The conference room in the seeker association was a mess.
There was a cyber attack the previous day. This was supposed to be a meeting to analyze how to deal with it, but voices blaming others kept flying around, meaning they went nowhere.
That said, the attack came from the inside, so placing blame might be one of the steps towards fixing the problem.
Security in the seeker association was tight, so there should not be a problem. However, a certain employee inserted and booted a USB device that was prohibited from being used.
This leaked data from the seeker association to the outside, and was equipped with a function to bring the servers down.
The seeker association was thrown into disarray, but people saw this employee running away, who was caught before leaving the association.
“So, is this employee dead?”
“Yes, committed suicide while being caught.”
The question was asked by the vice-president of the seeker association, who coordinated various posts on behalf of the president. He was also a seasoned warrior who passed the fortieth floor. But the stress from his everyday life meant the top of his head was barren.
The woman being asked the question answered plainly, without faltering. She was also a former seeker, and had more grit than the average person.
“That’s a blunder. Now we don’t know who’s responsible.”
“Yes. We already asked the Seeker Surveillance Agency for their assistance. They have ways to gather information from the dead.”
“Kuroitsu’s team? That’s irritating. I’m sure they’re investigating our employees’ backgrounds. When can we expect a report?”
“Tonight. What we know is that this employee was not a former seeker, and was hired externally for data processing. Supposedly a serious worker with no issues.”
“No issues? There’s an issue right now! Who decided to hire this person!?”
“…It was…”
The woman hesitated to respond to the vice-president, but the person sitting at the center helped.
“Quiet, Hikosaka. I did. So?”
Hikosaka was the name of the vice-president.
And the person responding was the president of the seeker association Michiyo Amatsu.
Michiyo looked annoyed, and sipped her tea.
She looked at Hikosaka, who glared right back.
“What do you mean so!? This is an alarming situation! Trust in the seeker association is on the line! Data of the seekers registered in the association was leaked! You have to know how big of a problem this is!”
“I said shut up. I know that. Prepare for the press conference, and get documents to explain the situation.”
“You make it sound so simple! The country might take control of the seeker association if we mishandle this!”
“That won’t happen, don’t worry. If that were to happen, it would have happened a long time ago.”
“Well… Yes. I misspoke. Times may change, but it’s always difficult to control seekers. Are you saying there’s no need to go out of our way to stick our necks out?”
“Yes. If they haven’t forgotten the past.”
“But the fact remains that information about seekers was leaked. Won’t there be an intervention?”
“Well, that will depend on the result of the investigation. If that Kuroitsu kid is coming, we can leave it to him. He’s going to demand gratitude, so he’ll do his best.”
Michiyo then got up, and looked down from the window.
There were simple tents set up, purchasing materials. She saw a fat seeker standing there, and let out a sight of relief because he was back.
And felt self-hatred. She questioned her relief.
Was it for her own goals, or because a possibility forming was not crushed?
“President…?”
Hearing herself being called brought her attention back to the conference room.
The vice-president began speaking and went quiet, but other officials of the seeker association were there.
Normally, she left most of the work to Hikosaka, but to seekers who respected strength, the word of the strongest person there, the president, carried weight. And so, they all waited for her instructions.
“First, we should put all our effort into recovering. And contact the Kyushu and Tohoku branches. Don’t forget to contact seekers, and tell them to change their bank account information if it’s connected to us. As for damages…”
After instructions were given out, they ended the meeting held to prepare for the press conference.
Michiyo left the conference room and went back to her office. And a man in a black suit stood in front of the door.
“Hello, it has been a while president.”
“So you’re here. You heard what it’s about, right? Get to work.”
“Yes, but you know where the attack came from, don’t you, president?”
Kuroitsu had a smile plastered on his face. She snorted at his question as if annoyed.
“The people of the neo utopia, most likely. A prank because we took away their entertainment. Or to sell information.”
“Why did you deny that whole thing with the arena?”
“You know better than most why. Fighting between seekers shouldn’t be a sport.”
“It’s not in the dungeon, but such an event should be stopped. There will surely be idiots who take part.”
It was fine outside, but the consequences of a public works spectacle of seekers fighting could not be measured.
Although it could be expected that seekers would fight each other in the dungeon.
It was feared that this sort of thing would lower the hurdle for people to fight each other. It would be fine if they were messing around, but if lives were taken, they would surely get drunk on the power they gained.
If a new demon was born, that meant more work for him.
And so, they were opposed to the gladiators event, and while it was announced that seekers participating in it would be expelled from the seeker association, that sadly had little effect.
After all, the participating seekers were either retired or had contracts with companies.
Even if they were not active, most were pros who passed the thirtieth floor. They were capable of feats of strength and acrobatics not possible for the average person. This would help promote the dungeon, but they were busy enough without that. In fact, making people rush to it would be a bother.
“I can imagine how the data will be used too… How many are going…”
It was most likely a way to scout people for the neo utopia. Having the data of seekers beyond pro being stolen was bad, but not a reason for Michiyo to panic.
“…You’re very relaxed. It’s all insignificant to you, isn’t it?”
“Don’t make things up, I am worried. It’s a problem of trust for the seeker association.”
“…You have your eye on that… Tanaka, right? Can I kill him?”
The president instantly disappeared before Kuroitsu’s eyes, and instead a blade flew at his neck with frightening sharpness.
But Kuroitsu suddenly had his gauntlet on his arm, and put it up on his neck to block it.
There was no sound, only an impact ran through the hall, violently shaking the bulletproof glass.
“Don’t provoke me, even as a joke. Your head will fly.”
“Ooh, scary. I will make sure to remember it.”
Kuroitsu bowed in an exaggerated manner, and apologized to Michiyo.
She considered cutting his head right there as he bowed, but looked at the tattered blade on her right hand and stopped.
She thought about how he had something troublesome, and put the blade in her Storage Space.
“Tell Hikosaka if you find anything, he should do something about it.”
Michiyo then entered her office.
Kuroitsu raised his head, and whispered with an expression that was impossible to decipher.
“For revenge…?”
He did not have all the information, but that was his only conclusion when he connected what he did know.
Kuroitsu went back to work, thinking it must be tough for Tanaka to have her eyes on him.
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neo yutopia
utopia*