IBACT Chapter 23

Devaluation (11)

“That was a close call……”

Back at their base, the mercenaries were catching their breath while adjusting their clothes.

“What was in the car? Can we recover any of it?”

“We got all the important stuff out. Just some explosives left… The car itself is the problem.”

“Any intelligence leaks?”

“We blew it up by remote control, so even if they search it, they won’t be able to track us properly.”

“That’s a silver lining, I guess.”

In mercenary work, you couldn’t keep a car for too long.

But you couldn’t buy cheap cars either.

In field or urban warfare, you might overcome things with skill, but with long-range sniping, even famous mercenary groups would become corpses in an instant.

“We’ll need to look for a new car. A used one with no issues.”

When Doris muttered this complaint, Ravina picked up on it.

“I’ll handle that. Since Fumiko…… well, since she messed up, if we press her on that point, we should be able to get something decent.”

“Have to start setting it up again. What a hassle……”

Still, it was fortunate that the money they received from Hansan wasn’t small.

If not for that, they would have had to worry about the money for a new car rather than just the hassle of setting it up.

“There are more of these Brown Hood guys than expected…”

“This surprised me too. Their intelligence and firepower. At least more than what I thought.”

“How is that possible?”

“Must be because of their lifestyle.”

Among the most effective ways to gauge an organization’s size and assess its strength was to look for radio wave reactions.

It wasn’t just independent hackers like Luna, but a method commonly used by police and corporations too. Most of the time, it was quite an accurate analysis.

It was similar to how police estimate crowd size through radio wave volume, or how ancient generals counted enemy numbers by counting rice cookers.

“I think… more than half of them probably didn’t even use mobile phones.”

Hearing Luna’s mumbling, Doris and Ravina clicked their tongues.

“What about implants? They need to eat to live, right?”

While combat implants might be a privilege of wealthy mercenaries and corporate soldiers, lifestyle implants were essential for citizens of Stella City.

“Most of them didn’t seem to have those either. I analyzed the mechanical devices around there while coming back, and the signals coming out of that place were… unusually few.”

“Ha.”

Logically, an unmodified human couldn’t swallow sawdust.

Simply selling food that was ‘edible’ by taste and nutrition alone didn’t fit with Stella City’s slums.

The solution was simple. Using brain-affecting implants to modulate taste receptors to suppress or distort specific sensations and make it possible to consume and energize things humans couldn’t normally eat.

There were rumors that some wealthy people enjoyed gourmet food that didn’t need such modifications.

But there was no way people with Brown Hood’s economic means could do such things.

“Damn, couldn’t they cut us some slack……”

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand their feelings.

Doris too had lost someone precious to Hansan. But she also knew well that confronting them now would be reckless.

To make even a scratch in their iron fortress, to at least plant the idea in their heads that ‘treating Doris’s mother that way was a mistake,’ they needed to seize a more important opportunity.

But even she couldn’t give a clear answer to whether this was a compromise.

Even in moments when she wanted to engage in power struggles with them and shout, ‘Why are you giving me hell?’ part of her heart still wanted to become one of them.

To break a corporation, one had to accept ‘collateral damage.’

Even with legal and peaceful boycotts, franchise stores would inevitably suffer damage.

Whether breaking corporations or gangs, nothing could be done if one feared ‘collateral damage.’

Perhaps their actions weren’t wrong.

As long as there were thousands or tens of thousands of people bowing their heads to corporations thinking ‘there’s no choice now,’ the corporations’ stronghold wouldn’t fall.

But in the end, it remained unchanged that they hadn’t accomplished anything. And they wouldn’t in the future either.

While they might be able to peel away people clinging to the fringes of corporations for survival, they wouldn’t be able to make even a scratch on the ‘real’ corporations in the city center.

“They’re just guys venting frustration without knowing anything. What would they know?”

“Still, their minds must be at ease……”

They don’t need to constantly question whether they’ve become corporate dogs.

They just need to do what they believe is right. Instead of suffering from discord and being careful with every action, they just need to destroy what they feel is ‘evil.’

Seeing Doris sitting dejectedly, Luna carefully changed the subject.

“I sent the information. Made backups too.”

“We weren’t detected, right?”

“There’s no way…… is what I’d like to say, but I can’t guarantee it.”

Luna carefully fiddled with the mechanical device they had retrieved and bit her lip intently.

“There are traces. Someone, whoever they are, seems to have seen this.”

“……When?”

“It wasn’t long-distance hacking. It’s barely worth calling hacking, and the information path is intact. But……”

“Could that be leaked?”

“It’s like someone just glanced at book titles in a library full of books.”

If there was an organization capable of that, Hansan was the only one that came to mind.

She thought knowing about Hansan was important, but the more she learned, the more it seemed her resolve would weaken.

In the midst of worries and sighs she couldn’t share with anyone, Doris dragged her exhausted body to bed.

***

“This is interesting. This…… is information that’s hard to believe Hansan didn’t know about.”

“Rather than saying it’s information Hansan couldn’t find, it would be more accurate to say it’s information Hansan concealed.”

Though the secretary tried to maintain a composed attitude, it seemed this didn’t appear to be a small matter to her either.

“They handled it cleanly. My, how bold.”

“Conversely speaking, this is the kind of cover-up that couldn’t happen without this level of desire.”

“Right. Good. I’ve roughly grasped the situation.”

Though it was like catching a mouse while backing up a cow, given the size of the cow, the crushed mouse wasn’t small either.

It’s a crime committed by those far from Stella City’s center. While the amount they earned from this crime might be small, the damage wasn’t.

“How should I use this to spread rumors about using it interestingly……”

Actually, there wasn’t anything to laugh about in the contents.

Each piece of information contained here was no different from a massive snuff film.

It was data containing detailed information about how field management staff handled and covered up problems when they arose.

“This material has many issues for utilization.”

People died. Though forcing a smile, anyone with a normal sense of judgment should feel mourning and sadness rather than laughter at this information.

Losing arms or legs was common and ordinary. There were people whose nerves burned alive due to implant malfunctions and people who met with accidents on normal commutes due to automated turret errors.

“Still have to do it.”

They pressured and threatened victims to prevent incidents from spreading and pressured people to prevent reports from going up.

These were things that absolutely should not have just disappeared.

“Though shameful, Hansan is involved. It can’t necessarily be said that exposing this would benefit us……”

“Not my business.”

Field management staff who could be replaced at any time could take any responsibility without seeming strange.

While such incidents happening was a problem, they didn’t want to take responsibility or provide compensation.

Since even having reports go up could threaten their positions, they wanted to cover up the problems entirely.

“I wondered where they gathered such pursuers from… They used mercenaries. And gathered corporate retirees at that.”

People with personal character issues, or those who were driven out after doing corporations’ dirty work.

While corporations wouldn’t use such people, they were flawless in terms of skill.

The mercenaries hired by victims who desperately scraped together their remaining money were brutally killed by their hands.

“But even if this went up to the top…… it wouldn’t have been much different.”

“Probably.”

Clear water upstream makes clear water downstream. If corporate management had been conducted ethically without a speck of dust, such crude crimes couldn’t have occurred.

The corporate upper echelons involved in this, including Hansan, didn’t seem to notice their crimes.

However, saying ‘if only the corporate upper echelons had known about this, such grievances wouldn’t have occurred…’ would be an outright lie.

They would have hidden it the same way. They would have trampled victims the same way and avoided responsibility the same way.

In that process, it was obvious they would have thrown away the managers who had just faithfully carried out their orders like dogs.

“Still have to cut it off.”

If upstream water is dirty, downstream water will inevitably become dirty someday. But after one big exposure, we can buy some time.

Just enough time for the fish living in the downstream water to take one breath.

“If all of this is released, Stella City’s corporations will receive a big shock. We won’t be an exception……”

“That’s important. The fact is that everyone, including us, will be damaged. After all, Stella City’s reputation is a relative evaluation.”

No matter how much corporations break down in this city. No, in this world, there is no organization that can replace corporations.

Hansan being damaged equally with other organizations couldn’t be seen as a big loss.

“Besides… how do you think Doris could reach this information?”

Though it was a bit roundabout, it wasn’t unrelated to my request anyway.

Just because the scale was too big to hide, everyone must have tried to hide this accident in its early stages.

That information would have naturally flowed into ‘that space,’ so it wasn’t surprising that Doris and her group, who were searching for anomalies like finding lice, discovered it.

“I’ll take the lead. No matter how much people hate and suspect me…… they’ll slowly start seeing Hansan and me differently.”

“Isn’t it dangerous? Though there are many who slander you, Hansan’s value isn’t small either.”

“That’s the same too. Because there’s no one to fill the empty space. No matter what I do, I’m the person closest to ‘Hansan.'”

Because of the irrational and absolute tie of blood relations.

Even if I went crazy right now and took to the streets with anti-capitalist slogans, people wouldn’t separate me from Hansan.

“Is it for a personal… desire for honor?”

“Yes.”

Weakening Hansan and filling that empty space with my personal presence.

Preparing for the future, it was absolutely necessary work.

“Get ready. From tomorrow, I’ll need to go around with the face of ‘Han Sanwoo.'”

“Understood, young master.”

The secretary left my room with a slight bow.

Left alone, I looked at Stella City’s night view, brilliantly sparkling with all sorts of lights.

It was bright enough to tire the eyes.