Chapter 325 The Smiley Face
— At Naha State TV Station —
Within the chaotic atmosphere of the TV station, many technicians and IT experts were trying to fend off the hacking. They attempted to sever their internet connection, but it proved futile. It was as if all the keyboards and command inputs before them were merely decorations, serving purposes unrelated to the broadcast.
The broadcasting section, with all its expensive technology, seemed entirely beyond their control. Even after cutting their internet connection, the broadcasting remained unaffected.
"Why can't you take back control from that hacker? You have so many people and all this technology I spent my money to buy, and you can't even deter them? Are you so incapable, or am I incapable enough to see that all of you are utterly incompetent?" The Daimyo yelled at the station employees in anger.
Behind him stood Sawamura Kusuki, the TV station president managing the station on behalf of the Daimyo and the Shogun. If this crisis hadn't occurred, he would have been considered quite capable, securing numerous deals with foreign programming and even acquiring show licenses from the USA for broadcast in Okinawa, bringing the island closer to the world.
"My Lord… We are up against the most advanced tech and research corporation in the world. They can build micro construction bots and even erect a building in half an hour. There's simply no way we can fight against them. It's like an ant trying to stop a chariot." The TV station president tried to explain, stating a fact rather than making an excuse.
"Do you have no shame admitting defeat so easily? Daniel Emberweave has two hands and one brain, just like you! And you can't even resist this... this charade and humiliation even a little? Where has your honor as a warrior gone?" The Daimyo yelled back, venting his frustration at the TV station president.
"My lord, we are civilians, not warriors…" The TV station president reminded him.
The fact infuriated Daimyo Kuroda. He knew it, but he didn't need this lowly peasant to remind him. Feeling humiliated, a murderous glare from the Daimyo silenced the TV station president before the Daimyo began contemplating how to turn the tide against Daniel.
"My lord, may I suggest cutting off the power for the entire Naha State? It's the only way to fight off this hacking," the president proposed his last desperate idea.
Hearing this disastrous idea, the Daimyo was furious. How many businesses were ongoing right now? Cutting the power for the entire Naha State was not a joke! The impact on businesses and the consequences he would have to bear were substantial.
"Are you an idiot? Do you realize how damaging it is to cut off all the power? Do you understand how hard it is for me to attract foreign businessmen to invest in this island's tourism business? It will affect this year's tax revenue!" The Daimyo roared back at the TV station president.
Yes, those businessmen were like a group of cowardly herbivores, quick to jump ship and escape at the slightest disturbance in their business environment.
"My lord! We know exactly where he is! Why don't we attack him directly to halt the broadcast?" One of the bodyguards suggested. He belonged to the elite squad, fearless and committed to upholding his duty even in a losing battle—the epitome of a Kuroda Clan warrior.
The Daimyo looked at his bodyguard, who quickly kneeled and declared loudly, "I, Matsumoto Yuuichi, volunteer to bring this foreigner's head to you!"
The Shogun knew that sending a small strike force now would only increase casualties. He was fully aware of Daniel's capabilities, and even without them, the events of the previous night had shown the savagery with which Daniel dealt with his enemies.
At this moment, the TV stopped broadcasting the record of the previous night, and Daniel's face appeared once again.
"As you can see, I didn't do anything that your Daimyo is trying to portray me." Daniel spoke solemnly, then paused as his face went cold.
"As for you, Daimyo Kuroda, for your information, I've been called many things—an inventor, a businessman, a hunter, and even a bastard to some people. But a terrorist? I am not!
I don't need to cause useless terror to the state to increase my leverage on the negotiation table, as normal terrorists do. When I want something from the state head, I speak with them. If speaking doesn't work, I'll show them my negotiation tool. Please observe. And look at the sky above your Daimyo Castle." At the end of his sentence, the screen changed to the scene where Daimyo Kuroda Castle stood.
"What!? What is he trying to do?" Daimyo Kuroda was startled at the change of scene. That was his goddamn home!
On the screen, an intense red light shone from the sky above his castle. Then the clouds parted as a powerful, intense red core and blue-hued energy shot through the clouds like cleansing fire.
ZAaaaaaaappp!!!!
The large beam of intense light shone through, affecting the light around as it pierced the cloud and sky toward the large field in front of the Daimyo castle below. The power of the beam vaporized the ground it touched immediately, creating a hole where the light passed.
"What!? What the fuck is that damn thing? Isn't that the stuff that only appears in Hollywood science fiction movies?" The Daimyo swore in alarm as this scenario far exceeded his expectations.
However, he witnessed that the beam didn't hit his castle. He let out a sigh of relief as his wives and children were all there.
"It missed!? Thank god… That it missed." The Daimyo uttered. He understood that a weapon like this required extensive calculations, and this should be the first time such a weapon was used in the world.
But then, as if mocking him, the beam dragged on toward his castle's direction.
"No! No!! Please God! No!" Seeing this scene alarmed the Daimyo, and he quickly turned toward one of his bodyguards.
"You! Call Daniel. Tell him I'll do anything he wants! Anything! Just don't point that damn thing at my castle!" The Daimyo frantically ordered his bodyguard, who had just volunteered for the frontline a moment ago.
"But… isn't this equal to us admitting defeat to that foreigner!? My lord! Our warrior code dictates!" The bodyguard was about to say something, but the Daimyo quickly slapped the bodyguard's face!
"Forget the warrior code! Contact him immediately! Or I'll kill you myself!" The Daimyo roared once again. He didn't care anymore; what did the warrior code matter if all his loved ones were gone?
No! The warrior code only existed to dictate how warriors should conduct themselves so that in wartime, there would be someone standing guard while others retreated or not questioning a suicide mission important to winning the war! If his family's lives weren't in danger, he would be more than happy to trade his life with an enemy in war according to the warrior code! But this? It wasn't even a fight!
"You! Call him! Do you know that hotel's number?" The Daimyo turned toward the TV station president he had just rebuffed a moment ago.
"My Lord! The beam!" another bodyguard called him and pointed at the screen.
The Daimyo quickly looked at the screen, praying that the beam didn't reach his castle or that its energy wasn't enough to reach it.
Contrary to his expectations, the beam turned over, seemingly drawing a curve. No, it was drawing a circle. Then the beam stopped, creating a perfect circle, and it stopped.
A few seconds later, two short beams punctured two holes within the circle, making it look like a face with two eyes.
"Don't tell me… He's trying to…" The Daimyo uttered. He knew about many messages that the Magitek was trying to convey if what he was thinking was right.
Then the beam on the screen started again, but this time, it drew a curved line, creating a large smiley face on the field in front of the Daimyo castle. When it finished, Daniel appeared on the screen again.
"This is my negotiation tool, Daimyo Kuroda. Are you convinced that I don't need to cause useless terror? If you are convinced, then please find a way to contact me. I'm not that hard to find, and we will negotiate the terms when you meet me face to face." After he finished, the screen returned to normal news, showing that there was no one sitting in the broadcasting room.
The Daimyo fell to the ground, feeling exhausted and terrified at the event. That Magitek had just conveyed to him that its orbital cannon was that precise and could strike wherever and whenever it wanted. Its precision was enough to draw a smiley face on the ground.
Moreover, that smiley face conveyed that he didn't want a full war but wasn't afraid of it either if forced to make war or if angered enough to initiate one. This 'Smiley face' was the most terrifying one he had ever seen.
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