Chapter 377: Discussion With “Dog” (2)

Chapter 377 – Discussion With “Dog” (2)

“Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”

Snatching away the phone in the husky’s paws, Chen Yu carefully inspected the list displayed on the screen. “Impossible! There are huge differences between the intelligence agencies of first-, second-, and third-rate countries. Even if some governments managed to uncover my identity, there’s no way all of them managed to do so.”

“In the political world, there is an action known as information trading.” Flicking the soot off of its cigarette, the husky said with its lips raised, “The value of a piece of information depends on its rarity. When more people learn about a particular piece of information, the less valuable this information becomes. Hence, as the number of countries that have discovered your identity increases, to avoid gaining absolutely nothing from the information they went through great efforts to uncover, some countries would eagerly sell their information to ignorant countries for benefits. Meanwhile, the sooner they sell this information, the higher the price they can sell it for.”

“I don’t quite understand.” Chen Yu frowned.

“I’ll explain it using elementary school vocabulary, then. First of all, let me ask you a question. Who do you think is the first country that discovered your identity?”

“China.”

“What about the second country?”

“Um…America, I guess.”

“What about the third?”

“Maybe Japan? It might also be Russia or Korea. What are you trying to say?”

“Let’s assume it is Japan.” Inhaling deeply and exhaling a puff of smoke, the husky continued, “The fourth is Russia, and the fifth is Korea. When only one or two parties know about an important piece of information, in order to protect their own interests, these two parties will not share this information with anyone else. However, as more parties find out about this information, those in the know will change their mentality. Everyone will grow afraid that someone in their circle will sell the information to others. At this point, what do you think will happen?”

With a thoughtful look on his face, Chen Yu said, “I think I get what you mean. They will sell the information before their rivals do.”

“That’s right.” Nodding, the husky said, “Everyone knows information is valuable. They also understand that more and more forces will find out about this future as more time passes. Hence, to maximize their benefits, every party in the know will take advantage of the moment where the information was at its most valuable as a bargaining chip to exchange for benefits. Meanwhile, the slower one makes a move, the smaller the benefits they would gain. This is the reason why the information on your identity has managed to spread rapidly all over the world in such a short period.”

“Dammit! Those bastards!”

“This is human nature.” Flicking the cigarette butt away, the husky raised one of its eyebrows and said, “No matter how complicated a situation is or how many parties are involved in the situation, it will eventually reach the Pareto optimality. Facts once again prove that there is nothing that mathematical models can’t explain.”

“This is troublesome.” Standing up, Chen Yu paced around the bathroom in irritation. “With so many governments knowing about my identity, how long will I need to single out the force that’s trying to kill me?”

“Why is your view so limited?” Removing the Invisibility Cloak off of its back, the husky stood on its hind legs, a wise and deep gaze in its eyes. “Have you never thought of the possibility that someone other than the various governments is targeting you?”

“…Your little brother is showing.”

Hearing this, the husky hurriedly dropped its front paws to the ground and devolved back into a four-legged beast. “I’m talking about something serious here!”

“Sorry, but it was too eye-catching. You should start wearing clothes,” Chen Yu suggested.

“What an annoying fellow.” Covering its lower half with the Invisibility Cloak again, the husky continued, “Where was I?”

“You were saying that the attacker might be someone else.”

“Yes, the attacker. There is a high probability it is someone else.”

“Could it be…” A solemn look appeared on Chen Yu’s face.

“That’s right.” The husky nodded solemnly.

“…One of those 21 countries that don’t know my identity?”

The husky: “…’

“Hey, this doesn’t make sense. How did they pull it off?”

“…Boss Chen, you are currently stuck because you lack Wisdom points. Think of a way to level up.”

“You’re a dog. Are you sure you should have such a sharp mouth?”

“Is there anything else? If not, stop interrupting my studies.” After saying so, the husky opened

The Ottoman Empire

again.

“Stop reading.” Snatching the book away, Chen Yu said sternly, “You’re saying that my attacker isn’t one of the countries that know of my identity. Do you have any evidence?”

“No evidence, only reasoning.”

“Let me hear it.”

“You, are a Chinese citizen. Your family and friends are living in China as well. You have also intentionally and unintentionally brought many benefits to China. Regardless of the differences in your and the Chinese government’s thoughts and ideology, you are, in fact, the most favorable extension of China’s political system, economic system, scientific and technological system, military system, and other national social forces. So, in terms of structure, you and China are one.”

Nodding, Chen Yu stretched out his hand and said, “Continue.”

“In this situation, China is unquestionably your home ground. Whether it is for personal reasons or purely for the sake of interests, China will protect you. The protection granted to you is no less than the protection granted to the residences of China’s core leadership members. In that case, let me ask you this: How easily do you think it is for foreign intelligence agencies to obtain detailed information on China’s core authority?”

“…Very difficult.”

“In that case, doesn’t that mean obtaining detailed information about you, especially information about your travel routes, future plans, present location, etc., to launch an almost impeccable assassination even more difficult?”

“Yes, it is very difficult.”

“Isn’t the result of this reasoning obvious, then?” Spreading its paws, the husky said, “You are a branch of China’s power. There is no way the government will lop off its own arm and decide to kill you. It is even less likely China will allow other countries to assassinate you. That is not a normal person’s choice. It doesn’t make sense. Therefore, I said that the attacker might be someone else.”

“However, aside from these countries, are there any other forces with this kind of capability?”

“I have said so much, yet you still haven’t figured it out? Why is your field of view so narrow?”

“…Are you saying it’s someone from outside of Earth?!” Chen Yu exclaimed in disbelief.

Lighting another Chunghwa, the husky smiled and took a puff and said, “To be precise, someone other than humans.”

“How is this possible…”

“I have seen the footage of you being attacked from Little Peach. Looking at that specialized robot, the technological standard it shows doesn’t resemble modern human civilization’s technology. However, it isn’t much more superior, either. There is roughly a 20- to 30-year gap in development. Moreover, take a look at this footage…”

After saying so, the husky took back its phone and played a video.

Shown inside the screen recording of the conversation between Chen Yu and the gun robot.

[We are not a lone individual. Neither are we a lone organization or country. We represent the world’s governments. This is a warning. No government in the world welcomes your existence.]

After the video finished playing, the husky turned off the phone and lightly spat out some smoke. “After taking into account what I told you before, doesn’t this sentence sound more like a cover-up now? The attacker deliberately made you set your sights on the various countries. Yet, if the attacker really is one of those countries, wouldn’t stating their stance in such a manner equivalent to exposing themself?”

“It makes sense… It really makes sense.” Sitting on the toilet with his head lowered, Chen Yu’s brain worked overtime. “So, are you saying that the attacker is an alien?”

“Yes. In the episode where you reviewed the spacecraft, you seemed to have encountered something unclean in the three-body system. There is a high likelihood of you bringing back extraterrestrial life,” the husky said, flicking the soot off of its cigarette. “You are currently humanity’s greatest combat power. It is well within reason for the alien civilization to have desires in killing you. And even if the assassination fails, it can cause you and the various governments to tear away at each other. Boss Chen, while it might be unbelievable, you should be prepared for interstellar war.”

“No, that’s not right!” Chen Yu shook his head vehemently as he vaguely recalled something. “A few months ago, Hermione reported to me that she spotted drones used for reconnaissance hovering over the castle. The technological content of those drones also seems to be superior to that of humans by roughly 20 to 30 years…”

Taken aback by this revelation, the husky said, “Have you left the solar system around that time?”

“No. The Type-R Spacecraft came on the tenth official livestream.”

“…The timeline doesn’t match…” Hearing Chen Yu’s words, the husky smoked the remainder of its cigarette in one big puff. As it pondered over the situation in detail, its fur also began standing on end in fear one after another. “If it’s not an alien…

“Quick! Take me to the floating castle!”