Story Reader / Floating Record / ER11 Begin Anew / Story
The vast city has no shortage of unexplored corners, and the diary only mentions a few of the more notable locations.
She divides the students into small groups, instructing them to investigate different areas separately. Meanwhile, she continues to explore in the direction of the audio-visual store.
Hey, listen, keep your head down when you walk. Haven't you noticed that group of mechanoids?
Just as she's about to turn the corner, she hears hushed voices coming from around the bend. Her instincts immediately pick up the scent of valuable information, and she conceals herself against the wall to observe their movements.
Ah—you mean those girls in school uniforms?
What do you mean "girls"? Have you forgotten the day they attacked the city center? Your neighbor's brother-in-law died in that incident... have you already forgotten?!
But... but I've heard they're now "weapons" defending the city. The last time the Corrupted invaded, it was because of them that we were able to...
Damn it, what weapons? They're just a bunch of bloodthirsty monsters. Do they even know what it means to be alive?
Sure, they're defending the city now, but they're mechanoids! Who can guarantee they won't suddenly go berserk one day?
...You have a point. Better to be careful.
The two residents seem to turn a corner somewhere, their conversation gradually fading into indistinct murmurs.
As you follow the voices alone, you suddenly feel someone's gaze on you from ahead and to your left.
...What remarkable perceptiveness.
A man in an immaculate suit puts down his coffee and applauds appreciatively.
Employee number 035034... The newly appointed Commandant of Gestrig. I haven't got the wrong person, have I?
Even if all he has is the information on your ID card, the risk of your identity being exposed remains high. You instinctively become more guarded.
No need to be so tense. I just happen to know a few things about you. I work for the company too. I'm employee number 000679, but you can call me Horst.
Horst calmly shows his empty hands, indicating he harbors no ill intent.
No need for formalities.
Horst gestures for you to sit down and talk.
I admire how you guided your students to successfully secure City 141.
You're a smart person, so I'll get straight to the point. I want you to stop interfering in your students' battles.
I know you're confused, but please hear me out first.
If I'm not mistaken, Gestrig Academy has strictly forbidden Commandants from personally entering the battlefield.
This order was announced by Martha, Gestrig's chief combat officer, during the last company meeting.
Yet you disobeyed those orders and entered combat directly.
Although all participating students survived, many calculation nodes were damaged—resulting in a poor combat performance score for your team.
Of course... not.
A glint of approval appears in his eyes.
It seems... we're cut from the same cloth.
Yes... I'm like you. We both want to find ways to keep those children alive, even if it doesn't align with the company's philosophy.
Even though they're mechanoids, you must have felt it too, right? They aren't actually devoid of "emotions."
Yet Gestrig treats them as mere weapons, constantly sacrificing them in brutal combat.
I wish I could do something about it... or rather, I wish we could do something about it.
Of course.
Gestrig has set mandatory directives that force them to act accordingly. This is the tool the company uses to control them.
There's only one way to remove these directives—if the Corrupted enter the city center, Gestrig's mandatory protocols imposed on them will be lifted, and they'll regain their freedom.
With "freedom," they'll no longer be sacrificed at someone's whim. All I need from you is to not interfere with their battle.
You just need to guide them not to resist the Corrupted and instead focus on protecting the residents' lives. That shouldn't be difficult for them.
Hah... Of course you can choose not to trust me. But frankly, whether they live or die has nothing to do with me, nor will it affect my future.
Contact me when you've made your decision.
He hands over a business card, which confirms that his rank is indeed two levels above your own.
Although you managed to save those students, your combat record has been less than satisfactory.
If you're willing to cooperate with me, I'll submit a special explanatory report to headquarters on your behalf and give you a higher evaluation—after all, you protected what truly needed protection.
Give it some serious thought. My private communication channel is on that card. I hope to receive an answer from you soon.
He puts a slight emphasis on the word "soon."
What's wrong? Doubting Jetavie's tracking abilities?
The girl asks rhetorically, the small tail behind her wagging happily back and forth.
After parting ways with the man called Horst, you head in the opposite direction—a deliberate deception, of course.
Horst's proposal would indeed be tempting—if you were just a company employee.
For a Commandant on an undercover investigation, those grand promises he painted hold virtually no appeal.
Besides, promises this grand inevitably raise questions—what exactly is he after?
There's only one way to remove these directives—if the Corrupted enter the city center, Gestrig's mandatory protocols imposed on them will be lifted, and they'll regain their freedom.
If his goal is to lead the Corrupted to the city center... could the recent surge in Corrupted invasions be connected to him as well?
At the very start of your meeting, you had already sent a signal to Jetavie, instructing her to secretly track this suspicious character. Following the little demon icon on your terminal, you made your way to a pile of ruins.
Despite being just ruins, the perimeter is covered by an orange semi-transparent energy barrier. Jetavie curiously tosses scrap into it, which instantly melts into molten iron.
...Is it really necessary to lock down some rundown ruins this tightly?
Upon closer inspection, the barrier's structure resembles a networked formation rather than a regular sphere.
In other words, there are likely network nodes nearby maintaining it.
Is that what we need to find?
Jetavie points with her tail at a tall circular railing. It sits exactly where two sections of the barrier meet at an angle—this must be the network node you suspected.
But... how do we crack it?
Hey, give me a hand, Teacher.
Jetavie's tail wags incessantly behind her.
Eek!!!
What are you doing?!
She turns around with an angry glare and indignantly yanks her tail out of your grasp.
What on earth are you thinking, Teacher! I meant connect! Connect!
My tail can interface with these nodes to try and crack them. But once my consciousness infiltrates, I'll need a pathway back out.
In other words, I need a beacon, understand?
Thanks to Jetavie's special abilities, the two of you cautiously make your way deeper into the ruins.
Whoever is in charge must be quite confident in their external barrier's capabilities, as there are no guards to be seen here.
As far as the eye can see, towering server racks stretch on, row after row, seemingly without end.
Most of the LED lights inside the racks have gone dark... It seems the computing nodes here haven't been operational for a very long time.
This place... it feels so familiar...
Rather than saying I've been here...
Jetavie mutters to herself, lost in thought.
It would be more accurate to say this place... is most likely where I was born.
Teacher, you must have seen those towering server racks just now, right? This place used to be a Matrix center.
By the way, if you find any similar Matrix facilities, try to bring me some data from them.
So it does exist, the Matrix center that Asimov theorized about. But... everything here has mostly fallen into ruin.
What exactly happened here?
Jetavie pulls herself closer to examine the printed text next to the server rack.
NO.7-Matrix-B2-R03-15
Matrix—
Jetavie takes a deep breath, her entire body trembling slightly.
This really is the place.
My my, are you that curious about Jetavie's background?
I guess I have no choice.
I, Jetavie, was originally a mechanical consciousness model generated from a human consciousness sample.
I should have known...
If a model is generated from a person, they would typically include some of their memories as input parameters, right? After all, it helps the model quickly develop an understanding of the external world.
Otherwise... the model might have to go through a lengthy iteration process, just like the ordinary models from the Golden Age.
But from my earliest memories, I only knew my name was Jetavie... As for why I was in the Matrix from birth, or what human consciousness sample created me, I have absolutely no recollection.
I always feel like I've forgotten something...
Troubled, Jetavie ponders for a moment before giving up once again.
Because my memories were very vague back then. I only knew I was born inside a Matrix center, but didn't know exactly where it was.
On top of that, the frequent fighting meant opportunities to venture out were very scarce.
...Because my frame was almost out of power right after I first opened my eyes.
I only remember that when I first crawled out of the ruins, there were Corrupted all around me.
Just as my strength was about to give out, an old lady and some children in school uniforms appeared just in time and fished me out of a pile of Corrupted.
Jetavie tilts her head thoughtfully.
It's just what I call my juniors... I'm already an "awakened" individual, but they haven't awakened yet. They're still naive and confused—doesn't that make them just like children?
Anyway, after that, they brought me back to Gestrig.
I do have a reason... I should have mentioned it to you before.
The reason I stay there and help them pass the final test is to find someone.
The Chosen One.
...So you still remember.
The Chosen One... is someone very important to me.
Someone who accompanied me through countless training sessions in the Matrix, and ultimately sacrificed their computing power to help me enter reality... In short, I absolutely must find the Chosen One.
...I used to think so too.
But later, the old woman occasionally mentioned that the "Chosen One" was actually nothing more than an empty shell.
Hmm... she said the Chosen One was originally "born" in the same laboratory as me, but because of something... "overfitting"? That caused them to be completely without "consciousness" at birth.
Despite being born in the same laboratory, the Chosen One always had pink hair and had almost nothing in common with me...
She falls into thought for a moment, but ultimately finds no answer.
However, since the old woman said it was an empty shell, it's as if she's saying the real Chosen One is someone else. That's why I absolutely must find the Chosen One.
This is just one possibility, but... I want to see that person again, no matter what—no matter the cost.
Only by obtaining the Chosen One's remaining data is there any hope of learning their exact circumstances.
The Chosen One's data is in the company's possession, and the only way for me to obtain it is by helping those children pass their tests. That's why I've stayed at the academy.
About 1 hour earlier
A man in a formal business suit retrieves several needle-like nodes from the central ruins, then drives around to install them in various corners of the city.
Isn't one central signal source enough?
By placing more of them, those Corrupted will know exactly where to attack.
How was your discussion with that tactical teacher? Did they agree to relinquish command?
It would be best if they gave up. If we don't see them personally directing this operation, we'll recruit them to our side. They're quite the talent.
If they insist on showing up, so be it. One person alone won't make much of a difference anyway.
Now that those Corrupted have gathered, let them attack along the planned route.
Also...
Release "Gwynplaine" as well.
?! You want that thing deployed too? But that creature doesn't follow our commands—
There's no need to hesitate. Once we seize control of those mechanoids, we won't care how much damage is done to this city.
