"It's a little complicated to explain."
"How do you know if you don't try?" Little Boy scratched her British shorthair's chin.
"Have you heard of the parallel universe theory in quantum physics?" Zhang Heng asked.
"Sorry, what? Say it again."
"Parallel universe theory. The multiverse is a collection of finite or infinite possible universes …"
"I know what a parallel universe is," Little Boy interrupted Zhang Heng. "I mean, are you going to fool me with such a sci-fi concept? Do I look like a kid who hasn't graduated from junior high school, or a heavy Marvel fan? "
"You see, I told you it's a little complicated to explain."
Players were clearly restricted from revealing their identity in the quest, so Zhang Heng could only try to explain why he knew the 01 members and Edward's name with a similar parallel universe theory.
"Just think of it as a sci-fi story." Zhang Heng spent twenty minutes talking about his encounter with the 01 guerrillas and how he planned to rescue Leah.
Little Boy raised her eyebrows after listening, "So you really scored 600,000 points in Tetris?"
"…"
"That's a good story. It's enough to woo those inexperienced girls, but you don't really expect me to believe this kind of nonsense. But you seem to know 01 very well … Did you deliberately collect information about us?"
Little Boy frowned after she finished speaking, seemingly lost in thought. "But because this story is so ridiculous, I kind of believe that you are not from Black Nest. Although they are a bunch of bastards, if they really wanted to send an undercover agent to infiltrate 01, they would have put in the effort to make up a better story."
"… Thank you for your trust," Zhang Heng said.
"Well, what do you want to know?" Little Boy said, "I can't trust you completely. Although you saved me, I won't tell you some confidential things in 01."
"No, you just need to tell me something that you can tell me," Zhang Heng said. "Let's go back to the first question. Where is Edward?"
"Dead."
"He's dead?"
"Yes, not only is he dead, but he has been dead for twelve years. Black Nest killed him, and some of the reporters he contacted betrayed him. They came to his room in the name of an interview, killed him, and robbed the documents in his hands. We failed, and Black Nest erased all traces of his existence in the world."
Little Boy took a sip of milk and continued, "In the second year after Edward's death, Black Nest completed the first phase of CTOS research and development. First, it was Nice, then Marseille, Paris, France … and finally, all of Europe. Now, they have eyes everywhere. Traffic lights, cameras, subways, POS machines, car navigation systems, Internet telephones, mobile phones, computers … as long as there is a built-in microcomputer that can connect to the Internet, it's all under their control."
"No one opposed them?"
"Of course. In fact, in the beginning, many people expressed concerns about privacy and security. Journalists, Internet activists, a small number of senators, all hackers … but Black Nest promised the public that all CTOS's actions would be governed by the law."
The British Shorthair was getting a little impatient from being scratched. It stretched its legs, and Little Boy put it on the ground.
"As their slogan says, technology makes life better. Black Nest is not just a company. It has a complex and huge background, including business groups, politicians, ambitious people … It's like a huge machine running at full speed, paving the way for the use of CTOS in all aspects. They put on a lot of beautiful clothes for it. Security, efficiency, convenience … it's like a gift from God to mankind."
"Black Nest promised that with CTOS, the urban traffic would be improved, the crime rate would be reduced, and public resources would no longer be wasted … and in fact, they did, but at the expense of citizens' privacy. But no one knew that the support of the politicians who supported CTOS was getting higher and higher among the voters, while the support of those who opposed CTOS was declining. Gradually, they left the political stage. There were also some die-hards who had accumulated a lot of popularity among the voters. Black Nest used CTOS to collect all their private information, looking for the parts that could be used to create scandals. They analyzed every word, even the daily conversations at the dinner table."
"No one could withstand such an offensive. During that time, there were scandals breaking out almost every day. The people loudly cursed and crusaded against the tainted politicians on the Internet. Little by little, Black Nest completed their purge plan. Then, it was the press, publishing, education … They quietly took control of the discourse. Everyone began to praise CTOS, and the urban residents who didn't participate in CTOS were also eagerly looking forward to Black Nest's arrival."
"Only the hackers were keenly aware of the huge risks involved. In order to defend privacy and freedom, they declared war on Black Nest. We experienced fierce battles on the Internet one after another. Some people were arrested, knocked down, and even killed. New people kept joining, but with the crazy expansion of CTOS, there was less and less room for us to maneuver."
"And public opinion was always on their side. We were labeled as criminals. We didn't just have to fight against Black Nest, but the whole world. On the other side, Black Nest's behavior was getting more and more rampant. They made a list of tens of thousands of people, and they regarded the people on the list as dangerous. They monitored them 24 hours a day, and if necessary, they would use the same methods they used on Edward to deal with the people on the list."
"We lost a lot. No, maybe it's more accurate to say that we were at the end of the road. I lost a lot of friends during that time. You want to know what happened to the other people in 01? It's not a secret. When Edward was killed, the magician was with him, so … he was not spared. Philip was tired of the war and emigrated to Hong Kong with his family. Waldo betrayed us six years later and joined Black Nest. A large number of top hackers were recruited along with him. Z was arrested two years ago.
"Now, only me and Semiprime are left, but we have gathered some of the remaining people who are still fighting against Black Nest. 01 is the only remaining resistance group in Europe. We can only operate underground."
"Are you the current leader of 01?"
"Do you really not watch the news at all?" Little Boy frowned, "The current leader of 01 is Leah, Edward's sister. She is also at the top of Black Nest's list. They are hunting her all over the world."
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