Enforcer Manual
Chapter 423: The Enemy’s Enemy_1

Chapter 423: Chapter 423: The Enemy’s Enemy_1

Medea proposed a new topic for the meeting.

How to give someone a solid slap across the face through the internet cable?

This was probably a power all online surfers dreamt of possessing, and the management of Void Park was discussing this issue seriously. However, without the king of meetings, Song Lan, the progress of today’s meeting was not going smooth.

Several proposals were quickly overturned during the discussion.

For instance, the idea to burn out the observers’ brains with a cybernetic virus--Dr. Bai Zhu could technically do it, but the problems often came after the brains were burnt out.

The two cities were far apart, and they couldn’t deal with the bodies immediately; as long as the company retrieved and autopsied the bodies, they would immediately discover the cause of death. They might as well trace back to the virus in the company’s network and eventually, all the terrifying incidents would be attributed to hacker attacks.

Similarly, the idea of sending the Shadow Guards to infiltrate the fourth district for assassination missions was also dismissed.

All actions had to ensure the mystery of the Void; only the unknown could bewitch the company’s vision. Once they found a scientific way to unravel everything, unlocking the secrets of Void would just be a matter of time.

After more than an hour of meeting, they still hadn’t discussed a viable solution, which made everyone in the Bug Swarm miss Song Lan, the king of meetings. He always managed to propose some guiding and ingenious ideas at the start of the meetings, and the subsequent discussions would center on how to implement those ideas.

With no other options, they could only have Dr. Bai Zhu continue to create a terrifying atmosphere in the observation room with viruses, while others pondered how to resolve this thorny issue after the meeting.

What they didn’t know was that on the other side of the city, in a small town, Song Lan also encountered an unwelcome guest.

Song Lan scrutinized the company employee who had suddenly found him.

If he remembered correctly, his colleagues had referred to him as "trash," a tell-tale sign of someone frequently bullied by his coworkers at the workplace, a life of constant harassment etched onto his face.

However, it made sense--whoever the company sent to their deaths as disposable drones would hardly be the backbone of the various departments.

When they needed to choose an unlucky one, "trash" was the most suitable candidate.

Sometimes, even he would harbor a sense of identification with this epithet.

This was the influence of an unhealthy corporate culture on an individual.

But today’s "trash" had changed from his usual self; after a good night’s sleep, he looked like a completely different person.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am Qi He, a representative of the Ragus Foundation."

Realizing that his statement might have been ambiguous, "trash" clarified, "It’s a type of implantable chip that allows the owner of the program to take control of his consciousness at specific times."

Song Lan nodded.

This technology was not uncommon, with many corporate employees and workers in the downtown red-light districts having been implanted with such chips--the former because the company didn’t want them to know too many secrets, the latter because they didn’t want to know too many secrets about their clients.

"You can call me Adventurer 13."

Song Lan stated his code name.

"Adventurer 13? It seems that you use code names to distinguish identities."

He said interestedly, "I have actually wanted to visit you personally for some time, but due to time and identity constraints, I can only meet you in this manner."

"I have heard of you too."

Lu Xiang had mentioned the name of the Ragus Foundation more than once; it was an organization composed of members from the Innovator Faction in the core area, staunch adversaries to the Conservative Faction led by the Foster Family. They were the happiest when the Foster Family was ousted from District Seventeen. She suspected that they might have been the masterminds behind the ensuing media storm.

After the movie based on "Enthusiastic Citizens" became a hit, the Ragus Foundation once again stabbed the Foster Family hard in the court of public opinion. This one-two punch left Hog Foster reeling until recently.

This made their relationship somewhat subtle; although unknown to each other, each party’s actions pleased the other.

Upon hearing this, Qi He played along with Song Lan’s narrative, "The intelligence capabilities of the Void Investigation Bureau should not be underestimated."

He then changed the subject and said, "Since we both have a certain understanding of each other, I’ll get to the point. The task force was assembled by Starfish Technology from the fourth district, they belong to the other party. If they take control of the investigation rights, our situation will become quite grim.

"This is part of a long-term plan; they intend to install remote reception programs in the investigators’ cybernetic eyes, which will allow them to see everything the investigators witness here. If you have any secrets that you don’t want them to learn of, you’ll have to avoid them. Of course, our current conversation is completely confidential," Qi He said.

Although the Ragus Foundation had provided the Review Meeting with several investigation proposals, due to the so-called "balance strategy," the Review Meeting granted the investigation rights to Starfish Technology.

"Do you want them to die here?"

"Sacrificing them would be useless."

Qi He shook his head, "Once they die, new investigators will be sent here. This plan is backed by the Review Meeting. To them, the investigators are endless; after they have cleansed the company of employees who can’t create value, they will send prisoners. If even the prisoners run out, they will then turn their attention to civilians..."

Having experienced the company’s selection process himself, he was familiar with their methods.

"On the contrary, I want them to live."

To change the status quo, the root of the problem had to be addressed, "Although this request might sound a bit unreasonable, I hope you can ensure their safety for the time being. Perhaps before long, we will take over the project, and then I will personally come to visit."

Qi He did not name names, but Song Lan understood the subtle implication in his words—the Ragus Foundation was planning to either bring down or acquire Starfish Technology.

He had not expected the struggle in the core region to have escalated to such a fierce level. To openly undermine a company designated by the Review Meeting was like rubbing their faces in the dirt.

However, these were not his concerns, especially since he had never intended to let the four investigators die here in the first place.

"The original purpose of establishing the Void Investigation Bureau was to ensure the safety of survivors, even if they come uninvited," Song Lan said.

"Then I am relieved."

Qi He smiled, "Adventurer 13... we will meet again."