kscans

Chapter 404 - The Successor

In the control room deep within the research facility, Curtis was displayed on the multiple monitors on the front wall, which were being treated as a single screen.

It wasn't a live video feed from a remote location, but a recording. The fact that it began playing when Lunaria pressed the button was evident from his words, "I do not know who has come here."

Hayato and everyone else understood this, yet Curtis’s gaze felt as if it were seeing into the depths of their souls, making them uneasy. Even though it was just a video, it felt suffocating.

That Curtis’s smile vanished, and he opened his mouth to speak.

"This will only play once. With that in mind, listen well."

Curtis continued, his expression almost unchanging.

"I do not know who has come here, but I will recognize you as a qualified successor to the Zodiac Foundation. All humans born in this facility were candidates, but you, the first to arrive here, have earned that right."

"Successor…?"

Lunaria murmured, puzzled. According to his words, only Lunaria qualified. Lunaria, who was born in this facility and was the first to visit it, was the successor.

"This facility can only be operated by those born here. The fact that you are playing this recording serves as proof of your birth here. As the head, the Foundation's assets, though now only what is here, are all yours."

How one interpreted Curtis's eyes was subjective, but to Hayato, they seemed devoid of any light. It was the gaze one might give a stone on the roadside. A look of complete disinterest, of apathy.

It was a recorded video, so perhaps that was natural, but if one were to leave a recording, they would imagine the person watching it. Despite that, Curtis's gaze, and his words, were businesslike. One could believe him if told he were an AI.

Hayato didn't know much about the Zodiac Foundation. But he vaguely understood that it held great power. He found it strange that someone could speak of it with such a lack of interest.

"However—"

Power entered Curtis’s eyes.

"The Interstellar Spaceship Aphrodite alone is not yours. Do not even think of laying a hand on it. You would do well to be satisfied with the other assets. What is here should be more than enough to rule the world."

His words carried a slight trace of what might be called emotion. Not joy or sorrow, but something closer to anger. An absolute command that brooked no argument. An intimidation that said defiance would not be tolerated.

The Curtis before them was likely no longer of this world. Yet, his words held something that made one feel that to defy them would be to lose everything. Perhaps it was instinctual, but despite being mere words, a feeling rose from the depths of their bodies that they must not disobey.

It seemed the others felt it too, as most of them had beads of sweat on their faces and looked pained.

Amidst them all, only Lunaria was normal. Hayato could only see her from behind, but she was completely still, staring at the Curtis on the monitor.

"That is all I have to say. If you do not understand what I am saying, then you are not qualified to be the successor."

A countdown timer appeared on the monitor. It read "5:00."

"Farewell. In five minutes, this facility will collapse."

Everyone’s eyes widened, but Curtis continued speaking as if it were nothing.

"If you wish to stop it, speak the name of the greatest AI constructed in the virtual reality on the Spaceship Aphrodite into the terminal. If you are correct, the facility's collapse will halt. If you do not know, then give up and leave here. Having the qualification to be a successor and whether I will let you succeed are two different matters. Think of it as a bit of amusement, and enjoy yourselves."

Curtis’s video ended with those words. The moment it did, most of the people around Hayato collapsed to the floor. The tension must have been at its limit. Even hearing that the place would be destroyed, they couldn't move immediately.

Hayato barely managed to stay on his feet. He was thinking about the video. Curtis had spoken in a businesslike manner until the very end, but that aside, he found it strange.

(Was it necessary to leave it like this...?)

Leaving important messages on video was a common practice, but this wouldn't have been much different if it had been left as a text file in electronic data.

(Or was the purpose of that video to intimidate? I felt that it was a command that must not be disobeyed. Could there have been some kind of trick in the video itself...?)

There are things like the subliminal effect that appeal to the subconscious mind visually. Whether it was used this time or not, it was highly possible that the video had such an effect. With technology capable of creating a virtual reality, such a thing would be possible.

As he was thinking, he noticed the timer had been ticking down. It was already under four minutes.

Lunaria, who had been standing the whole time, turned and looked at Hayato. He thought her eyes were asking, "Is it okay to answer?" so Hayato sent a glance toward Parsha. Parsha, understanding the meaning of his gaze, nodded toward Lunaria.

Lunaria faced the terminal and said, "Diite."

Hypnos, Infinity, or even Curtis were possibilities, but since Curtis had said "her," the candidates were limited. Convinced that it had to be Diite, she stated it without any hesitation.

"…Voiceprint check complete. Welcome back, Lunaria-sama. You are recognized as the new head of the Zodiac Foundation."

The countdown stopped, and a synthesized electronic voice came from the terminal.

And just like that, without anyone fully understanding what had happened, Lunaria was recognized as the head of the Zodiac Foundation.

An investigation team hired by Ney and Parsha was now checking the vast research facility.

Lunaria’s authentication was required for everything, but Lunaria suffered from social anxiety. In places with many people, her abilities dropped significantly. As a side effect, Xenobia, who had a fear of men, was also affected by the increased number of men, and the two of them were huddled together in a corner of the control room.

That aside, the investigation was proceeding.

They had been told by Curtis that they could do as they pleased with what was in the facility, but most of it was electronic data. There were no treasures like gold or silver.

However, the value of that data was immeasurable. It was filled with research data from all fields, things that would make an expert faint from their value. They hadn't even checked a tenth of it all, but even so, the usefulness of the data was incalculable.

And among the data, something troublesome was discovered. It was the technical data that each Foundation treated as a black box. If this were to be made public, it would be enough to erase the Foundations' superiority.

Each Foundation had its own unique technology that others couldn't imitate, which they used to show their superiority over other Foundations and maintain the power balance. Things like the artificial gravity devices used in colony construction and the energy tubes that provided almost all nutrients were among them.

Of course, each Foundation conducted analysis, but there was more that they didn't understand than they did. Data was found that explained those unknown parts in minute detail.

At this, Parsha genuinely looked as if she might collapse. Blanc and Noir supported her, averting disaster, but the shock was that great. She even approached Lunaria, exclaiming, "Our Foundation will fall from grace!"

Parsha’s Pisces Foundation excelled in technology for long-term material preservation. It had applications beyond the items stored in Colony "Museum" and was used in most products. What would happen to the Foundation if that technology were made public? The result was clearer than day.

However, with Lunaria becoming the head of the Zodiac Foundation, it was safe to say the other Foundations had dodged a bullet.

No one could view the data without Lunaria's permission, and even if they did, only a true genius could even understand it. And Lunaria had no interest in such things, reassuring Parsha by saying, "I won't make it public, so don't worry."

From this situation, Hayato figured this was what Curtis meant by being able to rule the world.

Lunaria was now in a position to, to put it badly, blackmail all the Foundations using the information here as a shield. She could give orders to all twelve of the Foundations that could be said to rule the world.

Because of this, the investigation was being conducted with extreme caution. For now, there was no one who would betray Parsha, but the information itself, that such technology existed here, was of considerable value.

Currently, Parsha, Blanc, and Noir were checking the information first before passing it to the investigation team. This was because they couldn't show them if there was technology that didn't exist in any of the Foundations.

About an hour passed, and Parsha let out a small, "Oh?" She then moved over to Maris and the others and handed them the tablet she was using for the investigation.

"I believe this might be the technology you were researching, Maris-san."

"Huh? …Ah!"

Maris and Surya cried out in surprise. The tablet displayed research materials related to animal brainwaves. Their approaches were different, but it was technology for communicating with animals.

"Wow, this is nostalgic! And, this is even more amazing than my own research…! …Huh? Who did this?"

"You've got to be kidding me, this is way further along than my research!"

Maris and Surya exclaimed in surprise, staring at the single tablet together as they confirmed the data.

After a while, it was revealed that it contained detailed information on technology to extend animal lifespans, as well as efficient breeding and rearing techniques. This was also the content that the Sagittarius Foundation was researching in Colony "Zoo" and "Farm."

Furthermore, it was revealed that Siegfried was from this research facility. It also stated that he had escaped and was protected by Artemis, where Surya had belonged. It said that in anticipation of this, Artemis had designated Siegfried as a test player for the virtual reality.

Siegfried sat there tilting his head, and everyone wondered just what this calico cat was up to.

While this was happening during the investigation, what Hayato and the others were looking for was a device or technology that could pinpoint Amanda’s location. So far, there was no information on that.

"There's no use in rushing. Let's find it by the time the spaceship maintenance is finished. However, it would be good if we have the actual device, but if it's only technical data, there’s a possibility we’ll have to build it from scratch—"

At Parsha’s words, Lunaria, who had been resting in a corner of the room, raised her hand.

"This research facility is sending out a signal to the surrounding area to identify Genetically Enhanced Humans, so I think the actual device exists. If we check each room, we might find something."

"In that case, may I ask you to do that, Lunaria-san? We will continue to scrutinize the information."

"Got it. Alright everyone, let's go."

Realizing they couldn't help Parsha and the others here, Hayato and Xenobia decided to check each room with Lunaria.

All the rooms had electronic locks, but Lunaria could disable them. They checked room by room, but they seemed to have been living quarters for the Genetically Enhanced Humans. Aside from a few personal belongings, there was nothing else.

They went through them in order, but Lunaria hesitated in front of a certain room.

"What's wrong?"

"This was my room. I used to play games here all the time."

"I see…"

"Someday, I want to invite Rosalie-chan and Benny-chan here too. As friends."

"…You’re right… No, how about inviting them to the place you’ll live in from now on?"

"That's a good idea. Either way, I have to go to the spaceship to pick them up."

Hayato nodded without saying anything.

He didn't know what everyone on the spaceship was doing. They couldn't log in through their headgear, but there was no information on what was happening to everyone who was permanently logged in. The virtual reality itself had stopped, so it was highly likely that Benitsuru and the others were asleep.

His goal was to meet Diite, but the same could be said for Rosalie, Benitsuru, and the others. He couldn't just part ways with them like this. For Lunaria and Xenobia, who had been in the virtual reality for so long, this feeling was probably stronger than Hayato's.

Lunaria used her voiceprint to unlock the door and slid it open to look inside. Hayato peered in from behind her.

The tidy room had no sense of life. Every room they had seen so far had the same layout, with only a monitor, a bed, a desk, and a chair.

They only looked at the room for a few seconds. Lunaria immediately closed the door.

"There’s nothing here, let’s go to the next one."

"What about your game data?"

"That's for later. But what should we do? If this is the residential area, there’s no point in looking at the other rooms. I don't know of any other likely places besides the control room."

"Can't you check from a terminal? It would be good if there was a map of the facility."

He suggested this thinking that Lunaria, as the successor here, should be able to access information about the research facility itself.

"…I wish you had suggested that earlier…"

"Ah, sorry."

Just as they were about to hurry back to the control room, they found Siegfried in the hallway.

"Nya."

"Huh?"

Perhaps he had gotten bored while Maris and Surya were excitedly checking the research data, as Siegfried seemed to be taking a walk.

"Nya."

"…I think he’s saying to follow him."

"Lunaria-san? Can you understand Siegfried’s words?"

"Sort of."

Whether that was correct or not, Siegfried began to walk down the corridor with a toko toko sound. Hayato and Xenobia were surprised, but since Lunaria followed him, the two of them hurried after her.

Siegfried walked through the vast research facility without any sign of being lost. Perhaps it was his old walking course, as his steps were light. He then stopped in front of a certain door.

"Nya."

"Should I open this one?"

Lunaria asked Siegfried, then opened the door.

The interior had a structure clearly different from the other rooms. Huge devices were placed all over, almost too close together, and they were emitting a rumbling, growling sound.

Lunaria entered without fear and operated a nearby terminal. A few seconds later, her hands, which had been typing on a holographic keyboard, stopped.

"Found it. With this, we can find out Amanda’s coordinates."

As Lunaria and Xenobia rejoiced, Hayato looked at Siegfried with eyes full of surprise.

"Nyan nya."

Hayato couldn’t understand Siegfried’s words, but he had a feeling the cat had just said, "My reward is salt-grilled saury."