Chapter 130: Watchdog

It turned out that Leo had been overthinking things. The time sequence difference between the two dimensions made it impossible for most hackers to cross this barrier, so the server hadn't been hacked. Instead, after several rounds of overclocking, it was finally "crushed by the last straw." Half an hour later, Leo, John, Anthony, and Skye finally managed to put out the fire in the server room. Leo stood there, gasping for air, watching the black smoke slowly dissipate, his head still spinning. He had just returned from another world where he played as a lizardman, and he was still adjusting to the limitations of his regular body. The effort it took to put out the fire had nearly cost him his life. Collapsing into a chair, Leo panted and asked, "So...why did the server room catch fire? What the heck?" Skye plopped down into a chair, covered in soot. "I have no idea. I was in the middle of debugging the ctOS citywide network, helping Aiden assassinate the head of the Chicago mob, and right at the crucial moment, the server exploded! For heaven's sake, I've always used this intensity, but I don't know why the server burned this time!" Suddenly, she seemed to think of something and shot a suspicious glance at Leo. "Boss, now that I think about it, you told me to be ready in the server room yesterday in case of a fire. Did you secretly use the server for something I don't know about?" "Why would I?" Leo chuckled evasively before changing the subject. "Anyway, how's Aiden's mission going?" "Oh, right!" Skye quickly opened her laptop. Just before the server had burned out, Aiden in the Watch Dogs world had completed his biggest and final lone wolf operation. Due to an almost prophetic level of hacking, ctOS was like a piece of Swiss cheese full of holes in front of Skye. As long as Aiden found the server interface, control of ctOS was theirs. With each hacking operation, Aiden and Skye uncovered more of what was happening in the ctOS-controlled Chicago: The mayor of Chicago had accidentally killed an engineer from the ctOS developer, Blume Corporation, and the incident was caught on a ctOS camera. This video had not only been recorded but also landed in the hands of the mob boss, Quinn, who was the shadow sponsor of Blume. Quinn used this footage to blackmail the mayor, forcing him to expand and deepen the deployment of ctOS. Over time, nearly every politician in Chicago had some dirt on them controlled by Quinn. Thus, Quinn became the de facto ruler of Chicago. It was also Quinn who sent the hitman after Aiden, which resulted in the injury of his niece and nephew. Aiden and his former partner had accidentally stolen the database containing the incriminating video during a heist at a hotel, which led to Quinn's overreaction — and this was where everything started. As Skye and Aiden's investigation deepened, Quinn grew increasingly paranoid. Blume Corporation had attempted multiple system upgrades, but they could never catch or stop the hacker closing in on the truth, a hacker they'd never even seen! This was something that had never happened in the original story! Quinn, desperate, started using ctOS to conduct mass scans of criminals, but it was a hopeless endeavor. He then directly deployed ctOS to assist in organized crime activities, sending his gang members armed with guns into the streets, searching door-to-door for anyone who might be a threat. Even at this stage, ctOS still estimated the crime probability of these gangsters as 0%! Most of the police turned a blind eye, and the few who didn't were dealt with. The madness spread unchecked, and Aiden had no choice but to give his all to track down Quinn and put an end to it. Following a series of blackouts, traffic accidents, and public facility failures caused by his commands, the server, which had already been pushed to its limits in this cyberpunk world, finally collapsed completely. Under the full control of ctOS, the city seemed alive — it monitored everyone, decided who should be imprisoned, and could even manufacture car accidents, gas explosions, and sudden bridge raises to kill someone through "accidental coincidences." The person giving these orders, like Quinn, was still receiving praise from the mayor amid the chaos. The praise was for his charitable contributions, no less. This was the true face of the "central operating system" of the city. In a message, Aiden sent a series of texts: Aiden Pearce: Skye? Are you still there? Aiden Pearce: I'm about to meet Quinn in person. Should I kill him? Aiden Pearce: He's an utterly despicable man. Many people believed a mass surveillance system like this would inevitably fall into corruption and authoritarian control. Aiden Pearce: But no one expected that he would turn those fears into reality. Aiden Pearce: He even targeted my family. Aiden Pearce: Or rather, he used the same tactics he's applied to the entire city on me. This is a terrifying future. Aiden Pearce: I should kill him, but I still have family... Aiden Pearce: What do you think I should do? Leo and Skye exchanged glances after reading the messages on the screen. It had already been 30 minutes; surely Aiden had finished by now. In the original game, Aiden's niece was killed in the attack, which drove him to extreme actions. He didn't hesitate to kill Quinn and embraced the public's label of him as a vigilante. But now, with both children alive and recovering in hospitals in other cities... What would Aiden choose? Would he execute the villain himself, or hand him over to the justice system? Skye turned the page — sure enough, Aiden had already made his decision. Aiden Pearce: I killed Quinn. Aiden Pearce: He hid in his bulletproof glass office, thinking I couldn't touch him. Aiden Pearce: But he had a pacemaker, one connected to ctOS. Maybe he thought he could use that heart to control the city someday. Aiden Pearce: But now he's dead, killed by his own pacemaker. Aiden Pearce: You should've seen him at the moment — arrogant, unrepentant about the chaos or the lives lost. Aiden Pearce: He was pure scum, and I realized that. Aiden Pearce: I also realized that scum doesn't just exist in society's underbelly. People like Quinn, and the corrupt politicians on that video, can rise to power and use schemes to control cities. Aiden Pearce: If people with power don't punish them, who will? Aiden Pearce: They could even be judges, police officers, or prosecutors. Aiden Pearce: I'm not a good person. I had to kill him, right here, with my own hands, just like all the other criminals I've taken down. Aiden Pearce: People need to see the bad things ctOS can do. I'll make public everything in that dirty database. Aiden Pearce: Those who want to control the world won't give up because of this, but I want them to remember me every time they try. Aiden Pearce: This will make me a notorious criminal, but so what? Aiden Pearce: I lost my right to vote, but I earned my right to judge. I guess that's not a bad trade-off. Aiden Pearce: Are you still there? [ctOS accelerated research project complete.] [ctOS 1.0 data has been fully developed, cross-dimensional data channel fully open.] [Upgrading lab equipment or deploying staff can increase data exchange bandwidth.] Leo spoke slowly, "So...this is the end. Aren't you going to say goodbye to him?" Reflecting on the past few weeks of working with Aiden through a screen, Skye felt conflicted. Though Leo insisted this was just a game, Skye felt it wasn't that simple. At least, to her, Aiden had become more than just a fictional character — he was real, a thief who had made mistakes, faced consequences, and ultimately chose to become a better person... or perhaps a more terrifying one. He wasn't someone who claimed to uphold justice but rather someone with a simple yet rigid sense of morality, with a mix of stubbornness and clarity. After a moment's thought, Skye began typing: Skye: The server on my end exploded earlier, so I guess I'll be laying low for a while. Skye: As for your actions — considering both hackers and hitmen operate outside the law, who am I to judge? Skye: But I think you should take a break. Maybe visit your sister, or even find yourself a wife or something. Aiden Pearce: Good idea, but I don't think I'll ever settle down. Skye: Either way, it's been great working with you — even if it was only online. Aiden Pearce: Same here. As the text messages stopped appearing on the screen, Skye remained silent for a long time. Finally, she looked over at Leo and said, "It feels like I've been on a really, really long journey. Was he a real person? It felt like a real world." Leo shrugged. "Whether he's real or not depends on you. If you've learned something from it and can apply it in reality, how different is it from being real? Skye nodded in agreement, then suddenly seemed to realize something, her expression turning to one of horror. "So, you want me to use ctOS to force the world to acknowledge that my experiences are real? I'm not going to do something so evil!" Leo facepalmed, exasperated. "Do you always have to act so dramatic? Just stay late today, clean out the burnt servers, and replace them with new ones." Skye pouted. "Fine, boss."