Chapter 609: Sociological Experiments

Hearing this, Su Hao felt a pang of guilt.
On a whim, he insisted on starting a project that had absolutely nothing to do with the company's main profits.
But it had dragged the entire company into a bloody battle with an industry giant, forcing everyone in the group to work long hours.
Although he never intended for things to become so brutal, he had unintentionally caused trouble for everyone.
"By the way, Chairman Su. The states that agreed to issue the licenses this time also put forward an additional condition.
They hope that in addition to insurance for vulnerable groups, we can also develop some insurance products for the general public."
"Then... won't the cost be too high?"
"Yes. So, right now, the colleagues in the group's finance and actuarial departments are frantically doing calculations for this, their calculators are probably practically smoking from pressing buttons."
"..."
Su Hao sighed.
He started with good intentions, but how come it feels...
that things are snowballing?
This was all far beyond his expectations.
"Sigh, because of me, everyone has suffered because of me."
"Chairman Su, please don't say that. What you did was very meaningful; everyone understands."
"Um... please thank the brothers in all departments of the group for me, and tell them they've worked hard.
I should have thanked them personally, but..."
"You're too kind, Chairman Su! Everyone knows how busy you are. I will definitely pass on the message!"
Su Hao nodded, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He just wanted to do something good, but it ended up causing chaos among the employees in all departments of the group.
It seems that next time he wants to do good deeds, he'll have to do it quietly by himself, and not drag so many people into it again.
***
Secret base for the wildfire.
“Those guys, they used to be so arrogant, completely oblivious to their own limitations.
Now they've finally learned their lesson and are keeping their tails between their legs.”
Anthony leaned back comfortably on the sofa, a cat-and-mouse smile playing on his lips, leisurely sipping his black tea.
Hmm? Has this tea been sitting for too long? It's a bit bitter.
“Won't we leave any traces here?”
He put down his teacup and looked at his second-in-command, Tom, beside him.
“Boss, don’t worry, the probability is close to zero,” Tom replied confidently.
“The initial personal information and real-time tracking data all leaked from anonymous accounts on the dark web.
Subsequent content was spontaneously relayed by other netizens on social media, ultimately igniting the killer’s rage and leading to this ‘righteous act.’
The entire chain is a perfect closed loop, and we have absolutely nothing to do with it.”
Anthony nodded. Even if you gathered all the FIB, CAI, and NSA agencies in the US and formed an “Avengers” team, you still wouldn’t be able to find the real mastermind.
It was practically flawless.
Because “Wildfire” didn’t provide the killer with any weapons, didn’t formulate any plans with him, and didn’t even have a single direct contact.
All they did was throw a spark into the vast, dry tinderbox of the dark web—a piece of information containing the personal details and detailed schedules of insurance association executives.
Whether, after seeing this information, they chose to become keyboard warriors and hurl insults, or to become "heroes" and take up arms to punish the culprits, was entirely the killer's decision, and had nothing to do with the wildfire.
"But I really didn't expect this trick to be so effective," Tom remarked.
“Yes.” Anthony put down his teacup, his eyes deepening.
“That CEO from last time probably fell for the same trick.
At first, I thought Fang Huan was secretly meeting with the killer behind the scenes, orchestrating all of this.
Now I realize… I underestimated Fang Huan’s scale. Their intentions are far grander than I imagined.”
“You mean, their grand plan to use this to enter the insurance industry and implant chips in everyone?”
“That’s an even longer-term scheme.” Anthony shook his head.
“This time… it’s more like a… large-scale sociological experiment orchestrated by Fang Huan.”
A social experiment?
Tom looked completely bewildered, clearly not following his boss’s train of thought.
“Think about it. This time, Fang Huan didn’t lift a finger, yet he killed two people without bloodshed.
And two big shots who could cause a huge uproar in the insurance industry.”
Indeed.
Fang Huan didn’t shove a gun into the killer’s hand, nor did he whisper in his ear, “Go kill someone.”
They merely created an "environment," an environment that made the killer want to commit murder.
It was also a perfect breeding ground for the seeds of hatred to grow unchecked, then quietly wait for them to blossom and bear fruit.
"This was an unprecedented social experiment," Anthony said, his voice trembling with admiration.
"They were testing whether, in this age of information overload, manipulating public opinion through social media and online communities could precisely 'manufacture' a murder!"
"And we simply perfectly replicated their experimental procedures, and the result... was remarkably successful."
Yes, remarkably successful.
Successful enough that the once-arrogant giants of the insurance cartel, faced with that bloody experimental report, collectively trembled and raised the white flag.
"Our hands were unstained by a single drop of blood, yet we were able to eliminate our targets through the hands of others."
Anthony's eyes blazed with fanaticism, as if he were proclaiming a great miracle.
"This way, there are no traces of the crime, and it's impossible to track down anyone. It's practically perfect art of crime.
Fang Huan, what they're testing is this entirely new, futuristic warfare model—a terrifying weapon that kills without a trace!"
The power of incitement and brainwashing is truly terrifying. Fang Huan used two warm corpses to give the world the most vivid lesson.
"However, the only thing that worries me a little," Anthony changed the subject,
"is that this time...after all, it was an unauthorized operation, without direct authorization from headquarters."
"Ah, boss, about that," Tom said quickly, as if remembering something,
"A message did come from headquarters just now."
"A message? What does it say?" Anthony's heart leaped into his throat.
Could it be an apology letter from headquarters?
A reprimand for acting on their own initiative and doing something unnecessary?
"...It's praise."
"Huh?"
"Headquarters said...we did a fantastic job."
"What?"
Anthony froze, blinking, wondering if he was hallucinating from lack of sleep.
"Moreover, the message clearly states that it was a personal thank-you from Su Hao, Chairman of Fang Huan Investment."
Tom's tone was also somewhat excited, "His exact words were: 'You've done a fantastic job these past few days, everyone has worked hard.'"
"...?"
After a brief moment of astonishment, Anthony's lips involuntarily curled upwards, finally turning into a low, hearty chuckle.
This feeling...it's fucking amazing.
He'd worked tirelessly for Fang Huan for so long, braving countless dangers and doing countless dirty and tiring jobs, and he'd never received such straightforward praise from headquarters before.
Moreover, the one who spoke these words was none other than the legendary supreme ruler of the entire Fanghuan Empire—Su Hao!
“Hard work…heh, not at all. Not hard work, not hard work…”
He spoke modestly, but the uncontrollable upward curve of his lips and the foolish smile on his face completely betrayed his true feelings.
“Hmm—?”
He picked up his teacup and took another sip. An unbelievable thing happened.
The tea that had previously made him frown with bitterness now tasted pleasantly sweet!