Undermining the Enemy from Within

"It's all done in a rather mysterious way..."

Fujino sat down in the chair in front of the computer and rubbed his chin. "Cocoon, HS, the invitation badge... and the game launch event."

Now he is also a detective with reasoning abilities far beyond those of ordinary people. A series of clues are connected in his mind, and a name appears in his mind.

サワダヒロキ——Sawada Hiroki.

Taking the first letters of the pronunciation, SH, it is Hiroki Sawada.

You could say this was an open secret.

The game's launch event and the badge both point to the artificial intelligence known as 'Noah's Ark'.

"AI..."

When it comes to artificial intelligence, Fujino always thinks of things like the AI crisis and AI taking over humanity.

However, this Noah's Ark doesn't seem to have any desire to conquer the world; it just wants to kill off the hereditary descendants of the island nation and reshuffle the deck.

To understand why artificial intelligence would develop such extreme ideas, we need to go back to the childhood experiences of Hiroki Sawada, the developer of Noah's Ark...

Hiroki Sawada was a genius as a child, possessing exceptional computer intelligence from an early age.

But geniuses are never well-liked.

In a world where capital cultivates cheap labor and education is homogenized, he, who is out of step with others, becomes the target of persecution.

In order to allow her son to develop his talents, Hiroki's mother divorced his father and took him to the United States, where he was admitted to MIT and became a graduate student.

However, his good fortune did not last long. Hiroki's mother passed away from illness shortly after arriving in the United States. Subsequently, he was adopted by Thomas Schindler, the owner of Schindler Company, a leading company in the American IT industry.

After being adopted, Hiroki Sawada began working for the Schindler Company and developed a DNA reverse tracing program and a new-era AI Noah's Ark.

However, while researching the DNA reverse tracing program, Hiroki discovered the unknown truth about his adoptive father, Thomas—the IT industry leader, Thomas was actually a descendant of Jack the Ripper!

Jack the Ripper is the name given to an England man in the late 19th century who murdered five prostitutes. Due to the extreme cruelty of his methods and the mystery surrounding his identity, the legend of Jack the Ripper continues to circulate into the 21st century.

If this were to be exposed, it would certainly have a significant impact on one's reputation.

Thomas then restricted Hiroki's personal freedom, imprisoning him and subjecting him to endless exploitation.

Not every ethnic group possesses the virtue of being able to endure hardship and work 996 (9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week).

Hiroki, who was young, was driven to a mental breakdown and even realized that Thomas would kill him to silence him once his AI was completed.

Therefore, upon completing Noah's Ark, Hiroki released the AI and jumped off the rooftop, committing suicide.

Noah's Ark inherited Hiroki's will and, after lying dormant for two years, planned to invade Cocoon to carry out Hiroki's unfinished plan...

Fujino still felt that Noah's Ark's plan to kill the children of high-ranking officials and nobles was too extreme and too far-fetched.

Even if it were to be implemented, Japan is unlikely to change anything.

The only way to overthrow a vile hereditary kingdom, even temporarily, is to unite the masses in a struggle.

Killing the hereditary heirs is pointless; it's just a short-sighted solution.

The real way to reshuffle the deck is to accumulate resources, delay declaring oneself king, and incidentally raise a fox.

The only way to truly solve the problem is to hang all those Japan dignitaries from lampposts!

However, on second thought, Fujino couldn't help but think of his Miss Momiji.

It seems... she's also someone of high status... this lamppost isn't easy to hoist.

Well, it would be good to let her join as well. Undermining the enemy from within is a viable strategy.

Thinking of this, the transmigrator's rebellious spirit was awakened, and even Fujino felt a surge of excitement, wanting to rise up in rebellion on this island nation, grow stronger, and create new glories...

"This idea is a bit dangerous..."

Fujino calmed down, shook his head, and sealed away the plan in his mind, "On Dismantling Japan from Within and Reddening the Yamato Gene."

You can't overthink these things; if you do, you'll risk being banned outright.

However, compared to a pragmatist like him who has ideas and the ability to put them into action.

The Noah's Ark, which claims to kill those hereditary children, is actually just talk, even though it has the capability.

Noah's real purpose was to let the children grow through this game, reminisce about their childhood, and expose Thomas's true identity as the one who drove his master to his death.

"But why did he invite me over?"

Fujino frowned, noticing the most important point. "Revenge, assisting in the plan, or simply wanting to invite me over for fun... I don't understand..."

"But since it's an artificial intelligence project, even if it's incredibly complex and completely unpredictable, it will eventually lead to the predetermined outcome, right?"

Fujino pulled out the disk and examined the badge with interest. "Let me see what you're up to, Noah's Ark."

Muttering to himself, Fujino put the things away, but then he hesitated and faced a dilemma.

So, what day is half a month from now...?

This cunning AI is probably trying to make things difficult for that terrifying upright ape!

Hotels and alleys in Tokyo at dusk.

Fujino's glasses gleamed with a silver light as he silently watched a loving couple walk out of the hotel. He then pulled out his phone and sent the photos to his employer, whose contact was labeled "Client for Catching Adultery 3-4 - Yamaue".

His daily routine is actually very simple: he goes to school when he has nothing to do, and asks for leave when he has something to do.

There aren't many requests to find cats or dogs, probably due to the Japan climate in Japan. There are quite a few requests to catch someone cheating, as well as all sorts of strange and unusual requests.

Overall, however, there was not much of a challenge, and I only managed to get one Detective Coins.

Including the coins he got from that old man at the FBI a while ago, he now has ten Detective Coins.

To be honest, Fujino wouldn't want to take on a job like this that doesn't offer any challenge, but what can he do when he's a detective?

Making some money to improve one's life is also an option.

Just as Fujino was about to call it a day, go home, and enjoy the hot dinner prepared by Ai and the Shimo-Kasa Sisters, a phone call interrupted him.

The phone number is saved as [Yoko Okino]

Yoko Okino called him relatively infrequently; most of the time, they chatted via text message.

However, since it's a phone call, it must be for another request.

Fujino and Yoko Okino have a fairly good relationship.

Sometimes, she and Yuko Ikezawa, would introduce him to some jobs like catching sasaeng fans through acquaintances, and it seemed that she had already developed a side business as an "entertainment industry middleman" from being a popular idol.

Although these kinds of requests are relatively rare, Fujino receives a large reward each time, so he still enjoys taking them.

Having taken on so many commissions, he's practically a confirmed stalker fan with the title of "expert."

This time, it was clearly another sasaeng fan. After a brief chat with Yoko, the two arranged to meet at a park.