The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

As a result, the V-Virus was still just a theoretical discussion level.

“Come on, I’m joking! There’s no way it’s possible right now. There are mountains of hurdles to overcome.”

The remark from the frozen high school girl doctor was ultimately just bluster. We, who had been momentarily intrigued, put our imagination aside in light of the realistic critique.

“Hmm, but it’s not a pointless idea. Everyone has different physiques, genes, and ether affinities. Non-Awakened ones and ether are like oil and water. We definitely need an emulsifier to mix the two properly.”

“Emulsifier, you say?”

I didn’t quite understand what Bernike meant, so I asked through the mouse.

The two researchers glanced at each other and started explaining.

“It’s about optimizing the interaction between ether particles and the cell membranes. Amplifying the magical wave at the cellular level and restructuring the synaptic connections in the brain to stabilize consciousness expansion. Like a conversion adapter, it transforms incoming ether signals into a form that the brain can process.”

“Ugh, I have no idea what you just said…”

It felt like they were explaining something long, but I was getting dizzy.

Phoebe burst out laughing, having seen the mouse holding its head with its front paws.

“Haha! Is your head hurting? How cute!”

“If you’re going to talk in a way only you understand, then don’t bother explaining.”

“Ah, okay! I promise, I’ll make it super simple. Non-Awakened ordinary people are like damp firewood. Can you use wet wood as firewood when you need a fire?”

“Nope, it won’t catch fire.”

“Exactly. So, it needs to be thoroughly dried. That’s what big bro Yurik and sister Bernike are trying to do. I’m just dousing it in oil to help it burn even better. People are the wood, and the artificial pathogens are the oil. Got it?”

So, in simple terms, it sounds like they’re trying to turn people into firewood for Violet. I understood.

This idea was a bit weird and crazy, but there was a connection to us.

“I see. You mean making people the torch of democracy!”

Stacking people up like firewood to set ablaze.

There’s a saying that democracy thrives on blood, so the clone democracy of Free Violet is burning people as fuel.

With that, we would warm up this dark and cold world.

“Yes! We must become the queens of firewood!”

“The witches of firewood!”

Isn’t that a splendid expression?

Our duty is to warm the world, after all.

“…Democracy? I don’t even know what that means, but it’s a fun expression!”

I guess that’s enough chit-chat for now.

It seemed like the people beyond the desk were starting to feel uncomfortable.

“Hmph, it’s not something I can do right away. For now, I should focus on what I need to do, right?”

“So, do you think it’s possible, ma’am? The world must have changed quite a bit.”

I didn’t have high expectations.

Sure, they called him a genius, but he had been a frozen mackerel for decades.

I just hoped he wouldn’t be too far behind.

As if reading my thoughts, Phoebe’s gaze sharpened.

The corners of her mouth curled up confidently.

“Stop worrying! I’m the one rewriting the rules in the field of nanochemistry! Those foundation folks who’ve been using my research without permission? This time, I’ll give them a good lesson!”

The papers in front of her momentarily floated and then settled down.

She exuded confidence. Well, if there’s no success, she’d just end up back in the Violet prison, so it’s no wonder she was so loud.

**

After the first meeting, I looked around inside the building. It was small but tidy enough to appeal to me.

“So, how about this place, uncle?”

“It’s amazing! Thank you so much! I can’t believe I get to work in a place like this!”

The uncle, who had just recovered from the shock of the V-Virus, seemed overjoyed like a child.

It must have been quite a relief for him to move from working in a factory to a proper building.

“Wow! We lost our home!”

“Don’t listen to him, or I’ll dock your pay and make you work 12-hour shifts!”

Since Awakened ones are superhuman, the big clans apparently have a standard work schedule from 9 AM to 9 PM for six days a week.

If we keep feeding the ordinary folks heaps of awakening agents and treat them with Daphne, maybe they could handle a 996 work schedule too.

The uncle was blissfully unaware of my plans and kept chatting excitedly.

“Thank you, boss! Even though I’m not good enough, I appreciate this support… First, I’ll clean up the infection issue. Then, I will uncover the essence of the network and become even stronger; I will definitely show results!”

Those sparkling eyes overflowing with gratitude and expectation. It was heartwarming.

Technically, I hadn’t given him any money, but I decided not to explain that to the uncle.

“So, how much stronger are you going to help him? Like a Grand Mage?”

Just as I finished my sentence, the uncle energetically shouted, not acting his age.

“A Grand Mage? No way! Would you really be satisfied with that?”

“You’re right! Stronger is better!”

“Maybe… I might reach the realm of gods!… Ah, but that’s just a metaphor. Forget I said that…”

The uncle hastily tried to smooth over his words, which seemed a bit suspicious.

I decided not to press further.

It seemed like leaving things as they were would lead to a more interesting conclusion.

Firewood, gods, nanomachines. Those keywords were swirling in my head.

“Queen of firewood!”

**

During the time when vaccine development was underway, a peculiar situation was unfolding across various foundation outposts.

“Conduct a full inspection! If even a hint of abnormality is detected, incinerate immediately!”

Cages were constantly moving in and out. Inside were experimental animals of various shapes and sizes.

The anxiously screeching animals were sequentially loaded onto carts and taken to the deepest isolation rooms of each outpost.

On one side of the room stood a sleek, rectangular machine with various pipes and cylinders attached.

The incinerator’s opening slid open.

The animals were tossed in along with their cages.

As the door sealed, the device activated, emitting a blue light, and a violent vibration accompanied the operating sound.

The screams from inside were drowned out by flames and vibrations.

“We can’t even trust the experimental animals anymore.”

One of the directors supervising the incineration of specimens mumbled.

While unexpected behavior from test subjects was common in monster research or other experimental procedures, there had never been a case in Rumyx’s history where non-intelligent beings gained cognitive abilities and launched organized rebellions.

“Hellman is unstable too. If they invade…”

At someone’s comment, even the directors, who had faced numerous crises, felt a chill down their spines.

If even the heroes of the Great War were barely holding on with their unique mental fortitude, if such an incident were to occur, recovery would be impossible.

Director Quabna, who was observing the situation, calmed his colleagues.

“Calm down! Didn’t you all see? Our satellite network accurately pinpointed their location. They have already left the surface. Those armed entities we witnessed are merely familiars; they likely don’t possess self-invasion capabilities.”

“Are you sure of that? What if not?”

“In that case, we will unleash the enhancement virus. The research facility we lost was just one outpost, and our mass production capabilities and research competencies are still intact.”

“But didn’t the immune experimental subjects already escape? There’s a possibility of adaptation! What about the risk of that characteristic spreading?”

It was an unscientific hypothesis.

Yet, they couldn’t dismiss the ‘what if’ possibility.

That assumption had already materialized into reality.

The fact that they had secured the ability to invade other entities and assimilate them into themselves was evident.

Moreover, what if they adapt to the virus and, in a worst-case scenario, modify that to spread themselves?

“That’s impossible, right? That was back during the experiments. The final produced virus was reinforced to the point that it could even kill those test subjects.”

“Yet, they survived, didn’t they? That means they possess some form of immunity!”

With hidden aspects revealed, people inside the foundation began to scratch their heads in distress.

“Let’s awaken Hellman again.”

“That won’t be enough! Let’s use the final project!”

Fortunately, the foundation still had one last resort left. A relic from the otherworldly civilizations that had stood against the overwhelming invasion of the alien empire.

“Let’s activate Hecatoncheires. We’ll harness its knowledge and manufacturing capabilities.”

The massive remnants of the alien warship that the foundation had meticulously restored, infusing it with accumulated information to promote its growth.

In the worst-case scenario, we would have to mobilize it, still stored in the deep sea.

“…At this point, that seems to be the most rational solution. How far has the ship’s awakening progressed?”

“It’s still below 50%, but it should be able to secure the level of functionality we need. We’ve input enough of the initial knowledge.”

“Very well. Let’s amplify the unmanned weapon power with the relic’s strength. The task force should maintain the status quo for now.”

The foundation began preparing to deploy the precious legacy they held.

“Let’s respond to proxy warfare with proxy warfare. We will track their remnants to the end and bury them in this world.”

The emergency situation was not yet over.

**

Three days after the initial briefing, the self-proclaimed Violet Biology Research Institute started to buzz with new researchers.

“Professor, you said you’d hire us…”

“That’s right, this is your job. Aren’t you happy? There’s absolutely no chance of being fired.”

Bernike’s voice dripped with a chilling laughter.

“Augh…”

The plump graduate students from the last Violet Navy expedition were visible.

Though they had graduated, that seemed to have turned into a curse. They had been lured by Bernike and forced into research slave roles after employing security magic.

Now, these poor souls had the task of implanting chips into the heads of animals.

“Wow, when did they prepare so many humans?”

“Smart but naive kids.”

Bernike said, seemingly pleased.

“They’re enough to join our great cause. They won’t spill the beans either. I’ll be bringing in more, so prepare the seats.”

After the procedure was completed, the chip-implanted monkeys moved to the next room.

They quietly donned the network access devices on their heads.

With a flash of blue light, the monkeys began squeaking.

“Woah! Where are we?”

“You are V-Monkeys! Welcome to the V-Animal army you volunteered for!”

The animals, now granted intelligence, were promptly given a rookie orientation in the basement of the institute.

As propaganda and network-based education began, the newly enlisted recruits cheered enthusiastically.

“Wow! We never knew about animal democracy until now! It’s truly magnificent!”

“Wooaaah!”

The core tasks of this research institute were three main points.

The first was—

“Scale! Scale is everything!”

“Exactly! We need a lot of clones!”

The expansion and efficiency development of the larger Violet Network.

In simple terms, it meant increasing the number of clones and exploring more tasks that could be done through the network.

Currently, they were researching methods to disrupt and block the V-virus transmission from the foundation that rained down from the sky.

“Using materials that block magical power…”

“And verification?”

The second task was the mass production of the V-Animal army.

The key was to grow the scale of the remote-controlled autonomous army that would fight in place of our Violet, unable to emerge from the Red Zone.

Fortunately, the chip implantation process was starting to show signs of becoming more efficient.

“Laplacian was searching for a way to replace bio-chips. So, that means…”

“Tada! Here comes my idea!”

Instead of the cumbersome implantation process, it looked promising to solve it with a simple injection.

“Hey sis! Check this out. If we inject these artificial ether-friendly molecules into the animals and expose them to the waves, and then soak them with the pathogens reflecting the democratic ideals you’re talking about, the conversion speed will be much faster!”

“Oh ho! That’s a great idea!”

But above all, the most urgent task was to mass-produce the V-antivirus to counter the wicked biological weapons.

-Passt!

The sample of the Corbus virus we had seized from the institute was as deadly as expected.

As soon as it made contact with my blood carried from afar, it turned pitch black in an instant.

“I’m telling you in advance, making a cure is not going to be easy. It’s focused solely on lethality. The molecular structure is highly advanced! If this is war, we’re at a disadvantage from the start!”

That wasn’t the only troubling point.

“First of all, the animals definitely have immunity! However…”

Phoebe waved her finger in the air. A pen floated up, spun around wildly, and then stopped.

Come to think of it, she must also be an Awakened One with a unique ability. Telekinesis, huh.

“What you must understand is that the immunity doesn’t equate to having driven out the virus.”

“Isn’t that enough? In movies, if there’s an immune person, they just drew blood to create vaccines.”

“Hehe! Silly sis. Just having immunity and trying to draw blood from that person or animal to make a vaccine is only something you see in movies! In reality, it’s way more complex.”

Anxiety started to creep up.

“So, ma’am. Are we going to lose to the foundation?”

“No, we’ll win! Even if their forms have changed, this is my creation!”

For now, an initial process was underway to verify why our V-Animals had immunity in the first place. Unusually, it had already been observed that V-Animals had immunity even before meeting the experimental animals.

“…Interesting. Could it be that the animal network played some kind of role?”

One strange thing was that the process through which the experimental animals became V-Animals was a complete mystery.

However, judging by the similar surgical scars left on the animals’ heads, it was inferred they must have undergone augmentation procedures like bio-chips previously.

“Anyway, leave it to me!”

Amid various ideas popping up, something we had forgotten unexpectedly reappeared.

“What’s that for?”

On the experiment table lay the nanomachine enhancers our mice had seized during the last operation.

I wondered if she knew something about it and handed it over, and she seemed thrilled.

“You know, the speed of technological advancement these days is really astonishing! During the time I was frozen, things accelerated so much!”

Phoebe floated up an ampoule with enhancers.

Behind the shimmering blue liquid, her eyes sparkled with excitement.

“I’m going to use the sample you just gave me. I’ve just come up with something fun. It’ll be a big help!”

“Do you even have time to handle that?”

“Plenty!”

I’ll have to keep an eye on how far she can go.

**

As all these miscellaneous events unfolded, we finally approached our original goal.

“The decryption is complete. We can now track the secret strongholds of the foundation again.”

Irene handed me the analysis results sent from Helios. I was astonished as soon as I looked at the materials.

“A mobile marine base? I can’t believe they were hiding something like this…”

The results of analyzing the encrypted coordinate data seized from the airships were astonishing.

The secret facilities of the foundation we had so desperately sought were not fixed buildings, but moving marine bases.

Particularly noteworthy was a specific coordinate. This coordinate had appeared repeatedly in various communication records and flight logs, and was managed at a high-security level.

Somewhere off the waters near Rust Room, this location was likely the foundation’s core facility.

“Alright, as soon as the vaccine is complete, we’ll raid their headquarters!”

We’ll wrap it up by August at the earliest, and by September at the latest.