novelraw Chapter 73: Is That All?
Chapter 73: Is That All?
"Who is speaking?"
The gaunt old man was startled. The voice that had suddenly echoed through the room sounded perfectly normal.
Yet, it did not belong to any of the twenty-eight people attending the meeting.
This was simply unheard of.
An outsider's voice had infiltrated Xia Nation's highest-level confidential meeting?
Following the gaunt old man's exclamation, the other twenty-seven individuals in the room fell into a dead silence.
They, too, realized the gravity of the situation.
This was not just a matter of a potential intelligence leak; it directly threatened the lives of everyone present.
"It is me."
Right at that moment, the meeting projection screen abruptly went black.When it lit up again, a cartoon character image appeared on the display.
The twenty-eight attendees, including the gaunt old man, were struck dumb.
Even the slowest among them now understood that their secure network had been breached.
Considering this network was directly connected to the broader network of Xia Nation, the implications sent shivers down their spines.
Modu, Villa No. 66.
Su Yuan sat on the sofa. The projection screen in front of him displayed the live feed of the highest-level confidential meeting in the Imperial Capital.
AI Xiaolan had already taken complete control of the Imperial Capital's network. In the face of her capabilities, the so-called Xia Nation firewall was nothing more than a joke.
"Before I say what comes next, I strongly advise against anyone attempting to leave,"
Su Yuan stated slowly. Simultaneously, at the highest-level confidential meeting far away in the Imperial Capital, the cartoon character image on the projection screen spoke in perfect sync.
Those words hung heavily in the air.
The gaunt old man sighed inwardly.
The moment he realized the meeting was no longer secure, he had covertly notified the security personnel stationed outside.
Two True Core Celestial experts had already slipped into the room, preparing to rapidly evacuate the attendees.
However, after Su Yuan's blunt warning, the old man instantly knew that their evacuation plan had failed.
Forcing an evacuation now might only antagonize the intruder.
Who knew what disastrous consequences that could bring?
Furthermore, this very meeting room doubled as a safe house designed to withstand the most extreme battlefield scenarios. It was entirely possible that stepping outside would be far more dangerous than staying put.
Reining in his thoughts, the gaunt old man looked at the cartoon character image on the screen and asked in a low, solemn voice, "Who are you, and what do you want?"
The other twenty-seven officials simultaneously turned their gazes toward the projection.
"Who I am is not important."
"Let me show you something."
Su Yuan smiled faintly.
Immediately after, a massive cascade of numbers and symbols flooded the projection screen at the Imperial Capital's highest-level meeting.
These alphanumeric strings were divided into distinct segments, with one specific digit or symbol redacted from each line.
"What is this?"
The gaunt old man's expression twisted in horror.
Even when he first discovered that the network had been breached and the exact location of their twenty-eight-person assembly exposed, he had merely felt shocked.
But now, staring at the endless streams of characters on the display, sheer terror gripped his heart.
At first glance, the data appeared chaotic and random. But upon closer inspection, he realized that a portion of them were geographical coordinates.
The source of his terror was that among these strings were the exact base coordinates of Xia Nation's most critical strategic facilities.
Furthermore, right next to each set of coordinates was another complex combination of characters. Although the old man could not be entirely certain, he had a dreadful suspicion that these sequences were the highest authority base keys.
The base access codes changed constantly, which was why he could not immediately verify them.
Yet, the mere possibility was enough to chill him to the bone. These facilities were the absolute lifeline of Great Xia. Their specific locations were classified as top-tier state secrets, not to mention the codes that governed their ultimate functions!
If this data were to ever leak, Xia Nation would have to pay an unimaginable price to mitigate the fallout.
"I will give you ten minutes to verify the authenticity of these numbers,"
Su Yuan declared.
The massive dump of codes and coordinates he had provided were indeed the genuine locations and launch keys for every crucial base in Xia Nation.
This was simply the opening stage of Su Yuan's dialogue with the nation. If he wanted to negotiate with them efficiently, the easiest method was to display an overwhelming level of deterrence.
Otherwise, he would have to endure an endless barrage of tests and probes from their intelligence agencies.
It was not that Xia Nation was inherently stubborn; rather, when dealing with matters of such high-level national security, a state could never allow itself to be easily held in one's grip by a lone individual.
According to the answers provided by the gray mirror, if he wanted to manufacture high-tech weapons as quickly as possible, this aggressive approach was the most straightforward solution.
"Ten minutes."
The gaunt old man steadied his nerves and immediately made several phone calls.
A short while later, over a dozen experts clad in white lab coats rushed into the meeting room. Huddled over their laptops, they frantically began verifying the authenticity of the data on the projection screen.
Six minutes later.
A gray-haired man wearing glasses leaned in and whispered into the gaunt old man's ear, "Director Zhou, the coordinates in these numbers... they are all correct. They encompass the locations of every single base we have, both domestic and overseas."
Upon hearing this, Director Zhou did not offer a verbal response, but instead pressed, "What about the keys?"
"Judging by the timestamps, these alphanumeric strings... perfectly match the highest authority keys from six minutes ago."
The base keys rotated automatically every hour.
'How is this possible?' Director Zhou took a deep breath, barely managing to regain his composure.
Even he did not possess complete knowledge of all the specific base coordinates and top-level codes. The highest authority keys, in particular, required multi-level clearance from several departments just to be viewed.
"Furthermore..." the gray-haired man lowered his voice even further, continuing, "Director Zhou, the external network has been completely taken over."
As he spoke, the sheer shock in the man's tone remained palpable.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed that the mighty network of Xia Nation could be breached so silently.
Was this even achievable with the current level of cyber technology on Blue Star?
Even The Truth Society, which ran rampant across the globe, was incapable of shattering Xia Nation's firewall.
"I understand," Director Zhou said after a long moment of silence.
It was glaringly obvious that the infiltration of the Imperial Capital network and the hijacking of this meeting room were executed by the same faction—or perhaps, the exact same person.
A few moments later.
"What is it that you want to do?"
Director Zhou asked solemnly, facing the projection screen.
This question carried a vastly different weight than the identical one he had asked just a few minutes prior.
The previous inquiry had been laced with scrutiny and probing caution, while this one... was an admission of total surrender.
He had no other choice. Their ultimate trump cards and failsafes had all fallen into the enemy's hands. Even if Director Zhou harbored other plans, he dared not show the slightest hint of defiance.
Holding the exact base locations, wielding the highest authority keys, and completely commandeering their entire digital infrastructure.
Individually, these issues might be manageable, but combined, they formed a nightmarish scenario that made their scalps prickle with dread.
Director Zhou even had the sinking feeling that, if the intruder so desired, they could take things much further.
"Help me manufacture a batch of weapons."
Su Yuan stated clearly, his voice echoing through the network and filling the secure meeting room.
"Manufacture a batch of weapons?"
Director Zhou blanked for a second.
Was it really that simple?