Chapter 96: Chapter 94: D-Day

From serene and still darkness, a certain spirit realized its most hated rival, exhaustion, had finally receded.

With this discovery and feeling more energized than ever at the prospects of what the upcoming cycle would be made of, like a simple switch needed to be pressed, a certain fairy opened his eyes.

‘31 hours until broadcasting…’

Instinctively, or more probably by doing simple mathematics in his mind, Aven knew how long he still had before the next step of his life began.

Doing the usual morning routine, his now much more solid, efficient, and powerful, not that it mattered there, energy threads spread through the room and his wings vibrated, freeing him from the hold of gravity at the same time as most everything around him, “Good morning, everyone who’s still here~”

Exiting the place where he spent the “night”, he dive-bombed an interesting-looking coffee place and spent his entire morning-misery phase there.

Accompanied by a playful camera, a stream chat that kept pestering him with endless questions he was more than happy responding to, and fairies more than happy to go along with him on his numerous ravings, time swiftly elapsed.

Not feeling like doing urban parkour today, Aven flew straight to the Rainbow IRC where nothing abnormal or special seemed to be taking place.

Emptying his remaining social energy on a random woman that turned out to be a grade 4 martial super working with Saum on finding new potential properties for cultivation serums with a very interesting backstory about a brother and an uncle who had an intense rivalry, he finally reached his design room.

“Today I want to advance in the amazingly boring RE integrated computer language project for those who are curious, so feel free to return to your own boring life so that we can at least have a common point between us,” informing his viewers, he smoothly turned the whole design room on.

Before witty online comments even made their way to his phone, he had already resumed working on making a computer language few understood the necessity of.

Or at least, that’s the image he was creating for his stream.

‘That’s the 8th mock exercise this week… I know they’re confident due to the intel high ground, but isn’t that a bit too much? And they’re even planning to put 3 new satellites in orbit within the next 30 hours? That’s a bit too hasty. Who agreed to it?’

Reading from his own feed of intel that ERA kindly provided him, Aven had, without anyone asking him, undertaken the mission of looking for chain of command and schedule inconsistencies.

Already close to half a year ago, he had done the same during the abomination surge.

Guarding against potential “invisible hand manipulations”, which now could be renamed as “Recover interferences” according to his latest innate ability grade 4 upgrade, was something he theoretically excelled at.

He only needed full unrestricted access to the orders and requests transmitted by the various Eland institutions involved in the imminent Canopy cleansing campaign and the different bigger picture directives given to each of those institutions to know if something was amiss.

Maybe for others, his approach didn’t make sense as he treated Eland like it was simply a game that consisted of dozens of animated boring-looking exchange lists with names that didn’t always hint at all at what was exchanged, but for him, it was simply the most optimized way of using his knowledge.

‘Those 3 new satellites are really… And the opinion feedback for the speech made by the Damku launching base’s director is hinting at him not understanding why the decision was taken…’

Finding the event confusing enough, he initiated the backtracking process.

Tracing the various supply chains and assembly sites, adding in the most straightforward inquiry at the core reasons behind why 3 new satellites needed to be launched, and finishing with an inspection of the authorities that agreed to this, he found, not for the first time, that there were some missing pieces.

‘The logical circuit is incomplete. Why did Daniyelle of the civil communication department and the military intermediary Junius both agree so fast? Holden and the civil industry department, I can understand, but not these two…’

Finding an anomaly, he did the one thing that his newly earned power allowed him to do in this world controlled by supers since time immemorial.

[Aven: Cancel everything related to the 3 new satellites launch. No need to inspect. Use money to compensate the involved civilian industries. Remove all the schedules related to it for the Damku launching base. Do a lie detection session with both Daniyelle Forld of the civil communication department and Junius Cosca of the military communication department.]

No remorse or hesitation appeared as he sent this message to ERA, and soon enough he had already moved on to continue perusing the thousands of “exchanges” taking place all across Eland’s “exchange lists”.

Maybe his doubts were well-founded, maybe he had missed something due to some piece of information having not made its way to his hands, but in any case, Aven had long proven and decided that indecision wasn’t his thing.

Action first, introspection and reflection on possible mistakes later.

Pursuing a dozen more suspicious exchanges that ultimately led to nothing, he refreshed the lists and got the latest intels concerning what orders and what requests were sent, by who, to who, in answer to what, and why.

‘Another high-profile troop movement, tertiary confirmation of the order for a coincidental naval ship to block Vinsart’s commercial port in 24 hours, another temporary detention of someone considered suspicious… Venicia Costa, owner of a company based in Vinsart’s commercial port, known to be facilitating Canopy contraband?’

Seeing the link easily using his exchange lists method, he deepened his investigation.

From finding who gave the order to block the port, reading the reasoning behind why such an action was necessary, to finding the same person had also ordered the detention of Venicia after a few days had passed despite her incriminating report having long been made, multiple alarms went off in his head.

‘Port cities are much more sensitive targets, and the Canopy branches present are most often richer and more connected… I could understand a military ship coincidentally passing by with all the weird troop movements going on, but for a company owner to be detained just like that?’

Going further, Aven didn’t relent in going through the history of Everet Galvan, an experienced, hard-working, and talented military strategist advisor according to his bio.

“Mmh~” Humming softly in deep thought, he followed the trail to find months-old exceptional results against rogue Canopy branches, none of them linked to the one present in Vinsart.

‘Buy why Venicia? On the assumption he just learned the Canopy cleansing campaign is a thing… Is she much more linked to the branch? Or is she a prepared sign to tell his branch there’s an assault planned on them soon? Is that why the Vinsart branch even worked with her so openly to the point of Eland knowing what she was?’

Going through all the possibilities, or close to all, most of them led to paths of action he would very much prefer not to go along with.

[Aven: I need a lie detection session with Everet Galvan to be done. Interrupt all Vinsart preparatory raid activities until it's done.]

‘If only I could teleport there to appraise them all directly… It would be so much easier.’

Both dreaming and planning for how he could possibly appraise all of Eland’s higher-ups, he was stopped by his recently awakened cagey self that didn’t want knowledge of his grade 4 innate ability upgrade to be spread yet.

‘But no. It’s short-sighted to do that. And if I don’t use the knowledge I learned to act, then why bother knowing in the first place? To succumb and eventually start targeting all the spies without giving away my obvious involvement?’

“Sigh…” He sighed as he continued reading through the mixed exchange lists.

Sinking into the quicksand mental imagery that was his interpretation of how much it frustrated him to know things but not be able to talk about them, he only broke free after thinking of the potentially peaceful Recover secret organization.

‘Anyway, I only just got my grade 4 upgrade and I was secluded in the Rainbow IRC for the last week. I don’t have a picture of all the potential hidden factions yet and all the involved political issues, so acting prematurely is just stupid.’

Fully aware of the fact that his appraisal innate ability was now in some way equal to his FCP-materialization ability, he stopped moping on the resulting frustration of now having the capability to create a faction without any spy presence but not being able to use it as it was just too sub-optimized.

With this evaluation of his grade 4 innate ability upgrade firmly anchored in his mind, he resumed toiling away at Eland’s exchange lists.

An aircraft carrier commander that asked for a special coastal aerial area to deploy his aircraft to support the imminent raid he had just been informed about…

You are reading story The Faction Contributor [Sci-Fi LitRPG] at novel35.com

A discreet military gathering that resulted in a special hybrid heavy-tank light-infantry formation being imagined to surround an important city and leave no escape paths…

An exceptional convoy that was prepared to fight against a Canopy branch that was known for its destructive capabilities…

A city mayor that reacted very discreetly to the announcement of a lie detector making its way to him…

Eland was a large nation, actually the largest nation on Green, with the Athal Federation a relatively close second if all its overseas territories, most uninhabited, were accounted for.

With this size, however, came consequences and flaws that had until now been exploited shamelessly by those who knew they could.

But with the upcoming Canopy cleansing campaign enabled for the most part by the advent of the all-sensors technology… The meshes of the ERA net covering Eland had been shrunk to the point only insider interferences now allowed those flaws to still be usable.

And now, even those last few remaining instances were gradually being targeted and dealt with as the unveiling of the first major event since the end of the abomination surge came closer and closer by the hour and Eland’s directives shifted from secrecy to large-scale action.

…

[Arthuria: 5 minutes until broadcast starts. Stream countdown transition is ready. Your requested FMC and armament are waiting in the ERA testing hall to be personally checked by you. You have 120 minutes, the time of the orthodox all-sensors moving battery episode part, to do that and hop onto your convoy for Lumen. Travel time is expected to be 7 minutes. The stream will come back online a few minutes before you're dropped directly above your target.]

“Hah~ It’s time!” Flipping all the keyboards around him and sending the design room into chaos as he hastily put everything into standby mode, Aven flippantly announced the end of his working session.

“There are only 5 minutes until my next episode, I hope you’re all chilling on your couch with your cute pet at hand’s reach~” Commenting as usual, he left the room with his 4 boxes in tow and headed for the break area.

Flying into the lively break area haphazardly split into dozens of small culturally-influenced halls, he caught the eyes of a certain Vow Church overseer, Eryka, who didn't hesitate in blocking him before he joined one of the ongoing lively debates.

“I have some questions regarding Eland’s recent activities, can you-”

“I don’t care,” Aven stopped and looked past her as if she didn’t exist and pointed at his camera who was focusing on her serious-looking face, “Ask my zealots, they have like hundreds of conspiracy theories, I’m sure you’ll find one you like. As always~”

Gliding above her head, he entered a recently installed fairy era knight culture-inspired rustic tavern where a merry party was underway, beverages were flowing, and a green-haired man accompanied by some researchers was playbacking a piece of jovial fair music.

Sending a look at his chat, who obviously wasn’t seeing this break hall for the first time considering how often Aven had traveled to the break area during the last 9 days, he shook his head with a slight smile, “No, I’m not providing you her number! Ask her yourself!”

“Of course she’s also a conspiracy theorist. Don’t believe in her innocent appearance, it’s a trap!”

“I’m sure she has lots of friends like her, yes~ Like I said, ask her yourself.”

While he was exchanging with his zealots, he reached the intricate wooden bar that only made sense in the hall setting due to the quality of everything else that was present in it and ordered a special cocktail that only non-biological entities would be willing to taste.

“Here’s your 99% black fruit spirits,” the barman, a normally pretty introverted guy last he spoke with him, expertly served him a glass with mannerism he could only applaud internally.

To contribute to the mood of this hall, there weren’t any TV, so unlike the other halls or the small home cinema area, there were no signs of the imminent all-sensors moving battery episode.

Putting down the camera next to him, on a stool perfect to welcome a fairy-sized individual, he telekinetically picked up his glass and lightly collided it with the camera lens.

Following a crystal clear sound that should have perfectly focused the attention of his viewers, he said, “Well, I think it’s time for us to bid each other goodbye for a time. See you in a few hours, enjoy this special episode.”

With the cue given, his stream management shifted the scene and if it was done correctly, the lively environment sound and the image should now be fading into the background slowly, gradually being extinguished.

With his own stream under his eyes thanks to his phone, Aven observed the whole fading to black scene shift, and before it was completely cut off, he downed his entire cocktail as a sign of goodbye.

“I wonder if this scene will go down in history…” Interrogating himself, his knowledge of history told him what he had just done would most probably be analyzed by thousands of historians who sought to know his mindset at the time.

To answer this, he looked at the camera that was still recording but wasn’t diffusing anymore, “Hello, historians of the future~ I hope the Canopy has ceased to exist, that an intra-stellar drive has been successfully developed, and that I didn’t misjudge the importance of technology and exotics. See? I’m a farsighted fairy, right? Hehehe~”

Done with voicing out his immediate feelings and thoughts, he was just on time to read the social flow of the hall and realize that if a certain green-haired someone wanted to talk to him, then right now was the perfect timing for it.

And he didn’t feel like hiding this newly acquired social sense that followed the recognition of his fairy instincts, so he ordered another 2 drinks, “A devious blue and a special Drayce guessing green please.”

Having personally partaken in making all manners of cocktails that represented his most treasured supporter and supporter, he smiled knowingly at the situation that developed in the exact way he imagined it would.

“It’s really come to this, huh?” Laying his fake lute next to him like an ancient bard would the precious instrument that earned him his keep, Drayce broke the ice without minding anything.

“If you have something to say, you have a few minutes. After that, I’m disappearing and you’re not seeing me again for… However long it takes me to see through to the end what I brought about,” Aven remaining cryptic by habits in response.

“I’m only grade 3, so it's not my place to say anything anymore, especially not to you,” Drayce similarly didn’t breach any sensitive topics, just beating around the bush and ultimately not saying anything else.

While their conversation ended up dead, the merry mood of this break area hall more than made up for the lack of communication, allowing both to not feel like they needed to say anything.

Minutes passed, and Aven, immersed in the atmosphere he wished could accompany him everywhere he went, received the long-awaited message that his all-sensors moving battery episode had started airing.

“Is your innate ability perhaps telling you I have some intel you want? Intel related to that giant global political stage you absolutely want to step onto for reasons yet unexplained?” Before leaving, he followed his instinct and asked a question he knew would lead to nothing.

“It’s simply the stage where I can truly shine, no need to search for an obscure revenge story if that’s what you think is my core motivation,” he disclosed.

“Well, does it really matter if you don’t want to share the story of your childhood sweetheart being stolen from you?” Pushing the sarcasm further, Aven finished his drink and prepared to leave, “After this campaign and a preliminary tour of Eland for certainly-sightseeing, I’ll inform you of the dark side of our world~ Enjoy your last few months of ignorance, small grade 3 lamb with ideals bigger than the world.”

Really leaving, he left behind the same mix of uninterpretable ridiculous hints and apparently fake seriousness he really loved to do when he seemingly had everything under control.

Arriving at the gate leading to the ERA testing hall, he was left through without having to leave his boxes behind.

With only a little less than 100 minutes remaining before he had to drop on Lumen, a city located at more than a hundred kilometers, fully equipped and ready to brawl, Aven knew to quickly organize himself and not dwell on anything irrelevant.

“Your arsenal has been laid down here, sir,” an ERA agent kindly pointed to him a not-at-all eye-catching row of dozens of weapons, ammo crates, two fairy mechanical suits, and hundreds of secondary gear and spare parts to create his ideal mix in seconds as long as he had planned what he wanted.

Which he did.

“Thanks~” Acknowledging the kind agent, Aven took in the sight of what all his efforts since he awakened his innate ability led to.

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