Harry returned to New York immediately.
Everything here was peaceful, and the ctOS trial run was very successful; regardless of public opinion, the city's efficiency had at least improved significantly.
This was getting interesting.
Watching the surveillance footage, the person who had breached the ctOS server was a muscular man, looking like an operations expert.
He might have thought his actions were stealthy, but he was captured by ctOS at least once, and then he was targeted by Aiden.
However, Harry did not let Aiden deal with this Agent.
Then, Lening discovered that someone had uploaded a program to the server without authorization.
Harry sat in the ctOS control center, where he was currently all alone.
Inside the server, Lening clearly sensed an unusual fluctuation in voltage; that program was copying information and attempting to transmit it to the outside World.
HYDRA had written this program into the ctOS server before the trial run; this was their true purpose.
A super control system about to be rolled out across the United States.
If everything went as expected, HYDRA would help Osborn promote this, because they had already uploaded Dr. Zola's program into the system.
Dr. Zola was HYDRA's top scientist, equivalent to HYDRA's Howard Stark.
After World War II ended, he was recruited by Operation Paperclip; though his body had died, his consciousness had been uploaded via a special method to an abandoned military Base on the East Coast.
He was a true information lifeform, not some artificial intelligence.
There are many ways to transmit information, and for an information lifeform, this is how they survive.
As for Dr. Zola, he survived inside a large computer manufactured in the 1970s, relying on electricity to live.
From this perspective, Lening completely countered him, especially since the program in the server was not Dr. Zola himself; at worst, he could just perform a physical format.
Sitting in front of the server for a long time, Harry decided not to delete Dr. Zola's program for the time being.
HYDRA must have thought they had gained the highest level of authority over this system, but software-level permissions meant nothing to Lening.
Sending them filtered information might allow him to make HYDRA work for him without them knowing.
Plus, it would stop this energetic underground group from bothering him again.
After deciding on a countermeasure, Harry arrived in Manhattan; it was time to launch ctOS.
"Ladies and gentlemen, today, we will witness our city become smarter."
Harry and Norman Osborn stood in the center.
"I believe everyone here has downloaded the ctOS software; now, please open your phones."
As soon as he finished speaking, exclamations came from the audience:
Opening their phones, the World before their eyes seemed to be digitized.
Massive amounts of data were uploaded to the server, and everyone was being managed by a higher power.
"I know many of you have always been skeptical of this system, so let's run a test."
Harry checked the time.
"20 kilometers away, an ambulance will depart in one minute. Does anyone know how long it would normally take for this ambulance to get here?"
Someone raised their hand in cooperation: "I'm an ambulance driver. In good conditions, it takes an hour. Of course, it's clearly not a good time right now."
The time was 12:30 PM, certainly not a time with convenient traffic.
"It seems everyone has deep feelings about this. Let me tell you, over the past year, during this time in New York, the average speed of cars was 8 kilometers per hour."
"Of course, ambulances have the right of way, and even if everyone makes an emergency detour, as that gentleman said, the best-case scenario would still take an hour."
"But now, ctOS tells me that this vehicle only needs 17 minutes to arrive after departing; let us wait and see."
On the big screen, an ambulance left the hospital, and Norman Osborn had specifically arranged for a helicopter to follow and report on it.
The moment the ambulance left, all traffic lights were planned out, and the ambulance traveled unimpeded all the way.
15 minutes later, those present could already hear the sirens in the distance, and they all let out exclamations of admiration.
"See? This is very convenient. These benefits will ultimately be passed on to every one of you users!"
"Not only that, under the surveillance of this system, no criminal will have anywhere to hide. Now you can leave your doors unlocked when you sleep at night; you will see soon enough."
Harry finished speaking and handed the microphone to Norman Osborn.
"I am very glad to have chosen Osborn; would that sound a bit hypocritical?"
Cheerful laughter came from the audience; thanks to the recent incidents, the Osborn father and son already had many supporters.
Standing at the front of the stage, Norman Osborn first lowered his head, gathering his emotions.
"I need to apologize to everyone for what happened in the previous incidents."
As soon as Norman Osborn finished, someone in the audience interjected.
"That's not your fault, Governor. We saw those big guys from the National Guard; if not for them, my son and I might have died there."
This remark clearly received the agreement of others, and many people were nodding secretly.
These extras were quite dedicated—though what they said wasn't a lie.
Norman Osborn continued: "But regardless, if the National Guard hadn't happened to be nearby that time, the riots could have caused many casualties."
"The National Guard cannot stay in a state of exercise every day; we need better urban defense work."
"And that is the second thing I am standing here to announce today."
The screen on the stage switched images; it was a document authorized and agreed upon by the state legislature.
"With the support of all voters and the state legislature, New York State will pass the following bill:"
"The National Guard will have temporary patrol points within New York City. These points will be set up next to civil defense measures in the center of each district."
"At the same time, 24-hour surveillance will be set up near these patrol points. To give all voters peace of mind, citizens can view these cameras at any time through the ctOS system."
"Our city will be impregnable. Anyone who dares to step into this city to cause destruction will feel the wrath of New York State!"
"God bless the United States, God bless New York."
"God bless the United States, God bless New York!"
Most of those at the scene were supporters of Osborn and Norman Osborn, and these people were in high spirits.
The series of passed bills not only gave the National Guard the right to station in the city but also strengthened the connection between Osborn and the militia.
Spiritually, it was very similar to the federal Patriot Act; both blurred some civil rights for the sake of counter-terrorism. Although the federal government had some opinions, the impact was not significant.
The only opposition came from the internet, but as long as no one took to the streets to protest, these were not issues.
And these so-called temporary patrol points were actually The Bunker built under Osborn's sponsorship, and Norman Osborn had absolute command over the National Guard stationed in the city.
This was big news.
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