Ch.200No problem.

# Chapter 200: No Problem.

After the report ended and the reconnaissance team leader bowed and exited.

[Pause]

I activated the pause function again and began reading the new event message that had just appeared.

[Event: They Loved Prosnack. (1)]

[For over a year, the reconnaissance team traversed Prosnack’s mainland, acquiring and organizing all kinds of information.]

[From trivial matters to crucial intelligence, they diligently collected and organized everything without discrimination. After completing their lengthy espionage activities, they finally returned to their beloved homeland, however…]

[Contrary to what the Holy Sebelli Empire’s Defense Ministry General Staff had predicted, the internal atmosphere of the Prosnack Federation was nothing short of absolute tranquility.]

[The enormous casualties suffered during the Kerzin Federation campaign.]

[And the ongoing guerrilla warfare through resistance networks in the interplanetary underground even after occupying the Federation.]

[These were situations that would have caused government regimes in other countries to collapse, and yet…]

[According to the reconnaissance team’s findings, which included purge unit members, the media and public opinion within the Prosnack Federation made no evaluation whatsoever regarding these matters.]

I paused after reading this far and fell into thought.

‘…What does this even mean?’

If information can be obtained, doesn’t that mean the matter is publicly available?

Yet there’s no reaction from the civilian population?

In our Empire, with its rigid class system where lower ranks must obey whatever the upper ranks command.

Even those red-flavored communist Fook-Soviet Federation bastards would cause all sorts of uproar in public opinion if they wasted their military power like that.

Of course, when people show such resistance, whether in our Empire or Fook-Soviet, the secret police uncles come saying “this guy” and take them away.

So such incidents rarely come to light externally…

But even so, that’s merely a matter of not being revealed ‘externally.’

Unlike the Prosnack Federation’s case where it seemingly doesn’t ‘exist’ at all.

‘Very, very interesting situation indeed.’

After organizing my thoughts on this fascinating situation, I continued reading the event message.

[…As this incomprehensible situation persisted, the reconnaissance team traveled throughout the Prosnack Federation for additional information gathering.]

[And after a long time, having compiled their investigation reports and made their assessment.]

[The conclusion drawn by the reconnaissance team is that the ‘citizens’ within the Prosnack Federation are essentially biological drones integrated with the regime.]

[Event chain in progress…]

‘What? It ends here?’

My mind was filled with regret that I should have just read to the end! But anyway.

After reading the event message, I dismissed the long message and then.

[Pause Released]

I released the pause and leaned back into my beloved sofa with a sigh.

“Hmmmm…”

“It’s quite a complicated situation, Minister.”

“Indeed it is.”

Of course, the Prosnack Federation couldn’t possibly be a hive-mind nation full of biological drones as the reconnaissance team claimed.

Just less than 10 years ago.

During the “Eastern Expansion” when Prosnack began to significantly widen the gap with other galactic nations except the Pioneer Empires.

Even in the various communications we intercepted then, there were plenty of private conversations mixed in with the basic command transmissions.

Moreover, there was living evidence directly contradicting the reconnaissance team’s opinion right before our eyes.

-“Today I’ll show Giyeol Assei the essence of marine-running!”

-“Bastard… start!”

-“Argghhhhh…”

In the vast diplomatic enforcement planet grounds.

Right in the middle, the Prosnack Marines were using the captured psionic attackers like cattle, putting yokes on them—this was the living proof.

“…What on earth are those guys doing over there?”

“According to them, they’re ‘using Giyeol psionic abilities to farm marines on the grounds.'”

“What?”

“They said since they’ve already spread plenty of marine fertilizer on the land, anything they plant will grow well, and they negotiated with our land management officer.”

Whatever they were doing, one thing was certain.

The Prosnack species was definitely not something like biological drones.

Rather, in that case, instead of suspecting ‘biological drones’…

“So the Berry Chip is the issue after all.”

“I suppose so.”

The ‘Berry Chip’ contained in the Prosnack vaccine that I had so frantically destroyed last time.

That appeared to be the secret behind the ‘abnormally’ stable state within the Prosnack Federation that the reconnaissance team reported.

And if we could exploit that secret well, there was a possibility of winning the game without having to sacrifice the entire ISTO we’d worked hard to build to Prosnack.

I came up with a plan to use those effective brainwashing chips in reverse to cause disruption within Prosnack, and.

-Beep beep beep, click!

“It’s me, put me through to Minister Vermut.”

I decided to immediately put this plan into action by pushing the engineers hard.

———————————–

But shortly after.

I received a research report from Minister Vermut, who had become a permanent fixture at the Ministry of Technology and Science.

[Research results on the chip show performance superior to any existing spyware equipment.]

[Those being brainwashed cannot recognize they are being brainwashed, and even after the brainwashing is lifted, recognition remains impossible.]

[Even if harm comes to them during brainwashing, once it’s lifted, they perceive it as something they did to themselves.]

[While replication is possible with the Holy Sebelli Empire’s current technology, the problem is that control would still be managed by a separate system.]

[Attempted to seize the administrator system with Alina’s help but failed.]

Despite receiving help from Alina, an ancient AI from tens of thousands of years ago.

To summarize Minister Vermut’s report… it meant there was no point in us making it ourselves.

Moreover, additional research results were also attached…

[Attempted to find a way to neutralize the administrator’s authority over the chip.]

[The problem is that the administrator’s ability to exercise authority over the chip cannot be blocked even with full-scale transmission blocking facilities.]

[Using a specific frequency showed disruption of the chip’s internal system, blocking administrator access.]

[However, the administrator’s system control wave cannot be blocked by any existing technology.]

‘Tsk, this means we’re done for.’

I felt disappointed after confirming these research results, but…

[Pause]

[Pause Released]

After calming my mind through my only cheat key, the pause function.

“Riel, contact Ambassador Samiya and tell her I’d like to talk again soon.”

“Yes, sir.”

I felt the need to discuss this matter with Ambassador Samiya again.

However, since there was no need to meet in person this time.

-Beeeep… beep!

-Personal communication channel, special security code confirmed.

-“…Are you speaking via communication this time, Minister Arto?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

As Ambassador Samiya said, we decided to talk through a specially created secure personal communication channel.

Of course, there was always a risk of such communication channels being wiretapped.

But since we were the ones doing the wiretapping, there was no particular need to worry about that.

Anyway, after exchanging various small talk with the ambassador.

I got to the point and brought up the current situation in the Prosnack Federation to Ambassador Samiya.

Hearing this, Ambassador Samiya showed intense irritation and disbelief that was palpable even through the screen.

-“Is that true? That there’s no public reaction despite the information being openly available?”

“It’s certain. We even conducted tests on the reconnaissance team to check for the possibility of chip insertion as a precaution… but there was no such trace.”

The moment she heard my words.

Ambassador Samiya let out a deep sigh, completely breaking her usual poker face and showing a confused reaction.

Then, after a moment.

-“…As I suspected, my father, Supreme Commander Fern’dus, has definitely been replaced by someone else.”

Despite nodding at her determined statement, I felt puzzled inside.

‘So what exactly does she plan to do?’

The Prosnack Federation’s internal control was maintained by the control chips.

For her to reclaim her father, she would essentially have to challenge the power structure of the ruling class, but how would she resolve that?

Even while thinking this, I already knew Ambassador Samiya was a formidable woman with outstanding intelligence who had boldly backstabbed her home country.

So I decided to listen with anticipation to see what method she would propose.

Shortly after.

“…Are you serious about this?”

-“Of course I am, Minister Arto.”

I couldn’t hide my surprise at Ambassador Samiya’s unexpectedly “radical” approach.