Chapter 184 "Up above..."

The wizards from the Social Security Administration exchanged glances. One of them frowned and said, "Didn't you just try to hack into the Jet Propulsion Laboratory this morning and get arrested for it?

Why didn't you mention this guess when we approached you?"

"Because I wasn't sure of the relationship between the Mailman and you."

Li Ang couldn't exactly say he'd forgotten.

He calmly said, "At that time, I was just investigating the Mailman out of curiosity. I didn't want to throw my life away.

Especially after hearing you claim that the Mailman had been corrupting automated decision-making systems for years,

I suspected even more that the Mailman was backed by the deep state or some other force hidden within the American government.

If even the Social Security Administration didn't know about that force, and I foolishly revealed my guess, I might be silenced..."

Li Ang handed over the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) password key to the security gate leading to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory server. Taking advantage of the brief pause while the security gate verified the key, he added,

"So, it's better to take things one step at a time and enter the Coast Wizard Association stronghold in the data world. Just grab some random stuff to give you an excuse.

However..."

Li Ang looked at the gradually opening security gate and said helplessly, "Now that I've been exposed to Merlin, the Data Man, as Merlin's accomplice, must also know about me.

He's probably investigating my real name right now.

If I don't help you find him, even if I want to live in seclusion,

I'll be hunted down in the mountains by bounty hunters sent by the Mailman,

Or blown up by drones he sends.

So, you have to guarantee that after all this is over, you can ensure my safety, pardon all the crimes I committed before, and finally, let me keep a brain-computer interface device and a standard computer."

Li Ang stared at the wizard who had spoken earlier. Without a doubt, these wizards had video communication programs on them, allowing the real powers in the Washington underground command center to see.

After a five-second pause,

the wizard nodded. "We guarantee that your requests will be met—as long as you help us find the Mailman and sign a few confidentiality agreements.

As for the brain-computer interface device... we can provide it, but it must be monitored."

"Alright, then, it's a pleasure doing business with you."

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory security gate finally opened, and Li Ang strode inside.

It was the same as he had seen this morning. The floor was made of brushed metal, smooth and sturdy.

The ceiling was ten meters high.

Everywhere were cabinet-shaped servers, and between the rows of cabinets walked robots representing detection, maintenance, and antivirus programs.

The last time Li Ang came to the outer perimeter of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he was ambushed by the Social Security Administration.

They increased the power of the antivirus programs and tightened Li Ang's computing power and bandwidth, causing his abilities to plummet. He had no choice but to escape through the escape route.

But now, with the processor provided by DARPA, Li Ang felt more powerful than ever before.

He stood in the center of the building and waved the Social Security Administration wizards to stand back.

The white coat, repaired by alchemy, rose without any wind, fluttering wildly.

Beneath the Mirage Dragon's Red Mane overcoat, a large number of hair-like plant fibers surged out.

Under the supply of massive amounts of spiritual energy, the plant fibers pierced through his skin, hooking and entangling with each other, gathering into hundreds or thousands of vines.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

Massive vines burst out, piercing through all the cabinet-shaped servers in the entire physical building.

Accompanied by flickering electrical light, the vines grew wildly inside the servers, expanding rapidly.

The floors, walls, and ceilings were covered with lush, dense plants.

The feet of the Social Security Administration wizards became the only clean land.

They looked at the dense vines slithering along the ground like pythons, subconsciously taking half a step back and gathering together.

They were also wizards, but they could never do this—excessively accepting data hints and receiving information stimulation would overwhelm the brain. The slightest could eject them from the data world, while the most serious could cause the brain to crash, leading to coma in the real world.

Only the most powerful and talented wizards could call upon enough subconscious to handle data feedback tasks with instinct.

Information...

A large amount of dense information was displayed in front of Li Ang.

He could see the blueprints of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), down to every rivet;

He could see all the information transmitted back by spacecraft and satellites, including the astronauts' medical examination data, planetary photos, and lunar soil analysis data;

He could see every classified project run by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—including but not limited to the location of every military satellite and the operating principle of the Zeus system...

Green data constantly flowed through Li Ang's eyes. He slowly exhaled a turbid breath, his brain aching and chilling as if it had gone through an unprecedented hangover.

Not found.

Li Ang searched through every backup of information sent back by the spacecraft and found no traces of tampering or suspicious activity.

Suspecting that the Mailman was in a location far from Earth's orbit,

He even carefully screened the communication satellites that NASA had launched in advance for the Mars colonization project, but found nothing.

"He's not here."

Li Ang stood in the center of the hall and said in a thunderous voice, "I need higher authority. Russia, Europe, Japan...

I need access to their spacecraft, rockets, and space stations."

The noise generated by the high-speed operation of the servers roared.

The Social Security Administration wizards raised their hands to cover their ears and shouted, "Impossible, this will be seen as military aggression and will start a war..."

Before they could finish speaking, several cabinet-shaped servers in the corner of the building suddenly exploded.

The shockwave shattered the nearby vines.

Flames shot up into the sky, causing the fire sprinklers to automatically spray foam.

"That's..."

The Social Security Administration's suit-wearing wizard took a deep breath. His colleague's voice soon rang in his ears, telling him what had just happened.

The military satellite used by the Zeus near-Earth orbit military satellite laser strike system had just been attacked on the physical layer—

Originally a near-Earth orbit communication satellite belonging to Venezuela, it had changed direction and emitted electromagnetic waves, interfering with several Zeus system satellites aimed at Venezuela in the real world.

Those near-Earth orbit communication satellites emitted electromagnetic waves that were far less powerful than the Zeus system's lasers, and lasted only a few seconds to a dozen minutes,

But that was enough to cause the Zeus system to briefly crash, unable to accept any instructions from the ground command center.

As mentioned before, international society in this script world, in addition to nuclear weapons, had also reached a kind of "space-based weapons deterrence."

Forces with space-based weapons could, in near-Earth orbit,

blast all medium- and long-range missiles launched from the surface,

If the power were reduced and the accuracy increased, using multiple multi-angle laser generators,

they could easily destroy high-speed supersonic fighter jets—each Zeus space-based satellite was equipped with an extremely powerful processor that could automatically calculate the target's trajectory.

In theory, Zeus space-based satellites could even destroy the coffee in someone's hand walking down the street without harming the person.

Because of this, [nuclear weapons deterrence] and [space-based weapons deterrence] had reached a tacit balance, with the latter being higher in level than the former, covering the former.

Whoever possessed more space-based weapons with higher precision could comprehensively block the other's nuclear arsenal,

And if they lost their space-based weapons, they would fall into an absolute predicament where they could be nuclear bombed without being able to retaliate.

Compared to the nuclear missile silos buried in the deep mountains and old forests of military bases on the ground,

the space-based weapon satellites belonging to different countries that orbited the Earth every day in near-Earth orbit were like elegant dancers, traversing the dance floor, meeting each other every day,

And every meeting meant that the space-based weapon satellites could destroy each other,

meaning that a full-scale nuclear war could break out at any time.

"No!"

The Social Security Administration wizard felt a chill run from the soles of his feet through his entire body, reaching the top of his head.

The Mailman had made his move, decisively and swiftly.

Two more of America's Zeus space-based satellites had gone out of control.

International news websites were instantly hijacked by virus programs sent by Venezuelan communication satellites.

News reports about the American Zeus system going out of control directly occupied the front-page headlines.

The heart-palpitating feeling of experiencing the Cuban Missile Crisis once again surged into the hearts of the bigwigs in Washington.

They felt like a sharp sword was lying across their throats, ready to slide lightly and cut their throats at any time.

"He's here!"

Li Ang's expression changed drastically. The servers in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory were exploding in a chain reaction, and communication satellites were losing connection one after another.

Telephones were cut off, the internet was disconnected, television was suspended, and websites were shut down.

The entire United States was like a high-speed train suddenly crashing into a roadside utility pole, coming to a standstill.

The bigwigs in the Washington underground command center felt like blind giants, cut off from the flow of information.

"Give me DARPA's authority! Let me hack into other countries' space agencies! Otherwise, we'll all die!"

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was still a sea of fire. Li Ang shouted at the bewildered Social Security Administration wizards.

His vines were constantly exploding, and he didn't even know where his opponent was or how they were attacking.

"Here!"

The suit-wearing wizard took a rectangular black card from his pocket and threw it towards Li Ang.

The card rotated silently in mid-air, drawing an arc before being caught steadily by Li Ang.

Got it...

The corners of Li Ang's mouth curved into an imperceptible smile. Plant fibers pierced into the card, freely obtaining the password keys within.

"Hiss..."

Li Ang trembled all over. He could feel that this building had completely opened its doors to him.

The supercomputers used by DARPA, the data processing centers spanning various states, and the tens of thousands of medium and small processors were all at his disposal.

On the data world level, the vines around him expanded exponentially, surging out of the doors of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory like a flood, rushing towards other areas of DARPA,

scavenging computing power and seizing resources,

Rapidly growing like the towering tree in the British fairy tale "Jack and the Beanstalk."

Soon, the vines of the Lord of Flesh and Swamps, with the support of DARPA's computing power and bandwidth, broke through DARPA's restrictions.

The vine giant tree rose from the ground, blasting open the ceiling of the building, and extending upwards all the way.

Li Ang stood on top of the tree, rising rapidly along with the tree itself.

The wind howled past his ears, and the vertical distance to the clouds continued to shrink.

He looked down, the light networks, fortresses, and cities of the data world as dense and tiny as ant nests.

Was this the power of a true god, beyond even a demigod...

Li Ang took a deep breath, sobering himself from the intoxication of immense power.

This was just the data world, not reality, not the truth.

Let's get back to the mission...

He silently clenched his fist, and the reindeer skull mark on the back of his hand bloomed with infinite light.

The World Tree-like vine giant tree grew along the light network, slowly but surely, conquering and seizing territory.

The computing resources of the East Coast, the West Coast, and the entire North America were gradually flowing into Li Ang's control.

If the information received when he took over the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was a flood,

then now, taking over North American computing resources and receiving information,

was a wave a thousand meters high, clear enough to be seen from space.

Vast and unimaginably detailed real-time data flowed along the thick vines to Li Ang in the center.

Pain,

extreme pain washed over his body.

Li Ang felt his consciousness being stretched and elongated, as if it were being squeezed flat, cut to pieces, and crushed.

The intense pain was far beyond the "pain" suffered when practicing mental abilities.

Filter... redundant... data...

Li Ang's subconscious fought back desperately, turning meaningless data into white noise that didn't directly lead to the mind,

coordinated with millions of individual small processors,

and finally, before the towering wave crashed down, gradually smoothed the massive amount of trivial data little by little.

"..."

The short few seconds felt as long as a century.

Li Ang raised his head, closed his eyes, and exhaled.

His consciousness had never been so clear. He stood at the top of the world, overlooking everything in the North American continent.

The traffic information of every vehicle,

the flow of every dollar in the banking network,

the data traces of every connected computer,

everything, was under his control.

The light network was his blood vessels, the data monitoring programs and real-world monitoring cameras were his eyes and ears, and the robots in the fully automated factories were his movable limbs.

Perhaps even gods were no more than this.

Li Ang took a step forward, and his divine sense, like lightning, connected from the dense international lines and international communication satellites to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia.

Looking across the universe, it was difficult to find an opponent.

The automated security programs of other continents were easily suppressed and co-opted by Li Ang.

And those wizards who were ordered to take on the responsibility and confront him

were directly crushed and suppressed by Li Ang's massive computing power—they didn't even have time to receive computing power and bandwidth assistance,

before Li Ang kicked them out of the network like swatting away mayflies.

At this moment, Li Ang ascended to become a god among humans.