Killing Marriage [ABO] - Chapter 21
Chapter 21; Paying the Public Grain
Zhang Qingyuan paced by the window, discussing countermeasures with his sister over the phone.
“Even if we directly expose this, the higher-ups will likely make a ‘temp worker’ the scapegoat. Only by proving the monitoring center is actively involved in selling videos for illegal trade can we stir up strong public opinion and force the marriage monitoring to shut down.”
His idea was good, but his sister said she couldn’t do it.
“Zhang Qingyuan, please don’t have such high expectations of me!” The “you” in his sister’s voice was full of sarcasm.
She spoke lazily, slurring her words, sounding like a thug. “There’s no way I can hack the monitoring center’s internal system while simultaneously tapping into the communication devices of every related person. Can you please treat your sister like a human being?”
Ren Zhong chimed in, “Zhang Qingyuan, let her off the hook. A hacker’s abilities really aren’t as godlike as they’re portrayed in fiction. This is a task that even the military’s intelligence department couldn’t complete.”
“The Captain’s right! The Captain is a great benefactor!” Just as his sister was getting excited, she suddenly screamed in surprise, then lowered her voice and asked, “Brother, when did you successfully turn the Captain to our side?”
It was only then that Zhang Qingyuan realized that Ren Zhong, who had been turning a blind eye to their actions, had naturally become a part of their operation.
“Never mind that,” Ren Zhong changed the subject. “Do you really think you can take down forced marriage with just this? It’s not likely.”
Zhang Qingyuan said, “The public already resents marriage monitoring. Once the scandal on the dark web is exposed, both the Marriage Monitoring Center and the matching system will be in trouble. How else can we appease the public?”
His thinking was very clear. Shutting down the marriage monitoring that violated citizens’ privacy was equivalent to disarming forced marriage and was the start of its eventual collapse.
“But have you considered that doing this might be detrimental to your ultimate goal?” Ren Zhong analyzed. “Many people dislike forced marriage, but the number of people who hate it enough to want it gone isn’t as high as you think.”
Ren Zhong worked in a military department with a high concentration of Alpha and Beta men, so he was very familiar with the thoughts of most men.
He said, “The attitudes of different genders toward matched marriage vary greatly. If every adult citizen were to cast a vote, those who support matched marriage would actually be the majority.”
Zhang Qingyuan was quick-witted and understood immediately. “You mean that because of the skewed gender ratio, the number of Alpha and Beta men far exceeds other genders, and most of these people are beneficiaries of matched marriage. Is that right?”
Under the conditions of natural selection, there would naturally be a group of less-strong males in every species who fail to find a mate throughout their lives and are eliminated by nature.
This is the normal biological process, but the rules created by humans allowed Alpha and Beta men to skip the competitive mating process, securing a partner with stability and assurance, and various regulations ensured they could have their own children.
With such a huge benefit right in front of them, how could the people enjoying it easily let go?
“Exactly,” Ren Zhong nodded.
He continued, “The only dissatisfaction these people have with matched marriage is the privacy invasion of monitoring. Without the monitoring center, they would eagerly welcome and support the existence of forced-matching marriage. In the future, they would only become an obstacle to you.”
“Are you saying we should save the leaked privacy videos for later?” Zhang Qingyuan’s mind was also starting to calm down.
The impact of the video just now was too great. It had made his mind race and his thoughts spin, and he felt like he was on fire.
He was still a bit young, but luckily Ren Zhong had poured a few buckets of cold water on him at the right moment.
Ren Zhong thought for a moment and said, “Dealing with the Marriage Monitoring Center can be saved for later, but it’s not impossible to take action now. We just need to change our approach.”
He revealed a slightly asymmetrical smile, with a hint of malice on his face.
“When a villain is caught, it brings great joy, and everything can be settled. But as long as the villain is still at large, the matter can’t be over. The longer it goes on, the stronger the public outrage becomes. In the end, it will require a more severe punishment to appease them.”
The Marriage Monitoring Center should not fall; it should stand there as a target, causing people who originally supported the matching marriage system to defect.
Zhang Qingyuan had to re-examine the Omega man in front of him.
This person always did surprising and admirable things with a nonchalant attitude at unexpected moments.
He had a calmness that didn’t match his age, which had been forged by the hardships and difficulties he had faced at the border and in life. But deep down, he didn’t seem to have become numb because of these struggles.
He held a fire and a light within him.
He always wanted to warm and illuminate others through his actions.
“I understand. Thank you for your advice,” Zhang Qingyuan said, looking into his eyes.
It seemed they could now design a new plan of action.
Regarding how to collect evidence and lay the groundwork for subsequent plans, his sister, Zhang Junyi, had her own ideas.
All she needed to do was place a small, inconspicuous virus on the device used by Ren Zhong and Zhang Qingyuan to submit their marital life video. When the AI connected to the network to upload the data, the virus would sneak into the monitoring center’s internal system and leave a backdoor for her.
After that, the Marriage Monitoring Center’s system would be Zhang Junyi’s backyard. She could easily follow the clues to find evidence of relevant personnel’s misconduct in selling the videos, and she could also use it to practice for more difficult operations in the future.
And all of this only required Ren Zhong and Zhang Qingyuan to record another “public grain” video tonight.
Due to the recent upgrade of the AI system, the scoring rules for marital life videos had changed significantly. The damn AI idiot had actually gotten smarter after the upgrade and could distinguish between what was real and what was fake.
Some things become more annoying when they get smarter.
A bunch of new, detailed metrics made it difficult to cheat the score, so they had to make their act more convincing.
Night, in Zhang Qingyuan’s room.
This was their second time setting up the special camera distributed by the Marriage Monitoring Center, but their heart rates and tension were even higher than the first time.
Before activation, the device was quietly connected to a computer with a data cable. His sister, Zhang Junyi, had already remotely prepared everything to implant the virus.
Face recognition, fingerprint verification… a notification popped up on the phone app confirming the couple’s biological information. This legally married couple on their honeymoon began their illegal performance.
As per the routine, they had to start with the body exposure index.
This was their second time dropping their towels in front of each other, putting on their “birthday suits” and “emperor’s new clothes.”
They sat on the edge of the bed side by side, the atmosphere was a familiar awkwardness.
But amidst that familiar awkwardness, something strange seemed to have been added.
Ren Zhong was not as stiff as he was last time, appearing much more at ease.
“Captain, it’s cold tonight, let’s stay under the blanket,” Zhang Qingyuan, for some reason, was more reserved and uncomfortable than he was before.
Ren Zhong suddenly put his arm around Zhang Qingyuan’s neck.
“Didn’t you say you’d call me ‘Chong Chong’? Why haven’t I heard you say it?” Ren Zhong chuckled softly. “Did you go back to calling me Captain?”
At this very moment, in this very scene, Zhang Qingyuan’s face turned red instantly.
The app notified him that the new, detailed metric, the “facial emotion index,” had increased.
As soon as he saw the changing value, he understood the other person’s intention to tease him. His original shyness was now mixed with a hint of defiance and a little bit of disappointment.
It had been many years since he had been “teased like a child” after becoming an adult. How could he endure such a great humiliation?
He, Zhang Qingyuan, would immediately make the physical contact index go higher. He’d show him!
“I just thought calling you ‘Captain’ at this moment would be especially stimulating,” Zhang Qingyuan cupped the other person’s cheek and asked, “Captain, may I kiss you?”
“As if I could say ‘no’,” Ren Zhong scoffed. “Fine. A French kiss is okay, too.”
Zhang Qingyuan smiled. “The Captain said it himself.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his beautiful face moved closer. The soft lips, carrying the minty scent of toothpaste and mouthwash, descended upon him.
In the blended scent of chamomile and mint, Ren Zhong’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment.