Chapter 365 - 338: Invasion and Leak (Part 2)

Chapter 365: Chapter 338: Invasion and Leak (Part 2)

This white-haired old man was none other than the lead developer of Soloma’s mass-produced Intelligent Robot technology.

And this technology was merely one of the byproducts of the "Steel Will" project.

"Heh heh." Haisen laughed and raised his modified mechanical arm. "These things are still much more convenient for work."

"I know you’re passionate about mechanical modification technology, Dr. Haisen, but it’s best not to experiment on your own body. You should be well aware, Doctor, that I cannot accept the risk of something happening to you."

Dr. Haisen nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes. Is there a particular reason for Your Majesty’s visit this time?"

"I need to deploy a batch of ’Annihilators’ to suppress the enemy."

Dr. Haisen was startled to hear this. "Your Majesty wants to deploy the Annihilators? Won’t that expose their existence to the world? Won’t it affect your future plans?"

"If we can’t even secure the present, how can we speak of the future?" the King said. "The Empire’s enemies are now a large number of Ascenders, and our elite troops have more important things to do."

"I see." Dr. Haisen nodded. "If the enemy is a large number of Ascenders, then the standard mass-produced models are indeed a bit lacking. I understand. I will activate the ’Annihilators’ we have in reserve. How many does Your Majesty require?"

"One hundred units."

"Very well, I’ll go arrange the deployment at once."

"Wait."

The King stopped Dr. Haisen, then fell silent for a moment.

Dr. Haisen guessed cautiously, "Your Majesty... are you asking about ’Angel’?"

"...How is his condition?"

"He is still plagued by neural connection issues. We’re unable to achieve a full recovery of consciousness. Like the ’Annihilators,’ he can only retain partial instincts and the ability to obey commands."

Dr. Haisen sighed. "The human brain’s neural system is far too complex. At our current rate of progress, a full recovery for ’Angel’ would require a revolutionary breakthrough. Otherwise, it will still take many more years of research..."

"Can you specify the connection problem? Be specific enough that you can explain it in just a few sentences," the King said.

Dr. Haisen was taken aback for a moment. "I can, but what’s the point?"

"There is a point. A question that humanity currently cannot answer can perhaps be put to an Alien Intelligence."

...

「The Secitata Ice Sheet, Landing Site.」

Ever since that one question was asked at the cost of nearly three thousand Parasites, it had been a long time since anyone had approached the Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

The members of the contact delegation believed there was only one reason for this: they were running out of food.

Any slightly important question came at a tremendous cost. This meant that before a large number of Parasites could be captured from the Black Banner Country, the existing stockpiles of the Human Federation’s member nations might not be enough for more than a few questions.

The members of the contact delegation felt very fortunate.

If the Human Federation were to ask a question without sufficient preparation, and there weren’t enough Parasites on site for it to eat, it was obvious who the Extraterrestrial Intelligence would eat next.

They, along with the soldiers maintaining order and standing guard, would all become its next meal.

Many of them might have been very interested in studying alien life, but research was one thing, and becoming food for an alien life-form was another entirely.

With the exception of a few fanatics like Louis, most of them only liked the idea of aliens, but feared the reality.

They might have bragged in the past, saying things like, "I’d die happy if I could just see an alien once," but now most of them just wanted the Rule Stage to end quickly so the Fire Thief would come retrieve this man-eating monster.

They also held no illusions about asking the Alien Intelligence questions.

Their experience on-site over the past few days had made it very clear: only a select few were qualified to ask questions, and even then, this select few had to hold meetings, discuss, and vote on which question to choose.

Just when everyone thought today would be another boring day of freezing their butts off, Sikokun appeared, leading a group of soldiers toward them.

"You can all leave, starting now," she said. "The soldiers will drive you to the nearest town. From there, you can make your own way to the city and return to your own countries or departments."

The members of the contact delegation were stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.

"We can go back?"

"That’s great! We can finally leave this godforsaken place!"

"I’ve been having nightmares about being eaten every single night for the past few days. It’s finally over..."

Everyone cheered, but a calmer individual asked, "Excuse me, what’s going on? Why can we suddenly go back?"

Sikokun said flatly, "There’s been an intelligence leak. Someone posted information about the Alien Intelligence’s abilities, its feeding habits, and other related matters online."

"What..."

Everyone was very surprised to hear this.

They had been at the Landing Site for days, with no access to any internet-capable devices. They knew just how strict the security was.

For the information to leak under these circumstances... it was simply unbelievable.

"I want to stay!"

Louis stepped forward at that moment, speaking to Sikokun with determination.

"Impossible," Sikokun said bluntly. "My orders are to repatriate everyone in the contact delegation."

"But I’m not like these cowards!" Louis grew frantic. "They’re scared of dying and want to leave, but I’m different!"

The other members of the delegation, having been insulted, were instantly furious.

"Louis, you bastard! Who are you calling a coward?"

"Just ignore him, he’s a lunatic."

"Captain, I think you should just let him stay. Didn’t he say he could be food? Let him be the next meal. He can make a contribution to humanity."

Louis ignored the others and pleaded with Sikokun, "I’m begging you, let me stay. Or contact your superior, I can explain it to them!"

Sikokun said, her face expressionless, "Take them away."

"Yes, ma’am."

The soldiers immediately led everyone, including Louis, to the vehicles.

"I want to stay! Let me stay!"

Louis clung to the vehicle’s door, refusing to let go, but it was useless. A soldier struck him with the butt of a rifle, making him cry out in pain and release his grip before being shoved inside.

After the contact delegation had left the Landing Site, Sikokun contacted Yelena to report the situation.

"Governor, the members of the delegation have been sent to the town."

"Good, I understand."

Sikokun noticed Yelena’s voice was somewhat low and asked, "Governor, do you need me to investigate the murder at the prison?"

"No, from now on, don’t go anywhere," Yelena said. "Now that the intelligence on the Alien Intelligence has been exposed, some individuals or groups with ulterior motives might try to make contact. You are to stop them. I have already dispatched a new batch of soldiers to support you."

"Yes, ma’am. Rest assured, Governor, I will not let any unauthorized personnel get anywhere near the Alien Intelligence!"

"Mm, I trust you." Yelena paused. "Sikokun, do you think he was the one who did it?"

Yelena didn’t say "his" name, but Sikokun knew she was referring to that academy teacher, Guan Tong.

"Right now, I can only say he has strong motive and suspicion," Sikokun said. "But without evidence, I can’t make a judgment."

"...That’s right. Without evidence, we can’t make a judgment. I’ve already sent people to investigate the scene. We’ll just have to wait for the results."

After the call ended, Sikokun fell into silent thought.

’I didn’t detect any "grief" or similar emotions in Yelena’s voice.’

’This wasn’t surprising. Though they were brother and sister, they hadn’t grown up together. They saw each other a handful of times a year, at most. Their bond was never very deep.’

’And that shallow bond had been completely obliterated after two incidents: the Rijeka Faction sending assassins to threaten and kill Guan Tong, and Rijeka colluding with their grandmother to make a vicious move at the birthday banquet.’

’Rather than family, they had long since become enemies, each wishing the other dead.’

’But Konia is a great family. From the family’s perspective, the assassination of a core member who had once competed for the position of Governor was an event of the utmost importance.’

’If the family didn’t handle it properly, it would only show that the family had lost its strength, which would embolden its many enemies.’

’If that teacher, Guan Tong, really did assassinate Rijeka, then the Governor... she...’

Sikokun shook her head. ’This isn’t something I should be worrying about.’

’Right now, I only need to worry about one thing: strictly carrying out the mission Yelena gave me. I have to ensure that during this Rule Stage, now that the intel has leaked, no unauthorized personnel get a chance to approach the Extraterrestrial Intelligence.’