SWNOVELXO Chapter 186
Chapter 186. Hunting Deus Ex Machina (1)
My original plan was to capture Beijing and immediately chase after Administrator Pixel. Acacia and Pixel are, in a way, polar opposites.
To explain, Acacia created a centralized system around herself.
Except for a few powerful nations, she had a fleet capable of sending any country back to the Stone Age and several fortified cities.
Of course, centralized systems have inherent weaknesses. If you strike the center where the power is concentrated, the entire system collapses. Acacia’s powerful spears were subdued, and once the center fell, she lost her power in an instant.
Pixel, on the other hand, is likely the opposite.
Billions of smartphones are Pixel’s eyes, and all the information Pixel can access, along with every person, is her asset.
But you can’t just indiscriminately kill people or destroy phones to capture Pixel. So, what should we target?
Data centers.
Even though the internet seems formless and infinite, it’s not. There are only a handful of giant corporations that dominate the internet, and they own dozens of massive data centers.
It wasn’t too hard to find the locations of these facilities. After all, most of them aren’t classified and aren’t fortified civilian facilities.
It’s a simple guess, but if just one or two of these networks are destroyed, the surveillance network will be paralyzed. They’ll have no choice but to focus all their efforts on responding.
If we destroy all of them, the global surveillance network will be incapacitated for a few days. Along with the global internet.
This will buy us a few days to kill Pixel. An opportunity to kill an all-knowing being. I’m not sure how effective it will be, though.
That’s why I sent Nanami and Dr. Chae to the U.S. To destroy the massive data centers the moment the Beijing operation was completed.
Judging by the scream I just heard from Pixel, the operation seems to have been successful.
The smell of blood from the purge attracts crows. Fortunately, there are plenty of bloodied body parts to throw to the crows.
“Miss Pobia. Long time no see.”
“I knew my judgment wasn’t wrong! I thought I found a shark among sardines. I had a feeling, and I was right.”
“Yes.”
“I believed in you! When I heard Dr. Kim had become the emperor of the Central Plains, I rushed here. I look forward to working with you.”
I nodded. There wasn’t a hint of irony in Pobia’s words.
“I’m busy, so let’s get to the point. I’ve prepared a hit list today. Would you like to see it, Miss Pobia?”
Pobia’s eyes lit up. Like a predator smelling blood, a banker smelling money.
“Oh, I’d be grateful if you showed me.”
“This paper. How much would you take for it?”
“Uh…”
“200 million dollars.”
Pobia pondered and then nodded. This is a mutually beneficial deal.
Pobia gets to make money, and I get additional firepower for the system I want to build.
“If you’re okay with in-kind payment. And it’ll take some time to prepare that amount of money.”
I considered Pobia’s offer. In-kind?
The 200 million dollars was just a number I threw out. Receiving it in-kind wouldn’t be a big problem. Pobia bowed her head and extended both hands.
I handed her the paper I was holding. It was exactly what I said—a hit list. On the front were the groups to save, and on the back were the groups to kill.
Pobia stared at the paper for a while.
“I wondered what kind of hit list it was. It’s a list of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese companies. With target stock prices.”
That’s right. It’s part of reorganizing the economic ecosystem around my allies. My enemies have support bases across multiple continents and countries, so proper preparation is necessary.
“Miss Pobia, is that all you’re interested in? Are you curious about anything else?”
Pobia shook her head vigorously.
“No. Thank you. By the way, can you tell me when this operation will start?”
I’m sure she’s curious. But it’s not something she should know. Knowing too much could be dangerous.
Pobia probably doesn’t want to get caught up in the civil war that started at the top of the Foundation. After all, she’s just one of the supernatural beings in the hostile groups.
“Today.”
“Huh?”
“Go get to work quickly.”
It’s already started.
Since a data center just exploded, internet services are fluctuating, and even ordinary people are starting to notice.
By tomorrow, groups outside the Foundation will have fully grasped the situation. But by then, it’ll be too late. The situation is changing rapidly.
It hasn’t even been a week since the Seoul Vacuum Operation began. In that time, we’ve stopped the Seoul Vacuum Operation, killed Acacia, and captured Beijing. Now, the next step is…
The 11th Administrator, Pixel.
I will kill those who tried to kill me. No matter the cost.
Me, Nanami, the Hero, and Hasti gathered. Somewhere in the caves of the California wasteland.
Hasti’s magic circle glowed on the ground.
The magic we used to gather, and the memetic barrier magic circle for information degradation.
“Let me explain the operation.”
“Why are we meeting in this crappy cave?”
Nanami brushed off rock fragments and cave water from her clothes. I looked at her.
“If we’re out in the open, a nuke might drop on our heads. This is America. If we step out of this cave right now, we’ll be within range of dozens of high-precision missile systems.”
“I see.”
We can’t underestimate the enemy. Acacia and Beijing couldn’t even imagine being attacked, and that’s why they fell.
No, they probably imagined it, but they just didn’t prepare in time. Pixel is full of venom, so her preparations will be thorough. That’s why we’re attacking the periphery first.
If Acacia had seriously considered the possibility of being attacked by me, she would have looked for a way to resist the cosmic horror of the Blue Rose’s main body.
If Beijing had expected to be raided, they would have prepared means to resist Mimic or a defense network against the Black Dragon… Though realistically, that would have been tough.
Anyway.
“The plan is similar to the Seoul Vacuum Operation. The four of us will disguise ourselves as me and destroy data centers across the U.S.”
“Okay.”
“There are about 100 target mega data center facilities. With Hasti, Dr. Chae, and Cosmos, who can teleport, we’ll split into three teams. Each team will handle six facilities a day, and we can destroy all the mega data facilities in the U.S. in a day. The rest are bonuses.”
Nanami frowned.
“Dr. Kim. I don’t get it. What’s the point of destroying civilian facilities?”
“The Foundation Headquarters knows and controls the past, present, and future through various means. One of them is the surveillance network using billions of electronic devices worldwide. It’s already half incapacitated.”
On the other hand, we need to prove to the other administrators of the Foundation. What happens when you mess with me, what happens when you poke the hornet’s nest.
“If we just find Administrator Pixel, this war will be over. Since we don’t know exactly where she is, we’re attacking the periphery first.”
Nanami nodded, though she still looked a bit skeptical.
“Isn’t this operation a bit reckless?”
I shook my head.
“We always have to be on the offensive. As we saw in the Seoul Vacuum Operation. If we fight defensively, our support base gets eroded, and the people we need to protect get taken hostage.”
We have no choice but to win.
[Beijing Vacuum Operation, Day 2]
[Author: Commander-in-Chief of the Beijing Vacuum Operation]
[This is Commander-in-Chief Qin Zhiwei.]
[As ordered by the Administrator, we are cleaning up hostile groups in Beijing city with the military and police organizations of the captured authorities.]
[We explained to the Beijing authorities that it is necessary to exterminate all hostile groups responsible for yesterday’s abnormal incidents.]
[I’m not sure if they actually believed it, but the authorities seemed relieved to have a concrete enemy to blame.]
[Additionally, 208 enemy and ally casualties were revived by Supernatural Phenomenon P-3003. This number will increase.]
[For other records, please refer <u>here</u>.]
[On a personal note, I’m a bit puzzled as to why this city and system collapsed and were captured so quickly.]
[Beijing Vacuum Operation, Day 2. Reply.]
[Author: Administrator Dr. Kim]
[Good work. Please establish a plan for how long the de facto martial law in Beijing will be maintained and how it will be lifted.]
[We can’t rest easy. There’s no guarantee that the system we’ve captured won’t collapse. Let’s calmly prepare the next move.]
[※ This document was prepared by the Foundation for distribution to hostile groups within the Chinese government. It will be delivered to hostile groups within the Chinese government in the name of the authorities. ※]
[Supernatural Phenomenon Response Headquarters of the People’s Republic of China]
[Author: Director of the Supernatural Phenomenon Response Headquarters]
[Participating Agencies:]
[Ministry of Public Security, Paranormal Incident Department]
[Ministry of Defense, Supernatural Science Research Institute]
[People’s Liberation Army Special Operations Command]
[And 12 others.]
[To all comrades who work day and night to protect the Party, the state, and the people from threats beyond reason, ancient evils and superstitions, ghosts and demons of the past.]
[I understand that the recent series of incidents has caused much confusion. As usual, please continue to prepare for crisis response as you have been.]
[Unfortunately, the Peacekeeping Force’s Beijing branch has withdrawn, and the authorities are currently working with the Foundation to resolve the situation.]
[The Foundation is a non-governmental organization that has cooperated with the authorities since the Sino-Japanese War. The transition of functions is proceeding peacefully without major disruption, so please return to your duties with peace of mind.]