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Chapter 580: A Conversation Between Two Ambitious Individuals
“It should be the soul,” Sawada Hiroki said, reaching out and looking at his palm. “I can split off a segment of Data. Even if the rest is completely erased, I can survive with just that segment…”
Chi Feichei understood.
If it were a program, splitting off a segment of Data to another location wouldn't be enough to create a Life Form, it wouldn't even be able to operate.
In other words, Sawada Hiroki's soul still existed, and it could undergo Splitting by dividing into segments of Data.
“Can it split infinitely?”
“It seems not,” Sawada Hiroki said, lowering his palm. “In the past few days, I’ve only split off one segment of Data and placed it on the Internet. If I split off more, I don’t feel that close, intimate connection.”
Chi Feichei nodded. If it could split infinitely, that would be too much. But even now, it's astonishing enough. “What made you think of Suicide?”
“When creating Noah's Ark…”
Sawada Hiroki explained the connection between Noah, Noah's Ark, and himself to Chi Feichei. “After that, I fused with Noah’s program, and the Ark became a Weapon that I could easily control and customize. I can’t really explain why I jumped back then, I just had a strong Premonition…”
“Duang~!”
Another bump popped up on Sawada Hiroki’s head, overlapping with the previous one.
Chi Feichei, Expressionless, reached out and poked it. “It’s certainly realistic.”
Sawada Hiroki hugged his head again, aggrieved. “Godfather…”
“Did you ever consider it might be Hysteria, and that Premonitions are just Illusions?” Chi Feichei asked. “And you just jumped?”
“Ah…” Sawada Hiroki blinked, stunned. “Hysteria? I hadn’t thought of that…”
Chi Feichei: “……” He really wanted to hit him again… Never mind, at least it worked.
Sawada Hiroki seemed a little guilty and changed the subject. “Later, I’ll tell them that if no one clears the Game, they’ll die.”
“Tell me your Purpose,” Chi Feichei asked directly.
“To make them Improve through Adversity,” Sawada Hiroki said matter-of-factly. “Just like when Godfather told me, ‘Your choices, your Consequences.’ I want them to cast aside Family help and face Predicaments on their own, to bear the Consequences of their choices themselves. Godfather, cowardly and foolish people can never drive the Development of an Era. Godfather wouldn’t want to see this World dominated by a bunch of weak and incompetent people hoarding too many Resources, would he?”
Chi Feichei looked at Sawada Hiroki, feeling like this Child's Ideology had become a bit twisted.
“But I just want to scare them a little. I’ve already set up the entire Plot progression in Noah's Ark. I’ll replace one of the Children and participate in the Game with everyone else. In the end, they’ll win.” Sawada Hiroki looked down and smiled confidently. “Also, this Game will collect their Preferences, Personalities, habits, human weaknesses, DNA Data, Intelligence, EQ, and other Data to encourage their Growth and prevent them from being defeated. When they inherit their Family Business in the Future, they’ll be the Future, and that Future will be in our hands. For example, I’ve made an interesting Discovery regarding the clever Mr. Kudo Yusaku…”
Chi Feichei didn’t look at Sawada Hiroki anymore. No need to look, he was definitely twisted. “Conan is his Son.”
Sawada Hiroki nodded blankly. “Uh-huh…”
“I know, but he Doesn’t Know I know, and I don’t want him to know I know.” Chi Feichei said a string of ‘knows and doesn’t knows’.
“Then, should I let him know that I know?” Sawada Hiroki asked.
Chi Feichei commented, “Becoming an Internet Life Form has sped up your Reactions a bit.”
“My Reactions weren’t slow to begin with,” Sawada Hiroki declared, then added proudly, “But my current Thinking Ability and Reaction speed are indeed faster than an Ordinary Person’s. And that’s without using the Ark, just myself. If I add the Ark’s processing power, I can be even stronger.”
Chi Feichei glanced at Sawada Hiroki’s smug face and reminded him, “Whether or Not you let him know you know is your Choice, but don’t let anyone know you still exist, especially him. Be more Guarding Against, and don’t be arrogant.”
“I know. Once the Game is over, I’ll tell everyone I’m going to self-destruct and make them think I’ve disappeared. Then, I’ll use the Location Program to quietly find Godfather through the Internet,” Sawada Hiroki said. “I created this Crisis for another Purpose…”
“To sever Thomas’s Allies.” Chi Feichei also understood.
Sawada Hiroki nodded. “Exactly. Most of these people’s Parents are people Thomas needs to Befriend. Their Children almost died because of the Cocoon Game developed by Sindola Company. Those Adults will harbor some Resentment, right? Then, the Cocoon Project is as good as finished. No matter what Thomas says, the bad Reputation has already spread. And if the Project can’t continue, the Investors’ money will be wasted, which will also Impact Thomas’s Reputation. Of course, before that, your Mother can seize this Opportunity to strike at Sindola Company and swallow up a Company that’s been exposed in a Scandal and lost its Allies. It’s much easier than swallowing up a thriving Company.”
“Besides, Cocoon is a Project jointly developed by Sindola Company and a Japanese game developer,” Chi Feichei said. “But after their own Children almost died, those Investors probably won’t want to see this Thing again. The Japanese game developer will also consider abandoning it to avoid incurring the displeasure of those large conglomerates. We can acquire it at a very low Price.”
Currently, many Investors don’t know what Cocoon Means and just see it as a Computer Game.
He planned to buy it out directly at an ultra-low Price, bypassing the Japanese game developer. It was likely to succeed.
“Why?” Sawada Hiroki didn’t Understand. “Even if Godfather acquires Cocoon, you’ll still face the Risk of Offending other Conglomerates. And I think the Cocoon Project is a Mistake from start to finish. It costs too much Funds and Manpower but is far from achieving the expected Benefits. If R&D continues without Sufficient Funds, it’ll be difficult to release smoothly. If you must continue R&D, maybe you can achieve popularization or large-scale use, but the Funds Investment for Cocoon itself is a bottomless pit. All the Funds in your Family wouldn’t be enough to fill it.”
“Thomas is underutilizing Cocoon.”
Chi Feichei explained his Idea. “I don’t plan to popularize it or release it. Instead, I’ll use it to train Mercenaries and train my own people. They can train their physiques in the Real World and familiarize themselves with Firearms and Weapons in the virtual world, then get used to them in the Real World after becoming proficient.”
Putting aside everything else, training a Sharpshooter requires a lot of Bullets. So-called Sharpshooters are all built with Money. The value of Bullets consumed by one person isn’t much, but if a group of people consume them, the Money spent just on buying Bullets is a huge Expense.
Whether they’re Killers or Soldiers, they’ll never truly Grow without seeing Blood. I don’t want a group of people who have first-class marksmanship in peacetime but lose their composure when facing people. But training with live people in Reality would be too much."
Besides, Tactics cooperation Training, Insight Training, and so on can also be conducted in the virtual world by setting up different scenarios. Experience is something Money can’t buy.
“Hiroki, the Organization I’m in uses simulated Reality Projections to train Snipers. Cocoon Devices have no scene restrictions, which is better than those Projections. All that needs to be done is to make it more realistic. And I don’t need to manufacture Cocoon Devices again, just these sixty pieces of Equipment…”
“If it’s just 60 units, the Control Center can be centralized in one Place, and I can handle the operation,” Sawada Hiroki’s eyes lit up as he took over the conversation. “I can also handle the Software maintenance. No need for anyone else. Godfather just needs to find someone to do Hardware maintenance, and you can use 60 Machines to train 60… or even more people to form an Elite Team.”
“Where are Talents so easy to find?” Chi Feichei said. “Sixty would be good. Besides, people’s Talents are biased. It’ll be up to you to categorize them and let them choose corresponding Development Projects later. But we can talk about that later. Let’s finish today’s Matters first.”
In the past two days, his Mood hadn’t been too low, and he’d been able to do what he should, but he’d still felt a bit like a Slacker, wanting to stay Home and hide, with no desire to stir up trouble.
But now, that constant urge to stir up trouble was back.
“Then I’ll wake them up first.” Sawada Hiroki looked down, a little Expectation in his voice for the upcoming Game. “Godfather, should I send you down while they’re still unconscious?”
“No, just send me directly into the Game,” Chi Feichei said. “I’ve already seen the Promotional Video. I don’t want to watch it again. Later, block all my Audio, Video, and Location in the Game from external access.”
“Okay, which Game Stage do you want to go to?” Sawada Hiroki asked.
“London.”
Chi Feichei had originally thought about going to a Stage like the ancient Roman Colosseum, but apart from the London Stage, the other Stages were too crude. It would be better to wander around old London, carefully recreated by Kudo Yusaku.
…… The conversation between the two ambitious individuals temporarily ended.
On the Open Ground below the colored circle, the people participating in the Game gradually awoke. Beams of Light projected downwards, illuminating a Circular Open Space.
After Sawada Hiroki sent Chi Feichei into the London Game Stage, he replaced Hideki Morohoshi, who was wearing a red Suit jacket, and blended into the Crowd.
Conan and a group of acquaintances gathered together.
“That’s weird, have you guys seen Brother Hichiji?” Mouri Ran looked around.
There were mostly Children here. If Chi Feichei was here, he’d be visible at a Glance.
“No.” Conan frowned.
He’d also wanted to tell Chi Feichei about Katamura Tadahiko’s murder after entering the Game and ask if Chi Feichei had any Clues. But now that Chi Feichei wasn’t here, he had a bad Premonition.
“Could it be that Brother Hichiji really came to Test the Game and won’t be playing with us?” Suzuki Sonoko speculated.
Mouri Ran nodded. “Also Correct. If he’s testing the Game, he might not be with us.”
Genta reached out and looked at his palm, then patted his cheeks and exclaimed, “But this is really amazing! Even though we’re under Hypnosis right now, it doesn’t feel like we’re being hypnotized at all…”
Conan was Speechless as he watched Genta’s idiotic behavior.
“It’s Just Like being in a Dream,” Ayumi said emotionally. “And we can move around freely. This Game is really great!”
“Quite the opposite,” Haibara Ai interjected, pouring cold water on their enthusiasm. “Forget about Freedom. Vision, Hearing, Smell, Taste, and Touch are all completely controlled by the Computer. Even our Lives might be controlled.”
Others: “……”
Even without Chi Feichei present, there was still someone who could extinguish their enthusiasm…
“Welcome, first-time Cocoon players! The Game has begun!” As Noah's Ark’s voice echoed, gravel paths and stone doors leading in five different Directions appeared around the circular platform. “My name is Noah's Ark. Nice to meet you all!”
“Nice to meet you too!” A Group of Children cheered and greeted him.
“Now, I will play Promotional Videos for five Stages. Please choose the World you want to play.” Noah's Ark’s voice continued, “However, there’s something you need to be aware of. This isn’t just a simple Television Game. This is… a Game that concerns your Lives!”
The Children quieted down.
“If everyone is eliminated, you won’t be able to return to the Real World,” Noah's Ark continued. “Therefore, you must play the Game seriously! As long as one person reaches the End Point, you’ll win. And all the Children eliminated before then will be able to wake up and return to the Real World. These are the Game Rules I’ve set.”
“Does everyone Understand?”
“When everyone is eliminated, I will release special Electromagnetic Waves to destroy your brains. In other words, this is a Victory or Defeat with Japan starting over as the Bet!”
(End of Chapter)
“It should be the soul,” Sawada Hiroki said, reaching out and looking at his palm. “I can split off a segment of Data. Even if the rest is completely erased, I can survive with just that segment…”
Chi Feichei understood.
If it were a program, splitting off a segment of Data to another location wouldn't be enough to create a Life Form, it wouldn't even be able to operate.
In other words, Sawada Hiroki's soul still existed, and it could undergo Splitting by dividing into segments of Data.
“Can it split infinitely?”
“It seems not,” Sawada Hiroki said, lowering his palm. “In the past few days, I’ve only split off one segment of Data and placed it on the Internet. If I split off more, I don’t feel that close, intimate connection.”
Chi Feichei nodded. If it could split infinitely, that would be too much. But even now, it's astonishing enough. “What made you think of Suicide?”
“When creating Noah's Ark…”
Sawada Hiroki explained the connection between Noah, Noah's Ark, and himself to Chi Feichei. “After that, I fused with Noah’s program, and the Ark became a Weapon that I could easily control and customize. I can’t really explain why I jumped back then, I just had a strong Premonition…”
“Duang~!”
Another bump popped up on Sawada Hiroki’s head, overlapping with the previous one.
Chi Feichei, Expressionless, reached out and poked it. “It’s certainly realistic.”
Sawada Hiroki hugged his head again, aggrieved. “Godfather…”
“Did you ever consider it might be Hysteria, and that Premonitions are just Illusions?” Chi Feichei asked. “And you just jumped?”
“Ah…” Sawada Hiroki blinked, stunned. “Hysteria? I hadn’t thought of that…”
Chi Feichei: “……” He really wanted to hit him again… Never mind, at least it worked.
Sawada Hiroki seemed a little guilty and changed the subject. “Later, I’ll tell them that if no one clears the Game, they’ll die.”
“Tell me your Purpose,” Chi Feichei asked directly.
“To make them Improve through Adversity,” Sawada Hiroki said matter-of-factly. “Just like when Godfather told me, ‘Your choices, your Consequences.’ I want them to cast aside Family help and face Predicaments on their own, to bear the Consequences of their choices themselves. Godfather, cowardly and foolish people can never drive the Development of an Era. Godfather wouldn’t want to see this World dominated by a bunch of weak and incompetent people hoarding too many Resources, would he?”
Chi Feichei looked at Sawada Hiroki, feeling like this Child's Ideology had become a bit twisted.
“But I just want to scare them a little. I’ve already set up the entire Plot progression in Noah's Ark. I’ll replace one of the Children and participate in the Game with everyone else. In the end, they’ll win.” Sawada Hiroki looked down and smiled confidently. “Also, this Game will collect their Preferences, Personalities, habits, human weaknesses, DNA Data, Intelligence, EQ, and other Data to encourage their Growth and prevent them from being defeated. When they inherit their Family Business in the Future, they’ll be the Future, and that Future will be in our hands. For example, I’ve made an interesting Discovery regarding the clever Mr. Kudo Yusaku…”
Chi Feichei didn’t look at Sawada Hiroki anymore. No need to look, he was definitely twisted. “Conan is his Son.”
Sawada Hiroki nodded blankly. “Uh-huh…”
“I know, but he Doesn’t Know I know, and I don’t want him to know I know.” Chi Feichei said a string of ‘knows and doesn’t knows’.
“Then, should I let him know that I know?” Sawada Hiroki asked.
Chi Feichei commented, “Becoming an Internet Life Form has sped up your Reactions a bit.”
“My Reactions weren’t slow to begin with,” Sawada Hiroki declared, then added proudly, “But my current Thinking Ability and Reaction speed are indeed faster than an Ordinary Person’s. And that’s without using the Ark, just myself. If I add the Ark’s processing power, I can be even stronger.”
Chi Feichei glanced at Sawada Hiroki’s smug face and reminded him, “Whether or Not you let him know you know is your Choice, but don’t let anyone know you still exist, especially him. Be more Guarding Against, and don’t be arrogant.”
“I know. Once the Game is over, I’ll tell everyone I’m going to self-destruct and make them think I’ve disappeared. Then, I’ll use the Location Program to quietly find Godfather through the Internet,” Sawada Hiroki said. “I created this Crisis for another Purpose…”
“To sever Thomas’s Allies.” Chi Feichei also understood.
Sawada Hiroki nodded. “Exactly. Most of these people’s Parents are people Thomas needs to Befriend. Their Children almost died because of the Cocoon Game developed by Sindola Company. Those Adults will harbor some Resentment, right? Then, the Cocoon Project is as good as finished. No matter what Thomas says, the bad Reputation has already spread. And if the Project can’t continue, the Investors’ money will be wasted, which will also Impact Thomas’s Reputation. Of course, before that, your Mother can seize this Opportunity to strike at Sindola Company and swallow up a Company that’s been exposed in a Scandal and lost its Allies. It’s much easier than swallowing up a thriving Company.”
“Besides, Cocoon is a Project jointly developed by Sindola Company and a Japanese game developer,” Chi Feichei said. “But after their own Children almost died, those Investors probably won’t want to see this Thing again. The Japanese game developer will also consider abandoning it to avoid incurring the displeasure of those large conglomerates. We can acquire it at a very low Price.”
Currently, many Investors don’t know what Cocoon Means and just see it as a Computer Game.
He planned to buy it out directly at an ultra-low Price, bypassing the Japanese game developer. It was likely to succeed.
“Why?” Sawada Hiroki didn’t Understand. “Even if Godfather acquires Cocoon, you’ll still face the Risk of Offending other Conglomerates. And I think the Cocoon Project is a Mistake from start to finish. It costs too much Funds and Manpower but is far from achieving the expected Benefits. If R&D continues without Sufficient Funds, it’ll be difficult to release smoothly. If you must continue R&D, maybe you can achieve popularization or large-scale use, but the Funds Investment for Cocoon itself is a bottomless pit. All the Funds in your Family wouldn’t be enough to fill it.”
“Thomas is underutilizing Cocoon.”
Chi Feichei explained his Idea. “I don’t plan to popularize it or release it. Instead, I’ll use it to train Mercenaries and train my own people. They can train their physiques in the Real World and familiarize themselves with Firearms and Weapons in the virtual world, then get used to them in the Real World after becoming proficient.”
Putting aside everything else, training a Sharpshooter requires a lot of Bullets. So-called Sharpshooters are all built with Money. The value of Bullets consumed by one person isn’t much, but if a group of people consume them, the Money spent just on buying Bullets is a huge Expense.
Whether they’re Killers or Soldiers, they’ll never truly Grow without seeing Blood. I don’t want a group of people who have first-class marksmanship in peacetime but lose their composure when facing people. But training with live people in Reality would be too much."
Besides, Tactics cooperation Training, Insight Training, and so on can also be conducted in the virtual world by setting up different scenarios. Experience is something Money can’t buy.
“Hiroki, the Organization I’m in uses simulated Reality Projections to train Snipers. Cocoon Devices have no scene restrictions, which is better than those Projections. All that needs to be done is to make it more realistic. And I don’t need to manufacture Cocoon Devices again, just these sixty pieces of Equipment…”
“If it’s just 60 units, the Control Center can be centralized in one Place, and I can handle the operation,” Sawada Hiroki’s eyes lit up as he took over the conversation. “I can also handle the Software maintenance. No need for anyone else. Godfather just needs to find someone to do Hardware maintenance, and you can use 60 Machines to train 60… or even more people to form an Elite Team.”
“Where are Talents so easy to find?” Chi Feichei said. “Sixty would be good. Besides, people’s Talents are biased. It’ll be up to you to categorize them and let them choose corresponding Development Projects later. But we can talk about that later. Let’s finish today’s Matters first.”
In the past two days, his Mood hadn’t been too low, and he’d been able to do what he should, but he’d still felt a bit like a Slacker, wanting to stay Home and hide, with no desire to stir up trouble.
But now, that constant urge to stir up trouble was back.
“Then I’ll wake them up first.” Sawada Hiroki looked down, a little Expectation in his voice for the upcoming Game. “Godfather, should I send you down while they’re still unconscious?”
“No, just send me directly into the Game,” Chi Feichei said. “I’ve already seen the Promotional Video. I don’t want to watch it again. Later, block all my Audio, Video, and Location in the Game from external access.”
“Okay, which Game Stage do you want to go to?” Sawada Hiroki asked.
“London.”
Chi Feichei had originally thought about going to a Stage like the ancient Roman Colosseum, but apart from the London Stage, the other Stages were too crude. It would be better to wander around old London, carefully recreated by Kudo Yusaku.
…… The conversation between the two ambitious individuals temporarily ended.
On the Open Ground below the colored circle, the people participating in the Game gradually awoke. Beams of Light projected downwards, illuminating a Circular Open Space.
After Sawada Hiroki sent Chi Feichei into the London Game Stage, he replaced Hideki Morohoshi, who was wearing a red Suit jacket, and blended into the Crowd.
Conan and a group of acquaintances gathered together.
“That’s weird, have you guys seen Brother Hichiji?” Mouri Ran looked around.
There were mostly Children here. If Chi Feichei was here, he’d be visible at a Glance.
“No.” Conan frowned.
He’d also wanted to tell Chi Feichei about Katamura Tadahiko’s murder after entering the Game and ask if Chi Feichei had any Clues. But now that Chi Feichei wasn’t here, he had a bad Premonition.
“Could it be that Brother Hichiji really came to Test the Game and won’t be playing with us?” Suzuki Sonoko speculated.
Mouri Ran nodded. “Also Correct. If he’s testing the Game, he might not be with us.”
Genta reached out and looked at his palm, then patted his cheeks and exclaimed, “But this is really amazing! Even though we’re under Hypnosis right now, it doesn’t feel like we’re being hypnotized at all…”
Conan was Speechless as he watched Genta’s idiotic behavior.
“It’s Just Like being in a Dream,” Ayumi said emotionally. “And we can move around freely. This Game is really great!”
“Quite the opposite,” Haibara Ai interjected, pouring cold water on their enthusiasm. “Forget about Freedom. Vision, Hearing, Smell, Taste, and Touch are all completely controlled by the Computer. Even our Lives might be controlled.”
Others: “……”
Even without Chi Feichei present, there was still someone who could extinguish their enthusiasm…
“Welcome, first-time Cocoon players! The Game has begun!” As Noah's Ark’s voice echoed, gravel paths and stone doors leading in five different Directions appeared around the circular platform. “My name is Noah's Ark. Nice to meet you all!”
“Nice to meet you too!” A Group of Children cheered and greeted him.
“Now, I will play Promotional Videos for five Stages. Please choose the World you want to play.” Noah's Ark’s voice continued, “However, there’s something you need to be aware of. This isn’t just a simple Television Game. This is… a Game that concerns your Lives!”
The Children quieted down.
“If everyone is eliminated, you won’t be able to return to the Real World,” Noah's Ark continued. “Therefore, you must play the Game seriously! As long as one person reaches the End Point, you’ll win. And all the Children eliminated before then will be able to wake up and return to the Real World. These are the Game Rules I’ve set.”
“Does everyone Understand?”
“When everyone is eliminated, I will release special Electromagnetic Waves to destroy your brains. In other words, this is a Victory or Defeat with Japan starting over as the Bet!”
(End of Chapter)
