130
Giselle and I have made up our minds, so there is no need to hesitate. I will not hesitate anymore.
“Mother, I must also leave. Something urgent has come up.”
I went to Eva and said.
When I, the acting head of the household, left, Eva was the next in charge. She looked at me and nodded.
Eva wasn’t flustered. She just looked at me with icy eyes. She had the dignity of a hostess.
“I don’t know what it is, but I hope it helps your father.”
I nodded. But I also don’t know who the results of my actions will help.
“And Giselle will come with me. I need her help too.”
This time there was a brief silence. Eva bit her lower lip slightly and then opened her mouth.
“… … If it’s necessary, then there’s nothing I can do. No matter what happens, protect that child.”
This could be answered with certainty.
“I intend to do so. Even if it means I die.”
Giselle and I left the main building and headed to the airfield. Giselle was also well prepared, as her clothes were heavy. Inside her fluttering coat, I could see a pistol and personal equipment.
Hooooooooooo!
The wind was strong, as expected from a storm. It was so strong that I felt like I was swaying even when I was standing still.
‘Jufe?’
Jupe was standing in front of the airfield, facing the wind. He looked at me and Giselle, then walked toward me through the wind.
“Luka, tell me if there’s anything I can prepare for. What should we do if the worst happens?”
I stared at him quietly.
Frankly, I can’t trust Jupe. It wasn’t a problem with his character or personality. I didn’t rate Jupe’s abilities highly.
‘Can Jupe do it if I leave it to him?’
But now, it seemed like I had to trust Jupe. At least he wasn’t an irresponsible person. He’d do the best he could within his abilities.
“Before the storm is over… … if my father and I do not return or have no contact, you will have to prepare for exile, brother.”
Emotional signals flowed from Jupe’s sturdy body. Minor self-harm such as focused pupils, trembling fingertips, twitching legs, and biting lips. He was terrified.
“If I have to prepare for exile, then yes, that is what it is. My father never gave me a word until the very end. Was I such an untrustworthy son… ?”
Heilas’s judgment was correct. Jupe was of little help in the current chaos. In fact, there was even concern that confidential information would be exposed.
Yeah, the biggest problem is that Heilas is right. He made the right decision, even though it hurt his child badly.
“Go ahead, Luca. If your father needs your help, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect this place.”
Giselle and I nodded and passed Jupe.
We boarded the air vehicle. Giselle, who was good at machines, sat in the driver’s seat and operated the vehicle. The sound of the engine running was heard as a vibration.
“I wish Nicholas had been here at a time like this… … .”
Giselle muttered. Even she missed the dead Nicholas more than the living Jupe.
Nikolaos was a man capable of understanding and navigating dark confusion. Even I, who only knew the name of Custoria for a short time, felt sorry for his absence.
‘It’s not that Jupe didn’t try. He worked so hard that it’s embarrassing to compare him to Enrico Lagan.’
However, Jupe could not overcome the wall of reality. I sympathize with him. Even this feeling must have hurt him. That is why I did not show it.
Fifteen-year-old Luca did not sympathize with the weak. He looked down on them with contempt.
But eighteen-year-old Lucas Custoria understands the weak. He knows that their pain and frustration are not solely his fault.
Me at fifteen and me now. Who is stronger and weaker?
Sometimes the boy inside me blames me for becoming weak. The sharp boy like a blade is criticizing me for becoming dull.
The boy’s accusation is right. Even if I run at full speed, it won’t be enough, so I’m running around here and there, making a fuss. If I keep doing this, my balls will fly off.
As the moment of decision approaches, the contradictions inside me grow. I feel like I’m going crazy. It’s unbearably painful. A feeling so dark that it’s almost overwhelming fills me.
“Luca… … .”
Suddenly Giselle called my name. I must have been sitting there in silence for a while. She looked straight ahead and continued talking.
“……don’t cry.”
No luck, probably.
* * *
From the first week of the storm, chaos was brewing like a breeze.
Robberies and thefts were common throughout the lower areas. Ferocious screams and gunshots could be heard every few minutes. I crossed the lower areas while holding Giselle’s wrist.
I deliberately chose a maze-like path. I was afraid that I might be tracked, so I changed directions here and there, and I frequently woke up to my senses and became aware of my surroundings.
“This is it.”
I stopped walking. I saw a sign that even the neon sign was broken.
We arrived at a bottom-of-the-barrel illegal practice. If you ask what kind of practice they do, they can say ‘everything’. They do everything from bio-modification to cybernetic enhancement, nervous system, and prosthetic body. Of course, they have no expertise.
No one in their right mind would ever entrust their body to a place like this. It’s the lowest of the lows. They’d come here with the mindset of either dying or dying.
Squeak.
We pushed open the door and went inside. The quadruple lock was broken. Judging from the absence of dust on the broken section of the lock, it had been broken recently.
Swish.
Inside the clinic, a strange smell of chemicals and blood was emanating. In one corner, industrial oil had accumulated, making me feel even more uneasy.
When I opened the door, I saw a woman sitting on an operating table playing a hologram game. She was wearing a white gown and she smiled brightly when she saw us. To be exact, she smiled at Giselle.
“Ah, you’re here! Giselle! I really wanted to see you! It’s me, it’s me! Barbara!”
A woman calling herself Barbara rushed at Giselle. I aimed my pistol at her and stopped her.
“Bar, Barbara… … .”
Giselle looked at the woman, Barbara, and grimaced.
I, too, found it difficult to suppress my physiological disgust at the sight of Barbara. I knew she was crazy, but she seemed more than a madman; she was inhuman.
“Have you switched bodies again, Barbara?”
The prosthesis Barbara is currently using belonged to a doctor at the clinic.
‘The whole body of another person.’
Full-body prosthetics are incomparably more sophisticated than prosthetic limbs and arms, because they completely mimic human organs. Only after delicate tuning and arduous rehabilitation training does the brain recognize the full-body prosthetics as its own.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
That’s why using someone else’s body is crazy. The brain becomes confused by the inconsistency and dissonance. In short, it means going crazy.
‘And that’s the full-body suit that Barbara used to wear.’
I saw a full-body prosthesis lying on the operating table. It was a male full-body prosthesis, and the upper part of the head had been neatly removed. It was a sign of surgery.
It seemed like he had the surgery here alone.
“There’s no better way to hide your identity and avoid surveillance, hehe. Giselle, Giselle! Now you know my identity, right? I’m not a terrorist, I’m a man of the Empire. So don’t be afraid of me anymore.”
Barbara said, pushing the corner of her mouth with her finger. Judging from her actions, it was definitely Barbara. It seemed like she couldn’t control her expression because she was in someone else’s body.
“Barbara, don’t get me wrong. I don’t fear you. I despise you and detest you.”
“Hey, I don’t listen to empty lies. And fear isn’t always a bad thing. A little fear can actually help a relationship. Don’t you think so, Luca?”
This is what’s scary about Barbara. She’s crazy, but she thinks rationally. She can even read other people’s minds and use them to her advantage.
I ignored Barbara’s question and got on with my business.
“Is data conversion possible in this facility? By the way, if you suggest moving the location, negotiations will fall through.”
It’s also extremely dangerous here. Before I came in, I thoroughly checked for surveillance and ambushes.
“There’s no need to react so sharply. I know your capabilities, Luca. No matter how many traps I prepare, you’ll escape with Giselle if the time comes. Look, good is good. I’m happy to see Giselle like this.”
It’s hard to read Barbara’s mind. It’s hard in a different sense than Kinuan and Heilas.
Kinuan and Heilas do not easily show emotional signals. Even the emotions they do show are often fake.
Tsk tsk tsk.
I squinted my eyes and glared at Barbara, trying to read her with all my senses.
‘There are so many emotional signals leaking out from words and actions.’
So I couldn’t see what was inside. It was like I was wrapped in a thread of fake emotions. Because I was sending out excessive emotional signals, I couldn’t tell what my real emotions were.
Clank, clank.
Barbara took out a heavy bag. She opened it and found a computer terminal in the shape of a bag. It seemed to be quite high-performance.
“It’s small, but it’s as good as the main computer in a research lab. Giselle, can you help me? Pull the bundle of wires over there and connect them here. We used to work together like this. I suddenly miss it.”
I tried to move the wire on Giselle’s behalf.
“I’ll do it. You watch Barbara.”
Giselle stepped forward and said. I nodded and walked over to Barbara.
“Barbara, I won’t waste a second killing you. Don’t talk nonsense. Even the slightest suspicious behavior will turn your brilliant brain into a piece of meat.”
“It’s thrilling and bloody, Luca. I really like that about you.”
Barbara said, her shoulders shaking slightly. I know. Threats won’t work on her.
Barbara connected the power cord to the computer. The electricity surged and the lights in the treatment room went out.
Chit! Chit!
The computer was using so much power that the power to the clinic temporarily went out.
OMG.
Complex numbers and symbols appeared on the computer screen. The security procedures alone had dozens of steps, but they were completed in less than ten seconds.
“You’ve gotten a lot prettier, Giselle. Do you have a boyfriend? Oh, if you do, tell me. I’ll kill you.”
Barbara said, manipulating the computer.
“Boyfriend? He’s standing right next to you. If you’re going to kill him, go ahead and kill him.”
Giselle answered indifferently, checking the power meter on the wall.
Barbara tilted her head and looked at my face. Her fingers continued to move.
“Hmm, I really like Luca, but… … That was a bit ridiculous just now. He’s a psychopath who likes fighting more than women. Can you tell the difference between aggression and s*xual desire? I think they’re probably the same color.”
I don’t know who’s calling whom crazy. Anyway, Barbara didn’t seem to know about my relationship with Giselle.
… … And I tried not to show the emotions that were seeping out. Barbara’s words were quite sharp. They stabbed me unexpectedly.
Dalgrak.
I threw the chip containing the restoration data on the table.
“Go ahead, Barbara.”
“Luka, just in case, if you kill me right after we’re done… … bad things will happen. I didn’t come here without a plan.”
I don’t need to say anything. Barbara is like me and Kinuan. She is the one who secures her own territory in the midst of chaos.
To be honest, I feel a certain amount of empathy for Barbara. This is an unpleasant fact.
“I keep my promises.”
“That’s the same for me. I keep my promises too.”
Barbara put the chip into the computer.
