abnormal mutation

Chapter 163 The wall fell and everyone pushed it
“That’s right.” Roland nodded slightly. “You should have noticed as well that the empire is becoming increasingly unstable, and we don’t know what the future holds.”

We cannot wait passively; we must grow stronger to deal with potential dangers. Next, the security consulting firm will collaborate with Hive to expand its scale and capabilities…”

Hiding things is not conducive to development, so he deliberately revealed his identity and status in order to attract talent to join him.

"You...the changes in the Hive are related to you?" Colin could accept Roland as a committee member, but he couldn't understand how Roland could influence the mysterious Hive organization.

“I am one of the managers…” Roland smiled.

"So...they're all members of the Hive?" Colin asked, pointing to Evan and Percy.

He remembered that the confidentiality agreement forbade mentioning the Hive in front of outsiders, and Roland's ability to disregard this meant he must be of extraordinary status.

Evan and the others nodded slightly, while the Percy siblings looked completely bewildered.

"What is a beehive?" Percy couldn't hold back any longer; he vaguely felt as if he had heard something extraordinary.

Colin turned to look at Roland, becoming even more certain of his guess.

Roland said carefully, “A public network open to everyone, currently by recommendation, where you can chat and make friends with people all over the world without leaving your home.”

This statement is neutral; he deliberately emphasizes that the hive is not an organization, but a tool like a road network.

The Percy siblings exchanged a glance, still not understanding.

"Don't ask yet, there's a confidentiality agreement, I can't say too much." Roland waved his hand. "It will intrude on your privacy to some extent, think it over before deciding whether to join."

Then he turned to Colin: "Want to do it together?"

“Absolutely!” Colin nodded emphatically without any hesitation. “How could the giant ship be without me when it sets sail?”

The Northern Merchant Guild, which is rumored to be rife with internal strife, is doing everything it can to support Roland. It would be foolish for him not to get on board now.

"Pleasant to work with."

The two raised their hands and gave each other a high five, their smiles wide.

The security consulting firm only has two mid-tier extraordinary individuals, both of whom are executive directors with unclear attitudes, and Roland may not be able to command them.

Colin is about to advance to the middle tier, and those who are of one mind with him are the Hive's number one pillar.

"Do you have all the ingredients for your potion?" Roland asked.

"All done. Now I just need to buy some high-purity spiritual glimmer from the beehive to refine the potion." Colin's expression revealed a hint of excitement; he had been waiting for this day for many years.

“You could consider the Paradox Potion. I used it to advance to Sequence 8,” Roland suggested. “It comes from the ancient, vanished Council of Embers. You can find detailed information about it in the Hive.”

Colin was taken aback and immediately went into the hive to search. Sure enough, he found the introduction in the trading information of Paradox Potions.

After reading it, he remained silent for a long time. Even with Roland's recommendation, he still felt uneasy. Potions were too important to take care of casually.

"No rush, let's eat first." Roland said with a smile, skipping over the topic.

…………

On a train rattling along.

Mengwei's gaze was vacant, her mind frozen on a bounty notice.

"Father, you said last time that the pirates formed an organization, what was it called again?" He suddenly realized and looked at his father who was flipping through a book.

“It seems to be the Storm Council.” Earl Duke scrutinized him. “What brings this up?”

"It's nothing, just asking casually." Mengwei chuckled dryly, leaned against the side, and closed her eyes, pretending to doze off.

Ever since his father found out he had joined a mysterious organization, he has been wary of him like a thief. He decided to move out of the manor after arriving in the capital to avoid getting in his way.

He clicked on the bounty notice. The poster was called "Mysterious Man," and below it was a line of small print: "Skynet Security Consulting Company." The bounty was 1,000 coins. Anyone who provided information would get a share of the money, at least ten coins. If information was duplicated, whoever submitted it first would receive it.

He clicked to accept the request and then filled in all the information he knew.

The Storm Council sounds impressive, and it is indeed quite extraordinary, but it's not as respectable as its name suggests.

It is a force formed by a group of powerful pirates. It was only recently established and its base is in the Endless Sea. Recently, it has started committing crimes in the Long Corridor Strait and has become somewhat overly active.

He didn't know any more detailed information.

After submission, Hive displayed a message saying "Waiting for publisher's review".

Mengwei returned to the main interface and looked at the increasingly bustling Hive Network with a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of mixed emotions, including nostalgia and reflection).

He felt he shouldn't listen to his father; he should embrace change. The complicated transactions and intelligence were too tempting, and it would be a waste not to use them.

So what if we're being used? This world is all about mutual exploitation.

…………

On the spirit world chessboard, Roland had just finished weaving a web that had lasted for several hours.

The coverage of the Hive Network has surged again; now, it is not pursuing thickness and strength, but trying to maximize breadth.

The internet now projects from the sea of ​​consciousness and the spirit world onto reality, using a small-scale approach to cover the large-scale, barely encompassing the three northern counties and the surrounding seas of the peninsula.

Heading south, he barely reached the Carmen Caran line, still quite a distance from his expectations.

'Still not enough accumulated.'

Weaving is instinctive and doesn't take too much time, but it's very energy-consuming, and the assistance provided by the cellular network is not enough.

He sighed inwardly, then casually opened the Hive, where several more replies had appeared regarding the intelligence bounty.

"pirate?"

This is truly surprising. It's quite audacious that pirates are organized and have even extended their reach into the waters of the Sid Empire.

He casually passed the information to Colin and the intelligence department, instructing them to continue their investigation in this direction.

At the same time, have the intelligence department secretly leak information to the Thistle Flower Merchant Guild to stir things up. They're currently tracking down the [Sunflower], so let them lead the charge and let them fight amongst themselves.

The Northern Chamber of Commerce has not yet reported this matter. Once it is announced, they will definitely take retaliatory action, otherwise their prestige will be damaged and they will be unable to shake off the label of coward.

"Even pirates dare to provoke the Sid Empire." This is not a good sign.

Roland closed his eyes slightly, using the spider web to look down on the real world from a higher dimension.

A layer of light-like mist permeated the territory of the Hid Empire. Unlike traditional barriers, it was a peculiar composite.

This is the Enforcement Spirit Realm, rooted in the empire's territory. Its core is law, but its essence should be a creation of the mind. Every citizen of the empire is a node, and their thoughts about the empire determine whether they shine, remain obscure, or are indifferent.

'It's a bit like faith, except the object of faith isn't a god, but the laws of the empire,' Roland mused.

Unfortunately, the light mist is becoming increasingly thin, especially in the three northern counties, the border of the empire, and the southern coastal areas. Compared to what he saw when he first wove the net, the Law Enforcement Spirit Domain is indeed dissipating.

When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down.

To be precise, the Imperial government was not friendly to the Northern Merchant Guild. However, the collapse of the Empire would lead to chaos, which would be bad for most people and organizations, so the guild was protected.

But if the empire is incompetent, others can't offer any assistance. If things are beyond saving, the only option is to plan ahead and strengthen ourselves as quickly as possible.

'I seem to have quite a few enemies.'

(End of this chapter)