Great, now we are dead!

"Lord Ye, did you foresee what would happen today?"

Ruri, however, felt that Ye Shou's image was becoming increasingly unfathomable: "Before this, Sugo had nothing noteworthy about him, far less dazzling than Kayaba... Yet you noticed him early on, saw through his true nature, and have been scheming all this time?"

Ye Shou remained silent for a moment, scratched his cheek, and did not answer the question.

He then said, "In that case, there's no need to trouble the security department any further. Just deal with them according to the rules for dealing with traitors."

"traitor?"

Liuli narrowed her eyes and said seriously, "I understand."

"Traitor"—this word carries a special meaning in the Hisashi family.

The appearance of this word signifies a decision not to pursue legal action through conventional channels, but rather to carry out vigilante justice against the person.

On the surface, Japan is a capitalist country, but at its core, it still retains a great deal of feudal ideology, especially in terms of personal dependency relationships (hierarchical system). A family like the Kuze clan would not be able to manage such a large group without strict family rules.

(Of course, those who are qualified to be subject to the family rules are generally core members and middle and senior managers.)

Although Sugo Nobuyuki is an employee of [Rect] and a confidant of the Yuki family, not a retainer of Kuze, he shouldn't be subjected to vigilante justice. However, since Lord Yoshinori has said so, Ruri naturally won't dwell on it too much.

Moreover, she doesn't need to handle this personally. The name "Kuse" has always been clean and pure, and the dark side of things is handled by professionals.

Ye Shou spent so many years in Tokyo, spending so much money and supporting so many people, all just so he could be put to use when necessary!

After that, Ruri assigned the task to her subordinates, who then contacted a yakuza organization called the "Inugami Group".

The man named Sugo Nobuyuki completely disappeared from society, a new member joined an underground idol group, and Ye Shou earned two more Destiny Coins—but that's another story.

……

Why did things become like this?

Kayaba Akihiko sat gazing at the beautiful, dreamlike sea of ​​clouds in the distance, lost in deep thought.

He has been trapped in the internet for a whole day, with all means of communication with the outside world rendered useless, leaving him all alone in his personal space.

Although he had saved a lot of dungeons, weapons, monster models and the like on his own server, so he wasn't exactly bored, he just couldn't calm down no matter what.

He now finds himself on a garden platform of a floating fortress, sipping red tea and reflecting on the day's events.

With his sharp mind, he could guess almost exactly what happened with just a little thought.

No one could break into his system so easily and completely, so the problem must be with the hardware. It's like when you're playing a game and the opponent just unplugs your internet cable; no matter how skilled you are, you're powerless to resist.

But the question is, who has the ability to "unplug the network cable"?

Americans? They have indeed always wanted to apply their quantum technology to the military.

Japanese police? A bunch of useless high school students who rely on them to solve cases are unlikely to discover his deadly game in advance.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs? Even more useless than the police…

【Rect】? Kuze Group? Even if they discovered he had problems, they should have stopped him before the server went live, instead of letting things get out of control and causing further losses.

Why would capitalists deliberately ruin their own cash cow?

So... was it a personal grudge of his?

Upon careful recollection, he couldn't recall offending anyone, or rather, he didn't even consider those people worthy of his attention. As a true genius, he had never confided in even his assistants and classmates.

If we're talking about someone who could sense that something was wrong with him... could it be Rinko?

Did she harbor resentment towards me because I was unable to reciprocate her feelings?

—From beginning to end, Kayaba Akihiko never considered the possibility of Yoshihiro.

In his view, Ye Shou didn't understand technology at all and it was impossible for him to trap him so perfectly.

Jingle Bell

A crisp, pleasant notification sound rang in his ears, and Kayaba Akihiko immediately perked up.

Someone has logged in!

The fact that they could enter my private space at this time must be due to an external physical connection. Could it be that someone is behind this?

As the light and shadow gradually solidified on the platform, Kayaba's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Kuseha Mamoru!"

Chapter 13 I'm still quite confident in my coffee-blending skills.

The dark brown liquid, radiating heat, dripped slowly from the fine flannel filter cloth, first as scattered raindrops, then as trickles, quickly forming a surface as black as ink, constantly rippling with waves that exuded a rich fragrance.

"These things are usually done by the maids, but today I have to do them myself to entertain the guests. Please don't mind."

Ye Shou hummed a little tune as he poured himself and Kayaba Akihiko a glass each.

"However, I am quite confident in my blended coffee and can guarantee that it will taste good."

"..."

"What, do you prefer tea to coffee?"

Ye Shou sat on one side of the stone table, casually crossing his legs, looking quite relaxed and content.

This is clearly someone else's personal space, yet he acts as if he owns it.

On the other side, Kayaba Akihiko couldn't relax no matter what, holding the cup in his hand without moving.

"You, Mr. Kuze, did you orchestrate all of this?"

“Good taste…”

Ye Shou glanced deeply at the coffee, whose ripples were gradually calming down, before turning his attention back to the mad scientist.

"What do you mean by 'everything'?"

"all!"

Kayaba Akihiko frowned: "You knew my plans in advance and made me willingly fall into your trap. Although I'm unaware of the outside situation, I suppose you've already taken control of my body?"

Not only did they shut down the entire server, but they also forcibly hacked into my personal space. This is not something that can be done overnight; it must have been the result of long-term preparation, and they probably even obtained my personal password and biometric information.

I'm not surprised you have this ability, but... I haven't revealed the truth about SAO to anyone, so how did you find out?

Besides, since you already knew, why didn't you stop me beforehand? That way, SAO could still be released normally, right?

"You really think of me as just a simple businessman."

Ye Shou smiled and looked directly at him, "Even if SAO dies, it's just a loss of some initial investment. As long as NERvGear's technology is in our hands, a mere game is nothing."

"So you came here for this from the very beginning."

Kayaba Akihiko's suspicions were confirmed, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Popularizing the concept of SAO is just a way to divert attention. What you really want to enter is the education sector, isn't it?"

"Education and healthcare are the two main focuses at present."

Ye Shou praised, "If this were to be fully implemented, not to mention how convenient it would make education, those poor people lying in hospital beds would also be able to experience the sensations of a healthy body through the machines."

To find meaning in life, to socialize, to get married, to find employment—to give them a complete life in the online world.

Isn't this a wonderful thing?

"This idea is too luxurious for capitalism."

Kayaba Akihiko and Ye Shou exchanged glances: "Having created such a wonderful world, how much benefit will you and your family gain from it?"

"Contributing to society and pursuing personal goals are not contradictory. You should know this better than anyone, shouldn't you?"

"..."

Kayaba lowered his head and remained silent, then suddenly looked up: "When did you start plotting against me? How did I give myself away?"

As night fell, the jade table between the two emitted a faint green light, as romantic as fireflies, while the sky above twinkled with stars, a long Milky Way stretching across the sky, a truly beautiful sight.

Ye Shou thought for a moment, then shrugged slightly: "Just consider me as someone who can predict the future."

"...As expected of you, you were able to notice a flaw that even I didn't realize."

Kayaba Akihiko naturally assumed that Ye Shou was too disdainful to explain to him upon hearing this—objectively speaking, the difference in their skill levels was indeed quite significant.

He sighed and said to himself, "Indeed, there is no truly flawless plan in this world, let alone cooperating with a genius like you with beast-like intuition—I was too naive and underestimated you!"

"Whatever you think."

Ye Shou curled his lip.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to be honest; he simply had nothing to say.

"I have another question: How did you get all the players to quit?"

Kayaba Akihiko stared directly into Ye Shou's eyes, as if trying to discern something from them.

"My design for NERvGear is that once you put on the helmet after the server goes live, you can't take it off. Each helmet has a hidden program that means even if you lose internet or power, the backup power stored inside will still burn out the user's brain."

Shutting down the main server only confines me to my personal space, but what about the players... you shouldn't be ignoring them. Otherwise, the sudden deaths of tens of thousands of people would be an enormous and shocking scandal.

Tell me, how did you crack my program and free these people?

"You've misunderstood. Your encryption methods are quite perfect, even top-notch hacking teams can't crack them—they're almost making those experts question their existence."

Ye Shou said calmly, "Fortunately, I didn't rely entirely on them from the beginning, and the helmet was eventually removed by physical means."

"Impossible, forcibly destroying the helmet would trigger the self-destruct sequence—"

"No, or rather, even if it is triggered, it's not a big deal."

Ye Shou pointed in the void and selected several times in succession. Then, light and shadow flashed and a news interface appeared, which was scrolled to Kayaba Akihiko's eyes.

It looked like a press conference; several balding middle-aged men looked pained and regretful, while the cameras kept flashing.

We are extremely sorry for this incident!!!

The synchronized bows once again attracted a flurry of photos, and the title appeared on the screen:

The NERvGear's built-in power supply only delivers 70% of its advertised power, significantly diminishing the user experience. Rect's suppliers held a press conference to collectively apologize.

"..."

Kayaba Akihiko looked at Ye Shou in silence.

Now everything makes sense. No wonder Ye Shou was so calm. It turns out that he had castrated the microwave power of the killing machine, the very foundation of the "Death Game," from the very beginning!

The samples that Maochang received were undoubtedly of good quality, but those sold on the market were all discounted. Ye Shou even arranged in advance for the people who would come out to bow...

The problem with the new games and new machines is that the suppliers are using counterfeit or substandard products and cutting corners—this excuse is so "Japanese"!

The news media and the general public will have no doubt whatsoever!

"is this necessary?"

Even someone as composed as Kayaba couldn't help but break down a bit. "I wonder how much manpower and resources it took to arrange this whole thing. Was it all just to watch me put on a ridiculous show? Is it really worth going to such lengths just to play a cat-and-mouse game?!"

You need to calm down.

Ye Shouzheng said solemnly, "These are not just to embarrass you—I value you highly, Dr. Kayaba Akihiko."

He looked down at the coffee and couldn't help but exclaim, "The taste of this drink is even richer than in reality. Even the details that are difficult for the five senses to capture can be perfectly presented by NERvGear."

This is such outstanding technology; please have some self-awareness.

It would be such a waste to microwave such a brilliant mind, one that appears only once every century. I simply cannot bear to see this happen; I must stop your suicidal tendencies… The methods may be a bit harsh, but how else can I protect you?”

"Protect?"

Kayaba Akihiko sneered, "It should be imprisonment, right? You just can't bear to part with the economic value I created, and you want to treat me like a slave!"

"I don't need to prove anything to you."

Ye Shou's smile remained unchanged—he did indeed have this idea, but it would be more dignified to implement it, giving Kayaba Akihiko the treatment a scientist deserved.

"Stay here and calm down for a couple of days. If you get bored during this time, you can try this."

Ye Shou tossed a USB drive to Kayaba, where it transformed into an unfolded virtual panel.

"……This is?"

Kayaba Akihiko's pupils shrank abruptly after just a quick glance, his heart filled with shock.

"This equation... wait, what is this—"

When he looked up, Ye Shou had already disappeared without a trace, so he had no choice but to continue studying the contents of the USB drive.

The more I looked, the more horrified I became, and I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.