The Command Center Below
The scent of espresso and cinnamon was heavy in the air of The Azure Blend Coffee House's ground floor. Above, it was a quiet, high-end cafe. Below, it was the definition of operational supremacy.
Hayashi Kazuya stood in the sub-level laboratory, a room soundproofed and shielded against any form of digital or physical intrusion. The walls were lined with monitors displaying live feeds, forensic data, and a constantly updating map of the Mouri Detective Agency's immediate vicinity.
Kaito sat opposite him at a long, steel command table, his small frame dwarfed by the advanced equipment, yet radiating total authority. Shiori was running parallel diagnostics on a separate terminal, managing the sheer data flow.
"The connection is confirmed, Kaito-sama," Kazuya reported, his voice low and professional. "The remote attack on the Aethelred Dynamics robot originated from a highly secure server cluster operating within three blocks of the Mouri Agency."
He pointed to the central screen. "This is a heat map of all encrypted traffic. The server is hidden in a small, non-descript commercial building disguised as a storage unit."
"The proximity is not coincidence," Kaito stated, analyzing the data. "The attacker used the Mouri Agency's inherent chaos as camouflage. No one looks for high-level corporate crime next door to a notoriously unreliable private detective."
Profiling the Rival Strategist
"Let's profile the attacker," Kaito commanded. "This was a complex operation. It required sophisticated digital forensics knowledge to bypass Aethelred's firewall, advanced social engineering to target Akizuki's illness, and precise timing. This is not simple hacking; it is strategic orchestration."
Kazuya, the master profiler, nodded, leaning into his keyboard. "Agreed. Based on the attack vector's cleanliness and the immediate self-destruct function of the remote IP, I can deduce several things."
He brought up a minimalist profile screen.
Financial Profile:Self-funded or highly subsidized. The level of encryption used requires access to proprietary, military-grade hardware, which is extremely costly.
Operational Signature:Methodical and highly risk-averse. The attacker created a major, loud distraction (the robot incident) to facilitate a quiet, targeted theft (the data module). They don't want detection; they want results.
Motive:Information acquisition for competitive advantage. This smells like a corporate espionage group or a smaller, highly efficient syndicate focused on technology theft, not mass casualty.
"They are precise, well-funded, and operating entirely outside the known network of the Black Organization," Shiori added, reviewing the financial data. "A different species of predator."
The Countermove
Kaito tapped the steel table. "We are not dealing with a lone hacker. We are dealing with a rival mind. A chess player who chose the perfect, quiet location to hide his operations."
"What is our first countermove, Kaito-sama?" Kazuya asked.
"If they are methodical, they will be watching the scene of the crime. They know that someone will investigate the robot failure. But they will only expect the police or Aethelred's security."
Kaito smiled, a chillingly confident expression on his young face. "They will not expect the invisible hand of the Dragon Throne."
"Kazuya-san," Kaito commanded. "Task our newly acquired digital resources—Sara's network—to flood the Beika district's commercial networks with false digital noise. Create dozens of simultaneous, low-level malware attacks targeting every unrelated business near the Mouri Agency."
Kazuya and Shiori exchanged a look of immediate understanding.
"A digital fog," Shiori clarified. "You're drowning the attacker in irrelevant data, forcing them to spend resources filtering the noise."
"Precisely," Kaito confirmed. "And while they are filtering the static, Ryuu's enhanced surveillance drones will conduct a specialized thermal sweep of the entire three-block radius, focusing specifically on unusual, hidden power consumption signatures."
"The power drain of their advanced server cluster," Kazuya realized, a flicker of excitement in his eyes. "We find the heat signature hidden behind the digital smoke screen."
Within five minutes, the silent war had begun.
On Kazuya's monitor, the map of the Mouri Agency's district lit up with dozens of low-level, red indicators—the digital fog taking effect. The genuine, high-security server cluster remained dark, its location hidden by the sheer volume of surrounding digital chaos.
Kaito sat back, watching the tactical display. He was seven years old, orchestrating a high-tech corporate counter-espionage campaign against an unseen rival.
"We wait for the thermal signature, Kazuya-san," Kaito stated. "And when we find it, we acquire the address. It's time to introduce ourselves to our new neighbor."