Kirino Reisei requested an inspection of Xu Yang’s cybersecurity qualifications.
He certainly had a certificate, a dazzling Level 2 Neural Network Engineer qualification that he stored in the cloud earlier, but now he couldn’t produce it to show anyone because it still boldly bore the name Xu Yang, and "Xu Yang" was supposed to have died in the fire and the Rat Tide.
Without cybersecurity qualifications, the entire job seemed very suspect. Even if Kirino Reisei wanted to strongly support Xu Yang, she couldn’t gain the trust of the other department staff, and that meant Xu Yang had to figure out a way to handle it.
Fortunately, there was a remedy. Previously, during his confrontation with Mireya, Xu Yang had contacted the largest hacker organization in the deep anonymous network, the Formless System, and purchased a set of neural viruses from them. He had interacted with their members, and now he conveniently discussed this issue with them.
"... That’s roughly the situation." Xu Yang was dealing with his old pal "Relay Machine," who had a rather humorous personality.
"How did that virus work out last time?" Relay Machine replied.
"It was very effective, unmatched in its power against individuals, able to swiftly paralyze the functionality of implants. Before the protection libraries updated against it, it was nearly invincible," Xu Yang said.
"Most people have no idea how to update, or can’t afford it," after receiving the document detailing Xu Yang’s needs, Relay Machine added, "If you need a qualification certificate, I happen to have several unemployed Neural Network Engineers here. These guys have spent all their money and are at their wit’s end, borrowing money everywhere. They probably wouldn’t mind having their certificates attached to your company."
"Then I thank you," Xu Yang said, "Thank you for your referral, and this money is for you to buy a drink."
He transferred 10,000 in funds, which surprised Relay Machine.
"Buddy, you really are rich," he replied, "But what do you want these Level 1, Level 2 engineer qualifications for?"
"I’ve started a cybersecurity company, to investigate some subsidiaries under Kyoto Infinity." Xu Yang did not reveal the whole truth, and after a moment, he suddenly thought of some crucial information, "Is the Formless System doing any work here? I recall you wanted to open source all resources, place all information on the network for free download, and Kyoto Infinity’s anime series would be included in that, right?"
"Only otaku watch anime," Relay Machine responded, "We do have two or three hackers working there, but they’re just trying to make a bit of cash and haven’t messed things up too much. They’re under close surveillance by Century Pure Land."
"If they’re under surveillance, then they can’t really continue being hackers, can they?"
"It would be best to leave, but with the corporate wars coming, secure plane and boat tickets are particularly hard to come by." Relay Machine passed some personnel records and contact information to Xu Yang.
"If you’re going to deal with Kyoto Infinity, you must check out their Z3 Research Institute," Relay Machine said, "They’re developing a world-class supercomputer. Before anyone figures out quantum computing, their technology should be able to catch up with the top level."
"I’ll keep an eye out. Stay in touch, brother." Xu Yang logged out of the deep anonymous network.
Having obtained contact information from Relay Machine, Xu Yang spent 200,000 to rent the qualification certificates of four engineers. These four were now dispersed around the world, with no plans to take up work again.
This layoff made them deeply aware of human replaceability—that as long as you earn money through labor and not through capital appreciation, wealth freedom was always far off. Accordingly, one was looking into painless death, one had installed a Nanaco processor to isolate negative emotions, one had become a monk, and one decided to pick up a childhood dream and start learning to paint from scratch.
With these certificates attached, Xu Yang managed to assemble a virtual team, and named it "New World Mechanism," a purely online shell company, virtually located on a small island in the Great Ocean with a registered capital of 5 million in funds. With this entry ticket, Kirino Reisei was more willing to hand this operation over to Xu Yang. She created an independent supervisory post, granting high investigation authority to New World Mechanism, taking the route of external corporate audit, to facilitate his secret work.
The deadline was 7 days.
Xu Yang investigated energetically, combing through the endless internal logs of "Hundred-eyes Demon," searching for traces.
During this time, Kirino Reisei announced the selection of the eighth-generation president of Kyoto Infinity.
He was a member of the important overseas department of Kyoto Infinity with outstanding capabilities. Now in the eighth generation, it had become a tradition; Kirino Reisei had a lot of authority in choosing the president, and there was basically no opposition.
At the same time, a grand traditional ceremony would be held publicly, signifying the union between Kirino Reisei and the president.
This news undoubtedly reinvigorated the morale of everyone at Kyoto Infinity, illuminating the previously gloomy outlook. To boost the morale of employees and investors, the ceremony would be broadcast live. Kirino Reisei and the new president had also proposed a series of energetic reform plans, intending to raise the sunken ship of Kyoto Infinity from the sea once more.
Black Fire Innovation’s offensive was temporarily halted at the front line of Sato City, a large corporate metropolis stretched atop islands, acting as a barrier to isolate the flames of war. Kyoto Infinity had already deployed the space motherships "Yokozuna" and "Orochi" to the defense line, taking a decisive stance to intercept, readying for Black Fire Innovation’s potential all-out attack.
Kyoto Infinity had also previously placed an order with Great Ocean Engineering for a cutting-edge high-speed mothership, the "Hanzo." After an accelerated construction over a month, it was now completed. However, since Great Ocean Engineering was too distant, delivery was bound to be intercepted by Black Fire Innovation.
Nevertheless, the sea route to the Xia District was safe, and Kirino Reisei personally decreed the gift of this warship to Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing, as a gesture of sincerity to join forces against Black Fire Innovation. A series of swift actions followed.
After fortifying the front-line defenses, Kirino Reisei’s attention returned to traditional ceremonies, which were also being live-streamed in Nestor Industrial Park.
Xu Yang sat at a distance, only glancing up occasionally at the live broadcast, his main focus on the portable terminal in front of him, repeatedly comparing the irregularities in the "Hundred-eyes Demon’s" operation logs from different dates. Farosa leaned against him, while Lila sat on the floor in front of the sofa, hugging her knees.
On one side of the sofa sat Du Qianqian, who played with her phone, ceaselessly scrolling through social media. Too many people carelessly exposed their real names and appearances online, bravely registering under their real identities. Du Qianqian silently noted down their names and distinguishing features, allowing her to truly change her appearance at will, with plenty of identities to assume.
Miyazato Kazama let her spiritual body go to work, while her physical self, dressed in a dirty T-shirt and holding a huge watermelon in front of the air conditioner, looked disheveled and listless. Without the strict early morning and late-night rules of a research institute, her life was upside down, oblivious to the passing of time.
101, 102, and Shallow Dream were closest to the screen, each curious to different extents about the ceremony. Mizuiro Yoshioka urged them to stand back to protect their eyesight, while Bud sat beside them, obliviously blinking.
"It’s like a kindergarten," Farosa peeked her head in front of Xu Yang, blocking his view of the terminal.
"A little," Xu Yang looked up and replied, "but kindergartens don’t have the risk of being on a battlefield."
"We are just like parents," said Farosa.
"Perhaps, but they are much better than real kids," he added.
"Indeed," Farosa said, "If anyone dares to cry in front of me, they would be dead for sure."
As they spoke, the ceremony had already begun.
"Look, the fox-faced one is coming out," 102 pointed out on the screen.
"You make too much of a fuss," Shallow Dream swiped her finger across the screen, refocusing on the man beside Kirino Reisei. She was accompanying the new president of Kyoto Infinity, step by step, towards the Eternal Cherry Blossom Shrine.
"This new president seems similar to the previous ones," Miyazato Kazama observed, "Kirino Reisei has a pattern when choosing new presidents, they’re never too tall or too short, physically robust."
"A bit sleazy, with a somewhat stiff expression," Shallow Dream scrutinized, "Dressed so warmly and even wearing a scarf, he’s dressed just like an old man. Is this really who Kyoto Infinity entrusts to govern?"
"But they look very harmonious, like a common saying, something about qin se, qin se what?" 102 pondered.
"Qin se harmony," Miyazato Kazama said while digging out a big piece of watermelon, "Can’t neglect our cultural lessons."
"Akita Takashi and Kirino Reisei are getting married~" 102 clapped, "They are going to get married inside that house."
"For Kirino Reisei, it’s her eighth marriage," Miyazato Kazama watched as Kirino Reisei and the new president were hand in hand entering the Shrine, giving a final look back and waving gently, "Poor tool woman, the marriage is entirely for the company’s continuation."
"Who has won though?" Du Qianqian looked up and laughed, "Akita Takashi gets to sleep with a battle-hardened, experienced woman, and Kirino Reisei acquires a shrewd and competent male companion, the company’s new president."
"Ah, more people are arriving," Shallow Dream saw many aircraft approaching. She adjusted the screen, switched camera angles, and lots of lavishly decorated, advanced corporate shuttles neared, successively landing near the Shrine, indicating that Kyoto Infinity’s power players had also arrived.
Xu Yang couldn’t help but pause his current work; he closed the lid of the terminal and observed the newly appearing figures on the large screen in front of him.
"Some wealthy and powerful figures have arrived," Farosa straightened her posture.
"Those so-called authorities, if we are to take control of the Archipelago Continent," Xu Yang held Farosa’s hand, "these are all our future enemies."