Chapter 337: The Solution

"Your hover car is pretty fast, it seems Sharp Flash Technology still has some tricks up its sleeve,"

Sun Jack said as he got out of the car and looked up at the bizarre metal structure above.

Compared to before, his mindset upon facing the building once again was entirely different.

Although there was still a gap between his power and Guan Sanke's, the rapid rise of his influence allowed Sun Jack to be much more relaxed at this moment.

"You flatter me, it's just a regular means of transport. Do you like it? If you do, it's yours," lam said respectfully, standing by with a bowed neck.

Watching the property transfer notification pop up on his system, Sun Jack glanced at him with some surprise, "Well, that's very kind of you. Secretary Tapai, catch the keys."

After the so-called D12 Hover Shuttle was accepted by the Tapai, they continued onwards.

A few minutes later, ascending in the elevator, Sun Jack once again arrived at the previous meeting room.

As if they already knew Sun Jack would come, the other members had already controlled their puppets and been waiting for some time.

What Sun Jack didn't expect was that they didn't waste any words, their behavior was very direct.

Before he could ask, a message popped up from Sun Jack's system window. He rapidly scanned it and realized it was an application for membership in the Federation.

"Mr. Sun, membership to the Federation is by invitation, and with your current assets and company, you're already more than qualified to be one of them," lam explained cautiously, still humbly bowing his neck.

Sun Jack scrolled down, looking at the dense checkboxes, "What's the deal with joining this Federation?"

"Once you become a member, you'll receive immunity from Metropolis BCPD and access authorization to the Federation's database. Beyond that, you'll have the right to propose and veto any legal changes in Metropolis, as well as the power to start and end corporate wars, and the issuance and abolition of electronic currency."

As he listened to lam's continuous explanations and looked at those checkboxes, Sun Jack slowly began to understand the situation; essentially, the Federation was nothing more than a place where several major leading companies set the rules of the game to better make money and avoid mutual losses.

For instance, the nuclear bomb restrictions were there to avoid blowing up the entire Metropolis and thus both sides suffering losses. Then there were matters like applying for the commencement and mediation of corporate wars, which, frankly, were just about dividing the spoils. As for who the spoils were, obviously it was the emerging companies that threatened the monopolistic position.

While all this sounded grand, Sun Jack wasn't new to Metropolis, and he knew all too well that the rules of this damned place were always meant to be broken. There were never any real rules.

Sun Jack first shared the database authorization directly with Tapai and the Digital Personality,

Then he left his network IP on the application form and looked up, facing the 12 Digital Personalities once again.

"Now that I've signed, we're all on the same side, isn't it time you told me how to advance to becoming a Holy Grail Person? I believe you're not backstabbing each other every day just for the fun of it, right?"

Hearing Sun Jack's words, Number 1 spoke up, "In 50 years, if you can stay a member of the Federation for that long, and hold 100% ownership of two A-level companies, or make a significant contribution, then you're eligible to apply to become a Holy Grail Person."

"Is that so? That doesn't sound quite right. How many Holy Grail Persons are there? How many companies are there in the entire Metropolis? The shares probably won't be enough to go around, right?" Sun Jack leaned back slightly.

Number 4, who was probably a woman if she hadn't used a voice changer, chimed in, "Who told you there was only one city? The cities that possess the Holy Grail are not limited to Metropolis. Metropolis also has its Satellite Cities, and there's more than one city under the control of the Holy Grail."

"So, there are other Satellite Cities as well. No wonder distributing shares of all Metropolis' companies at random wouldn't be enough for the many Holy Grail Persons to share," Sun Jack mused.

Although he had resolved a curiosity, his current issue was something else entirely. He came here to deal with Guan Sanke.

He had thought he could find a way to counter Guan Sanke here, but to his surprise, there was none; this place had no means of contacting the Holy Grail.

"That's all there is about the Holy Grail? Impossible, right?" Sun Jack said, not quite ready to give up. "If even those of us in the Federation can't contact the Holy Grail Persons, how are their interests distributed?"

"They have a different currency system from ours. Exactly how it works, you'll only be privy upon becoming a true Holy Grail Person. You used to be one, so you definitely understand these matters better than us," Number 6 threw out some noncommittal words.

Just as Sun Jack was about to ask more questions, he heard the voice of the Digital Personality in his ear, "Jack, wait a moment. I've discovered something different through the recently opened database."

"What?"

"The channel they mentioned for advancing to the Holy Grail doesn't seem very credible. According to the data I found, the most effective way to be considered by the Holy Grail is indeed to pose a real threat to its security. Only by actually threatening the Holy Grail can you gain the right to be recruited by them."

"Is that how it is?" Sun Jack pondered for a moment, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

It was unrealistic to expect to work for the Holy Grail Persons for 50 years and then beg these ruthless capitalists to share a piece of the pie out of pity.

One must be formidable on their own, having value in the alliance to have the right to negotiate with others.

"Aren't you looking to cause problems for Guan San? I just so happen to have found something here that could get Guan San into big trouble."

"Oh? What kind of trouble?" Sun Jack's curiosity was piqued. He hadn't looked at the database himself at all and never thought there would be a way to deal with Guan San in there.

"Do you remember asking me to look into the AI Crisis?"

"Sure, but haven't you been searching without any result?"

"Yes, but there's a reason for that. These things were all hidden by the Federation, accessible only after joining. Through the decryption of the database just now, I discovered records related to the AI Crisis within the central computer of BCPD's 3rd division."

"According to calculations, since the 3rd division is independently governed by the Holy Grail, they maintain a high level of caution towards the AI Crisis. If we can somehow link the AI Crisis to Guan San, then surely he won't have time to bother us."

"The AI Crisis?" Sun Jack was indeed here to make trouble for Guan San, facing those who were hassling him, but this was a much bigger problem than expected.