Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

"I...I...what can I do for you?" Kenichiro Kamishiro finally lowered his head, like a humble servant, pleading for the mercy of the person before him.

"Ha, it's simple, all I need is you..."

Kenichiro Kamishiro's eyes flickered repeatedly, and after a long while, he nodded heavily.

Okay, he agreed!

Since he had already completely offended all those important figures, he wasn't afraid of offending them even further!

Dongjiang's request was simple: to cooperate with him in framing someone.

Those political and business figures who support them are enemies of VOX Technology and the Shinomiya Zaibatsu. Among them are indeed some people whose backgrounds are not too dirty, and who, if caught, would not cause any major trouble.

What Tsugumi needs to do is simple: fabricate evidence, then get Kenichiro Kamishiro to identify these people, steer the situation toward the conclusion that 'the government tacitly approves of his human experimentation'.

Anyway, as long as they stir up public opinion, they can bring these guys down. The Shinomiya Zaibatsu's control over the government will also reach a new peak!

And Tsurugi? Besides his allies' control over the government, he has already gained the attention he wanted!

Just yesterday, Tsugumi announced that VOX Technology had cracked the NERvGear, and the release of several recordings from gamers caused a huge sensation worldwide.

Undoubtedly, most people praise Dongjiang as a "socially responsible" and "life-saving entrepreneur." However, the favorable public opinion environment is also due to the large number of media outlets controlled by VOX Technology, coupled with the fact that many influential figures behind the scenes are happy to see the public's fear of virtual reality technology decrease.

After all, only when this technology advances can their cyber immortality take another step forward!

Tsugumi and his VOX Technology successfully stepped into the spotlight. The countless attention, praise, and trust truly elevated his power to a new level.

[Media Power: Lv3]

Born from the concept of media, this demonic noble grants you the power to manipulate and broadcast anything within your sphere of influence that can be called media. You are allowed to traverse within media within your coverage area. You have mastered the power of the 'Focus' domain, enabling you to designate a target and grant them unparalleled presence! Activating this power requires magic power; the more magic power you have, the wider the range you can control.

LV3's media power gives him an additional 'focus' area of ​​influence, which is undoubtedly a result of expanding his reach in the realm of trending topics.

As for the effect... well, he doesn't really have a chance to use it right now.

Kenichiro Kamishiro sauntered away, and soon another person walked into the office.

"You didn't really do these things, did you?"

Shinomiya Un'yō concealed his fear with a serious gaze, staring at Tsugumi and gritting his teeth.

He had previously predicted that ARGUS would go bankrupt prematurely and that he should sell his shares in the company. He didn't follow his advice then, and now he's suffered considerable losses.

But that's not the point—his purpose in coming here on behalf of the Shinomiya family was to find out whether the trapping of these 10,000 people was the work of that unscrupulous Tsugumi!

There was no way around it; all the evidence and the beneficiaries pointed to him as the mastermind. Moreover, given Shinomiya Un'yō's knowledge and understanding of him, this madman was truly capable of such a thing!

If that's the case, even if it means a complete falling out and heavy losses, the Shinomiya family must sever ties with such a madman.

Zaibatsu are indeed powerful, but they are not military warlords. Even the Shinomiya family couldn't afford to commit the crime of killing ten thousand people at once!

"It really hurts me to think of me this way."

Tsugumi sat back down, put down the lucky cat figurine, and smiled as she interlaced her fingers.

"Don't worry, this was entirely the mad scientist's own idea, and I... am the hero who saved everyone."

Shi Gong Yunying's eyes flickered repeatedly. Since he did not admit it, then the cooperation would continue as his father instructed.

"How much profit do you plan to make from this?"

He switched into business mode, sat down opposite Tsurugi, and asked...

"Those people trapped in the game can't offer you much benefit!"

"I never intended to rip off poor people!"

"So, whose money are you planning to rip off?"

"Whoever has the money can get their hands on it." Dongjiang twirled his pen, pointing to the Japanese flag among the many national flags on the table, and said jokingly.

"I want to make money peacefully, let's make glutinous rice balls together, and share the government's money. Your government is very rich, hahaha, I have a proposal..."

Having transmigrated, the only option is to kill, kill, kill! : 28. What's the name of the first floor's boss? Gundyr, I think!

In fact, Tsurugi has basically achieved all of her goals in this world.

His media empire has expanded to the limit of what the country can reach, and going further is no longer simply a matter of economics.

He was too lazy to bother with all that nonsense; as he said, he utterly detested this complicated way of playing the game.

So, having captured the public's attention and expanded the company to its temporary limit, he was ready to move on to the next game.

The fountain has been built, so even if you consume too much energy in the next game, you can come back here to replenish your reserves.

As for making money, it was purely a passing whim on his part.

He certainly doesn't intend to swindle money from those unlucky guys in the game. As he said, if he were to swindle money from the Japanese government or those in the financial industry, he would only do so after establishing a mechanism to connect virtual currency with reality!

His instruction to Kenichiro Kamishiro to stir up trouble also had this purpose: to discredit those who opposed him, so that he could force them to buy Cole by continuing to release Cole and stream game content.

They exchange real currency for Cole, using their money and credit to exchange for this virtual currency that is actually worthless.

Not buying? Sure, but we'll smear you all over! He has tainted witnesses, he can fabricate as much evidence as he wants, and he can even ruin these people playing by the rules!

These standard cyber indulgences could generate a huge cash flow for him, since he actually controlled the circulation of Aincrad's Cole.

He already had control of this game world, and he could even let those ten thousand people go at any time.

But he wouldn't do such a 'good deed,' after all, he's a demon. However, he did give these people more chances to be resurrected, only the price of that resurrection…

The gradual loss of memories and thoughts is not a loss after death, but simply a small plunder of their souls hidden under the resurrection contract.

He turned what should have been death into the loss of a part of the soul, and even gave them the chance to get their souls back. As a demon, he was already kind enough to go to heaven!

After explaining his plan to make money using these cyber indentures, Tsurugi took a sip of water, smacked his lips twice, and seemed to say something more.

That's all for now. I'm really not good at doing business.

Si Gong Yunying glanced at him silently. If someone like you isn't good at business, then am I a fool?

He'd never seen anyone so devilish. Compared to him, his previously ruthless older brother seemed like a complete idiot...

"Oh, by the way, barring any unforeseen circumstances, I'll be going on a trip soon."

Tsurugi looked at Shinomiya Un'yori and said with a half-smile.

"I'm not sure about the timeframe; it could be a month, a year, or even a week. While I'm away, the company will be managed by you—although most of the work will be handled by my AI, and a small portion of the authority will be delegated to my secretary, the management power will ultimately be in your hands~~~"

"How you operate is up to you, as long as I don't come back to find a broken company."

Shinomiya Un's heart suddenly pounded.

After his departure, Tsugumi landed on Aincrad once again, intending to test his powers before leaving, and—to release Kayaba Akihiko.

......

Eeya! Eeya! Eeya! Eeya!

The first layer is the grassland outside the starting town.

A blank-faced script robot is battling Kirito.

With the clash of swords, Kirito was once again defeated in his duel with the AI.

His health bar was reduced to below the threatening yellow level, while the unremarkable AI in front of him still had its health bar at around half.

He clearly had a slight advantage in level and attributes, so why was the result like this?

Haha, but that makes sense.

Kirito sighed helplessly and then got up from the ground.

How can humans defeat AI in a data-driven world?

The AI's capabilities—its configuration, reaction speed, memory, situational awareness, and learning ability—are all superior to those of humans. Except for imagination, almost all the abilities that humans are proud of and can improve through 'effort' are utterly useless in the face of AI.

This resulted in Kirito winning only the first game, where he managed a small victory due to the AI ​​not absorbing enough data, but losing all subsequent games.

If this is the outcome for PVP, then PVE is even more predictable. AI might have a chance to make mistakes when facing sudden human glitches, but against bots that also follow procedures, mechanical processing can only result in a crushing defeat!

Especially in the MMO field, what pioneering teams are pursuing is precisely the ability to execute situations with mechanical precision.

Having a large group of AI replace real players in navigating the game is indeed the optimal solution to all problems. Although, due to 'various reasons,' the current pioneering teams can only incorporate one-third of their AI teammates for assistance, it shouldn't be a problem.

Kirito lay on the grass, watching the sea of ​​clouds drift across the sky. Although he felt a sense of regret that his heroic talents were not being put to good use, he also felt more at ease.

—By the way, Suguha told me I absolutely have to record a video for her when I have time, but what should I record...?

Just as he was slowly feeling a strange drowsiness, a communication message suddenly came through.

It was an old acquaintance from his beta testing days, Argo, his intelligence broker. The content of the communication was quite simple—

The raiding party, led by Diabel, which went to conquer the first floor of the maze, was completely wiped out!

The 44-person raiding team set off from Torbana yesterday for the first level of the maze. Before setting off, each of them had almost reached the highest level within the first level where experience penalties would be triggered.

Among these, fourteen AI script robots, which make up one-third of the total, are even two levels higher than them.

During the closed beta, this level would have been an absolute breeze to overcome the first level of difficulty. What's more, there were fourteen script-based bots assisting, practically taking on the crucial roles of tank and support for the team.

It's safe to say that as long as the remaining DPS aren't all Tangren (a derogatory term for DPS players), and given that the tanks and support characters can handle almost all the team mechanics, clearing the first floor should be a piece of cake and an easy task.

However, this expedition ended in total annihilation.

All forty-four people, including the AI ​​script robot, were wiped out.

Upon receiving the news, Kirito rushed to Torbana, to the same Fountain Square where the meeting had been held before, which was now extremely noisy.

The defeated players gathered together, and those who had received news of their defeats also rushed over, asking questions all at once, creating quite a commotion.

The AI ​​script robot was the only one that remained quiet, standing in a row as always after returning to town, like an automated vending machine waiting for customers.

"It's all the AI's fault! These incompetent robots have ruined us!"

Amidst the cacophony of questions, accusations, and cries, a piercing voice shattered the tranquility.

The spiky-haired guy, it's still the same Tooth King. He disappeared for a while after being attacked by Tsurugi last time, but now he's popped up again. It turns out he's also infiltrated the strategy team.

After all, he was considered to have relatively good equipment among the players. Although his actual economic strength was not very good, he somehow ended up hanging out with Diabel.

At this moment, this guy seemed to have finally found someone's sore spot and flaw, and he excitedly waved his fist and shouted loudly.

It's all AI's fault! It's all these scripted bots' fault!

If these scripts weren't faulty, how could we have failed? VOX Technology must apologize for the incompetence of their products!