Volume 2 Chapter 5 (2/2)
”…I want to narron the conditions first Is their simulator in the city or outside it? Let's start with that”
This would be a lot simpler if it was outside the city
At first glance, having the actual computer on the other side of the planet sounded worse, but this was Kukyou City It was a scenic location surrounded by the ocean and the o and it could be easily isolated if a few bridges and tunnels were blocked That hy it had been chosen for experimentation on and possible disposal of Archenemies
And the internet lines were no different
No matter where in the world the enemy superco to the outside world If I cut those lines, the Bright Cross could no longer receive data from the simulator Its support would be over and that would be that
I of course had to worry about satellite and wireless connections, but I could cut those off with a few extra steps
If the alternative was sneaking into a strictly-guarded facility and blowing up a superco into the empty mountains with some wire cutters was far easier
Conversely, this would be a lot trickier if the simulator was inside the city There were only so many thick lines out of the city, but the thin lines and weak WLAN connections spread across the city like a spider web In that case, a cut line or two could easily be bypassed I wouldn't be able to stop it without destroying the supercomputer itself
”Then to start with…”
”Yeah,” I readily agreed ”Let's cut all the thick lines out of the city and see what they do”
When I returned home, my little sister Ayumi was upset
”You're late, Onii-chan! If you were going to be late for dinner, you should've sent an e there in front of the food waiting”
”Sorry, sorry”
”Also, Onee-chan is using the e rolls sheand really pissed, so you should just bon to her Any terrible excuses would just add fuel to the fire”
”Seriously? Today was her day to cook!?”
She looked like a queen, but she was actually a big sister who truly cared about her faather often since she was nocturnal, so she liked to make the most of that time
And when I responded to her cabbage rolls with a satisfactory prostration, she sighed and used her regretful legs to gently step on my head She wore the same uniform, but she was entirely different from the Class Rep Talk about an oppressive aura!!
…And unlike in the long skirt of her gothic lolita dress, the nocturnal school uniforave me a perfect view of her 120 adult panties, but I of course left that unsaid Kh, they're blood red! But Ayumi said any terrible excuses would just add fuel to the fire!
Eventually, we all ate together
For my nocturnal vampire older sister, this would be like breakfast
”But why your special cabbage rolls? Is this some kind of anniversary?”
”…Oh, the internet is acting up and I couldn't view any of the recipe sites, so I thought I would e rolls since I kno to make them by heart”
My older sister would puff out her cheeks if I fiddled withdinner, so I took a short break Her drea spoon when I asked for seconds
After offering to do the dishes, I e, and spoke to the smartphone I had set on the stainless steel countertop
”Maxwell”
”Sure”
”What happened with the test viruses you sent to the TV station and the luxury hotel?”
”I sent 49 types of hares for the first two rounds via 159 different routes, but not one was successful I believe the Bright Cross's data is being protected with precision surpassingby hand could not intercept them at this speed”
”Which means…”
”Sure Even with the thick lines out of the city cut, the simulator is still in effect The simulator itself is likely somewhere inside the city”
What a pain
That was the Bright Cross for you They sent everything in the worst possible direction and refused toeasy for me
”Maxwell If the Bright Cross has a supercoency?”
”No A public agency's supercomputer is classified as a public works tool, so they are constantly roups and ombudsmen and the project as a whole al calculations like the Bright Cross's”
”So they aren't borrowing a supercomputer at a national university or research institute”
”They could be using a general corporation, a private university, or an unregistered device such asa supercomputer is not restricted by law”
There was the Electric Utility Law and other related laws, though
Hm
”What does a supercomputer-level machine need?”
”Sure This will include a wide range of topics First, the h the floor of a normal apartment It cannot be powered with a nor systee warehouse It needs an environment with clean air void of dust and dirt, all static electricity esare also off li and iainst the noise and vibration of the e computers will be hooked up in parallel, so dust could pile up quite high and they could even produce a resonance based on their natural frequency Also, to receive and transmit so much data, they must inform the ISP or have their data capped Even if you only built a container-sized handmade machine, wouldn't you know all this better than me?”
”It's like your own smell You don't notice it yourself”
In that case, I had to start by searching for a location that fit those conditions
Once I had a list of suspicious supercoainst the facilities connected to the Bright Cross The machine that sent and received a bunch of data at thatused for defense
”What should I do about the thick lines out of the city?” asked Maxwell
”Leave them cut if possible The machine is probably in the city, but it would be a pain if they tried so from outside the city as a diversion I want to keep those lines cut until we've located it”
”I cannot guarantee it”
”Just do what you can”
Either e had no time
The Five Battles Precipice The demon of statistics We only had the 3rd and 4th rounds left to figure this out and the opponent for the 3rd had already been announced I doubted they were going to drag this out for 6 ained by Itou Helen's daht Cross had to be pissed after having an Archeneed to execute even one Archeneround facility, so that was hardly surprising That hy they wanted to end this quickly They hated to see hope forht just survive the Colosseum
”We are going to be busy,” said Maxwell
”Yeah, this is just like summer homework You alish you could buy soame with in-app purchases”
Lots of electricity, a cooling systeht, dust and dirt protection, static electricity protection, lightning and power outage protection, shaking and vibration protection…
A supercos, but I decided to start with the easy ones
I gave Maxwell instructions after finishi+ng my bath
”Let's start by checking the records of the power companies and communication companies”
”Sure”
”I doubt they just described it as a secret supercomputer, but check for any suspicious projects that fit the scope”
”Understood”
The power business had grown a lotto separate the production of power from the distribution of power There were probably a lot of places to check, but Maxwell caot tired
…And since I could only sit around and wait, II had to do
The e
But that wasn't actually the most important part
”The cooling systeuess”
Siether in parallel was not that difficult That was no different from a school's computer lab or the co near the train station A power strip could secure the power, a hub could handle the LAN cables, and then you just had to change sos The only other question was how large you were going to make it
But the cooling system was a different matter
A nor In other words, it had a s where water was passed through tubes, but those 2 were the only real options
A largescale superco like liquid nitrogen or helium Basically, a che below freezing, just like a cold-storage warehouse at the harbor
Liquid cooling was just barely enough for le container, but I used so through the long tubes that snaked all over the place
Liquid cooling wouldn't cut it with anything larger than that The Bright Cross's si like a cold-storage warehouse Otherwise they would need water and pumps on the scale of an aquarium
No uised the rest, they could not hide the cooling system
The Bright Cross had to have the machine somewhere with lots of coolant But what exactly would it be? Was it really in a harbor cold-storage warehouse or a cargo shi+p for fruit? If they were cooling so, there were only so many possible locations, so why couldn't I see where it was?
”Onii-chaaan”
Then Ayu room
”Onee-chan says she forgot so Did you already take a bath? Then you'd catch cold, so I guess I'll have to go”
”No, I'll go”
It was true ht be perfect as a change of pace …And day or not, Ayu outfit not much different from a swimsuit, so I was honestly a little worried for her Was she letting her guard down because she was a powerful Archenemy?
”What does she need? A textbook?”
”A product a girl needs once a month”
”Bff!?”
I wanted to take back what I said, but I knew that was a lost cause Still, wasn't having a ing to a girl as having a female family member check under the bed or look at your internet history for a boy?
”…Well, I'll call it a win since I get to see her blush That's pretty rare!”
”Onii-chan, you're sometimes the worst”
”I'll be going!”
I took the cute pouch from Ayumi and left
At night, the way to school felt different than normal
This was the world in which Erika lived
I pedaled the collapsible bike while conversing with the smartphone stuck in the GPS device holder
”I have a report The ISPs did not turn up s, facilities containing dozens or even hundreds of computers can be found everywhere”
”Hospitals? I always pictured the you to keep cellphones and computers out”
”Most modern medical devices are connected to a hospital intranet and patients' test results are shared I ieneral-use devices because they do not want their equipment to malfunction”
I kind of understood but kind of didn't If they had that many computers in the hospital, wouldn't they cause malfunctions in each other?
”I discovered requests for a few suspicious projects at the power companies Here are the details”
I wasn't reckless enough to stare ata bike around at night I waited until I was stopped at a light and then scrolled through the data on the smartphone
”Is this it? At the ski slope, in the industrial region, and at the zoo…”
”Sure”
It was true that those places had unnaturally increased their power consuh that they could power a whole superco during the off season
But I sighed
Based on this, I would be able to end this conversation before the light changed
”They're probably all innocent The industrial region is probably just an extra production line I re that they had tents up for so”
”But based on e to the production count”
”Then they're probably doing a test run”
Next was the zoo
”This would be for heating When raising animals that are susceptible to the cold, you have to heat their cages all night long The cold has been co back recently If the weather data matches perfectly with the power consumption, then they're innocent”
”Then would it be the ski slope? They would not need to use power during the off season”
”That would certainly make this simple But…”
”But?”
It ca issue On a snowless ski slope, they would have no way of fighting the superco full use of the artificial snow h to cool it
”In that case, I wonder if they're running a secret casino during the off season I've heard ski resorts all over have been struggling”
The light changed
As I crossed the crosswalk, I belatedly realized that the light apparently didn't play its ht That made sense to not cause a nuisance, but ould the people with poor eyesight do?
”In that case,” said Maxwell ”Where is the Bright Cross's simulator?”
”It simply isn't possible to build a superco any kind of trace If it's in the city, there have to be hints”
I arrived at the school without finding an answer Schools were generally frightening at night, but ours was full of people thanks to the nocturnal division Around half the ere lit With thatan appearance …And knowing a vaht helped to soften the occult fear
When I called Erika's phone to tell her I was there, she arrived in the hall treht a shade of red
”A-A-Ayumi-chaaaaaaaan!!”
”But, Erika, if it's just this once, couldn't you have stopped by a 24-hour convenience store or discount store?”
”And I'm an idiot too!!”
She really did cover her face with her hands and curl up by the wall
To be honest, it was cute
And when I looked down froh the blouse visible at the chest of her blazer
”Sob Now, Satori-kun, be careful on the way back home…”
”Sure thing”
With that, I left Erika She had been in class, so she had to get back
And as I walked toward the entranceway, I glanced out the hall
I saw a large pool full of dark water I had said the school wasn't scary at night, but that area was a differenthow the dark colors of the night keptthe botto the day
I started to look away…but then I stopped walking I looked to the pool again
So bothered me
Yes That's' right
Maxwell had said he could not narron the possible location of the supercoe requirement He had said that schools, hospitals, and corporate buildings all had dozens or hundreds of coh a server
”Ah”
And hadn't I said that a computer above a certain size needed ? Hadn't I said they would need an industrial air conditioner or cheen or heliuym-sized space cold?
Hadn't I said the only other option would be water and pumps on the scale of an aquarium?
An aquarium
A giant pool
”Ahh!?” I shouted without thinking
Didn't this fit? And I saw it every day! The answer had been right in front of my eyes!!
”Maxwell! Check every school in Kukyou City It can be ele as it e requireh power for a supercoh school should be on that list With the normal classes and the nocturnal classes, it should look like it's using twice as e should be the saht It won't look unnatural if it's using power at night And the school is still running on days off because of club activities So…!!”
At thatfrom my smartphone
It was a video chat from…Blue Bunny Girl Karen!?
”Pin pon pon poooon! Do you knohat this in! Everyone involved should head to the special stage indicated on the attached map It's a live broadcast, so ill be quite strict about the time If you're even a second late, you won't be let in Bye!!”
”Dammit!”
This was the worst possible ti Yes, almost as if they had calculated it!
”What will you do?” asked Maxwell ”It is possible your advice as her second will not be of ht Cross's simulator You could always choose to keep your focus on the search of the simulator”
Would I choose Muramatsu Yukie the Dark Elf?
Or would I choose the Bright Cross's simulator?
Which one should I focus on!?
”…Let's get to the Colosseum”
”User”
”Don't lose sight of whatItou Helen Destroying the Bright Cross is only a et that backwards”
Yes, sacrificing Itou Helen to destroy the Bright Cross would be less
With that decided, I had to get to the special stage
The Bright Cross would not want to let Itou Helen's victories continue Before, they had been fine with either outco as one side died, but now they would likely focus on crushi+ng Itou Helen in particular
That meant a si the dark elf
This tio beyond a battle between two Archenemies, witch and dark elf A battle between siround
To be honest, I didn't think I could win in a direct battle But I couldn't leave Itou Helen alone She was already injured, we had almost no data on this Archenemy, and the enemy would be secretly supported by a simulator I doubted she could overcome that on her own
”Let's go, Maxwell”
”Sure”
”Let's defeat that dark elf and save her in the process Save her from that Goddamn Colosseum!”
Power Usage: 704
Cooling Efficiency: 588
Processing space Usage: 759
Tee: 685
Unusable Memory: 23
Data Loss within Cables: 000000000002
Vibration Detection: Within acceptable bounds
Dust Detection: Within acceptable bounds
Backup Power: Functioning Normally (1, 2, 3)
Lightning Cutoff Syste Normally
Running Tasks: 45
(View Details)
Manual co new task Please input task na priority level
Task Nae Control
Processing Priority Level: Maximum
Task creation co calculations