NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 66
Chapter 66: The Doll and the Immortal Girl 3
It took Alice about an hour of ‘playing’ to resolve the misunderstanding with the Immortal Legion girls.
They swung their swords and fired live bullets while shouting, “Eliminate the spy!”—leaving one to wonder whether it was all a joke or not.
Judging by the smiles on their faces, they might have just been excited to play for the first time in a while.
The reason D-69 suddenly identified Alice as an ally was simple.
Unfortunately, Alice had recently implanted numerous parts from the Dominator Robot into her body, which caused her physical form to register the code of Earnest Rail’s Dominator Robot.
D-69, who was programmed to kill humans without a protection code, would have killed even Earnest Rail’s full-time employees under normal circumstances.
However, Dominator Robots are equipped with a company-specific code during manufacturing to prevent friendly fire, and this was enough for D-69 to recognize Alice as an ally.
“Phew, this is exhausting… Theresa, do you understand what they mean by a code embedded in my body?”
【Confirmation. Running diagnostics… Diagnosis complete.】
【The identification code appears to have been incorporated during the process of upgrading your body using components from Earnest Rail’s Dominator Robot.】
I hadn’t even considered that…
“Is this bad?”
【It is merely an identification code, not a virus. The code is designed to prevent friendly fire among combat robots, so it does not pose a problem.】
“Ah, I see. Setting the code aside, what do you think of this girl?”
Alice asked, looking at D-69 with curious eyes.
When D-69 had been carried by the other girls, she seemed to waver about whether to draw her weapon.
But now that she identified Alice as an ally, she stood still, looking surprisingly adorable.
Though she looked like a frail and cute girl, her insides were packed with all sorts of weaponry and armaments—just like Alice.
“Here, take this!”
“……”
“Pudding’s delicious! Let’s eat together!”
“……”
The Immortal girls seemed curious about D-69.
They tugged on her cheeks or offered her pudding from their meal kits in an attempt to befriend her.
However, as a doll, D-69 lacked functions for forming relationships or consuming food, so she remained silent.
“Everyone, I need to talk to this girl for a bit. Could you step aside for a moment?”
“Ehh~”
“Okayyy.”
“Squishy…”
The girls reluctantly left the area but continued to peek at Alice from walls or the ceiling.
Well, I guess they were excited about the prospect of making a new friend.
【Searching…】
【Search failed.】
At that moment, Theresa displayed a “search failed” notification.
“Nothing came up?”
Theresa, even from the satellite city of Zain, had access to Ark’s internet.
Her computational and data-processing abilities far exceeded Alice’s human mind.
If Theresa couldn’t find anything, then no one could find reliable information.
【Internet searches within Ark yield no matching data on this entity.】
“What about posting a question? There are plenty of Q&A forums or wikis, aren’t there?”
【I already tried, but it was ineffective.】
“Ineffective?”
Alice tilted her head at Theresa’s response.
【As soon as I posted this entity’s photo on the public forum, it was immediately deleted.】
“By whom?”
【The deletion was requested by Earnest Rail.】
At that, Alice furrowed her brow, as if catching onto something.
【It seems company surveillance officers are stationed online to preemptively censor information that might be inconvenient or harmful to the company.】
“So, what you’re saying is, this girl’s existence itself is illegal under Ark’s laws.”
As someone aspiring to be a First-Class Overseer, I can’t just let an illegal entity slide.
Muttering this, Alice lifted the girl.
Despite her delicate appearance, the girl was extremely heavy.
At least 100 kilograms.
Perhaps more.
This small frame contained countless compressed weapons and machinery.
The girl, now lifted in Alice’s arms, opened her mouth with an expressionless face.
“What are you doing? This unit must complete its mission. Please do not interfere.”
“Mission? What mission?”
“To patrol the northern front’s assigned area and annihilate all human entities encountered.”
“………”
Even though this was an era where even children held weapons, this one didn’t seem to be older than ten.
“Theresa, search for information on illegal modifications involving minors within Ark. Include keywords like orphan abduction or secret experiments.”
【Acknowledged.】
【Processing request…】
As harsh as life in Ark was and despite the hellish conditions in some areas, it was hard to believe that such crude weaponization of a minor’s body could be legal.
【After reviewing 31,184,293 posts, matching entries have been found.】
【Articles claiming that companies purchase orphans or conduct secret experiments have been identified.】
“What do you think?”
【The entity in question is likely an illegal corporate weapon. It is presumed that orphans were purchased or trafficked and used as hosts.】
“Haah.”
The world was truly falling apart.
Originally, I had only intended to stir up trouble on the Saya Guild’s request. But how could I stand by after seeing orphans turned into illegal weapons?
Of course, I had caused trouble with the Immortal girls myself, but I tried to ensure they didn’t kill anyone since that was neither admirable nor pleasant.
From the looks of it, Earnest Rail produced this thing secretly without any agreements in place.
“Theresa, can you hack into this thing? If possible, disable its combat mode or neutralize it.”
【It’s not impossible. I’ve accumulated hacking data while taking control of the Barrier Agency’s AI and Earnest Rail’s underground train systems.】
“And?”
【This entity was not designed to withstand electronic warfare. Any external hacking attempt could cause synapse overheating, leading to the entity’s death.】
So, there was no possibility of turning it back into a human.
Earnest Rail really went to horrific lengths.
Not only had they modified orphans, but they also implemented a self-destruct mechanism in case the combat dolls became unusable.
“Well, isn’t this just a mess.”
【The use of a human brain instead of AI by Earnest Rail was likely to prevent information leaks. It could also be due to cost efficiency.】
“Cost efficiency?”
【Human brains are far cheaper to maintain than AI neural networks.】
Alice fell silent, lost in thought.
It was clear this entity was an enemy, so eliminating it when the opportunity arose would be logical.
For Alice, herself and the Immortal girls who called her “teacher” were far more important. If Earnest Rail’s doll attacked them, she wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate.
Still, since the doll didn’t recognize them as enemies due to the code, and because it resembled a young girl, it was hard to act aggressively.
“Ah, Theresa. Can you hack into the Earnest Rail code inside me?”
【For what purpose?】
“Well, if this doll recognizes me not as a Dominator Robot but as Earnest Rail’s chairman, I might be able to give it commands.”
【…Surprising.】
“What is?”
【That a human is capable of coming up with ideas.】
“Hey, I’m still your owner, you know.”
【Acknowledged.】
【Reviewing.】
【Modifying code.】
【Dominator identification code detected.】
【Modifying code.】
【Infiltrating corporate system.】
【Installing, attempting installation.】
【Success.】
“Huh? It worked?”
【You have been granted Earnest Rail’s Executive Director code.】
What? Executive Director?
The doll’s gaze shifted drastically, as if it wasn’t a joke.
“Executive Director Alice, code confirmed. Please issue your commands, Executive Director.”
“…….”
【From now on, electronically speaking, you are Earnest Rail’s Executive Director. Please feel free to use that young girl’s body as you see fit.】
“Hey, don’t say things that could be misunderstood.”
Anyone overhearing that would immediately mistake me for a pedophile.
Now suddenly an Executive Director, Alice could extract various pieces of information from the doll.
She learned that the girl was Earnest Rail’s multipurpose combat weapon known as a “Doll” and that her assigned identification code was D-69.
Additionally, the girl was carrying out a mission to eliminate all humans in the area under the unilateral orders of Milton, the manager of the Northern Front.
“Wait, so any command is possible?”
Considering that Milton was the officer in charge at the Northern Front, it was clear that no one else currently had authority exceeding that of an Executive Director.
“Furthermore, it is reported that 50 Dolls, including D-69, are presently executing the human elimination mission in this vicinity.”
“Fifty of them…”
An idea flashed through Alice’s mind.
“Theresa.”
【Speak, Human.】
“What happens to illegal weapons in Ark?”
【The manufacturer is penalized, and the weapons are confiscated and disposed of under the administrator’s authority.】
“Then there’s no problem if I take them all for myself, right?”
【……?】
For a brief moment, Theresa’s response slowed.
【Are you insane, Human? I joked about it, but you’re actually starting to sound like a pedophile…】
“No, dammit! That’s not what I mean. If I report these Dolls to Oriana, Earnest Rail will be punished, sure, but the Dolls will likely all be scrapped. That means I’d have to deal with them myself.”
【At this rate, will you start taking in monsters too?】
“…No, they’re kids. They were sold to a Mega Corps for chump change, modified into weapons, and now you’re saying we shouldn’t feel pity? What kind of person would that make me?”
【I understand your sentiment. However, the most prudent action is to neutralize and eliminate the Dolls. Is there a compelling reason to save them?】
A reason?
Well…
“If no one else will treat them as humans, at least I should.”
【…Very well.】
Theresa admitted that aside from Alice’s self-proclaimed compassion, the Dolls had considerable value.
The Immortal Legion and the Doll Army.
One side consisted of warped organic beings, while the other was comprised of mechanically-based combat weapons.
Either way, both groups were immensely valuable in terms of military strength.
Though Alice likely had no such intention, if she managed to seize all 50 Dolls, it wouldn’t just disrupt the Northern Front.
【It might even change the ruling power of this place.】
Dawn and Earnest Rail would gain nothing from this region.