Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 958 - 762: The Bullet Aimed at Oneself

Chapter 958: Chapter 762: The Bullet Aimed at Oneself

The virtual meeting room resembled a large exhibition hall, with only a dozen or so figures present, like a group of semi-transparent ghosts, flickering with blue information light points. Maverick stood among the crowd.

Had Menon not personally pointed him out, Aledy would not have recognized him.

"So it’s you! Only by eliminating you can we appease public outrage. Hand over your head, it’s better for everyone!" Aledy demanded aggressively.

"Me?" Maverick was incredulous, "I don’t want to die."

He knew he had become a sacrifice for war; his words had no persuasive power, but he needed to buy some time.

He established a secret channel to contact Rubazio while he stalled Aledy and the others, so his movements would go unnoticed.

"Lord Rubazio, they want my life." He sent out the encrypted message.

"Good." Rubazio said.

"Good?" Maverick did not understand.

"You should know the basic principle of the Helis Sea—that the users transform their consciousness into data, fully uploading to the system..."

"That is the principle of submersion, and you are well aware." Maverick muttered.

"Of course. I mean—what would be the benefits if all your consciousness, including your wisdom, memories, skills, etc., turned into files in the operating system during this period?"

"You’ve copied me!" Maverick was shocked.

He abruptly remembered what he had said to Todd Compton when convincing him to join the Seven Seals—Todd, the Seven Seals are a behemoth, a Leviathan, you should submit to it, although you lose your freedom, you can still live...

"Not just copied, much more than that." Rubazio let out an almost mocking laugh.

Complete control privileges included.

It’s the work of the Laughing Star—Maverick’s thoughts were flooded by regret and fear, but soon even this pain faded away.

In a flash, he lost the ability to speak and abruptly disconnected from the virtual meeting room.

Maverick’s original body was in the network work office of Symantec Information Company.

In real life, he saw smiling faces, lots of emoticons with smiling faces, in front of him.

Those emoticons enlarged, and enlarged again, with pixel-level clarity.

The voices of Rubazio and Laughing Star taunting him intertwined, as if these sharp laughs were sending him to his death.

He watched helplessly as his actions escaped his control.

Maverick reached into the drawer and pulled out a silver 9mm pistol, sleek in design, with a bullet in the chamber, it was a birthday gift from the company last year.

He pressed the gun firmly against his temple and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

In the virtual meeting room, Menon immediately ordered his subordinates to track down the disappeared Maverick.

"Maverick must be somewhere on the West Coast, I won’t let him get away," Menon comforted Aledy who wanted to erupt in anger.

"He obviously ran away! You are fooling me!" she yelled at Menon, "We’re about to rain nukes on your faces!"

She was not joking, but really began to mobilize the military.

Aledy was well aware that with Uncle Xu capable of bearing the burden of cyber warfare for Nestor Corporation, the enemy must consider Nestor Corporation as a formidable opponent.

Menon also felt alarmed; he could not allow Nestor Corporation to blackmail him.

Aledy was like a small volcano, ready to erupt at the slightest provocation.

Seizing the opportunity, he observed the situation and spread the rumor that Nestor Corporation was seeking war, to see if his own people had a firm resistance mentality.

They attacked Nestor Corporation, Nestor Corporation also hit the West Coast hard; this was no joke, both sides had caused casualties and economic losses to each other.

Compared to that, the disaster suffered by the West Coast was even more severe. Although Maverick had repaired the network and the automatic defenses, the financial market had experienced severe shocks and investors’ confidence was increasingly low.

Menon gathered polls from various channels and found the attitude of the people in New Taixi State was extremely intense.

"What? The West Coast companies initiated a cyberwar against Nestor Corporation and were counterattacked?"

"They are assembling fleets!"

"They are preparing nuclear weapons!"

"How outrageous do those inferior people have to be to provoke Nestor Corporation like this!"

"I said it long ago that we should shut down the West Coast!"

"No wonder... it’s too horrifying..."

"We haven’t fought a war in two hundred years, are we really going to go to war over a rubbish city?"

"Who knows if they’re going to float some balloon over our sky!"

Upon understanding the broader situation, the residents of New Taixi State were all surprised, shocked, and confused.

They had always believed that the land they occupied was a gift from heaven, and in recent decades, they had pursued a firm isolationist policy; yet now, due to the cyber warfare initiated by some enterprises, they suddenly faced threats from Nestor Corporation.

Many people in New Taixi State began to protest, not wishing to be drawn into a war.

Even if some knew of the Seven Seals’ schemes and speculated that Nestor Corporation was merely bluffing, the vast majority in New Taixi State still did not want to take the risk.

They believed their life was worth far more than tens of thousands of others, and it was not worth dying for; moreover, New Taixi State had not experienced war, especially one affecting its homeland, for many years.

On the West Coast, the burnt-down factories, the cars colliding with each other, weren’t they a form of warfare? Those people from the Eastern Hemisphere had indeed inflicted meaningful harm on New Taixi State!

In certain speculative fiction, they often mention New Taixi State being invaded in large scale and defeated, something they were all too familiar with, and did not want to take the risk.

Some did not even know where the Northern Archipelago was, and fantasized that it might be located in the tropics of the planet; that’s why the movies they produced often lacked clothing. According to those movies, some men there even possessed the superpower of Time Stop, doing whatever they pleased. Worse yet, the companies there had developed a kind of software that caused uncontrollable behavior—accessible even to ordinary people—causing Mind Control with just a glance at a phone screen!

To go to war with such a powerful Northern Archipelago? No, seeking peace was the wiser strategy.

Seeing the local people’s passive avoidance of war, Menon suddenly felt worried.

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Aledy found it quite amusing.

The people of New Taixi State were strong but dared not risk their lives too much. After all, the whole of New Taixi State only had a few hundred million people, and at its core were tens of millions of whites who were arrogant to the bone.

Good, then squeeze them dry!

"The words are already on the tip of my tongue." Aledy held up the virtual draft in her hand, "I declare full-scale war on the Western Seaboard Treaty Organization until the Great Ocean is filled with corpses and sunken warships! Your ports will be burned to ashes! Your people will crawl in flames and dust!"

Menon felt wary.

When Nestor Corporation last declared war, they erased New Xisheng completely; this time, could they push the Western Seaboard Treaty Organization to disintegrate?

If things go wrong, all the member enterprises would flee.

Satellites launched, blue flags fallen – such events must be avoided at all costs.

They had no choice but to yield to Nestor Corporation for now.

Menon, be patient!

After this economic crisis of a few years is over, when world affairs lean towards the Western Seaboard Treaty Organization, it would not be too late for revenge.

At that moment, Menon also received a report from his subordinates.

"Maverick—he committed suicide out of fear of crime," Menon spoke rapidly.

"Oh, bring the news up quickly, it’s easier for us to explain on our side," Aledy nodded.

With the help of the media, as long as Maverick’s cowardly suicide is widely publicized, emphasizing his fear and agitation, the public’s anger will also be calmed.

"The ringleader is gone. He tried to extort Nestor Corporation and paid with his life. Dear Miss Aledy, let’s discuss how to resolve this peacefully," Menon said patiently.

"Then, our terms are..."

Menon and Aledy began to haggle, considering how to mediate through a peace treaty.

After several rounds of negotiations, Menon on behalf of the Western Seaboard Treaty Organization signed the following contract:

1. The Western Seaboard Treaty Organization will pay 50 million Taixi Dollars as compensation to the citizens of the Nestor jurisdiction.

2. Both parties will maintain complete peace for a duration of 5 years, to be reconsidered upon expiration.

3. Cede a portion of space orbits for Nestor Corporation to launch satellites/rockets.

4. Return all information data stolen during the information warfare.

5. Nestor Corporation acknowledges the actions as those of a small group of radicals such as Maverick and will no longer attempt to land on the West Coast.

6. Sign a network peace treaty, conditionally opening certain websites for "transoceanic communication". Citizens within the Western Seaboard Treaty Organization can visit Kyoto Infinity bullet screens, 2ch, and other sites, while citizens of the Nestor jurisdiction can freely visit PH, Bluebird, etc., enhancing civilian exchange between the two sides.

In addition to many smaller agreements, such as a list of certain goods imports and exports, conditional oil settlements, etc.

Thus, both parties got what they wanted.

Menon gained the maximum benefit.

Five years of peace! Or to say, five years of ceasefire.

Five years, a full sixty months, over eighteen hundred days, is enough for the Western Seaboard Treaty Organization to recuperate its shattered economic system, to build a new economic environment with the Taixi Dollar, and help most companies out of the current economic plight.

To complete market clearance, eliminate all low-end production, and probably also get rid of many low-level and redundant humans.

Five years, a most precious period of peace...

Aledy was also satisfied.

With this agreement, Nestor Corporation could break the space blockade of the opposition, launching their own satellites and rockets!

This was an absolutely significant good news, eclipsing all current interests.

As long as Nestor Corporation can deploy weapons and communication platforms in space, the "Destiny" system would no longer be feared!

And the man-made celestial bodies launched into space will also provide ample opportunity for Uncle Xu to showcase his skills.

It was said that he used to deploy systems on the Ground, but from today onward, he would be able to send his signals out into the universe, to gaze upon the Starry Sea!

Menon concluded the meeting.

After sending Aledy away, Menon breathed a sigh of relief and meditated on the current situation.

Five years of peace, enough time for drastic changes on each side, he needed to think carefully about future strategies.

The most crucial were the "Seven Seals".

In fact, high-ranking members inside were not from New Taixi State. Menon thought to himself.

There were alien life forms, Witches, wealthy individuals from Taixi Continent, and Eastern faces like Honma Noriko.

There were no New Taixi State people; a minority indeed participated in the organization, but only as mid to low-level members with little influence.

Menon’s distrust for the Seven Seals was growing by the day.

At least from the current signs, the Seven Seals would harm the interests of New Taixi State to serve their own.

Their goal was to replace the Corporate Alliance, not to become the next Corporate Alliance.

The existence of the Western Seaboard Treaty Organization was also just to support the prosperity of the Seven Seals, and in reality, Menon felt like a puppet being manipulated.

As for Nestor Corporation...

With such a formidable network supervisor, a precise and cold president, and an Ancient Witch said to be wicked and unscrupulous, Nestor Corporation is really a trinity, hard to suppress.

Furthermore, their style is quite straightforward.

Perhaps Menon should personally contact Nestor Corporation, to avoid being dealt with by the Seven Seals in the future. He pondered. His own Night Gate Technology Company might also be able to innovate through technical exchanges with Nestor Corporation.

Investing for profit is the greatest wisdom for a person, not choosing sides. Otherwise, what’s the difference between him and those mediocre tools?

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