Hacking crimes committed by civilians generally fall into two categories. The first is the so-called "pleasure crime," where hackers, driven by a sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, or a desire for self-expression, infiltrate the networks of large corporations or governments to flaunt their supposed prowess. The second, more common type, is economic crime, where hackers become hackers for financial gain. Mercenary hackers generally fall into the latter category.
However, this "Bo Xun" team is a little different. They basically only target Mitra Group companies or related companies, facilities, and personnel for hacking activities, and they are not just hacking for money.
According to the information Dulin sold to Hayden, initially "Bo Xun" only hacked into the database of Mitra Group's entertainment subsidiary, stealing videos of their celebrities and company executives engaging in sexual acts and posting them online. Or, he might find photos of Mitra Group executives building a harem of young girls on an Atlantic island and post them online. Or he might uncover evidence that the company used big data and selective information bombardment to induce users into making malicious purchases and post that online… and so on.
They even hacked into a large ceremony at a subsidiary of the Mitra Group and replaced the important live broadcast of the executive's speech with cat videos. For the general public, this was indeed very entertaining, and even Hayden had to admit it was hilarious.
But these were only their initial activities. Fortunately, Hayden had indeed figured it out. "Bo Xun" wasn't making money from hacking activities, and it was clearly not just for show or entertainment.
"I see. They are anti-corporateists."
In this era where large corporations control everything, anti-corporate activists are not uncommon. While many anti-corporate organizations are linked to religion or devil worship, they are not entirely devoid of purely political individuals.
However, rebelling against corporations requires money. If the "Bodhidharma" organization doesn't make money through hacking, where does its funding come from?
Hayden still couldn't understand it.
However, the information Dulin sold him couldn't possibly cover all of "Bo Xun's" activities to date; at most, it would only include what they had openly revealed. Who knows if they've done anything else profitable behind the scenes, just without letting the world know?
Hayden reviewed the documents again and realized that the activities of the "Bojun" organization had gradually become more and more radical over the past year. From initially exposing some of the Mitra Group's dark secrets, they had now even begun hijacking the company's police drones. What exactly did they want to do next?
Storm the Mitra Corporation building and blow it up?
The thought of this problem, coupled with the fact that Alastor and those young students were most likely members or associates of "Bojun," gave Hayden a headache. He had promised Professor Albion to "keep an eye on" what Alastor was doing and to "try his best to stop him" if necessary. Now look what's happened.
This job is really difficult.
Hayden might be able to find Alastor's address through the school's records. But honestly, Hayden figured that if Alastor had any brains, he wouldn't be foolish enough to stay home these past few days waiting to be checked. If this guy didn't have his own secret safe house, Hayden would just write his name backwards.
This is the troublesome aspect of being at a disadvantage in the information war.
"There's no other way. Since we're at a disadvantage in modern information technology, we can only find another way by using ancient information technology."
So Hayden ultimately decided to use some unreliable and clumsy methods.
Unfortunately, as the saying goes, good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly.
Just as Hayden was carrying a plaster basin out of his studio, pouring in water, and preparing to begin his spell, Angela, who had been watching and helping out, suddenly turned around and looked towards the front door of the house.
"Master, it seems we have guests."
She tilted her head and began to speak.
This was definitely not good news for Hayden at the moment. But since an uninvited guest had arrived, he had no choice but to put down what he was doing and open the magic eye outside the door.
The uninvited guest outside the door certainly made Hayden feel uneasy.
The woman standing outside Hayden's door was tall, beautiful, and exuded a mature air. She had long, light red hair that reached her waist, wore a women's business suit, and blinked a pair of large, fiery red eyes. Her fair skin contrasted sharply with her red hair and eyes, making her quite striking even by Caucasian standards.
However, Hayden was not happy at all when he saw such a mature and beautiful woman come to his door.
Good evening, Mr. Hayden.
The woman looked up at the magical eye outside the door, and somehow knew that Hayden was watching her. She greeted him in a clear, crisp voice.
“We should all know that Mr. Adam’s investment in you was in the hope of getting results from new AI technologies. For the past three months, you have been saying that you need to focus on your research and find new materials, and that you are very busy and cannot produce any usable results for the time being, and we accept your reason.”
“Until just now, I saw something very interesting about you online.”
As the woman finished speaking, she revealed a cute, cat-like smile.
"You seem much more relaxed than you appear in the report, even having time to frolic with ladies and distribute the videos everywhere? Can I conclude from this that you have actually produced research results that we can appreciate?"
In short,
Adam's henchmen came looking for trouble with Hayden ahead of schedule.
029: Maleficent
Three months ago, Adam said to Hayden in a phone call: "I know that developing cutting-edge technology is not an easy thing, but you can't just stay silent for months on end. I will check on you from time to time in the future, so that you don't accidentally blow yourself up in an experiment one day."
Is that just a polite way of putting it?
This is not the case.
"Thank you for the chocolate tea."
The red-haired woman took the steaming teacup that Angela had given her, slowly took a sip, and then said with a smile.
"But let's get back to the main topic: Mr. Hayden, how is your recent AI research progressing?"
This is the negative consequence of Hayden's boasting to Adam about Angela's AI three months ago. Adam genuinely wanted Hayden to produce results from his AI research, and even sent someone to keep an eye on him from time to time.
But where did Hayden get his AI research results? He had no idea what Angela's soul was. In the past three months, he had spent all of his previous 500,000 and only managed to develop a few applications of Angela's aura. It had nothing to do with AI research at all!
The things Hayden has been tinkering with lately are actually more like research findings in the field of life-healing magic. The problem is, based on Hayden's own experience, neither the company nor Adam actually needs these findings.
What's more troublesome is that Hayden can't even fool this woman with some random ancient magical terms like he did with Adam before.
Why? Because this woman's AR business card looks like this:
Abigail Dane Johnson, owner of the "Veeva" bar and a professional witch.
Dream interpretation, palmistry, crystal ball, horoscope, and amulets for good fortune.
[Helping your dreams come true]
This tall, beautiful, red-haired woman was not Adam's subordinate at the Mitra Corporation, at least not procedurally. Adam wasn't stupid; why would he send someone from within the company to do such a thing? Sooner or later, their competitors would find out.
In fact, Abigail Dane Johnson was quite a figure in the streets of New Seattle. She owned a strip club in the city center and also controlled a portion of the black market trade.
Remember those South American obsidian cores Hayden mentioned before? That's what he got from this source.
Moreover, although not a mercenary, this woman was still considered Hayden's colleague. She was a witch who practiced ancient magic. Most ancient magic had been rendered obsolete by modern arcane arts in this era; however, in areas where modern arcane arts couldn't provide individual support, such as luck and fortune-telling, ancient magic still held considerable sway.
Terminology can be used to fool those who don't understand, but using it to fool your peers is very risky. What if the witch senses something's wrong and goes to tell Adam? Wouldn't Hayden be in trouble?
"Please enjoy, these are seven-colored cream puffs served as tea snacks."
On the contrary, Angela seemed to quite like this uninvited guest, serving her tea and snacks. I wonder what this artificial intelligence is thinking.
"In short, Mr. Hayden, if you can't produce any results on AI research, then what explanation do you have for the video that's circulating online?"
As Abigail continued the conversation, she absentmindedly picked up a strawberry-flavored cream puff.
Although she has a pleasant voice and is very eloquent, making her suitable as an undercover agent for corporate employees, that's not the point right now. Looking at her like this, people might mistake this for her home.
But Hayden couldn't vent his anger on the agent Adam sent, so he could only patiently say, "So didn't I already say that? It's the hackers from [Bojun] who are causing me trouble; those are their composite images."
"It's interesting. However, attributing the cause to well-known cyber terrorist organizations is not a good approach."
The witch couldn't help but laugh.
"Everyone knows that [Bo Xun] has always only targeted the Mithra Group's activities, so why would he suddenly come looking for trouble with you?"
Because I accidentally offended one of their members—Hayden certainly wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud.
Professor Albion asked him to keep an eye on Alastor, not so that Alastor would be arrested by the Mitra Group as a criminal hacker.
"How would I know why I messed with a terrorist organization?" So Hayden could only downplay the issue. "On the contrary, shouldn't you, the Mitra Group, be taking care of those criminal hackers? Why are ordinary people like us suffering?"
This actually made Abigail laugh.
“Your jokes are quite good, but I must remind you first, Mr. Hayden, that I am not a member of the Mitra Group.”
As Abigail finished speaking, an expression that seemed to be both mockery and disgust appeared on her face. This surprised Hayden. This witch actually disliked the Mithra Group? But wasn't she Adam's agent?
"Secondly, you should know that even within large companies, the attitude towards different anti-corporate individuals varies."
She gracefully picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then continued.
“Small-scale hacking attacks like those by [Bo Xun], which occasionally expose company scandals and steal a few police drones, are not a big deal at all. With proper publicity and marketing that exploits fear, this level of hacking can actually help the company’s business in security systems.”
Hayden didn't speak, but he wasn't unaware of what Abigail meant. In areas with worse security, self-defense weapons and security services sell better—at least for the company, to a certain extent, and within a manageable range, that's roughly how it is.
The small-scale antics of cyberterrorism organizations only trigger concern and fear among ordinary internet users regarding hackers. Life is already rife with social phenomena that instill fear. People fear illness, unemployment, and accidents, and companies can fully exploit this "fear" by making consumers eager to find solutions to their anxieties.
The hacker group has made a huge fuss about itself? The resulting public outcry can actually make people want to buy insurance for peace of mind. And it's not just security; Mitra Group can even sell a huge amount of insurance during such times.
“An atmosphere of fear makes people more willing to spend money. And we all know that Mr. Adam is the head of the business department of the New Yatu branch, and the existence of [Bo Xun] is only beneficial to him.”
Abigail said this.
"So-called anti-corporateists are just part of the social system that companies have built. If necessary, companies can eliminate this scourge at any time. It's just that there's no need to do so now."
She ate a chocolate-flavored cream puff and seemed quite satisfied with her summary.
So Hayden, even though he could understand it, couldn't help but complain: "This could also be something the company is saying to their own people, because eliminating them would cost a lot of money and make the financial statements look bad."
Abigail raised an eyebrow, but wasn't angry: "That's not impossible. For large companies, both could be true at the same time."
"We've had enough of the small talk. Mr. Hayden, do you have any results to report to Mr. Adam? If not, I'm afraid I'll have to bring up the film..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but Hayden knew perfectly well that the troublesome topic had come full circle.
Why is Abigail so fixated on this topic? The answer is quite simple: if the video circulating online is real, then without any AI research achievements, wasn't Hayden wasting his time and money seducing respectable women and attractive widows? If not, how could a penniless urban mercenary like him hook up with such women and film it?
So if this film is fake, then Hayden also lacks AI research results and is even fighting with "Monk." As a private magician who received funding, he should be diligently researching the topics assigned by his investors; where did he find the time to get entangled with a cyberterrorist organization?
Ultimately, it all comes down to money—you took 500,000 from me, but have you actually been seriously conducting AI research? If so, then I might be able to continue investing in you in the future. If not… well, then we have a lot of questions to discuss.
Hayden was naturally unhappy about this. In his view, if one were to conduct research, the most important topic should obviously be the magic of life healing.
But Adam might not think that way.
Therefore, Hayden still needs to consider how to resolve this matter in a long-term manner.
Noticing Hayden's less-than-pleasant expression, Abigail smiled slightly and reached for the plate of cream puffs... then suddenly stopped.
Because she had unknowingly eaten all seven small cream puffs. Abigail hadn't even realized it before.
It was only then that Hayden noticed Abigail had finished the tea and snacks, and he couldn't help but blink: For someone sent by Adam, wasn't this eating a bit strange?
Even Abigail herself was stunned, as if she couldn't believe she had done such a thing unconsciously.
Only Angela, at this moment, poked her head over with a smile: "Miss Abigail, would you like a few more cream puffs?"
This artificial intelligence looks quite enthusiastic; it's unclear what it's expecting.
However, Hayden soon found out.
"Ok?"
The next second, Abigail suddenly made a strange sound and frowned.
Hayden couldn't help but widen his eyes. At the same time, he saw Abigail's height slowly decreasing, getting about three centimeters shorter, and continuing to get shorter.
Her body, those long, graceful curves, her curvaceous figure, her slender waist and long legs—are now gradually shrinking. Although it's slow, it's still visibly shrinking.
...Could Angela have poisoned her?
Perhaps because his expression was so strange, the witch also noticed that something seemed amiss. Through Hayden's gaze, she looked down and saw her body slowly shrinking.
“Miss Abigail, if the cream puffs don’t suit your taste, we also have macarons and chestnut cake.”
Angela, standing next to her, innocently said that she had somehow brought out a large plate full of snacks.
So Abigail, whose plate was gradually shrinking, first looked at the plate, then looked up at Hayden, and finally realized—or rather, she had finally misunderstood.
"What did you feed me!?"
Before Hayden could even explain, a furious and shocked Abigail screamed and unleashed her magic. Her eyes focused, releasing a cold, sharp, and oppressive power.
As a professional researcher of classical magic, Hayden instantly understood the nature of this power.
This is the "evil eye".
It is an ancient form of black magic that involves infusing a curse into one's gaze and projecting it outwards, causing misfortune, harm, or even turning the person seen into stone. It can also kill enemies directly through a single glance. This magic is found in various cultures around the world.
A dark curse was now emanating from Abigail's eyes. The air trembled visibly; this force tore through reality, lunging at Hayden, about to pierce his life force, his very essence. Armor was useless. Skin, muscle, bone—none of it mattered. This single glance could paralyze an elephant instantly.
Time seemed to stand still for a second.
Then Hayden lunged forward, swift as lightning. With the curse in his face, he pinned Abigail down, tripped her by the shin, and easily sent her sprawling to the ground. The whole process was fluid and effortless, like a tiger pouncing on its prey.
The Evil Eye had absolutely no effect on him.
"Hey, calm down. I've been eating this stuff for three months now. It might be a little weird, but it's definitely harmless... Huh?"
However, just as Hayden reached out and pressed her to the ground to stop her from continuing her tantrum, the scene before him stunned him.
Because he discovered that the red-haired witch who was 1.7 meters tall, with a beautiful face, a slim waist, and long legs, whom he had pinned to the ground, was gone.
Instead, there was a red-haired little girl, about 1.3 to 1.4 meters tall, wearing oversized adult clothes.
Hayden could beat anyone who attacked him without hesitation, even those little devils who would kill, but this little devil looked far too small, and for a moment he was even a little stunned.