Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1336 The Schemer (Part 2)

This was a secret live-fire exercise. The two parts of the exercise were unaware of each other's existence; they only knew to execute the plan. Not all wars are sunlit confrontations between two armies, with charging knights and deafening cannon fire. The methods of warfare in the information age are no less difficult than those of frontal combat. Although the bloodshed on the surface is less, the political changes brought about by war are equally evident, and perhaps even more direct.

The Dutch signals intelligence organization, Nationale SIGINT Organisatie (NSO), is affiliated with the Ministry of Defense but also works for the military intelligence and security agency MIVD and its civilian counterpart, AIVD. As a newly established organization following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, this global counterterrorism-focused organization operates its listening stations and mobile units under the control of the Joint Sigint Cyber ​​Unit (JSCU). Its primary mission is to intercept radio and satellite communications and gather intelligence on network operations through various means. It also works closely with foreign intelligence agencies in allied countries. Its two intercept stations are both located in the Netherlands, one for intercepting satellite communications and the other for intercepting high-frequency radio communications.

As a sub-intelligence agency of an English-speaking intelligence organization born from the Brusa Accords and the Anglo-American Communications Intelligence Agreement, the Dutch Joint Signal Network (JSN) does not have intelligence control in the hands of the Dutch government. All the intelligence this organization can obtain is vetted. Furthermore, the Dutch government provides its citizens with free and unrestricted internet access and strongly opposes censorship. This allows intelligence agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States to conduct large-scale surveillance and signal interception through software applications. Their citizens have no privacy whatsoever; even politicians and embassies are subject to wiretapping.

This environment is also fertile ground for information warfare. Battles of eavesdropping and counter-eavesdropping, surveillance and counter-surveillance, interception and counter-interception are constantly underway, and the enemy's equipment does not belong to them. When Dutch farmers drove their tractors into the city to protest, social media was flooded with information that inflamed their anger—thanks to the big data filtering capabilities of social media, every user's preferences were laid bare. Civilians supporting the farmers received photos of soldiers overturning trays of breakfast intended for citizens and farmers being forcibly arrested; civilians supporting animal protection received photos of farmers slaughtering animals on the spot. Without exception, all the specific information these people saw on social media stimulated their nerves, and their online locations were all far removed from the "crime scene" on social media, making it impossible for them to verify it personally.

There was no crime scene at all; all the information was false.

Modern states rely on organizations formed by imagined communities based on language, culture, customs, and religious beliefs. To accommodate differences between groups and maintain stability, different forms of governance naturally exist. However, in the Netherlands, unity is absent. All political forces are fragmented into numerous parties representing left-wing, right-wing, Christian, Catholic, animal rights, environmentalism, pluralism, and peasant movements. Administrative positions, civil society organizations, ruling bodies, and political parties are intertwined, with pluralism and populism converging. Such a nation, having lost its colonies, is destined to lack strength. These politicians are seen as a rabble by the emperor. Faced with war independently, it is likely to surrender even faster than it did against the Third Reich in World War II. Latvia has no expectation that the Netherlands will offer any valuable response or effective resistance in the event of a Dark Order invasion.

When this imagined community disappears, a modern state based on democratic consultation will collapse more easily than imagined. But not this time. Regent Victor von Dum did not intend to ignite a major conflict in both houses of the Dutch Parliament. The lethality of information warfare still needs to be concealed, and the details of operations to force the enemy to submit through non-military means still need to be planned. This time, the information warfare unit was just testing the waters, igniting the flames and then immediately withdrawing and erasing all traces.

Perhaps everyone's attention was drawn to the radiant Emperor, and few noticed the shadow beneath the cloak. Regent Victor von Doom was a born schemer, which was why the Emperor trusted him. The Emperor saw Victor von Doom's true desires, and he, too, was eager to dedicate everything to achieving his goals. Any tool can be used when its user is reasonable and controllable, and Victor von Doom was that controllable person.

As these messages spread and were accompanied by confidently added eyewitness accounts and speculation, their credibility grew. Every time an account or topic was banned, another would emerge, appearing irrationally on social media users' homepages, further fueled by numerous news outlets eager to boost clicks. When people were willing to push through crowds to protest at the "crime scene," the veracity of the event became less important; everyone found an outlet for their emotions, and new conflicts erupted immediately. Within a day, Dutch government public services, transportation, and power supply were all paralyzed, and government functions were overwhelmed by endless paperwork. Although foreign intelligence organizations had warned the Dutch government of the dangers of cyber warfare, the Dutch Ministry of Defense, the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD), and the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) had no idea where the enemy came from or why their intelligence allies couldn't guarantee their information security.

At this point, a power outage at the United Nations Detention Center (UNDU) didn't seem particularly significant; after all, no one in the world would want to hijack the prison. Therefore, everyone was astonished when the 5-meter-high brick wall of Scheveningen prison was melted by the intense heat, creating a hole large enough for a vehicle to pass through. Several smoke mortar shells slammed into the prison at incredible speed, filling the entire prison with massive amounts of smoke within seconds. Soldiers from the First Class Secret Regiment, clad in Void suits and armed with laser rifles, chainsaw swords, molten lava guns, and plasma weapons, stormed into the prison in modified vans amidst the chaos.

This is a group of rigorously trained assassins who are well-equipped, precise in their movements, and ruthless.

The prison guards' counterattacks sparked across the void combat suits, but nothing else. These all-environment combat suits feature a small-scale exoskeleton for added power, and the special structure of their high-polymer bulletproof armor can withstand direct attacks from large-caliber firearms and artillery shells. The wearer might still suffer injury, but it wouldn't be as fatal as before.

The 15-man combat team, after storming the prison gates, had five men armed with heavy machine guns, anti-tank missiles, and anti-aircraft missiles to establish external fortifications. They also laid mines on the road and nearby grass to prevent any armored vehicles from approaching. The remaining ten men, acting on intelligence, searched for the target. The prison's steel fences and brick walls were no obstacle to the team's advance; under the intense heat of the thermoelectric weapons, the steel melted like ice under the scorching sun. They didn't even intend to follow the prison's internal routes, but instead chose a path that would lead to the target prison at the fastest speed, using explosives and thermoelectric weapons to breach the prison walls and carve a passage large enough for them to enter. Twenty minutes was their allotted time.

The APAR active phased array radar on the Dutch Department 7 frigates was prone to minor malfunctions, allowing the Swift Eagle assault transport boat to successfully bypass the Dutch Navy's defenses, enter the city of Scheveningen in The Hague, and take the entire combat team and target directly into orbit and outer space. The precise, second-by-second operational planning, sophisticated equipment, and readily available support ensured the near-perfect success of the operation. Regent Viktor von Dum did not pay excessive attention to the operational details, as all necessary information was obtained when the Hague tribunal refused to extradite the former Yugoslavian war criminals.

Latvia must make it clear to the world that no one can escape the Emperor's laws.

anyone.

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)