The acquisition of Horizon Dynamics by Yun Zhong was a direct shot across Ye Xia's bow. It was a declaration that he intended to fight her on her own turf: the battlefield of information.
Ye Xia responded by doubling down on her own advantages. She used the system's massive daily quota to "waste" money in a new way: funding a secret, off-the-books research lab of her own. She hired disgruntled ex-employees from Horizon Dynamics and top AI researchers from around the world, offering them astronomical salaries to work on a project she called "Project Mnemosyne"—after the Greek goddess of memory.
The goal was not to predict the future, but to enhance her ability to exploit her own memory of it. She wanted AI systems that could cross-reference her vague recollections of news events, stock prices, and corporate scandals from her past life with real-time data, flagging opportunities and threats with pinpoint accuracy.
It was an immense, costly undertaking. But with a daily wasting quota of five million RMB, she could funnel millions into the project every week without putting a dent in her personal wealth, which was now growing from her mother's legacy, the system's conversion, and the solid dividends from her Visa stock.
One evening, as she was reviewing a complex report from the Mnemosyne team, Mo appeared on her secure video line. His face was grim.
"Yun Zhong's move was predictable," Mo said without preamble. "But he has a weakness. He is impatient. He will push Horizon Dynamics for results faster than is safe."
"How does that help me?" Ye Xia asked.
"Rushed AI models are brittle. They can be poisoned," Mo explained. "If you can feed corrupted or misleading data into their learning streams, you can sabotage their predictive capabilities from the inside."
It was a brilliant, devious idea. Cyber-warfare.
"Do you have the resources for that?" Ye Xia asked.
"I have resources for many things," Mo replied cryptically. "But this is your fight. I can provide a roadmap. You must execute it."
He was testing her again. Pushing her to expand her arsenal beyond finance and into the shadowy world of corporate espionage.
"Send me the details," Ye Xia said.
After the call, she sat in the dark, thinking. Mo was an enigma. His help was invaluable, but his motives were opaque. Was he grooming her to be a partner? A weapon? Or was he, like her, simply playing a very long game for his own freedom?
She pushed the thoughts aside. The immediate problem was Yun Zhong. She contacted Silas.
"I need a team. The best cyber-security experts money can buy. People who aren't afraid to operate in the grey areas."
"I know just the people," Silas said. "They're expensive. And they ask no questions."
"Perfect," Ye Xia said. "Hire them."
The battle lines were now drawn in the digital realm. The ghost of Ye Xia's past was about to confront the AI of her future.