Urban meteorological systems are no exception.
【Bojun】—no, it should be said that Alastor, what exactly is he up to!?
035: Blood and Ash
"Abolish the inequality of death!"
"Reject the exploitation of the Pure Land!"
"Give us back our Pure Land! Give us back our Pure Land!! Eliminate inequality!!"
The demonstrators surrounded the Mitra Group's New Seattle branch building, waving placards and promoting their views.
Perhaps because it was the Day of the Dead, the general public was more concerned about this issue than Hayden had originally anticipated; or perhaps because someone was fueling the flames by spreading information online—in any case, the demonstrations and protests, and the social inequalities they further exposed, attracted a lot of attention.
Given that so many people were watching, it's clear that Hayden couldn't have been the only one to notice that the weather conditions on the rooftop were a bit off today.
Soon, some people in the marching crowd noticed the strange phenomenon overhead. They probably didn't immediately connect it to a hacking incident, assuming it was a malfunction in the weather control system. However, some hot-blooded students began shouting at the company employees: "See that? You lackeys of capital! The company doesn't have any real power!"
But these ordinary lower-level employees of the company naturally didn't like being called that, and immediately cursed back: "Fuck your mother! What nonsense are you spouting, a bunch of students who are eating their parents out of house and home!"
"Don't stop us from clocking in! Go somewhere else!"
Before the police could intervene, students and ordinary company employees started pushing and shoving each other and hurling insults.
"We who are here are not a minority! As long as we continue to gather our strength, we can change the world!"
A tall young man stood on a music trailer, raising his arms and shouting to the other students.
"Let the citizens' anger be unleashed! We will force the Mitra Corporation to improve our lives!"
His voice was clearly amplified, booming like thunder throughout the entire road. The sound echoed overhead, resounding loudly to every corner, further fueling the enthusiasm of the marching crowd.
So Hayden frowned as he watched the increasingly heated social movement through the news broadcast, watching the young leader standing on top of the trailer. He had the height and muscular build of a basketball player, long hair, and was dressed very fashionably, with a black raincoat loosely hanging on his shoulders—he certainly looked like a typical student youth of the American Federation social movement.
"Oh shit."
However, Hayden muttered a curse under his breath, causing Angela, who was standing next to him, to look at him with a strange expression: "Master, is there a problem?"
"The male student standing on top of the trailer."
Hayden pointed to the live stream screen.
"His muscles were replaced with biochemically synthesized muscle."
Angela was genuinely surprised: "Huh? You can tell whether someone has undergone bio-modification just by watching a live news broadcast!?"
"After being a mercenary for a long time, and killing too many of the same type of cyborgs, you'll naturally be able to tell the difference."
Hayden frowned and said,
"But something doesn't seem right. Biochemical modification is much more expensive than mechanical modification, and no one would be so idle as to spend a lot of money to replace their original natural muscles with artificially cultivated synthetic muscles. This is not the style that is popular in New Yatu."
The dominant company in the New Seattle market is Mitra Corporation, yet Mitra Corporation hasn't invested much in bio-engineering. While large companies are almost always multi-faceted, otherwise they would easily leave weaknesses in commercial competition, Mitra Corporation's main business is still the Astral Network. Therefore, bio-engineering isn't a style that most New Seattle residents would choose.
Even if they really wanted to modify their bodies, the Neo-Yatu people would generally choose mechanical modification, just like the orc drug lord that Hayden took down three months ago.
Moreover, mechanical modifications are really relatively cheap.
“So…” Angela didn’t quite understand Hayden’s meaning, “What does this mean?”
Hayden replied dryly, "It means that someone who wasn't originally on the chessboard might have infiltrated."
Outsiders have infiltrated the demonstration and are mixed in with the crowd. They seem to be deliberately trying to incite conflict between the crowd and company personnel, and may even be trying to riot.
"Leaving aside company cops, some ordinary employees are now starting to argue, shout, and even physically assault the protesting students," he muttered. "And it's not fair to say these employees are in the wrong. Things were bound to turn out this way sooner or later."
why?
The buildings and roads surrounded by the protesters are major thoroughfares and densely populated commercial areas. The sun has already set, and this is usually the busiest time of day for traffic and the most profitable period for nearby shops... This is usually the case, but today the scale of the protest is exceptionally large.
The superior people don't need to crawl on the ground like ants; they have their own ways of getting somewhere.
However, ordinary office workers cannot easily choose to fly. In an environment where even the freshest air costs money, the expense of commuting by plane can be quite expensive for those in the lower classes.
In this era where most people work 996 (9 AM to 9 PM, 6 days a week), after-get off work time is already as precious as water in the desert. How would you feel if you were blocked on your way home by a group of student activists?
And look at the petty-bourgeois shop owners around them. Do they really want to have their shops blocked by protesters one night every weekend, making it impossible to do business?
"Damn students! Stop causing trouble every weekend!"
"What nonsense is this guy who was raised by his parents talking!"
"We still want to open a store!"
The final result will be like this.
Angrily accusing and cursing continued. So the young student leader standing on the trailer shouted back, "You capitalist slaves! Shameless! Can't you even tell right from wrong?"
Needless to say, a tense atmosphere quickly spread between the marchers and the general public. The conflict between the two sides gradually escalated into a menacing confrontation. One office worker and a student demonstrator got into an argument, and the student eventually flew into a rage, punching the office worker to the ground. In the blink of an eye, the company police officers waiting on both sides of the road immediately raised their police riot control devices and aimed.
The scene froze as if in ice.
This demonstration was just one match away from turning into a riot.
So, what happened next happened quickly and naturally.
"Fight! Fight! Don't be afraid of being labeled as criminals! That's just a stigma imposed on us by corporations!"
The bio-modified male student leader stood on the trailer, raising his fist imposingly. The frozen time instantly began to flow again, like a raging torrent. Suddenly, some people wearing armor under their raincoats rushed out from the marching crowd and, without a word, launched an attack on the company police and employees surrounding them!
Chaos immediately erupted like wildfire.
The company police began using riot control devices to unleash spells like "Stinky Cloud" or "Blinding Flash," but the marchers' momentum remained undiminished. Those clad in armor, mixed in with the crowd, began attacking the cops with orderly precision. They used no special weapons, wearing protective masks and wielding only batons. However, the company police hired by the Mitra Corporation were unable to handle them, being forced to retreat repeatedly.
Why is this happening?
Hayden could tell at a glance that these masked, armed citizens were all clearly the same type of bio-engineered humans. This expense, when calculated carefully, was indeed quite expensive.
Who is it, and where did they get so much money to put these bio-engineered humans into the parade?
"Forward! Capitalism is the greatest evil of our time! Forward! Smash corporations and the lackeys of capital!"
Led by the student leaders, the other unsuspecting protesters followed the modified humans, surging towards the company police like a mudslide. Needless to say, the unfortunate ordinary shops and company employees in the vicinity were also caught in the crossfire. The scene instantly became extremely horrific, almost indescribable using language that wouldn't be censored.
"fxck".
Even after seven years as a mercenary, Hayden's face remained grim as he watched the news broadcast.
Anyone with even a little empathy would find this scene amusing.
Especially since he had just returned to his alma mater yesterday, it unexpectedly stirred up some nostalgia for his student days.
"What on earth is the Mitra Corporation doing? This is their own branch office building, how could they not have a way to stop a riot? They could at least cast a tactical-level, wide-area stun spell!"
This is really strange.
Hayden was just a third-rate hacker, yet even he knew that Mitra Corporation's weather control system, like their servers storing important data, should theoretically be completely isolated from the wireless network, making it impossible for hackers to infiltrate from the outside. Yet, this still happened. What exactly happened?
Above, the weather system has been hacked by [Bo Xun]; on the ground, protests and riots are being secretly orchestrated by unknown individuals. What's wrong with the Mitra Group these days, that it hasn't made any meaningful response?
Relying on a bunch of ordinary company police officers with only basic security clearance? They're not the company's actual combat force; they're just ordinary people who get paid to live. They're utterly useless!
Sensing Hayden's desire and resentment, Angela tilted her head: "Master, is there something you want to do?"
"Don't talk nonsense. What can I do?"
Hayden countered with a question, struggling to suppress his inner turmoil.
"Who do you take me for? What would I do barging in at this hour? Go to my death?"
Angela frowned immediately: "Master, your current mental state is not very healthy. If you continue to think like this, you will not be able to do anything."
Hayden opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Because he actually knew that Angela was right.
But even if he thinks, what problems can he solve?
Why did things turn out this way? Was it caused by [Bo Xun], that is, Alastor and his group? Did Alastor bring those bio-engineered humans into this riot?
After thinking silently for a while, Hayden shook his head inwardly. It was unlikely. He hadn't had much contact with Alastor, but Hayden remembered seeing him at school yesterday and exchanging a few words with him.
Alastor looked down on street social movements.
Actually, Hayden also looked down on it. They both thought that student activism was completely useless.
Therefore, Alastor shouldn't do such a thing. But perhaps he thinks that sacrificing some student activists for the greater good of the people is acceptable?
But Hayden also remembered Professor Albion's assessment of Alastor just hours earlier.
Professor Albion seemed to think Alastor was a good kid.
Of course, Professor Albion might be wrong, since he also thought Hayden was a good boy. However, Hayden never defined himself in that way.
But what if the professor is right...?
Hayden had read a lot of random books and ancient legends. Based on what he had learned from those ancient tales, it was rather embarrassing and unoriginal to get into trouble for ignoring the advice of a mysterious old wizard.
What era are we living in? He shouldn't be making the kind of mistake that only ancient people in myths and legends would make.
“Okay, let’s assume that Alastor didn’t do any of this.”
He glanced at the news broadcast again; the scene was growing increasingly grim. Company police reinforcements had arrived. They raised their riot shields and lined up to suppress the crowd. The students surged towards the riot shield array ahead like an avalanche, but the police unleashed the same riot-suppressing arcane spell Hayden had used before: [Thunderclap]. The powerful sonic boom knocked most of the students to the ground, leaving them bleeding from head wounds.
However, the bio-engineered humans didn't buy into it. They charged into the police's shield formation like beasts, wielding batons and beating the cops' heads off like savages.
"Charge! The voice of freedom will not be defeated!"
The young male leader was still shouting at the students from the top of the trailer.
"Oppose capitalism! Oppose authoritarianism! Victory lies in the struggle to the very end!"
So the students continued to rush toward the police one after another.
Seeing this, one must admit that Hayden really doesn't think this is Alastor's style.
So if this condition is true... what should Hayden do next?
The answer is obvious.
"Angela, do me a favor."
Hayden could only use the new magic he had developed in the last three months.
"I want my fortune told."
Angela nodded obediently: "Okay, what do you want to have divined? Are you referring to the method you tested last time?
"I need to find Alastor's current location."
As Hayden spoke, he took out a piece of chalk, an iron needle, a city map of New Jersey, and a homework report written by Alastor himself, which he had obtained from the professor.
First, he threw the report into a porcelain bowl, lit it, and burned it to ashes.
Next, Hayden drew a magic circle on the basement floor with chalk and then put the ashes into the center of the circle.
He was about to cast a very common, classical tracking spell. This type of spell was no longer used in modern times. Why? Because in modern times, especially in modern cities, too many arcane protective barriers interfered with the effectiveness of tracking spells. Most classical tracking divination techniques had been rendered obsolete by changes in the environment.
However, for the past three months, Hayden had been studying Angela's secrets. He hadn't forgotten that Angela possessed more than just healing, revitalizing, and strengthening powers. She had even blew a breath on Hayden's eyelids before, causing him to see strange precognitive visions.
"Angela, I need to find Alastor's current location. Please help me."
This is definitely not a reliable method. Even someone like Hayden, who studies ancient magic, wouldn't consider using divination magic as a regular option. Moreover, in Hayden's own view, divination magic should never be used except in emergencies.
In the modern context, this kind of divination is even less reliable than spiritualism.
But this is not the normal situation now.
It is also strong enough under special circumstances.
So Angela smiled and blew a breath towards the small pile of ash.
In an instant, Hayden felt a lightning-like force strike the magic circle. He even had to concentrate his willpower and expend his own magic power to restrain this force within the boundaries of the magic circle. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, which sent a chill down his spine and gave him goosebumps all over his body.
The inner and outer rings of a magic circle conceptually separate the worlds, with the area inside the magic circle being a small, self-contained world.
At least that's the case in the theory of classical magic.
Yet at this very moment, within this ring, Hayden felt a dimensional rift, a distortion of spacetime, and everything he could perceive being swept away into the distance. He was being transported beyond Earth, beyond the solar system, and beyond the ever-expanding boundaries of the universe, overwhelming all his senses.
A mind-numbing sense of omnipotence.
A chilling sense of happiness.
In places beyond his sight and hearing, Hayden could only glimpse the sky through a pipe and measure the sea with a seashell, using the lingering traces of reason to capture information outside of reality that wouldn't cause his personality to collapse.