Chapter 159: Bait
“You… you two know each other?”
Rebecca, having finally recovered, asked with a mix of shock and uncertainty. Just moments ago, she had thought the two were mortal enemies—after all, Jhin had looked like he was about to be killed.
“You could say that. He’s my current captain.”
Jhin spread his hands, sounding a little helpless.
“Captain? Jhin, since when do you have a captain? Haven’t you always worked alone?”
Rebecca froze at the answer.
“I did work alone before. But I joined the corporation.”
As he spoke, Jhin turned to look at Rebecca.
As for revealing this… it was naturally Roland’s decision. Since they had already been seen, there was no point in hiding it anymore.
“Joined the corporation?! B-but Jhin, didn’t the corporation turn you into this?!”
Rebecca stepped forward, disbelief written all over her face.
“Rebecca, you need to understand something. At the very top of this world, there is only the corporation—and nothing else. If I want revenge, the only power I can rely on is the corporation’s.”
Jhin looked at Rebecca calmly and spoke slowly.
“B-but…”
“What you see isn’t necessarily the whole truth, Rebecca. If you want to know everything… then join me.”
As he spoke, Jhin extended his hand toward her.
Rebecca hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
“Is that so… you refused… That’s fine. If you want to understand everything, then come to PROJECT.”
Jhin nodded, then slowly left together with Zed.
“Will you still be an edgerunner?”
“No.”
Jhin waved his hand and disappeared into the shadows alongside Zed, leaving Rebecca standing there alone, staring blankly.
“Boss, is this really okay?”
Kelly, who had been snooping around for gossip in cyberspace, couldn’t help but ask after seeing everything.
Roland glanced at Kelly silently, then shook his head.
“It’s fine. Keep an eye on them for me. As long as there’s no life-threatening danger, there’s no need to report it. If something urgent really happens and there’s no time, handle it yourself.”
“Oh.”
Kelly nodded. After glancing at Rebecca and Lucy, a thought suddenly popped into her head—so this was the boss’s type. Then she thought of Kiwi, and another idea followed.
The boss’s tastes really are… broad.
...
“I’ve intercepted classified intelligence from PROJECT.”
The Red Queen walked up to Mr. Blue Eyes and handed him a chip.
The two of them were meeting in the real world this time.
“Oh? What kind of intelligence?”
Mr. Blue Eyes asked with interest.
“You’ll know once you see it.”
The Red Queen slightly raised her chin, offering no further explanation.
Mr. Blue Eyes inserted the chip directly into his slot. As streams of data flashed before his eyes, his expression shifted from surprise to—delight.
“This is real?!”
“Yes. Based on the information, it’s genuine.”
The Red Queen nodded.
“Then this is the perfect target for us—an ideal weapon practically tailor-made for our needs. Hah, we really should thank the boss of PROJECT corporation.”
Mr. Blue Eyes said with a smile.
“Indeed. A powerful weapon created by fusing Bartmoss’s genes with those of others, combined with ultra-high-grade mechanical cyberware. Should we say that when it comes to dealing with their own kind, humans are far more decisive than we are?”
“Aren’t ever-stronger weapons always meant to be used against their own kind?”
Mr. Blue Eyes chuckled, then his expression turned serious.
“Can we confirm the location of this target’s base?”
“We can roughly determine it. But because of the current situation, PROJECT corporation has significantly increased its defenses. We can’t act the way we did before. This time, we’ll need to move together.”
The Red Queen made her suggestion.
Mr. Blue Eyes nodded.
“That’s true. Acting together is safer. But just in case, we should leave some forces behind here. This time, we’ll go in personally.”
“Mm.”
After hearing Mr. Blue Eyes’s response, a sharp glint flashed in the Red Queen’s eyes, though she quickly suppressed it to avoid being noticed.
That precaution was unnecessary. Mr. Blue Eyes didn’t believe anyone could completely control the Red Queen without exposing some flaw—and at the moment, he was fully immersed in imagining the future after acquiring that body.
Behind everything, the one pulling the strings was Roland.
Yes, the AI he had set his sights on was none other than Mr. Blue Eyes. As one of the leading figures among the many AIs in existence, Roland believed he was the most suitable subject for experimentation.
The Red Queen was well aware of Mr. Blue Eyes’s eventual fate, and that made her unusually happy—another powerful companion would soon be born.
“Astat,” Roland instructed, “find an opportunity to deliberately expose a flaw to those rogue AIs roaming outside. Make them think that recent events have consumed too much of your processing power, causing a lapse.”
“I understand.”
After giving these orders, Roland also reminded Kelly and had Lissandra provide backup from behind. He valued this experiment greatly and didn’t want to see it fail.
“Oh, right, boss. According to your instructions, we found the metal box you mentioned.”
“Oh?”
A look of surprise appeared in Roland’s eyes. He hadn’t expected the metal box to actually be found—but thinking about it carefully, the odds were indeed higher than locating Bartmoss’s freezer.
After all, that thing really had been… left in that godforsaken place all along.
“Have a few robots retrieve the contents intact and preserve them properly. After that, bring the box to me.”
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