Chapter 69 Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable...
"Dr. Jorson, what are your thoughts on the medical pods and life essence that Dongguo just announced?"
This medical technology conference ended much faster than in previous years, but that wasn't unexpected. After all, the technology that Dongguo announced was enough to attract all attention, and the achievements of smaller countries like X and P naturally went unnoticed.
Of course, they themselves also quickly presented their work and hurriedly left the stage, fearing that staying on stage for even two more minutes would make them lose face.
Dr. Jorson, the representative of Country A, was the first to step forward. His expression was so unpleasant that the surrounding reporters dared not approach him to ask questions.
“We believe that the technology of the East is not in line with the existing knowledge system. We believe that the East needs to disclose all the data for us to verify. This is also for the sake of the citizens of the East.” Dr. Jorson’s expression softened slightly when he saw that the reporter who asked the question was wearing a badge from his own country.
The audience was somewhat surprised by this answer. They hadn't expected the representative from Country A to be so shameless, but considering that their own country could also benefit from making the data public, they pretended not to hear it.
Dr. Jorson's words, after being edited by the television station, became a trending topic that same day.
"This guy named Jorson is shameless! If he's so capable, let's see if his country, Country A, releases its latest technological data so we can verify it!"
"Exactly, as expected of Country A, they just have that shameless attitude."
Domestic netizens were the first to react, unanimously bypassing the Great Firewall to access foreign websites and flooding Dr. Jorson's social media accounts with comments.
This situation attracted the attention of the people of Country A, and Dr. Jorson's words also became known to the people of Country A.
Why is Dr. Jorson so confident in demanding that a major East Asian power disclose its scientific secrets?
"Are our politicians brainless, and now even our scholars are brainless?"
"Elitism should all die!"
"Didn't Jeff's government allocate 30 billion to target East Korea? Why didn't they steal any secrets?"
"Why didn't you steal this secret, Agent Smith!" Jeff, the intelligence chief of Country A, threw the same question at the agent in front of him in the minister's mansion.
The agent in front of me forced a smile, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief before awkwardly saying, "The latest Skynet technology from the East is truly amazing. All the people we sent out have now... been arrested."
As he spoke, Secretary Jeff's expression grew increasingly grim, and Agent Smith's voice gradually faded away.
"Not a single one left? Didn't we bribe a lot of people from East Korea? Since the 1960s, we've been conducting cultural invasion and brainwashing education against East Korea, cultivating a large number of people who yearn for our country. Now, not a single one is of any use?" Minister Jeff said coldly. "Or is it really as people on the internet say, that all the money was taken by your agents?"
Agent Smith immediately replied solemnly, "Minister, we are absolutely loyal to our country."
"However, the technology was impressive, almost without any blind spots. It not only eliminated those who were bribed, but also those in the education system..."
"Useless!" Minister Jeff slammed his coffee cup to the ground, his face now even darker than the coffee stains on the floor.
"I don't care what methods you use to obtain the secrets and destroy the technology of the East!" Minister Jeff took a few deep breaths before speaking sternly to Smith in front of him.
Smith hesitated for a moment before cautiously speaking, "We have two plans now. One is to condemn the Eastern Nation for the human rights issues involved in Skynet technology, and the second..."
"Secondly, we would like to apply for a satellite-based star-level scan of Dongguo."
As soon as he finished speaking, Secretary Jeff was taken aback for a moment before saying, "The first one is no problem. As for the second one, I will convene Congress tomorrow and let Congress vote on it then."
Smith knew that the so-called congressional decision was nothing more than a decision made by the wealthy businessmen who had paid to get this Secretary Jeff into office, but it was not something a nobody like him could interfere with.
After seeing the minister wave him away, he had no choice but to obediently leave.
Although the government of Country A is usually incompetent, it is always swift and decisive when it comes to dealing with Country East.
Within three days, not only had public pressure been laid out, but the application to use the satellite had also been approved.
"A few months ago, Dongguo officially launched Project Skynet. Since then, Dongguo has released various technologies such as medical silos and life essence. Now our reporter is on the main road of Dongguo's capital. You can see various monitors on the street through the camera lens. Every word and action of Dongguo's people will be monitored. Now I will lead you to interview some Dongguo people."
"I feel good about it; the crime rate has decreased."
A BBA reporter first approached a punk-dressed, arrogant young man and asked him about Project Skynet, but unfortunately, the answer he received was not what he expected.
Seeing another elderly person, she thought that such an elderly person must be stubborn and old-fashioned and would not accept new things.
"The Skynet Project is great. With the monitors, if something happens to us older folks in deserted alleys, we don't need to call for help or wait to die. The monitors will call an ambulance for us."
Unfortunately, it still didn't go as she wished.
"What do we do now, Amy? The people of the East Kingdom actually accept this monitor." The cameraman carrying the camera frowned deeply.
“I would be happy too,” Amy glanced at him and murmured.
The cameraman didn't hear her words; he was only worried about not completing the mission and was looking around hoping to run into someone who didn't like the monitor.
Amy didn't just sit and wait for her fate; instead, she took the cameraman and started asking people around the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, half a day passed without any results.
"The monitors are violating human rights and privacy!" she finally said, her voice filled with righteous indignation.
Amy and the photographer's eyes lit up like desert travelers seeing an oasis.
The short, stout man rambled on and on about Dongguo for ages before finally taking a sip of water, still feeling unsatisfied.
"Thank you for the interview. I saw you were pulling a suitcase. Are you going on a trip?" Amy was in a much better mood after completing her task. Perhaps because the other party had helped her complete the task, she couldn't help but say a few more words.
“No, I’m going back to my country,” the short, stout man replied, shaking his head.
Amy paused for a moment, then instinctively asked, "Your country?"
The short, stout man nodded indifferently.
"So... you're not from the East?!" Amy's voice was shrill.
The short, fat man was startled and replied with a look of disgust, "I'm not! I'm from Great P Country!"
He wanted to spit at her after he finished speaking, but when he saw her blonde hair, blue eyes, and high nose, a typical European and American face, he hesitated and could only timidly pull his suitcase and leave quickly.
Amy and the cameraman were left staring at each other, their faces so somber they looked like they were about to burst into tears.
"What do we do now?" the cameraman asked Amy.
“Then let’s splice and edit it!” Amy gritted her teeth and squeezed out a few words.
As soon as she finished speaking, footsteps sounded beside her. Amy subconsciously looked over and saw several police officers in uniform walking towards them.
"Hello, comrade." The police officer saluted before saying, "We received a notification from the monitors that you are suspected of slandering Dongguo and spreading rumors about Dongguo. Please come with us now."
“We didn’t! We’re from Country A! You have no right to arrest us!” The cameraman instinctively began to resist.
"This is Dongguo. Please abide by Dongguo's laws. My colleague has retrieved the surveillance footage from the nearby cameras. It will prove whether you did it or not." After the police officer finished speaking, the two men stepped aside, indicating that they should leave.
Amy naturally didn't want to leave with the police, but her instinct as a citizen of Country A prevented her from resisting them, so she could only obediently follow them.
That evening, a news story about a BBA reporter being deported and permanently banned from entering Dongguk after spreading rumors and slander within Dongguk territory became a trending topic.
"Damn it! BBA is shameless! So what if we like having monitors? So what if we prioritize comfort over our privacy!"
"Exactly! With the monitors around, my boss doesn't dare to bully us anymore. The monitors' recordings can be used as evidence, and no one has the right to delete them!"
"Yes, my hotel is located on a street full of bars. In the past, girls were often picked up by strangers, and I called the police several times. But now, with the monitors, no one dares to mess around anymore."
“I went to eat barbecue a couple of days ago, and a drunk guy tried to harass me. I had the monitor report it, and he’s still on the case.”
"I heard they caught a lot of crooks this time, no wonder Country A is so anxious."
Long live our nation! Rise up!
"Smash!" A coffee cup was thrown onto the carpet.
Minister Jeff glared at Agent Smith, breathing heavily through his nostrils like a bull in a fight.
"This is your brilliant idea?!"
“Minister, we didn’t expect the monitors to be this powerful…” Smith’s words were cut off by Minister Jeff’s angry glare.
"Then how do we put this!" Minister Jeff turned the computer in front of him around.
Seeing an adorable panda on the computer screen burning four incense sticks and praying, Smith was momentarily at a loss for words.
They never expected the East's counterattack system to be so powerful. Their Democracy satellite went black as soon as it began scanning. Not only that, all the computers in the government immediately displayed the image of the panda burning incense.
"Then... sir, what do we do now?" Smith asked cautiously.
"What else can we do! Call Dongguo! If we can't steal it, then we'll buy it!" Minister Jeff was so angry his nose almost crooked.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Smith dialed a special number using his dedicated phone.
“Um… Mr. Minister, Dongguo apologized to us.” A moment later, Smith replied to the minister with a hint of surprise in his voice.
Minister Jeff paused for a moment, then quickly picked up the phone, only to hear, "Sorry, your call cannot be connected."
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Author's Note: The "Sorry, the phone was unavailable" part comes from the title of a video by Bilibili UP (uploader) named "孤烟暮蝉" (Guyan Muchan).
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