บท 48: Humanoid Machine
The verbal sparring had come to an end. For Rita, it didn't matter what Ren's identity was; she would only know after a fight. And Ren's target was also the Gray Serpent prosthetic eye in Rita's possession, as it was the key to controlling the Humanoid Machine. Therefore, a fight was inevitable.
「I'm leaving this to you. Whether you win or lose, stall her. Otherwise, there's no telling what will happen to your students. You wouldn't want...」
"Haa~"
Exhaling a breath of stale air, the control over her body returned once again. Murata Himeko held Raiden Mei's katana in front of her. Although her primary weapon was a greatsword, it didn't mean Himeko was incapable of using other weapons.
If she were facing Rita at her peak, she would naturally be no match. But Rita was already injured. With her new body, it wasn't impossible to have a chance.
Moreover, she was well aware that Ren was planning to seize the Humanoid Machine from her students. If something went wrong on her side, the Herrscher would definitely not hold back.
Boom—
As the ground beneath her feet suddenly shattered, Rita's body was launched out like an arrow, and the clash between the scythe and katana once again played out on the street.
…
"Mr. Gray Serpent, please forgive me for using the serpent's name, but I swear, our goals do not conflict with the serpent's guidance. On the contrary, I can provide you with a lot of useful information…" At Gray Serpent's base, the [Father] puppet, who had been intentionally released by Ren to lure Gray Serpent, had been captured. He was currently acting as the leader of an underground organization.
Facing the serpent's chilling gaze, Ren skillfully mixed a hint of arrogance into his fear. As the leader of an underground organization, even if he knew that World Serpent was a behemoth, he would still retain some arrogance, since it was just hearsay.
"The serpent does not like things outside of the plan. If that's all you have to offer, you should probably start thinking about your own funeral."
Sweat dripped down his forehead. [Father] nervously took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead, but his hand kept trembling. He racked his brain, trying to think of information that he could provide.
"I… I know Schicksal's target… They're looking for the Gem of Desire. Yes, the Gem of Desire. As long as the serpent lays an ambush, they will definitely be captured in one fell swoop."
After finally squeezing out some information, [Father] was visibly relieved. Looking into the prosthetic eye behind the white mask, he said sincerely, "Trust me, this information is absolutely true…"
Gray Serpent still held his black umbrella, seemingly thinking. After he spoke, [Father]'s face changed drastically. "The information is indeed true, but such obvious information is worthless. A business partner of mine taught me a lesson: when the value of information cannot reach the value of the trader, life becomes the bargaining chip for this trade."
"So, have you decided on your own bargaining chip?"
By now, [Father] was drenched in sweat, his mind racing. But Gray Serpent seemed to have lost his patience, aiming his gun at [Father]'s head.
"I can give all my assets to World Serpent! I, I also have the traces of the Herrscher of the Void, and I know the location of the Anti-Entropy leader. I also know about the experiments Otto has been carrying out recently. Just give me time, and I will definitely find them all."
Perhaps the value of life had completely muddled the man's mind. He blurted out everything he knew. The finger on Gray Serpent's trigger paused, and his red prosthetic eye flickered slightly.
"Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent… you actually have information on all of them. I'm starting to get interested in your identity."
The gun was still pointed at his forehead, and the man could only lower his body. "I just have a slightly larger information network, that's all."
"I'll give you two choices. Join the serpent, or die here."
"I…" [Father]'s lips trembled continuously, but in the end, he swallowed his pride, bowing his head to Gray Serpent. "I understand."
"If you can continue to bring useful information to the serpent, you will have your own codename. Otherwise, the serpent will devour you."
…
After a lengthy hacking session, Bronya finally broke through the base's network defenses and found the information Gray Serpent had hidden there.
"Is this guy crazy? He actually collected all of the network information from all of ARC City." As soon as she hacked into the database, Bronya frowned. "What's more, Gray Serpent didn't even organize it. There's no classification, tag, or index… all of the data is a total mess."
Hearing Bronya's words, Theresa also felt troubled. "Is there any information about Kiana?"
"There might be, but it will take me at least several days to find it, and even longer to transfer it." She continued her fruitless search for Kiana's information. "As an information broker, it's very strange that he would steal information without filtering it first."
"Unless he has a more efficient processing terminal—I found it, this is…" With Bronya's action, the base's mechanical door slowly opened. Along with the hissing sounds of hydraulic rods, a small girl appeared in front of the two of them.
"A little girl?" Theresa gasped as soon as she saw the figure, but she immediately noticed the large number of tubes and data terminal interfaces connected to the girl.
"No, to be precise, a modified human. Just like the modifications Gray Serpent made to himself, most of this little girl's body has also been modified." Bronya patiently explained. She had already tried using the biological chip's authentication to hack it, but she soon gave up.
"Her brain has been completely modified and fused with a quantum computer. She has an astonishing calculation ability. Without core privileges, even I won't be able to break through it in a short time."
"Quantum-level computing power… No wonder there's no need for organization." Theresa immediately understood what Bronya meant. "Perhaps we can borrow the Hyperion's mainframe to crack it, but the problem now is how do we take her."
「Outsiders, your journey ends here… please don't point that thing at me.」
Faced with the heavy cannon muzzle of Project Bunny which was almost touching her forehead, the Humanoid Machine, who had been about to be stubborn, immediately gave in.
"Bronya, isn't that a bit too rude?" Theresa asked somewhat awkwardly, trying to ease the tension.
"Headmistress, we don't have time to waste. Contact Mei immediately. We need to retreat." Bronya did not give her a chance, immediately contacting Mei by using kidnapping instead of an invitation.
But strangely enough, although Mei's signal was getting closer, no connection was being made.
"Are you looking for her?" A strange male voice echoed in the empty base. Theresa was startled to see a dazed Mei being thrown towards them by that person.
"Run…"
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