SWNOVELXO Chapter 187
Chapter 187. Hunting Deus Ex Machina (2)
[Administrator Council.]
[Participants:]
[1st Administrator, Veritas.]
[2nd Administrator, Libertas.]
[8th Administrator, Yustitia.]
[Yustitia: The original members, huh.]
[Veritas: Honestly, I didn’t think the Administrators would be this divided. I thought we’d at least agree on something, whether it was killing or saving. Did you expect this?]
[Libertas: I did.]
[Veritas: You two are the biggest problem among the Administrators. Every time we have a meeting, it’s just jokes, colorful insults, and extreme expressions.]
[Yustitia: Seeing the same people for at least 70 years. My respect has hit rock bottom.]
[Libertas: Let’s take it easy. It’d be better if a few Administrators died.]
[Veritas: I’d like to say I’m in control of the situation, but it’s slipping out of my hands. Like the data center that just got blown up.]
[Veritas: Hah. Even the precognition team at headquarters didn’t predict the Beijing raid. I’m starting to think the 3rd Administrator might wake up and go berserk. Honestly, did anyone see the data center explosion coming?]
[Libertas: I did. There’s no better target than a data center.]
[Yustitia: Why didn’t you say anything?]
[Libertas: I wanted to see it blow up.]
[Veritas: Anyway, I believe Pixel can subdue Dr. Kim. Dr. Kim is in the U.S. now. Pixel has the home-ground advantage and U.S. support.]
[Yustitia: Does Pixel even have the forces left to deal with Dr. Kim?]
Pixel closed his eyes and pondered.
This was Pixel’s Glass Palace. The most important facility and the strongest fortress for Administrator Pixel. It was a bit unsettling, though.
Just as Acacia didn’t attempt a direct assault on the Seoul branch, and Dr. Kim didn’t try to directly attack the Pyongyang branch, it would be difficult for Dr. Kim to fly here.
If Dr. Kim wandered outside the Glass Palace, he could be dealt with. Dr. Kim likely didn’t even know the location of this facility and would wander until he died of exhaustion.
Even if he found this bunker, the chances of him entering and successfully killing Pixel were zero. So, Pixel just had to wait here for Dr. Kim to come.
The problem was the data centers blowing up everywhere. Most weren’t fortified, and even if they were… the interconnectedness of the information network was crucial.
Without any preparation time, 15 hyperscale data centers were destroyed in a single day. There was no way to stop it.
Dr. Kim’s forces were attacking three points simultaneously. Just one recoilless rifle shot or a grenade in a server room would render a data center unusable for three days.
With the links being cut everywhere, problems were bound to arise. Pixel’s surveillance network, which once knew everything in the world, was now rendered useless.
Well, the task at hand was clear.
Protect the remaining data centers. Dr. Kim and his allies would definitely come to attack those data centers.
Deploy troops near the data centers… but how? There are thousands of data centers in the U.S. alone.
Even limiting it to hyperscale data centers of major corporations, the number exceeds three digits. But there are only 20 Tier 4 data centers, so prioritize deploying troops there…
Do we even have over 20 special forces teams capable of buying time against Dr. Kim or fighting high-grade divine entities?
Pixel pondered a bit more.
It might be possible to scrape together 20 teams. But this strategy won’t yield results. It’s a stupid plan.
No, dividing the troops into 20 parts won’t win anything. There are hundreds of potential targets. If this continues, we’ll just be on the defensive.
Dr. Kim has gathered friendly organizations to prepare defenses. Should we try that?
First. CIA Anti-Magic Department.
“Director Eskrom. The threat of terrorism using supernatural phenomena is increasing. We’d like the CIA to deploy MOPP Level 4-equipped armed special forces to each data center.”
[Sorry, what?]
“Since yesterday, data centers and information infrastructure have been under attack. We’d like your cooperation in defending them. Deploy armored vehicles and special forces to each data center.”
[Me?]
“Yes.”
[Why me?]
“What nonsense, Director.”
[Sorry, but I saw the footage of Dr. Kim fighting in Beijing. He single-handedly took over Beijing, shouting stuff like ‘Kwa-wa-wang! This is the tentacle black dragon ice hurricane!’]
“You’re not a child…”
[How are we supposed to fight that?]
To think such a person is the head of the world’s strongest intelligence agency. Pixel hung up in frustration. I’ll kill him later when I have time.
Second. FBI Unexplained Phenomena Department.
“Director Pickering. Since yesterday, humanoid supernatural phenomena have been attacking information and communication facilities in succession. We’d like your cooperation in defense.”
[Ah, so that’s why the internet and cloud services have been down since morning.]
“How many MOPP Level 4-equipped SWAT officers can you deploy by tomorrow?”
[Tomorrow? Sorry, but half the staff was sent home due to constant blue screens. Nothing can be done by tomorrow.]
“Pathetic.”
[We’ll do our best.]
Third. U.S. Special Operations Command.
Subordinate Supernatural Phenomena Response Command.
“Commander Donovan. The U.S. information and communication infrastructure is under full-scale attack by an unknown enemy. We’d like your cooperation in deploying Special Operations Command troops to stop it.”
[What do you need? But the number of data centers domestically… I just checked. There are over a thousand hyperscale data centers.]
“That’s true.”
[Are we guarding all thousand?]
“By tomorrow, deploy four special forces squads to the top 100 largest data centers.”
[We’ll try, but is dispersing troops like this a good idea?]
Surrendering the initiative was a mistake.
Dr. Kim’s allies are just a two-minute helicopter ride from the Seoul branch. They’re blood allies sharing the same room.
Meanwhile, Pixel’s ‘allies’ are on the other side of the vast North American continent. They have no reason to help Pixel, who’s on the defensive.
The problem is that the influential groups within the U.S. government have decent intelligence. They also know they’re unlikely to buy time fighting Dr. Kim.
Cosmos raised her staff.
“Lightning Strike.”
Zap! With the scent of ozone and the sound of plasma, flames and smoke rose from the hundreds of thousands of servers filling the facility.
It was a strange sight. The futuristic rows of server racks contrasted with the archaic mage Cosmos.
“Is that it?”
“Yes.”
That was all. Cosmos opened a teleportation portal, and we were about to leave the completely disabled data center-
Helicopter sounds. I summoned smoke, Cosmos summoned black fog, and we hid back inside the building. Something had caught up to us.
“Cosmos, can you fight?”
“Yes.”
“Prepare to escape first.”
“The helicopter’s arrival has blocked us.”
Maybe the helicopter has a reality anchoring device or some similar supernatural science weapon.
Well, after all the trouble we went through to get here, we should at least fight.
“Let’s engage first.”
“Yes.”
Going out into the open would mean getting hit by a missile and dying, so we’ll hold out inside the facility.
We fled through the rows of server racks like trees in a forest. Something chased us into the facility.
A large, non-humanoid monster.
It turned its head toward us upon hearing footsteps. It was a humanoid form made of metallic sand. What the hell is that?
It stretched its arm toward us.
Something orange glowed in the center of the monster’s hand. Cosmos raised a defensive magic circle at the tip of her staff, and I raised a bulletproof shield.
Boom!
We were knocked back by what appeared to be a plasma cannon. The server racks where we had been were melted and flowing onto the floor.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
Cosmos layered three defensive spells and took the shield from my hand. I loaded the recoilless rifle Popo had brought-
Boom! Boom! Boom!
While Cosmos blocked the enemy’s attacks, I fired the recoilless rifle at the monster’s face. It staggered back with a loud noise but didn’t seem hurt. Damn it.
One more shot.
We hid behind the next server rack and prepared to attack again. Reloading the recoilless rifle. I aimed it at the monster again in an instant.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The metallic monster fired its plasma cannon again, but it wasn’t very effective. Solid projectiles would’ve been much more threatening.
I hid behind Cosmos and calmly fired the next shot. It was a bit puzzling. How could it be this ineffective?
The robot charged at full speed.
“Go, Wilson!”
Well, if explosives don’t work… I pulled Wilson out of the subspace bag and threw him at the charging monster with all my might.