Story Reader / Main Story / 23 Wintry Shackles / Story
Ion beams and lasers strike from afar, giving you a small breathing room. Still, your line of defense keeps retreating backward without Lucia's support.
This unusual ambush has caught you all by surprise, suffocating you like a tightening net.
That is when you hear an unfamiliar voice in your ear.
This is Discord from the Purifying Force. The "Proto-Power Armor" is ready to launch. Please stay away from the landing area.
You have only read about them in textbooks. A suit of power armor fully covers the wearer's body and requires an assistant AI to function.
With the Punishing Virus ravaging the world, an AI like this is more likely to be the murderer of its wearer instead of the assistant.
This is why commandants on the front line are only equipped with simple exoskeletons instead of power armor.
The supply crate lands on the ground, pushing the surrounding Corrupted back.
You open the lid and find a black armor inside.
Liv! Covering fire!
On it!
Both Lee and Liv have apparently received the same message. Blue and white beams fire alternately, buying you time to put on the armor.
Unequipping the simple exoskeleton on you, you open the back of the armor with your access. Entering it, you hear the mechanisms behind you activate and close, and you are fully encased.
>>>>>> Identifying Commandant Clearance <<<<<<
>>>>>> Identified. Pairing with Commandant [player name] <<<<<<
>>>>>> Communication Access Activated <<<<<<
>>>>>> Energy Access Activated <<<<<<
>>>>>> Analysis Circuit Activated <<<<<<
>>>>>> Power Enhancement Module Unlocked <<<<<<
>>>>>> Weapon Module Unlocked <<<<<<
You regain your vision after a brief moment of darkness, and you hear a cold voice in your ears.
Low concentration of Punishing Virus detected. Initiating Proto-Omega Filter. Dear user, please issue your commands.
Tactical interface opened.
All the Corrupted before you are instantly tagged. Even the ones that are hidden from your field of view are marked with bright red outlines.
Quickly browsing the list of available weapons, you take out the energy pistol by your thigh.
Energy pistol armed. Initiating recoil absorption program.
The spring in your vambrace shifts slightly, supporting your optimal firing position. You are surprised to find the armor knowing your shooting habits.
You see a blinding muzzle flash, but you do not feel any recoil at all. The energy beam pierces the core of a Corrupted, taking it out in one shot.
Aim, fire; aim, fire... The power armor leaves behind heavy footprints as you advance, one step at a time.
Your fragile body can finally contribute to a real battle. You no longer need to watch your teammates fight from the sidelines.
Humanity's technological advance is finally changing the shape of this war.
The medical transport craft lifts off again, blocking the sun and casting a shadow where the three of you stand.
After eliminating the remaining Corrupted, the medical transport craft successfully lands near your temporary camp.
The sleeping Lucia is placed inside a quarantine chamber in the transport craft while Gray Raven and you are informed of a new mission.
Your mission is to collect field data for the Proto-Power Armor the Cosmos Technicians Union designed.
Due to security concerns, this mission needs to be assigned to you in person. Please confirm your mission and sign the confidentiality agreement here.
You can decide the location of your mission, Commandant.
Neither Discord's identity, the mission report, nor the electronic signature is fraudulent.
They're trying to separate us from Lucia.
Kurono would not have let Gray Raven operate freely.
Why is Gray Raven asked to test the new gear at this moment?
Is there something you need to see that cannot go through the military?
A thought suddenly appears in your head.
The analysis of her M.I.N.D. and frame is complete. Still, I'd recommend bringing her back to Babylonia for a more detailed inspection.
If something unusual happens to her on Babylonia, we will all be forced into a passive role, including her. Prison will be the least of her worries.
I'm just being cautious as a researcher.
It's okay. Give us your findings.
...Alright, but the situation is complicated. Operating remotely means I can only offer my guesses based on the limited things I've found.
Asimov adjusts the position of the terminal to better show the graphs.
Let's start with the conclusion. Lucia's infection happened because her frame's data was transforming to its original form—the data from Alpha's frame.
In a sense, she's transforming into an Ascendant. That's why the Plume frame is starting to absorb the Punishing Virus.
As if dropping a massive stone into the water, Asimov's words stir up a tidal wave within Nikola and Hassen. They have considered many possibilities, but what Asimov said is still beyond what they imagined.
Although Plume's data originated from the Ascendant Alpha, much data was altered during its development.
We made those changes because we wanted to protect its user but also because we couldn't reproduce and recover parts of the original data.
These parts of the data could be affected by factors we haven't found.
Comparing Plume's early data with the original data and the one we just collected...
One thing we can be certain of is that the altered data is attempting to transform back to its original form.
That was the reason why [player name] appeared to have a Mind Beacon corruption during the connection.
Also, Lucia's Inver-Device is constantly receiving signals from a signal source.
Our early estimate is that these signals are related to the changes in the Plume frame, and they are affecting Lucia's M.I.N.D.
Is there no way to block these signals?
The signals are transmitted in a similar way to the electromagnetic radiation of the Hetero Tower. We can't block them completely with existing technologies.
We couldn't even find out that her Inver-Device was receiving some sort of signal if we didn't compare the data against the past records of electromagnetic radiation.
If I remember correctly, Hyperreal is completely immune to Punishing Virus, isn't it? Can we use that technology on Lucia?
Hyperreal's immunity comes from the Omega Weapon installed within the frame.
But the Omega Weapon is not an ordinary device. To install it inside Plume would be just as difficult as designing an all-new frame for Lucia.
Besides, the root cause of Lucia's problem comes from the change in frame parameters. The absorption of Punishing Virus is but a side product.
It wouldn't fix the problem in her M.I.N.D. either.
Do you have a solution then?
There are two.
The first is to completely remove the Inver-Device.
I did some testings. After turning off the Inver-Device completely, the parameters and M.I.N.D. of Plume no longer had abnormal fluctuations.
Which means if we remove Lucia's Inver-Device, the "signal receiver," her problem will disappear.
But that will make her completely vulnerable to Punishing Virus. She won't be able to undertake any more combat missions.
I see. If you don't want to go down that path, we will have to turn off the signal. The second solution is to completely destroy the source of signals.
Asimov opens a map.
While we haven't deciphered the method of transmission, we can locate the approximate range of the source.
He zooms into a particular region and draws a circle.
So this is where the signals come from...
Somewhere around this region. If we can get a little closer, we can better locate its exact position through Lucia.
What impact will it have on her?
Based on the data collected so far, as Lucia approaches the source, the signal strength will also increase, leading to an increased receiving power.
I can add a blocker to her Inver-Device through remote operation. It won't block the signals completely, but it can at least alleviate her symptoms.
We just need to destroy the signal source during this time.
Do you have any idea what this source is exactly?
The available data isn't enough for us to find out its actual shape or form.
That is to say, this source can be something totally unknown. Maybe it doesn't even have a physical form that can be destroyed.
Will this signal impact other specialized frames?
There isn't sufficient evidence.
Asimov hesitates for a while before speaking again.
This is just my hypothesis. There isn't enough evidence to support it.
So far, Lucia is the only one displaying these symptoms, because her frame data and M.I.N.D. bottom structure both come from the same provider.
While other specialized frames were also developed from the data of Ascendants and agents, they had different M.I.N.D. bottom structures.
That is why specialized frames must be adjusted first before Constructs can use them.
Which leads me to suspect the signal source can possibly be Alpha's M.I.N.D. activities.
Possibly... Why can't you be sure of that? We should be able to compare it against the sample of Alpha's M.I.N.D. activities.
I already did. The signal waves didn't fully overlap.
The data is out of date. The chance of M.I.N.D. signals changing is quite low, but it is not zero.
Maybe we will meet more than just Ascendants there.
Ever since Asimov marked the approximate location of the signal source, Nikola has been looking at his terminal, trying to confirm something.
Remember the Scarlet Revelation members who went missing?
From what I remember, the Purifying Force was investigating it and found out Kurono's Project Winter and Ascendants were behind their disappearance. Is that right?
Those believers were originally placed in the Forsaken camp. The Forsakens had also been searching for them after they were gone.
Not long ago, we received an important message from Watanabe. It contained some information regarding the handover of those kidnapped believers.
The Forsakens proposed a joint operation to find out what was going on.
The Purifying Force set up a trap to capture a few suspects involved in the handover. With the information from undercover agents, we managed to deduce a few locations.
And Asimov just circled one of them.
I don't think they would do something so high-profile.
Which means if they were the reason for Lucia's problem, something must have gone out of their control.
That's good news to us. The more they are preoccupied, the more weaknesses they will expose.
Are you planning to use Lucia to find out this signal source?
That's right. Whether this source comes from Ascendants or Kurono's out-of-control research, it is worth finding out.
