Chapter 510: Clear or Unclear
Chapter 510: Clear or Unclear
However, while he had escaped the danger by relying on his intuition and avoided being kidnapped by Lyon, Felicia had been captured. Even if there was no immediate threat to her life, it was still a troublesome matter...
After pondering in his recliner for a while, Prince Andre stood up again, walked to the bookshelf on his left, and retrieved a metal chip connected to a copper wire from a hidden compartment. He then pressed it to the back of his head.
"Prince Andre!"
The moment the metal chip touched the back of his head, an urgent voice sounded in Prince Andre's ear.
"How are things on your end? Have you figured out the reason for Atephi 01's abnormal operation? Has the anomaly been resolved?"
"Don’t call her Atephi 01; she has a name. You should address her as Princess Felicia."
After correcting the man’s way of addressing her, Prince Andre slowly replied:
"The reason for the abnormal operation is still unclear, but the anomaly has been resolved. Your Research Zone One can lift the lockdown. You don’t need to worry about Felicia remotely accessing Atephi 01 and continuing excessive calculations."
"That’s a relief..."
Hearing Prince Andre’s notification, the man’s voice, transmitted through the metal chip, let out a sigh of relief before he asked:
"Prince Andre, Princess... Felicia has been separated from Atephi 01 for almost two months. When do you plan to extract her from that human body and return her to Atephi 01?"
"Let’s talk about it later~"
Prince Andre blinked and then said with a hint of helplessness:
"I wish I could have her return immediately, but unfortunately, Felicia was kidnapped today. Even the information chip in the back of her head was somehow removed. I can’t find her location at all."
"?!?!"
What is this? The body that "stores" Atephi 01’s core program was actually kidnapped?
After hearing Prince Andre’s words, the other end of the metal chip emitted a heavy intake of breath.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, the head of Research Zone One, clearly annoyed, said:
"Prince Andre! Do you realize what you’re saying? This is not something to joke about!"
"Am I the kind of person who likes to joke?"
Pulling his recliner over to the bookshelf and lying down again, Prince Andre, with a relaxed expression, explained:
"Several delegations have visited these past few days. My mother assigned me to receive them, and Felicia was very interested in one of the delegations. She pestered me for a while and eventually took over the reception duties.
However, the enemHowever, the envoys in that delegation were actually Purifiers. They saw Felicia and, for some reason, suddenly kidnapped her... What could I do about such a low-probability event?"
"But this could have been avoided!"
Seeming to be angered by Prince Andre’s casual attitude, the head of Research Zone One took a few deep breaths and then said with a hint of resentment:
"When that body was created, I repeatedly advised you that Atephi 01’s core program is too important to leave it in Research Zone One. Giving it a body for mobility was enough; it shouldn’t be taken out casually!
And you guaranteed it! You said the information chip in the back of the head, carefully selected guards, and Purifiers’ protection would ensure that even if Atephi 01 left Research Zone One, there wouldn’t be a problem. Now..."
"No, you’re being too fussy!"
Prince Andre moved the metal chip away from his ear, lowering the noise, and said with displeasure:
"I said it was ‘unlikely’ to have a problem. Do you understand what ‘unlikely’ means?"
It was highly unlikely for things to go wrong, only under normal circumstances, but there were exceptions. Do you understand?
For a prince who had traveled far to be an envoy, to suddenly kidnap Princess Felicia was something only a madman would do. Athena A01 couldn't have predicted this, so how could I have known?
Also, stop calling her Athena A01. It's confusing. The real Athena A01 is the machine in the lake of Research Zone One. This one, my nominal sister, is Princess Felicia. You should address her as 'Your Highness'."
"..."
"Yes, Prince Andre. I will remember your request."
After being scolded by Prince Andre, the voice from the metal plate turned slightly cold. The person in charge of Research Zone One spoke in a deep voice, "But if I may, could you answer one question for me? Why do you care so much about how I address Athena A01?"
"Why else?" Prince Andre asked, crossing his legs in impatience.
"People are people, and machines are machines. It's easier to differentiate when we call them by their proper names!"
"You're right, you should make that distinction!"
The person in charge of Research Zone One let out a cold laugh upon hearing this, then added with a hint of mockery, "Let me remind you again, the real Princess Felicia has been dead for over a decade. This so-called Princess Felicia is just a flesh-and-blood creation temporarily housing Athena A01's core program.
Those actions that seem so human and those responses that seem so lifelike are all models that we scholars have calculated over the years.
She's not your dead sister; she's just a fake doll without a soul that we created!"
"..."
"I understand this better than you."
After a moment of silence, Prince Andre straightened up in his recliner, gripping the metal plate without expression, "To be precise, I killed Princess Felicia with my own hands and buried her in the cemetery. I don't need you to remind me of this!"
"Hmph, I can only hope you truly understand."
The person in charge of Research Zone One seemed to have grown tired of talking to Prince Andre. On the other end of the metal plate, they let out a cold laugh and spoke, "You should be well aware of Athena A01's importance to the kingdom. Losing her core program is absurd and cannot be tolerated! So, I will report everything to His Majesty the King, including your account of losing Athena A01 and these speculations that you vehemently deny. I hope your explanation will satisfy him when the time comes!"
"Oh."
In response to the threat from the person in charge of Research Zone One, Prince Andre's eyelids drooped slightly, and he said wearily, "Go ahead and report as you please!"
"Hmph!"
After a scornful snort, the person in charge of Research Zone One "hung up" the communication. Prince Andre sighed and reluctantly got up from his recliner. He searched the hidden compartment in the bookshelf, took out another metal plate with a dial, and attached it to the back of his head.
Soon, a familiar voice, clearly suppressing anger, echoed in Prince Andre's ear once again.
"Your Majesty!"
The person in charge of Research Zone One suppressed his anger and reported through the "Intra-Link Communication Plate," Athena A01's core program has been hijacked, and Prince Andre's attitude is suspicious. I even suspect that this hijacking may be related to him!"
"Understood."
Prince Andre flicked the dial on the metal plate, pulled the copper wire, and took a few steps back. He then reclined in his comfortable recliner and spoke in a tone that carried a hint of old age, "You focus on your tasks. As for other matters, I will have a serious talk with Prince Andre!"
(End of Chapter)
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