Abyssal Wanderer.

"Remember, surrendering means losing half the battle. If things get really bad, we can just run away! Coming back alive is the greatest victory, understand?"

On the Ghost, as they were about to leave, Christie was still giving them instructions.

Jiang Zhou nodded repeatedly, while directing Six Paths Theseus, who was wearing power armor, to move the equipment onto the transport plane.

Unfortunately, Fanny was temporarily transferred back to Tartarus. Without her performing the surgery, the new Six Paths Theseus zombie modification didn't use the deciphered Pegasus, but rather a "zero-consciousness" level military neural implant. While powerful enough, it couldn't combine with the original Dionysus virus in Jim's possession to allow Six Paths Theseus to unleash the full power of a superhuman zombie.

Now, the only Superman he has left is Celestial Path...

"Okay, okay, don't worry, I will definitely do what I can."

Jiang Zhou said this.

"Should I deliver it again?"

Christie said with some unease.

"Aren't you going to Nord later? Besides, if you show up in Thebes, who knows how the outside world will interpret this signal... Let's just forget about it."

Jiang Zhou quickly refused.

After all, if she really went, she might just roll up her sleeves and go on stage herself.

"Alright... I'll tell you some more battlefield survival tips before I leave."

…………

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Zhou lay down wearily in the business class cabin of Theseus Cargo.

In the end, it was he who tried to persuade Christy not to go.

He sighed with relief.

However, summoning meme entities...

Jiang Zhou, who finally had some free time, stared at the starry sky ceiling in the business class cabin and suddenly thought of this.

He wasn't participating as a formal member, so he wasn't qualified to summon memetic entities. But after learning about the rules of the Dionysian War, he was genuinely curious about which memetic entity would respond to his summons.

Could it be Turing? Or John von Neumann?

Or perhaps... the first Deep One in the meme version?
It's unclear whether the summoning of meme entities is primarily based on their own personality, abilities, or the forces behind them.

What other memetic entities will the other contestants summon?

And, is the combat power of a meme entity consistent with its cultural archetype, or is it more based on popularity or fame?

One question after another swirled in his mind.

Come to think of it, this war where summoning meme entities fight each other for the chance to make a wish sounds a lot like a certain anime I once watched...

This... is probably just a coincidence based on the Dionysian framework.

It's impossible that someone in the Bacchus cult also has this taste.

Thinking of this, Jiang Zhou opened his contacts and made a call to AR.

Three seconds after the bell rang, the AR virtual avatar was projected onto Jiang Zhou's retina.

"Good morning, mortician. How are your preparations going?"

Once the communication was established, AR was very energetic and authentic.

After establishing the partnership, Jiang Zhou has been communicating with the Dionysian Cult via AR recently—after all, Theta is an Orpheus Path Depth 7 Adjuster, and even if it's just online communication, Jiang Zhou can't guarantee how much of his inner thoughts will be spied on.

The other party, seemingly to show goodwill, did not take the initiative to contact me directly.

After going back and forth like this for a couple of days, Jiang Zhou has become quite familiar with AR.

"I'm already on the plane, expected to arrive in Damascus at 2 PM. I called to ask if Ms. Theta has made any progress regarding the meme entity summoning?"

Jiang Zhou asked directly.

"Hmm...wouldn't it be better to ask him in person?"

AR follows this principle.

"I always felt that chatting with people from the Orpheus Path was too stressful, and I was just asking out of pure curiosity. Asking them directly felt like a war meeting, the atmosphere was too serious."

Jiang Zhou chuckled.

“I see, that makes sense… It can be stressful to chat with people from the Orpheus Path before you get to know them, but Theta is actually quite nice, you’ll see once you get to know her. As for the memetic entities, Theta says she’s 90% confident she can summon the one she wants, but she’s been keeping it a secret from me.”

So, there really is a way to locate the entity you want to summon?

Jiang Zhou thought to himself, then joked:

"Speaking of which, the Holy Trinity could be considered a meme, right? If possible, could it be summoned?"

As soon as he said that, Jiang Zhou immediately sensed that something was wrong.

The AR virtual avatar immediately reverted to its initial settings, no longer exhibiting any representational topology—this is the reaction when the other party stops using the avatar projection.

Oh no, did I ask a question that touched on some religious taboo?

After waiting for more than two minutes without receiving a reply, Jiang Zhou finally couldn't help but break the silence.

"Um... I think I was offended just now? If I was, I'd like to apologize first."

Silence remained.

Jiang Zhou asked "hello" a few more times in confusion, and then an unfamiliar voice came from the communication channel.

"He's already dead."

It was a calm male voice, and Jiang Zhou immediately felt a chill run down his spine.

"You're next."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Zhou felt the aircraft begin to tremble violently, as if it had been hit by something.

…………

"Have you located the person who contacted her earlier?"

The man put down the head connected to the data cable and looked indifferently at the technician beside him.

"We've located the person, but they're not in the gathering area. Judging from the signal, they're probably on their way here in an aircraft."

The technician, wearing a red uniform and sporting a wolf-shaped shield logo on his shoulder, said this.

"Lock onto this signal, then use the 'Wrath of God' class space-based weapon to shoot down that aircraft... I don't want any unexpected reinforcements to rescue Theta."

This is what the man who just removed AR's head said.

"Understood! But wasn't Sita already taken care of by you, Boss Dong...?"

As the technician spoke, he turned to look at the dismantled remains of the prosthetic body, which lay scattered on the ground.

"Taking down a Depth 7 Orpheus Path user isn't that easy... That's just her humanoid interface. She was quick enough to hide; the moment we met, she had already spread out her body and was hiding in the minds of the residents in the resettlement area."

The man said with a cold laugh.

"If this were during World War II, screening all the residents of the resettlement area and killing the infected would have been a simple matter of some effort. Ha, it's clearly an illegal organization, yet it was saved by the Olympiad... But it doesn't matter, we just need to ensure that during the Dionysian War, it can only stay inside the minds of the Damascus residents and can't get out."

As he spoke, he looked at AR's face, which was frozen in confusion.

"They don't even understand that the war has already begun. If they participate in the war with this kind of awareness, they deserve to never even see the face of Thebes."

He said this sarcastically.

…………

Near the Bering Strait, the Valkyrie forces have just repelled the Spear Squad.

The Ladon system uncovered money laundering activities by 232 agents under Venus and revealed seven money laundering routes.

In retaliation, Venus mobilized approximately one thousand subcultural groups to sabotage Juno's infrastructure.

In the Congo Basin, the Chariot of God annihilated three mercenary groups that had received technological support from Minerva.

[They've even released the base adjustment factor? Mars has abandoned all semblance of decorum this time.] [I've said it before, don't expect them to continue to exercise restraint; if Neptune weren't still asleep, a much larger war would have already broken out.]

Regarding Theseus's freight operations, they have already planned to reject orders from large companies during the Dionysian War.

So, is Pluto going to remain completely neutral this time?

……

Countless similar messages are currently circulating on the intranets of various companies.

Although the War of the Gods is still seven days away, for the Olympus Corporation, the real war has already begun.

Whether it's the infiltration and decapitation strikes by elite elite units or large-scale military operations on the mercenary battlefield.

Or perhaps it's a war of public opinion, an economic war. At this moment, the four companies involved in the Dionysian War, along with their respective allies, have already begun another war.

As for the contestants selected by each side, they are the focus of their fierce competition.

Whether on the real world, on the World Wide Web, or even beneath the dark web, a secret war is quietly underway to find and eliminate contestants.

Of course, since the four participating companies all had similar ideas and were wary of each other, they all ended up with nothing after going through all that trouble.

As for forces or individuals outside the four companies, even neutral organizations like the Human Intelligence Ethics Oversight Committee, which are protected by the God-King, have now received four times more attacks on explosives and poisons than usual—especially attacks specifically targeting the Narcissus path.

Of course, being under the protection of the God-King, they dared not go too far.

But illegal organizations like the Dionysian Cult are a different story...

The leader of the Dionysian cult has been trapped and killed in Damascus.

Having been sidelined for so many years, that guy still thinks it's the era of the Knights' War, acting so openly and brazenly.

Should we help her? Consider it an investment.

There's no need for that. If you go to Thebes with that kind of mentality, you probably won't win anyway.

[Didn't the Bacchus Cult give any prior warning? After all, Theta has a connection with them.]

[They probably think the same way; with a similar mentality, there's no chance of winning.]

……

As Mars Wars Corporation operates in Damascus, another wave of information ripples through the internal networks of various companies.

…………

After the Silent Realm unfolded, Jiang Zhou was completely certain that he was now locked on and surrounded.

With seven days to go before the start of the Dionysian War, are those companies planning to make their move now?
Jiang Zhou thought to himself, recalling the cold voice he had heard on the phone earlier.

Now that AR is dead, Theta is probably in grave danger as well.

With that in mind, Jiang Zhou loaded a high-explosive round into the magazine.

But... how did they find themselves?
I'm a Level 3 freelance mercenary, and this trip was specifically arranged by Theseus Cargo. Whoever attacked Theta couldn't possibly have locked onto me so quickly…

Jiang Zhou held his breath as he directed his puppets to don their exoskeleton power armor and lie in ambush throughout the cabin.

He had considered committing suicide and starting over, but considering this suspicious point, he ultimately decided to find out who the guy who had approached him was first.

Could it be that the guy who just called me can teleport?
Just as I was thinking this, the hatch opened.

Four Coordinators dressed in black mechs covered with red patterns walked in, and Jiang Zhou was all too familiar with their appearance.

Cerperos...the Wolfsbane Squad, the people who dived into Pluto?
Just as Jiang Zhou was in a daze, the leader, the adjuster wearing "two-headed" level armor, spoke up:

“Commissioner Theseus, please forgive us for forcibly boarding the ship. We are here on the orders of the Board of Directors to escort you to the Damascus resettlement area.”

As he said this, the sensors on his face turned to the location where Jiang Zhou was currently hiding.

With no other option, Jiang Zhou had to grip his gun and step out from behind cover.

"At least give me a heads-up... I almost opened fire on you guys."

He feigned a helpless expression and complained.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Christie, you didn't disclose your flight information to us. It took us a long time to find it."

How can they find me without disclosing my flight information?

Jiang Zhou's lips twitched, then he seemed to realize something.

Sister Ke, you shouldn't have taken these exoskeleton suits from the company...

Without a doubt, a positioning chip must have been installed inside one of the exoskeletons.

Thinking this, Jiang Zhou walked casually to the front of the Wolf Poison Squad, even casually hanging his weapon at his side—looking like someone who was naive and had never seen the dangers of the world.

It wasn't that Jiang Zhou was particularly skilled or daring, but rather that he wanted to figure out what the people of Pluto wanted from him at this critical juncture.

As he expected, as soon as he reached the right position, the Wolf Poison Squad immediately abandoned their previous polite attitude and knocked him to the ground.

Even the movements were the same as when he subdued himself last time; there was no creativity whatsoever.

His puppets had barely charged out when they were all precisely targeted and shot in the head, one of them even being killed by the automatic explosion of his exoskeleton.

Jiang Zhou noted down which one it was.

The captain, who was in the lead, flipped Jiang Zhou over with his toes and looked at him mockingly:

"With your level of vigilance, you still expect to win the War of Dionysus?"

"Ah... say whatever you want."

Jiang Zhou said with a hint of helplessness.

After all, what the other party said was true—he had not considered in advance whether it was the attack on Theta and AR or the installation of locators on his equipment.

More importantly, I haven't changed my mindset at all.

This is not an engineering project; it is a war that has already begun.

There is no room for the slightest negligence.

Thinking this, he looked at the captain and said:

"So, you're planning to take me back to Tartarus? I don't think Ms. Christie would want to see that happen."

Jiang Zhou still didn't understand why Pluto had come to kidnap him at this time.
If he dies, there will be one less troublemaker. If Pluto wins the Dionysian War, he will only get a share of the benefits.

The man did not answer, but instead ordered his men to bring a box.

As the box was opened, the contents made Jiang Zhou finally understand the purpose of the Pluto board of directors.

For a moment, he was so angry that he laughed.

"No, you will not return to Tartarus."

The sensor indicator light on the captain's face lit up with a smiling expression.

"You will continue to compete as a free mercenary... no, I should say you will compete in place of Theta. And with a shrewdness and caution that are not your own, you will ultimately win this war."

As he spoke, he took out the "puppet circuit" from the box.

"You will join Minos's mental network and ultimately win this war in the name of the Pluto Deep Dive."

Jiang Zhou looked at him with pity, as if he were looking at a fool.

"Actually, I also want to know what would happen to him if I joined Minos's mental network."

Jiang Zhou said this.

Then, without waiting for these guys to process the meaning of his words, he sent a signal to the Heavenly God Path, who had been hiding to the side.

Almost before the shot rang out, the Wolf Poison Squad captain, realizing there was an ambush, turned to the side and, in a preemptive move, used the thickest part of his armor to meet the incoming bullet.

The entire set of movements was fluid and graceful, with every detail being the result of countless hours of practice.

If that bullet hadn't been an anti-lithium missile, he might actually have survived. (End of Chapter)