Super God-Level Top Student
Chapter 924 - 350: Twilight of the Empire (Part 2)

It turns out George Garcia and John Belush were both correct. The former's judgment was spot-on, and the latter was wise not to bet against him.

Although John Belush did not know why he was suddenly put in charge of this internal system security investigation, once he compiled all the files into a report and submitted them, the matter simply disappeared into the void.

From John Belush's perspective, his report should have raised alarms at the top, at least prompting a comprehensive inspection of the entire system. He might not be the primary person in charge, but given his competence and previous achievements, he thought he would be entrusted with the review of several adjacent departments.

Yet, three days had passed, and he received no formal notice, only a summons to the office of the department head.

"Alright, John, you did a great job. But for now, let's just leave it at that—seal all the investigation results."

"Seal the investigation results? And then?"

"And then what?"

"Blanco, you've read my report; you know what I mean. The entire cybersecurity department is rotten to the core—I mean, from top to bottom, utterly rotten."

"So what?"

"So, of course, a thorough investigation is needed!"

"A thorough investigation?" The department head stared at John Belush's youthful face, finding the remark both ridiculous and vexing: "And then what?"

"Then, per the management regulations, negligence without causing loss should result in dismissals, while gross negligence leading to major losses should put the perpetrators in court, followed by their direct admission to Federal Prison! This is Langley we're talking about!"

The stern remark gave Blanco a headache.

He shouldn't have assigned this matter to such a headstrong youth.

But there was no other option—had he given the task to someone else, he wouldn't have felt comfortable.

"Alright, John, maybe you're right. But these matters are not as simple as they seem; they involve many considerations. Trust me, the investigation alone is enough to make them cautious. It's just a temporary lapse. There's no need to take this too seriously if no major damage has been done."

Blanco casually offered an explanation; there were many things he knew but couldn't reveal.

George Garcia's judgment wasn't completely wrong: John Belush indeed had a commendable father, currently serving his six-year term in federal politics on Capitol Hill, now in his second year—a figure highly sought after and respected by various factions.

Of course, this didn't mean that young and idealistic John Belush could enjoy any special privileges at Langley.

After all, this was a place where even deities clashed.

And more often than not, the power in the shadows far outweighed the power in plain sight.

At least from Blanco's perspective, this was just another privileged youngster here to polish his résumé. No matter what trouble he caused, someone would clean up his mess. Blanco, on the other hand, didn't have such a fortunate father and wouldn't gamble his CSRS pension on this.

Thus, John Belush was useful and effective, but knowing how to use him was an art form.

"But..."

"No buts, John. If you have objections, focus on doing your job well. Then strive to become the head of Langley yourself. Trust me, once you reach that position, you'll understand that things are far more complex than they appear. Every choice involves someone willing to bear the consequences. Unfortunately, you're not yet at the age where you can bear such consequences, so for now, others will make the choices for you. Or maybe, you can listen to your father's advice."

Hard truths, but unpleasant to hear.

John Belush stared deeply at Blanco, saying, "I got here by my own merit; it has nothing to do with Belush Senior."

Blanco didn't refute this statement, simply shrugging.

Fortunately, in the next moment, John Belush turned and left.

Blanco knew full well that young people were often unwilling to heed the advice of their elders. So, as John Belush walked away, Blanco picked up the phone: "Hello, could you connect me to Mr. Belush... Tell him it's Blanco, regarding young Belush."

"Hello, Mr. Belush. No, no, no, he's not causing trouble. In fact, John is outstanding, very outstanding. But you know, the current situation at Langley is not ideal... Yes, that's why I have a small suggestion—how about letting him take a break for a while? Maybe go to Hawaii for a vacation. Yes... Haha, you're welcome, Senator."

After hanging up the phone, Blanco no longer concerned himself with the matter.

All necessary notifications had been made.

Young Belush might not understand the gravity of the situation, but Belush Senior surely did. If Belush Senior couldn't grasp it either, then it wouldn't be Blanco's problem. Although the likelihood of that was close to zero. In fact, during this tumultuous period, Belush Senior was probably more fearful of young Belush causing trouble.

Blanco stretched lazily; having everything under control felt great.

...

In Christopher Brown's office, the new Langley chief who had only recently taken office had just finished hearing a report.

"So, it's confirmed that these files have all been leaked?"

"Yes."

"An inside agent?"

"According to the analysis by the technical department, a collaborator at Alphabet exploited joint project access to install a backdoor, stealing numerous classified files, and then dispersed these files across global storage servers via Google's network. Eventually, they were aggregated in Huaxia. We've already found evidence on their computer."

"You're saying the mole is at Google?" Even someone like Christopher Brown, hardened by years of turbulence, was stunned at this moment.

"If this report is accurate, that seems to be the case."