Chapter 142: Dear Casanova

Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Dear CasanovaBack at the Commando Vermelho compound, the remnants of the TCP attack smoldered, but Nicolau Silva’s focus had entirely shifted. With Jose, his former right-hand man, now a lifeless heap in the jungle, a new, terrifyingly effective enforcer had arrived. Nicolau was utterly captivated by Ciano, the giant "tribesman" who had single-handedly decimated the TCP forces. He would make Ciano his new right-hand man. His enforcer.

Nicolau was invested. Since Ciano supposedly hailed from the Amazon depths, he began to meticulously teach him their language, their ways, the intricacies of the cartel’s operations. What Nicolau didn’t know was that Ciano was equally invested, albeit for entirely different reasons. Through the contact lenses Lina had crafted for him, an automated translator seamlessly fed him Brazilian Portuguese in real-time, allowing him to understand every word Nicolau uttered. He couldn’t yet speak it, but he understood.

This unique situation—being perceived as an invaluable, uncultured powerhouse from the jungle—made it easier for Ciano to gain Nicolau’s trust and rapidly ascend the ranks within Commando Vermelho. His primary objective, beyond becoming Nicolau’s enforcer, was to solidify his position to protect the specific Amazonian area where Richard’s next underground base would be constructed. This rapid integration would also allow him to subtly gain the trust of key members within the cartel, identifying and recruiting loyal and competent individuals to the Praetoriani Siderum order.

His immediate mission: conquer the TCP, the very threat he had just helped repel. He would systematically dismantle their operations, absorb smaller cartel factions into Commando Vermelho, and eventually consolidate control over Brazil, preparing for the inevitable confrontation with the formidable PCC. In the meantime, he would learn every inner working, every intricate operation of Nicolau’s vast criminal enterprise. Knowledge was power, and Ciano was now a sponge, absorbing it all.

Meanwhile, the CRVT - Richie, now a mere shadow parked in a vast, cloaked clearing within the Amazon rainforest, began its monumental work. Below it, a gaping maw, large enough to swallow an entire stadium, opened into the earth. If Lina hadn’t configured the stealth drones to emit a perfectly synchronized projection field above the opening, creating an illusion of an unbroken forest canopy, even the most advanced satellites would have spotted the massive, unnatural void in the pristine Amazon.

At the base of the colossal hole, AMFS drones, silent and tireless, were already de-atomizing stone and soil at an astonishing rate, pulverizing bedrock into fine atomic feedstock. Behind them, another wave of specialized drones moved, re-atomizing the raw material into gleaming, ultra-dense steel walls, expertly reinforcing and shaping the colossal cavern that would soon house Richard’s next underground complex.

Richard stood at the edge of the opening, peering down into the unfathomable depth. He felt a peculiar vibration, a low hum, around his very core. Looking down, he realized it was emanating from his own body. The sheer scale of the hole, unnervingly large, made him feel small. He looked at Lina, who stood beside him, her cyan glowing faintly as she monitored the intricate processes. A rare, almost imperceptible smile of pride touched her lips.

"You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?" Richard asked, a wry amusement in his voice.

Lina’s smile widened, a clear affirmation. "Yes, Sir Richard. Immensely. The scale of this project is... optimal."



Richard shook his head, then changed the topic. "Anyway, Lina, how are the android doppelgangers hanging?"

"They’re perfectly operating, sir," Lina replied, her expression returning to her usual serene neutrality. "All public-facing protocols are maintained without anomaly. Public perception of your activities, and Jack’s, remains consistent with established personas."

"Good," Richard said, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I want you to make a comprehensive roadmap for them after the launch of the Bull ZS-1. Their focus won’t just be on maintaining our public image, but on Bytebull’s strategic expansion. Work and cooperate with other companies, not just from the US side but also China. We must not build a wall around China. They show an immense opportunity for wide-scale production of Bull EV Motors. We are a company, Lina, not a political entity, not yet fully anyway."

He continued, articulating a vision for global technological integration. "After the launch of the Bull ZS-1, alongside the commercialization of our Solid-State Battery and CNT chips, I want the doppelgangers to add a production line for vintage electric cars. And assign them the task of developing a comprehensive charging system. They should also cooperate with our government to implement charging stations around the country, as well as initiating investments in renewable energy infrastructure. For now, I want them to prioritize accepting only local research commissions from promising local companies. We need to foster growth from within."

Then, Richard pivoted, addressing a long-term strategic goal. "Also, Lina, I want you to develop an operating system. Both for computers and mobile phones. Design them to integrate Phoenix AI that can operate locally and offline, among devices. Crucially, I want them to seamlessly integrate the installation of programs, applications, and software from other existing operating systems. Don’t market them conventionally. Let the public discover it organically."

Lina nodded, her eyes flashing with data streams. "Yes, Sir Richard." She paused for only a fraction of a second, her internal processing core already executing the command. "Consider it done, sir."

Richard blinked, surprised. "Done? The operating system? Already?"

Lina’s subtle smile returned. "Yes, Sir Richard. I had already anticipated that sooner or later, you would decide to release an operating system. The core architecture was conceived and developed in parallel to my other tasks. It merely required your authorization for finalization."

Richard sighed, running a hand through his white hair. "Okay, then. While we wait for the megafactories and fabrication plants to finish construction, I want you to design a mobile phone. Use our scaled solid-state battery technology and our CNT chips, powered by our very own operating system, ByteOS. And design laptops as well. Work with both the United States and China on this. We’ll let them manufacture our devices as soon as the large-scale production of solid-state batteries and CNT chips starts.

"We’ve been focusing heavily on the US, but we have to forge strong relationships with China as well. Otherwise, our company will be swayed away by politics, boxed into one geopolitical sphere." He added, almost as an afterthought, "Also, open-source a more inferior version of the ByteOS. I need a more sustainable SP income. We’ll flood the market with it, give them a taste of the future, and gain SP from its widespread adoption."

"Acknowledged, Sir Richard," Lina responded, already computing the myriad variables, the new production schedules, the diplomatic intricacies, and the projected SP gains. The construction of an invisible empire, both above and below ground, was well underway.

Suddenly, a playful smirk tugged at Richard’s lips. and mischievous glint in his eyes, "let me just check what Jack is doing." He opened his holo-watch, projecting a crisp, real-time feed from the Purnas Mansion’s underground base directly into the air between them. The visual flickered into existence, showing Jack’s private room.

Richard’s eyes instantly popped out. His jaw went slack. The scene unfolding before him was... intimate. Jack, his face flushed and grinning, was tangled with Scarlet, his new security android, in what was clearly an amorous embrace. Jack, ever the exhibitionist, was completely naked, his pale butt clearly visible before he and Scarlet, with impressive speed, scrambled to cover themselves with a blanket.

Richard’s voice, amplified unexpectedly through the hidden comms and speakers in Jack’s room, cut through the air. "What in the world are you two doing?!"

Jack, startled, shot upright in bed, eyes wide, still fumbling with the blanket. "What the fuck, dude?!" he shouted, his voice a mix of shock and indignation, clearly audible through the open comms. "Can’t we have some privacy?! You’re spoiling my good time!" He frantically grabbed a pillow, aiming to hurl it at the camera, a futile gesture given Richard’s remote observation.

"Okay, okay!" Richard said, throwing his hands up in a gesture of surrender, a burst of laughter escaping him. "I’ll turn it off! I’ll get back to you later!" He cut the feed, leaving a red-faced, sputtering Jack to his interrupted pleasures.

Richard turned to Lina, putting his hands on his hips, a look of incredulity on his face. "Why? Why did you make Scarlet into... something like that?" he asked, gesturing vaguely towards the now-blank screen where Jack’s room had been. He knew, of course, the answer to his own question. He had seen Jack’s ’aesthetic specifications.’

Lina, for a rare moment, looked away, a faint, almost imperceptible blush coloring her synthetic cheeks. "It was Sir Jack’s explicit request, Sir Richard," she stated, her voice a little softer than usual. "I merely fulfilled the parameters. And, as you are a man, I figured you would be... amenable to the concept. A male human’s natural desires are well-documented."



Richard sighed, shaking his head. "Fine, fine. Just remind Scarlet to train Jack, otherwise, he might be addicted to... their ’good times’ and they’ll do it all day instead of working. We can’t have our Director of Vector Core perpetually ’occupied’." He chuckled, then shifted topics again. "Anyway, changing the topic, have you taken a look at the experimental prototype?" He was referring to the "Localized Grav-Levitation System (Personal Scale)" he had gambled on from the System Shop.

Lina’s demeanor returned to her clinical precision. "Yes, Sir Richard, I have. And it seems it is indeed quite different from conventional anti-gravity technology." Her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Unlike systems that merely manipulate known electromagnetic or strong/weak forces, this one requires a very specific state of matter—an exotic particle. A particle that only a truly massive particle accelerator, a collider specifically, can produce. It’s a completely novel approach, fundamentally different from the gravitic principles we’ve extracted from Unites States-derived data."

Richard looked up disappointed. "I honestly thought I’d gain a free SP reward for stabilizing a known concept, but this... this is a significant leap into uncharted theoretical physics."

Richard’s eyes gleamed. "Then, I assume you already have an idea how to create such a collider, or even stabilize the particle?"

Lina’s subtle smile returned, a flicker of genuine excitement in her eyes. "Yes, Sir Richard. It was supposed to be my grand surprise for you. A side project I’ve been developing in parallel, building upon the theoretical frameworks gained from the System’s archives and the physics of the Q-Flux Reactor."

Richard groaned good-naturedly. "Then forget I asked, you spoiled the surprise!"

"Too late, sir," Lina replied, a hint of playful defiance in her tone.

Richard sighed again, but a wide smile now spread across his face. "Anyway, I’ll be at the ship if you need me. In the meantime, make me some more surprises."

"Yes, Sir Richard," Lina acknowledged, her smile still present. Without another word, she turned and moved to the edge of the immense opening that led deep underground. With an almost imperceptible shimmer of gravitons around her, she hopped into the colossal hole, perfectly landing at the base of the rapidly expanding cavern, ready to supervise the next phase of the base’s construction.