Abyssal Wanderer.

Pity……

Upon seeing the explosion footage transmitted back from "Charonlingdu," the illustrator sighed with some regret.

To be honest, the mortician was actually quite interesting.

Judging from his performance in that simulated exercise, it seems the main entity was operating behind the scenes, or perhaps it was related to the previous investigation into the Type II crisis... It's clear that there's some behind-the-scenes maneuvering involved in sending someone as low as Depth 2 to participate in such an important mission. Presumably, he's a close subordinate of some high-ranking executive within the company.

It would be great if it weren't blocking the way.

In fact, he hadn't originally intended to kill the mortician as well—after all, if it were discovered that he had attacked a team member, he would have to go to the Court of Arbitration in Olympus.

His plan was simply to blow up the data center, cause the firewall in the Nord settlement to collapse sooner, and make the higher-ups decide to use Thunderbolt as soon as possible.

It seems unlikely that the shareholder of Theseus Freight will find a position; only in this way can he ensure the completion of his mission.

"Don't blame me for being heartless. Blame it on your bad location. You had to choose a data center... a central server room no less. Who else would die if not you?"

The draftsman sighed softly.

Upon hearing his words, the dead man's head hanging from his life-sustaining limbs gave off a strange smile.

What are you laughing at?

Seeing this, the draftsman frowned and asked.

Blowing up the data center and destroying the firewall was Baptiste's original idea—of course, he wasn't foolish enough to do it himself, but rather remotely controlled "Charonlingdu" to carry it out.

The dead man's head naturally couldn't answer his question, but the draftsman still felt inexplicably uneasy looking at that strange smile.

In a sense, it's normal for him to feel uneasy.

After all, blowing up a data center essentially fuels the growth of malicious programs. If it were to be investigated afterward, it would be considered a crime against humanity—if it were discovered that you did it, the company would probably sever ties with you immediately.

But the Nord resettlement area was destined for a major crackdown, so those guys' pitiful struggles and resistance were pointless. It was better to accept their powerlessness sooner rather than later; at least in their final moments, everyone could go home and spend time with their families and friends.

That's right, this is actually more humanitarian.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that it was true.

Yes! That's it, so I didn't do anything wrong!
The draftsman convinced himself of this, then looked at Baptiste's dead head.

"Don't misunderstand. I will take your plan into consideration, simply because you are actually the same as the residents of the resettlement area, all of you are futures deaths, there is no difference."

The draftsman said this to him.

But Baptiste's face still bore that strange smile.

"Are you laughing at your mother?"

Feeling inexplicably irritated, he couldn't help but curse.

Once the thunderbolts strike, you bunch of idiots will realize your mistake.

After thinking about it again, he calmed down.

In any case, the cartographer who had witnessed the power of the Great Thunder in Atlantis did not believe that this meme entity could actually succeed.

Jupiter's final solution is absolutely foolproof; it is the pursuit of a solution that can save everyone, like that of an embalmer or master of ceremonies, that leads to a real crisis.

Just as he was thinking this, he received a message from Baptiste.

I know what you're worried about.

The dead man's eyelids blinked laboriously.

[You're actually worried that your data center sabotage will be discovered, right?]

"Shut up if you want to live a few more minutes."

The draftsman said with a gloomy expression.

The guardian of the Icarus Liberation Front is on his way to the tenth floor; he has a temporary partnership with the master of ceremonies. With his sharp eyes, he can see right through you—you can't escape. And once exposed, your superiors will sever all ties with you.

Baptiste continued.

"Very good. I remember that four minutes of oxygen deprivation to the brain can cause irreversible brain damage. It seems you want to try it..."

However, if you hand over control of Charon Lingdu to us, that would be a decapitation strike planned by malicious programs, and it would have nothing to do with you.

Baptiste completely ignored his threat.

This suggestion silenced the draftsman.

Karonlingdu is a Level 5 Dark Web technology, equipped with various auxiliary functions including stealth, password cracking and unlocking, and Dark Web support, and its own combat capabilities are also considerable. Furthermore, as an autonomous large-scale drone, it is inherently suitable for malware infestation.

Are you threatening me?

"It is," the draftsman said in a deep voice.

I think this is a win-win situation; if you don't want it, then forget it.

The other party replied.

Although he only received text messages, the illustrator could almost hear his flippant tone.

[By the way, your other equipment in Theseus Cargo has now been scattered and hidden away... quite cautious, indeed. If you're willing to give me control of Charonlingdu, I can help you retrieve all that equipment.]

How did you know?!

Although the questioning was delivered in a stern tone, a sense of fear crept up the draftsman's spine.

It felt as if all my previous actions were part of the other person's plan.

So, what's your answer?

…………

When Jiang Zhou and Number One arrived at the tenth floor, they received news that the data center had been attacked.

The sound of an explosion in the distance almost immediately followed and reached their ears.

Jiang Zhou immediately tried to switch perspectives, only to find that Hell Path had already gone offline.

The attack was carried out by Baptiste...

Jiang Zhou immediately understood.

Ever since he set foot in the Nord resettlement area, Six-Path Theseus has been locked in a battle of wits with those infected by the Superhuman Virus. It could be said that the death of each of his puppets was inextricably linked to them.

The Asura Path and the Demon Path were taken offline by the opponent despite having superior information, and they lost two battles right from the start.

Although the animal realm was also eliminated, it had completed its task and laid the groundwork for the subsequent arrangements.

Although the human realm failed to stop the makeup artist from lighting the fuse, they ultimately escaped unscathed. Considering they had also guided him to learn the important information about the Dionysian phenomenon, it was a neutral outcome.

Next, in the scheme of the Heavenly Path, he won two battles in a row—not only eliminating the commander, Hayashibara Eri, but also capturing the pharmacist, who was a possible key to breaking the deadlock.

Now that Eri Hayashibara is under his control, Baptiste will most likely be her successor.

After taking over, it's not surprising that he would eliminate Hell Path first. In fact, given that the ten-layer firewall was already on the verge of collapse, it would be strange if he didn't target the data center.

But the question is, how did he do that?

The Superman virus does not increase the combat power of infected individuals; previously, Eri Hayashibara was able to carry out her plans only by relying on her family's samurai.

What exactly did Baptiste play to launch an attack on the data center from the heavily guarded tenth floor... Keep in mind that the resettlement district government has concentrated almost all of its most elite Coordinator forces here.

How did he do that?
"There's a mole inside."

Number One spoke up, and Jiang Zhou looked at him upon hearing this.

"Given the security level of data centers, unless the defenses there are known in advance, it is unlikely that outsiders could carry out such a silent attack."

Number One continued.

"He's a draftsman."

Jiang Zhou spoke up.

Yes, if there really was a mole, it could only be him—only he had sufficient motive and means to blow up the data center.

"Are you a draftsman?"

Number One murmured, then said:

"I thought it was the pharmacist. I got information from the emcee that the pharmacist has also been out of contact for a long time... and not long ago, his symbiotes also started attacking people because they went out of control."

Jim, who was in a sanatorium on the fourth floor of the resettlement area, glanced at the pharmacist who was staggering behind them and began to talk to Hanel about the symbiotes.

Jiang Zhou couldn't explain that he now had the pharmacist under his control, so he could only laugh it off.

At the same time, he also opened a contact channel with the AI ​​manager at Theseus Freight.

He hesitated for a moment, then hardened his heart and finally gave the order:

Destroy all the equipment the cartographer transported immediately; if questioned, say it exploded during transport.

Even before he arrived at the tenth floor, he had ordered Theseus Freight's AI to distribute the cartographer's advanced equipment to different warehouses to prevent the guy from using that equipment to upgrade his combat power.

It now seems that if the cartographer and Baptiste join forces, simply hiding them in different warehouses is not enough; they must be completely destroyed.

[Hissing sounds]

However, after Jiang Zhou gave the order, all he received in response was a hissing static sound in the channel.

Theseus Freight's Nord branch lost contact with him.

what happened?

"What are you still standing there for? Activate the armor!"

Just as Jiang Zhou was in a daze, Number One suddenly shouted at him.

He looked up and realized that they were now surrounded by a sky full of drones and various security structures.

Unlike other levels, the wealthy residents in the tenth floor of the resettlement area are extremely willing to invest resources in their personal safety and property security.

Surrounding them now were not the department store array that had previously chased and killed the Human Path, but rather the legitimate product line of the Olympus Corporation.

While most are civilian versions, there are also some stripped-down military models.

Jiang Zhou even saw some limited-model constructs that required the use of dark web technology.

Under normal circumstances, malicious programs might not be able to take over these constructs so quickly. But now that the gods no longer provide them with cloud-based protection, the local security measures for these constructs are ridiculously rudimentary.

Of course, this is also a common tactic of the Olympian gods—most commercial product software systems for the general public rely on cloud services, and once they are separated from the gods' network support, they become a pile of scrap metal... or a breeding ground for malicious programs.

All I can say is that these guys are even more ruthless in protecting themselves from the public than from AI.

"Even if the firewall fails, can malicious programs still infiltrate these constructs so quickly?"

As the chain-bound man's helmet closed, the brightness of the V-shaped viewfinder on his head increased dramatically, and Jiang Zhou's voice turned into a strange electrical sound—for a moment, he thought he was in a nightclub.

As he entered combat mode, the two secondary arms behind the Chainbinder unfolded, from which popped out built-in high-frequency vibrating armor-piercing daggers.

"After the Olympian gods cut off cloud services to Nords, the government of the resettlement area profited from this business. These constructs were previously connected to the control systems in the data center..."

As Number One spoke, his body began to deform in a highly orderly manner, like the gears of a clock, and his voice also took on a subtle, mechanical quality.

"If the firewall collapses, won't things immediately spiral out of control?"

As he spoke, the dazzling transformation was just completed.

At this moment, Number One had stretched to a height of 2.5 meters, looking like... a slender, tall, and thin silver gear stick figure?
Yes, not only was he not carrying or equipped with any weapons, but he also wasn't covered by armor, leaving many machines and pipelines exposed.

Standing next to him, Jiang Zhou's Chainbearer armor actually looked more imposing.

Seemingly sensing Jiang Zhou's concerns, Number One, as thin and long as a bamboo pole, lowered his head and said:

"Don't worry, I didn't waste a single one of the four tons of computing elements you sent over."

Before they finished speaking, the ground they were on began to tremble, as if something was breaking through the barriers between the levels and about to burst forth from the earth.

…………

The tenth floor of the resettlement area houses the data center.

Because of the explosion, the entire operations hall was in chaos, with many hackers shouting that they wanted to leave.

After all, they didn't even know where the previous attacks came from.

No one dares to gamble on whether the next explosion will happen, or where it will happen.

Amid the chaotic crowd, only a handful of hackers were still attempting to access the combat pod, repairing the firewall to ward off the embodiment of fear that was eroding the ten-layer network.

The intelligence synchronization system was in complete chaos, and the communication channels were filled with the terrifying screams played by the embodiment of fear, intended to demoralize the enemy.

Anyone using a low-quality prosthetic eye to access the internet via a brain-computer interface will immediately be bombarded with violent videos, ghostly images, restricted content, and gory scenes. If the prosthetic eye used is of poor quality and lacks a content moderation function, certain terrifying images may even continuously occupy your field of vision, like a shadow.

These are just psychological tactics. Outside the data center, the sounds of real gunfire, explosions, screams, and hacking blend together, as if telling everyone—you are surrounded on all sides, with nowhere to escape.

"Let me in."

Junjie found the safety supervisor, a middle-aged man who had previously been confident that they could survive the next few hours. After the explosion, he became completely dejected and kept muttering, "We're doomed."

"Let me get in. The data center hasn't been completely compromised yet; there might still be a glimmer of hope!"

As Junjie spoke, he shook the supervisor's shoulders vigorously.

The safety supervisor, shaken slightly like a soda, looked at Junjie and shook his head, saying:
"It's impossible... You can barely protect yourselves with the firewall, and now that the firewall has collapsed, there's absolutely no hope. It's not just a cyber war; those malicious programs could control all the flying cars on the tenth floor and run us all over."

Junjie curled his lip, threw him down, and then ran to a combat pod.

"But every act of resistance has meaning, doesn't it?"

He spoke before plugging in the connector. (End of Chapter)