Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 918: C.I.N.’s Weaknesses

CH0918 C.I.N.’s Weaknesses

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Alex tapped on his corner of the magic table.

He would be lying if he said he was surprised by Alpha’s revelation… or rather, declaration.

Aside from the fact that it was a typical cliché in the novels of his past life, he had always felt that the assassination attempt on his life was linked to the unknown person Joselyn Holt had been in contact with.

Plus, he felt a similar sense of repulsion when looking at Alric Wastelander as he had felt in the presence of the Legendary assassin who had made a move on his life, only to end up being killed easily by Drake.

And if his suspicions and the cliché remained true, this unknown organisation had a hand in something else he had stopped… or at least affected—the goblins in the Dankrot Forest.

Still, Alex didn’t mention his suspicions and/or speculation to anyone. He himself was undecided about whether he was making a mountain out of an anthill or if he was seeing something genuine.

“What evidence do you have of this claim?” Alex asked calmly.

Alpha pressed on the magic table to bring up new pieces of information, then swiped them over towards Alex.

Alex flicked open the information, causing it to expand before him and Udara as Alpha explained.

“The number Joselyn Holt called after you began putting pressure on her, the numbers the assassin had been in contact with, the numbers Alric Wastelander has been in contact with, the numbers of organisation members we have identified posthumously… All of them are connected in an ever-expanding circle,” Alpha stated.

“And judging from how large this circle is, it is safe to say this organisation is sufficiently large, with a lot of reach,” she added.

“What do you know about this unknown organisation? Who are their members? What is their agenda… their goals?” Udara asked from Alex’s side.

“We… do not know,” Alpha admitted.

“You do not know?” Udara stepped forward, banging her hands on the magic table.

“They have targeted my husband at least three times that we know of. And you are saying you do not know anything about them? Even with a tool like the C.I.N.?”

Alpha didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she subtly glanced at Alex.

The young noble didn’t look like he intended to speak. Instead, he reclined into his seat, one leg crossed over the other while his right index finger tapped on the armrest, seemingly waiting for Alpha’s response.

From his demeanour, Alpha also realised that Alex was showing his support for Udara.

Alpha’s eyes moved back to Udara, who was waiting for her reply. Still, she remained calm and deliberate in her movements.

Alpha tapped on the C.I.N. magic table—almost lovingly.

“The Continental Information Network is indeed a powerful tool. However, it is not without its weaknesses,” she said.

“Weaknesses?” Udara frowned slightly.

Meanwhile, Alex didn’t look perturbed or surprised. He simply continued watching in silence.

“The C.I.N. grants access to every call made from a Rune Phone, as well as every piece of knowledge or information put into a Runic Server. But therein also lies its weakness.

“For one, the C.I.N. is only as good as the data put into it. It cannot give a result for what it doesn’t have.

“Second, because it has a large amount of data accessible to it, it is impossible for a user to go through it all. So, the user is forced to use keywords or key phrases to sift through the data and find what they want,” Alpha explained.

She tapped on the magic table, and multiple projected windows appeared for all to see. Data after data streamed across the different windows, depicting the sheer amount of information flowing through the C.I.N. at any given moment.

“The C.I.N. takes in a lot of data, yes. However, much of this data might as well be junk, as it is mostly useless information,” Alpha stated.

Her eyes moved from the projected windows back to Udara.

“Among intelligence agents, there is an inherent distrust of communication methods and tools. E.V.E’s DAWN, as well as the intelligence organisations of other Empires, all teach their officers and agents to distrust even the most secure communication methods.

“Most of the time, any intelligence officer or agent worth their salt will never speak of their activities plainly over any form of communication, no matter how secure they’ve been guaranteed to be. Even when speaking in person, most intelligence officers and agents are taught to veil their words so that only those in the know may understand them.

“The consequence of this is that most secretive operations will never be discussed over a communication device, means, or tool. Or, even if they are discussed over a communication tool, it will be done in a way that only makes sense to those involved,” Alpha explained.

“Do you understand, Mistress?” she asked.

Udara looked at the woman, then at the magic table.

“I see…” Udara muttered under her breath.

Then she looked back at Alpha.

“So, even though Rune Phones are essentially ubiquitous enough that anyone can afford, acquire, or already possess one, intelligence officers on a mission would most likely not use them for said mission.

“In other words, you believe the reason you have very little information on this unknown organisation, even with the C.I.N., is because members of the unknown organisation most likely do not use their Rune Phones during missions.

“The unknown organisation is also less likely to place information in a Rune Server. Hence, there is also nothing for the C.I.N. to access from that end,” Udara deduced.

Like Alpha before her, she tapped on the corner of the magic table as she continued.

“And even after missions, even if they were to speak of their operations, they would do so only in veiled codes that only their members may understand. As such, the chatter protocol used to sift through the ocean of Rune Phone calls cannot pick them up since you are currently unaware of the keywords or key phrases they use, so their conversations cannot be monitored.”

“Exactly, Mistress,” Alpha replied.

The dark elf unknowingly gave Udara an appreciative nod and smile.

Udara looked at Alpha for a moment.

“I take it these two weaknesses of the C.I.N. are also the reason why Dark Water missed the assassination plot on our expedition party?”

“Unfortunately,” Alpha admitted with a nod. “They are not things we can completely work around for now.”

“That said, though tricky, we haven’t done nothing just because of these setbacks,” she said.

She brought Alex, Haggleworth, and Udara’s attention back to the tangled web of Rune Phone IDs she had brought up earlier.

“The web was carefully curated by me after looking through the Rune Phone IDs of calls originating from Alric Wastelander.

“Using Alric Wastelander as the origin, I identified two Rune Phone IDs that could potentially belong to his organisational contact or handler. From them, we expanded a list of potential organisation members so we can keep watch over them,” Alpha revealed.

“That is the best you can do?” Udara asked.

“For now.” Alpha nodded. “It all depends on how you wish for Dark Water to approach the group from now on.

“If you will it, Dark Water is prepared to make plans to target the three scions and the few members of the unknown organisation we have identified,” she added.

Almost immediately, she and Udara turned to Alex for his opinion—so did Haggleworth.

Alex’s ruby-red eyes turned to Udara with a smiling glint.

He stood up from his seat and, to everyone’s surprise, guided Udara into the seat. Then, he stood behind her, his hands resting supportively on the back of the seat.

“Do as you wish, my lady,” he whispered into her ear.

***