Chapter 363: Chapter 363

The handover process was actually much more protracted than Xiang Shan had imagined.

According to Xiang Shan’s original idea, the so-called "handover" was supposed to be a very simple process. A team of Federation people would bring along a Federation man, and then a Federation official and a non-Federation official from the Rama Project District would exchange, confirm, sign, and that would be it.

After all, this wasn’t a formal diplomatic setting, so there was no need for so much circumvention.

But by the standards of the bureaucratic system, negotiations in a diplomatic setting might well be considered particularly efficient.

At the very least, there were not as many documents to sign.

First, the Rama Project side would verify the identity of the arriving hacker. Only after confirming the person’s identity would they sign a document.

But this was just the beginning.

The Federation seemed to have brought several pieces of equipment. To Xiang Shan’s bafflement, the security department of the Rama Project had to check each of these items individually for safety issues.

Beyond that, the "equipment to control Hartman" also required a separate handover.

Specifically, Xiang Shan and two other officials had to learn the usage of that thing alongside personnel from the Federation military.

"...Alright gentlemen, this is the last ’Dog Chain’," said the Federation officer. "But please note, this is a last resort emergency measure. It should only be used when the situation is ’beyond salvageable’. If that guy truly defects, then the procedure is to first seize his equipment—I’ll say it again, seize the equipment, to preserve evidence and to reduce the impact of ’any defection actions’."

"And this ’Dog Chain’ is the ultimate measure. It’s a miniature EMP emitter, worn on the man’s wrist. If the situation becomes irretrievable, this device can fry all electronic devices within a one-meter radius. Smart devices within three meters will also suffer severe damage. We have deliberately weakened the electromagnetic resistance of his equipment. This tactic should be effective..."

"Ah yes, I must repeat this. Do not provide him with any devices with high electromagnetic resistance."

Xiang Shan looked at the wristband-like product in the officer’s hand and said, "Isn’t the power a bit too high?"

The officer glanced at the wristband, then at Xiang Shan, and nodded slightly: "Hmm, that’s a good question. The internal metal parts indeed generate a momentary high voltage due to the EMP, but it would only cause a minor first-degree burn."

Xiang Shan was taken aback: "It could actually burn someone?"

"It’s also a safety consideration," the Federation officer explained. "After all, he’s a dangerous criminal who was granted conditional release because of his special skills. Compared to the damage he could do, this is quite humane, isn’t it?"

"I heard he didn’t volunteer to join..."

"If every criminal could receive the treatment of a regular soldier just by saying ’I want to join the Federation military institutions,’ then we wouldn’t need prisons anymore, sir," the officer said as he turned to look at Hartman, who was sitting in a corner. He leaned towards Xiang Shan, lowering his voice, "I believe this kid has no sense of honor, sir."

Xiang Shan could only reply, "From what I’ve heard of his record, I think he’s quite... patriotic?"

"That’s a different matter. But he has no sense of personal honor."

After saying this, the officer stood upright again and continued to formally introduce the control equipment.

Of course, he wasn’t really "whispering." In such a setting, if he had really dared to do that to Xiang Shan, both he and Xiang Shan would probably have been restrained. In fact, the officer made sure his volume could be heard by the others. From the surveillance footage, his last remark was also addressed to the three officials in charge of the Rama Project.

His so-called "lowering of the voice" seemed to be only directed at Hartman. He wasn’t really trying to "prevent Hartman from hearing," but rather "maintaining a show of politeness" on the surface. He didn’t really care if Hartman noticed his remark.

Xiang Shan had heard that the military was a somewhat insular entity. But he truly didn’t understand why the Federation soldiers held such strong animosity towards FBI agents, from another branch of the Federation’s forces of violence.

Of course, the Federation’s restraints were not complicated. The handover process went smoothly.

But Xiang Shan only found out in the next moment that the Federation actually had a specialist in charge of controlling Hartman. Another FBI agent was going to stay here with Hartman as well.

Xiang Shan really felt exhausted. He had just been thinking about how he would match wits with a top hacker, but in reality, there were specialists for that job.

So, what practical use were those complicated control measures that had been explained to him? It essentially wasn’t his concern.

The handover ceremony wasn’t actually very lengthy, but since it was so different from Xiang Shan’s expectation of "signing and leaving," it subjectively stretched out the experience for him.

In principle, these procedures could have been completed separately in different places, but for some reason, those Federation soldiers were not granted permission to move about the Rama Project District. Xiang Shan thought this regulation was somewhat unnecessary. After all, the research materials and solved data from the Orunmila Project and the Obatala Project were shared one country at a time, and there was no need to worry about these soldiers suddenly seizing the materials.

——Perhaps the problem lies with me?

Xiang Shan suddenly thought this way. As a scholar, he had been free to roam within the district. When he first arrived, he did indeed marvel at the "Peacekeeping Forces" soldiers patrolling everywhere. Back then, there were posts every five steps and sentries every ten. But over the years, the security level really had been lowered, and the researchers had grown accustomed to ignoring the surveillance cameras.

But this was still a highly classified military restricted zone.

He had just been here too long and forgotten that.

Human society indeed operates on logic unfamiliar to him.

Within scholarly circles, "strength" and "status" were too easy to quantify, so scholars still followed a survival logic more primitive than feudal society. It was just that scholars happened to be the most knowledgeable people, so academia was masked by a very modern façade.

And it was this world unfamiliar to him that was part of "modern society."

Jing Hongtu once told him that the straightforward primitive thinking was comfortable because human ancestors lived in such a straightforward environment for a million years. The human brain finds such matters intuitive and comfortable. Modern society, on the other hand, is not so attuned to this intuition, which is why there are always people who feel uncomfortable. Over time, this has given rise to psychological illnesses.

But modern society and the production mode it matches represent the largest humanitarianism. It provides the best possible standard of living for as many people as possible. Another part of the human brain keeps humans yearning for the modern cities that do not fit with another part of their brain.

Xiang Shan had transformed from a "strong primitive warrior" accustomed to directness into a bureaucrat, and thus felt out of place. In the primitive circles, being "strong" was the only criterion. But here, being "strong" was merely a special skill.

However, the identity of "Primitive Chief" could indeed become "capital" for certain specific places’ bureaucrats.

——After all, I took up this position with the thought that "the nation needs it"...

——But since I’ve decided to do it, I still need to do my best!

Xiang Shan felt that he really did need to correct his attitude.

After the morning’s work, Xiang Shan returned to the research department.

The "Hanuman Group" was set up especially in response to this leak incident. He joined the group because the research department needed someone to assess the actions of the hackers at any time, and also because they needed a "nominal leader" to take the blame. This project was too unpredictable. No one knew exactly how much "Zhu Rong" had stolen and how much had been leaked. The outside world could cause a major stir in the next second. Follow current novᴇls on novel⸺fire.net

For the other high-ranking individuals in the Rama Project District, this matter wasn’t a great achievement if handled well; it was merely "closing the barn door after the horse has bolted." This issue also relied more on professionals from various countries, so it didn’t make much difference who sat in this position.

Naturally, the job fell to Xiang Shan.

Xiang Shan was nominally the leader of the "Hanuman Group," but currently, he didn’t have much authority to exercise.

In fact, even his forceful request to participate in the "Risk" community discussions was considered suspect of "mixing public affairs with private interests."

After all, the "Orunmila Project" was cracked, and the person who stood to benefit the most was him, the head of the research department. Although Xiang Shan had indeed gone through the proper channels, applying for assistance from the security department on behalf of the research department, his identity was indeed the boss of the cybersecurity team.

Xiang Shan’s current task was to pretend to be another hacker interested in "Xiduo," join in the discussions, and guide those hackers’ thinking.

Or rather, to steal the intellectual resources of those hackers.

Of course, what to say was also crucial.

Xiang Shan had to ensure that his words did not alert the hackers or make them think, "Why does this person know so much?" They also couldn’t let the hackers detect what exactly "Xiduo" was.

This was not easy. Once a person knew about "something," it became difficult to understand how someone who didn’t know that thing would think. Just like young people can’t comprehend why their elders can’t learn to use smart products.

The statements of researchers from the Rama Project might make hackers realize "this person seems sure ’these codes’ belong to something specific," and become alert as a result.

The following day, Xiang Shan took two other computer scholars with him to the security department office.

The cybersecurity team members seemed to be busy with something else. Xiang Shan had no choice but to wait on the side. He noticed that a guy named Hartman was wearing headphones, boredly staring out the window. No one approached the Great Hacker, except for a monitor who stood guard like a sentry.

Xiang Shan felt that he should probably strike up a conversation?