Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 405 - 49: The Reality of Stealing the Country

Chapter 405: Chapter 49: The Reality of Stealing the Country

Xiang Shan’s assassination target this time was named Livia Iwinski. This guy was a shadow holder of numerous pharmaceutical companies within the former Red Alliance nations, originally left with only "assets." However, he managed to catch the wave of technological innovation stirred up by Yawgmoth during the ’30s and ’40s, boldly followed, and reaped the benefits, reviving several factories under his control.

Iwinski held Federation citizenship but hardly ever lived in the Federation. His whereabouts were unpredictable. However, according to the intelligence unearthed by Zhu Xinyu, he had recently been recuperating in a suburban manor of this small city in Latin America.

This pharmaceutical mogul also became one of many raw material suppliers under Superman Enterprise around the ’50s.

The "steal the country" incident that happened without a sound or trace might have had his shadow behind it.

Whether he joined the organization of Usurpers of the State or was silently replaced by someone else, this guy could not dissociate himself from it.

There was even a one in ten thousand chance that this guy was the "Usurper of the State" himself.

And Xiang Shan’s mission this time was to kill this guy.

Even if there was no biological brain under his prosthetic body, the assassination was meaningful.

Somehow, capitalists, corporate managers, government administrative personnel, and even politicians from various countries had been gradually replaced.

At the end of the ’40s, cyberization of humanity had become an undeniable major trend. Xiang Shan, on behalf of Superman Enterprise, personally announced the schedule set by Superman Enterprise to the entire world’s populace.

In this process, naturally, some people hoped to "maintain the past" -

Or at least, "maintain the appearance of a Natural Person."

This helped ensure the mental health of early Remodelers.

Many companies specialized in this business.

But it seemed that very few people noticed that the technology to "completely maintain the appearance of the past" could be used as "completely forge a person’s technology."

Xiang Shan guessed afterward that the first to be eroded must have been those responsible for identity verification of the higher-ups.

It wasn’t that there were no institutions for identity verification. People could prove their identity just by their cerebrospinal fluid. The operating system of a prosthetic body also had a strict identity binding certification mechanism. Disguise should not be that simple.

Yet, this had happened in silence.

So, the first to fall must have been the institutions responsible for that verification.

These employees didn’t hold high status and weren’t protected that carefully. But they were the eyes of all the precautions.

Before this, humans hadn’t felt such an urgent need to "prove I am me," and if someone was replaced, their behavior would surely have significant flaws.

But still, it happened without notice.

It was all premeditated.

Additionally, Xiang Shan was certain that the "Tyrant" must have started within Superman Enterprise itself. He might even be a manager at Superman Enterprise.

If a Hunter goes blind, even the shrewdest hunter can hardly catch his prey.

By the time they came to their senses, the Usurper of the State had already seized the ultimate authority.

At this point, Xiang Shan felt there was still a glimmer of hope.

This was an unprecedented shadow ruler. Its sole basis of rule was "technology." Not a single member of the public knew about it, no one supported it. Everyone lived under the illusion that "the world was still moving forward as usual." The "collective imagination" of society about society hadn’t changed at all.

As long as the person who had stolen the great power was killed, and the authority was returned to humanity, everything could get back on track.

But this was difficult.

No one could tell if a humanoid object was real or fake. If the Usurper of the State needed a person to be dead, then all it needed was to produce a pile of parts and wrecks along with some animal neural tissue and a genetic testing report. If the Usurper of the State needed a person to be alive, then even if that person was killed, their replacement would step up to the stage.

At this stage, the most meaningful assassination was to "kill a person in the full view of the public."

The death of a person had to be spectacular.

The same applied to this time’s target, Livia Iwinski.

This delivery van contained a luxury item ordered by one of Iwinski’s lovers. Xiang Shan’s fully automated global logistics system was just too successful, so nearly all remotely ordered items were delivered by it.

Zhu Xinyu covertly adjusted the cargo registration. These three "parcels" were originally "industrial machines" that due to a mix-up by the assembly line sorting machine, were sent to America. Here, they obtained brand new routing records, as if three "high-end toys" were genuinely ordered by Iwinski’s bodyguards.

Ah, right, bodyguards.

With the rise of the extremist terrorist organization "Hero," global "security companies" sprang up like bamboo shoots after a rain. These security firms often claimed to be able to stand against "Hero" and indeed recruited many Martial Artists into their ranks.

But those Martial Artists of the Old Era were too stuck in the Martial Arts of the Natural Person. Whether they were ancient skill inheritors who chose to become Cybernetically Enhanced People under the stimulation of the Number One Martial Arts Tournament, or Paralympics athletes, Number One Martial Arts Tournament participants, or even Soldier Kings, they at most possessed one of the following: Fighting Skills, high-level Tactical thinking, or Cutting-edge Military Technology.

However, the first batch of Heroes were the smartest people. They were scientists, engineers, or hackers.

When "muscle mass" no longer needed to be trained by oneself, when "preset programs" could replace Neural Reflex, these smartest individuals would become the strongest Martial Artists in the world.

Cyber Martial Arts could be said to have replaced the role of the "Strength/Constitution attribute" with the "Intelligence Attribute" in Martial Arts.

But as the saying goes, a pair of hands is hard-pressed against many.

Early Heroes like Xiang Shan could instantaneously kill a security guard one-on-one.

But firearms were still a significant threat.

Halfway there, the vehicle stopped.

Xiang Shan and the two others immediately got out. It was a small forest path. Thanks to the roads built for the global logistics system, they easily connected to the network.

They donned Camouflage Nets and silently entered the woods.

"Alright brothers, now we can communicate directly," Zhu Xinyu’s voice appeared directly in their minds, "Let’s go over the plan again."

"Isn’t it just like usual?" David said, "Xiang Shan goes to assassinate the target, I bombard with a Firearm in the front upon receiving the signal to draw attention, ensuring no death, then Yog goes somewhere to rush in and unleash havoc."

"It looks like you’re all familiar with the process. Remember the results of the supercomputer simulation," Zhu said.

Yawgmoth said, "Wait a second, I’ll upload the Martial Arts insights I gained on the road, so you guys can share them too."