“It is clear that Alan isn’t a simple participant.”
Ho Myung-hwan had the same thought as Hyun-woo. If Alan left that early then he had clearing been a part of the planning stage!
‘But why?’
Hyun-woo couldn’t understand Alan’s intentions. Hyun-woo was certain that Alan was one of the primary offenders in this incident. It was a state he couldn’t recover from. Yet……
‘Alan is a smart guy. He should know how serious this incident is. No, he must know which is why he escaped overseas to play the game. It means he would have no troubles playing the game. But what will happen after that?’
Hyun-woo couldn’t understand. This situation wasn’t a simple joke. Global Exos had already received tens of billions of won worth of losses. It was possible they could sue Alan and there would be a huge scandal. Alan had planned this a month ago so it was impossible for him not to predict the reactions. Yet he still escaped abroad to play the game. Therefore he could continue playing even if his identity was recovered.
‘Isn’t it a problem if his identity was noticed in the game? Wouldn’t it make the issue larger? What on earth? What is he thinking? Is he trying to strike against Global Exos?’
Hyun-woo thought Alan was involved because he wanted to get revenge on Hyun-woo. But he couldn’t think the situation was that simple anymore. Of course, he might’ve started with that intention. But did he really have to cause such a large incident to get revenge on Hyun-woo?
‘Even a bullet in the head is more likely.’
If his purpose was mere revenge than Alan would’ve approached Hyun-woo earlier. But Alan didn’t move. He only coincidentally encountered Hyun-woo when he was going to capture Shangri-La.
‘Alan has a purpose other than revenge. He is involved in a big problem that has something to do with New World. This incident might not be as simple as I thought. What’s the? What is Alan trying to do that is worth the cost?’
The more Hyun-woo contemplated it, the more complicated his thoughts became. In the end Hyun-woo shook his head and asked.
“What now?”
“Anyway, Alan escaping overseas means that he is one of the ringleaders of this incident. He is clearly trying to endanger and cause confusion in New World. We have no jurisdiction overseas but we will continue chasing Alan.”
“Then there is no way to stop Alan at the moment.”
Hyun-woo muttered in a disappointed voice.
“That’s right…..”
Ho Myung-hwan thought for a moment before speaking again.
“We are utilizing all possible methods to catch him.”
He didn’t show it but Ho Myung-hwan was also deeply concerned. The current situation was many more times complicated than Ho Myung-hwan had told Hyun-woo. Ho Myung-hwan used the term ‘visit’ but it was more like a ‘raid’ on Alan’s home by the Security Department. Global Exos thought that this event was because someone was trying to get their hands on the master code. And the master code had the destructive power to take down New World and Global Exos. The company was at stake so how could they knock and visit politely? But Alan had already escaped overseas. Therefore Global Exos was at a complete loss.
“It is certain that Alan is aiming for the master code. He probably thinks that if he gets the master code then he can negotiate his way out of this situation!”
It was natural to think like that. They had to stop Alan no matter what, even if they had to hire assassins. They concentrated all their power on finding Alan’s location but it wasn’t that easy. Therefore Global Exos became increasingly restless.
“If only we could connect to the main system……”
If it was a normal online game then it would be simple to determine where the users are connecting from. Of course it was illegal to check the personal information but the company was willing to break the law in such a situation. However, currently Global Exos couldn’t use such an easy method. The game designer Park Woo-seong had put locks all over the main system. The only way to crack it was with the master code! And the master code was guarded by high walls.
“Is there a way to find Alan’s location?”
The Security Department thought frantically.
“Do you know where Alan went?”
Someone in the Planning Department asked.
“I just know that he left for Hong Kong.”
“Hong Kong….. Is there a more accurate position?”
“Not at the moment……”
“Hmm, then it won’t be easy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Please wait a moment. Ah, here it is.”
Kim Gwon-tae typed on the keyboard for a while before pointing to the monitor.
“There have been 30,000 New World units sold in Hong Kong. When considering Alan’s personality and removing the game arcades, that is 20,000 units.”
“You want us to go around and check every house where we sold the 20,000 units?”
“No.”
Kim Gwon-tae smiled and shook his head.
“Currently we can’t access the main system because of Park Woo-seong’s locks. However, the middle circuit connecting to the system is unaffected.”
“Middle circuit?”
“Yes, think of it simply as a telephone and a telephone wire.”
Kim Gwon-tae indicated the telephone in the corner of the Planning Department and explained.
“Let’s pretend that New World’s main system is a telephone. That telephone is placed inside an iron case and we have no way to access it. But if we hack the phone wire then we can get the information.”
“T-that is possible?”
“It’s hard to explain the technical parts but it is possible. Of course, New World isn’t a telephone so it won’t be easy hacking the connected circuits. It would be impossible to find Alan if he was playing in Korea. But Hong Kong only has 20,000 personal units. Including the game rooms it is 30,000. If I search the connections related to Hong Kong then it might be possible to find Alan.”
Kim Gwon-tae looked at the monitor and smiled.
“When playing an online game like New World, all the information moves through the circuits connecting to the main system. It means that once I find the Alan’s connection, I can use the circuit to keep track of what Alan is doing and anyone he makes contact with in the game. In other words, we can grasp everything related to this incident.”
“Tell me what you need.”
Ha Myung-woo said. Kim Gwon-tae tapped the monitor and said.
“100 competent hackers and a 100 terabytes computer.”
“Begin immediately.”
From then on, the Planning Department started to attack Hong Kong’s connection server. Ho Myung-hwan had been so busy considering these preparations that he had contacted Hyun-woo late. But there were two reasons why Ho Myung-hwan couldn’t explain this to Hyun-woo. The first reason was that Hong Kong’s servers belonged to Global Exos but hacking was still illegal. The second reason was he would have to explain that they lost control of New World’s main system to explain the hacking.
“We are doing our best so Ark-nim should also continue watching carefully.”
“I understand. Please contact me if you make any progress.”
Hyun-woo sighed and hung up. Anyway, Global Exos was busy with their own preparations after hearing Hyun-woo’s information. But that didn’t solve Hyun-woo’s problem. Whether this problem was resolved or not didn’t matter to Hyun-woo. Hyun-woo had only told Global Exos about Alan because he wanted to stop Alan from playing the game for a few days. But wasn’t it all in vain?
‘What now……?’
Hyun-woo couldn’t take one step out of the underground base. And the remaining time left was only one day.
‘I can complete the and quests at any time but…..’
The only had one day left. If he didn’t succeed in one day then the Bristania expedition would reach Silrinad first. Haverstein would be replaced and Hyun-woo would lose the exclusive trade contract.
‘It is difficult to exit the canyon thanks to Alan. The group will be completely wiped out by Alan and the monsters. Damn! It is more like I’m trapped in the underground base than hiding there.’
Hyun-woo grabbed his head and sighed.
‘Wait? Trapped? I’m stuck there? Then…… That’s right, there is a way!’
He suddenly came up with an idea.
“There is no time left. I have no choice but to try it!”
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