Reborn in 2010, the AI ​​in my mind is too powerful.

The Pentagon, a complex building with a five-ring structure, has a rather complicated room numbering system. For example, 3A315 means the 3rd floor, Ring A, the 3rd corridor, and room number 15.

Ring A, being the innermost ring closest to the central courtyard, appears to be protected in the center and offers views of the courtyard landscape, but it is actually not very popular.

The corridors here are a bit stuffy, and the rooms are quite small. Many of the rooms have been used as review rooms for old documents.

Project Phoenix, which was completed in 2011, renovated the Pentagon and improved the building, but many rooms are still empty.

Of course, this is also a defensive strategy. When invaded, these empty rooms can serve as temporary shelters or cover, preventing invaders from finding rooms that are actually of value.

However, David, the deputy chief of the CIA's Jakarta station, believes these strategies are ridiculous. He argues that if the Pentagon were ever truly hacked, the United States might as well shut down.

A short while later, the four of them walked into the room together.

David saw the newcomer and asked quietly, "You left your phones outside, didn't you?"

Joey, deputy director of the Southeast Asia Analysis Division of the Defense Intelligence Agency, nodded: "Your phone is in the flowerpot by the door, right? We put all ours in flowerpots too. You got here pretty fast."

David smiled wryly, "How can it not be fast? I've been suspended. What's next? Have they given us any explanation? Should we continue? To be honest, I'm a little scared."

These five individuals were not top-level figures, but they were all mid-level elites. It was these five who, through meticulous planning, directly orchestrated Indonesia's attack on Singapore.

David used his local connections to secretly pass messages to some people in Indonesia. Although he didn't say it explicitly, he implied that Singapore was too powerful and, with the support of Aurora, might want to change its problem of being too small and lacking depth. He wanted to pursue expansion, reunify with Malaysia, or even annex Indonesia.

Let's make a real, big Malaysia.

Joey, taking advantage of his position, selectively included or withdrew certain intelligence from briefings, preventing the United States from anticipating the impending war.

The other three also played a role, one of whom was a lieutenant colonel in the J-5 Southeast Asia Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was responsible for adjusting the timing of joint exercises and the number of training participants, creating the most suitable opportunity for Indonesia to launch an attack.

One was the Indonesian project officer at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, who was in charge of arms sales to Indonesia, and he sent some non-existent goodwill signals.

The last one was William, an official from the Treasury Department's Office of Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence, who was responsible for resolving the project's funding issues.

At this moment, the other four people looked at William, because he was the initiator of this small group and the source of its funding.

The remaining four never asked where the money came from; they felt the less they knew, the better. They originally thought that a few minor manipulations to instigate conflict between Indonesia and Singapore would suffice.

They never expected Singapore to be so violent, and that they had received intelligence in advance and struck first.

This embarrassed them. What was even more upsetting than trying to do something secretly was that they hadn't succeeded in doing it.

William adopted a serious expression, as if speaking for the country, and said, "We are curbing a dangerous monopoly; we are doing our patriotic job. The money is just to make it easier to achieve; our compensation comes from legitimate consulting fees from the think tank."

"Don't worry, things have gotten to this point; it's beyond our control. They'll probably get someone higher up to handle it. The four of you are all Southeast Asia specialists; you're useless now, no need to take any more risks."

David gave a dangerous smile: "You know we don't want to hear this. Our previous actions weren't exactly covert; they'll be found out sooner or later. Even if it doesn't result in a prison sentence, we definitely won't be able to advance further. You have to keep your promises!"

William hesitated for a moment and said, "Six months from now, once things have calmed down, you can all retire. The people behind me should be able to offer you high salaries."

No one present was a fool. They noticed William's hesitation and remained silent, staring intently at him.

William remained silent for a moment, his serious expression finally crumbling.

"Okay, to be honest, I got the money from two groups. The current situation is that one group might be finished. The other group might also be in trouble."

I'm not sure if they'll still be able to accommodate us in six months. But I'll do my best to protect our interests. And David, is it possible for you to find a way to transfer to South Korea? It would be best to keep an eye on our financial backer; I've sent you the information, at least to prevent him from collapsing too soon.

David hesitated for a moment before asking, "You said there are two major investors, one of whom is Korean. What about the other one? Are you keeping an eye on him?"

"Another uncertainty is too great; I don't know how it will turn out."

"Stop beating around the bush, just say it now, who is it?"

William said with a wry smile, "It's much more exaggerated than you imagine; it's an insurance company."

"Is it a pension issue? Didn't the TV say that immortality wouldn't have much of an impact on insurance? Because immortality still requires money, and you still need insurance companies to help manage your pension."

"It's just talk. Those companies are afraid they'll go bankrupt on the spot, so they're just trying to stabilize the market first. There's a clause in the pension system that guarantees minimum annuity payments."

In other words, you will receive money from your account for life, at around 7% per year. Even if your account is completely depleted, the money will still arrive on time every month.

Of course, this wasn't a big deal before. It was a gamble, academically known as the mortality bonus. By using this clause to increase fees, making variable annuities very attractive, most people would assume they could live a long time and therefore choose this option.

Insurance companies, through various forms of artificial and natural hedging, and by reinsurance, can be said to be completely risk-free.

They've been doing this all along: using life insurance to gamble that people won't die, and using annuities to gamble that everyone will die young. They'll also constantly adjust their sales strategies based on the funds in both accounts, ultimately earning a commission-like percentage from both sides.

But now, the balance has tipped over. There are trillions of dollars in insurance policies in the United States with minimum annuity payment guarantees. If half of these people are reborn in the Aurora Borealis, it means that insurance companies will have to pay these people indefinitely!

Even more frightening is that if immortality becomes a possibility, many types of insurance will become completely unsellable. For example, insurance for certain special diseases—wouldn't it be great if one could simply have a mechanical body instead of the painful treatments like chemotherapy?

And who knows what other strange technologies they might come up with after the aurora borealis? How will insurance companies survive?

This is a complicated matter, and the situation at insurance companies isn't very transparent. However, actuaries from several major insurance companies have confirmed that the situation is dire, and I've heard that those companies are practically going crazy. I only got this connection because I have a relative who works at an insurance company, which helped me find people to handle things for them.

In short, this involves trillions of dollars in related interests.

No one spoke in the office. After a while, David stood up and said, "I'm leaving now. I'll try to find some connections and pull some strings to get transferred to South Korea. Since we've known each other, I suggest you leave as soon as possible. We can't afford to offend either of them."

William, you unlucky bastard, you big jerk!

The four men, excluding William, left in a huff. At the door, David muttered a few curses at William under his breath, then said goodbye to the other three and hurriedly drove back to Langley.

That night, the three men who had been cursing William with David during the day ended up with William at a closed bar.

Joey tossed everyone's phones into a small box before speaking, "David's around during the day, so it's not easy to talk things out. William, do we really want David to keep an eye on things in South Korea?"

He's been suspended now, it's a normal investigation, but his situation isn't very stable. And you, why did you talk to him so much during the day?

William gave a sly smile: "Heh, I'm not saying this to scare him. I'm afraid he'll think the sugar daddy isn't powerful enough and will back down during the investigation. I have to warn him that even if he backs down, he won't survive. If he holds on, at least he has a future."

Joey's face hardened as he said, "Sigh, it's still not safe. Besides, our actions will be discovered sooner or later, and then we'll just have to wait to retire. I'm really unwilling to accept that. Speaking of which, can't we just pin it all on David?"

William paused for a moment and said, "Not bad, Joey, you've gotten smarter. This is my idea: forge some documents and say he used his CIA identity, and we've always thought he was acting on CIA orders. Then you stage a car accident and send him on his way."

The goal is to make it obvious that it's a fake, but also to make it impossible for people to trace us.

This makes it seem as if an external force used David to deceive us into doing things, and then later silenced him.

"We received money from the think tank, is that okay?"

"Haha, it's okay, they won't be able to find it. Alright, stop talking such discouraging things, let's drink!"

After the four finished discussing business, they started drinking. William turned on the TV and was about to switch to the sports channel when he saw a man dressed as Iron Man walking on a stage, surrounded by a group of people in white coats checking him up and down.

An excited voice came from the television: "After diagnosis by dozens of scientists, they unanimously concluded that the rebirth of Aurora Group can indeed serve as a continuation of its spirit!"

The wet device brain inherited Claude Doffin's memories and behavioral logic, and can be considered a continuation of Claude Doffin's consciousness. We can officially declare that the wet device brain can now be considered a carrier of human consciousness.

We can see that Aurora Group previously stated that they could customize some wet brain carrier forms. Claude Doffin still chose the humanoid form, but for safety, he added a layer of armor, making him look quite like Iron Man.

It is said that Singapore has announced that the Wanderer will be available for purchase in a month.

It is said that newborns can enjoy full sensory stimulation in the oasis, and this feeling that directly affects the brain is more direct.

There, even without physical bodies, newborns can enjoy delicious food, play games, and even be intimate with their partners!

An expert nearby asked a rather funny question in a very serious tone: "Of course, the aurora borealis will also bring us many problems. For example, if I spend the night with a beautiful lady in an oasis while using a Wanderer, would that count as me cheating?"

The four men in the bar were a little annoyed; they felt that Aurora might find out about them and retaliate.

A commotion began to rise outside, and several blocks around the area had already taken to the streets to cheer, as if they were about to celebrate.

William stood up: "Let's go, let's go. Don't wait until there are too many people outside and it'll be a terrible traffic jam. I'll drive you there, so we don't get stopped by the police."

The other three were furious: "No way! Didn't you say you were drinking Chinese baijiu? Are you trying to fool us with Sprite again?"

"I was just doing this so I could give you guys a ride back. There have to be at least one person in the group who can drive and isn't drunk."

The four men got into William's car and drove out of town, intending to drop off Joey, who lived the furthest away, first.

After driving for ten minutes, as we crossed a small bridge, the car suddenly accelerated for no apparent reason and plunged straight into the river.

"Hey, William, you didn't drink, did you?"

"It wasn't me! The car moved by itself!"

"Do you think I believe you?! Are you trying to silence us?!"

"Why would I want to die with you all! Joey, you're still a complete idiot!"

They hadn't been arguing for long when the car plunged into the water.

The enormous impact caused the three people, who were already half-drunk and half-awake from drinking, to pass out.

William, who hadn't been drinking, was also feeling dizzy, but at least he remained sober. He instinctively unbuckled his seatbelt, ready to grab the small hammer from the windshield and smash the window.

"FUCK! Where's my window breaker?! Did my son take it to play with? What a rip-off!"

William quickly tried to open the car door, but it wouldn't open under the water pressure. Fortunately, the glass was still under control.

He rolled down his window, and before the water flooded the car, he looked back at his three childhood friends one last time, then took a deep breath.

William was just about to swim out the window when a ghostly figure blocked his way. He was so startled that he swallowed hard.

After calming down, he realized that there was a mechanical octopus-like thing in front of him.

The mechanical octopus blocked his path, then extended a tentacle and roughly injected a tube of liquid into his mouth.

Before he died, William glanced at the steering wheel and deeply regretted why he had bought the electric car!

The next day, David saw the news that four government officials had died after their driver, who was under the influence of drugs, drove into a river.

He felt like the sky had fallen, and he didn't even go home. He stayed in Langley all day, fearing that he would be silenced.

----------------------------------------------

In an exceptionally luxurious office in Manhattan, New York, three insurance company CEOs looked on in bewilderment, asking each other questions.

"Did you send people to do it?"

"I didn't. I'm just an honest businessman. I thought you two had someone else do it."

"It wasn't me. That William is the grandson of my junior high classmate's neighbor. I thought one of you two did it."

"It can't really be an accident, can it?"

"Who knows? Let's not talk about these pointless things for now. Chen Yiran is still refusing to meet. What should we do? Everyone in society is paying attention to them, nobody's paying attention to us. But AI is so advanced now, the barrier of being an actuary isn't enough anymore. If someone does the math carefully, they'll find that we're all going to go bankrupt."

"Why don't we just go bankrupt on the spot?"

"Let's try government relations again. Hawaii is also starting new students, and we need to define what constitutes a new student before that happens."

We won't discuss how to sell it in the future; let's first ensure the minimum annuity payment. Otherwise, a bunch of people receiving fixed payments indefinitely will drag the company down.

The concept of "newborn" is good; once you're a newborn, you can't inherit anything from before! At least this insurance policy definitely can't be inherited!