"Mr. Kuran, I hope we'll have a pleasant cooperation."
Jalen Lou smiled warmly at Kuran, discreetly slipping a chip into his palm as he extended his hand.
Kuran chuckled and shook his hand, but the moment he felt the chip, he froze slightly. His eyes narrowed.
"And what is this, Mr. Xu?"
"Heh, just a small token. A housewarming gift. Please don't refuse."
Jalen Lou looked at him with an amiable expression.
"That wouldn't be appropriate, Mr. Xu."
Kuran shook his head and returned the chip. Still, a flicker of reluctance flashed deep in his eyes. A chip coming from the Lou family—there was no need to guess how astronomical the amount inside must be.
But… he truly didn't dare accept it. Among those in PROJECT Corporation who took bribes, which one had ever ended well? He certainly hadn't heard of any.
At most, some would use the opportunity to pressure other corporations and raise their quotes. In a sense, that even benefited the corporation, so it wasn't considered a problem.
Jalen Lou naturally caught the subtle change in Kuran's expression, and a trace of surprise appeared in his own eyes. Clearly, he hadn't expected PROJECT Corporation's internal discipline to be this strict.
"My apologies for being presumptuous. Still, if you ever need anything, feel free to contact me directly. After all, this is our territory. Some matters are simply easier for us to handle."
"Of course. I won't stand on ceremony when the time comes. Our corporation will also make sure to abide by the rules here."
As Jalen Lou withdrew the chip, Kuran felt a faint pang of regret—but far more relief. After a few more polite exchanges, they finally parted ways.
Once Jalen Lou left, Kuran dropped into his chair and loosened his tie.
"Dealing with people like that is exhausting…"
He had barely finished muttering when a comms request suddenly came through, startling him.
He reacted quickly and checked the caller ID. Very few people had clearance to contact him directly.
After all, he was now the head of PROJECT's Taiwan branch.
The display showed a glaring label: BOSS.
Kuran's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly accepted the call.
"Boss, please let me explain! I really didn't take Jalen Lou's money! He tried to give it to me, but I returned it all!"
"Hm?"
The moment the call connected, Roland was met with Kuran's anxious, utterly sincere explanation. The man sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
After listening, Roland roughly pieced together what had happened and couldn't help but chuckle. If Kuran had actually taken the money, Lissandra would have informed him already.
"Relax. I know you didn't. That's not why I'm calling."
"Then…?"
Kuran let out a breath of relief, curiosity replacing his panic.
"Kelly has located a special signal source over there. I need you to contact Kang Tao and have the network in that area sealed off. Kelly needs to enter and retrieve something."
"Understood."
Kuran nodded immediately. He was familiar with the name Kelly—one of the boss's trusted aides. He'd only heard of her, though; he had never seen her in person.
He didn't dwell on it. Instead, he immediately contacted Jalen Lou, who agreed without hesitation.
Opportunities to earn a favor from PROJECT were rare—he certainly wouldn't let this one slip. Besides, that area wasn't particularly prosperous. With some coordination with the local government, shutting it down would be manageable.
Meanwhile, Kelly had already arrived at the outskirts of the target zone, waiting for the surrounding nodes to be cut off.
At the same time, she had assimilated several minor AIs nearby, preventing Alt from detecting anything unusual and escaping. She knew the Alt here wasn't the entirety of it—but even a fragment would be enough.
Soon, under Kang Tao's coordination, the network nodes in the region were completely severed. The entire area became a true digital island.
The AIs that had not been assimilated by Kelly and were still receiving outside signals looked around in confusion, clearly slow to react.
But it didn't take long for the data fortress—constructed from countless streams of information—to activate. Towering walls rose to guard against external intrusion, while internal systems began rapidly destroying sensitive data.
At that moment, the AIs assimilated by Kelly surfaced. They devoured nearby AIs to strengthen themselves and, bolstered by Kelly's support, swiftly seized control of the fortress's critical sectors.
Deep within the core, Alt's sub-consciousness sensed something was wrong. Feeling the chaos erupting inside the fortress, it rushed out in confusion.
The instant Alt appeared, Kelly moved.
A vast net woven from purple data descended upon Alt, crackling with violet arcs of energy.
Alt's expression sharpened. Red data surged like a tidal wave, slamming into the net and slowing Kelly's advance.
"Who are you? I don't remember ever seeing you."
Kelly didn't even bother responding. She pressed forward relentlessly. Waves of purple data poured in from all directions, violently eroding Alt's data strongholds.
Seeing this, Alt immediately realized the danger. Its once impassive expression tightened into a deep frown.
Yet its movements never slowed. Red data clashed against Kelly's purple currents to buy time, while simultaneously forming razor-sharp blades, attempting to carve out an escape path.
But against overwhelming computational power, such resistance was feeble. Many of the surrounding nodes and devices had already been shut down. Cut off from external support, Alt could rely only on its own limited territory—while Kelly stood backed by PROJECT's supercomputers.
Before long, Kelly seized this fragment of Alt's sub-consciousness in her grasp. It attempted to self-destruct, but she immediately suppressed the process.
"Who exactly are you?"
Realizing resistance was futile, Alt stared at Kelly and demanded an answer.
She could clearly sense that Kelly was an AI—not human.
...
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