This supplementary chapter serves as an addendum to Chapter 11, and readers may choose to peruse or bypass it at their discretion. In the main narrative, it was mentioned that prior to the detonation at Masao Ridge, Kuni Hashizume had formally requested the esteemed Vice President Fujiki Teitō's presence to witness the event firsthand. Fujiki had consented. Unexpectedly, on the evening of June 27th, the Administrative Headquarters' office director phoned, urgently summoning Fujiki Teitō back to headquarters. As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours: just as the East Tai Company was besieged by a calamitous disaster, compounding its troubles, internal strife erupted—this time at the highest echelons of power. At 9:10 a.m. on June 27th, Year 102 of the North Ming era, on the expressway near Xiangdao Airport, as a three-row passenger van decelerated to enter the exit ramp, a luxury sedan aggressively cut in, attempting to seize priority. Evidently, the young madam's driving skills were far from as adept as she fancied. Traveling at speeds exceeding 130 kilometers per hour, she realized with alarm that she was barreling straight toward the guardrail and desperately yanked the steering wheel to the left.
Misfortune befell the three-row passenger van as a luxury sedan diagonally collided with its right front door. The driver in the sedan was killed instantly, while the van was violently lifted, spun three and a half times sideways, and finally wedged against the guardrail.
Shortly thereafter, the police and firefighters of Xiangdao rushed to the scene to rescue the victims and summoned ambulances.
The van belonged to the Xiangdao branch of Dongtai Corporation. The lady seated in the middle row was none other than the deputy general manager of this branch. Yet, if she were merely defined by this title, the ensuing events would hardly be so riveting.
When Kang Jiaying was carried into the hospital, she had regained consciousness, but her mother-in-law, Jiang Rong, remained comatose. Upon hearing the recommendation for a scan, Kang Jiaying flatly refused and demanded an immediate transfer to a private hospital, XX.
The attending physician was taken aback, having never encountered such accident victims and momentarily at a loss. Officer Luo, however, remained composed; with over twenty years on the force, he had dealt with every sort of obstinate character imaginable.
He politely advised her that Jiang Rong was in critical condition and required urgent treatment, urging her, as the daughter-in-law, to act with reason at this crucial moment.
Kang Jiaying retorted with the claim that her mother-in-law was allergic to radiation and that undergoing imaging could further endanger her life.
She then immediately threatened to file a complaint against Officer Luo, flaunting their status—the wife and daughter-in-law of the esteemed Dongtai deputy general manager.
In her arrogance, Kang Jiaying forgot where she was—Xiangdao.
Officer Luo Ai Hua sternly warned her that should she continue to obstruct the rescue, he would arrest her immediately for endangering others' safety.
With no recourse and a splitting headache, Kang Jiaying desperately began making calls, unleashing the full force of her extensive and influential network.
Yet, all efforts proved futile. Dr. Zhang, without much deliberation, glanced at the scans for mere seconds before seeking out Officer Luo. Meanwhile, Luo stood watch outside the scanning room, his seasoned instincts telling him the situation was promising.
The images unmistakably revealed implants on both sides of Jiang Rong's nasal bones—so obvious that no expert analysis or senior consultant's opinion was necessary; the photos spoke volumes.
The woman before them was either an imposter or mentally deranged.
For no sane woman in this world would willingly deform her nose into the grotesque shape resembling a bovine snout.
At eleven o'clock on July 5th, the sultry yet tranquil sky over the northern suburbs of Kyoto Road in the Dongtai colony was abruptly shattered by the roar of an engine.
A light helicopter descended smoothly onto the lawn of a communication station belonging to the Armed Guard Corps.
Li Weidao opened the cabin door and leapt down, crouching low against the fierce airflow. His assistant, Niu Changguo, mirrored his posture, following closely behind.
Situated on a northern suburban ridge, the station superficially appeared to be an ordinary outpost of the Armed Guard Corps headquarters—an average-sized, three-story framed building surrounded by several rows of bungalows.
The only striking feature was the over thirty-meter-tall iron tower atop the building, densely equipped with a variety of receivers and transmitters.
In truth, this facility was the Social and Political Monitoring Center, one of Dongtai Corporation's principal intelligence hubs.
When Li Weidao knocked on the door, Wada Kanji was still engrossed in writing calligraphy—not on paper, but on a board the size of a playing card in width, with length adjusted as needed.
Judging by his appearance alone, no one would suspect Wada Kanji to be a member of the He ethnic group: standing 186 cm tall with a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes—embodying the classical standards of Han Chinese male beauty.
Wada Kanji's background was a closely guarded secret within Dongtai Group; even most board members only knew he hailed from a lineage of spies. Remarkably, his grandfather had been one of the masterminds behind the invasion of the Dongtai colony.
The Social and Political Monitoring Center falls under the direct jurisdiction of Dongtai's board, operating as an intelligence agency distinct from the Special Services Department subordinate to the Administrative Headquarters.
Its mandate is to focus exclusively on political organizations; matters unrelated to politics or non-organizational are delegated to the Special Services. Yet, should the Special Services uncover politically organized activities, they must immediately report to the Monitoring Center.
Moreover, this center functions as the anti-subversion command, lacking extensive local branches but exercising control over other intelligence bodies whenever political elements are involved.
For years, Wada Kanji has been orchestrating a major campaign aimed at eradicating subversive forces within the state.
Xiangdao has become a focal point of his surveillance, having discovered that it has essentially transformed into a transit hub for wanted fugitives—particularly over the past decade, during which various fugitives have consciously sought refuge there.
Three years prior, he had begun covertly dispatching operatives disguised as fugitives to infiltrate this region.
Sure enough, it was soon uncovered that several anti-corporate factions had taken root here, including groups like the "Original Sin Tribunal," the "Green Alliance," and the "Justice Hawk," alongside so-called cults categorized under names such as the "Heavenly Principle Sect," the "Heavenly Path Sect," and the "Mandate Sect."
Yet he remained strategically inert, for these factions had yet to pose a genuine threat to the Dongtai Group. His aim was to allow them to linger, thereby luring out a far greater serpent.
All along, the only force truly capable of menacing Dongtai was the "Revival Alliance of the Zihua Colony," firmly entrenched on the Tianji Plateau.
Even those minor factions, without the Alliance's backing, if they grew too influential, would inevitably be absorbed by it.
Thus, Wada Kanji was resolutely convinced that if he fattened the rats, the serpent would inevitably emerge.
Fully aware of this, he had meticulously laid his groundwork early on, patiently awaiting the arrival of that very moment.
Wada Kanji's brush hovered over the blank board for a prolonged moment, seemingly hesitating. At the sound of a knock, he gently set down his brush.
Li Weidao entered.
"Come, to the conference room," Wada Kanji said, gathering the cards on the table.
Present at the meeting were the core members of the research center: Director Wada Kanji; Deputy Director and Chief Analyst Cui Guoliang; Technical Supervisor Tang Liji; Special Operations Captain Li Weidao; Field Intelligence Leader Ke Suqing; and Senior Analysts Bao Ligang and Chu Dingliang—a total of seven.
There was unanimous agreement on sealing off the "Ninth Heaven Computer Technology Consulting Co., Ltd.," but opinions diverged sharply on the timing of the shutdown.
"I estimate the 'Nine Clans' might seize the 'Ding' within days, which likely contains the insurrection orders. I recommend an immediate lockdown of 'Ninth Heaven' and the shutdown of all its servers," Li Weidao asserted.
Tang Liji, however, advocated allowing the "Nine Clans" game to conclude—not only to uncover the secrets hidden within the 'Nine Ding,' but because the game's defining feature was experiential validation.
Players' physical forms must correspond to their characters; upon experiential validation, points earned from deceased characters can be redeemed for cash, and these individuals are invited to participate in a future reality show—portraying their roles in the cinematic version of "Nine Clans," which also offers substantial remuneration.
Moreover, according to the game's promotion, the climactic spectacle would be the battle between the Revered of the Righteous Nine Clans and the Monarch of the Dynastic Nine Clans. The Revered character had remained elusive thus far—would there truly be a physical embodiment?
Tang Liji's judgment was that an embodiment would certainly appear.
As the debate unfolded, the duty secretary suddenly pushed open the door, silencing the room. Hastening to Ke Suqing, the secretary handed over an encrypted tablet.
After mere seconds, sweat beaded on Ke Suqing's brow. Rising, he announced, "Director Wada, there is a critical emergency."
"Continue your discussion. Ke, come to my office," Wada Kanji said, standing and bowing. The others promptly returned the gesture.
After treatment, Jiang Rong awoke. Like Kang Jiaying, she had only suffered a mild concussion and was not in life-threatening condition. Due to her age and constitution, however, her unconsciousness had lasted longer.
Her first question was whether she was in XX Private Hospital. Upon hearing the negative reply, she erupted in fury, showing none of the composure expected of a deputy director's wife.
At this moment, Ma, director of Dongtai's Xiangdao office, personally arrived by car to transfer the esteemed wife per her request. Officer Luo had no grounds to intervene.
XX Private Hospital, ostensibly a local establishment operated by Xiangdao natives, was in fact funded and controlled by a financial consortium from the New America colony.
Jiang Rong was taken straight to the operating room, preparations having commenced upon Director Ma's call.
At the hospital's entrance, Dan Guozhen and six agents blocked their path.
Jiang Rong knew her luck had run out; she swiftly bit down on the ring adorning her right middle finger. Dan Guozhen sprang forward, lunging at Jiang Rong and wrenching her mouth open with desperate force. But it was too late—an insidious surge of cyanide had already coursed down Jiang Rong's throat. She struggled briefly before her eyes rolled back in a fatal embrace. Almost simultaneously, Kang Jiaying placed the ring in her mouth, but at the very moment her teeth were about to close, a shudder seized her, and hesitation held her back. Seizing the opportunity, an agent pried open her right hand and twisted it behind her back, binding her wrists. Dan Guozhen snarled as he grasped Jiang Rong by the collar, hoisting her up. "You really want to meet God, don't you?" Of course, Jiang Rong would never answer him again in this life. "What are you standing there for? Get them both onto the vehicle!" Dan Guozhen barked, wiping his hands on a bedsheet as he commanded. The SUV roared madly toward the fishing harbor pier, where the agents swiftly loaded the two women onto a speedboat, which immediately sped out toward international waters. By the time Xiangdao's Special Intelligence Bureau received the report and dispatched a helicopter in urgent pursuit, the speedboat had already transferred the hostages and the bodies onto a container cargo ship. Within thirty seconds, a Dongtai Maritime Security helicopter landed on the vessel's deck, retrieving the hostages and the deceased. As dusk settled, the subterranean base of the Social Intelligence Monitoring Center welcomed the hostages and the bodies. The scan results were shocking: not only Jiang Rong but also Kang Jiaying possessed extraordinarily peculiar skeletal structures—far from human, resembling those of avian creatures. It was evident that the flesh they bore was no true skin of their own. To accommodate these external shells, extensive supplementary bone grafts had been implanted to match the facade.