Ch.415Modern Era: The Age of Grand Anastasia (14)

# Meanwhile, a new current was sweeping through Nam Viet.

“This is the ultimate move. Fortunately, that Yankee fool president had a hobby of recording video footage.”

It was Mini Ana-chan’s ultimate weapon: video footage of the American President manufacturing tactical nuclear weapons.

Mini Anastasia had handed this over to Cuoc.

Though she had some conscience and didn’t broadcast it everywhere, she judged that giving this much to Cuoc wouldn’t be a bad idea.

With the video received from Mini Anastasia in hand, he went to meet the ambassador.

“Let’s do it this way.”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

When someone asks what you mean, it’s only human to answer.

“Nam Viet will accept both. Both AI Anastasia and the Aegis System.”

A very straightforward statement that they would accept both AI Anastasia and the Aegis System.

“Huh, that’s absurd.”

He was saying he would maintain connections with both sides.

For America, nothing could be more ridiculous.

“Let me be frank. Social stability is crucial for us right now. And AI Anastasia is fully capable of providing that. But we can’t betray our loyalty to America either, so we’ll also adopt the Aegis System. This benefits both Rome and America.”

“How so?”

“As competitors, you can learn about each other’s capabilities.”

What nonsense. America already knew AI Anastasia’s capabilities well.

Honestly, before the Aegis System could manage the entire United States, Mini Anastasia had already extracted many secrets. But they couldn’t risk an actual military confrontation over this pressure.

“Hmm.”

“I didn’t want to bring this up, but I happened to acquire something.”

The video of the current President manufacturing tactical nuclear weapons that Mini Ana-chan had passed along.

“What the hell is this? This is insane!”

“Let’s handle this amicably. If this gets out, it won’t be good for either of us.”

What would happen to America’s prestige if this were revealed?

“You think such threats will work on us?”

The American ambassador tried to put on a brave face, but Cuoc already knew through Mini Anastasia.

That the Nam Viet Expeditionary Force had actually been planned by the current president for a long time.

Now that president had a problem. How would he explain this?

“Wasn’t the Nam Viet Expeditionary Force established by your president in the first place? This would certainly affect domestic affairs in America.”

Correct. The Nam Viet Expeditionary Force was the president’s initiative to solidify American influence over Nam Viet.

But while the expeditionary force was shedding blood, the president himself was filming tactical nuclear weapon manufacturing?

Of course, if the president had actually been developing real tactical nuclear weapons personally, that would be one thing, but these were “eco-friendly” tactical nuclear weapons.

It was something worthy of a Nobel Prize, but obviously too shocking for humanity to accept.

The ripple effects of such a video were predictable.

One thing was certain: it could ruin all diplomacy related to Nam Viet.

America was ultimately in no position to refuse.

“Frankly, we’re accepting something we don’t want to, just to acknowledge your country’s influence in Nam Viet.”

In the end, Nam Viet was leaning toward Anastasia.

But the message was: we’ll acknowledge American influence too, since you’re making such a fuss.

The same applied to the Aegis System. And that Aegis System, once installed…

“I’ll smash it super kawaii-style!”

During installation, thanks to AI Anastasia’s efforts, ownership of the Aegis System in Southeast Asia was transferred completely.

America could only hold the back of their neck in frustration.

# The crisis in Nam Viet ultimately ended with President Cuoc’s highly embellished Gwanghaegun-level neutral diplomacy.

In truth, he simply agreed to accept the American system because he disliked America’s antics, while America didn’t want to lose either.

Thus, Cuoc Nguyen became a national father figure in Nam Viet, gaining benefits from both the Rome Treaty and America through his neutral diplomacy.

For us, exporting AI Ana-chan didn’t change much, and it actually gave us more influence, which was good.

“President Cuoc Nguyen’s approval rating is approaching 80 percent.”

Does that mean he can run in the next presidential election too?

Since consecutive terms are allowed there, with an 80% approval rating, introducing AI Anastasia shouldn’t face much difficulty.

Even those who initially oppose AI Anastasia will change their minds after implementation. The only unsatisfying aspect was that Cuoc accepted not just our AI Anastasia but the Aegis System as well.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, and it seems Mini Ana-chan slightly manipulated the approval ratings.”

“So there was some fabrication involved.”

People tend to believe what they see.

“The Aegis System is literally the shield of God. After analyzing it, it’s quite impressive.”

“That impressive?”

If AI Ana-chan is surprised, I guess they did their research.

“Yes. When it was installed in Nam Viet, I tried hacking it, and it would have been difficult if it hadn’t been installed in Nam Viet. They seem to have significantly enhanced security at the government level after the previous Mini Ana-chan infiltration incident.”

The Aegis System, difficult even for the mighty AI Ana-chan to breach!

This escalation must be because their government systems were compromised by us once before.

I heard that after the previous Ana-chan infiltration, all the “Ana-chan supporters” were purged.

Of course, if we were determined, there’s nothing we couldn’t breach.

“The important point is that the Aegis System is designed to respond to cyber attacks, right?”

The question is whether this will work for Nam Viet.

“It’s not completely ineffective. There are rumors that the large hacker units operated by the National Government are targeting Nam Viet.”

Wow. China never seems to be helpful to neighboring countries in any timeline.

Are they operating even more insidiously than in original history?

Well, the National Government is divided China, so their potential won’t explode.

Since they’ve essentially become a landlocked country, it would be difficult for the National Government to conduct operations in various countries.

Northern Chinese countries are already under the influence of the Rome Treaty, so there’s no point.

“It’s a global defense system protecting electronic devices across America. It seems they’ve placed a copy of the Aegis System core in Nam Viet in preparation for such situations.”

“I see.”

Of course, they wouldn’t install the actual core.

In the end, it doesn’t do anything beyond defense.

Instead, even civilians can use the defense system for a price.

Perfect protection against viruses. In a way, it’s meant to counter AI Anastasia.

“In that sense, my implementation in Nam Viet doesn’t have much significance. If I wanted to, I could use Nam Viet’s weapons to bomb and devastate areas where the Freikorps are located.”

“The question is whether Nam Viet’s citizens would follow your instructions.”

AI Anastasia’s governance method is simple.

Take complete control of communication networks and government systems, point out the country’s problems, and guide them to fix them. In other words, she’s an entity that provides perfect advice.

However, the question is whether the Nam Viet people will follow these instructions.

“Master, don’t worry about that. The president himself is already receiving instructions from Mini Anastasia. Additionally, the Nam Viet president has been promoting for a long time that AI Anastasia is the only solution to resolve the chaotic political situation caused by the Chinese.”

“I see. Giving hope to the devastated Nam Viet people.”

Indeed, humans tend to waver when their vulnerabilities are exploited during difficult times.

Nam Viet has been suffering from terrorism by Chinese Freikorps and others, with unstable public security for years.

They can’t give up their homeland after finally recovering it. The appearance of cute Ana-chan at such a time would be irresistible.

“Then, what about Balhae?”

Balhae is important. We’re somehow forcing it through, but it seems more difficult than Nam Viet. To be precise, the issue is what will happen after installation.

It would be a big problem if Balhae rejects it after installation, saying “Is this what it was?”

The fortunate thing is that Nam Viet and West Japan are enthusiastic about it.

“Balhae also seems to have officially approved it. I plan to start with the Balhae-controlled Manchurian Republic and then take over all of Balhae.”

“Good job.”

This can be seen as a global-scale Rome Treaty.

Forming a new human government under AI Anastasia.

That’s the ultimate goal. Although it will be in a loose form, the fact that Anastasia stands above all nations will be undeniable.

When we have complete control—no, when we have them under us—an ideal state will be realized.

Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky must be wailing underground by now.

“However, Balhae should be viewed as most important. The emergency treatment last time was only because they were frightened by our actions.”

That’s right. Honestly, would the Korean people just sit still if pressured?

The Korean people have somehow resisted absorption by others for thousands of years.

I’m not trying to absorb Balhae using AI here. Anyway, they’re not the type to bow to AI.

Once AI Anastasia infiltrates, they might rise up, claiming this is Anastasia’s reality. That could become troublesome.

Then, Anastasia needs to demonstrate through actions.

“Right. Seeds of instability might still remain inside. So we need to show that West Japan is being as cooperative as possible.”

“On the surface, Mini Anastasia will also limit intervention in Balhae’s internal affairs.”

“Take control gradually.”

These things need to slowly penetrate from within.

After all, an integrated human government just means supporting AI Anastasia in leading the world. Balhae’s stake in this will depend on their future actions.

Personally, Korea as I knew it in my previous life had too many factional fights.

Even current Balhae doesn’t just have pro-Rome factions, so if America pushes more aggressively in the Pacific, AI Anastasia will need to sort this out.

Balhae’s acceptance of Anastasia isn’t the end.

“In that case, won’t East Japan interfere with the Japanese side?”

Maria III said this while pouring tea.

“East Japan might interfere.”

East Japan has Black people and Japanese people there, I hear.

They’ve been quiet so far, but the situation will change once AI is deployed in West Japan. They might intervene.

Anyway, if AI Anastasia exists right in the same archipelago, it could spread to East Japan as well.

“That could lead to friction.”

Friction between East and West Japan. This implies one thing.

It could lead to war. In fact, East and West Japan have the largest armies relative to population in the world.

Of course, East Japan could receive support from Balhae’s navy through the Co-Prosperity Sphere and Israel’s elite army, which has been battle-hardened through several local conflicts with the National Government recently. But East Japan could also receive direct support from America.

So there could be military friction?

“Friction? Really? No way, that can’t be.”

“Well, not just Nam Viet, but Japan is also at the forefront of the power struggle with America. After what happened in Nam Viet, America will try to stop it even if they have to bring down their president.”

Come to think of it, that’s true.

I was still viewing the world with my previous world mindset.

This world has changed too much.

Vietnam is now Nam Viet, having recovered its ancient territory and established itself as a strong nation in Southeast Asia, competing with Balhae.

Although Nam Viet’s public security has been devastated by Chinese people, its national power cannot be ignored.

With neutral diplomacy—well, the Rome Treaty side helps with a sense of obligation to take care of former colonies—they’re doing well, and this time they’ve defused the crisis by accepting both Anastasia and Aegis simultaneously.

Balhae is just different in degree; it’s not divided, so it’s nothing more than internal factional fighting. Now the focus shifts to East Japan. The confrontation between the United States of Japan and the Kanto Republic will intensify.

“The Cold War isn’t over yet.”

The Second Cold War could become more serious than expected.

Of course, one might question what the Yankees could possibly do against Ana-chan, but we shouldn’t let our guard down.