Chapter 173: A New Storm Emerges - Part 2

Speaking of this, Don Valentine sighed, a visage of regret spreading across his face. "Nolan, I won't lie to you, when I got wind of this, I was thrilled to the core!"

"A brand new plan popped into my head!"

"That was to have those dealers strike again!"

"To spread their 'goods' among the hippies at Destiny Game once more!"

"You might not grasp why I'd do such a thing… It's simple. Once those dealers start spreading their goods, the Vietnam vets will surely take notice. They're bound to intervene, to act, and when they warn those dealers not to come around again… that's when my plan would've been set in motion…"

Pausing, Don Valentine locked eyes with Nolan Bushnell, emphasizing each word with grave seriousness, "After being threatened by the vets, those dealers would comply and leave. After some time, their families would report them missing."

"Though the disappearance of a few dealers might seem trivial in our country, so minor that the California police might not even bother, because our California is connected to Lower California, with countless dealers smuggling across the border yearly, but… what if those dealers had records?"

"What if those dealers were the scum of the border?"

"What if their trade was in human smuggling?"

With each question, Don Valentine leaned in a fraction more.

When he voiced his inner thoughts, his eyes gleamed with madness.

The unsettling intensity in his gaze left Nolan Bushnell frozen in place.

After a moment of realization, he exclaimed loudly, "Oh! Sxxt! You're telling me you found people directly linked to MXG's underlings?"

"Mm-hmm."

Nolan Bushnell's epiphany made Don Valentine settle back comfortably, shrugging and spreading his hands slightly in a gesture of nonchalance.

The triumphant look on his face sent shivers down Nolan Bushnell's spine.

He understood Don Valentine's implication!

A few dealers disappearing in California was indeed a minor issue.

But what if those missing were regularly smuggling across the border, had criminal records, and possibly even connections to MXG's leaders?

That would certainly draw the attention of federal authorities, the media, and the public!

In current America, under their very feet in California, there's a real fight against drugs!

In 1970, California enacted the "Controlled Substances Act," implementing penalties more stringent than the federal drug laws within the state. They categorized drugs into five schedules, with Schedule I and II substances facing the strictest control and penalties. Three years later, California established the "California Drug Abuse Advisory Council," assigning commissioners to study drug issues and report regularly to the governor and legislative bodies.

In the same year (1973), the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) was officially founded, operating alongside the FBI, Customs, and other agencies, fiercely combating drug crimes, even trafficking.

In 1975, America signed the "Bilateral Narcotics Agreement" with Mexico. In 1976, President Ford even visited Mexico, directly facilitating Operation Condor, using specific herbicides to destroy vast plantations in Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua.

With these facts in play…

The disappearance of some smugglers after interacting with Destiny Game?

Ethan Jones would definitely be scrutinized!

Regardless of his connections to Stanford!

Once the media digs deeper and discovers prior interactions between Destiny Game and the smugglers, followed by hiring a bunch of Vietnam vets…

Nolan Bushnell could even envision the media frenzy of negative coverage!

Even without their interference, the media would link the smugglers' disappearance to Destiny Game!

In this era, Vietnam vets indeed retaliated in disgrace!

Even if they sat back and watched, Ethan Jones would be too occupied to handle the fallout!

And if they stoked the flames?

They could easily spin it into "Vietnam vets gun down smugglers, Ethan Jones implicated in murder" headlines!

Whether these events were true or not didn't matter!

Because whether it was hippies, Vietnam vets, or smugglers, none were seen favorably by the public! In the eyes of the public, Destiny Game's DEBUFFs were maxed out!

"Why didn't you go through with it?" Nolan Bushnell asked excitedly, "This plan was perfect, why didn't you implement it?"

"Was there an issue with those dealers?"

"They didn't cooperate?"

"Or was it that the money you offered wasn't enough for them to disappear completely?"

Don Valentine's continuous questioning prompted him to purse his lips.

Lifting his defeated gaze after draining his beer, he said helplessly, "None of that. The dealers I found had no issues; they were small fry willing to cooperate with me. I offered them enough money to live lavishly in Jamaica."

"But, unfortunately…"

"All of this became an unachievable plan forever, due to last year's election!"

"Barbara Babcock, who's on good terms with Ethan Jones, went to the DoJ?"

"MFxxk! Do you understand what

 this means?"

"It means if I really did go through with it, even if DEA got involved, the DoJ would step in to vouch for him, stating Ethan Jones had nothing to do with those crimes!"

"And if things escalated, and Ethan Jones's sister sought help from Vinton Cerf, NSA or CIA would surely intervene. By then, could I still escape?"

"Don't joke!"

"There's no one they can't catch!"

While the DEA was specifically established to combat drug crimes and could even request military support for joint suppression in exceptional cases, they, like the FBI, are still under the jurisdiction of the DoJ. In the aftermath, they could indeed investigate Destiny Game, but the DoJ could also instruct them not to.

The NSA's role was even simpler. As America's largest intelligence agency under the DoD, specializing in collecting and analyzing foreign and domestic communication data, they employed numerous mathematicians, computer scientists, and linguists. Vinton Cerf's papers and the TCP/IP protocol had already been circulating there two years prior.

With these unexpected developments…

Don Valentine chose to back off.

He indeed wished to strangle Ethan Jones, but he wasn't foolish.

He wouldn't engage in self-destructive actions.

"So you let the previous provocations become an unfinished farce?" Nolan asked.

"What else?" Don Valentine shrugged.

"It seems so…" Nolan sighed resignedly, nodding in agreement.

Emotionally, he couldn't accept this reality.

But given the current situation…

"MFxxk! How can Ethan Jones be so lucky!"

Nolan Bushnell cursed, "In patents, he had Ralph Baer's help! In hardware, he had MOS and Apple! When you were watching him, Barbara Babcock and Vinton Cerf transformed from university professors to high-ranking government officials? And when I outdid him in product development, his hastily made games still set trends? And he had 'Star Wars' as a safeguard?"

"MFxxk! What kind of absurdity is this!"

"Normal people would thank God for one such occurrence, but him?"

"Has he ever lost?"

Nolan Bushnell was so agitated he struggled to speak coherently.

Sitting there, he panted heavily in frustration.

And just when he thought the current Ethan Jones had become untouchable, beyond the reach of a failure like him, Don Valentine, with a laugh, stood up and left the living room.

When he reappeared, a document was tossed in front of Nolan Bushnell.

"What's this?" Nolan asked curiously.

"Ethan Jones's big trouble," Don Valentine said with a smile.

This response piqued Nolan's interest.

He couldn't fathom what trouble the currently successful Ethan Jones could possibly face.

But as he carefully examined the document…

The image that confronted him brought him immense joy.

"Nintendo?" he exclaimed delightedly.

"Yeah~ Nintendo~" Don Valentine nodded, "Right now, Ethan Jones might be very happy, thinking 'Star Wars' is a big hit in North America. But soon, he won't be able to maintain that joy because Nintendo is already infringing on his interests…"

With that, Don Valentine burst into laughter.

"This is truly an unlucky kid."

"Even without our intervention, he's constantly in trouble."

Note:

The anti-obscenity campaign in America from 1969 to 1977 was indeed wild, and they truly went mad with it. Our country's Social Sciences Academy has conducted specific research on this matter, producing numerous reports and papers. The issue is quite complex, and to explain it fully, one would have to start with the comparison between native chickens and Gaul chickens. The portrayal in the text is actually quite one-sided; it's just for reference. 

In the 1970s, California also had its frenzy of anti-obscenity actions. However, those familiar with that period might understand that California's frenzy needs quotation marks because they were rather inconsistent. On one hand, they did indeed enact stricter penalties in the early 1970s than the federal government. On the other hand, within a few years, they excluded marijuana. The reasons behind this are complex and sensitive, so I won't delve into them here. This note is meant to explain why the perspectives of Nolan and Valentine in this chapter differ from what Sheriff Milpitas said earlier. In reality, they were constantly shifting positions; as long as it was advantageous to them, they had their reasons.

The Department of Defense (DoD) where Vinton Cerf works was indeed one of the fifteen departments involved in the anti-obscenity campaign. The DoD did have jurisdiction over it. At that time, the organization was called the EPIC (Eipaso Intelligence Center), and the NSA was responsible for analyzing intelligence.