Story Reader / Hidden Story / 11 Nona Ouroboros / Story
The guy controlled the performer puppets in the market, huh...
That suspicioso is gone, Captain!
All right. That's it.
After getting rid of the manipulated puppets, Chrome and Kamui find themselves being confronted by a strangely-dressed figure.
...Why are you following me? And how did you get on the ship?
The mask-wearing Construct is the figure that Chrome was following. He seems to have the ability to control the performer puppets too.
Chrome sends Kamui a glance, and they both put their weapons down together.
We're the Strike Hawk Squad from Babylonia. I'm Chrome, and this is Kamui.
We're here on the ship to seek intelligence, especially concerning AI systems.
Wait, why are you telling him everything?
Murray, who has been listening at the side, suddenly interrupts nervously, not understanding why Chrome did what he did.
Because... the guy isn't giving off "killing intent".
Killing intent...?
Yep. The will to kill! It's a kind of signal that Capt's specialized device can detect.
To put it simply, we can tell that this guy ain't here for a brawl.
Replying in the place of Chrome is a grinning Kamui.
Just leave it to him!
Babylonia... I think I've heard of that before... or did I? Well, I can tell you something about AIs, though.
The masked man replies and extends his right hand to Chrome, who grips it in a firm shake.
You're not asking anything first?
Can't lead a team if I can't handle a handshake.
The two, despite looking hostile before, seem to have come to a silent agreement. At least from Murray's perspective.
What's with the two...?
Come to think of it, you've been in contact with someone, haven't you? Can you introduce this person to me?
Of course. Murray, it's okay to share your communications with him, right?
Oh, well, yeah. I'll leave it up to you to decide.
Murray smiles, a bit resigned, and allows his visual system to be synced up with the masked man's.
I see now. An operator of sorts, huh.
My name is Chaofeng. I'm one of the KCC Kowloong Crew.
So this ship is indeed owned by the KCC, huh?
It used to be... but it's now fully under the control of the AI system you're looking for.
Under the control of an AI...?
The AI management system on the ship known as "Huaxu" was developed by the KCC. Huaxu is in charge of planning the ship itinerary and performing all kinds of missions.
It's pretty much the "mastermind" of the whole ship. But something happened during the lengthy seafaring journeys...
Huaxu shackled all the members on the vessel and implanted control codes directly, thus controlling the whole ship.
A Gestalt-related AI system... doing something like this? What is it trying to do?
To become human. With its power, it forbade all from leaving the ship and re-planned the itinerary so that it would sail on forever, all to force people into finding a shell it could inhabit.
It's trying to implant its mind onto a machine or something?
Onto Constructs. Its first target was our leader, Qu...
So she's now...
She hasn't lost her body... but she became a marionette controlled by the system.
So everyone's been basically stuck in an endless nightmare, with their every move controlled by that AI...
Yeah. But today will be the end of this nightmare. Another Kowloong crew member and I have made plans to retrieve our leader, Qu.
What good does that do?
She has access to the main control room, where Huaxu's core lies.
So you want to destroy Huaxu's core inside. Is that it?
Yes. I can't directly attack Huaxu, as I'm under its control. But you can! And the ones we invited from somewhere else can too.
So you already have help?
Yes, but we need all the help we can get.
