Asahi Shimbun: A member of the Clown Organization has reportedly surrendered to island authorities. According to inside sources, the individual denied any involvement in the CIA cyberattack and claimed that the official Clown Organization Twitter account had been stolen.
The New York Times: A Clown member pursued by the CIA has surrendered to police in an island country. He insists the organization was not involved in the CIA breach and that their Twitter account was compromised. The U.S. State Department and CIA are urging the island nation to extradite the suspect for trial in the United States.
Bloomberg: Sources say the Clown member has handed over the source code of the "Clown Virus" to local authorities and continues to deny any link between the Clown Organization and the CIA hack, insisting their account had been hijacked.
Global Network News: The Clown Organization has officially denied involvement in the CIA cyberattack, claiming their account was hacked. They say they have no intention of engaging in further malicious actions.
Squirrel Headlines: "The whole world is stunned! The Clown Organization turned out to be..."
BBC: "Huaxia Hackers Stole Clown Organization's Account?!"
The chaos stirred by the Clown Organization showed no signs of slowing down. Hot on the heels of their cryptic "Game Over" announcement, new revelations exploded across the global media.
One of their members had surrendered—and publicly denied involvement in the CIA breach.
The reversal was so sudden that it left the world reeling.
Who had really stolen the Clown Organization's account?
Why use their name to hack the CIA?
Was this all a staged performance?
Or the prelude to something even more sinister?
Speculation ran rampant. The truth grew murkier by the minute, and public curiosity only deepened.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the world, things were heating up for a completely different reason.
At the University of Tokyo's Institute for Artificial Intelligence Development, jubilant cheers echoed through the lab as Murakami Mizunoto and his team pored over their test results.
"There's definitely intelligent code embedded in it. Hahaha!"
They had long suspected this.
Ever since the Clown Virus had stunned the world, Murakami's team had been fascinated by the Chinese character programming language. They had noted early on that Marching Ant Company's AI systems—built using this language—outperformed global competitors by a wide margin.
They theorized that the language itself might hold the key to a new frontier in AI research.
When the Clown Virus first appeared, they speculated that its terrifying capabilities might stem from an embedded intelligent module—an experimental AI fragment.
They had coveted the virus's source code ever since.
Now, with a Clown member in custody and the code submitted to authorities, they finally had what they wanted.
Upon their first analysis, their suspicions were confirmed: the Clown Virus indeed contained intelligent programming.
And in the hands of the Clown Organization, it had been nothing short of wasted potential.
To Murakami and his team, however, the embedded code represented a monumental opportunity—a possible breakthrough in artificial intelligence.
They had no access to Marching Ant Company's AI algorithms. Chen Mo's company alone possessed the expertise to fully exploit Chinese character programming in AI development. Murakami's team, despite their efforts, could only glean scraps through reverse engineering and exploration.
But now, with this intelligent program in hand, they saw a new path.
"If we can successfully integrate this intelligent code with our existing AI framework," Murakami muttered, eyes gleaming, "we might just create a true hybrid—an artificial intelligence mixed-blood."
The lab buzzed with anticipation as the team set to work on the experiment.
Back in Huaxia, at the headquarters of Marching Ant Company, Chen Mo sat across from Wei Zhe, expression serious.
"You want to resign? Why?"
Wei Zhe nodded solemnly.
"Yes. I was one of the founders of the original Clown group. I bear some responsibility for what it became. Now that it's all blown up, if my identity is exposed, it could bring trouble to the company. I don't want to be a liability."
Chen Mo looked at him quietly, understanding his concern.
Wei Zhe had long since left that world behind. After the Chinese character programming language debuted, he had helped form the original Clown group. But he had quit, out of guilt, long before things escalated.
Recognizing his rare talents, Chen Mo had personally traveled to Huaibei City to recruit him after the Clown Virus incident. Since then, Wei Zhe had become an essential part of Marching Ant Company—director of the Chinese Programming Language Division, core member of the Holographic Software Team, and key contributor to AI research.
Now, his past had come knocking.
"I see," Chen Mo said, leaning back. "But if that's all, then don't resign."
Wei Zhe blinked in surprise.
"You're not involved with the Clown Organization anymore. You're not its founder—you're an engineer at Marching Ant. Only myself and the president know your past. As long as you keep quiet, no one else ever will."
"But what if...?"
"There's no 'what if.'" Chen Mo interrupted. "I hired you knowing your history. I can erase your connection to the Clown Organization if needed. Even if you confessed, no one has proof. Guilt doesn't make you a criminal."
Wei Zhe hesitated.
"Is it the salary? Or do you want to go out and start something of your own?" Chen Mo asked half-jokingly.
"No, boss!" Wei Zhe quickly waved it off. "You've been more than fair. I never imagined I'd earn this much or have such a platform. I never wanted to leave."
"Then don't." Chen Mo pushed the resignation letter back across the table. "This has nothing to do with you. Focus on your work."
Wei Zhe chuckled softly, the tension easing. "If I run now, I'd be a coward."
He picked up the letter, tore it in half, and tossed it into the trash can.
"That's more like it." Chen Mo smiled. "I chose you for a reason. I knew your background and still brought you in. That means I trust you."
Chen Mo stood and stretched. "There's an AI conference in the capital soon. Lin Shu will lead the team. You're going too."
"You're not coming?"
"I'll be there. But the main event is the launch of our 'AI+' program. You, Lin Shu, and Li Xue are the leads—you know the project better than I do. Let me just show up and give a grand speech. I'm off work now. Time to go home to my wife."
Wei Zhe laughed and left the office in good spirits.
Chen Mo, meanwhile, pulled a small ring box from his drawer, tucked it into his pocket, and followed.
The chaos surrounding the Clown Organization continued to dominate headlines. But it no longer concerned him.
His revenge had been taken. His goals achieved. And now, he had more important things to focus on.
The rest of the world could rage on.
Chen Mo had already retreated, clean and whole.