Chapter 52: The Wöhler Nika Project
『 "Seed?! Why did you find your way here?! I should have perfectly concealed my tracks!" Veronica looked at Seed, who had shown up at her door, with disbelief.
She was certain her plan was flawless; where exactly had it gone wrong?
"Doctor, what is all this?" Seed pointed at the intelligent constructs in the warehouse and looked at Veronica, questioning her.
"Forgive me, I lost my composure. It seems you were unaware of all this… then I should say, I'm glad the person who found this place was you." Veronica breathed a sigh of relief.
"Doctor, these intelligent constructs that look so much like Seed Sr.—are they all mass-produced intelligent constructs from the Defense Force?"
"Yes. They are all just like Seed Sr., born to sell their lives to the military, serving for a lifetime until they finally fade away completely." Veronica's words were laced with heavy irony, but then her tone shifted as she lowered her head in dejection.
"Of course, they were also my friends. I was basically responsible for the routine physical examinations of these big guys in the army."
"Faded away?"
Veronica let out a cold laugh. "Heh, you don't even understand that… if I say their logic cores are all shattered and destroyed, a so-called mechanical genius like you should understand what that means, right?"
Seed showed an expression of disbelief upon hearing this.
Seeing Seed's reaction, Veronica said knowingly, "As expected… even though you have no concept of life, your subconscious still understands the severity of this matter."
"Ridiculous, truly ridiculous… even you can have a reaction… yet those idiots in the upper management completely fail to understand!"
"Ms. Veronica… could it be that the stolen classified materials mentioned in the military news actually refer to these deceased intelligent constructs? And you… are the one who stole them?" Belle stepped forward and questioned her loudly.
"And those military machines recovered from the Hollow Raiders—you didn't hand them over to the military camp either. Instead, you kept them for yourself, modified them, and deployed them in the Hollow to clear a path for yourself. Is that right, Doctor?" Seed followed up.
"You've already witnessed the scene, so it's not hard to guess. My individual combat power is limited, not to mention transporting such a large batch of immobile intelligent constructs… intercepting those machines that can be ordered around freely was a huge help."
Veronica decisively admitted that she was behind everything.
"You admitted it quite readily… does it not matter to you that the matter has been exposed to us?" Belle looked at the confident Veronica.
"What I am doing is justice! Why should I be ashamed to admit to doing something just?" Veronica retorted loudly. "Besides… although you've taken out quite a few machines, my current mechanical reserves are sufficient. You pose no threat to me."
"In New Eridu's definition of citizens with human rights, intelligent constructs are clearly listed as legitimate citizens alongside humans and Thierens… but in the Defense Force, it's a whole other story."
"For all military intelligent constructs, from the moment they are born, 'Iron Order ' is implanted into their logic cores, which serve as their brains. This self-policing system imprisons their bodies, forcing them to exist only as the military's killing machines for their entire lives." 』
『 ....』
〘Hotaru〙: Machines…
〘Stelle〙: Don't overthink it. Come to the parlor car; March 7th, Dan Heng, and I specially tidied it up for you. There's even an unactivated robot here. We're waiting for you.
〘Hotaru〙: Mmh, I'm coming.
〘Kafka〙: Have fun on the Express, Hotaru-chan~
....
『 "This was already hard enough for me to accept… then my old friends died in battle one after another. The upper management not only had no intention of burying them, but instead planned to remove their original logic cores and implant brand-new ones!"
"I won't allow it… I will never allow such a thing to happen! So I stole them, went through immense hardships to transport them into the Hollow, and as long as I send them away through the rift… those idiots in the upper management will never find them again, hahahaha!"
"Hmm… but if you remove the damaged logic core and implant a complete one, these intelligent constructs can indeed move again. Theoretically, the upper management's approach is feasible, you know~" Seed mused.
"I can't believe you can say such a thing… are you saying that if you take out a person's brain and shove a different one back in, they'll still be the same person?" Veronica spoke rapidly.
"As expected, it was the right decision to break off the cooperation negotiations and not seek help from you back then… even if you could become a powerful asset, I don't need it."
"Working with a cold-blooded animal like you only makes me nauseous."
"…Cooperation is mutual. Doctor, you said before that you had a way to bring Seed Sr. back, but from the plan you just described, I didn't hear anything like that." Seed looked at Veronica and spoke in a low voice.
"Are you deceiving me, Doctor Veronica?"
Seed still wore that habitual smile on her face; it was a promise between her and Seed Sr.
"I told you, don't show me that emotionless smile of yours! Do you think I'd be satisfied just by transporting my old friends to a place where no one can find them?"
"I've already made contact with a group of rebels. I will take these intelligent constructs and join them; they are willing to give me ample funding."
"It doesn't matter how long the research takes. I will find a way to repair the damaged logic cores. I won't be like the military brass, using the corpses of old friends as shells for the birth of new ones… I want to truly resurrect them!"
She then looked at Seed with a sneer and continued, "When I stepped into that little safe house of yours, I truly had the intention of cooperating. As a friend of Seed Sr., I thought you would understand my thoughts… I was too shallow."
"Though you've described your grand plan without reservation… the fact that a damaged logic core cannot be repaired is something I think cannot be changed. Your ideas will ultimately struggle to become reality." Belle threw a bucket of cold water on Veronica.
"I've been dealing with intelligent constructs for more years than you've been in school. Before you criticize someone else's plans, you'd better think about how shallow your own knowledge actually is."
"Doctor, I think the Proxy is right. Actually, you know in your heart that a plan to repair a logic core is like trying to brew Nitro-Fuel from chrysanthemums.."
Veronica fell silent upon hearing this.
"Your relationship with Seed Sr. must have been better than with the other Intelligent constructs. If the plan were truly possible… You would never have given up on him," Seed said with certainty.
"From the moment we decided not to cooperate, you would have tried every means possible to snatch Seed Sr.'s chassis from me. The fact that you didn't… only proves that you yourself know the possibility of success."
"Shut up. A large number of machines have already been set up nearby. If you try to stop me again, they can turn you into sieves in a second," Veronica roared.
"I'm no longer interested in continuing this conversation. Now, it's time to take the intelligent constructs through the fissure and leave—"
After speaking, Veronica turned back toward the rift, only to see it slowly closing.
"Huh?! The fissure's closed?!"
The fissure Veronica intended to use for her escape should have lasted for several more hours, yet it had closed prematurely!
There was usually only one reason for this—instability in the surrounding ether environment.
Just as she stood frozen on the spot, a massive noise suddenly erupted, as if the ground were being torn open. A familiar face crawled out from among the machines, looking miserable; subsequently, the military machines began to riot.
Looking at Heric, who had scrambled out from the mechanical swarm in a pathetic state, Veronica was completely stunned. 』
『 ....』
〘Qingyi〙: After all that calculating, she didn't account for the variable that is a Hollow Raider. Truly, a dike of a thousand miles collapses from an ant hole.
〘Silver Wolf〙: Pfft—.
〘Hanabi〙: Pfft—.
〘Stelle〙: I can't, I'm dying of laughter. One second she's masterminding everything, the next second she's just standing there like a dummy, Pfft— hahahaha.
〘Veronica〙: Dammit! Just hurry up and arrest me. I don't want to see that punchable face on the light screen anymore.
〘Defense Force A〙: Oh, what are you saying? I think that face looks quite pleasant. Next time we catch him, we'll just go a bit easier on the punishment, hahahaha.
....