds later that they heard the explosion, which immediately brought everyone back to their senses. Four seconds after the explosion. Show me what the sensors are seeing, Josh, the head of the Aegis team assigned to protect the emperor on the ground, asked calmly, his eyes fixed on the now fully cocooned palace. Although he was asking questions, his mouth wasnt moving, and neither were his eyes blinking at all. Everything around him seemed either at a full stop in the air or moving in slow motion, depending on their relative speed before the shockwave. Time seemed to have paused for him, his focus solely on the cocooned palace, his mind processing the sudden turn of events with an eerie calmness. Alright, send this information to fleet control and request a few attack ships to breach that cocoon, he instructed, promptly deactivating the perception acceleration. Everyone to the ship! We need to breach that cocoon and rescue the imperial family! Josh commanded, swiftly organizing the security team on the ground. For them, only seven seconds had elapsed since the shockwave hit, making his analysis and response time just two seconds. Without hesitation, the security members rushed toward the ship, which was already hovering and approaching them to pick them up. The operation to rescue the imperial family was now officially underway, as Josh and his team were heading to the cocoon. Meanwhile, other groups were still in the process of assessing and reacting to the unfolding crisis. ........... In just ten seconds after the cocoons appearance, the fleet responded swiftly. Landers and attack ships were dispatched one after another, descending from orbit to support the Aegis forces on the ground. The fleets readiness was a result of their vigilance during the meeting eve when they were almost sure that nothing was going to happen, ensuring they were prepared for any emergent threats. The Proximian security forces were equally swift in their response. Responding within a few more additional seconds, they had formulated an action plan. Given that their ships were already stationed on the planet, they were poised to arrive at the scene ahead of the reinforcements coming from space. .............. The unfolding crisis quickly captivated viewers both on Proxima and on earth. Within thirty seconds of the incident, the live stream''s audience swelled to half a billion. As the situation continued to develop, the number of viewers surged by millions each second. Reactions varied widely: some watched with bated breath and concern, others with a sense of schadenfreude, while many tuned in purely for the spectacle, eager to see if the emperor''s fate would be sealed in real time. Chapter 684 Providing Justification. Chapter 684 Providing Justification. What is the meaning of this? Aron demanded, his voice cutting through the tension as he looked directly at the tree folk delegation. Instinctively, he had cast a protective shield around his group the moment he sensed the massive surge of mana. This swift action had caught everyone else on his side off guard, just as the palace began to shake and emit an ominous creaking sound. for new novels "Nothing personal, we''re just making a logical choice," Oak responded through his massive humanoid form, looking at Aron as if he weren''t one of the two who had just tried to crush them. Aron narrowed his eyes. "A logical choice? By attacking us during a diplomatic meeting? What do you plan to do after killing us? Im sure you know that killing me wont mean the empire will fall. They will not stop seeking revenge against you. Our current military is more than capable of that, Aron responded in the same calm manner, making the other humans in the room get goosebumps at his composure. Do you think Im worried about your little military at all? Why worry about something that we can already deal with through our people? Also, what makes you think that we were trying to kill you? Mangrove, the creator of the dark elves, responded, with him being the other person whose roots are currently covering half the palace. What do you mean by that? Rina asked, her voice sharp and direct. Why go to all this trouble if there was nothing to gain from you worth all the upcoming trouble? Oak responded, his humanoid body forming a creepy smile. Mangrove continued from where Oak left off, The ability to hide the amount of power you have indicates that you have enough power to warrant that, but also enough power to achieve the hiding to the point that we almost missed it. Although we planned this ahead of time, your response pushed us the final mile in giving us the confidence that your bodies can handle our full consciousness without us facing any limitations in our previous abilities. If it succeeds, we will have every bit of our powers and an empire under our control. And if you die, we can just create a body the same way we recreated Lees and put one of our people in it. What is there to worry about? Mangrove revealed their entire plan. [URGENT SYSTEM QUEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] Objective: Deal with the situation without killing the preparators and put them under your control. Reward for Fully Completing the Task: +2 of the system''s awakening requirements. Reward for Partially Completing the Task: 500 billion SP Punishment for Failure: - ] This was the system notification that appeared the moment Aron shook hands with the giant''s creator at the palace''s door, which left him puzzled about what the system required from him. Although the notification listed no punishments for failing, the rewards were enticing. Completing the task fully would grant him two of the five system awakening requirements, leaving only three remaining. This was crucial, as the system had hinted at a significant reward for fully awakening it. Throughout the meeting, Aron had been trying to discern the actual mission and whether it would involve confronting those on the opposite side of the table. He had focused on answering their questions to buy time for figuring out the mission. With the revelation of the preparators'' true intentions, it seemed the need for further investigation had diminished. I hope you dont regret this, Aron said with a serious tone before finally releasing the suppression he had been placing on himself. The gravity of his words was clear, and with the justification to act now fully realized, any sympathy he might have had was set aside. Chapter 685 FAFO 1 685 FAFO 1 Everyone in the room immediately felt a surge of pressure ripple through the air, making the atmosphere heavy. The sudden change took everyone by surprise, even the two perpetrators behind the current situation, as the pressure was more than expected. Before anyone could react, two shields materialized around Oak and Mangrove, confining them along with anything nearby within the oval barriers. In an instant, the interiors of the shields combusted into flames, incinerating everything inside within seconds before the fire stopped and the shield diactivated. Geett the latest novels at novelhall.com As the shields deactivated, fine ashes fell to the ground where Oak and Mangrove''s humanoid forms had once been. .......... ......... ......... The room plunged into a deeper silence as everyone tried to comprehend what had just occurred. Even Rina, his wife, was stunned, her mind racing to process the rapid and dramatic turn of events. The swift and decisive nature of Aron''s actions left everyone in a state of shock, their brains struggling to catch up with the reality of what had just transpired. Not even five seconds had passed between Arons words, I hope you dont regret this, and the two tree folks'' bodies being enveloped by a shield, then instantly incinerated and reduced to fine ashes where they had been. The remaining three tree folks were astonished, not because they didnt notice it happening, but because it occurred so rapidly that their perception lagged by a few seconds. Even after they perceived it, they couldn''t comprehend the mana disturbances aimed at the two, as it was something entirely new to them. A resounding BOOOOOOOOM echoed as he pierced through them. ................ BOOOOOOOOM. The ships that were amidst their attack immediately came to a halt. The sensors pinged the presence of the Emperor, automatically stopping the ships from continuing their assault to avoid harming him or anyone else still inside the cocoon in case a shot went through the opening he had created. The opening he had pried immediately began to heal, just as it had when they previously attacked with small-yield weapons. They had been cautious not to use anything too powerful, to avoid harming those inside they were trying to save. The fuck, a soldier involuntarily muttered. Although it was impossible to believe what he was seeing, his visor was directly highlighting the floating man, zooming in on him with a golden name hovering above him, clearly labeling him as the emperor. The surprise was shared by everyone except a few Aegis members monitoring from space. It was the first time the emperor did something that undeniably proved he was an awakener as everything in the past only hinted at it based on his reaction to the situations he found himself in. This revelation wasnt just witnessed by those present but also by more than five billion people from both Proxima and Earth who were now watching through the live stream. As for the emperor, he hovered for a moment, receiving an update on the situation. He couldn''t receive this information while in the palace because Nova had deduced that his discussion at that time was more critical than the current report. Chapter 686 FAFO 2 686 FAFO 2 [A/N: Get 50% off privileged chapters on Patreon. Details in the (discord.gg/pmDBYQ8un7) announcement.] ........................................................................................................................... {Thats all,} Nova said as she finished updating Aron on the situation. It had taken only a few seconds for her to do so since she delivered just the bullet points, and Aron filled in the gaps himself. Thanks, keep updating me on any changes, Aron said before looking down at the cocoon, which now appeared as intact as it had been from the beginning. It had fully healed and was no longer under attack from the ships, giving it a moment of respite. He waited to see if the cocoon would react or shift its focus toward him, but even after a few moments, nothing happened. {I think they''re still maintaining it to imprison her and are planning to deal with you first before returning to handle her,} Nova hypothesized to Aron. I would have done the same if I were the one attacking us, Aron agreed. He understood their strategy: imprisoning Rina would force him to fight while constantly worrying about her safety. This divided focus would make it easier for them to overwhelm him, allowing them to defeat him more quickly and with minimal damage before returning to deal with Rina, who, although hypothesised to be slightly weaker, might still pose a threat if he turned out to be more powerful. Then lets mess with their plan, Aron said, extending his hand toward the cocoon below. Shortly after, runic sentences appeared and activated, immediately forming a skin-tight shield around the cocoon. But he didn''t stop there. With his extended hand, he shifted his focus from the outer shield to the runes that were still projecting active shields around Rina, Ayaka, and Lee, taking control of them as well. The runes immediately had a few of their letters change. All three runic words projecting three different shields moved and joined, merging into a single rune. The new combined shield began growing while still in its passive mode, allowing anything to enter and leave freely as it expanded. It extended through Birch''s palace until it reached the outer side of the palace walls. Once there, the shield entered active mode, activated fully, enveloping the cocoon from the inside as well. Aron then turned to Lee, pointing at Ayaka. I need you to protect her while she heals anyone on the verge of death. Once theyre stabilized, they should be placed in a stasis pod for further treatment. Lee nodded immediately, understanding the urgency of the task. Turning to his wife, he added, I need you to assist me if they try to attack other locations. With that, Aron deactivated the shield, ready to address the next phase of their plan. As the shield deactivated, everyone inside immediately cast flying magic on themselves to stay airborne, except for Ayaka, who struggled with any magic other than life magic. Despite her ability to heal herself, no one wanted to risk unnecessary harm. Nova, quick to act, ordered a nearby shipAron''s personal vesselto deploy its tractor beam, catching Ayaka before she could fall. The tractor beam also latched onto the three tree folks and Rayyan, pulling them into the ship alongside Ayaka. The tree folks would use the ship as a base for communication, while Ayaka was to be provided with a newly created suit from the ship''s atomic printer, ensuring her survival for the demanding tasks ahead. Having completed his preparations, Aron turned towards his ship. Nova, connect me with all available government personnel who can assist with the situation, he instructed. {You are connected} Nova replied, linking Aron to the fleet he had brought, the exploration fleets military forces, the Proximian temporary governments military, the Proximian police, the Proximian fire department, and all Proximians who had opted for magic training. Despite being awakeners, not all had chosen to learn magic, preferring to focus on their individual interests. The live stream, now with eight billion viewers, was also set to broadcast his communications. I wont beat around the bush. I need everyone to work together to resolve this situation swiftly and minimize damage, Aron began, addressing all the targetted personnel, as usual, keeping to his word of not beating around the bush from the start. Chapter 687 FAFO 3 687 FAFO 3 [A/N: Get 50% off privileged chapters on Patreon. Details in the (discord.gg/pmDBYQ8un7) announcement.] ........................................................................................................................... I wont beat around the bush. I need everyone to work together to resolve this situation swiftly and minimize damage, Aron began, addressing all the targeted personnel, as usual, keeping to his word of not beating around the bush from the start. For starters, lets review what led us to this point when everything seemed cordial just moments ago, Aron began rhetorically. Before anyone could respond, a video played, showing the two tree folks revealing their plans to kill and take over shortly before Aron had taken decisive action against them. This revelation sent shivers down the spines of everyone watching, regardless of their power scale. None could match his speed and decisiveness, which was both awe-inspiring and intimidating. I understand that this video might seem abrupt and lacking context, but I wont waste time elaborating on it right now. The full recording of the meeting will be released once weve dealt with the current situation, Aron said, preemptively addressing any potential complaints from the Proximian side. He wasnt concerned about his own side, as everyone present, barring the livestream viewers who couldnt do anything anyway, were government employees. Now, for the Proximians, I understand that the sight of their actions might be daunting due to your respect for them or fear of their power. Let me assure you, I wont be utilizing either your forces or mine to deal with them directly. Instead, I will handle it personally. What I need from you is to coordinate with the remaining three of your creators who are aligned with me to minimize the damage and ensure your safety. I dont want their plans to cost you any more than necessary, Aron said, addressing any fear or potential rebellion from the Proximians by clarifying his intentions and emphasizing their safety. You will receive... Aron began, but he was interrupted by a sudden pause as he turned his head towards a distant point where the viewers could see nothing. I was wondering why they werent revealing themselves, he added, speaking in a lowered voice that was still audible to everyone. Youre making things harder for yourselves. Do you really think theres a scenario where you come out as the winners? about a hundred of the five thousand hovering soldiers spoke in unison. I should be the one asking you about the version of the information youve collected from both your people and mine. Did you ever see yourself winning? Aron asked, engaging in the conversation. He saw no harm in speaking, as the longer it went on, the more benefits he gained. This delay worked in his favor since the other side had all the time to prepare. While Aron was speaking, Nova tagged the hundred humanoids who spoke in unison. She pinged them with a single color, marking them as controlled by one of the two tree folks. You seem to have forgotten that there is a six-month buffer between us and your so-called formidable military that is still in construction, and currently, youve only brought about a million with you. One of us should be enough to deal with you, another group of humanoids spoke in unison. Thats why Im wondering why those three betrayed us. As they spoke, Nova quickly tagged this new group with the same color as the first batch, noting the speaking patterns and recognizing some from the previous group. HAHAHAHAHA! Aron couldnt help but laugh at the statement and the naivety of the two tree folks. His laughter seemed to irritate them. They immediately activated their magic cycles and launched a coordinated attack. BOOOOOOOOOM Chapter 688 FAFO 4 688 FAFO 4 Aron stood unmoving as his shield effortlessly tanked the barrage of attacksfireballs, wind slashes, earth spears, magic missiles, and lightning boltsall basic but potent spells. Despite the shield''s ease in absorbing the hits, the surrounding landscape bore the brunt of the onslaught, with the damage inflicted on his surroundings telling a very different story. The fireballs, each the size of a bowling ball, detonated against the shield, leaving behind craters several meters wide, some with glassy reflections at their centers from the intense heat. And that was just the beginningother attacks gouged the ground, leaving deep fissures and scorched earth, revealing the true power behind the seemingly basic spells. "Each of them should be at the level of the strongest known awakeners," Aron mused, assessing the power of their attacks as the first barrage subsided. He hadn''t just tanked the attacks for the sake of it; he was using this initial round to gauge how much mana each strike drained from his reserves, allowing him to determine the strength of each humanoid''s assault accurately. "Time to get to work," Aron said, shrinking the shield until it was skintight and then immediately springing into action. He vanished in an instant, and by the time the sonic boom of his movements echoed through the air, seventeen of the nearest humanoids had already collapsed to the ground. Some of their bodies were engulfed in flames, others frozen solid, but all shared a common fate: each had been sliced into at least seven pieces. As the remaining humanoids quickly spread out, they continued their barrage of attacks, each one more desperate than the last. "Futile attempts," a few of the humanoids taunted, their voices carrying a forced calmness. "No matter what you do, you won''t be able to take down all of us. We brought more than enough to overwhelm you, and anything you''ve destroyed can be replaced." Despite their confident words, the tree folk controlling them were beginning to feel the weight of doubt. Though the situation still appeared to be in their favor, and they remained convinced of their eventual victory, they were now forced to consider the possibility of losing more than they had originally anticipated. Their calm fac?ade was cracking, revealing the underlying tension as they watched Aron slice through their forces with unnerving precision. What gave them pause was seeing Aron effortlessly slice through the first seventeen humanoids, despite the fact that they were shielded at maximum strength. It was as if those powerful shields were nothing more than paper to him. Even more troubling was the realization that their humanoids couldnt keep up with Aron''s speed. This forced the tree folks to take action, using their main consciousness to guide the humanoids attacks. Yet, even with their intervention, the humanoids still had limitations, and despite their increase in awareness compared to previously, Aron was quick enough to evade and counter every strike, proving that their efforts were still not enough to stop him. Give me what you have so far, and continue to update me with new information as it comes in. I dont have time to waste; they might be planning something more. This cant be even half of what theyre capable of. {Heres what weve gathered so far: The so-called Timeless Meadow is where they gather mana, meaning their actual consciousnesses are spread far apart from each other. Their bodies are structured with layers of roots, categorized into outer roots, inner roots, and core roots. The strength and number of humanoids they can create depend on which root is used. The more powerful the root, the fewer humanoids they can create at once, as theres a limit to how many times they can split their consciousness. The outer roots are the weakest, and the humanoids youre fighting are from this layer. Additionally, they can use magic through their actual bodies, which would be stronger than what the current humanoids are using. We dont yet understand why theyre not using their actual bodies to deal with you.........} Upon hearing the last part of her explanation, Aron paused and said, Ask if the humanoids need to be controlled by the main consciousness or if they can act independently, as he grabbed a humanoid and used it as a shield against an incoming lightning bolt. {She said that the humanoids can act independently. But, they can also shift their focus to directly control the humanoids with their main consciousness.} They must be planning something, Aron said as he processed the information. Find out where the core roots of the two are located, he instructed, preparing his sword. As he held the sword with both hands and swung it in a horizontal, circular motion, he declared, Severance. Before the humanoids could react or question his unusual movements, all those at his altitude were sliced in half. Chapter 689 FAFO 5 Chapter 689 FAFO 5 As thousands of humanoids fell, Aron remained in place and continued his assault. Without pausing, he swung his sword again, targeting those at varying distances from him. No matter where they were, each swing resulted in the humanoids being sliced in half. Within thirty seconds, all the humanoids had been severed and were plummeting to the ground. Although they weren''t dead yet, they lay on the ground, struggling to regenerate. Only then did Aron lower his hands, small beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. The exertion of his effort had clearly taken a slight toll on him. He achieved this by applying a shield rune to his sword and adjusting it to be as thin as possible while extending its length. This transformation turned the shield into a long, versatile blade that he could control with precision. Aron''s deep understanding of runes, gained from his basic and intermediate runes bought from the system, allowed him to modify and adapt them to his needs. Thanks to the practice done by his clones, he could use this capability swiftly, even amidst the intense battle. He descended until he was just a few meters above the heavily damaged ground and extended his hand toward the thousands of regenerating humanoids, including those he had already defeated. A shield enveloped them all before he ignited them once more, reducing them to ashes. {Although there are roots underground, the majority of their core roots are under the ocean about 500 km from here,} Nova relayed, along with an augmented map for him to follow. Without acknowledging the message, Aron shot off in the direction of the nearest sea at full speed. As he flew, he activated stealth, vanishing from both the live stream and sensors, continuing his journey without any observers. As he finished speaking, a colossal magic cycle activated, spanning several kilometers. The massive shield materialized instantly, encircling Aron and leaving him no room to escape. You seem to feel invincible with your capabilities, but lets see how you fare without mana, the humanoid declared as it began to absorb the surrounding mana. Aron immediately attacked the shield with everything he had, desperately trying to break free. His efforts were relentless, but the shield held firm. Yes, struggle, struggle like the insignificant insect you are, the humanoid taunted while not even attempting to interfere. You should be grateful, honored even, to have your body deemed worthy of housing our consciousness. And yet, you dare to fight against us? As the humanoid spoke, the mana within the shield continued dwindling, and they dwindled to dangerously low levels, making his attempts to escape even more futile. As the mana continued to be absorbed, Arons attacks grew weaker until the runes outside of his shield deactivated, unable to sustain their function without the necessary mana in its surroundings. With his options dwindling, Aron descended slowly to the floor of the shield, finally taking a seat, his expression a mix of determination and resignation. It seems you were wise to replenish the mana within your shield before everything was absorbed, the humanoid continued, its voice dripping with arrogance. But now, I can either wait for the mana to deplete from your shield or attack it, forcing it to use up what little energy remains. he paused for a moment, relishing the look of despair on Arons face before he said, Yet, I am merciful. I promise a painless end if you deactivate the shield. Aron, visibly devastated, covered his face with his hands, his posture conveying deep disappointment and frustration at the situation. Or at least, that was the appearance from the humanoid''s perspective. However, for Nova, who was closely monitoring Aron through the nanomachines embedded in his clothes, the truth was different. She saw a brief, fleeting smile on his faceone that lasted only a nanosecond before disappearing, unnoticed by everyone else. Chapter 690 FAFO 6 Chapter 690 FAFO 6 While the humanoid was waiting for Aron to sink deeper into despair, Rina was also facing her own set of challenges. After leaving Aron, Rina had headed to the opposite side of the planet. Now, she hovered a few kilometers above the surface, receiving constant updates from Nova about the situation from the information being summarized by her, but gathered from every sensor on and outside the planet. She was on high alert, prepared for anything. Her clothes had already transformed into armor, opting for defense instead of a weapon like Aron, as she didnt possess his level of durability. {You have an approaching guest,} Nova warned as soon as she detected a humanoid closing in on Rina''s position. Rina didnt flinch as the humanoid approached, hostility evident in its movements. Her stillness wasn''t born of arrogance or ignorance of what Aron was facing; it was rooted in confidence in the situation. Seeing her lack of reaction, the humanoid dropped its hostility momentarily and said, It seems you''re already aware of what''s happening to your husband and have decided to make things easier for us. A wise choice. For that, Ill make it painless for you. Without waiting for a response, the humanoid surged forward at high speed, its right hand expanding like a blooming flower as it aimed directly for her head. Just meters away from Rina, the humanoid suddenly froze as a sharp **zzzzzt** filled the air. Before it could react, it was ensnared by mana ropes crackling with lightning, sending powerful shocks through its body and momentarily paralyzing its movements. That brief pause was all Rina needed. A fire whip materialized from thin air, lashing around the humanoid and attempting to sear through its body. However, the humanoids form, crafted from a core root, displayed remarkable resilience. The flames licked at its flesh, but rapid regeneration allowed it to resist being consumed. Yet, the relentless assault continued. Rina''s attacks came from every direction, trying to overpower the humanoid''s regenerative capabilities through sheer force. But despite the onslaught, the humanoid managed to hold on, its regenerative abilities keeping it intact against the barrage. The humanoid''s frustration grew as it continued to puzzle over how Rina had managed to conceal her attacks and movements so effectively, leaving it unsure of its next move. Rina felt a deep sense of satisfaction as her years of hard work and rigorous training began to pay off. Her deep understanding of mana, combined with the extensive knowledge she had assimilated from Aron and countless hours spent in simulations, had allowed her to refine her magic system. She had now mastered the ability to merge multiple magic cycle properties into a single cycle, activating them as one cycle. Currently, she could combine up to five different cycles into one cycle and the humanoid was experiencing the result of this advanced technique. The spell in question was an intricate amalgamation of five magic cycles: a shield cycle, a stealth cycle, an absorption cycle, an energy conversion cycle, and a mana cycle. This complex combination together with the attacks that delayed the humanoid at the start had been prepared before the humanoid''s arrival and rendered nearly invincible, thanks to thier stealth properties. The shield cycle generated two layers of invisible shields. When one was struck, the absorption properties took in the impact, which was then transferred to the energy conversion properties before the shield reached its maximum tolerance and breaks, the absorbed force was then converted into mana, albeit with significant inefficiency. This mana was then utilized by the mana cycle to maintain the magic''s integrity, supplemented by ambient mana from the surroundings. Her most notable achievement was the conversion mana cycle, a concept she had personally developed by studying Aron''s runic conversion techniques. With the help of Aron''s magic training partners and the ability to see things in deeper details within the universal simulations. She had spent at least twenty years in VR to create this cycle and although still rudimentary and inefficient, it represented a significant leap forward in her magical capabilities. Rina had hoped to further refine this cycle with the assistance of the tree folks, but their betrayal had complicated her plans. Chapter 691 FAFO 7 691 FAFO 7 The humanoid continued its relentless efforts for over two minutes, pushing against the shield''s limits in a desperate bid to exhaust its durability before mana could replenish it. Eventually, it stopped, sitting down in resignation, mirroring Arons earlier decision. Rina, having defeated her opponent in just a minute, felt a mix of pride and caution. She had managed to showcase her prowess, a result of her dedicated focus on mastering magic, something she had selected as her official duty as the emperor''s spouse. How many minutes have passed since we left the palace? Rina asked, her gaze fixed on the defeated humanoid. Despite her apparent victory, Rina remained wary. She knew this was only a fraction of what their enemies might be capable of. The information from the three tree folks on their side had made her acutely aware of the potential threats, so she stayed on high alert, awaiting confirmation from Aron that the situation was fully under control. {Nine minutes} Nova responded promptly. This should wrap up within twenty minutes before they resort to any desperate measures that might cause lasting damage to the planet and its inhabitants, Rina said, settling back into her waiting stance and bracing for any potential escalations. Simultaneously, Nova projected the situation on Aron''s side. Seeing his current predicament, she appeared neither surprised nor particularly concerned, maintaining her focus on the unfolding events. ................ The humanoid on Aron''s side, who had been observing Aron''s situation with detached interest, decided it was time to act. Th.e? most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m Lets see if you can withstand the same treatment youve given us, the humanoid declared, conjuring a shield that was roughly a meter wider compared to Aron''s still-active shield. It just alters a few aspects of the plan, but nothing that will derail it entirely, Oak said, his frustration evident but under control. He resisted the urge to take drastic action at ths moment that could damage the planet and provoke the traitors into action. Well handle them after the plan is executed, Mangrove agreed, his tone resolute. Lets begin, before anything else interferes. With that, they set to work, focusing on their preparations. ................ **Proimaxa B** From outside the planet, where the exploration fleets mothership was currently docked, now manned only by minimal security personnel and a few remaining scientists and researchers. The bulk of the military forces had been deployed to the surface to carry out the emperors orders. The escort fleet ships, tasked with defending the planets four cardinal directions against potential external threats, were still en route back to the planet. They had received the emperors orders just ten minutes earlier and would require a few more minutes to return and resume their given imperial orders. Bianchi, the fleet admiral, was diligently overseeing the fleet''s operations, issuing directives and managing updates for various groups. However, he was momentarily stunned as a colossal magic circle thousands of kilometers in radius materialized above the planet. The magic circle began forming a massive shield making it obvious that it intended to surround the planet, clearly designed to isolate it and prevent any interference from his fleet. Although magic circles activate almost instantly after creation and mana provision, their completion speed varies based on the scale of their intended effect. In essence, the larger and more complex the magic circle, the longer it takes to finalize the process. However, the shield''s creation didnt continue peacefully, as it was soon met with resistance. It appeared that someone or a group of individuals had moved to disrupt the process, actively attempting to dismantle the magic cycle before it could be completed. To these individuals, the shield''s completion threatened to complicate their given responsibilities significantly. As expected, they didnt remain passive and took action, Oak said, a hint of disappointment in his tone. However, the disappointment was short-lived as he continued, Then dont blame me for what Im about to do. His voice carried a tone of conviction, indicating that he was fully prepared to proceed with his next steps despite the interference. Chapter 692 FAFO 8 692 FAFO 8 This phase of the plan demanded minimal interference at the outset, as any significant disruption could jeopardize their objectives. The uncertainty surrounding how the remaining tree folks might respond to their actions added another layer of complexity. Anticipating potential obstacles, they had already devised strategies to deal with these powerful beings if necessary. And how do you handle three individuals who, if they interfere, could dismantle your entire plan? You create a dilemma for them, forcing them into a situation where they must choose between confronting you and jeopardizing their own interests or dealing with an immediate threat and allowing your plan to proceed, knowing full well they will pay the price later. It''s a classic rock and a hard place scenario. And they had billions of lives to use as distractions to divert attention from their true intentions. ................ {Sir, the giants and dark elves have started attacking everyone else. What are your orders?} Nova reported to Aron, displaying the unfolding situation on the ground and awaiting his instructions. Whats their take on this? Aron asked. {They mentioned that each of them can command the races they created. While issuing orders to a few individuals isnt a problem, doing so on a large scale would take a significant toll on them. They want to know if they should prioritize disrupting the shields creation or focus on minimizing damage to their people. If they choose the latter and the shield is completed, they wont be able to destroy or cancel it since it will draw on the planets mana for fuel,} Nova explained. Tell them to prioritize preventing any damage on the ground. The same goes for the militaryorder them to use stun weapons or inflict non-lethal injuries. I want to avoid casualties, Aron instructed firmly. He was confident he could deal with the shield if necessary, but that would be a last resort if his plan didnt work. Go help others who are near you, were the next orders he received from his elder. He immediately left his house and was met with a dwarf desperately trying to escape from a giant. The size difference between them was immense, and the giant quickly overpowered the dwarf, beginning to strangle her with all its might. Without hesitation, he sprang into action. With lightning coursing through his body, he moved at lightning speed towards the giant, aiming to shock her into unconsciousness. Thank god, he said, observing the scene. They seem to have lost some of their intelligence and are now fighting against the elders'' orders, making them easier to handle. He watched as the giant was enclosed in a shield, and he did the same for the dwarf, who was deemed unable to defend herself and would only be a liability rather than a help. Similar scenes were unfolding across the planet. The tree folks were concentrating their efforts on aiding those who couldn''t fend for themselves, as well as reaching out to isolated locations where individuals might be at risk of death. They also responded urgently to distress calls from their children in perilous situations, striving to rescue them. This immense pressure tested their concentration like never before, as they had to manage and respond to an unprecedented number of emergencies simultaneously. Meanwhile, Nova was working tirelessly to coordinate the military forces. She also directed the virtual intelligence to disrupt the giants and dark elves within the military ranks who were armed and posing a threat. The virtual intelligence deactivated their weapons or even turned them against their wielders. For some, tractor beams were employed to capture them. They were then placed in pods where stasis was activated, effectively putting them out of commission. While everyone was focused on their tasks, the shield continued to materialize. Within just five minutes, it was fully formed, enveloping the planet entirely and effectively isolating it from both the fleets on the outside and the emperor within, cutting off all external and internal connections. Chapter 693 FAFO 9 Chapter 693 FAFO 9 As soon as the shield was completed, the two tree folks began absorbing mana from both the ocean and the atmosphere now that they didint have to worry about interference from anyone. Initially, the process was subtle, but it was quickly detected by those with advanced mana sensitivity, and they immediately came up with a hypothesis behind this action. Looks like your magic system is designed for efficiency, the humanoid remarked, still engaged in burning through Aron''s shield. Despite their efforts, which had been ongoing for over seven minutesa duration long enough to deplete the approximated amount of mana in the shieldsAron''s shield remained intact. The humanoid could only conclude that the systems efficiency was the reason for this anomaly. They hadn''t considered that Aron might have a mana tank within him, enabling him to use magic even in areas devoid of ambient mana. This was thanks to his previous encounters and rapid attacks that had only utilized the surrounding mana, making them not even consider the other option. ''How many more minutes before youre done?'' Aron asked mentally. ''An hour at the earliest, if Im to do it without being discovered,'' came the response. ''Is there any way to accelerate it?'' Aron inquired. He understood that although he could continue feigning confinement, it would give the other side time to implement their plans. Additionally, it meant that the Proximians would have to endure dealing with their out-of-control compatriots for that duration. ''There is a way, but it requires a significant distraction to divert their attention so I can avoid detection,'' was the reply. This time, however, he wasn''t using the cylinder to descend to the ocean''s depths out of fear of being struck by the roots. Instead, he had a different purpose in mind for this action. Another fire rune materialized on Aron''s hand. This time, he didnt immediately deploy it but spent over thirty seconds fueling it with mana. Given the high density of mana in the planet''s atmosphere, this would be the most powerful attack he had ever unleashed. After thoroughly charging the rune, he sent it into the cylinder shield. Moments later, he activated it. ............ Anyone observing this, whether through the live stream or their senses, instinctively closed their eyes. The intensity was so overwhelming that it felt as if the sun had suddenly appeared before them. They could perceive nothing else; the shockwave and the explosion were entirely contained within the shield, leaving them in stunned silence. The shield contained the explosion and shockwave, trapping them within its walls. As the energy bounced off the shields interior, the pressure and intensity of the explosion increased. The only outlet was the bottom of the shield, where the roots were being incinerated, and the burning expanded to create a hole more than half a kilometer deep. This excavation also formed a massive bowl of molten mirror. Despite the shields containment of the explosion, the aftermath couldnt be contained in the same way. The detonation was several magnitudes more powerful than the Tsar bomb. As a result, the entire planet experienced violent tremors, with the underground shockwave reverberating around the globe multiple times over the next few minutes. With the ground shaking violently, everything within it, including the tree folks'' roots, endured the same tumultuous vibrations. If they had nerves, they would have been overwhelmed by the pain, but fortunately, they lacked such sensory responses. Nevertheless, the attack and the ongoing tremors provided a sufficient distraction, allowing Aron''s plan the freedom to do whatever it was doing without concern for discovery. The tremors were so overwhelming that anything else that might have been detected would be dismissed as part of the natural chaos, avoiding any suspicion. Chapter 694 FAFO 10 694 FAFO 10 Did you feel what I felt? Oak asked, his voice tinged with unease. As the tremors and explosions shook the planet, some of his core roots had disintegrated under the intense heat and pressure, beyond what they could withstand despite their strength. For the first time in his existence, Oak felt a profound sense of dangera sensation so foreign to him that he struggled to categorize it. Although Im not certain its exactly the same, I felt something too, Mangrove responded, sharing in the unsettling sensation. Like Oak, some of his roots had also disintegrated, but the feeling they both experienced wasnt merely a reaction to the damage. It was something deeper, something far more disconcerting, and it left Mangrove with a growing sense of unease. But weve experienced earthquakes beforewhats different about this one? Oak asked, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar feeling. Other than the loss of some of our core roots, which isnt too significant considering the end goal. He searched his memories for a similar reaction during past earthquakes, but since they didnt have such advanced sensations back then, he couldnt be sure if they had felt the same way before. The possibility that this strange feeling was related to the loss of their roots crossed his mind, as it was the first time they had experienced such destruction. However, he couldnt shake the sense that this was something more profoundsomething akin to fear, though he hesitated to name it as such. It doesnt matter, Mangrove replied, trying to focus on the task at hand. But it doesnt seem like he plans on stopping, and we cant halt the mana absorption now that weve started, or all the mana weve gathered will go to waste. While they conversed, a small portion of their attention was dedicated to monitoring the situation, including Aron, who appeared intent on continuing his destructive actions after the first devastating attack. The pressure was mounting, and they knew they couldnt afford to falter now. I have an idea to deal with him, but there''s a chance it could fail, Oak said, then quickly outlined the plan he had come up with. After explaining the concept, he waited for Mangroves response, giving him time to process the idea and come to a decision. Theres no harm in trying, Mangrove finally responded. If it works, it will benefit us. If it doesnt, we can stop what were doing and manage the loss after we deal with them once and for all. Birch remained silent, signaling that she, too, was interested in hearing what they had been called for. As youve probably guessed, were currently gathering mana to reattempt the creation of a small number of bodies capable of containing our consciousness, Oak began, getting straight to the point. Our offer is this: deal with the imperial couple and bring their bodies to us, and we promise to create a body for each of you to transfer your consciousness into. The meadow fell silent as Cypress and Birch processed the offer, weighing their options carefully. After a moment, Birch spoke first. No, thank you. Now, if youll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. Without waiting for a response, she immediately left the timeless meadow. "What about you?" Mangrove asked, not surprised by Birch''s decision. She had always been the closest to humans and Proximians, often acting as their representative. Her refusal was expected, and had she agreed, it would have raised more suspicion than gratitude. Turning to Cypress, the last of the traitors still present, he sought her decision, not planning to waste time if the answer wasnt favorable. "I''ll accept your offer," Cypress replied without hesitation. "But first, I need you to stop targeting my children so I can focus on him. Also, I want to be the one to keep the original body of his." Her expression remained unchanged as she betrayed the others who had just left. Mangrove and Oak were momentarily taken aback, a mix of surprise and anger flashing through them at her greed. But they quickly realized that in her position, they might have done the same. Cypress held the upper hand, and at this moment they needed her more than she needed them. "Fine, you can have it," Mangrove agreed, carefully masking his irritation. He knew that showing anger might lead Cypress to demand even more, something they couldnt afford. "That''s why I like dealing with you guys," Cypress remarked with a hint of satisfaction before she too disappeared from the timeless meadow. Mangrove and Oak immediately ordered their children to leave the fairies alone, keeping their end of the bargain. Chapter 695 FAFO 11 695 FAFO 11 Hovering above the massive cylindrical shield, Aron glanced at the timer Nova had projected for him. Only seventy-three seconds remained. "Let''s do it one more time," Aron muttered to himself. With determined precision, he moved the shield to a location near the previous one, preparing to unleash another massive nuke within the shield, intending to shake the entire planet once more. Just as Aron was about to begin feeding mana into the fire rune for another massive attack, thousands of magic cycles materialized around him. Each one was targeting him with a different type of attack, showcasing the full extent of the tree folks'' power when focused on a single target. That too can act as one, Aron responded calmly, his demeanor unshaken as the myriad of magic cycles closed in on him, unleashing every conceivable type of attack from the magic system taught to the Proximians. Lets make it a worthy final act, Aron said, resolutely choosing not to rely on his overgeared shield. Instead, he decided to face the incoming attacks head-on, aiming to make this confrontation a legendary moment that would be discussed for decades, if not millennia. He wanted to push himself to the limit and create a scenario that future awakeners could aspire to. {I will be supporting you,} Nova responded. She activated specialized nanomachines within his body, further enhancing his already extraordinary concentration. Time seemed to slow down around him as he began his preparations. Aron quickly set to work, activating hundreds of basic runes in his vicinity. As these runes came to life, he braced himself for the storm of attacks converging on him. The activated runes each had specific targets assigned and locked onto them, thanks to Novas precise guidance. Each incoming attack was met with a carefully chosen counterattack, tailored to exploit the weaknesses of the original assault. Fireballs were intercepted by water spells, lightning strikes by earth-based defenses, sound waves by silencing runes, and many more. The scene unfolded like something out of a high-stakes action film. Explosions of various colors and sounds erupted around Aron as his defenses neutralized the attacks before they could breach a two-hundred-meter radius around him. Within this protective zone, he countered any magic cycle attempts and defended against anything that emerged from outside. Before the tree folks could fully grasp their shock or react, they found themselves gathered in the timeless meadow, now with an additional presenceAron. This was a significant shift from the usual five members of their meetings. So this is what we call the timeless meadow, Aron said, offering a slight bow to the three tree folks who had joined him, each with mild smiles on their faces. But first, lets stop the chaos, Aron declared, extending his hand dramatically. As if responding to a universal command, he shouted, STOP. Instantly, the giants and dark elves ceased their attacks in perfect unison, as though they had received direct orders from their elders. Return to normal and help the injured, Aron continued. This command, too, was obeyed immediately, though this time the control over their minds and bodies was returned to the individuals themselves. They swiftly understood what had transpired, and without complaint, they began to assist the injured, working to restore order and bring the situation back to normal. The once chaotic battlefield began to settle as the combatants turned their efforts toward healing and aid. The tree folks stood in stunned silence, their mouths agape as they struggled to comprehend the spectacle before them. Their advanced processing powers churned relentlessly, yet they found themselves at a loss. No precedents existed for such a situation, and no viable hypotheses could be formulated. Arons actions defied all their expectations and understanding, leaving them grappling with the reality of his capabilities and the implications of what had just unfolded. The sheer impossibility of the scenario had rendered their analytical faculties ineffective, leaving them in a state of bewildered disbelief. Aron shifted his focus back to his metaphysical presence in the timeless meadow, his calm demeanor and serene smile contrasting sharply with the chaos he had just resolved. I can see you have many questions on your minds, he said smoothly. Dont worry, Ill answer them before delivering the punishment for the attempted betrayal. His words carried a sense of composed authority, as if the extraordinary feats he had just performed were nothing out of the ordinary. Some of the tree folks, still grappling with the enormity of what had just happened, awaited his explanations with disbelief. Others braced themselves for the inevitable consequences of their actions. Chapter 696 Aftermath I Chapter 696 Aftermath I Without hesitation, Aron conjured a screen within the timeless meadow, a space that functioned much like VR but was crafted from pure mana and guided by thought, allowing him to materialize anything he envisioned within it effortlessly. On the screen, scenes played out, showing Aron entering the cylinder shield and attempting to sever the roots with his swords, only to be swiftly struck down by one of the roots. The perspective then shifted to the viewpoint of the sword itself, revealing one of the core roots being used to form a humanoid figure. This figure approached, picked up the sword, ascended from the ocean, and deliberately shattered the sword before letting the fragments fall into the water. As the pieces descended to the ocean floor, they gradually disintegrated into microscopic fragments, invisible to the naked eye. These nanomachines spread out across a hundred-kilometer radius, infiltrating various roots. The infiltration process was executed with precision and went completely undetected. The nanomachines minuscule size made them imperceptible to the bodies they entered, bypassing physical detection. Magical detection was also evaded, thanks to active stealth runes, coupled with the fact that those being infiltrated were deeply engrossed in other matters, allowing the nanomachines to penetrate unnoticed. Upon infiltrating the bodies, the nanomachines quickly latched onto what appeared to be mana veins within the roots, allowing them to be transported to the nearest and most vital areas of the tree folks'' bodies. Once there, the nanomachines immediately began their work. Given that the tree folks'' bodies were composed of carbon and mana, the nanomachines activated their runic and carbon computing components, each focusing on overtaking a specific function. Although capable of operating independently, the nanomachines recognized that they were inside only five distinct bodies. Consequently, they established a communication network within each body, allowing them to coordinate tasks efficiently. This collaboration drastically reduced the time required to complete their objectives from what would have taken days or months to mere hours. For the rest, it remains in passive mode and is not affecting your bodies in any way at the moment. He paused to let his words sink in, his expression resolute yet understanding their reaction. Does that mean you have control over our bodies and minds to do whatever you want? Cypress asked, seeking clarification on the extent of Aron''s control. Aron nodded, his tone calm and transparent. For those with the system active, I can control their actions but not their minds. I can make them perform tasks, but I cannot control their thoughts or consciousness. However, I can influence the outcome of their actionsif, for example, they initiate mana cycles or perform actions that could be harmful to the empire, the system can intervene to cancel or alter those actions. Essentially, I have control over their physical actions but not their mental processes. Birch, clearly troubled, spoke up. I want you to remove it from us. Arons expression remained steady. Im afraid thats not possible. The system has already integrated itself into your bodies at a fundamental level. Removing it would require a complete change of body, as it is embedded in every fabric of your being. He paused before adding, However, you neednt worry. I dont intend to misuse this control. I value mutual respect and cooperation more than exploiting others. A brief silence followed as the tree folks grappled with the situation. Aron, keen to secure his position and prevent any potential drastic actions, quickly proposed, We can formalize our agreement with a runic contract. He then proceeded to explain the concept of a runic contract, why he believed it was essential, and how it would ensure that neither side could act against the terms without facing the consequences, thus providing a layer of protection and assurance for all involved. For Aron, trust alone was not enough; it could easily be misplaced in critical situations without concrete enforcement. So, he provided that assurance through a runic contract. Chapter 697 Aftermath II Chapter 697 Aftermath II Before the discussion could proceed further, Aron swiftly created three runic contracts outlining the rules for using the system within their bodies. After signing them, he handed each tree folk their respective contract to review and sign. They did so quickly, as the fear of him changing his mind and activating the system prompted them to act fast once they confirmed that the contracts posed no threat. The two traitors, who had been silently observing everything within the timeless meadow while being unable to speak or react due to Arons interference, expressed their frustration and shock through their eyes. Aron, having dealt with the primary concerns, then turned his attention to them. Now that we have established the necessary terms for trust, he said, addressing the traitors directly, we can move on to your matters. What are you going to do with us? Now that you can control our bodies, are you planning to make us your slaves? Oak asked, his tone and expression attempting to convey calmness and dignity despite his loss. Theres nothing you can do that will make us submit to you. I dont understand why those three have left you to your fate without retaliation, but I want you to know that beings like us are far too elevated to disgrace ourselves by bowing down to people like you. You can have control of our bodies but you will never have the submission of our minds Mangrove said, channeling his pride to mask his concern. Aron regarded them with a detached expression. Normally, matters like these would be handed over to the imperial justice department. However, since you are not part of the empire, I have the discretion to deal with you as I see fit. His gaze was almost dismissive, as if addressing overconfident children despite their extensive age. He continued, I will be using you to handle tasks that would normally require a powerful magic wielder, tasks that would have otherwise necessitated my direct involvement. Your sentence will have no set end, and only I will determine when your punishment is complete. He essentially banished them to a form of slavery, though he framed it diplomatically. While he could have inflicted pain as he had done with the spy who had attempted to kill him, he found that such methods did not bring him the satisfaction he anticipated. Instead, he chose to make use of their skills for his own tasks, effectively turning them into powerful assets who would excel in any mana-rich environment. {Its a new drink designed to counter headaches. By drinking it twice a day, you should have your headaches completely resolved within a week, compared to a few months without it. We are currently mass-producing it for distribution to everyone,} Nova explained. Thank you for that. But where is Emperor Aron? Rayyan asked, immediately after expressing her gratitude for the drink. She was puzzled as Aron had returned the control she gave back to her and then disappeared, leaving her to manage the recovery process for her citizens. Additionally, he had granted her temporary control over the imperial assets on the planet to speed up the process. {He is currently continuing the meeting with the remainder of your elders,} Nova replied, giving a short but concise explanation without giving more than needed information. Upon hearing the mention of the elders, Rayyan decided not to pursue the matter further, trusting that she would be briefed if needed. Given the chaos caused by the elders greed, she wasnt inclined to divert her attention from the recovery process to speculate on their situation. Nodding in acknowledgment of Novas response, she refocused on her work. Despite her curiosity about the outcome, she remained dedicated to managing the recovery efforts, still aboard the imperial ship orbiting the planet with the shield active. On the planet, ships were seen coming and going in a steady stream, transporting individuals to designated gathering points. Those with life-threatening injuries were directed to these locations, where they were promptly placed in medical pods for treatment. The scene was one of organized chaos, with every effort being made to ensure that the injured received the necessary care and that the recovery process could begin as swiftly as possible. Ayaka was seen tirelessly working with those on the brink of death, who wouldnt have enough time to wait for the medicines effects. Fortunately, the statis pods suspended all functions, including the process of dying, allowing her to stay in one place where all critical cases were brought to her. This setup also gave her brief moments of rest when needed. If credits were to be awarded, she would be among the top ten contributors, even alongside the elders, the imperial couple, and the AIs, reflecting the extent of her contribution during and after the crisis. Chapter 698 Aftermath III Chapter 698 Aftermath III "See you later," Aron said with a casual wave to Crabapple, Birch, and Cypress, before vanishing from the timeless meadow. They had finally concluded their meeting, which had lasted more than a day, meticulously finalizing every detail of the handover process. Surprisingly, the tree folks didnt contest the handover at all and instead directed their attention toward the next phase. Since their children would be treated as ordinary imperial citizens, that part of the process was relatively quick. What consumed the most time, however, was determining the fate of the tree folks themselveswhat classification they would fall under and what rules they would be governed by moving forward. After lengthy discussions, they agreed that the tree folks would be classified as "special entities." Under this status, they would have the freedom to do as they wished, provided they did not break the imperial constitution and sought prior approval from the emperor for major matters. Additionally, they would have direct access to the emperor whenever necessary. Beyond that, they would also be granted access to more information than ordinary citizens, particularly regarding government matters and the emperor''s companies, with the condition that they do not disclose this information to anyone. The part about information access was unanimously agreed upon, as most of the tree folks were eager to gain access to knowledge about mana. However, Crabapple made a special request to include information about Arons companies as well, driven by his curiosity. Aron readily agreed, but with one condition: Crabapple had to conduct all of his research within Lab City and grant Aron the right to use any discoveries made by Crabapple for his companies. Aron also agreed to purchase anything the tree folks needed from his own funds, as long as the requests were reasonable. This arrangement spared them from having to lower themselves by working or using their children as labor to obtain what they wanted. In addition to the benefits, the tree folks were required to participate in any upcoming situations that demanded powerful magicians. Their contributions would also be compensated once the situation concluded as that was the rule set by the government. Moreover, they were explicitly prohibited from using their children for personal gain or to the detriment of other citizens. Regarding the systems embedded in their bodies, Aron had already activated them but modified their parameters. Instead of being used to control or aid individuals directly, the systems now functioned as routers and access ports to the imperial network, including VR. Finaly allowing the tree folks to log in the VR and experience life similar to humans or proximians. His actual body was currently still hovering exactly where he previous was, above the ocean, as he had immediately entered the timeless meadow the moment he received the update that the project protagonist nanomachines had competed their job. {Sir, Empress Rina is still holding a humanoid prisoner and is seeking instructions on what to do with it,} Nova''s message snapped him back to reality from his focus on the system screen. Oh, where exactly is she? Aron inquired, planning to visit Rina. Once Nova provided the location, Aron took off immediately. This time, he was not in stealth mode, meaning anyone looking up would see him streaking through the sky at Mach 50. Normally, such speed would create a deafening sonic boom, but he countered this by activating a silence rune around himself, which absorbed all the sound generated by his high-speed travel. As he flew, he received updates on the planets situation. He was pleased to see that there had been no actual fatalities. The tree folks had prioritized rescuing those in the most critical condition, either shielding them or sending them directly to the nearest status pod. From there, they were transferred to Ayaka, who provided basic treatment to stabilize them until more comprehensive care could be administered. What is the mental reaction of the Proximians? Are there any signs of hatred between the races? Aron asked. {Since everyone knows the orders came directly from the elders, the anger has been directed primarily at the two elders who issued them. The absence of deaths has mitigated widespread animosity between the races. However, some individuals are experiencing guilt from having attacked friends, lovers, and family members. This feeling of guilt is expected to fade over time. A more detailed report will be provided later once the handover is complete and brain data is updated and analyzed.} Nova responded, supplementing her answer with footage that illustrated the current situation and the reactions described. After a few more seconds, Arons enhanced vision caught sight of Rina in the distance. In no time, thanks to his incredible speed, he went from spotting her to coming to a full stop directly in front of her, where she hovered, still imprisoning the humanoid. Good job, Aron said, offering her a hug. As he did so, he subtly deactivated the shield rune he had discreetly cast on her. Chapter 699 Reaction 699 Reaction While everyone on Proxima B was occupied with the recovery process, the situation was quite different for the watchers back in the solar system. They were limited to observing and reacting to the live stream, unable to intervene or influence the events unfolding on the planet. The live stream setup was sophisticated, featuring multiple cameras positioned in various locations. These cameras were capable of focusing on different significant events simultaneously, with the ability to zoom in on objects without any loss of quality, provided the objects werent protected by privacy laws. This meant the empire was employing military-grade surveillance technology for what was essentially a live broadcast. Numerous cameras were placed throughout the star system and above the planet''s orbit, ensuring comprehensive coverage. As a result, viewers had the option to watch the live stream from the same camera but see entirely different perspectives based on their preferences. The official broadcast provided a general view, while viewers'' personalized AIs allowed them to request specific zooms and tailored views that catered to their individual interests. This customization ensured that each viewer could focus on the details that mattered most to them, enhancing their overall experience. As soon as the situation unfolded, most viewers adjusted their interest parameters to focus exclusively on the ongoing events. Since these customized settings could be made public for others to replicate, the most popular configurations quickly became trending on the live stream''s parameter page. This allowed anyone wanting to catch up on the situation to select the most popular or detailed view, ensuring they could follow the events in the most comprehensive way possible. This led to a widespread viewership of the situation, as people everywhere were now able to see the full scope of events. Videos detailing the situation were quickly uploaded to every social media platform, allowing those who couldnt access the live stream in real-time to catch up through these recordings. The result was a global audience thoroughly informed about the unfolding events. ................... My expectations of his power were already high, but thisthis is beyond even the strongest I imagined him to be, Youssef, the Minister of the Exterior, remarked as he watched the live stream. His feed had all public limitations and blocks removed, supplemented by additional data from various sensors both on and around the planet that were not available to the general public. Im now wondering why he didnt interfere during the last world war, Jeremy, the Minister of the Exterior, mused, extending his thoughts beyond the current situation. He never needed to intervene personally. His position ensured that he wielded absolute military power, capable of handling situations from behind the scenes, John, the Minister of War, replied. He had joined them in watching the live stream, having seen the earlier discussion between the emperor and the tree folks before the situation escalated and the emperor''s decisive actions took place. He was the least surprised among them. Whatever challenges the emperor faced, he always believed the emperor would emerge victorious. This conviction was consistently reinforced by the miracles he had witnessed during his service. That is true, Youssef agreed, recalling files he had read from the omniscient perspective. Those records revealed how the emperor always held the necessary cards to resolve any situation but chose to withhold action until he had no other option but to intervene. Do you think they will now hand over their people to us, or will they turn into our enemies now that two of their elders have essentially been dealt with? Jeremy asked. Although he was not yet fully briefed on how the situation had been handled, he moved on to the next step, knowing he would be updated once the entire situation was concluded. Based on what we saw during the fight and the Proximians'' reaction to the situation, I think that even if they don''t join us, they won''t turn into enemies, at least, John said. He knew that although the emperor usually pulled his punches, he wouldn''t have left the situation unresolved. When the emperor acted, he always made sure to finish what he started to prevent any reappearance of the issue. Chapter 700 Preparations for the Handover Chapter 700 Preparations for the Handover A week later. Following a full week of recovery efforts, the rebuilding process for the destruction caused by the fights and the planetquake triggered by Aron was well underway. During that period, nearly all details of the meeting, except for a few classified points, were made public. Along with this, the announcement of a handover agreement was revealed, alongside the news that strict limitations would be imposed on the elders to prevent them from interfering in the lives of the Proximians, ensuring such an incident would not repeat itself. The news was met with overwhelmingly positive reactions from both the empire''s citizens and the Proximians. After enduring the recent chaos, many Proximians had been anxious that another elder might go rogue, plunging them into a similar situation once again. While joining the empire was already seen as a favorable step for them, the announcement that the emperor had made it impossible for the elders to interfere in their lives combined with the swift punishment of the two who had caused the turmoil elevated their respect for him even further. The emperors decisive actions reassured them, solidifying his already high standing among the Proximians. However, the official handover of the Proximian government to the empire would take place three weeks later. This delay was necessary for the paperwork to be processed and all relevant data to be analyzed and proofread before being officially handed over to the imperial authorities. Despite the formalities, there would be little change in the actual governance structure or officials in power, as all had already been selected according to imperial leadership guidelines. This ensured that the current government was composed of the best-qualified individuals, fully aligned with imperial standards. Are you planning to have those discussions during this period? Aron asked his wife. Yes, Rina replied. After reviewing your recent battle, I had some significant realizations. I want to explore those insights further with them. She remembered her astonishment at how Aron managed the overwhelming barrage of attacks so effectively, and it fueled her desire to develop similar capabilities in her own approach. If I can make a suggestion, you should start with Crabapple, Aron said. Hes the most curious among them and can explain things in the level of detail you need. Plus, he seems to be quite absorbed in VR. He shared this insight based on his monitoring of their activities over the past week. Ill keep that in mind. But what about you? Rina asked, taking his recommendation to heart while inquiring about his own plans during this period. I have some places to visit and information to review, but Ill be available if you need me, Aron replied. His plan during this time was far from the leisurely vacation he had described to his friends. He, too, had a mountain of tasks to tackle over these three weeks, though he had playfully framed it as a vacation. Their discussion continued briefly before Rina decided to proceed with her conversation with Crabapple, leaving Aron to focus on his own tasks. Once alone in the room, Aron asked, Did you finish analyzing the brain data of the tree folks? {The analysis is complete, and I think you should join me to take a look at it. I discovered something extremely interesting about them,} Nova responded, teasing an intriguing revelation without disclosing any details. Upon hearing Novas response, Aron immediately lay back on his bed and logged into the VR, eager to delve into the information. He didnt want to waste any more time, given the extensive period it took for Nova to complete the analysis of all the data collected about the tree folks. Lets take a look at it, he said, his tone laced with excitement for what he was about to see. Chapter 701 In the Beninging :) Chapter 701 In the Beninging :) The moment Aron logged in, Nova wasted no time and teleported him to a private simulation she had specially created for the event. "It took quite some time," Aron remarked as he settled into the chair she had prepared for him. Chee?ck out latest novels on {Since their brain structure differs from ours, and theyve evolved various ways of interpreting things throughout their existence, I had to restart the decoding process several times after analyzing each evolutionary phase. Theyve had quite a few of those over their long history,} Nova responded. As she spoke, she materialized visual representations of the distinct brain structures she had to decode, showcasing the complexity of their evolutionary changes. "Why didn''t you just use the little protagonists in our two workers to speed up your analysis?" Aron asked, puzzled by her decision to use a more manual approach. {The little protagonists can monitor and interfere with the brain, but due to the power level of the beings we''re dealing with, they can''t fully control them. Right now, all they can do is imprison their consciousness and use the body in place of the original owner by mimicking the brain''s signalsthats the extent of their current capabilities,} Nova explained. She projected a series of visuals, detailing the limitations of the little protagonists. {Even our current VR tech isn''t advanced enough to brainwash them. I had to rely on manual methods by analyzing their brain data and memories alone.} The visuals illustrated how, once a being reached a certain power threshold, the little protagonists became less effective, achieving only up to 75% control. Despite this, they were still able to incapacitate these higher-level beings, just not fully dominate their minds. "Yeah, and about that, please run some diagnostics on them and give me all of the weaknesses. I need to update them now that they''ve faced real-life scenarios, and we know their limitations," Aron said, mentally noting the need for upgrades. His drive for perfection stemmed from his long-term plansthese "little protagonists" were not just tools but weapon he intended to use against other civilizations. {Will do,} Nova responded promptly, creating a separate instance to initiate the diagnostics and begin the detailed analysis required for the updates. "Okay, show me what you got," Aron said, taking a deep breath to emotionally prepare for what was about to unfold. He knew this would be an extensive experience, sifting through what might be a massive trove of memories. Rather than assimilating the data directly, which could overwhelm him with irrelevant details, he opted to watch it first. Assimilation was reserved for vital information, and only if something truly important emerged from these tree folk memories would he consider integrating it later. {Since the memories span thousands of years, most of which involve long periods of inactivity while they waited for the results of their experiments, Ive filtered out all those parts. Ive left only the moments where something significant happened or where they were engaged in activity,} Nova explained as the environment around Aron transformed. Suddenly, the room shifted, morphing into a scene of nothingness. It was an empty void, the starting point of what he called "swimming" a way of experiencing memories as if living them. He could now immerse himself in these moments, becoming an invisible observer while also feeling the emotions and sensations tied to the events. The first memory began to unravel before him. The memory stream continued up to the present day, marking the end of the swimming. It was then followed by silence. {Whats your conclusion?} Nova asked, breaking the silence. ........... Aron remained silent, still processing the flood of memories he had just witnessed. Nova, recognizing that he was amidst his contemplation, waited patiently, understanding that he would speak once he had fully digested the information. After a few moments, Aron finally broke the silence. Everything Ive seen from their beginnings to their discoveries is pointing me toward something, but with the data we have now, its too early to draw a definitive conclusion. This will require a deeper dive before I make any solid assumptions. {I agree, but if you were to form a hypothesis based solely on the current data, what would you say they are?} Nova pressed, almost as if she was eager to compare her own analysis with his. Aron pondered for a moment before replying, Ive got three possible theories. First, they were created deliberately. Second, theyre the result of a mana anomaly, possibly evolving naturally from it. And lastly, they may have been birthed or produced by someone, or something, perhaps from this planetor even from another star systemand then sent here. His answer was measured, but he was curious now, sensing there might be a reason behind Novas insistence. {Looks like were on the same page. Although Ive come up with more theories than you, the most likely ones align with yours.} Nova responded, revealing her reasoning. Aron nodded, then quickly gave an instruction. Have the exploration team gather samples of the different levels of roots from the two tree folks. Well send them back to Earth for further research. I want to see if we can confirm any of these theories. {Ill handle it. And what about you? You still have a few hours before your scheduled tour of the planet.} Nova reminded him, aware of the timeline. Im going to start researching how to create a body for them. The goal is to see if their main consciousness can be transferred into it. If successful, we can perfect the body and have the two tree folks inhabit it, allowing us to use their original forms as research material. If not, well test the new body to determine if theres a distance limit for their split consciousness and, if so, how far it extends. Depending on the results, I have several plans for them, Aron explained, outlining his strategy and noting that he would need Nova''s help for the body creation. {Lets get to work then,} Nova responded, her excitement palpable as their surroundings transformed into a high-tech biology research laboratory. Bring me a copy of the two tree folks'' progeny and one of mine, Aron said, shifting into research mode and ready to dive into the project. Chapter 702 Two weeks later Chapter 702 Two weeks later Two weeks later. Aron stood calmly inside one of the physical labs on his ship, his eyes fixed on five medipods positioned before him. Holograms hovered over each pod, displaying streams of data being collected in real time. Inside the pods, five bodies lay motionless, sustained by a constant supply of nutrients directly administered to their systems. The pods were designed to keep the bodies alive while preventing any activation of brain function, ensuring that consciousness remained completely dormant. Although the bodies in the pods outwardly resembled the various races of the Proximians, the similarities ended there. Internally, their structure was much closer to Arons own physiology than to that of the Proximians or even humans. {I think thats enough observation. We should start the final etching,} Nova suggested, materializing beside him, ready to move on to the next critical step in their experiment. "Sure, lets do it," Aron said, stepping closer to the nearest pod. Immediately, runic sentences began to materialize in front of him. With each passing second, the complex runic script grew longer and more intricate, with hundreds of symbols and words flowing together seamlessly. For two hours, Aron worked tirelessly, constructing an extraordinarily detailed runic sequence. When he finally finished, he opened his eyes and asked, "Are there any mistakes?" {None,} Nova responded, having meticulously monitored and cross-referenced every symbol against the simulations they''d run beforehand. "Good," Aron said, a smile forming on his face. The relief was evident; a single mistake would have meant starting over from scratch, wasting two hours of intense concentration. The satisfaction of knowing everything was flawless allowed him a brief moment of reprieve before moving on to the next crucial step. He then began to gradually reduce the size of the runic script, scaling it down from occupying the entire room to fitting within the confines of the medipod in just a few seconds. But he didnt stop there; he continued minimizing it further. Alright, Im going to rest. Let me know when everything is done, Aron said as he started leaving the lab. Nova immediately locked the door behind him, securing the lab and preventing any disturbances during the final stages of the process. ............. The three tree folks monitoring the room exchanged knowing glances. Although their actions might be seen as spying, they were fully aware that the other side was well aware of their presence. They had previously made it clear that they could observe any location with mana within the star system. As a result, they came to the conclusion that the other side knew of their surveillance but chose not to interfere or show any concern. They reached this conclusion because his personal room was entirely unobservable to them, indicating that he possessed technology capable of concealing his activities. However, he had chosen not to use it for what he was currently doing in the lab. They really went through all this trouble for a body he probably would have just given them if they had asked, Birch said, shaking her head in disbelief. Well, we and they didnt know that at the time, so it wasnt something we could consider, Cypress replied, acknowledging the gap in their knowledge. Anyway, does anyone understand what he was doing with the symbols he put on the heart? Crabapple asked, shifting the focus back to the bodies being worked on. I cant even begin to replicate what he did or make sense of the symbols. I think it has something to do with managing or monitoring the mana in the bodies hes creating, Cypress speculated. Maybe its to control it or keep track of it in some way. The debate continued as Cypress and Crabapple exchanged points and counterpoints. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, Birch interjected, Why not just ask him directly instead of wasting time debating? We will ask him eventually, Crabapple responded. But part of the joy in research is discovering that your hypotheses were on the right track. Its more satisfying when the answer aligns with your own reasoning, Crabapple said as he rubbed his nonexistent beard.V/\Issi?T for the b/est novel reading experi/en/ce Chapter 703 Rebirth I 703 Rebirth I "Do you want to test it out?" Aron asked when the three tree folks used the access he had granted them through their contract to reach out with questions about the bodies he was creating. Birch responded, "We need physical contact with the body to attempt the transfer of our consciousness." "Thats an easy fix," Aron said, and moments later, the tree folks sensed his personal ship in orbit beginning to deorbit and head toward the planet. "Anything else you need?" he added. "What level of consciousness can it handle? Depending on the brain''s capacity, the amount of consciousness we can transfer will change, and I dont want the brain to explode right at the start," Crabapple asked. Aron considered the question before replying, "During the transfer of part of your consciousness into your humanoid bodies, do you do it by cutting a piece of consciousness and inserting it, or is it like pouring water, gradually filling it up until the body reaches its capacity?" Cypress responded this time, "We can do both, but we typically use the first method since we already know the amount of consciousness each humanoid body can handle." "Good. Start with the lowest amount you can safely transfer, and then slowly increase it until you feel the body has reached its limit. Dont worry if the body gets damagedI can remake them. Just dont do it deliberately, as youve seen the time it takes to reconstruct them," Aron said. As the conversation unfolded, the ship finally arrived and hovered above what seemed to be an empty ocean. Aron stepped out of the ship''s door, and simultaneously, the hologram that had been speaking to the tree folks vanished, replaced by his physical presence. "Okay, lets start," he said, as though speaking into thin air. Moments later, slender roots emerged from the ocean, gently floating in front of him, awaiting his following command. "Okay, you can open and move your bodies now," Aron added, giving them permission to start moving in their new physical forms. ......... Instead of eyes opening, there was only silence. Is there a problem? Aron asked, materializing a hologram to display the information from the medipods. We still have a connection, but it feels like were in a maze or sluggish goo, and thats hindering our progress, Birch explained. Aron examined the real-time brain data, noting that the brains were still in a "booting mode." Thanks to the runes, the consciousness placed within was attempting to reconcile with the subconscious, trying to blend the two parts into a single, cohesive entity. Dont fight any changes youre feeling, Aron instructed. Whats happening is the consciousness is integrating with the subconscious to operate seamlessly. Understanding this, the tree folks stopped resisting and allowed the process to unfold naturally. This continued for ten hours, with Aron and the tree folks maintaining their focus on the process. After half a full E-day, the bodies'' eyes finally opened. At first, they appeared lifeless, but then they showed signs of vitality as life entered them. Damn, was the only utterance from the two traitors, their voices tinged with defeat. Their hopes for the situation to unravel had not come to pass; instead, everything had worked seamlessly. Chapter 704 Rebirth II 704 Rebirth II This feels different, Birch remarked, her voice coming from her new body as she emerged from the now-open medipod. She experienced drowsiness and a headache, feeling unusually heavy, as if she needed more rest. Despite the discomfort, she was captivated by the sensations her new body provided. While she could simulate these experiences in VR, they were never fully accurate due to differences in brain data and insufficient understanding of it. Now, however, the experience was genuine, and she was engrossed in it, not caring about the drowsiness at all. Vi?Sit no(v)3lb/!n(.)com for new novels She realized she couldn''t ignore or dismiss these feelings; her consciousness was fully integrated with this bodys brain, making her as vulnerable and perceptive as any human or Proximian, or so she thought. Meanwhile, Cypress, though also adapting to her new bodys sensations, was focused on something else. She attempted to unfold her transparent wings, which were currently tucked against her back. As she extended them, they revealed intricate, glowing golden veins running through them, adding to their ethereal beauty and making them distinct from typical faerie wings. While Birch and Cypress were engrossed in their new sensations or exploring their wings, Crabapple''s focus was more practical. I can sense the mana inside me, he said. With this body, I believe I should be able to use magic even in environments that arent rich in mana. Aron, hearing Crabapple''s observation, responded with a smile. Lets test that then. Before anyone could react, the ambient mana in the room began to vanish. Within moments, the room was devoid of mana, as if it had never contained any at all. The tree folks drank the liquid, and within seconds, they felt the weakness they had been experiencing start to dissipate. Why didnt I sense any mana in this liquid, and how did it replenish our mana? Birch asked, surprised at the rapid recovery. Thats a nutrient-dense liquid, Aron explained with a chuckle. Your bodies are designed to convert any unused nutrients into mana, which helps replenish whats been lost. Its a reliable way to restore mana in environments where ambient mana is scarce. If youre ever in a pinch, you can also rely on consuming food found in the area to help with replenishment. All the tree folks stared at Aron in surprise, having never encountered or heard of such a system during their extensive information gathering. Their astonishment grew as they realized the level of sophistication required to achieve that. Over the next few hours, Aron meticulously continued basic testing of the various aspects of the newly created bodies. He focused on validating every detail on his checklist to ensure the bodies'' functionality and effectiveness before moving forward. By the end of this rigorous basic testing period, Aron had addressed all necessary basic aspects, preparing for the subsequent steps in their development process. Okay, lets conclude our basic tests for today, Aron said. I need to assimilate the necessary knowledge for your bodies so they can become fully functional rather than just meat bags. Since your bodies aren''t fully reinvigorated yet, theyll use this time to replenish and complete their calibration. You should be ready by the handover ceremony. The tree folks didnt resist and laid back down as Nova initiated their bodies into deep sleep. They began assimilating the prepared knowledge while their main consciousness returned to focus on the happenings of their new bodies. However, they were initially met with darkness due to the lack of mana. This darkness lasted only a moment before mana was replenished in the lab, allowing them to see clearly. With the immediate needs addressed, Aron left the lab to review the data and check on his wife, who had immersed herself in VR for research following her inspiring conversation with Crabapple. They could also be said to be waiting with anticipation and eagerness for the handover ceremony because they were eager to reunite with their new bodies, as they had become somewhat attached to the sensations and capabilities of their newly created forms. Chapter 705 The Ceremony I 705 The Ceremony I With time moving like a boulder falling from a mountain, the day of the long-awaited and much-anticipated handover ceremony finally arrived. Recognizing its significance, the event was declared a holidaythe first ever shared across all imperial territories. The excitement was palpable, and in front of the planet''s largest public square, located by the Proximian main government building, more than twenty million Proximians had gathered to witness the historic occasion. This number had been limited due to concerns over crowd safety; any more, and the event might have turned unforgettable in the wrong way. The rest of the Proximians attended virtually, watching the broadcast from the safety of their homes, eager to be a part of this monumental event. But the ceremony wasnt just for the Proximians. Nearly all the members of the exploration fleet, except for those on military duty, were also in attendance. This brought together representatives from both groups who would now be the members of the empire. The gathering symbolized not only a union of cultures but also marked a poetic end to the exploration fleet''s journeya rollercoaster of an adventure that would be forever etched into the empire''s history. The ceremony was moments away from starting, and the prominent guests had all taken their seats. Aron sat at the front, with Rina to his left and Rayyan to his right. Behind them sat the attending government officials, the higher-ranked members of the exploration fleet and Aron''s friends Some among the attending members were engaged in quiet conversations, reflecting on their journey, while others were content to watch the spectacular airshow unfolding above the crowd. The atmosphere was a mix of anticipation and awe, with a palpable sense of history in the making. ........... "How the heck did they manage to bring all of these here?" Lee asked in surprise, his eyes fixed on the sky, where an incredible airshow was unfolding. The spectacle began with an aircraft resembling the earliest planes from Earth''s history, followed by a stunning display of each successive generation of aviation technology. The show effectively narrated the human journey of conquering the skies, using the very medium to portray the technological progression that led them beyond Earth''s atmosphere and, eventually, to this distant star system. It was a fitting tribute to humanity''s legacy, as none of them would be here today if not for those early innovations. Last month, we faced a threat that challenged our very existence for the first time since we were left to fend for ourselves. This incident exposed our inexperience and vulnerability when compared to those closest to us. While the circumstances were beyond our control, we cannot use that as an excuse. Weve learned that the death of the weak often becomes collateral damage in the actions of the strong. However, acknowledging our weakness does not mean surrendering to fate. Evolution teaches us that when faced with overwhelming adversaries, a species can either strengthen itself individually or unite to confront the threat collectively. We have chosen the latter: to unite with our more experienced human counterparts and combine our strengths to face whatever challenges the universe presents. Our creation may have been a fortunate accident, but I sincerely hope this union will yield results as positive as the serendipity that brought us into existence, Rayyan concluded, eliciting a wave of thunderous applause and cheers from the assembled crowd. She waved to the public with a warm smile as she returned to her seat. And now, the MC announced, quieting the crowd for a moment, we will hear a speech from the Emperor of Terra, who will also be officially recognized as our emperor by the end of this event. The mention of Arons name was enough to prompt an immediate and enthusiastic cheer from the crowd. They welcomed him with a resounding cheer and applause as he stood and made his way to the podium. Had it not been for the strategically placed sound absorbers around the square to manage the volume, the sheer noise from the crowd''s enthusiasm would likely have caused hearing problems for many attendees by the end of the ceremony. Chapter 706 The Ceremony II 706 The Ceremony II "We are not perfect," Aron began, his tone shifting to seriousness after the customary greetings, causing many in the audience to raise their brows in curiosity. "As humans, weve fought one another. Weve killed, stolen, betrayed, and committed countless atrocities against each other." He paused, the weight of his words hanging in the air. People began to wonder if he regretted saying that or if he had been handed the wrong script. But Aron pressed on, undeterred. "Im not saying this to boast of our flaws or diminish humanity. I say this to make it clearwe are flawed individuals." He continued, "Yes, we fought each other, but we also helped each other. Yes, we committed atrocities, but we also did betterso much so that those better actions overshadowed the worst. And, importantly, we learned. We learned from our mistakes and took steps to prevent them from happening again, or, if they did happen, to minimize the damage." "This," he said with conviction, "is our only real advantage over youexperience. Experience gained through trial and error, from the time our species has had to learn and grow." He paused again, giving the audience a moment to reflect on his words. "Experience earned because we had to survive and thrive on a planet that often seemed bent on killing us, with bodies not built for the challenges we faced." T/his chapter is updat/ed by "Experience earned through interactions with different groups, with differing points of view, forcing us to compromise, to adapt, to grow." "And all of this," he said, gesturing broadly, "led us here, to this star system." He paused again, allowing his words to sink in. The humans in the crowd felt a mix of pride and reflection, while the Proximians were trying to imagine themselves in humanitys shoes, considering the long journey humanity had taken to reach this point. Why are you cheering? Crabapple asked, turning to Birch, who was enthusiastically joining the crowd in their celebration. Their new bodies had been returned to them just a few hours before the ceremony. After assimilating the knowledge Aron had prepared for them, they decided to attend the event as spectators, eager to experience life from the perspective of their children. Since the public was unaware of their new physical forms, and with no plans to reveal their existence anytime soon, they blended seamlessly into the crowd. My personality makes it easy for me to enjoy things, Birch replied with a grin. Unlike you, who would probably become an introvert if left alone. He chuckled and returned to cheering, blending into the energetic atmosphere. Crabapple sighed, glancing around. I wish I could leave, he muttered. The no-fly zone around the area meant he couldnt escape by air, and trying to navigate through the massive crowd on foot would take hours. Resigned, he settled in for the remainder of the event. The ceremony proceeded smoothly, with a series of pre-arranged acts unfolding as planned. First came the ceremonial signing of the authority handover, a formal moment that symbolized the union between the Proximians and the Empire. This was followed by a solemn yet powerful event, as all high-ranking government officials stepped forward to swear their allegiance to the Empire and the Emperor, solidifying the new era of governance. But the highlight came nextthe first official singing of the imperial anthem. As the voices of twenty million people rose in unison, the sound filled the massive square and echoed beyond. The sheer force and unity of the collective singing sent chills down the spines of everyone present, creating an atmosphere of overwhelming emotion. Whether watching from afar, through the live stream or standing among the crowd, the moment felt historic, as if it symbolized the birth of something far greater than anyone could have imagined. After all the official proceedings concluded, the ceremony transitioned seamlessly into a massive concert, shifting the tone from formality to celebration. The stage came alive with the energy of nearly all the Proximian''s most famous singers, each invited to perform for this historic occasion. The Proximians, along with the humans in attendance, joined in the festivities, dancing, singing along, and celebrating their new union. Chapter 707 Departure 707 Departure A week after the handover ceremony, the exploration fleet had begun the long process of packing for their return to Earth. With packing always taking longer than unpacking, it took an entire month for them to complete the task. Now, the entire fleet stood ready for their journey back home. {Sir, the packing is complete, and the time to move out is approaching. They are asking if they should extend the expected departure time.} Nova''s voice echoed in Aron''s mind as he stood inside the now-empty stellar forge. "I''m about done here, so well move out as scheduled," Aron replied calmly, finishing the etching of a massive rune around the wide opening of the forge. {Okay} she said as she sent the response back to the fleet admiral. "Boot it up and run a full systems check to ensure everything is working as intended," Aron ordered briefly, having completed his part of the work. The remaining modifications had been handled by the miniature atomic printer hed brought to the forge. Nova didnt respond verbally but immediately initiated the process, booting up the renovated forge and running comprehensive system diagnostics without delay. The? source of this conte/nt n/o/v/(el)bi((n)) During the past month, while the fleet was packing for evacuation, Aron had been tirelessly modifying the stellar forge into an advanced atomic printer. This printer would be crucial for producing arms and ships for the soon-to-graduate Proximian Ares trainees. With roughly 250 million Proximians currently undergoing training, the demand for weapons, military gear, and equipment would soon skyrocket. Not only would there be a need for personal arms and supplies, but the entire star system would require a new network of sensors, military outposts, and defense structures. Fortunately, the tree folk on the planet had stepped in to assist with building temporary military bases, ensuring that the Proximian trainees had adequate facilities for their training. The real, permanent bases would be constructed later, once the more immediate priorities were addressed. Without their help, the enormous task of constructing these bases would have been placed on the newly completed atomic printer, and it would have taken precedence over everything else. As the fleet departed the star system, nearly all the awake Proximians gathered to bid them farewell. They waved from the planet''s surface and from ships in space, sending their well-wishes for a safe journey back to the capital of the empire ..................... I didnt even have time to enjoy coming to another star system, Felix said, reclining in the lounge of the imperial flagship. Although he had managed to tour the planet in the last few weeks, the majority of his time had been spent ensuring the foundation of the companys new branch was solid. Thanks to the Proximians'' beliefs and personalities, the process had been surprisingly smooth and uncomplicated, but it left him with little time to fully experience the wonders of this new world. "You can come and visit anytime you want," Birch replied, smiling before shifting to a more curious tone, "But do you care to tell me how you know the emperor?" Knowing it would take them six months to reach the capital planet, Birch was eager to learn more about the people closest to Aron. She had noticed the bonds between them but wanted to understand their history. Meanwhile, the other tree folk, especially the traitors who had been given new bodies just a week ago, were still keeping their distance. They bore grudges and carried the weight of the humiliation they had faced. Crabapple was spending his time with Rina, while Cypress, sitting beside Birch in the lounge, observed Felix and Sarah with quiet interest. Felix, finding a welcoming audience, began recounting his story with enthusiasm. "You know, we first met Aron in a rather unexpected way..." He described their initial encounter, how he and Sarah had crossed paths with Aron, and the series of events that had led them to form a connection. The tale was filled with interesting anecdotes and light-hearted moments, reflecting the close bond they had developed over time. He spoke openly, aware that his story contained no sensitive information that could compromise any security. As Felix spoke, the others listened intently, occasionally interjecting with questions for more details. The atmosphere in the lounge was relaxed and engaging, providing a welcome distraction from the long journey ahead. Meanwhile, the fleet passed the heliosphere and seamlessly transitioned into faster-than-light travel. The vast expanse of space now stretched out before them as they journeyed back home, marking the end of an extensive and eventful Journey. Chapter 708 Summary Report Chapter 708 Summary Report December 15, 5 AE (After Empire) It has now been five years since the formation of the empire, and it has finally entered a phase of stability. No major obstacles threaten the empire, aside from the inevitable minor issues that arise. However, even these small problems are kept to a minimum and are swiftly addressed whenever they occur. With all citizens now relocated to fortress cities, satellite cities, nearby villages, and even the rebuilt former cities upgraded to fortress city standards, the empire could confidently claim it had completely eradicated homelessness. Due to the large number of newly built cities combined with the refurbished older cities, the empire was experiencing an overflow of unoccupied houses under its administration. In a fully capitalistic system, this surplus would have led to a significant drop in property values, as supply far exceeded demand. U//ppTodated fr/o/m However, the empire was not a fully capitalistic or free-market society. While the free market was allowed to operate in areas like business, the government maintained strict control over sectors deemed essential for survival, as outlined in the constitution. This approach ensured that necessities such as housing, healthcare, and food were accessible to all citizens, preventing the exploitation of basic needs by market forces. As a result, the millions of still-empty houses were not subject to devaluation. Instead, the empire set their prices based on factors such as size and location, but these prices remained stable, only adjusted for inflation. This ensured that even future generations wouldnt have to worry about the cost of owning a home, providing long-term housing security for all citizens, including children born generations later. Although the prices were regularly adjusted for inflation, more than four years had passed since the Fortress City project began, and none of the houses had seen any price increases. This was due to the empires meticulous efforts to prevent both inflation and deflation. The Trade Commission kept a close watch on Demeter Agriculture, ready to act if the company attempted to undermine competition or engage in anticompetitive practices. Unless the emperor directly intervened, the commission had the authority to address any violations and ensure fair market conditions. The same principle applied to all of his companies. Fortunately, the emperor didn''t need to resort to underhanded tactics, as he was always several steps ahead of any potential competitors in each industry. At some level, money now is really just like agreeing to accept children''s currencies, Aron remarked as he reviewed the yearly report for his companies, noting the staggering profits they were generating. Despite spending hundreds of billions on the House of Hope and the Coeus Foundation, it seemed like a mere drop compared to his earnings. {True, it is almost valueless since you can have everything you want without it anyway}, Nova agreed. At this point, anything he desired required something beyond moneySystem Points (SP). But that is only in the eyes of someone in my position; for everyone else, its everything, Aron said, reflecting on his past. He remembered his time as a student, about a decade ago, when he was on the brink of graduation with a massive student debt hanging over him. {However, that might change depending on how our faceoff with them unfolds,} Nova said, hinting at the upcoming event. She was referring to the approaching body now in its final phase of deceleration, soon to come to a complete stop. Lets hope its something beneficial for us and not just a stone cast into a now calm lake, Aron said. While he was excited about the prospect of something unexpected, he hoped it wouldnt disrupt the peace and stability his citizens had come to enjoy. Their expectations and hopes were different from his own, and he wanted to ensure their well-being was maintained. Chapter 709 Preparations for the Meeting Chapter 709 Preparations for the Meeting Imperial Space Agency. So, if they intend to stop, it should be within the next two months, Dr. Musa Aminu, the head of the ISA, said while reviewing the latest observation data. Over the past five years, the empires advancements in observation technology, combined with their rapid production and deployment capabilities, had allowed them to gather increasingly detailed information on the approaching visitors. Now, with precise calculations and high observational fidelity, they could pinpoint the exact region where the visitors were likely to pass through. However, there was a limit to the current mana-based observation technology. The approaching vessel continuously emitted mana, and when combined with the ambient mana present in the void between heliosphere-protected star systems, this made it impossible to capture a detailed image of the vessel. As a result, they would have to rely on visual observation when the vessel came closer to gather more precise details. "Are we really just going to sit back and let them do whatever they want while we watch?" one of the attending scientists asked Dr. Musa. Dr. Musa replied, "That''s not my call to make. My responsibility is to report this to the emperor during the upcoming Imperial Council meeting. He will decide what course of action we take." He paused briefly before continuing, "However, if you have any suggestions for how we should handle this, now is the time to share them. I''ll present them to the emperor to provide him with options." He opened the floor, inviting suggestions from the group. With the stage now open, members of the Imperial Space Agency began offering their suggestions one after another. Ideas were discussed openly, with participants debating their merits without concern for how foolish any might seem. After all, it would only be the Agency head and vice heads who would ultimately report to the emperor, not them. This environment allowed for creative, sometimes unconventional proposals, as everyone was focused on exploring every possibility, knowing that the final decision lay with higher authorities. ................ "They have no idea were here," whispered one of the junior officers, awe in his voice as their ship crept closer and closer to the ship whilst in stealth mode. But then, something changed. A pulse came from the alien ship, and a sudden, inexplicable wave of energy washed over their ship. The lights flickered. Instruments went haywire. ................ Aron was seated in his office, which remained in the same temporary cube as the construction of the new imperial palace had only begun a few months ago. Given the project''s scale, it would take several years to complete. Brother, why did you call for me? Henry asked as he entered the room. At eighteen, Henry had grown noticeably taller and was beginning to resemble a younger version of Aron, with his recent growth spurt marking his transition into adolescence. Ive called you because now that youre eighteen and considered an adult, its time for you to start familiarizing yourself with the workings of the government. Youll be attending the Imperial Council meeting with me, Aron explained, gesturing to the stack of papers in his hands. The papers were made from nanomachines, which allowed them to function like holograms while still providing the tactile feel of paper. Brother, youre going to be around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Cant I just focus on what I love? Plus, you could always have a child to take my place if needed. I really dont want to deal with government matters, Henry said, his expression serious about his reluctance to assume a political role. Aron listened to Henrys response with an understanding expression before asking, So, you dont want to take my place in the future? Not really. Why tie myself down with such responsibilities when I could be doing what I love? Henry replied. I understand your reluctance. However, as the only direct heir and the current crown prince, its important for you to at least attend this meeting and see how things are handled. You can decide later if you want to continue in this role or not, Aron said, making it clear he wasnt trying to force Henry into a position he wasnt comfortable with. There was no urgency; he wanted Henry to be informed and prepared, but the choice was ultimately his. Okay, Ill attend, but I dont need to prepare anything to speak, right? Henry asked, wanting to know if he needed to be ready to say anything. No, unless you have a suggestion or something specific to discuss, you wont need to speak. Youll mostly be observing, Aron replied, reassuring him. While the opportunity for Henry to learn was a significant reason for his attendance, this particular meeting was set to address a crucial issue. Aron wanted Henry to be present not only to gain insights but also to be fully informed about the important matters at hand. Understanding these key issues would help Henry make an informed decision about his future role, as knowledge and context often influence our choices. Chapter 710 The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting I Chapter 710 The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting I As the days passed, the day of the Imperial Council meeting finally arrived. Inside the VR Imperial Palace''s grand Emperors Council Chamber. One by one, the heads and vice heads of imperial agencies began to appear. Within just five minutes, all of the required officials were presentmore than half an hour before the meeting''s official start time. Since the first council meeting, seating had always operated on a first-come, first-served basis, and this tradition was well-respected. With everyone arriving so early, the room was filled with quiet conversations and activity. The officials used the extra time to prepare, run final checks on their materials, and engage in light discussions with those seated nearby. It was a calm before the storm of important decisions and discussions, as they waited for the meeting to formally begin. There was no chaos or disruption as the attendees conversed calmly with one another, fully aware of the need to uphold the dignity of the council chamber. Their measured tones were not just out of respect for the setting, but also because the meeting was being broadcast live across the entire empire. Viewers had the ability to tune in and focus on any part of the conversation simply by highlighting specific sections of the stream. The Proximian heads of agencies blended in seamlessly with their human counterparts. The only exception was the giants, whose sheer size naturally made them stand out. However, even they didnt appear out of place. This was far from their first council meeting, and they had become well-versed in the formalities and expectations of the process. Despite their imposing presence, they carried themselves with the same decorum as the rest of the assembly, waiting for the meeting to officially commence. As the final minute ticked down, the emperor made his entrance into the chamber, commanding immediate attention. This time, however, he wasnt alonehis younger brother accompanied him, a sight that took both the officials present and the empires live audience by surprise. Whispers of curiosity rippled through the crowd, but the surprise was short-lived. "Ministers, councilors, and imperial citizens, good morning, afternoon, and evening. Today marks almost six years since the foundation of the Terran Empire. At our very first council meeting, I said, After every trial comes an opportunity, as a wise man once said in the past, and that is on display before us already. And better things are on the horizon, as well. The last three years have embodied that sentiment in ways beyond expectation. We began by addressing the most pressing concerneliminating health problemsand swiftly moved to ensure that the basic human needs of our citizens were met. From food to shelter, from education to reducing crimes, we have made leaps that few could have imagined when this journey began. We cannot express enough how fulfilled We are to see that the vision We laid out for this empire has been realized even faster than projected. This rapid progress has allowed our citizens to live their lives without the burdens that once weighed on them. A life of ease and opportunity is no longer a dream but a reality, and for that, We stand before you with immense gratitude and pride in all that has been accomplished." Aron paused briefly, allowing the significance of those words to sink in before continuing his address. nt of happiness should not become a place of rest. There remains an unresolved matterone that has been with us from the beginning and, in many ways, served as the catalyst for the war that led to the foundation of this empire. It is a question mark that still looms large over us, and until it is answered, we cannot truly say we have entered an era of peace and prosperity. Though we are gathered here today to hear progress reports from all agencies, the majority of our focus must center on the progress weve made in addressing this matter. Our citizens look to us for reassurance, for calm, and as a reminder of the promise We made to themthat we would be ready for the arrival of the visitors within a five-year period. With that, We conclude this address and yield the floor to the agenda of this imperial council." With those final words, Aron turned and made his way back to his throne as the podium seamlessly returned to its original form, once again a simple table.Upstodatee from Chapter 711 The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting II Chapter 711 The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting II As Aron settled into his seat, the sound of applause filled the council chamber. The ministers and councilors rose to their feet in unison, clapping enthusiastically in recognition of the emperor''s speech. Gaia, maintaining her usual composed demeanor, raised her hand, motioning for silence. Gradually, the applause quieted, and the chamber returned to its calm, formal atmosphere. {Thank you, everyone,} Gaia said, her voice gentle but commanding. {Now, well begin with the first item on the agenda. The Imperial Health Agency. Councilor Ross, the floor is yours.} A podium was elevated in front of Councilor Nathan Ross, who then rose from his seat to present his agency''s progress report. Having successfully established a solution for maintaining the health of our citizens, our agency has transitioned its focus. We are now concentrating on researching the distinctions between humans and Proximians, aiming to leverage these differences to enhance the well-being of all races within the empire. He got straight to the point without any pleasantries, as Gaia had made it clear during the first council meeting that the emperor preferred directness and efficiency. Councilor Ross, being the first to experience this directive, adhered to the practice from the very beginning. This research has the potential to unlock a deeper understanding of interspecies health and adaptability, ensuring that the health standards weve set extend to every individual in the empire, regardless of origin. Our research in these areas has yielded significant advancements, with several minor but positive outcomes already achieved. However, we anticipate that it will take a few more years to realize major results. We are proceeding cautiously to ensure that any beneficial findings are implemented safely, with no harm coming to our citizens as a result of our research. Thanks to the monopolization of material production by Hephaestus Industries and Manufacturing, which operates predominantly in outer space, and the implementation of carbon-neutral fuels across various industries on Earth, Im pleased to report that we have successfully met our goal. We are now producing fewer greenhouse gases than we can absorb with our atmospheric absorbers and the natural vegetation on the planet. Councilor Bauer continued for about ten more minutes, detailing the progress made in reversing the environmental damage inflicted on Earth since the Industrial Revolution. His report primarily focused on Earths recovery efforts, given that the majority of their work remained on the home planet. The Imperial Environmental Agencys involvement with Proxima Centauri B was relatively minor at this stage, as the atmosphere there had not yet suffered significant damage. A majority of their role on Proxima Centauri B mainly involved collaborating with the Health Agency to monitor the introduction of new species and their impact on the planets ecosystem. Thats all from my agency. Thank you for your attention. He said once he was done delivering his report before returning to take his seat in order to allow for the next person to start delivering their report. Gaia efficiently called upon the next counselor without delay, ensuring the meeting proceeded smoothly. One by one, the agency heads rose to deliver their reports, each providing updates on their respective projects. The session continued without breaks or significant pauses, a testament to the gravity of the occasion and the presence of the emperor. Arons expression remained impassive, his attention unwavering throughout the lengthy council session. The same could be said for his younger brother, Henry, who, despite his usual tendencies toward laziness, displayed a notable shift in demeanor. Understanding the gravity of the situation, he set aside his typical reluctance and remained resolute throughout the meeting. His genetic enhancements, coupled with the meeting being in a VR environment, enabled him to maintain a high level of concentration from the start of the session. Chapter 712 The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting III Chapter 712 The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting III The reporting proceeded swiftly, with many agencies delivering concise updates. As most of these agencies operated on a day-to-day basis, they had few long-term projects to discuss. Some had already achieved their major objectives, allowing them to keep their reports brief. In under five minutes, many agency heads summarized their current progress before yielding the floor to the next speaker, maintaining the meeting''s steady pace. There was no shame in delivering brief reports, as it was far more detrimental to drag out presentations with unnecessary details. The agencies with fewer ongoing projects understood that efficiency was key, especially in the presence of the emperor. Everyone in the room was acutely aware that attempting to prolong a report without substance would not only fail to impress but could lead to swift repercussions. The emperors keen insight into such matters meant that any attempt to waste time would likely result in immediate replacement. After about six hours of continuous reporting, Gaia finally called for a break, allowing everyone to refresh and return in top condition for the upcoming reports. Only the juggernaut agencies remained: the Imperial Treasury Agency, Imperial Justice Agency, Imperial Works Agency, Imperial Police Agency, and a few others. Along with them, the ministers of exterior, interior, and war were still to deliver their updates. The Tourist, head of the Imperial Intelligence AgencyNyxs most trusted subordinate, as trustful as an AI can bewas present as usual but, true to form, would not be delivering a report. They realized they had two choices: either let the emperor fund the military and expansion efforts, in exchange for future ownership rights over resources no one yet possessed, or face the burden of funding it themselves through increased taxes. Faced with the prospect of higher taxes, the decision became clear. Complaining about something they didnt own, which was years away from being relevant, seemed counterproductive when the alternative meant immediate financial strain on the citizens. Thus, the majority accepted the arrangement, preferring to leave the financial burden on the emperor rather than their own pockets. He continued, Due to our spending remaining consistent despite the ongoing economic growth, we anticipate entering our third year of budgetary surplus. As in previous years, this surplus will be deposited into the imperial treasury. These funds will be reserved for use in emergencies or when the empire requires an immediate increase in expenditure. One of the significant advantages of having government expenses overseen by an AI with access to an entire quantum supercluster is the elimination of unnecessary expenditures. The AI system resolved many of the inefficiencies that plagued large institutions in the past. As a result, the empire is enjoying its third consecutive year of budgetary surplus while having already cleared all the debt incurred during the empire''s foundation. This efficiency is further supported by the elimination of the outdated practice where agencies were compelled to spend their entire budget to avoid potential reductions in the following year. Such practices often led to wasteful spending. With the new system, agencies are able to use their funds more effectively, contributing to the empires overall fiscal health. While there have been numerous requests to lower taxes due to the ongoing surplus, we are not inclined to do so. Our current tax rates are already the lowest they have been in human history. Just as we did not increase taxes during periods of budgetary deficit, we believe in maintaining a stable tax rate during times of surplus as well. He continued for the next fifteen minutes, summarizing the budget allocations for various agencies and outlining their plans to ensure the economy continues its upward trajectory. After concluding his summary, he took his seat, signaling that it was time for the next agency to present their report. {Next agency on the docket is the Imperial Blessings Agency. Councilor Ross, the floor is yours,} Gaia announced. Chapter 713 The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting IV Chapter 713 The Fifth Imperial Council Meeting IV Councilor Ross''s report followed the usual pattern but highlighted a notable development: the percentage of awakened individuals among humans had increased from the initial two percent to ten percent. This was a significant rise, reflecting the raising in the age of people who were awakening due to the continual increase of mana density in the planet''s atmosphere. In contrast, all Proximians had been awakeners from the outset, so their numbers remained constant. Ross also addressed the decline in unsanctioned vigilantism. The numbers had consistently dropped as the empire took a firm stance against such activities. The government had made examples of those who attempted to engage in vigilante actions, reinforcing the rule of law and ensuring that such behavior was deterred effectively. Councilor Ross then shifted to discussing the advancements made in the study and application of mana. He expressed his gratitude to the Empress and the tree folks, acknowledging their critical contributions to the research and discovery of new mana applications. Their insights and collaboration had been instrumental in the progress they achieved. With that, Ross concluded his report, taking his seat as the fifteen-minute presentation came to an end. As the reports from the remaining agencies concluded, attention turned to John, who was to deliver the final report. His was the most anticipated presentation, as it concerned the impending arrival of the Visitorsan event that had long been the focus of the empire''s preparations and discussions. John, clad in his distinguished military uniform, stood up, commanding attention with his presence. His uniform, more ornate than the usual suits worn by other council members, symbolized the gravity of his position and the information he was about to share. As the final report of the council meeting, his address was expected to carry significant weight. For security purposes, the two star systems currently under our control have sufficient defensive forces to act as a buffer against any unforeseen threats from beyond our current understanding. It is important to note that these assessments are based on simulations and theoretical models. The results reflect the minimum outcomes from these simulations, considering the limitations of our current knowledge. The actual effectiveness may vary depending on the technological capabilities of any adversaries we might encounter. Once again he paused to allow the transition to be more smooth. John then continued, seamlessly transitioning to the next point, In preparation for the impending arrival of the visitors, we have conducted millions of simulations to devise potential methods for establishing communication with them. A small fleet of stealth ships has already been dispatched to the anticipated location of their arrival. These ships are tasked with initiating contact, in collaboration with the Ministry of Exterior, and gathering additional intelligence should the situation take a turn for the worse. Furthermore, we have a fully equipped fleet on standby, ready to deploy should the worst-case scenario occur, such as an attack on our envoys. While this may seem like an extreme measure, the Ministry of War''s role is to ensure that we are prepared for every possible outcome, including those beyond our immediate control. We are confident that we are prepared for any scenario within the realm of our current projections and have also accounted for contingencies involving forces potentially exceeding our initial estimates of their capabilities. With these measures in place, we stand ready to address any challenges that may arise. John concluded, That is all I can disclose for now. We must also maintain a level of ambiguity in our information, as there is a risk that the visitors could potentially tap into our communications. Given that we have yet to gather substantial intelligence about them, it''s prudent to keep certain details confidential. Thank you. John took a final breath and nodded towards the council, signaling the end of his report. He then resumed his seat, the podium retracting back into its original form as the chamber remained in a tense but focused silence. Gaia promptly took over, guiding the council meeting towards its conclusion. She reviewed the key points discussed and asked if there were any questions or comments from the attendees before officially closing the meeting.Re?a? latest cha/p/ters at novelhall.com Chapter 714 Arrival 714 Arrival In the silent darkness of space, if one focused on a specific point with utmost precision, they might notice the faintest distortion in the lighta subtle bending, almost imperceptible to the naked eye. It resembled the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, where light curves around a massive object. Yet, this was no ordinary lensing effect. Only the most sensitive instruments, positioned in close proximity, could detect the anomaly within the vast emptiness of the void. But that subtle light distortion would go unnoticed by most, as something far more conspicuous dominated the scene. A ship, large and unmistakable, coasted through space, its presence impossible to miss. It made no effort to conceal itself, traveling at sub-light speed in the same direction as the mysterious blobs that bent light around them. Its open, steady approach seemed to signal a lack of ill intent, as if the ships very demeanor was an attempt to assure any observers that it posed no immediate threat. Okay, lets start gearing up for our meeting, said Baraka as he rose from his chair in the ships canteen, his voice steady but commanding. Without hesitation, he headed toward the assigned armory. "Yes, sir," his team members replied in unison, quickly abandoning their meals. They followed Baraka into the armory, a room not far from where they had been sitting. Inside, the crew began suiting up in their power armor, the rhythmic sounds of gear locking into place filling the room. Despite being hours away from their destination, the team prepared with practiced precision, understanding the need to be ready long before the moment arrived. With all the power armor and suiting equipment aligned neatly on the right side of the armory room, the team finished suiting up and moved to the left wall, which had opened to reveal an array of weapons. Each weapon was carefully placed in racks marked with their corresponding owners and specialties. "Why are we still using these?" one soldier asked, grabbing his weapon from the rack, his tone slightly incredulous. "I''m pretty sure we have new weapons a few generations ahead of these." Baraka, the team leader, finished securing his own weapon and glanced over. "In case things go south and they manage to get their hands on our weapons, we want them thinking this is the best weve got," he explained calmly. "Let them underestimate us. It works to our advantage. Besides, these are more than enough to handle any carbon-based lifeforms." After he said that he put on his headgear, and it seamlessly integrated with the rest of his suit, creating a fully self-contained environment. The faint hum of the suits systems activating filled the room as the rest of the team followed suit, preparing for whatever awaited them. As the ship drew closer to the object that had been steadily approaching their star system for the last half-decade, they reached the distance where they could use their visual equipment for a thorough inspection. Without hesitation, the ship''s captain initiated the activation of the visual observation systems as soon as they entered range. As the machinery came online the screens in the control room flickered to life, as they started to display their gathered real-time data and images, which would be the first time they visually saw it as in the past they could only clearly monitor and observe it through mana observers only due to distance. Now that is a different way to make ships, the captain remarked, studying the images that were being updated for everyone aboard. The ships crew watched intently, absorbing every detail. The object before them was unlike anything they had seen: an enormous, oval-shaped vessel with an exterior covered in what appeared to be a rugged, stone-like surface. The texture resembled a pockmarked moon, suggesting it was designed to shield against space debris and impacts. The surface was dotted with evenly spaced massive holes, from which fluctuating flames of varying intensities emitted. These seemed to be the vessel''s engines, active despite being at rest and are currently in the vacuum of space. They, the observers speculated whether the engines were in use to maintain position or to shield the engines themselves from potential impacts as they didnt have the protection the ships surface had, but these were just theories. The captain focused on the mission at hand, Bring us to a full stop, he ordered. The crew swiftly carried out the command, initiating the final deceleration process. The ship eased to a complete stop, the vibrations from the engines subsiding as they steadied themselves. Taking a deep breath, the captain prepared for the next step, Start sending the communication signals, he instructed, bracing for the response that would follow. Chapter 715 How to Comunicate with Alliens 101 Chapter 715 How to Comunicate with Alliens 101 Earth, CUBE. In the expansive room atop the highest floor of the CUBE, Aron, Rina, Henry, his parents, her parentshis father recently released from prison a few months agothe heads of the three ministries, Sarah, Felix, the head of all agencies collaborating with ARES on first contact, were gathered. Unlike their usual VR instances, everyone was physically present this time. The same with Nova, Nyx, Gaia, and Athena who were attending in their nanomachine bodies, seated around the massive table with the others. Despite their strong confidence in the security of the quantum network, they weren''t willing to take the risk of being trapped in VR. The possibility of being imprisoned in a virtual space and used as leverage for an unfair agreement was not zero, especially when their lives, and not a random citizens, were on the line. Such a decision, if made under duress, would be far harder to resist when they themselves were the targets. As a result, Aron decided that all interactions related to the Visitors would be conducted face-to-face. The quantum network would serve only as a communication and monitoring tool. This approach was mirrored across the empire: everyone in VR was forcefully logged out, with access to VR suspended. Only AR and other non-VR functions were permitted. This precaution was implemented after a thorough explanation was given about the potential risks and the necessity of ensuring their security. In front of them was a massive screen displaying various views and data from the ship. This was the only advanced piece of technology aboard, though its outer exterior still emitted some radio signals to maintain a facade. The room was filled with a tense mix of anxiety and excitement, as this was the moment they were initiating their first actual contact. As they watched in silence, the audio of the command given by the ship''s commander came through: "Start sending the communication signals." This marked the point of no return, causing everyone in the room to take a deep breath. The next developments would determine their approach and interaction with the Visitors. As Aron spoke, the hologram illustrated the transition and its associated wavelength, making it easier to grasp. This gives us three things, Aron continued. The first is the understanding of binary, which is fundamental. Its something that any technologically advanced species should be able to comprehend. Well use the 21-centimeter wavelength as a representation of 1 and the absence of this wavelength as 0. Once this binary system is established, we can determine a reference time and distance0.7 nanoseconds which is equal to one full oscillation of the transition for time and 21 centimeters wavelength for distance. Henry watched intently, absorbing the information as the hologram showed how these principles fit together. With these three elementstime, distance, and binary systemsset as our standards, we can introduce mathematical concepts, a universal language that transcends species and civilizations to form a common ground that can bridge gaps in understanding, regardless of the differences in appearance or spoken languages which will eventually lead to establishing a common language, Aron concluded. But wont that take a long time? Henry asked, having processed Arons explanation. If it were a direct exchange between species, yes, it would be quite time-consuming, Aron acknowledged. However, well have our AI and their AI handle the initial communication. They can form a basic language between themselves, which we can then use as a bridge for communication with us. This process will be faster, provided theyre not hostile and dont immediately launch an attack. Arons gaze shifted back to the massive screen, which displayed their ship sending out the same signal at regular intervals. The repetition was intentional, accounting for the time it would take for the Visitors to detect, capture, and begin interpreting the signal. This time frame could range from a few minutes to several days, depending on the sophistication of the Visitors technology. Amidst the explanation, Felix, Sarah, Rinas and Arons parents listened attentively. They had joined the meeting at Arons invitation and had not been briefed on the details beforehand. Despite their unfamiliarity with the specifics, they found the explanation fascinating and easy to understand even for those who were not very knowledgeable in the field of communicating with aliens. Now, how are you going to respond? Aron asked in a low voice, tapping on the table as he refocused on the data streaming across the screen. Chapter 716 Speculation Amidst Silence Chapter 716 Speculation Amidst Silence Outer space. In the ships control room, an air of tense silence prevailed as they awaited a response from the other side. Half an hour passed without a reply. Then an hour, three hours, and finally five hours went by with no indication of contact from the Visitors. Is it possible that our assumption about their understanding of binary was flawed, or are they simply ignoring us? the captain wondered aloud, his concern growing with each minute of silence. Should we consider shifting to another means of communication? the vice captain inquired, glancing at the captain as the waiting game continued. The empire, known for its meticulous planning and preparation, always ensured they had multiple backup plans when dealing with significant situations like first contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. In this case, they had more than just one method of communication, anticipating the possibility that their initial approach might not be effective. Not yet. We will continue monitoring for three days, and if theres no response by then, well move to the next step, the captain said before refocusing on the data collected by the ship''s sensors. As he reviewed the information, he paid particular attention to one detail: the active engines, specifically those facing their side. These engines emitted a small amount of mana, indicating that they were either partially or fully powered by mana. The silence persisted as the ship closed the ten-light-second distance, further suggesting that the object might be buying time. However, when they reached a distance of fifteen light seconds, the stillness was broken. The other side finally responded by repeating the same message they had been broadcasting. Stop, the captain commanded as soon as the AI reported that the other side had responded. {They sent two similar responses: one through the same means we did and another via mana. They might be testing our development in mana or assessing our ability to detect the difference. It also seems like they used this time to prepare equipment for sending the conventional response.} The AI provided this analysis as the ship came to a full stop. Why do you think that is? the captain inquired. {The conventional response is about 22 centimeters thick, which could indicate calibration issues, that theyre using the signal for the first time, or that theyre testing our ability to detect differences. The mana transmission was sent after the initial response, possibly as a backup or another test.} We dont have time for this speculation, the captain said firmly. Stick to the protocol and use this opportunity to develop a basic communication language with them. Respond using conventional meanswe dont need to play their game or follow their rules. {Understood. Ill get to work on that. It will take a few hours, depending on how quickly their AI responds.} The AI acknowledged and began the task. Thus, the rapid exchange of communication between the two sides began, with the only limitation being the speed at which signals could travel. Both AIs appeared to be sufficiently fast, meaning the primary constraint was the signal transmission speed rather than any lag in processing on either side. I hope youre not just buying time, the captain muttered as he reviewed the exchanged information being used to establish communication between the two sides. Chapter 717 Watching from a Distance Chapter 717 Watching from a Distance The back-and-forth between the two AIs continued as they worked to establish a common foundation for communication. Although this could have been an ideal moment to probe each other, neither side attempted to do so, recognizing that the limitations of the communication medium made such efforts futile. To ensure the communication foundation would allow for the exchange of information with full context and minimize misunderstandings, the process would take several hours or even days. The outcome depended on how quickly each side could comprehend the other''s approach. For now, it had become a game of patience, where haste could easily lead to complications. ............. While those aboard the ship waited for progress in communication, the rest of the solar system remained in a state of high alert. Military bases across the system were operating at their highest situational readiness, a level they had never activated before. All forces, including those previously off duty, had been called back into active service three months ago when the vessel was in its final approach. As for the returning personnel, they underwent intensive retraining, preparing for any potential threats before being assigned their stations. "Anyone care to explain what they''re doing?" Jacob''s voice rang out across the room, sharp with the tension that had been building. I suspect theyre either mapping the area or scanning for hidden objectsor both, Awwab, the mana specialist, responded. Both tasks can be done simultaneously. They might also be searching for things that are invisible to the naked eye but detectable through mana, whether those things are related to us or native to the area. Jacob sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers. "I enjoy a good mystery, but not when it could end in war." The fatigue was setting in, and it was clear the constant pressure to maintain focus was wearing him down. Had it not been for the enhancements to his body, he knew he might have already collapsed from exhaustion. Were operating with limited information, his assistant said, handing him an energy drink. Any mistakes we make will only become clear after weve gathered enough intel. Jacob took the bottle, nodding in silent agreement. He knew there was no leaving this room until communication was firmly established with the other side. But their wait didnt last too long. By the second day, as they had grown accustomed to the sporadic mana pulses, the AIs across the board reported to their respective teams: {The framework for communication has been established. We can now begin exchanging messages from both sides.} Everyone in the monitoring rooms and on the ship let out a mild sigh of relief as they moved to the next phase. The ship''s captain immediately began initiating the communication process, having already been provided with the necessary notes and protocols for this crucial step. Chapter 718 Probing and Conversation I Chapter 718 Probing and Conversation I So, how is it going to work? Are there things I need to keep in mind during our conversation? the ships captain asked the AI, concerned that the script might need revision. The captain wanted to ensure that there were no limitations or special considerations for communication, given the AI''s understanding of the other side''s system and any potential nuances that could affect the exchange. {You dont need to worry about that. During your communication period, I''ll serve as the translator, ensuring that all contexts and reasons for your statements are conveyed clearly so that they understand your intentions with minimal loss in translation. The same will apply in reverse. However, please note that at the moment, were limited to sound transmission. We cant transmit large amounts of data through our current means, which allows us to communicate in real time without delay,} the AI clarified, adding a slight pause to distinguish between the two topics. Okay, good. Send a request to start the communication; we are ready on our side, he said, clearing his throat to ensure his voice was clear for the upcoming conversation. {You can start; they are ready,} the ships AI responded shortly. Greetings, I am Niwildan Nideha, acting representative of the Terran Empire attempting to initiate contact. Please confirm receiving and understanding what I am saying, he said, beginning the direct conversation between the two sides. They waited in silence for a response, unsure if the translation language they had developed was functioning correctly or if it was merely a hallucination between the two AIs. There was a moment of tense silence following Niwildans response and suggestion, causing everyone in the control room to hold their breath as they waited for the other sides reply. After five minutes, the response came, Sure, we will accommodate your request. Please send the technology you want us to upgrade to, and we will proceed with the communication enhancements. This time, the speakers tone was noticeably more humble and welcoming compared to Xalthars earlier arrogance. How long will it take to transmit all of the schematics and instructions for the equipment and code? Niwildan asked the AI in a casual tone, maintaining his composure thanks to his extensive experience with similar situations. {Since we are sending the tech for both microwave and millimeter-wave communication through the hydrogen line, it will take at least a few days, considering signal retention and loss,} the AI responded. Niwildan nodded, acknowledging the information before saying Understood. We will begin preparing the necessary files for transmission immediately. Please ensure that your systems are ready to receive the data and provide confirmation once the upgrade is complete. He paused for a moment, then added, In the meantime, we will be getting closer to accelerating the speed of transferring communication attempting to probe for the possibility of arranging a face-to-face meeting or gaining more visual information. However before even doing anything into implementing what he said a response came swiftly, Please maintain your current distance. Any attempts to close the distance will be considered a hostile measure, and we will react accordingly. The tone was firm and serious, making it clear that they were not open to negotiation on this matter. This is exactly what I needed to know, Niwildan thought to himself, knowing that their preferred distance provided insights into their defensive capabilities, including the potential strike range of their weapons. Armed with this information, he responded, confirming that he would adhere to their distance request and instructed the AI to begin the transfer of information. Chapter 719 Probing and Conversation II Chapter 719 Probing and Conversation II For the next few days, there was no direct communication between the two sides. They were either exchanging technical manuals and codes for building the necessary communication technology or receiving them. Once the transfer was complete, a response came from the other side, stating that they would have the device ready in three hours before going silent again. This response alone hinted at their ability to rapidly produce such technology, suggesting they had advanced fabrication capabilitieslikely akin to 3D printing, at least for small-scale devices compared to their massive ship. Regarding the use of "hours" in the conversation, it wasnt literal Earth time; instead, it was based on the standardized measurement system established during their initial communication. What followed was a return to silence and waitinga situation every imperial soldier trained for space warfare was familiar with. Much of their training involved long stretches of travel between points, while actual combat tended to be brief, often resolved within a few hours or days. Since either they held the upper hand, or the opposing side did, resulting in quick outcomes. As such three hours later, right on time, a small two-meter door opened on the colossal ship. The door was so minuscule compared to the ship''s vast size that it almost went unnoticed, if not for the visual monitoring equipment that quickly highlighted and zoomed in on the scene. From the door, a small antenna emerged before it quietly closed behind, leaving the antenna exposed. After a brief pause, the antenna began to adjust, slowly aligning itself to face the much smaller ship stationed at a distance. Once it was properly oriented, it started transmitting radio waves as a test, aiming to confirm if the communication system was functioning as expected. Once confirmation was received that the transmission was successful, the next phase was promptly set in motion. Both sides initiated video communication, eager to see and understand the appearance and nature of each species from the other side. ................... {Based on the mana intensity detected from that antenna, I can say with high certainty that it is either their primary source of power or they are a mana-based civilization,} Nova reported to Aron. They were the only ones in the room now, as the others had returned to their work and would continue being updated on the situation in their responsive room and would only regroup if a significant development required a meeting. As Nova spoke, Aron sat in silence, tapping the tablea habitual gesture indicating he was deep in thought or piecing together information. Noticing Arons silence, Nova stopped speaking, understanding that any comments she made would be heard by him, but he would only respond if it was an emergency. After observing Aron cease his tapping, Nova asked, {Whats on your mind?} Through the video call, we saw seven different species behind Xalthar, and they were all humanoid. The species we discovered through the exploration fleet were also humanoid. This makes me wonder if all species that advance to interstellar capabilities are required to be in a humanoid form, or atleast those in this galaxy or this specific sector of the galaxy, Aron said outlining what he had been thinking. {At least with the information we have, thats the only conclusion we can draw,} Nova responded after some thought. {If your assumption is correct, then there must be some interference related to Laifu or her fundamental laws that skews such outcomes.} Should the information we receive include details about species in their so-called Astral Conclave, it might help answer our question or partially prove or disprove our assumption, Aron said, aligning with her line of thought. For now, he would wait for the completion of the information transfer from both sides so he could review it and determine whether his theory was correct or not. Chapter 720 "F*ck" Chapter 720 "F*ck" After five hours, the data transfer from the other side was completed. The transfer of information about humans only required about two hours, but it was intentionally extended by including filler and other white noise to conclude simultaneously with the other sides transfer. This delay was a deliberate strategy to ensure that the other side wouldnt cut off their data transfer once they realized that all of their information had been received. This approach also explained why both sides sent data in a format that could only be fully read once the entire transfer was complete. This was to prevent either side from analyzing the information in real time and drawing conclusions about the others capabilities before the full data had been exchanged. Everyone with access to the information began sifting through it at their maximum speed, which was determined by the AIs processing capabilities. This race to analyze the data quickly aimed to provide an edge over the other side. Once Nova had finished processing the terabytes of information and filtering out the garbage and filler data, she activated Arons implants to their maximum capacity. The implants accelerated his time perception to stretch a single second into a minute and forty seconds. She then materialized a hologram in front of him, displaying only the most crucial pieces of information. The remaining data would be reviewed later, when they had more time. Nova chose not to assimilate the information directly into Arons system, as doing so could render him out of commission for an extended period. In the current situation, where he needed to be reachable at all times, it was crucial to avoid any risk of him being unavailable. For the branch species option to work though, the species seeking entry had to be accepted by an existing member of the Conclave. However, many species were reluctant to take on the responsibility of protecting and managing a branch species when they could simply enslave them with no such obligations. Consequently, this option was rarely chosen, with offers to become a branch species usually only accepted if the species had something particularly valuable or of sentimental importance to the potential host. The Astral Conclave only recognized and protected entities that were formally registered under their system. Depending on the category, these entities would have specific rights. Anything not registered and owned within the Conclave was considered open for claim, whether it was a star system or its inhabitants. This created an incentive for many species to prevent others from joining the Conclave, as joining would mean that their species and star systems would be registered and come under the protection of the Conclave, thereby formalizing ownership and protection. The most common method for registering with the Astral Conclave involved declaring ownership of at least one planet. This declaration effectively extended control to everything within that planetary system, granting the declaring species ownership and rights over all associated assets. Typically, this registration was managed by a government, allowing them to maintain their governance and control over their territory without the fear of sudden loss of autonomy or being reduced to a subordinate status. Slavery of conquered species was a widespread and openly practiced business within the Astral Conclave. Although it was not officially sanctioned by the Conclave, every member was involved in some capacity. The lack of action to ban this practice stemmed from the fact that all Conclave members benefited from it, and as long as their own species were not at risk of becoming enslaved, there was little incentive to challenge the status quo. As a result of the registry system and the lucrative slave trade, many species had individuals seeking to strike it rich by exploring new star systems. These explorers hoped to discover valuable materials or species that they could sell information about to one of the top ten powers for a substantial reward. The reason they didnt attempt to claim ownership themselves was that the process of declaring ownership did not guarantee permanent control. Any species could counter-declare ownership, leading to a conflict to settle the claim. This type of conflict was essentially a war declaration, as the fight would involve everything related to the disputed star system and its assets. Fuck, Aron exclaimed internally as he read through that section. Chapter 721 Enjoying the Process Chapter 721 Enjoying the Process Aron paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts and process the information he had just absorbed. The weight of what he had learned required a moment of reflection before he could continue reading. Although much of the information appeared legitimate, Aron remained cautious. He didn''t consider it the absolute truth, knowing that the data from humanity''s side also contained skewed detailswhile not outright lies, certain aspects were deliberately vague or not fully explained. This understanding made him approach the other side''s information with a critical mindset. But the absolute truth of the information wasnt what mattered most. What truly mattered was that the other side expected them to believe it. Aron knew they would act based on this information. From the information he had already reviewed, it became clear that the other side likely consisted of the so-called opportunists that were included in the information hoping to strike it rich. This led Aron to suspect that they were previously gathering coordinates to sell to potential buyers who could come to this star system to stake their claim to it. It was highly probable that they were either in the process of selling this information or were prepared to do so at a moments notice. But it didn''t matter whether they had already sold the information or were still preparing to do soeither way, the data would eventually be sold. However, if the sale hadnt occurred yet, there was still a sliver of hope for Aron and his team to recover from the situation. That hope hinged on the other side''s level of greed. Selling something without knowing its true value would fetch a lower price, while waiting to fully understand what they had could increase its worth. This gap in knowledge might give Aron the time he needed to act. Given that they had undertaken a journey spanning years to reach this star system, they would need to earn enough to justify the effort and time invested. This made it highly likely that they would only sell the information after thoroughly investigating the mana pulsar anomaly that had originally drawn them here. Depending on what they discovered, the value of this information could skyrocket, potentially allowing them to retire in luxury. Alternatively, if the star systems worth surpassed a certain threshold, they might even risk declaring ownership of it, deeming it something worth fighting for. Based on that reasoning, Aron hoped that greed had overtaken the other sidenot just because of the phenomenon they were investigating, but also because of the reported population of over eight billion people. To them, this massive population represented potential slaves that could make them incredibly wealthy. From their perspective, they likely believed they could win any confrontation easily, considering the other side unworthy of even challenging their single ship. This overconfidence and greed might provide Aron with the opportunity he needed to outmaneuver them. {Are we going to annihilate them?} Nova asked Aron, as his directives would guide the stealth fleets actions in the potential faceoff. If we can handle them, we should gather as much information as possible. Given that they might have means of instantly communicating with their home base, we must get our hands on that. But what I want most is their knowledgeso instruct the fleet to do their best to capture them alive if possible. However, If they find the enemy to be too powerful, they should drop all of the directives and focus on destroying them, Aron said, returning his attention to the hologram of the ship. He didnt need to provide further directives; the fleet members were experienced and would implement the orders based on their training and skills honed over thousands of simulation training. {Sent,} Nova responded shortly. Now, it was a matter of waiting to see if events would unfold as anticipated or if something unexpected would occur. ................... Ten hours later. The other side initiated a video call, which Niwildan immediately accepted. He noted the delay, considering how quickly he had processed their information, but he found it understandable given the advanced technology of their empire. From the look on your face, it seems youve already reviewed our material. So, how long until your so-called emperor receives the news and surrenders, or do we need to do it forcefully? Xalthar asked with an air of arrogance. He was now fully confident in his power and the capabilities of his ship to take over the star system, and he had shifted his focus to enjoying the process. Chapter 722 Opening Punches Chapter 722 Opening Punches Since there is a limit on how quickly we can transfer information through our current means of communication, we are two hours away from completing the transmission. It should take about another twelve hours for it to arrive, but since they can review it as they start receiving it, we expect answers within twenty-four hours, Niwildan replied calmly, deliberately infusing his tone with a sense of defeat and hopelessness. Good. Tell them that we expect an answer by then, or we will choose one for you, and you wont like what we decide, Xalthar said, cutting the call abruptly. He ensured his smug expression was the last thing the other side saw. He appeared untroubled, confident that the other side wouldnt have enough time to mount any significant response. With no immediate threats to worry about, Xalthar was at ease, certain of the outcome. Arrogance. The cause of many peoples, armies, and empires downfall, Niwildan remarked, continuing to rest in his chair. They had effectively bought themselves and the empire twenty-four hours. They were currently operating under the command to appear as weak as possible, adhering to the principle: Appear weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak. Since they hadnt yet determined the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents, their strategy focused on Dont interrupt your enemy while theyre making a mistake and Always strive to maintain the upper hand. To reflect this principle, the fleet that was still in stealth mode, breaking into six parts and maneuvering slowly around the ship while keeping a constant distance. They moved slowly to maintain their stealth and avoid triggering the enemy''s monitoring equipment by detecting any minute anomalies in light. Their strategy was to have all six divided groups surround the ship from six different directions: top, bottom, front, back, right, and left. This way, when they move to attack, the enemy would have to contend with simultaneous threats from all sides. Although their movement was slow, that was only relative to light speed, so it only took a few minutes for them to reach their assigned positions, with the group heading to the rear of the ship taking the longest. Show me whats going on outside, Maylander requested. Instantly, the feed from his side of the fleetstationed at the top of the ship relative to the solar systems planeappeared on his display. He watched in silence as the attack ships completed their final positioning, preparing to deliver the initial strikes. Even as his AI announced fifteen seconds remaining and then ten seconds, the attack did not commence. Maylander wasnt surprised; he had grown accustomed to these moments of calculated patience. As the timer hit three seconds, the ships unleashed a barrage of laser attacks. To Maylanders accelerated perception, each ship flashed more than a hundred times over the span of what felt like fifteen seconds, their laser beams slicing through the void with relentless precision. As the timer ticked down to one second, the breach pod jolted into motion, accelerating with terrifying speed due to magnetic propulsion. In just five seconds, they would cover the distance between the two ships. Thanks to the inertial compensators, the crew felt almost no impact from the intense acceleration. The feed vanished, and the breach pod itself became invisible from his view as his implants activated augmented reality and he could see the thousands of other breach pods moving in tune with his. Sensors around the pod provided a seamless connection, allowing him to perceive the outside environment as if he were moving through space independently. Now, as he exited the stealth bubble, he could see the ship being pummeled by the lasers. The focused strikes had already inflicted significant damage on the engines, rendering any attempt to escape nearly impossible. For a brief moment, he allowed himself a satisfied smile before refocusing entirely on his mission. As the breach pod closed in on the Visitor''s ship, it engaged its tractor beam, anchoring itself to a carefully chosen spot determined to be the ship''s weakest point based on their data. The pod maintained its high speed, and with a powerful burst of kinetic force, it punched through the ships surface effortlessly, much like a hot knife slicing through cheese. This breach was made possible not only by the pod''s immense kinetic energy but also by the shield powered by a micro fusion reactor, which absorbed and redirected any retaliatory fire. The result was a seamless entry, with the crew inside the pod untouched by the intense energy exchange. {Breaching successful} Cortana informed him as the front of the pod opened to reveal a dimly lit corridor. The team was inside, and it was time to put their extensive training to the test. Chapter 723 Responsibility Without Authority Chapter 723 Responsibility Without Authority Before the front doors of the breach pods opened, all of the pods that had successfully penetrated the ship simultaneously launched small, specialized disks toward the openings they had created. The disks powered up in perfect unison the moment they were thrown, activating immediately upon contact with the surface. Each disk emitted a localized electromagnetic field, disrupting nearby sensors and alarms, while also generating a stable environment for the soldiers to enter. Along with this, the disks continuously mapped the surrounding areas, providing the team with valuable intel. The corridor ahead now lay momentarily exposed, granting them a brief window of opportunity to advance before the ship''s systems could react. As the disks operated, they transmitted real-time data between each other and the designated receivers, constructing a comprehensive map of the ship''s interior within a range of several kilometers. Ismail Maylander watched as the map updated in his implants, seamlessly overlaying his field of vision. It granted him the ability to see through walls, revealing hidden corridors and lifeforms. His team in the breach pod sprang into action without a word, moving with precision and silence. Communication flowed effortlessly through their AIs, allowing for coordination without wasting any precious time or giving away their presence. They moved like shadows, ready to execute their mission with the utmost efficiency. They swiftly got to work, their weapons emitting only faint hums with each trigger pull. Despite being unable to see their targets directly on the other side of the walls, it didnt matter. Each shot hit its mark, sending someone to the ground. These targets werent killed; they convulsed briefly as the rounds shocked them into inactivityfollowing strict orders from the Emperor, to preserve lives for interrogation. The involuntary shaking lasted only a few moments before stopping entirely. The rounds weren''t just designed to disable; they contained nanomachines that, once inside the body, moved undetected toward the brain. Even if the targets had heightened senses, they wouldn''t feel the nanomachines at work thanks to the electric shock. Upon reaching the brain, the nanomachines would put the person into a deep, uninterrupted sleep, ensuring they remained unconscious until later retrieval. This allowed the soldiers to "shoot and forget," not needing to manually subdue each individual. The breach had been sudden, catching nearly everyone in the outer section of the ship off guard. This allowed the soldiers to move swiftly and efficiently, neutralizing the initial wave of resistance. The outer sphere of the ship, spanning two kilometers, was cleared within just three minutes. It felt almost too easya fact that didn''t go unnoticed by the experienced breachers. Despite their speed, they knew that the deeper they ventured, the harder the resistance would become. The ship''s vast size meant that even moving quickly, it would take hours to reach the inner sections, where the crew would likely have had time to organize their defenses and prepare for a fight. The silence in the corridors wasnt comfortingit was ominous. Every breacher understood that the easy part of the mission was over. The real challenge lay ahead. No one had come to meet them, which could only mean one thing: the enemy was waiting deeper inside, ready for them. It was now a game of patience, strategy, and survival as they advanced toward the heart of the ship. .............. I will do my utmost to resolve it swiftly, Your Excellence Sage, Quorani assured. Xalthar responded with a piercing glare, his killing intent palpable and his mana veins glowing ominously. Seeing the menacing expression, Quorani fell to his knees and pleaded, Your Excellence Sage, I will ensure that they are eliminated as quickly as possible. Xalthar remained silent, his glare intensifying before he finally retracted his killing intent. Quorani quickly stood up, rushed out of the room, and headed directly to the control room, located just outside Xalthars quarters, to begin his preparations. ............. Any update on how much ground theyve covered? Quorani asked as he entered the control room. All of our sensors on the outer layer are currently inactive due to the EMP they hit us with at the start, reported the communication specialist, who was of the same race as Quorani. Inform all units en route to engage them that they should consider the attackers to be at least as technologically advanced as a member of the top one hundred in the Astral Conclave, Quorani instructed, ensuring his command was heard by everyone in the room. Quoranis words drew surprised looks from everyone in the room. The notion that a relatively small and less advanced civilization could match the technological prowess of the top one hundred in the Astral Conclave seemed like an exaggeration to many. However, no one dared to challenge Quoranis assessment. The attack had caught them off guard, leaving them with only basic retaliatory options. The ship''s slave-based bureaucratic structure, which granted responsibility without corresponding Authority, had hindered their ability to react effectively to something new and disruptive. Furthermore, the attack''s nature was unprecedented for them; they were accustomed to discovering enemies light weeks or days away which allowed them time to prepare, whereas this situation involved a direct and immediate assault within the ship, bypassing their usual and slow defensive measures. Chapter 724 Xalthars Dilemma Chapter 724 Xalthar''s Dilemma [A/N: All of Xalthar''s thoughts and communications go through humanity''s language filter to avoid further complicating the situation.] If looks could kill, thousands might have perished under Xalthar''s gaze alone. But for him, he didnt need his eyes to end liveshis hands were more than capable. The proof of this lay before him: three bodies sprawled on the ground, broken and lifeless, resembling smashed dolls. Their mangled forms were a testament to Xalthar''s brutal strength and his readiness to expel and express his feelings through sheer violence. More than twenty minutes had passed since the surprise attack, and the new vice-captain''s plan to flush out the infiltrators was proving ineffective. Over eighty kilometers of the ship''s surrounding outer area had been completely overtaken, and the alarming part was that they hadnt even seen how it happened. Every soldier, slave, or armed crew member sent to confront the enemy went completely dark, as if the opposing forces were walking EMPs. This left the taken-over zones in a literal blackout, with no surveillance or intel from those areas. What was even more alarming was that the ship had built-in redundancies to counter such scenarios, utilizing both technological and magical surveillance systems. Yet, the invaders had somehow managed to disrupt both in a single, sweeping move, leaving the crew blind to what was happening within their own vessel. It was a tactical nightmare. Xalthar who was monitoring the situation could only guess what was happening beyond their reach, and it was clear the situation was slipping out of control. His face remained eerily calm, a mask of composure that betrayed nothing of the turmoil within. However, the circuit-like veins etched across his skin told a different story. Normally glowing a serene golden hue, they now pulsed with a disturbing blend of red and other colors, signaling emotions far more dangerous: anger, shame, worry and disgrace. These shifting shades were a warningnothing good was coming for anyone on the ship. His brooding thoughts were abruptly cut short as new information flashed before his eyes. A grim update appeared on the display: the outer 100-kilometer perimeter had now been lost. His expression hardened. What had started as a surprise breach had rapidly turned into a full-scale invasion, and it was only getting worse. "How far are they from reaching us?" Xalthar asked through the intercom, his voice cold and demanding. "Approximately a hundred kilometers before they reach the control room," Quorani replied, his voice steady despite the dread creeping up on him. He had been handed a sinking ship, and while he had once believed he could turn things around with a miraculous strategy, the reality was grim. Xalthar would not care about his aspirations or the impossibility of the situationhe wanted results. Quorani knew that if he didnt act quickly, Xalthar would not hesitate to deal with him personally, just as he had done with the previous vice-captain moments after the attack began. Desperate to buy more time, Quorani added, "But, your excellence sage, Ive taken precautions. Seeing how quickly they were advancing, I initiated a containment strategy. Ive deployed a kilometer-thick fast-setting solution to seal off all paths leading to the control room and the central sectors of the ship. Itll take them days to breach it, unless they resort to fully destroying parts of the shipsomething it seems theyre avoiding." He held his breath, hoping this would be enough to delay both the invadersand Xalthars wrath. There was no response from the other end of the intercom. Quorani''s heart raced, almost leaping into his throat as he instinctively turned toward the balcony. Dread filled himhe half-expected to see Xalthar descending from the observation room to end his life, just as he had done to the previous vice-captain. But when he looked up, his eyes met Xalthars, who stared down at him with a deadly, unnerving glare. The silence was suffocating. Then, without a word, Xalthar closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, still seated, but his brief dismissal was more ominous than if he had moved to act. Quoranis stomach twisted with fear. The waiting, the uncertainty, was almost worse than death itself. As a wise man once said The wait for death is scarier than death itself." Quorani squeezed his eyes shut, his palms pressing into his face as he tried to collect himself. For a brief moment, he opened his eyes, peering through the gaps between his fingers. His gaze flickered with something differentan emotion that quickly disappeared behind the mask of fear. When he finally removed his hands from his face, the bravado had vanished, leaving only the same frightened expression he wore before. No one around him could tell what he was truly feeling. Chapter 725 An Offer of Unparalleled Worth Chapter 725 An Offer of Unparalleled Worth Im going to use every means of torture known in existence before I allow you to die, Xalthar''s voice echoed ominously from his chair, a chilling promise that was muffled by the soundproof insulation of the room and thus unheard by those in the control room below. While Quorani''s measures to seal off the passages had bought him a temporary reprieve, they had inadvertently sealed Xalthar''s fate as well. The closures not only trapped the invaders but also cut off Xalthars only viable escape routethe gates through which he had planned to flee. As a result, Xalthar was now bound to share the same grim fate as the rest of the ship''s occupants, his power and position rendered irrelevant against the encroaching threat since he could kill only a few thousand of them before they manage to kill him. Amidst his fury at his sealed fate, Xalthar recognized that with no escape route remaining, his only viable option was to do everything in his power to save himself. His previous dilemma was now resolved: survival was paramount. To achieve this, he hoped for the effectiveness of his soon-to-be torturees plan to succeed in buying him the time he needed to formulate a strategy and perhaps turn the situation to his advantage. After a detailed conversation with his AI, Xalthar and the AI developed a strategy that would appear both credible and enticing to anyone who received the news. Their plan was crafted to be convincing enough to prompt a desperate and rapid response from those who could offer assistance. Xalthar trusted the AI implicitly, knowing that it was deeply embedded with its users and would prefer self-destruction over betraying them. This level of loyalty made the AI a reliable ally and a useful compnaion, even for the most paranoid individual in the Coclave. Once the plan was finalized, Xalthar pressed a button on his chair, connecting him to the ships control AI. Stop providing mana to the systems in the blackout zone and redirect it to enhance our communications, he instructed, intending to make his communication system as fast as possible. {Our current energy supply is sufficient to send information to our organization without the need for extra power,} the AI responded, its tone reflecting a hint of curiosity about Xalthars request. I want to broadcast this to anyone who can view it within the Astral Conclave and to as many influential individuals as possible, Xalthar replied calmly. He paused dramatically, letting the suspense build before continuing. In this star system, due to a peculiar phenomenon, mana has not dispersed throughout the system but instead has concentrated on the planets themselves. After billions of years, these planets have transformed into having minerals that we can only described as mana stones. He let the gravity of his statement sink in, knowing the implications would be staggering. Even the most advanced civilizations within the Conclave have only ever hypothesized the existence of mana stones. These are considered the most mana-dense materials imaginable, something that no one has yet been able to create or discover in nature. Instead, they have relied on canisters to store compressed mana in its air form. Despite this, the mana canisters had represented a groundbreaking advancement, as they could now provide a versatile and potent fuel source, allowing spells to be used independently of individuals and which paved the way for new technological applications. The AI wasted no time, displaying fabricated information to further captivate the audience. Images of various colored mana stones were shown, each with unique aspects, enhancing their allure. The sight of these diverse and potent mana stones caused the viewers'' anticipation to reach a fever pitch, their excitement and greed nearly palpable as they imagined the possibilities. Hearing that the entire star system was filled with mana stones made many question the validity of Xalthar''s claim. Anticipating such doubts, Xalthar was prepared to address them. He continued, ready to answer any questions that might arise from those discerning enough to wonder why he was revealing this information rather than keeping it for himself and capitalizing on it alone. I know many of you are wondering why Im sharing such critical information. Its because of this, Xalthar said, and the AI displayed a video showing the surprise attack, with figures emerging from nowhere and various areas of the ship plunging into blackout. The viewers quickly grasped that they were under siege. We are currently being attacked and are running out of time. I promise to provide the exact coordinates of this star system to any individual or organization that can swear under a mana oath to establish a wormhole between us and their location within two weeks and come to our rescue, he declared, revealing the true intention behind his actions. In exchange for his life he was willing to give out the location of the most valuable resource, a material of unparalleled worth to anyone in the Conclave that can come to rescue him. With the offer now on the table, it became one of the most outrageous proposals ever made. The lengths to which one would go to ensure their survival were indeed extreme. With that, Xalthar concluded the broadcast and left the rest to his AI. She would now handle the influx of requests for coordinates, ensuring that only those who pledged to establish a wormhole within the specified two-week period and take a mana oath to rescue him would receive the location. This oath would also guarantee his safety from any future harm. Chapter 726 A Call from the Organisation Chapter 726 A Call from the Organisation As the AI began sorting through the flood of requests for the star system''s coordinates, ensuring only those who promised aid within the set timeframe were considered, Xalthars communicator buzzed. The heads of his organization were contacting him with remarkable speed, a clear sign they were far from pleased with his recent actions. Despite this, Xalthar remained unfazed. His circuit-like veins, once pulsing with anger, shifted color to a calmer hue as he accepted the call without hesitation. He showed no signs of concern, confident that he wasnt going to be on hot waters by the end of the conversation with him. "WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?!" The voice on the other end wasted no time, launching straight into the core of the matter. There was no greeting, no room for Xalthar to show the customary respect as the caller was not just his superior in rank as the leader of the organization but also in strength, two levels beyond Sage. If it came down to it, he could easily crush Xalthar without breaking a sweat. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU MAKE SUCH AN ANNOUNCEMENT ACROSS THE CONCLAVE WITHOUT INFORMING US FIRST?!" the voice thundered, dripping with fury. "WE COULD HAVE USED THAT KNOWLEDGE TO HELP YOU, AND THE ORGANIZATION WOULD HAVE BENEFITED IMMENSELY! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND, PANICKING OVER YOUR LIFE THAT YOU DONT THINK BEFORE ACTING?! The tirade continued, relentless and scathing, as the leader berated Xalthars reckless choices. He emphasized everything Xalthar had cost theman opportunity to elevate the organization into one of the most powerful in the Conclave. Instead, Xalthar had just handed that potential power to random factions, all for the sake of saving his own skin. Throughout the outburst, Xalthar remained silent and respectful, his expression unwavering, as though he were carved from stone. Even his mana circuits, usually responsive to strong emotions, stayed steady. He listened attentively to the tirade from the organization head, a man known for his calm demeanorsomeone who rarely raised his voice. The irony wasn''t lost on Xalthar, but in his eyes, this reaction was expected. If the head had remained calm during such a moment, that would have been unsettling. This outburst, though uncharacteristic, was completely natural under the circumstances. Have you already exchanged the information? the organization head demanded, his tone still sharp, though he had stopped firing questions like bullets, finally waiting for a response. The fury was still clear in his expression. Furthermore, only the top fifty have the technology to create wormholes, and many of them cant bear the costs alone. Theyll likely seek alliances with other nations or organizations in exchange for a share of the star system. This will spark significant cooperation among them, as theyll need a united front to avoid being annihilated by the top ten superpowers in the Conclave when they arrive on the other side of the wormhole. While theyre occupied fighting over the star system, and under the protection of the mana oath, youll have the perfect opportunity to seize control of the organizations left vulnerable. With many of their powerful forces dispatched to this conflict, their remaining factions will be significantly weakened, allowing you to move in and take over their operations with minimal resistance. "It will take a considerable amount of time before any agreement or victor emerges and before they realize there were no mana stones. By then, they will have endured significant losses. As they have sworn the mana oath only in exchange for the coordinates and nothing else, they will be bound by it, even as they return empty-handed. Many of them will lack the resources to open another wormhole for their return, which will make their journey back prolonged and arduous. This delay will provide you and the organization ample time to consolidate your gains. With the resources and time at your disposal, you can use the new assets to compensate and appease the top ten superpowers for their losses. This strategic move should fortify your position, ensuring that others are deterred from challenging you." Xalthar went on, meticulously explaining how his announcement wasnt a reckless decision, but a calculated move. He showed how this plan wasnt just about saving his own skin but about creating a massive opportunity for the organization to rise in power at the expense of weakened competitors. ........... Silence filled the void on the other side after Xalthar finished his explanation. Xalthar maintaining his silence waited patiently for a response. Well see if things unfold as youve planned. If they do, and the results are favorable, well lend further legitimacy to your actions by staging attacks on your familys territory. This would create the appearance of retaliation for you sharing information without consulting us first, the organization leader responded. Without waiting for Xalthars reply, the call was abruptly ended. Xalthar was certain he caught a hint of a smile just before the connection was severed. Now we wait, Xalthar said with a sigh of relief. He wasnt overly concerned about the potential loss of life on his familys planet, as he trusted that the organization would target only those who were insignificant to him or the random inhabitants of the planet. Chapter 727 Cold and Calculative Chapter 727 Cold and Calculative Xalthar sat in silence while waiting for the AI to receive and filter the requests to ensure they met his criteria. During this time, he was informed that the insulation had effectively halted the enemy forces on the outside. This was confirmed by the surveillance system, which displayed the enemy forces as a blob on the other side of the insulation, visible through the spectrum. Anyone in their situation would have likely tried to find alternative means to bypass the insulation. However, upon arrival and after one of them placed a hand on it, they quickly realized that breaching it within a short time frame was nearly impossible. This realization led them to cease their efforts, or at least that was Xalthar''s impression from his point of view. Quorani, watching the feed near a screen that displayed all the areas under their control, felt a chill run down his spine. Even though the enemy forces were stalled and unable to advance, they were equally trapped in this confined space, unable to escape or retreat. Despite the success of his efforts to halt the enemy, Quorani felt no satisfaction. He understood that his actions had only bought them a month at most before the enemy would find a way through. This looming deadline meant that he, too, would soon face the consequences of Xalthar''s actions. He raised his head to the observation room, hoping to see any sign of Xalthar making his move. As anticipated, Xalthar was already in motion, slowly lowering himself, a clear indication that he was preparing to act on his plans. Quorani and everyone in the control room, who had resigned themselves to their impending doom and hoped for a swift end, were taken aback by the sight of Xalthar''s smile. It wasn''t just a fleeting expression; his circuit-like mana veins confirmed that he was genuinely pleased. This unexpected display of happiness puzzled them greatly. Despite their curiosity, no one dared to question the source of his joy, fearing the repercussions of drawing attention to themselves in such a dire situation. Seeing the stunned expressions on their faces, Xalthar simply smiled and said, Dont worry, Ive already called for help, and they should be here within at least two weeks.He then directed the ship''s AI to update them on the current situation, while carefully omitting details about the ongoing negotiations. The AI only communicated that assistance was on the way because Xalthar had made the call. It kept the specifics of the negotiations, including the various organizations and nations negotiating for extended terms, eased restrictions, or exclusive access to the coordinates, confidential as they werent worthy to know about it. I would have killed you on the spot, Xalthar said, his voice calm but filled with a menacing edge, but since youve managed to buy us some time, Ill extend your stay of execution. Im even willing to offer you a chance at redemption, provided you ensure that nothing goes wrong and the other side doesnt breach our defenses. Understand? As Xalthar''s body remained suspended in the same spot, Quorani flailed desperately like a fish out of water. Despite the intense pressure on his neck, he managed to hear Xalthars words. Struggling to respond, he forced his head to nod slightly, even though it was nearly impossible due to Xalthars unyielding grip. Xalthar watched impassively as Quorani hit the ground, wracked with violent coughing. The man struggled to get on his knees and bow, attempting to express his gratitude, but his voice was barely more than a whisper due to his damaged vocal cords. The effort was audible enough for Xalthar to hear, though, and he simply nodded in acknowledgment. Without another word, Xalthar began to hover away from the control room. The stress of the past hour had been immense, and he was eager to unwind. He intended to indulge in some personal pleasures before resting, fully confident that he would not meet his end here. But all of that was abruptly halted when the ships remaining functional antennaC the one made to contact the people of this star systemC detected an attempt to initiate contact, something the attacking ships had deliberately avoided. Upon noticing the incoming call, Xalthar swiftly accelerated his hover and made a direct path back to his chair. He composed himself, maintaining an outward calm that belied the urgency of the situation, before accepting the communication request. Greetings, Xalthar Zynara, Sage of the Astral Conclave. I am contacting you to offer you the chance to surrender, the voice on the other side cut straight to the point, skipping formalities entirely. Chapter 728 Sealing the Deal Chapter 728 Sealing the Deal Xalthar stared at the figure on the screen, more surprised than angered by the unexpected turn of events. "What makes you think we''re readyor even willingto surrender?" he asked calmly, showing no sign of worry as he was on the cusp of completing the deal that would come to his rescue. In his mind, he was already expecting the enemy to list all the reasons why he and his people were doomed and why surrender was the only logical choice. But instead, the figure merely replied, "Okay, understood," before abruptly ending the call. Everyone in the control room was left dumbfounded by the enemys abrupt response, unable to process what had just happened. A few minutes of silence passed as everyone in the control room tried to make sense of the enemy''s unusual behavior. Typically, when one side is on the verge of victory and demands surrender, they''d follow up with a barrage of threatspromising slow, agonizing torture for anyone captured if they dont surrender, using fear to pressure the crew into forcing their captain to concede, especially if he was too stubborn or prideful to surrender on his own. But this group did none of that. They attacked swiftly and delivered their surrender demand, and when Xalthar gave a response that clearly indicated he wasnt willing to comply, they didnt bother with threats or intimidation. They simply ended the conversation, as if they had no interest in wasting time on further negotiations. This uncharacteristic approach left the entire control room unsettled, unsure of what to make of the enemy''s intentions. {Sir, the list is complete,} Xalthar''s AI spoke, snapping him out of his moment of surprise. The unsettling behavior of the enemy still weighed on his mind, but the AI''s prompt reminded him of more pressing matters. The system had finished filtering the people who met his criteria, urging him to act swiftly. Xalthar straightened, forcing his thoughts back to the task at hand. He couldn''t afford to linger on the enemy''s unexpected actions or their lack of immediate follow-up. Seeing no further movement through the insulation, he decided it was best not to dwell on what they might be planning. The breachers, undeterred by the settling and rapidly hardening insulation beneath their feet, advanced carefully. Each step was deliberate, yet their pace quickened in sync with the melting material. With the corridor clearing before them, their movements grew increasingly confident and swift, ready to engage the moment the breach was complete. As the breachers continued their advance, Xalthar remained engrossed in finalizing the agreements, oblivious to the unfolding events. His focus was entirely on securing the final details of the agreements, unaware of the imminent threat. The rapid melting of the insulation material made it difficult for the ship''s observation methods to detect the breach in time. The insulation, once a formidable barrier, was now giving way under the relentless assault of the specialized equipment. .............. Those blinded by greed often fail to distinguish between genuine opportunity and mere bait. This was evident in the current situation within the Astral Conclave. Despite suspicions that it might be a trap, no one wanted to gamble on being left out if it proved real. As a result, their fears were ultimately unfounded, leading to an unexpected loop: groups that initially doubted the offer found themselves compelled to join the bidding, driven by the desire to prevent rivals from gaining the advantage if the opportunity turned out to be genuine. As a result, one after another began reaching out to Xalthar, and he soon had a list of about thirty groups that met his criteria. Each offered to come to his rescue in exchange for the coordinates, with some even willing to provide additional incentives for exclusive access. Despite the tempting offers, Xalthar stuck to his original plan. He decided to provide the coordinates to all the groups on the list, provided they agreed to the mana oath. This way, he ensured that his initial strategy was maintained and all interested parties were in it for the most chaos they could cause. Some might wonder why Xalthar placed so much trust in the mana oath. The reason was well-known throughout the Conclave: as long as mana was involved in the oath and the terms were meticulously crafted without loopholes, it was considered more binding than even the most formidable power. Mana, in this context, acted as the ultimate enforcer and impartial arbiter. It ensured that the agreed-upon punishments would be carried out if any party breached the terms, regardless of the consequences. Thus, Xalthar had finalized the contract, securing significant advantages for his side. These benefits were not solely due to the promised rewards but were also achieved by leveraging the demands of various requesting groups. By threatening to grant the contract to those who met his terms, he ensured that some of the provisions the other side wanted were negotiated on his terms. When faced with the possibility of losing out to competitors who accepted Xalthar''s conditions, the other side had little choice but to agree, knowing they would be in a stronger position if they did. He then allowed the ship''s AI to send all the necessary components to initiate the wormhole spell successfully. With that step completed, Xalthar returned to his initial plan, unaware of the impending doom drawing closer. Chapter 729 Time to Leave Chapter 729 Time to Leave Within just half an hour, the material blocking the invading soldiers had completely melted away. Without hesitation, the soldiers resumed their takeover, moving swiftly and methodically. The crew aboard the ship, caught off guard by the sudden breakthrough, scrambled to return fire in a desperate attempt to buy time and reseal the inner parts of the ship. However, the invaders'' speed and precision left them with little chance to mount an effective defense, as the gap between their positions rapidly closed. The situation was spiraling out of control, and panic was beginning to set in among the ship''s defenders. Xalthar, having just begun to rest, was abruptly awakened by the sense of chaos spreading through the ship. His AI quickly informed him that visual monitoring in the blocked-off area had been lost, with all feeds going dark at once, informing him that the breach had likely resumed. He swiftly donned his armor, bracing for combat. "Power off the ship," he ordered his AI as he moved out of his quarters. His mind was already working on a plan, knowing that even if he lost the ship in the chaos, his primary objective was to escape. As a result of that he didnt even consider the consequences of powering off the whole ship, he knew the crew wouldnt perish immediately. The lack of power would first manifest as reduced gravity, causing everyone to begin floating. The air supply would last for a while, but with no systems to maintain oxygen levels, carbon dioxide would gradually replace it. Suffocation would eventually be a threat, but Xalthar was fully aware that the enemy soldiers would likely kill them long before that. As long as he could escape from this ship and stay on the move without being captured for two weeks, by the time he returned, the arriving fleets would likely have finished their battles with each other and discovered that the information he''d given them was false. To his surprise, the soldiers deftly maneuvered out of the bullets'' paths, narrowly avoiding them as the bullets embedded themselves into the ships walls. Equally astonishing was the fact that the soldiers moved with apparent ease in the zero-gravity environment. They seemed to maintain a localized gravity field for themselves, allowing them to move swiftly and dodge bullets as if gravity were still fully operational for them. I need to move fast, Xalthar thought urgently. The enemies were far more formidable than he had anticipated, and even the six soldiers in front of him posed a significant threat. If he didnt act quickly, they could thwart his escape plans before they even began. Using the ship''s wall anchors and his telekinetic power like elastic bands, he propelled himself forward, accelerating rapidly to close the half-kilometer gap. At the same time, he concentrated on halting the barrage of bullets fired by the soldiers, letting them drop harmlessly to the ground. Simultaneously, he attempted to pull the closest soldier toward him with his telekinetic powers, intending to use the enemy as a shield while launching his own attack. However, he encountered unexpected resistancean invisible force pushing back against his telekinetic grip. Undeterred, Xalthar pressed forward, combining his telekinetic power with raw physical strength. As he closed the distance, he felt the invisible barrier yield under his relentless force. At last, Xalthars hand broke through the invisible force, but the soldier attempted to dodge at the last second, shifting their head to the side. Despite the soldier''s speed, Xalthar, as a sage, had reflexes and perception far beyond normal humans. With only a slight adjustment to his hands trajectory, he managed to grasp the soldiers headgear. His grip tightened with immense power, and in one swift, brutal motion, he crushed both the helmet and the skull inside, obliterating the soldier''s head in a gruesome display of raw strength. The fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? Xalthar exclaimed in shock as he looked at his hand, now holding the remains of the crushed soldier''s head. The sudden distraction caused him to lose focus, leaving an opening for four bullets to penetrate his protective bubble. They struck his shoulder, stomach, chest, and neck, sending waves of excruciating pain through his body. The intense agony overwhelmed him, and despite his efforts to fight it, Xalthar''s consciousness began to slip away. He floated uncontrollably in the zero-gravity environment, his attempts to regain control futile as he succumbed to the darkness closing in on him. Chapter 730 The Spearhead Fleets Technology Chapter 730 The Spearhead Fleet''s Technology Ismail Maylander and his team had been advancing with relative ease, encountering opposition armed similarly to the previous groups they had already dealt with. Despite this, neither he nor the breaching forces aboard the ship let their guard down. Each of them carried a hard-earned lesson from their intensive VR trainingbattles where they held the upper hand but ultimately lost the war due to complacency. That experience was deeply ingrained in their minds, reminding them that the time to relax would only come when everything was truly over. However, they were briefly halted as a sudden wave of weightlessness swept through the ship. The sensation lasted only a moment before their personal gravity devices automatically adjusted, restoring them to a steady 1g. Each soldier was equipped with this device, designed to adapt to both high- and low-gravity environments, ensuring they could function at peak efficiency under the optimal gravity of 1g, no matter the conditions around them. This seamless adjustment allowed them to quickly regain their footing and continue their mission without interruption. Without hesitation, they pressed on, continuing their mission until they found themselves in a long corridor, about half a kilometer in length. However, something was different hereone figure stood out among the others who were helplessly floating. This individual was controlling their movement with precision, seemingly using telekinetic powers to part the floating bodies and clear a path ahead. The breaching teams attention immediately locked onto him, recognizing that this person was no ordinary crew member and potentially a serious threat. Maylander didnt waste any time. He fired his weapon, aiming to neutralize the telekinetic figure. However, he quickly realized that the bullet had been stopped in mid-air. Undeterred, he and his team immediately unleashed a barrage of gunfire, testing the limits of the man''s defenses, to see if he could stop every round. But before each soldier could even fire their fourth shot, the man catapulted himself forward with incredible speed. He almost disappeared from view, reduced to a blur even for their enhanced perception. It was clear this opponent wasnt just skilledhe was dangerously fast. {Move to the left,} Cortana warned, her voice calm yet urgent. Without hesitation, Maylander followed the order instinctively. Simultaneously, his active shield engaged, countering the telekinetic pull. The shield''s anti-tractor beam technology had been developed after a critical lesson learned from a simulation where an enemy unexpectedly won a war using tractor beams. This tech was now proving invaluable, keeping him from being seized by the telekinetic force as he quickly adjusted his position, dodging the incoming threat. But his attempt at evading failed as Xalthar''s hand reacted and latched onto his headgear. Before Maylander could make another move or escape the telekinetic grip, Xalthar crushed the helmetand with it, his skull. {You died.} I know I chose this option, Ismail said, his voice tinged with weariness, but it still takes time to get used to when some of the blocked memories return. He reflected on the intense experiences he had just relived. With the Empire''s advanced technology, they had developed various methods to confront unknown enemies while minimizing the risk to their own soldiers. One such method involved technology akin to what the Emperor had used for his initial meeting with the tree folks that was facilitated by a newly established communication line. As a result, the forces currently engaged in the ship''s takeover were actually avatars, with their operators situated in pods light-hours away, aboard a different fleet. This meant that the entire stealth fleet was being controlled by robotic bodies, which were equipped with the consciousness of their human operators, allowing them to perform all the functions expected of a fully manned fleet. The decision to use human-operated avatars rather than fully autonomous AI robots was driven by several key reasons. Primarily, it was to mitigate the risk of encountering an advanced civilization that could potentially override or exploit AI systems. Such a breach could lead to significant security issues and operational complications. By relying on human operators within the avatars, the Empire ensured that their forces remained adaptable and secure, maintaining control over their technology in even the most unpredictable scenarios. Currently, only the spearhead fleets were allowed access to this advanced technology. Each soldier in these fleets was given the choice to be aware that they were operating robotic avatars in the real world or to remain unaware, believing they were in their actual bodies. Ismail Maylander had opted for the latter, experiencing the sensation of death and the subsequent disorientation as if he had truly perished. He was now coming to terms with this reality, trying to reconcile his experiences with the knowledge that he was still alive and operating remotely. Do I have to go back again, or are the current forces enough? Ismail asked, eager to know if he needed to return to the pod and use one of his backup bodies in the stealth fleet. {As you know, after you die, you spend at least thirty minutes in analysis before I wake you up. During that period, they have already taken over the rest of the forces and surrendered quite easily after we captured what seemed to be their leader. The rest were surprisingly willing to surrender, almost as if they were previously fighting only because they were afraid of their leader.} Cortana responded, informing him that the mission was complete. Okay then, Ill be resting since Ive been feeling quite tense due to the situation, Ismail said before settling back into his pod, allowing it to provide him with the maximum rest in a short period of time. As Ismail rested, the stealth fleet began the process of collecting the enemy forces from the ship. Pods were dispatched to pick up everyone, starting with those who had been incapacitated and moving to those who had surrendered willingly. Given the sheer number of crew membersmillions in totalthe operation was expected to take an entire day. Meanwhile, Athena had assigned a specially designed breaching AI to access the vessel''s computer systems. This AI was tasked with extracting as much valuable information as possible to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the ship''s operations and any relevant data. Chapter 731 Discussion Chapter 731 Discussion We are fucked would perfectly capture the situation for anyone who had reviewed the now-assembled information. Although much of it was still being processed and filtered to form a complete picture, certain revelations didnt need further analysisparticularly the intel sourced from one individual: Xalthar. He was the reason behind the chaos that was barreling toward them, and the scale of the threat was staggering. According to Xalthars knowledge, combined with that of his crew, they were on the verge of facing military forces that rivaled the entire population of the solar systema force far beyond what they had in their hands at the moment. Considering the scale of the bait that Xalthar had dangled, anyone reviewing the data would realize the enemy was preparing to strike with full force, holding nothing back. They knew other factions would be vying for control of the star system, so they would arrive with everything necessary to not only sustain a prolonged battle but also ensure they could take over and hold the system once the dust settled. It wasn''t just about winning the fightit was about securing dominance for the long term, which meant they would come armed to the teeth with overwhelming resources and military strength. It was literally going to come down to the winner of the initial face-off against thema force that had never experienced a full-scale interstellar war. And that was the best-case scenario. If the Astral Conclave''s forces failed to intercept each other outside the star system, they''d face the nightmare scenario of contending with all those forces simultaneously, right inside their home territory. In such a case, the odds would tip drastically against them, making it nearly impossible to defend the system without catastrophic losses. He glanced around the room, his eyes scanning each face to gauge their reactions. We need to leave an impression so strong that the Conclave will have no choice but to think twice before ever challenging us again. If we do that, theyll realize its better to have us as allies than enemies. If we dont, we risk inviting centuries of conflict, sabotage, and even worsebeing enslaved or having our technology stolen and used against us. Aron nodded slowly, digesting the implications. Jeremy continued, And lets not forget, the Conclave isnt the only major power out there. Other civilizations in the region are going to be watching after they receive the information Xalthar has made public. If we show weakness, we could find ourselves forced to join the Conclave under unfavorable terms due to fear of other civilizations ganging up on us. But if we demonstrate enough power, we can negotiate a mutually beneficial agreementone where we remain independent but not seen as an easy target. Youssef still looked hesitant. That will still leave us open to attacks from other alien factions that arent aligned with the Conclave. Jeremy conceded the point with a slight nod. True. But thats a sacrifice well have to make. If we want to have our cake and eat it tooremain independent and strongwe need to make it clear from the outset that crossing us has consequences. Yes, the Astral Conclave isnt the only civilization out there. Imagine it like Earth, but on a galactic scale, where the Conclave is just one of many nations. Although the Conclave is a significant player, its only one part of a larger network of civilizations within their region. To fully benefit from these various civilizations, its crucial not to become too closely affiliated with any single one. Aligning too closely with one could shut off opportunities with others and limit their overall influence and actions. But do we have what he reported, or was it all a fabrication? Jeremy, the Ministry of Exterior asked. {While the current technology does not yet exist, it turns out we can actually create it using our existing tech by compressing mana until it becomes solid, which is achievable on a large scale} Gaia responded. Then we should go all out, Youssef, the Ministry of the Interior, said changing his mind. This technology will be our TSMC to the Galaxy. It will deter organizations, unions, or civilizations from attacking us, as losing access to it would be a significant blow. Additionally, it will give us a unique position in the star system market. Being the only producers means everyone will have to meet our demands. Since having a strong entry into the interstellar market will prevent potential attacks and give us leverage, I fully support Jeremys plan. Chapter 732 Discussion II Chapter 732 Discussion II Then at what point do you suggest we interfere? Do we wait until everything is settled between them and fight, or do we jump in amidst their skirmishes and attack all of them? Youssef asked, now reconsidering his earlier stance. "I suggest we act after issuing a formal warning once they make their move," John replied without hesitation. "If they refuse to back down, we deploy one of our WMDs to wipe out a significant portion of their forces. That will send a clear messagewe''re not bluffing, and they''ll take whatever we say next very seriously." "Why do you think that''s the best approach? Wouldn''t it make more sense to wait until they''ve exhausted their forces fighting each other?" Jeremy asked, seeking further clarification. "Although they have powerful forces, you have to remember they also possess exceptionally strong individuals, something we are still not equipped to match one-on-one, despite having some capable people ourselves. If we wait until they exhaust themselves, sure, we might win the fight, but it could leave them thinking they only lost because they were weakened. They''ll believe that with full preparation, they could come back and defeat usmeaning they''d likely attempt another attack down the line. By striking them when theyre at their strongest, we not only eliminate their fleets but also their most formidable individuals. This sends a clear message that we can take down even their best, whether or not we have a one-on-one match in terms of power. It removes any doubt in their minds that better preparation might have given them a victory. Additionally, this strategy puts us in a stronger position for negotiations. They wont know our full capabilities yet, and itll make them more inclined to consider us the stronger side. This will help us achieve our goal of forming a mutually beneficial agreement without fully joining them, which would cut off potential cooperation with other civilizations and alliances," John explained, showing that, as usual, he was quietly listening and adapting the strategy to ensure their objectives were met. "How are we going to make the announcement then? Have we finished deciphering the communication system on the ship?" Jeremy asked, now indicating his agreement with the plan to strike at the first announcement. Aron raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her question. "What do you mean?" Rina studied him for a moment before replying, "From what youve told me, it sounds like everythings been settled. Yet, it seems like there''s still something weighing on you, something you haven''t fully resolved." Aron sighed, acknowledging her insight. "It''s the wormhole technology theyre planning to use to get here. Im trying to figure out how to acquire it as quickly as possible," he admitted, revealing part of his concern while keeping some details to himself. The moment Aron learned about the wormhole technology, he immediately rushed to the system shop, hoping to purchase it. However, he was quickly dissuaded when he saw the exorbitant price; he only had about a quarter of what was needed. Faced with this setback, he reconsidered his approach. While the system did allow him to purchase parts of the technology, he would still need to fill in the gaps himself. Without the necessary knowledge to do so, obtaining the technology and expertise from the other side seemed to be the best option. Rina nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. "And the issue is that theyre unlikely to hand it over willingly, right?" Yes, exactly, Aron confirmed. Although the information they received from Xalthar is false, we can actually produce mana stones, which are the main fuel for the technology. Its like giving nuclear technology to a country with abundant resources for it. While we could choose to hide the existence of mana stones, doing so would mean giving up our bargaining chip. We need to use it as leverage to bring them to the negotiating table. Hiding it isnt an option. Even if we manage to push them back with our initial attack, theres no guarantee theyll agree to a mutually beneficial deal. We could resort to threatening to destroy them all to force an agreement, but that could drive them to fight with everything theyve got, which is something we want to avoid right now. Chapter 733 Preparations Chapter 733 Preparations "How about turning them against each other, making them compete to give you the technology?" Rina suggested, after taking a moment to gather her thoughts and reflect on everything she had learned. That was all Aron needed to hear. He immediately grasped where Rina was heading with her explanation, but he didn''t interrupt, letting her finish in case she presented something he hadnt considered. "From what youve said, even though they operate under a conclave, they''re still competing with each other. So, as long as the incentive is right, they''ll likely hand over the technology willinglyand might even be pleased to be the ones who do. Offer them a deal: whoever provides you with the technology gets a permanent ten percent discount on all mana stone transactions, as long as the stones are used directly by that entity and not sold to others. With that, the stronger ones might hesitate, but the weaker factions will scramble to deliver the technology. They''ll rationalize that we''ll get it eventually, so they might as well benefit from it. Even if their version of the technology is less refined compared to the stronger factions, it will still give us a foundation to build on. From there, our specialists can optimize and advance it beyond its current level." Aron nodded, signaling his understanding of where Rina was going. Though her approach differed slightly from what he had initially thought, it still aligned with the core of his idea. They were both aiming for the same outcome, just with slightly different methods to get there. A common factor among all the ships leaving the atomic printers was that each one was carrying different types of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). These were either intended for targeted deployment in specific areas or kept on board as a precaution. This strategy ensured that if one group of ships were to be destroyed, the others would be prepared to take over and maintain the upper hand in the unfolding conflict. They were meticulously preparing for every possible oversight, ensuring that no matter what happened, nothing would spill over into the Solar System. Every contingency was accounted for, aiming to maintain control and prevent any unforeseen events from jeopardizing the safety of the empire''s core territory. Most of these movements were conducted openly, as the empire kept its citizens informed throughout the process. They provided basic regular updates on the situation while the populace awaited the emperors address. Understanding that the empire typically communicated openly about ongoing events, many individuals whose work wasnt affected by the evacuation order continued their tasks with a sense of normalcy. They were confident they would receive notifications when the emperor was ready to address the empire, allowing them to focus on their responsibilities without unnecessary worry. However, not everyone remained calm during the waiting period. Some individuals resorted to spreading rumors, claiming that the imperial family was merely buying time to escape, potentially leaving the rest of the population behind as sacrifices. For these dissenters, their influence had dwindled to the point where they were viewed as the "weird kids" of the school. Despite their efforts to spread rumors, sentiments of distrust toward the imperial family had become more of a gimmick. Over the past five years, the empire had consistently promised much and over delivered, earning the trust of the majority of humans. Most believed in the empire''s intentions, having seen no reason to think otherwise. The imperial government maintained a strict approach to ensure loyalty and prevent any thoughts of rebellion, even though they could easily quash any uprising if necessary. As a wise man once said, "Prevention is better than cure." Meanwhile, among the Proximians, there were no skeptics; their faith in the imperial family was and remained unshakeable. Chapter 734 Post Assimilation Chapter 734 Post Assimilation Aron stepped out of the pod after spending several hours inside, now far more knowledgeable about the Astral Conclave than before. With this newfound understanding, several uncertainties that had previously clouded his thoughts seemed to vanish, as though a fog had been lifted from his mind. But despite his newfound knowledge, none of the decisions he had made earlier were altered. In fact, his conviction to stick to them had only strengthened. The primary reason for this resolve was now hovering directly in front of him, reinforcing his belief that his choices were the right ones. In front of him was the description of the mana oath, now registered in his system the moment the knowledge entered his mind. This integration also allowed him the option to upgrade the oath if he wished and paid the price for it. [Mana Oath (Low-Grade) The Mana Oath is a basic magical contract that binds two or more parties through the essence of mana, enforcing agreed-upon terms with consequences for breaches. As a low-grade version, it is relatively simple and, while effective at establishing trust, contains several exploitable loopholes, particularly for skilled magic users. Despite its utility at this level, it struggles to enforce vaguely worded or open-to-interpretation terms. Phrases like "reasonable effort" or "in good faith" are easily manipulated by cunning parties who can argue theyve technically adhered to the agreement. Moreover, due to its low grade, the Mana Oath may fail to detect subtle breaches, especially those involving indirect or third-party actions that circumvent the original terms. Reporters would be able to attend as holograms through their devices, allowing them to ask questions should there be an opportunity to do so as if they were there in real-time. This ensured transparency, preventing any claims that he was avoiding them. Aron had started this practice a few years ago after growing tired of spending too much time in VR. Knowing everything about that world felt akin to being the creator of a drug, and he was determined not to become addicted to his own creation. He wanted to remain grounded in reality, especially during critical moments like this. {Everything is ready, sir. You can start,} Nova reported directly to his mind through the implants. Now alone on the rooftop of the CUBE, which was still an active training base. He took a moment to gather his thoughts, looking out over the vast expanse as he prepared to address the empire. Shortly he began to speak. After greeting the audience, Aron got straight to the point. Im here to provide an update on the situation with our visitors and to explain whats currently happening. As many scientists have pointed out in the past, the prospect of a face-off against aliens often ends in conflict. Just a few hours after we initiated communication and began exchanging information, it became clear that their destination was Earthand they were not here in peace. He paused, allowing the tension to build among his listeners. Many would now speculate that the military''s current movements, along with the retreat orders, were either a sign that the situation was deteriorating or a precautionary measure against an imminent fight. Having been an emperor for some time, he had honed the ability to tap into people''s emotions, ensuring his messages resonated as intended. Chapter 735 The Good & Bad news Chapter 735 The Good & Bad news Once he sensed that the tension had reached a peak, he continued, As a result, conflict erupted between the two sides... and by the end of the day, we achieved victory, as he was saying that, he could almost hear the collective sigh of relief from those who had feared they were losing the fight. He paused his speech as a short video played behind him. It began with Xalthar demanding the emperors surrender, then shifted to the opening shots fired at the massive ship. The footage showed breaching forces making their way into the vessel, capturing it meter by meter until every section was under control. The video concluded with footage of the recovery process, where captured aliens were being collected and sent back to their ship. As the video ended, the feed returned to focusing on Aron. With that, I have both good and bad news to deliver, he said, pausing for emphasis. The good news is that we won the initial contact and captured the majority of the enemy alive, allowing us to extract valuable information and gain leverage for potential retaliation. He let the news hang in the air, aware that the audience remained cautious, reluctant to fully embrace it with the bad news looming. As for the bad news, during the fight, the leader of the enemy forces contacted their home, the Astral Conclave, and deceived them into believing we possess a highly desirable resourceand that we have a significant quantity of it. He convinced them to come to his rescue in exchange for our coordinates. Given their access to Wormhole technology, which they can use at a steep cost, they will be here within two weeks at most, bringing with them a level of forces unlike any weve ever faced or imagined before. He took a deep breath, determined not to let panic take hold among those on Earth. But not everything is bad. The knowledge weve gained, combined with their expected arrival time, gives us ample opportunitynot only to avoid being caught off guard but also to prepare adequately. We can take the necessary steps to minimize any potential damage to our solar system. Rest assured, there will be no significant interruptions to your lives. The war will be broadcast for all to witness, though there will be a slight delay to prevent giving enemy forces any tactical advantage should they breach our communication systems. Additionally, if we determine that we cannot stop the enemy, our focus will shift from defense to buying time for our military forces on Mars to reach Earth and begin evacuating everyone. In such a scenario, we would migrate to Proxima Centauri while our military fights to buy us time, even if it means fighting to the last man. Though this may seem unlikely at the moment, I assure you we are fully prepared for such a worst-case outcome. Thank you all for listening. I wish you a peaceful dayone of many that lie ahead. Now, Id like to open the floor for any questions you may have. For the next thirty minutes, reporters posed their questions, and he responded calmly, providing evidence that was displayed behind him to support his answers, before concluding his address. After concluding his address, the live stream flickered to life, showcasing various areas around the solar system. This allowed those curious about the unfolding conflict to observe in real time, with many of the viewers being Proximians. They felt a mix of worry and helplessness, unable to intervene directly in the situation. Meanwhile, their military personnel had been called back to active duty at a moments notice, which heightened the Proximians'' curiosity. They were yet unaware that their forces would soon be piloting their robots in response to any breaches that might occur following the initial assaults. The empire seamlessly shifted into a war footing, mobilizing resources and rallying the populace. Everyone was preparing, hoping, and praying for what was poised to be their most formidable challenge since surviving the Cambrian filter of life. Chapter 736 This Part of the Galaxy Chapter 736 This Part of the Galaxy Time has a way of moving at exactly the wrong speed, especially for those who find themselves in a moment of anticipation. For the inhabitants of the solar system, it felt like time was speeding by when they desperately wished for it to slow down. In the blink of an eye, twelve days had passed, bringing them to thirteen and a half days since Xalthar had sent out his message. The countdown was almost over. Despite all the preparation, no one in the military felt confident that things would unfold as planned. Their extensive VR training had shown them that when facing the unknown, unpredictability is inevitable. This awareness kept everyone on high alert, a state they were able to maintain with ease due to their rigorous training. It also helped that they had already entered their military pods a week prior, ensuring they were mentally primed for the upcoming confrontation. To humans, death evokes a tangle of emotions. Sometimes, we long for it to rescue us from despair, while other times, we fight desperately against its approach, knowing full well it''s an unavoidable end. Most people shy away from places where death is likely, yet some willingly march into those very places, laying everything on the line to ensure their livesif lostare not lost in vain. Its in these moments of peril that humanity shines brightest, as if the human spirit were a dying star, radiating one final, brilliant burst of light to leave a lasting mark on the universe. But what happens when you take that ultimate pricedeathand remove it from the equation? What happens when the bravest among us are given the ability to display this unyielding human spirit again and again, without the fear of it being their final stand? It becomes a gamea high-stakes challenge where the fear of death is no longer a limit, and courage can be displayed limitlessly. This was exactly what the empire aimed for. In the upcoming conflict, every soldier controlling their robotic counterparts, which had dozens of backups spread across different locations, knew that their real bodies were safe. This allowed them to fight without hesitation, unburdened by the carefulness that can often hold back those afraid of dyinga mindset that could be detrimental to the ultimate goal. By ensuring that no soldier had to fear the loss of their life but still understood the gravity of the empire''s fate, the empire created warriors who could fight with everything on the line, without ever holding back. The result was not going to be just a battleit was going to be a performance of pure human spirit, played out in the face of an uncertain future. Thats for later, but first, lets leave this place, Aron said, floating toward the door on the roof of the tank. {Should I start refilling the tanks now that the reactors are idle?} she asked. When Aron began absorbing mana, he had paused halfway through the first tank, directing Nova to start refilling it while he moved on to the others. This strategy was designed to maximize efficiency, allowing the reactors to fill the first tank despite that process being slow, while he absorbed from the subsequent tanks, ensuring that no time was wasted with the reactors being idle. No, well only attract the attention of the incoming forces. My presence here is meant to be a last resort, Aron replied as he passed through the door, entering a corridor that led to a control room. The room displayed the vastness of space outside, where he found himself on the third line of defense. He was alone on this line, prepared for the possibility that the first line might be breached too quickly. I really hope I dont have to step up, he murmured, gazing at the vast expanse displayed before him. The sensors they had deployed through the Oort cloud were continuously monitoring and updating the every base with their requiren information. {Just in time,} Nova remarked, shifting the sensor feed to show him the current situation unfolding in real-time. Space appeared as though it were being drawn into an invisible vacuum, powerful enough to even swallow light. For about fifteen seconds, beams of light seemed to spiral backward toward the center of this enigmatic void. Moments later, the absorbed light and surrounding space were forcefully repelled, creating a black void at the center of the chaos. The surrounding area looked as if it had been pushed outward, forming a shape that resembled the outline of a bracelet, a stark contrast against the cosmic backdrop. Seconds after the wormhole fully opened, it seemed like a torrential rain of ships poured forth, as if they were fleeing from something unseen. Just ten seconds later, the reason became clear: the wormhole abruptly contracted to a pinpoint before vanishing entirely, as if it had never existed. The only evidence of its fleeting presence was the fleet of ships now left behind, scattered in the void of space. The initial wave of a few hundred thousand ships was just the beginning. As each second ticked by, more and more wormholes began to materialize in the distance, each one spitting out additional ships into the fray. By the end of ten minutes, the chaotic scene had transformed into an overwhelming display of military might, as if the other side had completed their grand entrance, ready to assert their presence in this part of the galaxy. Chapter 737 Warning Shots Chapter 737 Warning Shots A brief silence fell over the battlefield as both sides took in the data that was still being collected by their sensors, with the other side immedialtely realizing that Xalthar the person who brought them here has already being captured, making their work harder than inntiatily expeted as not matter where he is they had taken an oath to rescue him and they had to keep that oath no matter what. At the same time they were also surprised by the sheer numbers displayed before them as despite it being lower than them by maginiutes it was still beyond their expectations. The only one unfazed was Aron, who stared passively at the massive number of enemy forces without a hint of emotion on his face as even if the number on the other side doubled it would still be within his expectation. "Start sending the broadcast signals," he instructed calmly, aware that this was the only window he had before the chaos began. Once the other side finished analyzing their surroundings and pinpointing allies and enemies, all hell would break loose. As always, Nova, Arons most faithful companion, acted swiftly. She activated the ship''s communication module, powering it with enough mana to ensure that every entity in the sector would receive Aron''s broadcast. {You can begin}, she signaled. Simultaneously, she enabled the translator she had developed by analyzing the brain data of everyone captured from the ship. This translator ensured that the message would be understood in both the Conclave''s universal language and the species-specific dialects of the various beings present. "This is Aron Michael, Emperor of the Terran Empire. You are currently in imperial territory. As foreign forces, you are ordered to halt your advancement and cease all attempts of attack, or we will respond with extreme force," Aron declared, his tone firm and concise. He knew that in moments like these, a short and direct warning was more effective. Anything longer might make it seem like he was bluffing or buying time. The message was broadcast three times, ensuring that anyone with a communication system matching the required specs would hear it at least once. Now, all that remained was to see how the other side would respond to his warning. Despite waiting for several seconds, the other side gave no response to Arons broadcast. It became increasingly clear that they had chosen to ignore his warning entirely. The visible number of imperial ships hovered around two million, a fraction of the other sides fleet. Meanwhile, the opposing forces, with over a hundred million ships in total, didnt seem the least bit fazed. After a minute of tense silence, the enemy fleet began to shift, their ships turning to face the direction of the imperial fleet. It was clear nowthey had decided to deal with the "ants" in front of them first. They would eliminate the imperial forces before turning on each other to claim their spoils. The stage was set, and the confrontation seemed inevitable. "Detonate them," Aron said calmly, his voice devoid of emotion as he watched the enemy fleet continue their maneuvering, showing no intention of responding to his warning. Underst Before his assistant could even finish his acknowledgment, a sudden and overwhelming sensation of impending doom washed over him and everyone on the ship. Goosebumps prickled their skin, and an instinctual fear coursed through themthough there was no time to process the danger. Instantly, their ship was caught in an unimaginable force. It was crushed, stretched, and pulled violently, with both flesh and metal alike reduced to paste, as the vesseland everything aboardwas dragged into an unknown, unstoppable direction. ........................... ".........." Silence reigned on Aron''s side as he watched the chaos unfold, though the ship he was on hummed with strain, fighting to maintain its position against the gravitational onslaught which has weakened quite a bit due to distance. Tremors rippled through the hull, but Aron remained still, his gaze fixed on the projections before him. The projections showed light warping, bending unnaturally as if being pulled toward invisible voids. Massive capital ships, along with smaller vessels, crumpled under the immense gravitational forces unleashed by the detonations. It was as if the fabric of space itself had turned hostile, pulling everything into a singularities of destruction. Entire fleets were annihilated, compressed, and stretched beyond recognition, merging into indistinguishable masses within distances of light minute each. Although the micro black holes existed for only a few fleeting seconds before evaporating due to Hawking radiation, the intense gravitational forces they exerted in such a brief span were devastating. Ships within their immediate vicinity were obliterated, torn apart and reduced to cosmic debris. Even those stationed further away were heavily damaged, their structural integrity compromised by the violent ripple of gravitational waves. In that brief moment, without a single shot fired by the imperial forces, the invading armadas lost over five percent of their total fleet. The sheer scale of destruction sent a resounding message: this was no ordinary conflict. They faced a force capable of wielding the very fabric of the universe against them, turning space itself into a weapon. These are just warning shots. Any movement without reporting back to us will be dealt with immediately. You have thirty seconds to comply, Aron announced once again, his voice steady and cold. The credibility of his threat weighed heavily, as the destruction just witnessed carried terrifying consequences. Yet, it was a bluffone that only he and Nova knew. The micro black holes he had just detonated were the maximum he could deploy without causing irreversible damage to the solar system. The side effects were already immense: portions of the Oort Cloud had been destabilized, with asteroids knocked out of their orbits, now either heading towards the inner solar system or drifting aimlessly into space. It left the empire with an enormous cleanup task, but Aron had deemed it necessary. If he was to strike, it had to be decisive. Mercy was something he granted only to a pointbeyond that, sheer force was required. As the seconds ticked down, Aron kept his gaze locked on the display, showing the aftermath of the black hole detonations. Ships that had been arrogant moments ago now hesitated, their formations disrupted, and fear rippling through their ranks. He knew they would weigh their options carefully now. They had seen what he was capable of, but they had no idea he couldnt do it againnot without risking the empire itself. Aron didnt need them to know that, though. In war, perception was as powerful as any weapon. Chapter 738 The Eternal Flame of Pride Chapter 738 The Eternal Flame of Pride In the next five seconds, silence gripped the Conclave forces as they struggled to process what had just occurred. The concept of a black hole was something they had only studied from afar, a distant cosmic phenomenon at the center of the galaxy, safely observed but never experienced. Now, faced with the unimaginable reality of being caught in its devastating force, panic set in. The terror was overwhelminghorror-inducing, will-breaking, and utterly impossible to combat. Ten seconds later, the urgency hit them. With only fifteen seconds left to respond or face another round of annihilation, chaos erupted. Frenzied shouting filled the air as soldiers and commanders alike screamed for their leaders to surrender. Discipline, rank, and years of training were forgotten in the face of imminent death, as the overwhelming fear of being obliterated consumed them. They were prepared to sacrifice their lives for their civilization, their organization, or any cause they believed inbut only if their deaths had meaning. Dying without purpose was foolish, and they knew it. In the midst of the chaos, as panic spread across the fleet, that thought echoed in the minds of many. They hadn''t come this far just to be obliterated without reason. Amid the turmoil, a few factions managed to maintain enough composure for their leaders to communicate. These more organized groups quickly realized that their carefully laid plans had crumbled. In a scramble for damage control, they sought a path toward the least destructive outcome, knowing they were facing a force that had already shattered their expectations. .......... While the various groups were either panicking or deliberating on how to minimize damage, maintaining a cautious distance, one faction seemed oblivious to the transmissionor perhaps, they simply chose to ignore it. They advanced steadily, undeterred by the warnings. Without hesitation, their ships launched a barrage of missiles, each accelerating to ten percent of light speed upon leaving the vessels. Through mana vision, it became clear that a spell accompanied the missile barrage, boosting their speed even further. Hundreds of thousands of missiles hurtled through space, their velocity ensuring they would reach their targets within mere minutes, despite the vast distance separating them from the imperial fleet. As a result of that announcement, many of the forces present regained their composure, allowing them to see the broader picture that had eluded them in the chaos following the previous catastrophic event. Recognizing the truth in the Valthorins declaration, they found a renewed sense of purpose. Emboldened by their collective frustration and the desire to avenge their earlier losses, each faction began launching their missiles and deploying every long-range weapon at their disposal. A wave of counterattacks surged through the ranks, as the forces united in a shared determination to retaliate against the enemy. ............... The Valthorin, a good race to have under our empire, Aron remarked, observing the unfolding situation with a sense of calm. {If you can achieve annexing them, they will be the perfect asset for the empire and the expansion plan,} Nova replied, her voice steady. She understood that they were well-prepared to handle the majority of the initial wave of attacks without significant issues. Though I need to gather more information about their Pride Nexus and Honor Blades. If I can replicate those, it would make our plans much more effective and easier to implement, Aron mused, recalling the snippets of information they had collected from captured crew members of Xalthars ship. The Pride Nexus, he remembered, was a vast network of interconnected minds among the Valthorin elite. It allowed them to share thoughts, strategies, and memories, significantly enhancing their decision-making abilities. However, access was limited to those who had proven their worth meaning it might have even more capabilities than known by the rest of the Conclave. In contrast, the Honor Blades were personal weapon or any object created from specific materials crafted upon coming of age. Each blade contained an imprint of its wielder''s soul, forming a unique bond that rendered it utterly useless to anyone else. For the owner, it served as an irreplaceable symbol of pride and identity, a testament to their character and accomplishments. But first, lets focus on the current situation before getting lost in thoughts about the future and risking a mistake in the present, he said, his gaze fixed on the incoming attacks as they finally entered a range that allowed for an effective response. Chapter 739 A Distinction Forged by Necessity Chapter 739 A Distinction Forged by Necessity The imperial first-line fleets reacted instantly as the incoming missiles and spells entered the point of no return. They launched their own counterattack, deploying smaller missiles, which were accompanied by a barrage of sleek, black spheres. These spheres spread out in all directions, tasked with intercepting the incoming threats from every possible angle, given that the attacks were converging from multiple vectors in space to bypass potential defenses. While the missiles handled the initial phase of interception, the sleek spheres communicated and coordinated seamlessly with each other. Each one generated a hexagonal shield, which linked together to form an interlocking barrier around the fleet. This network of shields braced for impact, prepared to handle the incoming mana-powered attacks that could not be countered through conventional methods alone. The first attack to challenge the hexagonal shields was an immense ball of fire, burning with such intensity that it could melt most metals by mere proximity, demonstrating its destructive power. As it reached the shield, it passed through seemingly without much resistance. However, by the time it emerged on the other side, it had been completely neutralizeddisappearing into nothingness. The hexagonal shields had not been designed to physically block attacks but to strip them of their mana. The moment the fireball entered the shields zone, the shield absorbed all the mana sustaining it, rendering it inert. Without its magical energy to keep it alive, the fireball disintegrated before it could pose any threat to the imperial ships. This was the brilliance of the shield systemrather than stopping attacks with brute force, it nullified anything reliant on mana, making magical assaults ineffective unless they had their own protection against mana depletion. This capability was strong enough to repel all basic attacks that relied on magic as the primary source of weapon damage. However, it appeared that some enemy weapons were immune to its effects, as a few attacks bypassed the shield entirely. These particular weapons became the focus of attention, as they were physical in nature but exhibited a phasing ability. Whenever they were about to be struck by an interceptors explosion, they passed through it effortlessly, as if the blast were nothing more than wind through a net. Once these weapons reached their target ship, they phased through its walls and detonated inside, destroying a small attacking vessel with a single strike. While the majority of the fleets were focused on advancing and preparing for their dash to the star system, one civilizations forces, the Shadari, noticeably halted their movements. Instead of following suit, they directed their attention elsewhere, opening fire toward an area that appeared empty, filled only with asteroids. To an outside observer unfamiliar with them, this might have seemed like an act of madness. However, knowing the Shadaris reputation as masters of stealth, no one dismissed it as such. When the Shadari launched an attack in a seemingly barren direction, it signaled that something significant was concealed there. Realizing the implications of this, the other Conclave forces quickly pushed their sensors to their maximum limits, eager to uncover what could be prompting the Shadari to act in such a peculiar manner. In the realm of stealth, the Shadari were unmatched, a distinction forged by necessity. Their home star system was located in a region where space-time was distorted, giving rise to natural stealth zones where light, sound, and even energy signatures were suppressed or redirected. This environment not only shaped their technological advancements but also influenced the evolution of the local fauna, resulting in stealth predators capable of becoming invisible or intangible for varying durations. These adaptations rendered traditional combat methods nearly ineffective, compelling the nascent Shadari civilization to evolve and refine their own strategies for survival in such hostile conditions. As a result, they became masters of stealth, able to move undetected and strike when least expected, a skill that proved invaluable in their ongoing conflicts. So when a species like the Shadari initiated an attack in close proximity (relative to space), it indicated that the enemy they were targeting possessed a level of stealth that even the masters of concealment struggled to detect until it was almost too late. This was evident as the attacks launched by the Shadari fleets simply vanished from existence upon reaching a certain distance. Before the other forces could receive any meaningful feedback from their sensors, the enemy finally revealed themselves. Attacks began raining down from seemingly nowhere, catching many off guard. Alongside these assaults, tens of thousand of breaching pods descended, primarily aimed at the control ships or the largest vessels within each civilization''s or organizations fleet. This strategic focus made it clear that the enemy was intent on targeting the leadership, aiming to destabilize the command structure and sow chaos among the ranks. Chapter 740 1% Success Chapter 740 1% Success From a two-dimensional perspective, an observer witnessing this conflict would see two sides engaged in entirely different battles as a result of the ongoing attacks. The imperial forces remained focused on thwarting waves of incoming assaults, while the Conclave forces were also caught in a defensive struggle against attacks that seemed to emerge from thin air. The invisible enemy skillfully capitalized on the gaps created by the Conclave forces, who had spaced themselves apart in preparation for a potential rush after the imperial forces were defeated. Their attacks, launched from these positions, caught the Conclave by surprise, throwing them into a scramble to respond effectively. As the Conclave struggled to counter the incoming assaults, they faced the daunting task of not only stopping the initial attacks but also preventing breaching pods from infiltrating their ships. At the same time, they had to focus on eliminating the stealth forces that were orchestrating the offensive. This chaotic interplay of threats kept the Conclave forces on high alert, forcing them to split their attention and resources in a desperate attempt to maintain their defenses. The enemys positioning created a challenging situation for the Conclave forces. Nestled in the gaps between each other, they found it difficult to respond effectively without risking collateral damage. Any counterattacks aimed at the stealth forces had a significant chance of missing their intended targets and instead striking their temporary allies. This precarious positioning heightened the stakes for the Conclave, as they had to balance the urgency of their defense with the potential consequences of harming their temporary allies forces which might create more chaos, all while under relentless pressure from the ongoing assaults. .............. We should tell them where to aim, one of the Shadari leaders suggested, observing the varying degrees of difficulty faced by the Conclave members against the stealth enemies. His body, along with those he was addressing, bore a humanoid shape, but that was where the resemblance to humans ended. They lacked visible eyes, ears, or any identifiable features. The only discernible aspect of their forms was the dark layer that enveloped them, which appeared to absorb light in varying degrees, depending on each member of their race. These missiles were not only among their finest weapons but also some of the most costly and complex to manufacture. Constructed from rare materials and requiring the expertise of highly skilled Shadari artisans, their availability was limited, with each fleet allocated only a small supply. Originally intended to maintain a balance of power against the other top ten civilizations, nearly a quarter of these prized missiles had now been expended to both destroy imperial ships and reveal their stealth forces currently targeting them. This loss represented a significant risk, compromising their strategic advantage at a crucial moment in the conflict. We dont have time; lets vote. Those in favor, make it known, declared the Shadari with the most light-absorbing skin. Silence hung in the air; no one raised a hand or spoke a word. Then well send them the information about the central ship and instruct them to target it to reveal the other vessels, the one who called for the vote announced, interpreting the lack of response as tacit approval from the others. As soon as the information was transmitted to the other Conclave members, they swiftly redirected their attacks to penetrate the stealth bubble, concentrating their fire on the central ships in each bubble that was responsible for maintaining them. However, it appeared that the Shadari had deliberately chosen this moment to provide the crucial information, just as every other Conclave force was facing a few thousand breaching pods successfully infiltrating their ships from the hundreds of thousands launched at them. This meant that even if they managed to handle the stealth forces, they would still have to contend with the enemy forces that had already breached their ships allowing the Shadari to reach their goal of weakening them without having to do anything with their own hands. Chapter 741 Improvise, Die, Revive, Adapt, Die, Revive, Overcome, and Repeat. 741 Improvise, Die, Revive, Adapt, Die, Revive, Overcome, and Repeat. The breaching pods launched by the stealth forces, despite being accompanied by missiles, weapons, and their own defenses, still had a very low success rate due to the advanced multi-target tracking systems of spacefaring civilizations. To counter this, the empire employed a tried-and-true strategy: overwhelming those systems with sheer numbers. This tactic was only possible thanks to their atomic printers, allowing them to mass-produce breaching pods and launch them to their almost certain destruction without risking any lives of their soldiers in such an operation. As a result of the numerous obstacles, only an average of one percent of the breaching pods successfully penetrated ships without being destroyed. Some forces experienced a higher number of breaches, while others, like the Shadari, had almost none. The Shadari''s advanced detection systems allowed them to identify the pods from a greater distance, providing a buffer zone that enabled them to intercept and eliminate all of the first waves of breaching pods before they could cause any damage. .............. Ismail Maylander opened his eyes, adjusting to his newly assigned body, a robotic copy that had been activated the moment a breaching pod successfully penetrated one of the ships. With the empires forces stretched thin, more robotic soldiers than actual imperial troops were being deployed, and soldiers like Maylander were reassigned based on availability. Thanks to the low success rate of the breaching pods, there were just enough soldiers to control their robotic counterparts and launch an immediate counterattack. There was no time to hold back. With over a billion enemy forces swarming, restraint was unnecessaryno matter how many they killed, there would still be plenty left to interrogate later. Now, the focus was on eliminating as many invaders as possible in the chaos that had begun to unfold. He wasted no time. Rising to his feet, Ismail Maylander quickly fell in with his new team, immediately engaging the enemy as they attempted to flush them out. Without even seeing the enemy, he fired instinctively, relying on the wealth of pre-collected data. He knew that by the time his bullets reached their destination, they would intersect with the enemy soldiers movements. The EMP blast that came standard with the breaching pods had wiped out most of the surveillance systems in the area, leaving the enemy to fight blindly. In contrast, Maylander and his team had the advantage of a 3D representation of their surroundings. Every movement they made was optimized, allowing them to take the path of least resistance while inflicting maximum damage on the invaders. The enemy forces, showing their experience in space warfare, quickly adapted to the situation. After realizing that the infiltrating soldiers were far more formidable than anticipated, they shifted tactics. Instead of continuing to engage head-on, they sealed the breached section and cut off the supply of breathable air. Without hesitation, they began flooding the area with sedative gas, aiming to either incapacitate or kill the intruders. .............. "This star system is quite interesting," remarked a strikingly beautiful humanoid female, her body adorned with what appeared to be hundreds of thousands of independently moving scales. She glanced to her left, where a breaching pod had embedded itself in the wall, and watched as the invading forces began to emerge from it. There was no trace of fear in her demeanor, nor any sign of reinforcements rushing in to fend off the breaching forces. It was as if her mere presence was assurance enough that she could handle the situation alone. The soldiers poured out of the breaching pod without hesitation, immediately opening fire on the woman standing before them. They unleashed a relentless hail of bullets, aiming to turn her into a honeycomb, fully aware of the dangerous species they were up against. They knew they couldn''t afford to hold back. Yet, despite the barrage, with weapons firing at maximum power, she didnt flinchnot even an inch. She simply stood there, watching them, as though their attacks were nothing more than a fleeting inconvenience. This relentless assault continued until some of the soldiers eventually ran out of bullets. As they moved to reload, the woman finally made her move, she took a single step from her original positionand in an instant, she vanished. She reappeared next to the soldier who was still firing, while his teammate in the midst of reloading. Before he or anyone near him could react, her hand pierced through his chest as if it were a lance. The soldier barely had time to register what had happened before his robotic body exploded, the force of the blast inconsequential to her as she tanked it like it was nothing more than a hit from a soft pillow. Chapter 742 "We Only Need to Win Once" 742 "We Only Need to Win Once" This is very weird, Seraphina thought to herself as she gazed at the scattered remains of the enemy soldiers now littering the floor. Fragments of metal, bone, roots, and remnants of mana floated in the air, their strange compositions scattered after the soldiers had exploded. She had effortlessly eliminated each one as they emerged from the breaching pod, but something felt deeply unsettling about the encounter. It wasnt the act of killingshe was long accustomed to thatit was the way the enemy reacted. There was no fear, no panic, almost as if they weren''t concerned about death at all. It was as though dying was a game to them. Before Seraphina could ponder further, she was alerted to another breach elsewhere on the ship. She needed to respond immediately. Turning on her heel, wings began materializing from her backelegant, yet powerful, forming in a mere two seconds. With a single, mighty flap, she vanished from the room. The only evidence of her presence was the aftermath: untethered objects sent flying in the opposite direction, and a gaping hole in the ships wall where she''d effortlessly passed through, carving the shortest path to her next destination. After several more rapid movements, with Pythagoras''s approach guiding her, Seraphina reached her next target. The soldiers were already on the move, and it was as if they had anticipated her arrival from that specific direction. They were mid-turn, preparing to fire at her, but even their enhanced speed appeared slow to her. She had reached them before they could complete their motions, despite being aware of her approach from several hundred meters away. This time, she didnt hesitate. With swift precision, she moved through the group, obliterating them one by one. Then, without pausing, Seraphina moved to the next location, repeating the process with the same fluid precision, eliminating enemies in rapid succession more than ten times over the next few minutes. Once Seraphina had finished clearing out all the breachers in her immediate vicinity, she opted to return to the control room. This time, she followed the designated path, which would only take a few seconds longer than her usual method of breaking through walls. Throughout her journey, Seraphina executed what appeared to be impossiblesharp ninety-degree turns while maintaining her monstrous speed. Each turn was performed with such precision that it was only slightly slower than crashing through walls at full force, demonstrating both her agility and mastery of movement. It was unsettling, almost as if their faces had no ability to show or express emotions. Yet, when the man in her grasp began to speak, that assumption crumbled. We only need to win once, he said, laughter bubbling forth, starkly contrasting the dire situation. Confusion swirled within her as she tried to comprehend his words. What could he possibly mean? But before she could inquire further, the soldier erupted in a fit of strange laughter, his voice dripping with conviction. You can kill us as many times as you want; we will keep coming. We only need to kill you once. No matter how many of us die to achieve that, it will be a worthy trade. Before she could react, he detonated himself, a final act of defiance that left her stunned. The echoes of his laughter and the weight of his declaration lingered in her mind as she moved on, grappling with the unsettling realization that she was facing a foe whose resolve was unwavering, one that seemed prepared to sacrifice everything for a single victory. They are nothing but words of the weak, the man scoffed, his arrogance unmistakable. What makes you think about them like that? They werent even strong enough to warrant you using your racial powers; you dealt with them using speedsomething we all have in abundance. Seraphina chose not to respond, her thoughts swirling with uncertainty. Thats true, she acknowledged internally, but something in me denies it, as if something isnt right about them. Despite all her common sense telling her that they would never reach a level to face her as an equal foe, the lingering words of the man echoed in her mind, challenging her perceptions and attempting to dispel her confidence. Chapter 743 "How Long Can We Last?" Chapter 743 "How Long Can We Last?" Throughout the entire debacle, which had been raging for over half an hour, Aron remained a silent observer. His role, as always, was to step back and watch the unfolding chaos with calculated detachment. He had already given John the mental "picture" he envisionedan abstract strategy, a broad outline of how events should transpire. It was John''s job, as usual, to transform that vision into a masterpiece. For years, John''s sole purpose had been to execute Aron''s will with precise artistry, and he had yet to disappoint, ever since Aron had cured him a few years ago. Meanwhile, every sensor embedded in the battlefield was constantly relaying streams of data back to the central servers for storage and analysis. Nova handled the cataloging process, ensuring that every piece of information was meticulously organized. The rest of the AIs were tasked with more direct functions, managing the countless minute details of the battlefield. The sheer scale of the conflict was something no human could ever hope to micromanage, so the AIs etched every pixel of the grand image, while John, like an artist with a palette, decided which parts needed color, directing the larger strategy with the precision only an experienced general could manage. How long can we sustain this constant barrage of attacks without leaving an opening for them? Aron asked, his gaze steady as he analyzed the situation. Every citizen watching could see the empire deploying vast amounts of equipment at an astonishing rate. The sheer scale of resources being expended was enough to surprise even the most empire-sided observers, leading many to wonder just how deep their reserves truly ran. {Due to the enemy forces being over four times our number and arriving in smaller, individual groups rather than a unified force, coupled with our over-preparation, the quantity of weapons we have in reserve should be roughly equal to theirs. It all depends on how quickly we expend our resources versus theirs. When that point comes, the confrontation will shift to direct combat, which will likely be in their favor. However, for as long as their response mirrors ours, we can sustain this pace for about a week. From their perspective, that''s probably the most theyll assume as well, even if they overestimate ussomething that would actually play to our advantage. Neither the enemy nor our own citizens have any real grasp of the rapid production capabilities we possess. The timing of when and where we deploy reinforcements will determine who comes out on top in this long-distance warfare. By the end of the week, well know if our strategy holds. Here it is, she said, projecting a massive hologram filled with all the information they had gathered. The information now at their fingertips was the culmination of various operations conducted by different groups. They had harvested brain data from enemies, infiltrated the ship''s mainframe to gather intelligence before the opposing forces could detect them, and terminated programs to prevent reverse engineering that could lead to counterattacks. Additionally, they had collected DNA samples from bodies for recreation in VR, enabling further analysis and experimentation. Despite their extensive efforts, they had only managed to gather a limited amount of information on the individuals from the top ten civilizations. Some of these races were formidable enough that not a single member of their species had been killed in the confrontations, while others had proven so resilient that their ships had remained impenetrable. Although they were confident that they had eliminated at least a few members of these races, the circumstances surrounding those deaths left little to work with. Many of the casualties had occurred during the initial black hole attack, erasing any possibility of gathering meaningful intelligence. Others had fallen to missile strikes, and the significant distance made it impossible to safely collect their remains, further complicating the process of information gathering So even the current information was derived from the insights collected from various forces that struggled to resist the imperial onslaught. They passed this data through a filtering process to assess consensus on certain topics and to sift through the limited information obtained from the few individuals of the top ten civilizations they managed to encounter. Unfortunately, most of these individuals were of the lowest ranks, meaning their insights were also restricted in scope. Despite these challenges, the amount of gathered information was sufficient to compile a basic summary of these species, including their fundamental cultures, the basic outlines of their technological advancements, and more. However, the information remained rudimentary at best and would continue to be so until they successfully acquired brain data from high-ranking individuals within these civilizations. With the information now displayed before him, Nova accelerated his brain processing speed to the maximum limit permitted by his implants. Wasting no time he began to read the information with intense focus, absorbing every detail at an astonishing pace. Chapter 744 The Top Ten of the Conclave I Chapter 744 The Top Ten of the Conclave I {A/N: Sorry for the messy upload schedule. School has opened Im trying to adjust to it} The Valthorin, Shadari, Elara, Xor''Vak, Kha''Sar, Erythians, Zevlora, Trinarians, Yrral Coalition, and Glavinith were the top ten races in the Conclave. Each of these civilizations had mastered a unique specialization that allowed them to secure and maintain their position among the top ten, despite the constant influx of new civilizations joining the Conclave. These specializations were the cornerstones of their power, shaping their influence and dominance in the ever-evolving political and military landscape of the Conclave. The Valthorins society is built around a core philosophy called "Kairos," meaning "The Eternal Flame of Pride." This belief system determines their self-worth by how well they preserve and protect their pride in every aspect of life. As a result, Valthorins are incredibly hard-working, relentlessly striving to elevate their status within their society. Honor and reputation are their obsessions, driving them to excel in any field they enter. However, their unwavering loyalty to their empire limits the methods they can use to rise in status, forcing them to rely solely on legitimate means, which further sharpens their skills and perseverance. When dealing with outsiders, however, the Valthorins feel no such restrictions. They employ every tactic necessary to achieve their goals, including manipulation and deception. Their tireless work ethic is further motivated by the ultimate goal: gaining access to the prestigious "Pride Nexus." This sophisticated mental network, reserved for the Valthorin elite, enables seamless sharing of thoughts, ideas, and experiences, creating a collective memory of past successes, tactics, and even failures. Nevertheless, the Shadari remained a step ahead in nearly every other aspect of stealth. Their true potential required close proximity to be fully realized, a situation they thankfully were not in at the moment. However, their phasing missiles presented a significant challenge, remaining currently impossible to counter effectively. As always, Nova summarized their government system for him to review in detail later. He then moved on to the next race he needed to be most cautious about in face-to-face combat: the Xor''Vak. Known as the "Masters of Destruction," Nova had aptly dubbed them "Dragonoids" due to their resemblance to the dragons from human lore. The Xor''Vak were renowned as the strongest race when it came to individual strength, capable of unleashing nearly unbelievable levels of destruction once they reached a certain threshold of power. This immense strength fostered a culture that revered might above all else, with their leaders selected solely based on combat prowess. Each of the four royal clans would choose a champion to battle among themselves, and the victor would ascend to lead the entire race. This system allowed the reigning leader to be challenged every century, ensuring that only the strongest would hold power. Due to their unwavering focus on strength and their unique power systemone that could only be accessed racially and not through other civilizations'' systemsthe Xor''Vak relied heavily on slavery and the labor of other civilizations. They maintained a significant number of slaves and subordinate species for menial tasks. The racial abilities of the Xor''Vak varied significantly depending on the clan they were born into, with each clan specializing in a particular elemental force: Fire, Water, Earth, or Air. These abilities were not conventional but rather unique to their lineage. The strength of an individuals powers also hinged on bloodline purity, which determined their starting capabilities. Even those with less pure bloodlines still possessed strength that ranked among the top compared to other civilizations. Their capacity for power growth did not depend on mana but rather on an exotic material unique to their race. This fact was a key motivator for their presence in the star system, as they sought to seize control and acquire the mana stones to exchange for resources to further enhance their strength. One of the most striking features of the Xor''Vak was their ability to metamorphose from humanoid forms into dragon-like forms of varying sizes. The strength of the individual determined the size of their dragon formthe more powerful they were, the larger their dragonic transformation. In dragon form, they could unleash devastating waves of destruction, while in humanoid form, they excelled at delivering precise and targeted damage. Chapter 745 The Top Ten of the Conclave II Chapter 745 The Top Ten of the Conclave II The Symmetra were a race entirely opposite to the Xor''Vak, born with frail bodies but possessing exceptionally intelligent minds. This intellectual prowess enabled them to become unrivaled blacksmiths and weapon artisans, capable of forging weapons imbued with the essence of the void. These unique weapons exhibited adaptive, semi-sentient properties, allowing them to evolve based on their wielder''s needs. However, their weak physical forms initially limited the level of craftsmanship they could achieve. This limitation was a significant blow to a race that took immense pride in their weapon-making abilities. In response to their physical shortcomings, they made the drastic decision to remove most of their weak body parts and replace them with advanced technology. They retained only the critical parts necessary for survival, which led to an immediate enhancement in both their strength and the caliber of weapons they could produce. This transformation, however, had dire consequences. The drastic alteration of their bodies resulted in a significant reduction in their birth rate, prompting the leadership to impose strict regulations on body modifications. Individuals were now required to have a certain number of children and attain a specific mastery level by forging at least one weapon of a particular caliber before they could undergo further enhancements. This policy helped to stave off extinction, but the Symmetra''s population remained relatively small compared to other civilizations in the Conclave. Despite their reduced numbers, the Symmetra retained their position among the top ten civilizations due to the unmatched power and capabilities of the weapons they created. Their craftsmanship continued to be sought after, making them a formidable presence in the Conclave and ensuring their survival in a competitive universe. The Yrral Coalition stands out as the only member of the top ten civilizations formed by multiple races that united before their discovery by the Conclave. They serve as the industrial powerhouse of the empire, with their strength primarily rooted in their ability to produce goods rapidly and at scale. This coalition operates the largest number of fleets and is the most advanced in the Conclave, boasting remarkable military prowess through their mastery of logistics and fleet management. Their strategy embodies the principle that logistics wins wars; when faced with the loss of a million ships, they can counterattack with a staggering fifty million to secure victory. This overwhelming capacity for production ensures that they can maintain a continuous supply of military assets, often outmaneuvering opponents in large-scale engagements. Another key component of the Yrral Coalition''s power is their wealth. They possess abundant resources due to their role as a production base for many civilizations that lack the capability for cost-effective, large-scale manufacturing. This financial advantage allows them to acquire a wide array of technologies, further enhancing their technological tree and overall capabilities. As for the Trinarians, they have mastered the art of spatial manipulation, granting them the ability to temporarily fold space, create portals, and shift positions rapidly across the battlefield. Their effectiveness in this regard depends largely on their mana reserves, which determine the scale and range of their spatial abilities. The Trinarians are also the creators of the wormhole technology utilized by all who have arrived in this area, showcasing their advanced understanding of such mechanisms. This technology, while a few centuries old, indicates that they likely possess even more sophisticated versions that they have yet to release for sale, waiting to extract the maximum potential from it. However, the Trinarians do have weaknesses. Their abilities typically require calm and focused preparations to execute effectively, as the manipulation of space demands extensive calculations. Consequently, if opponents can disrupt their concentration or create chaos during engagements, they can significantly hinder the Trinarians'' ability to utilize their spatial manipulation techniques, leading to vulnerability in battle. Chapter 746 The Top Ten of the Conclave III Chapter 746 The Top Ten of the Conclave III While several races in the Conclave embraced biological modifications, the Galvinith followed the most natural path. Their unique power system relies on biological symbiosis, forming a partnership with symbiotic organisms that enhance their physical and mental capabilities without any initial technological intervention. Each Galvinith bonds with a symbiotic creature early in life, choosing based on their highest natural affinity, which grants them specialized abilities like heightened senses, rapid regeneration, extreme agility, or other traits specific to the symbiotes within their system. While they aren''t restricted to their strongest affinity, attempting to bond with a symbiote for which they lack a natural connection can severely hinder their growth or even prevent the symbiosis from taking holdleading to the host being crippled or killed. Once the bond is established, the symbiote takes time to adapt to the host. Due to the unique nature of each symbiote, no two Galvinith are alike, and their individuality makes them powerful and unpredictable in combat. Their greatest vulnerability lies in the symbiote itself. If the symbiote is killed or gravely injured, the host experiences a severe backlash, weakening them until they can find a new symbiote and undergo the adaptation process again. As a result, many powerful Galvinith cultivate relationships with multiple symbiotes, though this requires immense strength to meet the needs of each one without causing conflict. Only after reaching a certain level of power can a Galvinith safely host more than one symbiote. The more symbiotes a Galvinith bonds with, the more abilities they gain, making them increasingly formidable. Depending on which symbiotes his Galvinith opponents are bonded with the fight might be the easiest or the hardest but since there was no way for Aron to predict which symbiotes his opponents might wield, he decided to move on and examine the remaining racesall of which had one common focus: magic, a subject in which he was already highly proficient. This overview primarily concentrated on the individual characteristics of each race within the Conclave. While it provided some insights into the political tensionssuch as the Elara''s discriminatory views towards races that lacked the ability to use mana and magicit also highlighted their belief that they were the rightful masters of these powers in the universe. This belief fueled their ongoing hatred for the Feryn, whom they saw as corrupting the sanctity of mana and magic by imprisoning them within metals and machines. To the Elara, this practice enabled even those previously rejected by mana to wield its power, which they deemed a desecration. However, this political context was not particularly relevant to the current situation. Such issues would only become significant once hostilities had ended, and by that time, additional information would likely have surfaced, making the effort to read about these tensions a distraction from the vigilance required in the present moment. Having finished reviewing the updated information about the top ten civilizations, Aron returned his perception acceleration to normal. Both he and Nova understood the importance of avoiding fatigue, as he needed to maintain maximum readiness. With his new insights, his perspective on the ongoing attacks shifted; he could now identify the unique patterns in each assault and deduce which civilization''s fleet was behind them, or at least infer which civilization had supplied the weaponry used. Now we wait, he said, settling back into his chair. He refrained from adding anything to the plan, confident that John and the rest of the military were also briefed on the gathered intelligence. They would leverage this information to tailor their tactics to each civilization and the weapons they deployed, streamlining the process for the breaching forces, who were bearing the brunt of the danger in gathering critical data. Within this strategy, his only reason for taking action would be if the enemy began deploying their strongest individual forces in significant numbers. Only then would he consider making a decisive move. And he knew that with each passing second, the moment of confrontation drew closer. Chapter 747 Nothing Unites People Faster Than Tragedy and Fear Chapter 747 Nothing Unites People Faster Than Tragedy and Fear Imperial Territory, Earth. "Oh my god," Rosemary muttered as she watched the different footage of the ongoing fight. The Empire had made sure to keep its citizens informed, sparing none of the details, yet implementing various filters based on the viewers age and preferences. This allowed people to tailor their experiencethose squeamish about blood wouldnt see it, or would see it in a color other than the familiar red. Children were restricted to distant, animated representations of the battle, keeping them shielded from the brutality. And for those who wanted to see the unfiltered reality, every moment unfolded in its raw, true form. "But was our military *this* strong?" Rosemary asked her husband, her voice tinged with disbelief as she stared at the screen. Lucas, sitting beside her in the comfort of their home, remained calm as he watched the ongoing broadcast. "Well, its not like we''ve had a situation to see the full extent of our militarys might until now," he said thoughtfully. "Before this, all we had were reports and assurances, which dont really convince most people. But you have to remember, the Empire was formed *because* of the discovery of that oncoming alien fleet. If they couldn''t stop them, the Empire wouldve failed at its very purpose. So, they over-preparedand it looks like theyre making good on that promise." He glanced at his wife, still wide-eyed in awe, as he continued, "Its the first real test for them, so theyre pulling out all the stops." As they continued watching, the live streams played out almost like a blockbuster movie. The director behind the scenes wasnt a human but an advanced AI, carefully orchestrating every angle, every shot. It ensured that everything critical was visible to the public, while strategically omitting anything that might benefit the enemy if they somehow breached the Empires network. The result was an intensely engaging experience, keeping viewers absorbed in the spectacle unfolding before them. Battlefield. Despite three relentless days of fighting, nothing seemed to change. Both sides appeared confident that the other would run out of either weapons or soldiers first. However, it was the sheer number of soldiers on the empire''s side that caused growing unease among the Conclave civilizations. Each time they successfully eliminated a wave of attackers, more would follow, seemingly endless and with even greater vigor than the last. What unnerved the Conclave forces most was the unshakable enthusiasm these imperial soldiers displayed. It was as if they had no regard for their own lives, charging forward without hesitation. The smaller civilizations and organizations that had allied with each other for a piece at the table were bearing the brunt of the empire''s relentless assault. Many of them had already lost a significant number of ships to these fearless imperial soldiers. Even in cases where they managed to clear their vessels of the invaders, their ships were often left in a severely damaged state. Frequently, they were forced to decouple sections of their ships to prevent the soldiers, who were swiftly advancing toward control rooms, from taking over completely. The insanity of these imperial troops didnt stop there. In instances where they did gain control of a ship but couldn''t use it to attack their foes, they would simply blow it up, ensuring that the Conclave forces couldnt reclaim or reuse it. The empire''s soldiers showed a terrifying disregard for lifeboth their own and their enemiesand they made it clear that, if they couldnt win, they would take their opponents down with them. The only factions managing to hold their ground amidst the chaos were the top ten civilizations, each of whom employed their own advanced methods for dealing with the relentless breachers. While they did lose a few smaller ships, these losses were inconsequential compared to the devastating damage they had taken during the initial attack, which had been five times worse. This was why they were determined to hold out; they needed to annihilate the enemy and secure their hands on the true prize. The true prize was no longer the mana stones they had originally come for. Now, their focus had shifted to the empires technology, which was even more valuable. The ability to create black holes at will was an equilibrium-shattering power, a force that could be used to coerce or dominate others with little resistance. This technology held a significance comparable to the wormhole tech once pioneered by the Trinarians, a discovery that had rewritten the balance of power across the galaxy. Gaining control of such a weapon would make them unstoppable, allowing them to secure anything they desired without fear of opposition. Chapter 748 The Voice of Reason Chapter 748 The Voice of Reason By the sixth day, the Empire had succeeded in obliterating many of the smaller organizations that had allied with the weaker civilizations, pushing those civilizations themselves to the brink of destruction. However, the Empire wasnt unscathed either. They had lost nearly five hundred and fifty thousand ships, along with over seven billion breaching pods destroyed before they could even make it aboard enemy vessels. Realizing the escalating toll, the opposition began to scale back their aggressive expenditure of weapons. It became clear that the Empires arsenal was far from running dryits seemingly endless supply of firepower suggested that they had prepared for a protracted conflict, and this forced the other side to reconsider their approach. Their hope of outlasting the Empire in a battle of attrition was dwindling as it became evident that they might run out of weapons before their opponent even showed signs of slowing down. ............... I think we need to act decisively, or well end up retreating with nothing but lossesand leaving behind an enemy with terrifying weapons, Xylor, the Zelvora fleet commander, said, his expression grim as he sifted through the six days'' worth of battle data they had gathered. The Zelvora, thanks to their unique ability to create a mental network that allowed for coordinated, unified attacks, had fared better than most. Their combined efforts had enabled them to generate a massive shield around their fleet, protecting them from much of the carnage that followed the Empire''s devastating black hole attack. As a result, they were one of the few fleets that had sustained minimal losses during the brutal tit-for-tat exchanges. "Based on their craziness, they''ll destroy their entire star system before accepting defeat," Liasas remarked, recalling the extreme and reckless tactics their enemies had displayed. "You''re right," Zorvas agreed. "But from what we''ve seen, I actually think they might be worthy of joining the Conclave. If we can convince both sides to end the hostilities and cooperate, we can prevent them from annihilating themselves if they lose, limit our own losses, and still gain access to these so-called mana stones." Finally, he transitioned to his core idea. All of these strong-headed races share a common trait: they respond to powerful individuals. So, why not establish a framework that capitalizes on this? "We establish an agreement that clearly outlines how the two sides will interact, covering essential aspects such as who the empire can sell the mana stones to, at what price, and other relevant terms. Most factions on our side will agree to this framework, leaving the Valthorins and XorVaks in a position where they cannot refuse outright. For these two groups, we present an opportunity to face the strongest individuals from the other side. This could serve as a means for them to redeem their honor or simply to engage with formidable opponents. In exchange, should they lose, they will have to forfeit certain benefits. However, if they emerge victorious, they will either gain equal or slightly greater benefits than the rest of us. "Once our side has reached an agreement, we will inform the empire that we have crafted a deal beneficial for both parties. At the same time, we should issue a warning: since they possess what we desire, we will relentlessly pursue them, regardless of how many times they manage to thwart us, until we achieve their annihilation should they refuse our offer. If they express interest in our proposal, we will present them with the initial terms, which will be slightly exploitative in natureterms they are unlikely to accept. Once they express their unwillingness, we can then provide them with an opportunity to negotiate terms if they agree to face our chosen challengers which will be the Valthorins and the XorVaks. We can leverage the other side''s lack of knowledge about the Conclave to create the impression that they stand a chance of winning or that the fight will be closely contested. This will allow them to negotiate the terms based on their potential victory or defeat, encouraging them to raise the stakes willingly. This approach will lead them to believe that, depending on what they decide to stake, they could secure the most favorable deal if they win. While the agreement may turn more exploitative if they lose, the potential gains will likely overshadow their concerns about what they stand to lose if they fail. In either scenario, we will benefit from the arrangement, ensuring that our interests are protected regardless of the outcome. If they agree and negotiate the rewards, we can solidify the arrangement by signing a mana oath, ensuring they cannot back out once they witness the true strength of our two races and come to realize their likelihood of losing. Thats my proposal; feel free to use it as a template and adjust it as needed to fit the circumstances with the information you have at hand." With that, he concluded, feeling elated at having captured the attention of everyone in the networkan achievement he could chase for the rest of his life. Chapter 749 Greed: The Mother of Ruin Chapter 749 Greed: The Mother of Ruin There was another wave of silence in the network. This time, it wasnt due to waiting for another recommendation, but because everyone was processing how the suggested plan could be advantageous, how it might be implemented, how it could potentially backfire, what adjustments were necessary, and whether a better alternative existed. "Although its crude, the plan has some usable parts that can work for now," Zorvas finally said, breaking the contemplative silence. Following his comment, the network quickly began to generate suggestions for modifying the proposed plan. With their collective mental connection, the modifications happened at an impressive speed. Within about twenty minutes, the original plan was barely recognizable, having undergone several significant revisions. The higher-ups then carefully reviewed the final version to ensure no critical aspects had been overlooked, although it was unlikely at this point. After the review, Liasas spoke up, "I''ll take care of informing the other civilizations." With that, she disconnected from the current mental network and created a new one. This time, her focus was on including the leadership of various fleets from other civilizations. A few minutes after initiating the expansion, she had successfully pulled in all the key figures who could make such a significant decision without needing to report to higher authorities, as they had been granted full autonomy for long-range missions like this. As long as the objectives were met, they wouldnt face any reprimands for their actions. I really hate this, muttered a representative of the Shadari Forces, as he found himself suddenly pulled into a mockup meeting room. Instantly recognizing what had happened, his disdain was palpable. The Shadari, masters of stealth, loathed nothing more than being thrust into situations they did not fully control. The moment they heard the plan, all their previous frustration about being pulled away from their work vanished. The Zelvora had just offered them a way out of the chaotic situation they were trapped in. They also understood why the Vlathorins and XorVaks were not included in the discussion. While the Vlathorins were known for scheming, they would never do it openly, and in order to protect their honor, they would likely oppose the plan. The XorVaks, on the other hand, werent as invested in such political maneuvering, but their exclusion made sense due to their predictable nature. Seeing a path forward, the representatives quickly got to work, each eager to contribute suggestions. However, some grew greedy, attempting to shape the plan in ways that would secure more benefits for their own civilizations. In this mix of self-interest, it became clear that the most powerful factions would ultimately set the rules. After some debate and compromises among the strongest civilizations, it was agreed: that each group could send their challengers to face off against the Empire''s champions. If their champions won, their civilization would gain a more favorable deal within the agreement. If they lost, they would receive the baseline benefits initially proposed. The situation had now evolved beyond just giving the two stubborn civilizations a face-off to satisfy their egos and recover their honor. Now, any civilization that believed they had strong fighters could participate, offering their champions a chance to win additional advantages for their people. At the same time, the deal was structured in such a way that if the Empire''s champions emerged victorious overall, they would gain a massive advantage in the final agreementas it needed to be structured that way to make it enticing enough for the Empire to agree to the terms. While their greed opened the door for the Empire to become the largest beneficiary if things played out in a certain way, none of them believed that outcome was even remotely possible. Despite already overestimating the Empire, none of the representatives considered for a second that their civilizations could lose. They were not sending their average forces; they were sending their strongest, most elite warriors. "Now that we have come to an agreement, I will inform our two friends and secure their acceptance before approaching the Empire," Xylor finally spoke up, breaking his silence since the start of the meeting. "Once we have their agreement, we''ll entice the Empire into accepting the deal and allow for some minor adjustments on their part. After that, we can update everyone on whether the plan succeeds or not. We should have the results within a few days." With that, the private mental network was promptly dissolved, and everyone returned to their respective tasks. Chapter 750 A short meeting Chapter 750 A short meeting The situation on the field remained largely unchanged, with both sides maintaining their strategies. The opposing forces, however, began to shift tactics, focusing on conserving their weaponry. This cautious approach lasted until the early hours of the seventh day, when an unexpected change unfolded, altering the course of the battle. {Sir, they are attempting to initiate communications with us,} Nova''s voice echoed, pulling Aron''s attention away from the display tracking the war''s intricate data streams. Aron paused for a moment, processing the unexpected shift. "Okay, that wasnt on the top of my list. So, what are they trying to communicate to us?" {They are suggesting we initiate a temporary cease-fire in order to discuss what they want to propose,} Nova replied, materializing the contract in front of him. The terms were clear: the cease-fire would take effect the moment the agreement was signed, halting all hostilities for either one week or until a settlement was reached, whichever came first. The contract was clear-cut, leaving no visible loopholes to exploit. It even preempted the possibility of the empire dragging out the ceasefire indefinitely without resolution. Aron narrowed his eyes as he scanned the terms, considering the potential benefits and risks. After a brief moment of contemplation, he summoned a meeting with the heads of the various ministries, intending to hear their perspectives and weigh their opinions on the proposed ceasefire before coming to a decision. "Let''s see what everyone thinks," Aron muttered to himself, preparing for the discussions that would soon follow. The two ministers nodded in agreement with Johns suggestions, signaling that the proposal had solid backing. Now, it was up to Aron to give his final decision. "Lets proceed with this plan," Aron said after a brief pause. "But leave the period at seven days." A ripple of surprise passed through the room, visible on the faces of the human ministers. However, Aron pressed on, unfazed. "Include clauses that ensure no new vessels or individuals from the Conclaveor anyone in contact with themcan enter this sector to provide aid during the ceasefire. The agreement will be bound by a mana oath and signed through our own means of assurance to prevent any underhanded tactics from either side. Upon hearing Arons reasoning and realizing they had a solid means of preventing the other side from exploiting their extensive experience with mana oaths, the ministers'' earlier concerns began to fade. With their confidence restored and a clear course of action outlined, John, in conjunction with the military AIs, immediately got to work initiating the negotiation process. It took a full day before both sides reached a temporary ceasefire agreement that they were mutually satisfied with. This lengthy negotiation underscored the reality that any proposals moving forward would likely require more than a few days to finalize. Despite that, the outcome would either be an agreement that left both sides feeling content, an outcome were one side is happy and other disgruntled or a resolution that left both slightly disgruntled. Alternatively, they might choose to wait for the ceasefire period to expire, leading to a return to fighting until one side decides that the conflict was no longer worth the effort and either call for further negotiations, retreat, or surrender if push come to shove. Once the terms were agreed upon, both sides had to send representatives to the center of the conflict, where hostilities had momentarily ceased to facilitate the situation. This was crucial for the swearing of the mana oath and the signing of a runic contract. The mana oath could be performed regardless of distance, allowing for a flexible assurance of commitment. However, the runic contract mandated a physical presence, as it had to be signed on a specially prepared docuement. Chapter 751 Signing of the Ceasefire Chapter 751 Signing of the Ceasefire "From forcing nation leaders to sign surrender agreements to now signing a ceasefire agreement with aliens on behalf of the empirewho wouldve thought all this would happen in less than a decade?" an alluring woman remarked as she disembarked from her ship. The ship''s tractor beam engaged, gently guiding her toward the designated location for the signing. She was a member of Nyx, one of the few who had been active even before the Unification War, and despite the ceasefire not yet being in effect, she showed no signs of nervousness. In fact, she seemed excitednot at the risk of an accidental firing ending her life, but because of what this ceasefire hinted at. The signing of this agreement suggested the possibility of a larger peace, and an end to the conflict. And what followed would be a battlefield of intelligence gathering, one of a scale previously never imagined. This prospect thrilled her far more than any conventional war ever could. Although she had always enjoyed her work, it often felt lacking in true challenge. Even before the unification, they held technological supremacy, meaning very few secrets remained hidden from them. The cult, which once posed a threat by not relying on technology, had been a brief anomalyone quickly dealt with. But now, for the first time in years, it seemed like there was an actual game to be played. The newly opened frontier presented a real opportunityan arena where Nyx operatives would truly be needed. The vast expanse of potential allies and enemies, each with their own secrets to uncover, promised the challenge she had longed for. Spying, once routine, would now become an art again. While her mind worked in the background, focused on the approaching representative, they finally reached the point where the formal exchange was expected. However, just as they neared, she felt an odd sensationan attempt to breach her mind. "Lets not do that and focus on what we''re here to do," she said calmly, realizing the Zelvora representative had tried to infiltrate her thoughts. The psychic shield in her headgear had blocked the attempt, causing the Zelvora to experience a slight backlash. Fortunately, it was minor, as his intent hadnt been maliciousat least, not overtly. He had been trying to create a mental network for easier communication. Please forgive me for the misunderstanding," the Zelvora said, his tone carrying remorse, as translated by the device. "I wanted to establish a mental link to make the process smoother, but I forgot to ask for permission. This situation is new for us. There were no handshakes, no formal exchangesonly a lingering sense of the violence that had been halted moments ago. Now, there was only the fragile peace brokered by the ceasefire, hanging in the balance of what would come next. .................. {Sir, they have sent their proposal,} Nova said, materializing a document that seemed endlessa hundred pages long with thousands of terms embedded within it. Aron wasted no time, quickly scanning the first few lines. It didnt take long for him to grasp that this so-called peace proposal was not quite a peace deal. Instead, it was a wager, a challenge that had to be met before any true peace agreement could be finalized. The proposal was clear-cut: both sides would meet, and they could place anything on the line as a wagerresources, territory, informationso long as the other party accepted it. Likewise, demands could be made as long as something equally valuable was offered in return. Once both sides agreed on what was to be wagered, they would then negotiate the rules of the engagementhow the stakes would be won or lost. After finishing the lengthy document, Aron paused for a moment, reflecting on the potential benefits and pitfalls. The concept of negotiating via wagers intrigued him, but it was also fraught with uncertainty and risk. Finally, he broke his silence. "I will be negotiating with them personally," Aron declared with conviction. "But first, have the others gather once theyve finished reviewing the proposal. I need to determine if there are specific requests we should make, and the same goes for the AIs." He displayed no signs of hesitation, as the notion of retreating had never even entered his mind. Chapter 752 Negotiating I Chapter 752 Negotiating I We should ensure that, regardless of the outcome, we do not fully join the Astral Conclave and remain mutually beneficial allies. That way, we retain the freedom to communicate and trade with all civilizations without restrictions, which will allow us to expand as quickly as possible, Youssef reiterated, echoing his earlier stance from when the issue was confined to Xalthars ship. Our sovereignty must be maintained, with a strict prohibition on enslaving our citizens as another non-negotiable, Jeremy added. As the Minister of the Interior, his primary concern was the protection of the empire''s people, while Youssefs focus, as an external strategist, was ensuring the empires position was safeguarded from the perspective of outside entities. {Free trade agreement. On the surface, it might seem like they are the only ones benefiting from this, but it will mark the beginning of their loss of trade dominance in the Conclave to the empire,} Nova interjected, fully aware of Aron''s long-term plans. A free trade agreement was the essential crack in the wall that would enable their strategy to unfold. One after another, both the humans and AIs in the room began pitching in ideas, each voicing key points Aron should consider. He listened carefully, mentally filtering and prioritizing their suggestions, determining which were non-negotiable and which could be compromised based on the situation. Meanwhile, news of the negotiations had been broadcasted to the public, with citizens being encouraged to submit their own suggestions. Any proposal deemed substantive by the AI would be forwarded to the emperor, adding another layer of input to the situation. The meeting spanned several hours in VR time, during which Aron fully immersed himself in strategic discussions now that the ceasefire allowed him to log in. Though only half an hour had passed in the real world, he emerged from the session with a well-thought-out list of terms and conditions to be included in the contract. His priorities were clear, and each suggestion had been meticulously weighed for its importance and potential impact on the empires future dealings with the Astral Conclave and other civilizations. "I''m pretty sure you know we can''t just give you anything beneficial without earning something of equal value in return," Liasas said calmly, her tone measured. Yet, many wondered if her calm demeanor was a facade, hiding intentions beneath the surface, much like humans often did. Aron didn''t miss a beat. "I could say the same for your side," he replied with the same steady calmness. "But it seems you''ve forgotten this isn''t a typical agreementit''s a wager. The winner takes the majority of the benefits, and the loser faces the more exploitative terms. As long as I win on our side, all my conditions will be accepted by yours, just as youll get yours if you win." His response made it clear: he wasnt willing to back down, nor was he going to let his conditions be dismissed so easily. He had laid out his terms with the intention of securing them through victory, not through compromise. "Although thats true, the demands should at least be achievable and reasonable," Liasas responded. "Otherwise, we could have just demanded to turn your race into slaves if we win or forced you to hand over all your mana stones without compensation. Aron remained unfazed. "That''s true, but nothing in my list of demands is unachievable. And saying your sides demands arent overreaching is an understatement of the millennium. Youve got a clause that forces us to sell you mana stones at mining cost if you win, which is essentially the same as enslaving us, except we''d be managing ourselves." He paused briefly before continuing, "If we want to avoid overreaching demands, then both sides need to step back, or we could structure the deal in a way where the benefits scale with the level of victory. A perfect win would give one side maximum advantages. Alternatively, we can make it so each civilization negotiates with us individually, with only the winning civilization getting their demands fulfilled. If they lose, they meet our demands. We''re open to either, or a mix of both, since some of our demands require the Conclaves full agreement. And those present here have enough votes to make that happen." With this, Aron laid out his strategic reasoning, justifying his seemingly outlandish demands while offering a more balanced approach to negotiations. Chapter 753 Negotiating II Chapter 753 Negotiating II Somethings not right, Liasas said in her mind as Aron spoke about possibly altering the terms of the deal to make it either individualistic or a mixture of both. Why do you think so? Xylor, the Zelvora fleet commander, asked, connected to her through the mental network, after sensing her concern. Im sure some of their soldiers managed to breach a few of the top ten civilizations'' ships and encountered some of our strong individuals that wiped out their forces. Yet the man in front of me doesnt seem the least bit concerned about what signing this agreement could mean. And from the speed at which hes negotiating, its clear hes not just stallinghe genuinely wants to reach an agreement quickly. Its... strange, Liasas responded, sharing her suspicion with the fleet commander. She still didnt know the name or rank of the individual standing before her. He had introduced himself simply as the negotiator, offering no further details before launching into the empires list of demands. Zorvas, connected to the conversation through their mental link, pondered her observations. You think they believe theyve found an opportunity here, rather than us trying to exploit them? he asked. Thats what it seems like, Liasas replied thoughtfully. Its possible they have individuals they believe can handle opponents of our caliber, or at least those theyve encountered so far. Keep in mind, they managed to capture Xalthar, who was at sage level. They might think our level of strength is only at or slightly above that threshold. His tone remained measured, almost unnervingly calm, which made it difficult for the observers to gauge his intentions. To the imperial citizens watching, his composed demeanor seemed out of sync with the high-stakes nature of the discussion, creating an unsettling feeling. Yes, theyre completely serious about this and truly believe they can win, Liasas reported back after Aron finished explaining his proposal. His confidence, combined with the structured approach he presented, gave her all the evidence Xylor needed to take action. It was clear that the empire wasnt bluffingthey believed they could win and were playing for significant stakes. Understood, Xylor responded, preparing to gather the other civilizations. Tell him we need to consult with the rest before making any decisions. With that, he expanded the mental network, pulling in representatives from all the other civilizations to discuss whether to accept the shift in negotiation terms and how best to respond. Yes, sir, Liasas acknowledged, then addressed Aron. "Well need to pause the negotiations briefly to consult with everyone on our side before we give you a final response to your proposal." Aron, completely unfazed, responded, Take your time. The sooner we establish the basic rules of the agreement, the smoother the rest of this process will be. Without further words, Aron simply closed his eyes, signaling that he was content to wait while they deliberated. His calm demeanor and patience suggested he had prepared for such delays. Mirroring his behavior, Liasas closed her eyes as well, focusing her attention on the mental network where the meeting was already in motion. As the representative for all the civilizations present, she needed to be there to understand their intentions, to be able to not only facilitate the conversation but also to shield the more hot-headed races from causing any incidents when the negotiations resumed. Some of the civilizations, with their volatile tempers, might inadvertently breach the ceasefire if left to negotiate directly, bringing devastating consequences upon themselves. She acted as their buffer, ensuring the negotiations stayed within the bounds of diplomacy. Chapter 754 Negotiating III Chapter 754 Negotiating III "I like them for their boldness and straightforwardness, and Ill respect them if they can back it up," a Xor''Vak representative remarked during the meeting, openly expressing his thoughts without restraint. Whether it was a feeling of admiration or disgust, the Xor''Vak never hid their true feelings. This attitude stemmed from the immense power they possessed, allowing them to speak the truth without fear of consequences. As one of the strongest races in the Conclave, they saw no need for deception, earning them a reputation for being brutally honest. When the rest of the room heard his words, "surprised" would have been an understatement. Earning the respect of a Xor''Vak was as difficult as turning mana into mist form. They only respected those they deemed their equals, making it nearly impossible for most members of the Conclave to even dream of such recognition. Though he stated that respect would only come if they proved themselves, the very declaration was significantit meant he was willing to give them the chance. This, in turn, implied that the Xor''Vak would cooperate with the process, setting aside their usual unpredictable disruptions. It would make the negotiations on the XorVaks side smoother than anyone could have anticipated. Their suggestion is quite tempting, and it appears to have no negative consequences for us. It allows races unsure about sending a representative the option to abstain while those capable of sending a contestant have the opportunity to earn morealbeit with the risk of losing more if their contestant fails, a high-ranking member of the Shadari civilization remarked, reigniting the conversation that had stalled after the Xor''Vak''s bold declaration. Thats true. They''ve even considered our position, ensuring that other civilizations can''t simply ride on our coattails when their subpar fighters inevitably lose, a Valthorin added, disdain evident in his tone for the lower-level civilizations that seemed intent on doing just that. So, how many of you will be sending fighters? Xylor inquired a few moments later. When the time came to make the decision, only twenty-three representatives raised their hands, indicating their willingness to risk sending a fighter in exchange for a more favorable deal if they won, and accepting the potential losses if they didnt. The number of civilizations willing to send fighters was small, a result of either their strongest individuals being lost in the initial attack or the significant damage inflicted upon them by the relentless imperial breaching forces. The risk of further losses was deemed too great, leading many to not risk it at all. Those who are not sending fighters, please leave, Xylor instructed. After a brief pause, the representatives of the remaining civilizations exited, leaving only the representatives of the twenty-three civilizations behind. Please state your demands, Liasas requested. I will relay them to their representative, who will either accept them and propose their own in returnmarking the finalization of the dealor deny some of them. In that case, I will serve as a direct link, delivering your intentions and responses during the negotiations between both sides until we reach a compromised agreement. Keep in mind that the format of the fight has not been finalized yet. This means you might be limited to a single fighter, or there could be no restrictions at all, depending on the agreement that will be made jointly with the other side after they complete their individual agreements with each of you. With that, she took over the proceedings, ready to listen to everything they had to say in order to later facilitate the negotiations with the negotiator from the opposing side. Chapter 755 Negotiating IV Chapter 755 Negotiating IV Aron could be seen reviewing the new basic agreement proposed by the Conclave with little to no change of expression. "We accept it," he said, once he finished going through it, not bothering to suggest any modifications. Its good that we can agree on something, Liasas said, her tone calm but unsurprised by Aron''s acceptance. The basic agreement, after all, favored the empire more than the Conclave forces, who had little choice but to comply. Despite the Conclave''s united front, its members remained highly individualistic, and the stronger civilizations needed a justification for risking the lives of their best fighters. Their rationale was simple: the greater the risk, the greater the reward. As a result, the weaker civilizations, barely holding on after suffering significant losses, were left with a smaller share of benefits. With no leverage to challenge this, they were forced to accept whatever was handed to them, their situation evident as they clung to the last threads of benefits. What truly surprised Liasas, however, was Aron''s apparent authority to make decisions for the entire empire on his own, without consulting anyone. In contrast, she had to constantly relay information back to the mental network and wait for collective input before she could make even minor decisions on the agreements. It felt strange to her that a civilization as advanced as his would place so much power in the hands of the negotiator. Even more puzzling was the fact that their empire seemed to lack any apparent mental abilities that would have made sense of the behavior shown by the negotiator. As far as she could tell, there were no signs of telepathy, shared consciousness, or any form of mental linkageonly minds that were well protected, atleast to the limit of the basics they tested, which was done to only one individual and had failed. "What we want in exchange for agreeing to this basic agreement if we win," Aron began, "is to remain outside the Conclave as independent allies, while also establishing a free trade agreement with no tariffs or blockades imposed against us." He presented the demand as part of the empire''s terms for the basic agreement, which required all the civilizations present to vote in favor during the Conclave''s general assembly for it to pass. Aron understood that he couldnt ask for anything too excessive at this stage, especially since the other side had used their portion of the basic agreement to reduce the benefits for the weaker members. After her brief comment, Nova fell silent again, resuming her observation of the negotiations while her various instances continued other tasks. She kept Aron company and remained the essential communication link between him and the Council, efficiently managing her roles without missing a beat. ............ Now, lets proceed to the individual agreements, she stated as she transmitted the information to the negotiator. Everything they require from your side is included in that document. Take a look and decide what you want in return. If theres anything you wish to negotiate further, we can handle that as well. Aron immediately delved into the details, reviewing the demands from the twenty-three civilizations that were preparing to send their fighters for the upcoming face-off. Some of the civilizations'' demands were quite reasonable, such as requests for permanent percentage discounts on mana stones. However, others were audacious; the top ten civilizations and a few others sought full access to the knowledge of how to produce black hole bombs, alongside the ability to purchase mana stones at production price. Additionally, they wanted a share of the profits generated from selling mana stones to other civilizations, insisting they would also determine who the empire could sell to and impose maximum quantities over specific periods. They halted their demands at this point, fully aware that pushing for anything more would likely lead the empire to reject the agreement outright, potentially opting to continue the war or even destroy their star system if they sensed a significant threat. They believed their exaggerated requests would serve as a starting point for negotiations, allowing room for adjustments while still aiming to secure more favorable terms than they would typically receive. We will accept the XorVaks demands if they agree to provide us with the body or bodies of their defeated fighters, their knowledge of their racial abilities, and a single ticket to challenge their leader at any time, he stated, pausing momentarily after listing his counter-demands, making no effort to negotiate from their side. As he laid out his terms, Liasas froze, nearly experiencing a brain aneurysm from the shock. The overwhelming surprise coursed through the network, dissipating much of the potential impact she could have felt. Chapter 756 Negotiating V Chapter 756 Negotiating V Aron paid no mind to Liasas''s astonished expression. After a moment of silence, he seized the opportunity to further outline his expectations from the other civilizations. We will accept the Trinarians'' demands if they agree to provide us with their knowledge of spatial manipulation, their latest wormhole technology, and the body or bodies and equipment of their defeated Trinarian fighters. We will agree to the Valthorin''s demands if they agree to share their expertise in crafting and forging honor blades, the process of initiating a soul imprint, access to something akin to the Pride Nexus, and the body or bodies and equipment of their defeated Valthorin fighters. We will accept the Shadaris demands if they agree to grant us their knowledge of stealth, allow us to purchase their star system-specific minerals at a twenty percent markup from the mining price, and provide the body and equipment of their defeated Shadari fighter or fighters. We will agree to the Galviniths demands if they provide us with knowledge about the symbiosis process, bonding techniques, and the body and equipment of their defeated Galvinith fighter or fighters. We will accept the Zelvoras demands if they grant us their understanding of mental abilities and the body or bodies and equipment of their defeated Zelvora fighters. We will agree to the Erythians'' demands if they provide us with their knowledge in bioengineering and the body or bodies and equipment of their defeated fighters. We will accept the Symetra''s demands if they agree to share their knowledge of Void energy, the crafting of weapons and living weapons, and the body or bodies and equipment of their defeated fighters. We will agree to the Elaras demands if they provide us with their knowledge of magic and body enhancement, along with the body or bodies and equipment of their defeated fighters. In addition to the content of his response, they were also keenly interested in his emotional reactions; these would reveal the level of assurance he held regarding the Empire''s position. However, to their surprise, they were met with the same calm expression Aron had maintained throughout the negotiations. We will agree with the XorVaks demands... The beginning of Arons sentence caught everyone off guard; not only was he quickly outlining his own demands, but he also implied that if their side''s terms were accepted, the Empire would accept the individual demands from the Conclave forces without any negotiation. The shock in the room intensified when he articulated the specifics of those demands, leaving the representatives staring at the XorVaks envoy with pale expressions. To say their demands were overreaching would have been a colossal understatement. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH! The XorVak representative erupted into laughter upon hearing the Empire''s demands, a sound filled with amusement. Did he not understand the demands, or has he lost his mind out of anger? nearly everyone in the mental network wondered, their minds racing. They were certain that one particular clause in the Empire''s termsthe ticket to challenge the XorVak leaderwould ignite fury in any XorVak. If the impossible were to happen and the Empire were to win and had their demands enforced, they could use the ticket to challenge the leader for a fight. A victory in that battle would mean gaining control over the entire civilization, holding power until another challenger arose. Given the audacity of that demand alone, many believed that the Empire was pushing for the impossible, a mere protest against the overly harsh terms proposed by the Conclave. This was a strategic move, they thought, designed to allow for negotiations where the Empire could later retract some of their demands, showcasing their willingness to compromise in exchange for a reduction in the severity of the Conclave''s demands. Recognizing the cleverness of the Empire''s move, they all felt a sense of respect for the strategy employed. However, before they could fully explore this line of thought, the laughter from the XorVak representative finally subsided. With a serious tone, he declared, Sure, we agree to their demands. If they can defeat our challenger, then they would have earned that right anyway. However, if they prove disappointing, they will pay for speaking the leaders name. His demeanor had shifted dramatically; the casual attitude he had previously displayed was replaced with a grave seriousness. The implications were clear: he had only accepted this after receiving permission from their leader, signaling that the XorVaks were now fully aware of the stakes and prepared to back their words with conviction. They are fucked, everyone thought in unison, their surprise at the XorVak''s response palpable. Before they could fully process the implications of that declaration, Aron resumed listing his demands, moving on to the Valthorins and addressing one civilization after another. This time, a wave of unbelievability swept through the room as gasps escaped the lips of the representatives. The imperial negotiator seemed determined to catch everyone off guard again, provoking an endless cycle of shock. It felt as if he were deliberately pushing the boundaries to incite anger and turn potential allies into enemies. If that was indeed Aron''s intention, it appeared to be working; everyone who heard the demands from their civilization began to simmer with anger. They felt as though they were being looked down upon, their pride wounded by the audacity of the Terran Empires negotiator. Chapter 757 Negotiating VI Chapter 757 Negotiating VI While surprise and anger roiled through the room, Aron remained oblivious, as none of it had been conveyed to him by Liasas. She found herself at a loss, uncertain how to proceed. The moment he presented his demands, the mental network had descended into chaos, leaving her grappling with the turmoil unfolding within it. The scene within the mental network was a stark contrast to Arons calm demeanor. Anger boiled over, with most participants venting their frustrations freely, no longer holding back. However, three groups remained conspicuously silent amid the uproar. No?v(el)B\\jnn The XorVaks were quiet, having already accepted the empires audacious demands. The Valthorins, bound by their unyielding pride, refused to stoop to complaints, maintaining a dignified silence. Lastly, the Zelvora stayed composed, both due to their mental discipline and because, in the broader context of demands, what had been asked of them was relatively insignificant. Much of their racial abilities were public knowledge, limiting the risk of exploitation. If the empire''s intention was to sell the gathered information, as many feared, the Zelvora knew they could easily safeguard against that by including restrictions in their agreement. After what felt like an eternity to the silent civilizations, the rest gradually calmed down, their anger dissipating after venting their frustrations. Just like the XorVak, we will be accepting their deal with one modification: the shared knowledge will remain exclusive to the Terran Empire, restricted solely to their use, Xylor, the commander of the Zelvora fleet, announced. His composed tone carried the weight of a decision already made. He had contacted his leadership back home and received clearance to proceed as he deemed appropriate. However, the danger lay in the possibility of the knowledge falling into the hands of someone capable of replicating their abilities or, worse, developing artificial workaroundssomething the Trinarians themselves excelled at, as seen in their wormhole technology. Although they had created simplified versions of the technology for other civilizations, distributed under strict mana-bound oaths. This would effectively strip them of the leverage they held over others, potentially birthing a rival force capable of threatening their position. For the Trinarians, even entertaining the remote possibility of creating a competitor was unacceptable. Regardless of how unlikely defeat seemed, they had no intention of letting such knowledge leave their grasp. As for the Shadari, they were among the most anxious members of the top ten civilizations, though they masked it well. Their concern might seem excessive, but while the other top members estimated the Terran Empire''s chances of victory at 0.2 percent, the Shadari placed theirs at a precarious 1 percentan alarmingly high risk given their renowned abilities. The root of their anxiety stemmed from the Empire''s remarkable advancements in stealth technology, which had successfully eluded even the Shadari''s sensorsrenowned for their unparalleled effectiveness. While the Empire''s demonstrated stealth capabilities were primarily associated with large machines and not attributed to any individual within the breaching forces, a lingering concern persisted: the possibility that the Empire might harbor an individual with exceptional stealth abilities. If such an individual were to be utilized strategically, it could jeopardize the Shadaris chances of victory. Moreover, the risk of the Empire gaining access to their own knowledge of stealth posed an even greater threat. Such knowledge, when combined with the Empire''s existing technology, could very well topple the Shadari from their longstanding position as masters of stealth. This potential loss of their competitive edge weighed heavily on their minds, creating an atmosphere of unease that they struggled to conceal. If members of the Conclave had overheard their concerns, they would have laughed them to death, viewing it as a giant fretting over the threat posed by an ant. The idea of such a powerful civilization being anxious about an insignificant competitor would seem absurd, as it appeared the giants were scrambling to find ways to avoid an unlikely downfall at the hands of a much smaller foe. What held back these two civilizations, along with all others who had already accepted or proposed changes to the deal, from outright flipping the table was the prospect on the other side of the scale: mana stone and black hole bomb technologies. These advancements promised unimaginable riches and weapons of mass destruction, ensuring that if they wona result almost certainly guaranteedthey would gain an overwhelming advantage that could make any civilization think twice before engaging them in battle. Chapter 758 Negotiating VII Chapter 758 Negotiating VII After about seven hours, Liasas finally opened her eyes and began speaking. The XorVak have agreed to all of your demands. However, they added that if you fail to back up your arrogance, you will pay the price for daring to invoke their leaders name without the strength to justify it, she said as soon as she noticed Aron was already listening to her. We dont have a problem with that. What about the others? Aron responded without hesitation, his voice steady and decisive. A smile crept across his faceone he didnt bother hidingmaking his satisfaction unmistakably clear. As for the others, your demands can be agreed upon, but many require additional clauses and modifications, Liasas repeated, pausing to gauge Arons reaction. Lets hear what their modification demands are and see if we can accommodate them, Aron responded calmly, his tone steady. He wasnt rushing the discussion, knowing that every detail had to be considered before deciding. The Valthorins Liasas began, request that their knowledge must not be sold or revealed to any other civilization without their permission. She continued systematically, listing each groups demands. Some wanted to offer outdated knowledge, reasoning that it would still hold value while safeguarding their most recent advances. Others demanded stricter conditions regarding how the knowledge could be used, limiting its scope to specific fields or forbidding certain applications entirely. Aron remained silent, mentally noting every condition, assessing whether each demand was feasible or whether he would need to push back. His expression stayed calm, betraying none of the calculations going on behind his eyes. Without missing a beat, she turned her gaze toward his after receiving a response from the mental network, her expression calm but laced with subtle intrigue as she said The civilizations that requested the clause preventing their knowledge from being sold or shared without their permission have agreed to your counterproposal, her voice measured. What about the rest? Aron asked, his tone steady but expectant. Liasas didnt respond immediately. Instead, she closed her eyes, signaling that she was listening intently to the incoming replies from the other factions. Only after gathering their responses would she be able to provide him with an answer. After about thirty minutes of silence, Liasas finally opened her eyes. Eight of the members have chosen to withdraw their demands and will be opting for the basic agreement, she said calmly. The rest have agreed to your terms, including the mutual clause requiring permission to sell or share information with other civilizations. Her tone remained as steady as ever, but there was a subtle hint of disappointment in her expression. It looked like she had hoped for a different outcome. It looked like the empire had gained the upper hand by leveraging the prestige and respect the civilizations needed to uphold in the eyes of their peersa clever move that ensured they wouldnt compromise their soft power in the long run. But Aron recognized that her expression was merely a fac?ade. With those eight withdrawals, it had become impossible for the empire to secure a majority by defeating only the twelfth to twenty-third ranked competitors, even if they lost all their battles against the top ten. The count had now dwindled from twenty-three to fifteen, and the top ten civilizations effectively included eleven members, with the Elara and Feryn tied for the tenth position. It was a smart move from the Conclave. Not only that, but they had also promised the eight who withdrew from the normal agreement that they would buy the mana stones at mining price from the empire and sell them to the eight at the same price after they won. This was a significant incentive for their withdrawal, as it allowed them to reap the rewards of victory without having to fight at all. As for the other four who chose not to withdraw, even in light of these conditions, they were equally confident in their chances of winning the fight. This meant they would also benefit from purchasing mana stones at mining price while simultaneously gaining access to the blackhole technology. Aron just smiled and said We accept. Lets proceed to sign the agreements before discussing the format of the face-off and the conditions under which it will take place. Chapter 759 Negotiating VIII 759 Negotiating VIII The agreement was signed swiftly, as all protections and potential exploitations had already been settled before the main demands were presented. The swearing of the mana oath and the signing of the mana contract were completed within an hour of reaching the agreement. This quick resolution led them directly to the next phase: determining the format of the fight and defining what constituted a majority win. How are these fights conducted in the Conclave? Aron inquired of Liasas. It typically involves two individuals battling to the death or until one side concedes defeat. While there are usually some restrictions on the weapons each side can use, there are no limitations on an individual''s abilities. These fights are generally held on land, and I doubt youll allow us to enter the star system for these confrontations? she explained, noting that this format was primarily practiced by the Vlathorins and the XorVak, though others occasionally engaged in similar fights, as permitted by Conclave rules, provided certain conditions were met. No, no one will be entering the star system until this situation is resolved, he replied matter-of-factly before asking, But is it truly necessary for these fights to occur on a planet? What do you mean? The fights need to be face-to-face and are usually conducted on a planet. They could be held on a moon or a large space station with an atmosphere, but our sensors havent detected any such locations in the area, Liasas responded, still trying to discern if he was hinting at something she wasnt grasping. Are there hidden locations here? We could repurpose a hundred-kilometer-wide asteroid, cover it with a shield, install a gravity generator, and fill it with mana to create an atmosphere. That should suffice as a battleground where no one has an unfair advantage, right? he proposed earnestly. Liasas almost felt her eyes pop out upon hearing Aron''s proposal. While the technical aspects of repurposing an asteroid were manageablemany members of the Conclave could achieve it at varying speedsthe idea of filling such a large space with mana was staggering. Doing so without any specific purpose was the equivalent of setting an enormous fortune on fire. It would require about a quarter of the mana needed to activate wormhole technology, meaning the endeavor could cripple an economy of a lower Conclave member. "Then the majority will be determined by whichever side wins eight fights," Liasas declared confidently. We agree to that, Aron responded calmly, noting her satisfied smile as if victory was already secured. Now, lets move on to what will be allowed and what will be banned, Liasas continued, producing a detailed list of prohibited items. The negotiator took the document to review, knowing that anything permitted for one side would also be available to the other. They began negotiating, clarifying specific items, and discussing whether certain weapons or tactics should remain on the list. However, it quickly became apparent that this process could take far too long. To expedite matters, both sides agreed to let their respective AIs handle the finer details, ensuring the rules were balanced and the fights would emphasize individual strengthregardless of how that strength was attained. It took a few days to finalize the document outlining the banned and allowed items. Both sides also reached an agreement on who would act as the referee which was a critical role in the fight, and they were going to entrust that responsibility to an AI. The AI would monitor the arena, ensuring strict adherence to the rules and detecting any attempts to breach them. Its joint development would take place over the one month allocated for constructing the arena. Once the terms were settled, both sides signed the agreement, marking the beginning of the final phase of the conflict. The countdown to the decisive showdown had officially begun. Chapter 760 The Construction Chapter 760 The Construction With the agreement signed, construction of the arena began, creating a surreal and contradictory scene. Civilizations that were still officially at war found themselves working side by side on a shared project, while other sections of their fleets stood idle, maintaining a tense standby posture in case one side gave in to the temptation to strike. The mana oath and runic contract ensured compliance, but they were not preemptive barriersthey only enforced punishment after a violation occurred, not for the intent. Although the penalties for breaking the agreement were severe, the potential destruction that could be unleashed in the moments before those consequences took effect was something neither side could afford to ignore. As a result, both sides remained cautious, prepared for any sudden betrayal. The selection of the asteroid was completed swiftly, and it was soon pulled from the remnants of its disrupted orbita casualty of the black hole bomb that had marked the wars violent beginning. The asteroid was maneuvered carefully and stationed at the midpoint between the two warring factions, becoming the neutral ground where everything would soon be decided. Construction machines from both sides descended upon the asteroid, each faction contributing their most advanced capabilities to the effort. As the machines worked, the massive rock began to transform, and those watching the live broadcast could hardly believe what they were seeing. Bit by bit, the asteroid was reshaped into an enormous colosseum. Anyone familiar with history, whether through ancient texts or modern cinema, would recognize the familiar architecture emerging from the rubblea circular battleground designed for combat, but on a scale never before witnessed. The arena''s combat zone spanned over eighty kilometers in diameter, giving fighters an unprecedented amount of space. Reinforcements were being meticulously installedlayers of physical barriers, mana-infused shields, and gravitational stabilizersto ensure the structure could withstand the devastating attacks that were sure to unfold. The colossal dimensions of the arena served not just to impress but to silence any potential complaints. No fighter could argue they were constrained or unable to unleash their full strength. This wasnt just warit was a spectacle. The fight needed to be an ultimate showcase of power, a stage where neither side could claim disadvantage. In war, being placed at a disadvantage was simply part of the game, but here, the rules demanded that all participants have the freedom to give everything they had without holding back. The message was clear: there would be no excuses, only victory or defeat. {So, which type are we sending to fill the colosseum?} Nova asked, shifting the focus back to the purpose of the presentation. "The lowest quality ones," Aron answered decisively. "They''ll serve as the most common product in the market, setting the baseline price for the other grades. It makes sense to introduce them early, and flooding the Colosseum with these will also subtly reinforce their value as standard. {Getting to work,} Nova acknowledged without hesitation. Almost immediately, several mana-capable atomic printers whirred to life, initiating the rapid production of the low-grade mana stones. With precision and efficiency, the machines began assembling the stones, ready to fulfill their purpose in both the arena and the market. ..................... In just under two weeks, the Colosseum neared completion when a massive cargo ship appeared in the area, arriving from the solar system. The ship was loaded with an enormous number of containers, and without delay, it maneuvered toward the arena easily going through the already up and active shield surrounding the area, before it began to release a torrential downpour of mana stones into the fighting ground. Members of the Conclave, watching the spectacle unfold, could hardly contain their envy as they witnessed the empire casually dumping nearly an entire low-level civilization''s economy worth of mana stones as if they were mere trash. As the mana stones met the ground in the open atmosphere, they immediately began to evaporate, slowly but significantly increasing the ambient mana in the arena. What remained behind were heaps of ash, the remnants of the bonds that had held the mana within the stones. Chapter 761 Announcement of the Participants Chapter 761 Announcement of the Participants By the third week, the construction of the Colosseum was finally completed, and the remainder of the week was devoted entirely to testing to ensure everything met the necessary standards. Both sides pushed every available system to its limits, stress-testing the arenas components, shielding, and environmental controls. This wasnt just about verifying functionality; it was also a matter of trustor the lack thereof. Both sides were highly suspicious of one another, meticulously scanning for any hidden backdoors or subtle sabotage. No one wanted to risk the possibility of a sudden disadvantage due to an exploit or unseen manipulation. Both sides scrutinized every circuit, magic circle, and protocol, working tirelessly to confirm that nothing had been tampered with and that the arena was truly neutral ground. While the systems were being tested, Liasas met once again with the negotiator to finalize and deliver the list of contenders, a requirement that had to be fulfilled before the construction period ended. The list of participants from the Conclaves side has been completed and is as follows, Liasas began. For the XorVaks, it will be Princess Seraphina. For the Valthorins, Vaxerion. The representative of Zelvora will be Xylor. The Trinarians have chosen Zynarel, and for the Symmetra, it will be Liyora. The Erythians will not send an individual but will deploy their sentient weapon, NO: 70. From the Galvinith, Yzara will enter the arena, and the Shadari have selected Zyran. The Elara will be represented by Vaelthar, and the Feryn have sent Lunaris. The Yrral Coalition has opted to field Mecha 765, with its weapons limited to those meeting the established rules... Liasas continued listing the names of the remaining contenders from the other four civilizations. With each name spoken, the members of the Conclave in leadership positionsthose with access to intelligence about these individualscould feel the blood draining from their faces. A sinking realization settled in as the enormity of the situation became clear: each of these contenders was among the top one hundred strongest in their respective civilizations and, at the moment, the most powerful individuals available in the sector. The implication was unavoidableno one on the Conclave''s side was holding back. This was an all-in strategy. The upcoming fight would not be a contest but a brutal demonstration, a one-sided massacre in the making. Many leaders who didnt decide to fight and had selected the basic agreement suddenly found themselves losing any desire to even witness the battle. Among them, the Vlathorins and Xor''Vaks exhibited a different mindset. They were not just excited but elated at the prospect of battling the emperor of the opposing side. For the Vlathorins, defeating Aron Michael would mean regaining their lost honor, a chance to prove their worth in the eyes of their peers. Meanwhile, the Xor''Vaks saw this confrontation as an opportunity to punish those who had dared to speak their leaders'' names in vain, an act they would not forget easily. Are you sure about that? Liasas asked, her tone now more respectful than before. As far as I remember, the agreement allowed for such situations, he replied calmly, his demeanor unchanged despite his theoretically higher position. What happens if you lose in the first fight and are unable to continue? Liasas asked, regaining her composure. It was a question on many minds, as the fight agreement lacked a clause for breaks, apart from the twenty-minute intermissions to check for structural issues in the Colosseum. Should I lose a fight by accepting defeat or die before the next match, you will be considered to have won all subsequent fights, he answered, demonstrating that he had already contemplated this scenario. Understood. We accept your participation, and you have until the end of the construction period to add more fighters, she stated respectfully. Thank you, he replied, standing up and making his way back to his ship, which immediately set course for the Colosseum, where he intended to inspect the completed structure. Liasas remained silent, simply watching his ship as it moved away. With the construction of the Colosseum now complete and the participants officially announced, everyone was permitted to explore the arena and familiarize themselves with the surroundings during the testing period. The tests conducted posed no interference with the Colosseums operations, allowing participants to assess the layout and prepare for the upcoming matches. Chapter 762 The First Fight Chapter 762 The First Fight As time marched forward, the long-awaited day finally arrived. For many viewers across the Conclave, the anticipation was mixed with confusion and curiosity. The empire had not altered its decisionEmperor Aron Michael remained their sole representative. Despite the risks, they had not added additional contenders as a contingency, even in the event of his defeat or incapacitation during the many matches he will have to participate. This bold choice stirred countless reactions. Some saw it as arrogance, others as unwavering confidence, while a few viewed it as sheer madness. The stakes couldnt be higher, and the emperor''s lone participation left no room for error. All eyes were now focused on the Colosseum, waiting to see if this risky strategy would result in triumphor disaster. Outside the shimmering shields of the Colosseum, massive ships from each contending civilization hovered in position, their hulls gleaming under the light of distant stars. Each vessel carried within it a champion, a chosen warrior representing their civilization, waiting for their moment to descend into the arena. Only these challengers and essential personnel were granted proximity to the Colosseum to prevent any chance of a problem from occurring. The rules were clearonly those actively participating in a match were allowed to enter the arena at any given time. This restriction was not just a formality but a precaution to avoid unnecessary casualties in what promised to be a brutal contest. {The first contenders, please enter the Colosseum,} the referee AI announced, her voice echoing through the arena and the ships. Entrusted with full authority over every aspect of the Colosseum, she ensured impartiality, as neither side was willing to cede control to the other. Two ships passed smoothly through the Colosseum''s shields, gliding to their designated landing zones, spaced several kilometers apart. The moment both sides disembarked, the ships were immediately ordered to exit the arena, a strict protocol agreed upon to ensure there were no outside influences during the fight. Without hesitation, the vessels departed, leaving behind only the combatants and the anticipation of the battle to come. The first match was a showdown between the Emperor of Terra and the fifteenth-ranked fighter from the Conclave: a representative of the Venora. The Venora were a race renownedand despisedfor their uncanny ability to adapt through rapid analysis. Their strength lies in their capacity to quickly assess a situation and evolve their strategies in real time, making them one of the most challenging and frustrating opponents to confront. With every second that passed, their effectiveness only grew, turning even small encounters into complex battles. This adaptability earned them a reputation as a civilization that no one wanted to engage lightly. The Venora contender stood as he watched his ship leave, his entire frame encased in sleek military gear. A massive gun rested heavily in his hands, while knives were embedded at various points across his armor, each placed strategically to ensure quick access. His plan was clear: buy as much time as possible to analyze his opponent, relying on the hallmark Venoran adaptability. However, he was walking into the unknownAron, the Emperor of Terra, was a complete enigma to the Conclave, making him the worst kind of adversary for a Venoran, whose strength relied on data and familiarity. The Venora''s unfortunate position as the first challenger wasnt by choice. Their rank as the lowest of the remaining civilizations meant they were left with no option but to go first, an unenviable position against an opponent they knew nothing about. The Venoras weapon was no ordinary firearm. Created by the Feryn, masters of magical engineering, it was a coveted tool used by races that lacked inherent magic but desired its power. Its destructive capability was equivalent to that of a small nuclear grenade, a type of weapon banned from the event. However, the weapon''s primary drawback was the long charging time required between shots as it gathered manatime the Venora fighter knew he had to buy at any cost. On the other side of the Colosseum, Arons preparation was almost nonexistent. He calmly removed the gun from his back and held it in his hands, making no further movesno deployment of drones, no warming up of equipment. He simply stood there, relaxed, as if waiting for a signal. As the five-minute preparation period ended, the referee AI''s voice echoed through the arena. {You may begin.} The Venora fighter wasted no time. With survival instincts kicking in, he dashed in the opposite direction of Aron, attempting to put as much distance between them as possible. Distance was his only hopetime to analyze his enemy and charge his weapon for a decisive attack. Within seconds, he had covered over a kilometer, relying on his speed and drones to maintain a safe gap. Meanwhile, the broadcast feed switched to Aron. The viewers saw him raise his gun, casually aiming it toward the retreating Venora fighter. Without any sign of urgency or double-checking his aim, Aron calmly pulled the trigger. A single shot rang out, sending a small, unassuming bullet hurtling through the air. The moment the bullet was fired, the feed from Aron''s camera was abruptly disrupted. A flash of brilliant light overloaded the sensors, cutting off the visual feed, followed immediately by a deafening shockwave that rippled through the arena. The broadcast frantically shifted to another angle, trying to capture what had just happened. When the cameras refocused, they revealed a towering mushroom cloud billowing in the distancethe unmistakable aftermath of immense destruction. Everyone watching it was stunned to silence, and the only sound that followed was the calm voice of the referee AI. {Match over. Winner: Terran Empire, Aron Michael.} Chapter 763 Warm-Up Chapter 763 Warm-Up "I hope at least the body survived," Aron muttered, eyes locked on the slowly dissipating mushroom cloud. As he said that, the gun he still held began to crack, fractures spreading like a web over its surface. A second later, the entire weapon crumbled in his grip, the pieces disintegrating into fine dust that blew away in the wind. Aron glanced at his now-empty hands, his expression briefly turning into a frown before vanishing as quickly as it appeared. "It seems I overloaded it with more mana than it could handle," he mused quietly to himself. The weapon had been a specially crafted magic gunan attempt to allow him to use magic in conventional forms, much like his wife did. His own magic abilities were limited to rune-based applications, and he had wanted to avoid relying on them for this fight. The gun''s intricate design had combined several magic cycles into a single, complex magic circle: a fire cycle to create destructive energy, a compression cycle to concentrate it, a flight cycle for propulsion, and a friction reduction cycle to minimize resistance. The result was a bullet whose power scaled directly with the amount of mana infused. Unfortunately, it seemed the amount he poured in was too much for the weapon to endure. Brushing the lingering dust off his hands with a casual clap, Aron looked unbothered, as if the weapon''s destruction had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience. He activated the flight system embedded in his armor, hovering off the ground with ease, and flew toward the center of the dissipating cloud. It didnt take long for him to reach the site where the Venora fighter had been moments before. The aftermath was grim. Although the Venoras armor had held up remarkably well under the blast, shielding parts of the body from complete vaporization, it had ultimately failed to save its occupant. All that remained inside the scorched armor was what could only be described as burned pastebarely recognizable as anything once living. Aron hovered silently for a moment, inspecting the remnants. Though the Venoras fighters had the ability for both their bodies and minds to adapt to the situation, it was clear that no amount of adaptation would have saved the fighter from a strike that potent. Not wasting much time thinking about it he started collecting remnants of the Venora fighter''s corpse and gear, the Colosseum''s automated systems whirred to life, sweeping away debris and resetting the battlefield for the next encounter. Suddenly, the referee AIs voice echoed through the arena: {The Venora civilization has lodged a formal contest, alleging suspicious use of a banned weapon by the Terran Empires fighter. The situation is now under review.} As the ship carrying the next fighter entered, a separate container followed along a different path, gliding smoothly through the arenas shield. The container continued its course toward Aron, landing with a metallic thud in front of him. With a soft hiss, it unlocked and opened, revealing an array of weapons identical to the one he had used in his previous fight. Aron placed the collected materials and organic remains into the container, then reached inside to select the same model of gun. As soon as he was done, the container shut itself with a mechanical snap and ascended, leaving the arena just as the ship carrying the next challenger did. ........... {Match over. Winner: Terran Empire, Aron Michael.} {Match over. Winner: Terran Empire, Aron Michael.} {Match over. Winner: Terran Empire, Aron Michael.} The same announcement echoed after each contender from a different civilization entered the arena to face Aron. Despite having the opportunity to study his strategy, Aron remained consistent with the same fighting style he had used against the first opponent. Each successive fighter tried to devise a countermeasure to avoid being eliminated within secondsbut all failed spectacularly. Aron adapted effortlessly, increasing the mana input for each subsequent shot. The second, third, and fourth challengers met the same fate, with the fourth fighter suffering the most devastating blow yeta bullet explosion four times more powerful than the one that annihilated the Venora contender. To say the Conclave viewers were surprised would be an understatement, as many sat with their jaws slack in disbelief. The fights had been so brief that their total duration, even when combined, didnt surpass a minuteshorter than the preparation periods themselves. The empire''s contender was undeniably powerful, showcasing overwhelming force in every bout. However, despite the impressive victories, not a single spectator entertained the idea that the Terran Empire would triumph overall. The power Aron displayed was unexpected, but the real challenge still lay ahead. The remaining eleven civilizations represented the top ten in the Conclave, and they were in a different league entirely. While these advanced civilizations occasionally sold their technologies to others, their most sophisticated weapons remained exclusively in their hands, tailored perfectly to the unique physiology and skills of their respective races. These race-specific weapons gave their wielders an edge no outsider could hope to match. The warm-up was overnow, the real battle was about to begin. Chapter 764 The Start of the Hunt 764 The Start of the Hunt BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM Aron stared at the massive explosion he had created, the remnants of his latest attack churning in a mushroom cloud. But rather than savoring the apparent victory, he muttered, It worked four times. I should be happy with that, his gaze locked on the shifting scene ahead. Before him, the mushroom cloud split in two, rapidly dissipating under immense air pressure, revealing the figure at its core. A winged fighter emerged from the chaos, unscathed and brimming with power. Though the massive wings hovered behind the warrior, they werent physically connected, adding an eerie quality to the figures presence. The armor encasing him shimmered in perfect synchronization with the ethereal wings, both sharing the same dark, metallic hue. Without hesitation, the Feryn fighter shot forward, moving with such speed that it would only take him a few seconds to close the distance to Aron, clearly intending to finish the fight swiftly. Aron clapped his hands, brushing away the last remnants of the disintegrated gun, and watched the oncoming fighter with sharp focus. Time to get serious, he murmured, his tone calm but purposeful. As the Feryn warrior closed in, Aron began hovering effortlessly, and within moments, he launched himself forward, flying headlong to meet his opponent in midair. The Feryn fighter didnt flinch as Aron surged toward him. In a fluid motion, the hovering wings behind the warrior adjusted, releasing two massive, laser-like blasts. The energy bolts streaked through the air at impossible speeds, far too fast for Aron to dodge. The force of the impact not only halted Aron mid-flight but also sent him hurtling backward at an uncontrollable velocity. He tumbled through the air like a ragdoll before slamming into the ground, skimming and bouncing along the surface like a skipping stone on water, each impact tearing up the terrain beneath him. The spectators watched in stunned silence as the Terran fighter was thrown back for kilometers, ricocheting off the ground multiple times before finally coming to a halt. Dust clouds trailed behind his path, marking each violent bounce. Perception without movement was manageable, as only the brain had to keep up. But the moment physical actions were introduced, the brains ability to coordinate became strained. Too much acceleration created a "ping lag" effect: Arons brain might initiate a movement, but his body would only respond several seconds later according to his enhanced perception. Worse still, the actions would be erratic, with no real way to control or sync them smoothly. This was why every imperial soldier trained to find the "sweet spot" of perception accelerationbalancing heightened awareness with enough control to coordinate physical actions seamlessly. Each individuals threshold varied, and Arons was the highest. Even so, there were limits. But even with this sweet spot of perception acceleration, Aron found it wasnt fast enough to react to the incoming laser bullet. Listening to Novas explanation, he asked, Can we adjust the perception to operate dynamically? Keep it fast when Im just floating or activating runes, and lower it when I want to move my body? {It''s possible, but Ill need direct access to your continuously updating brain data. This way, I can make adjustments without waiting for your commands, which would waste precious time. However, your brain will require prolonged rest after this to avoid any long-term side effects,} Nova replied after a moment of calculations. Well have plenty of time for that later, so lets do it, Aron said, his gaze focused on the shield he had augmented with light-filtering properties, watching the lasers continue to rain down, even as he maintained his highest perception acceleration. {Yes, sir.} Nova responded before attempting to access Arons brain data. As expected, this triggered the system permission screen, prompting Aron to approve or deny her request. He immediately granted permission. No holding back, he declared, fully aware that the longer he used the dynamic perception acceleration, the longer he would need to rest afterward. He had decided to go all in from now on, aiming to finish the remaining fights as quickly as possible within a believable range. He didnt want to reveal his full capabilities just yet; doing so would allow others to prepare against him and potentially devise ways to eliminate him. Which, despite looking almost impossible, was a possibility nonetheless. After saying that, he stood up from the ground where he had been lying. With Nova''s direct coordination, his perception acceleration was adjusted in real time, either sped up or slowed down without any microsecond lag. He planned to use the dust still covering him to finish this fight as quickly as possible. He stood still for a moment as a flight rune manifested and integrated into the shield that had conformed to his body shape. The instant it was activated, he vanished at such incredible speed that a mirror image of him remained in his previous location, as if he hadnt moved at all. With that, he had begun his hunt. Chapter 765 The Hunted 765 The Hunted The moment Aron disappeared from the cloud of dust and smoke, he appeared on the Feryn fighters right side. Without hesitation, he seized the fighters wrist, twisting his body to slip behind him. In a fluid motion, Aron forced the captured arm upward until it locked at the shoulder, then pulled back sharply, tearing ligaments and dislocating the joint. Before the Feryn fighter could react to the pain, Arons left arm snaked around his neck, securing a chokehold, while a swift kick to the back of the fighters right knee brought him crashing to the ground. He then tightened the chokehold with unrelenting force while simultaneously pulling on the dislocated arm, further constricting the fighters windpipe and compressing his carotid artery. The restricted blood flow to the brain caused the Feryn fighter to slump unconscious within moments, the fight brought to unexpected reversal. CRASH!!!! The only sound heard was the Feryn fighter slamming into the ground, unconscious and unable to control his suit or the enormous wings that collapsed beside him. The entire sequence had unfolded in just a second, an almost imperceptible blur of movement. Nova had adjusted Arons perception thousands of times during the fight, synchronizing each shift perfectly. She exploited micro-moments when his actions were already in motion, accelerating them further to grant Aron extra time to think, anticipate, and gauge the fighter''s reactions. Each adjustment allowed Aron to seamlessly counter any potential threat, ensuring that every move landed with precision and finality. "Do I have to kill him to be declared the winner?" Aron asked, his voice slicing through the suffocating silence that filled the arena and the homes of countless spectators. Moments ago, some had been celebrating victory, while others mourned what they thought was defeat. Now, with the fight flipped on its head in under a second, no one dared to breathe. {Unless he surrenders verbally, the only remaining path to victory is through his death,} the AI referee answered without materialising. "Got it," Aron muttered, without hesitation or flair. He dropped altitude in a sharp descent, wasting no time on theatrics or grand gestures that could cost him later. Problems always arose from unnecessary drama. Following his landing, he swiftly drew his sword, channeling mana through it until the blade shimmered with deadly energy. With one smooth, practiced motion, he slashed the Feryn fighter''s throat. The crushed armor around his neckstill partially constricting from the earlier chokeholdoffered no resistance. Blood spilled, ending the fight in a cold, efficient instant. {May the next contender enter,} the AI announced promptly, and the shield parted to allow the next fighter inside. This time, no weapon container arrived for Aronhe still gripped the sword that had ended the Feryn fighter''s life, its blade now glowing with a golden radiance, pulsing softly as if resonating with the mana it had absorbed. Aron stood still, his expression cold and unreadable, ready to meet whoever came next. The next fighter did not arrive aboard a ship but descended gracefully from the opened shield, where his vessel had dropped him off. It was Elaras fighterbelonging to the same race as the one responsible for starting all of this, Xalthar. Many had seemingly forgotten about Xalthar, if not for the critical clause stating that, should the Conclave secure a majority victory, he would be returned. However, judging by the situation in the arena, it was clear that achieving that outcome would be anything but easy as the empire was on a winning streak and was dangerously close to achieving the minimum requirement for the majority win. {As usual, you have five minutes to complete your preparations,} the AI announced. The moment the announcement echoed through the arena, Elaras fighter sprang into action. Despite his outward calm, he was anything but relaxed; the unexpected loss of his Feryn counterpart weighed heavily on him. Like all his predecessors, he knew he had to make the most of this preparation period. One by one, spells began to materialize around him, each shimmering with potent energy. Anyone familiar with the Elara fighters understood that allowing them time to prepare was one of the gravest mistakes an opponent could make. This time, he had a full five minutes to set his strategy. As he worked, he was enveloped in layers of protective gear, enhanced by advanced technologies. Though they harbored resentment toward the Feryn for corrupting the sanctity of mana, the dire circumstances left little room for such feelings. Thus, he activated more than three shields from different civilization''s devices, determined to survive whatever assaults the Terran Empire might unleash. As he focused on his preparations, the camera shifted to Aron, who was slowly raising his sword vertically above his head. With his eyes closed, he held that stance as if he were practicing rather than preparing for an actual fight. However, the mana swirling in the air around him told a very different story. His eyes remained closed until the AI''s voice cut through the tension: {You may begin.} In an instant, Aron opened his eyes and swung his sword down with tremendous force. FWOOOOOOM! Chapter 766 Elaras Fighter I Chapter 766 Elara''s Fighter I Anyone watching the fight from the Terran Empire who was familiar with anime couldnt shake the feeling of de?ja? vu, certain they had seen their emperor replicate a moment straight out of those iconic animes. Though Arons downward swing radiated immense power behind its graceful motion, there was seemingly nothing in front of him to strike. Yet, that was irrelevant. By the time the motion was complete, a golden, crescent-shaped wave of energy materialized, surging toward the unsuspecting Elara fighter. Mid-flight and focused on transporting his spells toward Aron for an attack, the Elara fighter remained unaware of the incoming assault. He placed full trust in his layered shields to withstand any counter from the emperorunaware that something far beyond ordinary resistance was now heading his way. Just as he was mere meters above the ground, what began as a faint tingling sensation rapidly intensified into a wave of goosebumps. A chilling realization washed over himhe had been caught entirely off guard by the sheer speed of the golden crescent hurtling toward him. In that fleeting moment, every instinct screamed at him to react, but the attack was already upon him, faster than he could channel any defensive spells or maneuver his flight path. His shields, though formidable, were about to meet a force unlike anything he had anticipated. The shields will hold, right? The Elara fighter tried to reassure himself, but the words felt hollow. Fuck no, look at the size of that thing, he answered his own thought in a flash of panic. That thing looks like it carries more mana than the reserves of a sage-level fighter. The realization struck hard, and with it, clarity. This wasnt just an attackit was a death sentence. I can''t dodge it fully, he admitted, his body twisting and jerking mid-flight in desperate evasive maneuvers. His mind raced, now operating at a pace he didnt even think was possible, fueled by pure survival instinct and hormones. Every thought was colored by fear and duty: I can''t die like this. Not like some helpless fool caught off guard. At normal speed, it seemed as if the explosion and the slash reached the Elara fighter simultaneously, creating a chaotic blur of action. But viewed in slow motion, the sequence revealed much more. The instant the fighter triggered his explosive spell, sending shockwaves that pushed him aside, the golden crescent slash was already slicing through his first shieldgliding through it like a hot knife through butter. By the time the shockwave pushed him out of the path, the slash had already started to penetrate his defenses. The explosion had merely saved him by the narrowest of margins, just moments before he would have been caught in its devastating arc. A few hundred meters away, a man could be seen rising from the ground, appearing as if he were in the process of rebooting his system. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! he screamed, his voice echoing in agony as he realized that half of his arm was missingnot in a horizontal manner, but sliced vertically, leaving behind a mangled remnant that only served as a painful reminder of his injury. Though he considered himself quite tolerant of pain, the addition of mana into the equation transformed his perception entirely. If anyone had a microscope and looked closely at the severed area of his arm, they would see remnants of mana from the slash infiltrating his body, engaging in a fierce battle against his own cells. The mana was advancing rapidly, indicating that, despite his efforts to mitigate damage, he was still receiving some of it. In a desperate bid to reduce the pain, he realized the source of his suffering. SLASH. Without wasting another moment, he swiftly severed the remaining part of his arm cleanly at the shoulder, hoping to halt the advancing mana before it could do any further damage. The conviction that had once filled his face began to waver, teetering on the edge of sheer horror as he watched the hand he had severed being consumed and decaying at an alarming rate. Goosebumps crawled across his body, a visceral reminder of the fate that awaited him had he not acted with urgency and determination. His resolve shattered further when he realized that all of his carefully prepared spells had dissipated as a consequence of activating one of them. The explosion had destabilized the others within its effective range, leaving him not only devoid of his five minutes of preparation but also reduced to a one-handed mage. To make matters worse, one of his shields had been sliced through by the crescent slash, while the second was at half integrity due to the blast he had triggered to save himself. Now, he was left with only one and a half shields to fend off the impending attacks from the terrifying emperor before him. The detour was merely temporary; Im still in the fight, he thought to himself, trying to cast aside the fear that threatened to overwhelm him. He focused on gathering his thoughts, attempting to rally his spirits against the formidable opponent before him. But just as he felt he was regaining his composure, a voice sliced through his concentration, shattering the fragile progress he had made in those fleeting seconds. Are you willing to surrender? Chapter 767 Elaras Fighter II Chapter 767 Elara''s Fighter II A momentary silence of surprise flickered across the Elara fighter''s face as he paused, caught in a fleeting internal debate over whether he had truly heard the voice or if it was merely a figment of his fear-stricken mind. But his doubts were swiftly dispelled when the imposing figure of his opponent materialized just about fifty meters in front of him. The realization hit him hard: this was no hallucination. Aron had actually dared to pose the question, choosing not to exploit the distraction caused by the fighter''s pain and his own efforts to motivate himself. What do you mean by that? the Elara fighter asked, trying to buy himself time to recuperate and heal some of his injuries while formulating a new strategy. It was like hitting seven birds with one stone, but it all hinged on whether his opponent would indulge him and answer his questions. Aron, seemingly unfazed by the fighter''s plight, replied, Do you know the losses I incurred from the defeat of the four fighters and the death of the Feryn? The Elara fighter stared at him in disbelief, momentarily stunned, as if questioning whether he had truly heard Aron correctly. Rather than celebrating this unexpected opportunity, he remained dumbfounded, failing to recognize that the Terran Emperor was granting him time to recover. Ignoring the fighters shocked expression, Aron continued, They were valuable research materials that could have advanced our understanding of alien life forms. If you wanted the bodies for research, why did you blow up the first four fighters consecutively, despite knowing the risk that would pose after the second one? Kalthar, the Elara fighter, inquired. Had it not been for the armor covering his skina skin with racial ability that served as a live telegrapher of emotions for the Elara raceAron would have witnessed a swirling display of colors reflecting the tumultuous feelings surging within Kalthar. In that moment, the fighter was grappling with a multitude of emotions that he could scarcely articulate if asked. What is your name? Since were having a conversation, I need to know how to address you, Aron replied, deflecting Kalthar''s earlier question. The Elara fighter, paused, surprised by the unexpected query. Weird question to ask in the current situation, but my name is Kalthar, he said, deciding that the strength of his opponent warranted the revelation of his name. Are you related to Xalthar? Aron asked, his eyebrows raised in mock surprise at the similarity between their names, with only a single letter differentiating them. Aron reacted swiftly, lowering his wrist just in time for the spell to explode against the sword. He expertly redirected the force of the blast away from his body, but before he could fully recover from this initial explosion, Kalthar unleashed the second spell that had been absorbing ambient mana. With Aron still focused on the remnants of the first attack, his reaction to this second explosion was delayed. The blast sent both the sword and Aron himself flying in opposite directions. DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kalthar screamed, seizing the moment as he activated the third spellthe one that had absorbed the most ambient mana from the atmosphere. He poured every ounce of his remaining mana into it, knowing this was his best chance to turn the tide of the battle. The air crackled with energy, and a series of sharp, rapid sounds pierced the atmosphereZTSTTSTSTSeach one signaling the impending storm of destruction. For those who could compute the signals, it was clear that this would be a lightning attack of unprecedented intensity. The heat generated upon impact would reach temperatures between 30,000 and 50,000 degrees Celsius, making it five times hotter than the surface of the sun. With Aron still reeling from the previous explosions and separated from his weapon, Kalthars attack unleashed a blinding flash of light that illuminated the battlefield, marking the culmination of his desperate bid for victory. The force of the lightning bolt surged forward, carrying with it the promise of devastation. Just as the attack began its furious journey toward him, Aron finally landed on the ground after executing a flawless flip in mid-air, ensuring he would touch down on his feet. As he regained his balance, his eyes locked onto the impending lightning bolt, now mere moments away from impact. The sheer intensity of the energy crackling in the air made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He immediately extended his left hand forward, fingers pointed at the lightning, mimicking a gunslinger aiming his weapon. At the same time, his right hand mirrored the gesture, racing toward his left hand, which was now drawing in the electrifying energy. Just as his right hand reached his left, lighting finally reached his left-hand fingers. Aron using his two right-hand fingers began to trace the lightning through his left hand and across his chest, channeling its raw power. He then immediately pointed his right hand back at Kalthar, with a final gesture, he redirected the lightning back at Kalthar, which at the moment looked to be at least ten times more potent than it was originally. The bolt streaked through the air with blinding speed, its crackling energy illuminating the battlefield. It pierced through Kalthar''s armor as if it were made of paper, creating a gruesome hole in his lower abdomen. Before Kalthar could even show a reaction to the turn of events, he slowly started falling face-first to the ground. {Match over. Winner: Terran Empire, Aron Michael.} Chapter 768 The Show 768 The Show Humans have a peculiar way of finding enjoyment, often thriving most when there''s an underlying risk or consequence looming. Students savor movies the night before an exam, and workers indulge in social media during office hours. Its as if the risk of something going wrong heightens the pleasure of the moment. In the same vein, the citizens of the empire, despite the immense pressure and high stakes of the situation, were experiencing an unparalleled mix of stress and excitement, making this fight the most exhilarating spectacle they''d ever witnessed. But within the vast sea of viewers, there was a small subsection that could be said to be experiencing double the enjoyment of everyone elsethe anime enthusiasts. To them, what they were witnessing was nothing short of a live-action anime, complete with dramatic showdowns, intense power-ups, and awe-inspiring moves. Except, this time, the stakes were real. It was as if they had been transported into their favorite show, watching an overpowered protagonist dominate the arena, only with the outcomes directly impacting their world. Arons final move against the Elara fighter was the last straw for that select group of anime fans. They realized that the emperor himself was relishing the fight, even under such intense circumstances. His recreation of moves from animes and cartoons showed not just his power but also his playful engagement with the battle. With six victories already under their belt, they were just two wins away from securing a majorityensuring they wouldn''t have to join the Conclave. However, the remaining matches still carried weight, as they would determine the specifics of the individual contracts and what the empire stood to gain from the ordeal. ................ Aron, as usual, walked over to Kalthar''s corpse, collecting whatever equipment remained and packing it into the container sent for retrieval. {You just gave conspiracy theorists very convincing evidence of their suspicions,} Nova teased, as Aron made his way to pick up his sword, lying quite a distance away. ............ The Conclave viewers, upon seeing Aron request a break, collectively released a sigh of relief. Finally, he was showing signs of fatigue, a change from his earlier demeanor of confidently dispatching fighters and moving directly to the next without any rest. For many, this was a significant momentAron, who had previously appeared unstoppable, was now beginning to show a crack in his seemingly invincible facade. Some of the viewers from the remaining civilizations couldn''t help but wonder if the pressure they were experiencing was also weighing on their fighters. Concerns about whether this intense atmosphere would affect their fighters'' mental state loomed large in their minds. The psychological strain of facing an opponent like Aron, who had shown such overwhelming power, was undeniable. However, for many, those concerns now seemed somewhat less significant. Aron, the Terran Emperor, was finally showing signs of physical fatigue. His earlier aura of invincibility had begun to waver, and the visible signs of stress from the situation had given the other civilizations a glimmer of hope. However, the actual fighters from these civilizations were far from worried; they were confident in their impending victories. The Valthorin fighter believed his prowess was unmatched, while the XorVaks fighter didnt even entertain the thought of defeat. The Zelvora remained assured, thinking that those who were physically strong often lacked the mental fortitude to match it. The Trinarian fighter was convinced that no one was safe from his spatial abilities, especially after witnessing the empires black hole bomb in action. The Symmetra were equally confident, trusting that their advanced weaponry would be more than sufficient to handle a supposedly weary Aron. The Erythians, having engineered a fighter capable of standing up to even the XorVaks royal, felt no apprehension. The Galvinith shared this confidence, as their unique symbiosis had earned them a place among the top ten civilizations. Meanwhile, the Shadari, being the only ones whose weapons were proven to be unstoppable by the empire, were equally unconcerned. The only slight hesitance came from the Yrral Coalition, which was more accustomed to large-scale warfare than individual combat. However, that worry was minimal; their mecha was a testament to their ingenuity, created specifically to address their vulnerabilities. In essence, none of the remaining top ten civilizations felt threatened by the prospect of losing to Aron. Their confidence was palpable, and they were ready to face him head-on in the arena. Chapter 769 Mecha 765 769 Mecha 765 After twenty minutes of Aron sitting quietly, giving the impression of recollecting himself, his rest was finally interrupted by the referee AIs announcement: {May the next contender enter.} The shield was lifted once again, signaling the start of the next battle. This time, however, it wasn''t a ship that entered but a massive humanoid mecha, plummeting from the sky without any sign of propulsion to soften its descent. BOOOOOOM!! The mecha slammed into the ground with full force, relying solely on its two legs to absorb the impact. The harshness of the landing sent up a massive cloud of dust, completely shrouding it from the view of the watching audience. Shortly after, mechanical sounds echoed from within the dust cloud, which was now dispersing thanks to the air currents created by the machine. The figure of the massive mecha was slowly revealed, rising from the crouched position it had taken to absorb the force of its fall. It was the Yrral Coalitions contender: Mecha 765, controlled by their best pilot. As the mecha fully stood up, it revealed its immense staturea towering fifty meters tall. Strapped to its back was a colossal greatsword. Its overall frame appeared proportional to its size, except for its biceps and thighs, which were almost triple the expected size, giving it a strange, imbalanced appearance. The arms and legs beneath these exaggerated parts were normally sized, making the thick limbs seem even more unusual against the backdrop of the otherwise proportional body. Many who saw the mecha couldn''t help but wonder why the Yrral Coalition had chosen to field such a massive machine. It was well known that the larger a mecha, the more energy it required to move, often making it slower and less efficienta questionable investment, to say the least. Yet, the fact that this colossal machine was sent into an individual fight implied the Coalition''s confidence in its abilities. The spectators were filled with curiosity, eager to witness what capabilities it would display in combat. As usual, the referee AI remained indifferent to the crowds thoughts, staying focused on her duties. She proceeded with the necessary protocol, announcing, {You have five minutes to complete your preparations.} As soon as the referees announcement was made, the massive mecha sprang into action. The oversized biceps and thighs detached from its body, revealing that they were merely external attachments. These parts flew off in four directions, ascending several kilometers into the air, each maintaining an equal distance from the mecha as they hovered in place. A split second later, twin explosions erupted behind Aron. He didnt even bother to turn around, standing calmly as the shockwave from the blast rippled through the air, causing his clothes and hair to flutter dramatically in the wind. The camera angle shifted, moving from the emperor, who seemed to be playing it cool by not looking at the explosions, to the aftermath of the devastation. Nearly every viewer watching felt a chill run down their spine. The two craters left behind were nothing short of terrifying. The sand and rocks within them had been superheated to the point of turning into glass, shimmering like giant telescope lenses. The lenses acted as a stark reminder of the power behind the mechas attackand the devastating consequences Aron had narrowly avoided. Without his swift reaction and countermeasure, the result could have been catastrophic. I need that weapon and the mecha to study it, Aron said, his gaze fixed on the aftermath as Nova displayed the carnage in his brain. The potential of the weapon''s destructive power made him realize how beneficial it could be for enhancing the empire''s own technology. {Wont we gain the knowledge of it anyway if you win?} Nova asked. If we have a physical weapon to study, it will make our research much easier since we can understand their design philosophy and how their knowledge shaped its creation, he explained. {Wouldnt that force us to follow a certain direction they took, potentially causing us to overlook something they missed?} Nova countered. Aron nodded, acknowledging her concern. We can circumvent that by having different teams. One will work with the prototype to draw insights directly, while the other focuses solely on the theoretical knowledge. This way, we can compare their findings and explore different avenues without being too constrained. His strategy was clear, but it also limited his options in combat. He needed to minimize damage to the mecha and its systems to preserve the valuable data within. Lets try to end this as quickly as possible with as little damage as we can, Aron concluded, gripping his sword in reverse, vanishing from his place the moment the camera returned to him. Chapter 770 How? Chapter 770 How? No?v(el)B\\jnn As Aron closed in on the mecha, his rapid advance didnt go unnoticed. The mecha raised its left hand, palm open, and aimed directly at him. In an instant, it unleashed a rapid barrage of energy bullets, each one packed with concentrated power. The Yrral Coalition had specifically chosen energy-based weaponry for this battle due to its compact design and limitless output potential compared to conventional weapons. Energy rounds allowed for sustained, high-intensity firing without the need for cumbersome ammunitiona perfect fit for a short, high-stakes duel like this. The mecha''s palm unleashed such a rapid stream of energy bullets that it nearly formed a continuous, blazing line, weaving in a zigzag as the mecha adjusted its aim to follow Arons swift, evasive movements. Aron skillfully parried and dodged each round, making it look almost effortless despite the barrage. Once he closed half the distance without taking a single hit, the mecha abruptly ceased its assault, calculating that firing on someone as agile as Aron would only waste energy. The mechas thunderous steps echoed through the Colosseum, each one accelerating with a force that belied its massive frame. BAM, BAMeach stride quicker than the last until, astonishingly, it closed the remaining distance in just three seconds. With both hands gripping the great sword, it swung in a deadly arc, its blade hurtling toward the precise point where it calculated Arons neck would be, aiming to cleave him in two and bring the fight to an abrupt, decisive end. As Aron closed in on the mecha, it swung at him with the now-halved great sword. With a swift dodge, he easily evaded the blade, which lacked the speed boost provided by its missing half. Reaching one of the mechas massive legs, he punched it with his sword held in reverse, the blade slicing into the side where his fist couldnt reach. A loud *CRSHHHGOUSB* echoed as Aron skidded to a halt, using his legs to absorb the momentum, leaving parts of the mechas left leg trailing behind him. The machine wobbled, its frame struggling to balance on one leg. Unable to stay upright, it crashed down to one knee, fighting to avoid a complete collapse. The pilot was stunned, realizing that her mechas shieldmeant to withstand such assaultshad been overloaded by Arons punch, taking an entire leg along with it. How could one blow, even from a powerful opponent, have bypassed the protective field and caused such catastrophic damage? Her shock was short-lived, however, as she saw Aron approaching again, his intent unmistakable. He was aiming to finish the fight by eliminating her directly. In a desperate move, she drove the half-sword into the ground, using it as leverage to haul the massive machine upright. The maneuver was sudden and precise, leaving viewers gasping in amazement as the mecha rose, defying its earlier vulnerability. Initially, the spectators believed the mecha was merely trying to protect itself. That assumption shattered when they witnessed Aron suddenly dodging to avoid a shard of the half-great sword that shot toward him like a skewer, narrowly missing its target. The piece then reattached itself to the now-complete great sword, replacing the melted portion that had been embedded in the ground. In the midst of the chaos, the mecha removed the destroyed components, ejecting the remnants of its broken leg. A new leg swiftly assembled from the trailing pieces that had followed the shard of the great sword aimed at Aron. Now fully operational again, the colossal machine loomed ominously, its towering silhouette casting a long shadow over Aron, who had halted at a safe distance. The atmosphere in the Colosseum crackled with tension as spectators held their breath, captivated by the rapid change of the situation. Chapter 771 What? Chapter 771 What? So, those were for replacement parts, Aron observed, nodding as he assessed the now fully repaired mecha, which regarded him with an air of confidence, as if to say his previous efforts were futile. While he was slightly taken aback by the swift recovery, he had anticipated some form of countermeasure, knowing that, per the regulations, high-altitude drone attacks were prohibited. Thus, the components that had scattered at the start of the fight were likely either for surveillance or spare partsthough he considered the latter to be a low probability. Nova, I need your help or Ill have to completely dismantle it to win this fight, Aron called out, keeping his eyes locked on the mecha that had just glowed ominously before it slowly started hovering. {Whenever you are ready, sir,} Nova responded eagerly, her excitement palpable. Okay, time for you to get to work. He shifted into a spear-throwing stance, facing the mecha as it began to gain altitude rapidly. With a powerful motion, he hurled the sword toward the mecha, applying a flying rune to enhance its speed and to be able to control the trajectory. No?v(el)B\\jnn Given the vast size difference, the mecha could only make a slight adjustment to evade the incoming projectile. The sword, however, found its mark, embedding itself deep within the mecha''s chest. ............. The mecha paused momentarily after unleashing its barrage, but it was clear that this lull wouldnt last. Its right hand released the great sword, letting it fall to the ground, while two new swords flew toward it coming from the hovering machines. As both hands grasped the new weapons, they were aimed directly at Aron. Just before Aron could regain his footing, one of the swords was fired, while the other was poised to strike at the location he was escaping toward. It was evident the mecha intended to capitalize on his reliance on his armor''s short hovering ability, ready to unleash another attack the moment he landed and the ability enters a cooldown. The Conclave viewers watched in anticipation as Aron found himself cornered, many of them murmuring that his time was up. They felt a wave of satisfaction, convinced that this was the moment their doubts about their own strength would be laid to rest. Cheers began to ripple through the crowd as they noted the second great sword glowing ominously, its energy building as Aron finally halted a few kilometers away from the site of the previous explosion. The tension was palpable, with the audience brimming with excitement at the thought of witnessing Arons downfall and reaffirming their belief in their strength. But just as the crowd was about to erupt in triumph over Arons impending defeat, an unexpected announcement echoed through the devices they were watching in: {Match over. Winner: Terran Empire, Aron Michael.} Silence fell over the viewers, stunned by the revelation. The Conclave viewers, initially jubilant, now stood frozen in disbelief, their devices gripped tightly in their hands. A collective realization dawned upon them, and chaos ensued as they either leaped to their feet in outrage or nearly crushed their screens in frustration. Thoughts raced through their minds: the fight had to be rigged. How could Aron, who seemed moments away from annihilation, now be declared the victor? To them, it was unfathomable that he could win while he was only evading attacks like a frightened animal fleeing from a pack of dogs. Chapter 772 The Situation is Now Under Review Chapter 772 The Situation is Now Under Review Amidst the viewers'' shock, disbelief, and rising anger, the feed shifted from the glowing cannon on the great swordnow slowly dimmingto a full view of the mecha. The great swords in its hands, separated at the center, began closing, concealing the cannons within. The left-hand sword was put on the mecha''s back being held magnetically, while the one on the right remained firmly in its grip. It then began a slow descent, carefully maneuvering to land near Aron. As it approached the ground, just a few meters away, it deactivated its hovering ability. BAM! The mecha landed heavily, kneeling down while driving the sword still clutched in its right hand into the ground. Its head bowed, creating the striking image of a knight kneeling before an emperor. The feed shifted once more, this time capturing the rear of Mecha 765 with Aron visible over its shoulder. His gaze, fixed on the mecha''s movements, hinted at amusement, as though entertained by its display. The scene, framed from a cinematic angle, captivated viewers on both sides, adding a mesmerizing, almost surreal quality to the unfolding moment. {The Yrral Coalition has filed a formal contest, claiming that the referee ended the match without adequate justification, possibly due to a bug in my programming. The situation is now under review.} This announcement refocused everyone''s attention on the core issue, sparking curiosity about the sudden decision to end the match. Viewers speculated on whether a genuine error had occurred and, if so, how the Yrral Coalition might be compensated for the lost chance to secure victory. As they waited for the explanation, the screen feed shifted to a scene all viewers knew well: the recorded negotiation between the Emperor and Liasas, the representative of the Astral Conclave forces. The video began with Liasas speaking, listing the names of the Conclaves participants. I would like to use my break period, Aron replied as he began walking toward the mecha, which remained on its knees, resembling a knight awaiting the emperors command to rise. {As you wish,} the AI responded, then made an announcement: {We will be taking a twenty-minute break before the next fight,} before gradually starting to fade away. Before the referee AI could complete her disappearance, Aron interjected, I have a question. {Ask,}she replied, halting her process and reversing it to focus on him, piquing the curiosity of viewers eager to hear what he would say. With her attention on him, Aron pointed to the mecha and asked, Since it and whatever is inside it are now my property and are considered approved weapons, can I use them in my upcoming fights? Those who understood the implications behind his question couldnt help but take a deep breath. They realized that if approved, Aron would become an even more troublesome opponent than they had anticipated, possibly securing another unexpected victory that could swing the overall fight in the Empires favor, even if they were likely to lose the remaining matches. As a result, their attention shifted to the referee AI, who appeared to be combing through the rules to find anything that explicitly allowed or prohibited such an action. The viewers were now keenly curious about what decision she would reach, as it would determine whether Aron would gain an additional advantage or helper in the upcoming battles. Chapter 773 Entrance of the Grotesque Galvinith Chapter 773 Entrance of the Grotesque Galvinith After a few moments of silent calculation, the referee AI finally spoke. {The current situation is indeed unique. Given that you acquire ownership of everything belonging to the individuals you defeat, the mecha and its pilot are now legally considered your property. Thus, as long as they fit the weapon criteria, they should be eligible for participation. However, despite being your property, they are still classified as individual fighters, as they previously acted as one entity. Allowing them to fight alongside you would constitute an unfair two-versus-one scenario, which is against the rules, and therefore, cannot be permitted.} She continued, her tone as steady as ever, {It would have been possible for the mecha to fight on your behalf had it been registered as the Empires official contender. However, since the registration window closed before the matches began, updating the registration now is not an option.} With this detailed explanation, she clarified her reasoning and the factors that led her to reach this decision. Hearing her response, Aron looked like someone who had just been caught trying to exploit a loophole before he could fully benefit from it. Before he could say anything, she added, {While my decision is based on the current ground rules, it is not entirely conclusive, as it isnt etched directly into the rules. You could call for a vote to set a precedent. However, Im quite certain the opposing side wont allow you a chance to gain the upper hand when youre so close to achieving a majority. So, what will it be?} Aron smirked slightly at her suggestion and replied, While it might be amusing to waste their time, I dont have the patience for a pointless vote. Lets stick with your decision as the rule. A Galvinith arrived on the field, transported by their ship, while a container came in for Aron, carrying within it a fresh sword and a distinct-looking gun different from the ones he had destroyed in earlier bouts. The Galvinith were among the most challenging opponents due to a trait they shared with only a few of the top civilizations: diversity. Unlike other species, whose abilities could often be predicted, Galvinith symbiotically bonded with a vast range of organisms, making each fighters abilities highly unpredictable. For example, while a Shadari opponent specialized in space combat would undoubtedly use stealth, Galvinith powers remained uncertain until their specific symbiotic partner was knowna factor that added an extra layer of difficulty in preparation Arons opponent looked like nothing hed faced before. Its form defied any assumption about gender or even humanoid structure. Though it had arms, they dragged along the ground as if they were limbs repurposed from legs, while its actual hind legs seemed too weak to support its weight. The creatures body resembled a tortoise but with shell-like growths that covered it, attemptingand failingto contain the rest of its mass. Flesh spilled grotesquely from the gaps, giving it the unsettling appearance of a botched experiment, as if it were the tragic product of a mad scientists attempt to create a chimera. The grotesque appearance was enough to turn some viewers stomachs, even prompting a few to close the stream entirely. Many wondered aloud why such a creature had even been chosen to compete, given that it appeared barely capable of standing, let alone fighting. Alongside the Galvinith contender arrived a massive, misshapen box that appeared barely capable of holding its contents. The container strained under the pressure of whatever lay within, revealing hints of what might be concealed inside. Unlike the transport ship that departed moments ago, the container stayed behind, signaling that either itor whatever it heldwas intended as the creatures weapon. Aron observed his opponent, stationed a few kilometers away, with an impassive gaze. His focus wasnt on the creatures grotesque appearance but on what it might be capable of. Setting these thoughts aside, he began the critical task of imbuing mana into his newly acquired gun when the preparation period was announced. This weapon would, he hoped, allow him to end the fight quickly while leaving most of the Galviniths body intact for research into its unique power system. However, his plan depended on whether the weapons properties would harm the Galvinith fighter as intended. If not, the encounter might turn more complicated than hed prefer. Time passed quickly, and soon the AI referee signaled the start of the fight with a clear announcement: {You may begin.} Chapter 774 SHARDS Chapter 774 SHARDS As soon as the referees announcement echoed across the field, Aron raised his gun, preparing to aim and fire. However, before he could pull the trigger, a spear-like projectile came hurtling toward him at an incredible speed. It tore through the air with such velocity that it nearly reached him the instant the sound of the announcement did, indicating it had been launched with uncanny precision the moment the fight began forcing him to react swiftly, sidestepping to narrowly evade the projectile As Aron sidestepped the spear-like projectile, his gaze locked onto its trajectory, analyzing its design to determine if it was just a sharpened fragment or perhaps concealed something lethalan explosive or hidden ability. It zipped past, centimeters from his head, revealing enough detail for him to see it was not a spear at all but a fragment deceptively shaped like one. Just as he grasped this, the shard stopped abruptly in mid-air, defying expectation before dropping squarely onto his shoulder. His shield flared briefly, pulsing with mana to absorb the shards impacta clear indication of its unusual density or concealed danger. Sensing the risk, Aron quickly adjusted his shields angle, allowing the shard to slide off, where it hit the ground with a tremor, melting the earth upon contact. Aron halted his original planor rather, was forced tosince his current self-imposed limitations required him to dodge the incoming objects of similar type heading his way. Meanwhile, the shard on the ground continued to melt through the area, unleashing massive damage just by contact, effectively confirming everything he needed to know about these incoming projectiles. Although the mana his shield expended was only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of his vast reserve, the amount itself was enough to allow even a sage-level fighter like Xalthar, or Kaltharwho was several degrees strongerto unleash their most powerful attacks ten times over, each one using their entire mana capacity. For either of them, a direct hit from such a shard would be fatal, obliterating them instantly on contact. As he kept evading the relentless barrage, each projectile struck the ground moments after he dodged, forcing him to sidestep them repeatedly. Once they landed, the shards inflicted one of two effects on the terrain: some melted the ground into molten pools, while others froze the area solid, encasing it in frost. This hinted at either an attribute embedded within the weapon material or the effect of one of the fighters numerous, yet unknown, symbiotes. {Cant say for sure without analyzing their composition, but thats the most likely outcome,} she responded. The one responsible for this entire situation finally began to move, having previously hurled the attacks without shifting from its position. Slowly, it started to hover, and once it was a few meters above the ground, it vanished in an instant, leaving behind a deafening sonic boom. Moments later, it reappeared a short distance from Aron, who remained suspended and unable to move. P cq83v7wnt4s?5oc?joopimqtxhs?bzs?quo?