#1010 - For free smuggling

The New American military power is absolutely insufficient to secure the rear while also having the spare capacity to interfere with Night City. If that were the case, they could have launched an attack as early as two years ago when Arasaka withdrew from Night City!

Although there is no detailed data, Riel fully understands Miles' current situation:

After warlords conquer a city, the resources used to maintain order and implement their will may be more than the resources consumed by the war!

In a war, you can choose whether or not to invest resources to capture strategic points, but once you occupy a place, it's different. If Miles decides to abandon those unmanageable cities, directly resorting to bloodshed or abandonment, then all the invested resources will become sunk costs, even interfering with the expected economic output, which is unacceptable!

However, man proposes, God disposes. Now the Euro has completely collapsed, and the global financial system has also fallen into a state of semi-paralysis with the European civil war—

Although the New United States also has the US dollar, like other places in the world, its economy relies on the Euro. With the Euro's collapse and the rocket she cooperated with EBM on being blown up, regardless of the purpose, she has to urgently mobilize troops to deal with this pile of dog shit that is Night City.

Moreover, in her opinion, although this policy is risky, it is not too extreme:

First of all, it's not just Europe that hopes the Euro will return to normal and stop falling quickly, it's everyone who conducts economic activities through European banks.

Secondly, Night City is just a city. Without Arasaka, a company that rivals them, taking Night City is easy.

Could Night City also summon meteorites or something to blow up their home?

In the Pentagon, Miles issued one order after another to Militech and the New American Department of Defense. This time she was really pissed off:

Originally, the European civil war was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but now she has to prioritize cleaning up the EU's mess!

But this time they've reached the end of the line.

"Hamburger King, you clown with the funny name, you touched something you shouldn't have."

Compared to the harsh words she's let slip privately in the past two years, Miles' words are the fiercest this time.

But they are also the least confident—although reason tells her she has the upper hand, emotionally she is somewhat... insecure:

Is this really a sure win?

Thinking of this, she immediately sat up.

[Presidential Emergency Meeting Notice: Members of the Joint Logistics Agency and the State Defense Department are to go online immediately.]

With the troops being transferred, she has to find someone to keep a close eye on those greedy state legislatures and state governments.

Riel pointed to the state of Texas on the 3D sand table and said: "This is a war. Advanced weapons and fierce offensives are the most important means, but they cannot be the only means.

We must use espionage and political means to instigate these former free states. I know that Texas is the most difficult state for the New United States to deal with. We'll start here.

Secondly, there are several resource states rich in mineral resources. Taking them down is equivalent to controlling the supply of mineral resources. At that time, neither the European Community, the New United States, nor the Mexicans will be able to hold us by the neck."

Hansen quickly digested this goal and immediately recognized Riel's ideas and thoughts:

Indeed, this is a war. The strength of the frontal battlefield is crucial, but a war cannot only have frontal combat.

Hansen immediately found his job and mission: "So, the city defense forces must independently take South California."

Let alone making them into physical robots, even putting so many highly intelligent AI sparring partners into virtual reality is almost impossible!

But he immediately thought of how Riel planned to achieve it: "Those things... are rogue AIs, right? Are you planning to deploy rogue AIs on the battlefield?!"

Songbird tensed up, not saying a word: In theory, this is impossible. Rogue AIs will be attacked by electronic warfare weapons using the Blackwall as a driver. In theory, the effect should be very poor!

But in the end, the Blackwall is just a means of attacking rogue AIs. Perhaps Riel has found a technology to cheaply and massively stuff rogue AIs into robot bodies and then shield electromagnetic signals for autonomous operation?

But if that's the case, it would be too terrifying.

Riel shook his head and denied: "That's not a rogue AI, it's a kind of... technology that I will reveal in the future."

Songbird breathed a sigh of relief, but Riel immediately said something that made her heart jump again: "But I do plan to deploy rogue AIs on the battlefield, it's a kind of... weapon made by drawing on the dangerous critical mass in her."

Riel pointed to Songbird and summoned a weapon design presentation on the holographic projection table—

This is an electronic warfare device modified from Muramasa.

[Name: Blackwall Bomb Electromagnetic Interference System]

[Description: Use AI encoding and communication wavebands to directly contact the opponent's network, inducing the Blackwall to launch a self-destructive network bomb against itself.]

[In an ideal situation, the attack is simply divided into three parts: one, signal implantation into the network; two, the Blackwall identifies and implements indiscriminate attacks; three, all connected network devices are scrapped.]

[In a non-ideal situation, the Blackwall may enter a defensive mode to eliminate interference, but it will still overload the enemy's network, even causing serious congestion.]

In essence, this is a disposable electronic bomb that combines quantum computer technology and a directional intrusion system. Essentially, it uses Riel's masking effect on AI and the powerful computing power of quantum computers to carry an AI, hack into the enemy's network, and then actively expose itself, using the Blackwall's underlying logic of implementing omnidirectional destruction regardless of friend or foe to strike all enemy network devices.

Once deployed on the battlefield, this is an electronic warfare system, and it is specifically targeted at networks loaded with the Blackwall—if the enemy has a proper hacker to implement physical hacking, even a quantum computer is not needed.

This thing is extremely lethal—

Networks that get hit by this thing will be paralyzed.

It can almost be assumed that once it takes effect in a city network, the network of the entire city or even the entire state will be paralyzed, and may even directly interfere with the stability of the entire public network... In fact, it is normal to directly destroy the entire public network after two or three times.

The crowd in the war room couldn't help but gasp:

This means that Riel and the rogue AI under his command have actually overcome the Blackwall.

Although it is a weapon developed by allies, a sense of sadness still arises: If rogue AIs have overcome the Blackwall, where will humanity go?

It must be said that Hansen is worthy of being a veteran, and he quickly recovered from this feeling: "So our goal is to show strength, take South California, and use espionage to unite other free states to launch a war?

I still have two questions. The first is why don't we directly attack Washington and blow that woman Miles to the sky?"

"The distance is too far. The accuracy and range of the first batch of missiles have not been verified. It's best to be safe."

"Okay... Second question, what espionage means do we use? Directly threaten the mayor? As far as I know, the first thing the New United States did after unification was to take away the power of all cities to have autonomous forces. Things like the National Guard have been called dregs and permanently abolished."

This question is not only what Hansen wants to know, but also what Songbird and Arasaka Yorinobu want to know more, because this task is likely to be completed by them.

V is just curious. She really wants to recreate the feat of threatening the mayor and the city council. This time the cards are much better than before. It feels like playing a second playthrough of a game.

Riel had already made arrangements for this, pointing to his head and saying: "I don't want to fall into the next quagmire of urban warfare like Militech. Use your brains: With the collapse of the financial system, who suffers the most?"

V knows this: "Rich people suffer the most!"

"Yes—in the short term, rich people suffer the most directly and the most: Money now has a hard time commanding the poor."

A holographic projection table showed one faceless person after another, densely packed, endless, a sea of people...

"Night City's industrial products production capacity will soon exceed the city's needs. Give those who can't stand up cyberware to let them stand up, give those who need weapons a gun so they can fight...

This is the 'espionage' task that this war needs to do—smuggling."

In chaotic areas, there are plenty of dissatisfied people. There is no need for those profiteers with their mouths full of demands to act as middlemen. With just a little spark, this fire can burn on its own.

Riel glanced at V, who was full of questions but holding back from speaking, and continued:

"We will also participate in this task."