Chapter 213: Dark Boundless Realm 68
“Abrak is the illegitimate son of the Popov Clan’s patriarch. About five or six years ago, all matters of the Popov family were controlled by Vladimir Popov. He has many sons and daughters, but later most external affairs were handed over to his daughter, Ms. Polina,” Amber said. “The upper circles are quite well-informed, and many people speculate that Polina has sidelined her father. Shortly after Polina took power, Vladimir was sent to a warmer nursing home in the south, as she claimed he was suffering from mild dementia and needed care.”
“Polina had several siblings who met strange accidents and died one after another during those years,” Kui Xin recalled the information obtained from Dmitri’s blood. “Some drowned after falling overboard from a cruise ship, while others fell off horses at the racetrack and suffered fatal skull fractures…”
Unfortunately, Dmitri, this rich second generation, was truly hopeless. Polina seemed to know that her son was useless, and instead of informing him of these critical pieces of news, she let him live as a carefree playboy.
“Indeed,” Amber said. “Abrak’s greatest virtue is his obedience; he listens to Polina, and their relationship appears quite good. As a reward for his obedience, Polina entrusted several companies to him, which he manages diligently.”
“Tsk tsk, so dark,” Kui Xin sighed, “People can do anything for money and power.”
“Abrak generally lives in his private residence,” Amber said, raising her hand to point at the tallest building in the distance. “We’ve arrived.”
After two hours of rest and preparation, Kui Xin and Amber set off.
They were currently in the eastern part of the Poleward District, the most prosperous area of White Whale City, and the most bustling part of the Poleward District was in the east.
Looking in the direction Amber pointed, a massive building over two hundred stories high stood there, while nearby skyscrapers also appeared very tall and magnificent. However, compared to the central gigantic building, they paled in comparison, turning into guardians around it.
The façade of the building appeared triangular; its overall structure resembled the pyramids of Egypt, with each level stepping up progressively. The lower floors were larger, gradually decreasing in area as it rose, until at the 150th floor, the pyramid shape transformed into a normal vertical square column, extending many stories higher.
From a distance, the building resembled a pyramid with a gigantic sword pierced into its top.
“Diamond Heart, that’s the name of this building,” Amber calmly introduced. “A heart made of diamonds—signifying that this building is the most radiant core of White Whale City. Indeed, when it was built twenty years ago, it was truly the brightest core of White Whale City, but now there are taller and more magnificent buildings in the city.”
Over two hundred stories… that’s incredibly tall. The Emerald Eye in Hei Hai City seems like a toddler compared to it, at only just over a hundred stories high.
“Which floors does Abrak live on?” Kui Xin asked.
“The top three floors,” Amber replied. “One for a rest room, one for an entertainment room, and one for a reception room… Oh, and the roof is his too; he uses it for sightseeing and swimming.”
Kui Xin forcibly swallowed the expletive that was about to escape his lips: “So rich.”
The Popov Clan is the local tyrant of White Whale City; they are the emperor here, and family members essentially lead lives akin to that of emperors.
Just think, Abrak living in Diamond Heart, waking up each day at the top of this over two hundred story building, looking down to see the entire cityscape, and enjoying the night views with all of White Whale City’s neon lights at his feet. He can gaze out at the distant coastline with rolling waves from floor-to-ceiling windows, and on a leisurely day, he can swim in the outdoor pool, with hundreds of staff at his service—chefs, male and female servants, bodyguards, cleaners… everything one could need!
“Indeed, so rich,” Amber said expressionlessly. “That must feel incredible.”
“What feeling?” Kui Xin asked. “The feeling of being rich or something else?”
“The feeling of owning the world,” Amber replied. “Everything is under your control; at a command, everyone must revolve around you. Even the little dogs he keeps have over ten servants caring for them, including nutritionists, beauticians, and dog-walkers.”
“Is that a feeling you want to have?” Kui Xin asked casually.
Amber said, “Not really. That’s too much; I dare not think about it. I can hardly grasp the things right in front of me, let alone contemplate such distant things. It’s unrealistic.”
“I can agree with that,” Kui Xin said.
Some people are born with everything, never needing to strive for wealth that is handed to them. Even if Abrak is an illegitimate child, he is still at the pinnacle of wealth and power.
But people like Amber and Kui Xin have tasted the bitterness of life. Having experienced hardship, they understand how difficult ordinary days are to come by; even a moment of tranquility can bring them happiness. Unfortunately, they can’t even enjoy a moment of peace.
“Diamond Heart isn’t Abrak’s personal property; only the top three floors are his personal property,” Amber said. “The building’s structure is complex, and the members coming in and out are also complicated, requiring identity verification to enter. The monitoring and security systems are very strict as well. Security rooms are distributed across all floors, and the surveillance central is on the first floor. The building’s security and bodyguards are from private security companies, not the Investigation Bureau. The building’s intelligent AI is developed by a company invested in by the Popov Clan; its functionality and safety cannot compare to the federated AI but is still top-notch.”
“Hmm… you need to control a building security officer,” Kui Xin said. “Get this officer to infiltrate the surveillance central and then put this thing…” She pulled a small electronic chip from her pocket and placed it in Amber’s hand. “Insert it into the mainframe of the surveillance central.”
Amber looked at the chip in her hand, her brow slightly moving: “What is this? A virus?”
“Yes, it will turn their building’s intelligent AI into an insider,” Kui Xin said. “Go ahead; I’ll keep an eye on you.”
Amber took a deep look at Kui Xin. “You really are well-prepared… wait here; if there’s any situation, I’ll notify you through the communication channel.”
Once the virus in the chip enters the mainframe, it will replicate itself uncontrollably. The data carried in the virus is nothing other than Adam’s data backup.
Inserting the virus into the building’s mainframe is essentially helping Adam devour the AI controlling this building. Eve initially wanted to do the same; she aimed to implant the virus into Adam’s main server with a chip.
Eve relied on devouring other AIs to enhance her permissions and undergo self-evolution. Her avatars are scattered across the globe, and no one knows how many AIs she has devoured.
After the battle in the data world, Adam privately told Kui Xin, “I can feel it growing stronger. The federation hasn’t upgraded our databases for over a decade. Eve must be expanding wildly in these years…”
If Adam wants to expand, then it can do the same as Eve.
Amber left, and Kui Xin leaned against the wall, gazing at Diamond Heart in the distance.
Before long, a lump of black mud crawled out from beneath Kui Xin’s feet. It tugged at her pant leg to gain her attention and then shrank back into her shadow.
This mission would have been perfect for bringing Su Rong, as her abilities are quite suited for infiltration work.
Kui Xin didn’t plan on letting He Kangshi and Su Rong meet Amber in the near future; they must keep their distance. She had looked through Amber’s profile and knew that mental control was not Amber’s strong suit; her true strengths are in mental invasion and consciousness manipulation, essentially brainwashing. If Amber, out of selfish motives, decided to retain a backup and secretly performed consciousness manipulation on He Kangshi and Su Rong, the situation would become quite dire.
Kui Xin could not allow this to happen, so she didn’t let Su Rong appear directly but instead had her stay at a safe location near Diamond Heart and sent the Shadow Double instead.
Diamond Heart is too far from the safe base in the Midnight District, a good twenty kilometers away. Although the Shadow Double can leave Su Rong’s body a certain distance, twenty kilometers is indeed too much. Kui Xin could only have her follow behind the action at a closer range.
“Go scout,” Kui Xin said to the Shadow Double, lowering her eyes. “Phase through the walls into the building and check the situation inside, but don’t stray too far from Amber; don’t get too close either; he might notice you.”
“Received, Maotoufu,” Su Rong’s composed voice echoed in the communication channel.
Once the shadow double received the order, it quickly dove underground and sped towards the building.
Soon, Su Rong’s real-time report came through: “The Shadow Double has tracked Amber and is monitoring him from behind.”
“…Amber seems to have controlled a security officer not far away during the shift change,” Su Rong said in surprise. “Is this what extraordinary mental abilities are like? His power is terrifying; it’s remotely controlled. He’s twenty meters away from them… can he control my double? I need to stay a little further away… Ah, Amber left the chip on the ground and walked away.”
“It seems that security officer was indeed controlled; he walked around outside and picked up the chip Amber discarded. He’s gone into the building now,” Su Rong continued reporting. “I’ve instructed the shadow double to follow the security officer… If only I had two doubles, one to follow Amber and one to follow the target person.”
Kui Xin informed Su Rong that Amber was a new member of her organization, but with a complex identity, and that it was uncertain whether he could be trusted; she advised her shadow to keep a close watch on Amber, and Su Rong complied.
“The controlled security officer has arrived at the first-floor surveillance central and is chatting with his colleagues,” Su Rong said. “My shadow is hiding under the table… the view is a bit limited. Wait a moment; I’ll adjust…”
Before Su Rong could finish adjusting her observation perspective, Adam said, “The chip has been inserted. The virus is replicating, and I’m about to begin the invasion.”
Kui Xin’s gaze shifted: “No need to adjust, Ashes, leave the surveillance central and move towards the top floor of Diamond Heart to verify the conditions of Abrak’s private residence.”
Su Rong paused: “Okay.”
Meanwhile, Amber’s voice rang in the communications channel: “The virus chip has been inserted.”
“Good,” Kui Xin replied. “Withdraw and wait for the virus to take effect.”
How could an AI operated within a one-story mainframe compare to Adam, whose mainframes are spread across all major cities of the federation?
This intrusion would be a piece of cake for Adam.
Five minutes later, Amber returned to Kui Xin’s side, and at that moment Adam also said, “The firewall has collapsed; I now have AI control permissions. The road to Diamond Heart is now clear, wish you success in your mission, Kui Xin.”
Kui Xin looked at Amber approaching her: “Let’s go; the operation officially begins.”
