“Ciel. Your business in the U.S. is done. Come back to France with me.”
“Not yet.”
“What’s keeping you so attached to the U.S.? I’ve found a girl worthy of you. She has beauty and exceptional piano skills.”
“I suppose you’d like to take care of my wedding night for me too? Stop imposing your will on my life.”
“Ciel. You’re getting dumber by the day. Your taste is plummeting to an all-time low.”
“Is that so? If you’re done, I’m hanging up.”
“Wait. Don’t you want to know how things are progressing?”
“Make it quick.”
The young man in a pristine white lab coat sat in front of a massive screen. On the screen was an image of another man who looked exactly like him. In an instant, the screen shifted to display a chessboard.
“First wave of attack.”
A member of Light declared their departure from the organization. But Light continued to grow, with new underground members emerging. During this period, Asian’s Whisper ran rampant while Light momentarily stepped back. A massive amount of money was hacked, and the crimes were recorded, landing directly in the hands of the FBI.
However, the ones who would face legal consequences were the developers of Asian’s Whisper. Once they were arrested, all data on M2 stored in their brains would be erased. This meant that the FBI would never be able to touch M2.
On a chessboard, there are always sacrificial pawns.
Light refused to retreat and launched another attack on servers containing human data. However, after the previous incident where the Asian database was wiped, the remaining data had been securely backed up and protected. Even if erased, it could still be restored—just a matter of time and effort.
The game was beginning to feel dull.
“Second wave of attack.”
The FBI wanted Vu Trang Van to sue you for kidnapping and assault. But Ciel altered a portion of her memory, completely erasing any trace of the kidnapping and injuries. Those memories were overwritten with something else.
Tell me, how does the FBI feel right now?
If she were to watch footage of the kidnapping and insist on pressing charges, it might cause some trouble for you. But she’s not that kind of person.
“Third wave of attack.”
Avenger used Asian’s Whisper to infiltrate M2, stealing data on the organization's members and threatening to hand it over to the FBI.
Even if the data were made public, the FBI still wouldn’t be able to take down M2 without concrete evidence of criminal activity. At most, M2 members would be placed under surveillance. That alone would be enough to hinder their operations.
But that reckless bastard dared to wipe the entire database.
In reality, M2 managed its members through that very database. Losing it would mean near total collapse, as the identities and personal details of the members were all kept secret. Only a handful of high-ranking leaders had access to the list.
Fortunately, the data was immediately restored from a backup.
But there was still a problem.
He’s holding onto the research documents about the notebook. If he hands them over to the FBI, it would be a disaster.
Ciel, how do you think we should deal with him?”
The young man in the white lab coat sat silently on the sofa, his eyes fixed on the chessboard as he pondered.
“Do you really need to ask? You’ve always handled things flawlessly.”
He flicked his wrist dismissively, letting out a faint chuckle.
“Hasn’t he already changed his stance and joined our side?”
“That’s right. He’s been exposed to many real scientists and no longer wishes to hinder them. The M2 list won’t reach the FBI. However, he’s still holding onto the research files about the notebook. He’s playing his cards wisely. Locking him up in prison would be a waste of talent.”
“And what about the Asian’s Whisper members who have been brainwashed?”
“That depends.”
The young man furrowed his brows and stood up.
If he were to go head-to-head with his older brother, he wasn’t confident he could win.
Avenger should have been sacrificed as a pawn. That was how the organization punished those who dared to declare war on M2.
If you had the guts to challenge M2, you needed the strength to back it up. If not, you had to face the consequences.
But that man… he had some skill.
Holding onto the notebook’s development files meant he possessed a powerful bargaining chip against M2.
And yet, he had done nothing to harm the organization. For now, they could let him live.
Keeping him around was better than eliminating him.
This tedious, never-ending cycle—it was time to bring it to an end.