At this moment, Alastor wanted a formal reply from Hayden before deciding whether to give him more information.
So, is Hayden going to join this crazy student hacker anti-corporate group, or is he going to say "I'm not doing it" and see how Alastor deals with him?
Since Alastor had revealed so much information, he certainly couldn't let Hayden just brush it off with a laugh. However, with Angela around, Hayden wasn't actually afraid of Alastor taking a hard line. So the real problem was actually only one:
Are you willing to risk your life and use a very dangerous plan to fight against a powerful corporation that exploits the people and is as strong as a god, for the greater well-being of the people and perhaps also for the blood debt of your own parents?
To my shame, this question is really difficult to answer.
In particular, Hayden has actually been doing quite well lately. He's not so miserable that he can't survive.
The sofa and bed at home were calling to him in his mind, as were the new anime series and the serialized novel updates. Even the spaghetti Angela was going to cook for breakfast tomorrow was calling to him, urging him not to join the unreliable plans of these crazy student brats. He just needed to live his own little life and protect himself and his wind-up wife.
But at the same time, the words of Professor Albion and Alastor, the faces of Hayden's own deceased parents, and the pitiful protesters he had seen on the news broadcast an hour earlier were now burning secretly in his heart.
Are you willing to fight desperately before you're on the verge of starvation?
Hayden's response to this was—
"I'm sorry to interrupt your thoughts, Master,"
Angela suddenly spoke up at this moment,
"But I detected hostile entities approaching here."
That's quite a lot to say. And since she was currently watching over the other students and was a bit far from Hayden and Alastor, her voice was naturally quite loud when she said it.
Upon hearing this, the students immediately panicked: "What? Enemies are coming at this time?! Our defense system is still down!"
The servers in the basement are still running the flowers that Angela conjured up; how could they possibly be of any use?
Some students, like Yolanda, immediately screamed, "It must be that mercenary who brought the company cops here! City mercenaries are all lackeys of big companies! They're just dogs who do their dirty work!"
However, Alastor was not as panicked as his men.
He took out his phone and pressed a few buttons, seemingly to confirm whether Angela's statement was true, then quickly sighed: "There is indeed a group of mercenaries searching the ruins around here, and they don't seem to be locals from New Jersey."
Although Alastor wasn't a city mercenary and didn't have the necessary connections, he had actually researched all the well-known mercenaries on the streets of New Seattle for the sake of his career. He could at least tell whether they were local mercenaries or not.
But he is still no match for a true professional.
"These people are probably mercenaries who came from the Central American Commonwealth."
Hayden glanced at the screen and immediately said,
"The armor they're wearing is the slime combat suit that's recently become popular in Honduras."
So Alastor was taken aback at first, then his face immediately darkened: "The fact that the Central American mercenaries are here at this time is most likely because they were hired by Smoke Mirror Company. But why did they discover my base? I installed a very advanced, even unreleased, anti-detection system here. If it had been discovered by Mitra Corporation, which dominates New Jersey and is good at information technology, that would be one thing. But Smoke Mirror Company, which is not good at information technology and is an outsider, why would they have discovered it... Ah, I see."
He muttered to himself for a while, and then he figured out the answer himself.
"Yoranda, you've made a terrible mistake."
What does this mean?
In any case, Alastor didn't seem to intend to explain in detail to Hayden.
"Unfortunately, our recruitment efforts will have to be suspended. I need to lead my comrades to another safe location first. Farewell."
Upon hearing this, Hayden couldn't help but feel incredibly puzzled: "You trust me that much? Aren't you afraid—like that female student said—that I led them here?"
Alastor chuckled and shook his head: "Then your wind-up doll shouldn't have warned us all. The security system is down. If those mercenaries have already surrounded the place and are rushing in, how could I possibly lead them to safety?"
That's so strange. How come this guy always manages to come up with something that sounds plausible and convincing?
Professor Albion even said that the two of them were very similar, which Hayden really wanted to retort to. Alastor was clearly a charismatic leader, completely different from Hayden, a reclusive individualist.
However, one code equals another.
"You guys get out of here first. I'll handle the Smoke Mirror Company mercenaries chasing after us."
Hayden stretched his stiff body and began to speak.
This time, Alastor was truly stunned when he heard these words.
So Hayden secretly added a point to his own performance in his mind.
"Let me make this clear from the start: I have no intention of joining your crazy anti-corporate organization. You guys sound incredibly absurd. I don't want to die. I'm not tired of living yet."
He continued seriously,
"But I certainly don't mind causing trouble for big companies. I definitely want to make Smoke Mirrors suffer."
Anyway, Hayden has the ability.
They're just a bunch of mercenaries, not the elite combat troops of a big company. How could Hayden not handle them?
At least Angela can definitely handle it!
Alastor, unaware of Hayden's ulterior motives, could not possibly know just how powerful the wind-up doll beside Hayden was. So he stared blankly at Hayden for a long while before finally managing a smile: "Thank you, Comrade Hayden."
Hayden immediately retorted angrily, "I'm not your comrade, you son of a bitch!"
Alastor, however, thought differently, but he didn't waste any more time. After leaving Hayden a secret communication method, he immediately led the students and the most important equipment away through the emergency exit.
In the abandoned base, only Hayden and Angela remained.
"I am deeply moved that my owner is making friends."
For some reason, Angela said with a cheerful expression,
"Although Mr. Alastor and Mr. Adam have some similarities, he would be a better friend to the master."
what?
Alastor, similar to Adam?
Hayden still found Angela's statement extremely strange.
So he shook his head and decided to pretend he hadn't heard.
"The opponents are mercenaries from Central America, a type of enemy you've never seen before. But I guess you won't mind?"
Angela certainly wouldn't mind.
At this point, there was no need to pad the fight against ordinary mercenaries, especially since Angela was right beside Hayden. They quickly took down all the mercenaries hired by the Smoke Mirror Company.
After looting the spoils, Hayden checked the news on his phone and discovered that the riots in the city center had actually ended. The Mitra Corporation, back to normal operations, used its weather control system to unleash a torrential downpour of cold, biting rain on the crowd, easily crushing their incited fighting spirit. Soon after, they lost their will to fight, turned tail and ran, completely collapsing, resulting in another horrific stampede.
The number of people trampled to death by the crowd is probably greater than the number of people injured by the company's police.
In the end, the only ones who suffered from this demonstration, which was instigated by the students and the smoke-glasses company, were ordinary people, and even the police were no exception—are ordinary company police officers who earn such meager salaries not considered ordinary people? Obviously not.
"That's why I hate street social movements."
Hayden sighed, put down his phone, and took Angela home for dinner.
If all you do is incite, you're wasting emotions, essentially acting as a pressure relief valve for big corporations, and allowing pent-up public sentiment to be completely exhausted in the chaos of riots. The same thing repeats itself again and again in this society, making it utterly meaningless.
Can Alastor and his crazy plans really change this cyclical pattern?
041: Gods of the New Century
And so, the march, in which only the injured masses were injured, came to an end.
Alastor and his team of anti-corporate student hackers slipped away.
Hayden, on the other hand, returned home and drank the bamboo shoot and chicken soup (slightly spicy) cooked by Angela, letting his brain think for itself, wandering in the ocean of neurons and mind.
He hadn't yet made up his mind to join Alastor's crazy plan to overthrow the company, after all, Hayden still felt that Alastor was unreliable—that genius hacker was too young and too confident.
On the other hand, even Hayden himself had to admit that it was impossible for him to say that his thoughts were completely unaffected by Alastor.
But one thing is one thing. Many people are moved by the darkness of the world, but few will step forward and sacrifice themselves. As for Hayden... he hasn't decided yet which kind of person he wants to be.
As luck would have it, his phone rang at that very moment. The pop-up call window displayed a name that completely surprised Hayden, and it was marked as a live video call. But he quickly composed himself, pretending to be an ordinary citizen who knew nothing of the drama that evening, and then answered the video call.
[Mr. Hayden, did you have any further dealings with "Bojun's" people today?]
As a result, the other party, the Dark Witch Abigail, asked this question right away.
Hayden could only reply, "Huh? What? No?"
He tried to sound like someone who'd spent the day at home watching cartoons and eating chips, attempting to conceal his surprise, but honestly, it was a bit difficult. Perhaps he was overdoing it; soon Abigail would ask him, "Mr. Hayden, what are you trying to deny by going through all that trouble?"
[Then you'd better not have any further contact with them, and ideally, erase all traces of previous contact.]
The witch said seriously,
They've really gotten themselves into big trouble this time.
what?
……ah
Hayden wasn't stupid; he immediately realized what was happening.
Abigail Johnson, the "Black Witch," is Adam's unofficial agent on the streets of New Seattle, serving as the project manager for a branch of the Mitra Corporation. In other words, she is, to a certain extent, acting in the interests of the Mitra Corporation, and therefore certainly has no shortage of inside information within the large company. Furthermore, Adam is in charge of a portion of the company's personality modification chip business.
Now that things have come to this, how could Abigail not know how important things [Bopuma] stole from the company and how much trouble he caused?
Hayden, on the contrary, had to pretend that he knew nothing about it, otherwise the Dark Witch would definitely become suspicious.
"You seem quite concerned about me, aren't you? Worried that the company will come knocking on your door and arrest or kill everyone connected to [Bo Xun]?"
So Hayden said with a smile.
[Nonsense! I just invested 500,000 gold coins in you, hoping you'd help me develop drugs!]
Abby Galerd immediately became angry.
"I'm not stupid. Why would I get involved in big companies' efforts to suppress anti-corporate organizations?"
Hayden quickly brushed her off, then took the opportunity to subtly probe for information.
"Speaking of which, is this matter really that serious? I saw those cyborgs in the news broadcast infiltrating the civilian population and causing riots. [Bo Xun] Could they be employees of the Smoke Mirror Company? Also, since, according to you, the Mithra Group's reaction this time is so strong, could this lead to a war between the two major corporations?"
He tried to ask in a tone that suggested he was merely a mercenary concerned about the market out of business interest.
However, Abigail immediately fell silent.
Oh no, Hayden immediately felt a sense of foreboding. Had he been too obvious in his indirect questioning?
Unexpectedly, after five seconds of silence, the Dark Witch simply sighed.
I initially thought that a top-tier mercenary as experienced as you would be well-versed in the subtle politics between large corporations, but it seems I underestimated you. A genius may be a genius, but in terms of perspective, you're still just a young man.
Abigail said irritably.
This over 400-year-old loli-like old woman actually uses her age as a point of contention. How despicable!
[Is a war between large corporations really that simple? It's true that companies are profit-driven, and defeating a rival can mean taking a huge slice of the pie. But can a battle between titans truly be decided so easily? The scale of mega-corporations is simply too vast. Their interactions have long since transcended pure commercial competition; they are also complex political games. Large-scale wars disrupt the delicate power balance between factions and groups.]
However, to be fair, this little old lady is actually quite fond of giving advice. That's rather endearing.
However, the more Hayden listened to the Black Witch's explanation, the more uneasy he felt, and a bad premonition gradually rose in his heart.
Larger companies are less of a unified whole, less of a single consciousness or individual, and more of a collection of many people and forces. The interests of each individual and internal faction may differ. Furthermore, there may even be collusion between the same faction within different companies.
Abigail continued speaking,
Is it possible for large companies to fight each other for profit? Of course, it is. But whether they actually come to blows often depends on the style and ability of the company's senior executives on the ground, and on how the parties involved handle the situation. However, at New Asia, there is a senior executive we all know who is very good at handling these kinds of business conflicts... You actually know him, you actually know him. You just haven't thought about it that way.
Ah this
Hayden was speechless.
Moreover, he also understood what the ominous premonition in his heart was.
Things are probably more than just a little troublesome.
————————————————————————
The Mitra Information Group’s branch office building, a sinister stronghold in the heart of New Atlanta, is a towering structure that rises 180 stories (excluding the basement) higher than any of the surrounding buildings, reaching straight into the sky.
As the saying goes, fools and bad guys like to stay in high places. So this incident happened in a conference room on the 150th floor of the tower.
Night was deep, but the lights were off in the large conference room. In the center of the pitch-black hall stood a large round table adorned with a golden swastika. The enormous rune emitted a faint golden light, illuminating the faces of the twenty attendees seated opposite the table, making them appear like ghosts floating in the darkness.
A 3D projection was displayed in the center of the round table, displaying information that changed every second like a kaleidoscope. However, the meeting room itself was as quiet as a graveyard. No one spoke, because the participants were mostly senior executives of the Mitra Group's New Yatu branch.
Speaking aloud carries the risk of being eavesdropped on, and if someone records it and uses it as evidence, that would be troublesome. But who are they? They are the elite of the Mitra Information Group. They need no cell phones, no computers, no cables, no physical hardware. They only need to sit at a round table, remaining calm and silent, to communicate their thoughts through a mental network.
Isn't this sacred Star Network, created by Mitra Information Group, connecting each and every one of them?
That being said, the things they discussed through the StarNet were a great desecration of the sanctity of this great creation.