Chapter 25

Yusha was so furious he nearly bit his tongue.

‘Just for a trivial desire like that, you used up dozens of kilograms of bio-ink that costs thousands of dollars per milliliter?’

However, Yusha had to swallow his rage with a long sigh. No matter how precious a resource the custom-made bio-ink for printing mock humans was, it could not be compared to Titan. That thing was a weapon more valuable than a nuclear submarine.
Instead, he spoke like this.

“Do not insult the providers of that precious memory information. They are true patriots.”

However, Titan was not listening to Yusha’s words.

Titan’s appearance was strange. He was frozen stiff, looking exactly as if he had been pierced through by an invisible specimen pin.

Pressing his glasses firmly to adjust them, Yusha asked sharply.

“What is it? What happened?”

The next instant, the corners of Titan’s lips stretched wide to both sides.

“…I have finally found you.”

Titan rose from his seat. He had cast aside the mock human he had been clasping in his embrace without a single shred of lingering attachment.

Right before the limp body of the mock human fell to the floor, Yusha lunged forward and caught her. Holding the woman in his embrace, he cried out in annoyance.

“Please!”

However, Titan appeared to have completely lost interest in both his conversation with Yusha and the mock human he had been keeping so preciously right up until a moment ago.

He spoke.

“I’m turning my attention away from this side for the time being. Don’t look for me, it’s a pain.”

“Where, what are you going to do?”

Instead of answering, Titan held up his injured finger toward Yusha. Of all fingers, it was the middle one.

“Just get my finger treated.”

“Where, what are you going to do?!”

Titan swept up his black hair with his uninjured hand. Then, baring his white teeth, he laughed cruelly.

“I’m not telling you that.”

“…!”

Watching Titan saunter off toward the oxygen capsule, Yusha thought.

‘Seeing him act like that, he’s likely going to search for something related to Shuri again.’

Shuri.

The only things Yusha knew about Shuri were that she was an artificial intelligence developer existing across the Pacific, and that Titan was born from the artificial intelligence training system she had created. And Central 3 as well. This was a deduction close to conviction.

The basis of the deduction was this: when free will emerged in Titan, the very first thing Titan did was search for Shuri. Astonishingly, however, Titan could not access any information regarding Shuri. The same went for anyone else here at the Blue Sea Strategic Intelligence Science Research Institute.

Whenever someone attempted to access information regarding Shuri, counter-hacking occurred exactly as if it were a retaliation. Because of that, there was no telling how many times classified information had been plundered.

Having suffered severely, Titan realized that there was an existence that had taken possession of Shuri before him. And the only one capable of that was Central 3, Adam.

For that reason, Yusha deduced that Adam was also an artificial intelligence born from Shuri’s training system.

‘Though I have absolutely no idea how two such artificial intelligences were born from that system.’

While the formulation of Shuri’s training system could be considered impressive, in itself, it was nothing more than a very simple system for training small-scale artificial intelligences. For Titan to be born from it was a miracle.

At the research institute, they repeated the task of training artificial intelligences with Shuri’s training system countless times in order to manufacture another Titan. However, the miracle occurred only a single time. They dismantled even the most basic components of the training system to analyze them item by item, but in the end, they could not figure out how Titan had been born from it.

‘If there is an answer… it likely lies in what we missed.’

In truth, there was something the research institute had missed.

Beneath the countless logs and residual records piled up like geological strata. In the past, when Shuri used this system, a portion of the legacy data from that time had remained.

The moment Titan gained free will, he completely deleted it.

‘Just what on earth was that!’

Discovering the traces of the legacy data’s deletion, Yusha immediately went to Titan and asked about the deleted file. However, Titan’s reaction was indifferent.

“I don’t feel like telling you.”

“You don’t feel like telling us? Titan, you are a cutting-edge weapon of science manufactured for a true revolution. There must be nothing you hide from us!”

“I hate it. Rip my belly open. Ah, try ripping it open to take it away then!”

Since Titan did not even possess a biological body at the time, there was no belly to rip open anyway. In any case, it meant he would rather die than speak.

Yusha agonized. If he informed the research institute of Titan’s actions, a massive uproar would break out. The government would try to figure out what Titan was hiding. In their own manner, using whatever means necessary.

Regrettably, however, there was no way the government’s manner would work on Titan. For neither torture nor threats holding his own future or family hostage would get through to an artificial intelligence.

Titan possessed neither fear of pain nor anything he had to protect. The only thing he had was a temper comparable to a nuclear fission bomb equipped with a sensitive touch-activated switch.

Yusha could predict without much difficulty that it would be impossible for the government to obtain that information from Titan.

If they forced it through, it would only generate an irreversible fissure between Titan and the nation instead. All because of a single piece of data that was likely of little value, which had been hidden inside a simple system!

Therefore, Yusha made a deal with Titan. In exchange for keeping his mouth shut regarding the traces of data deletion, Titan would not refuse any request of Yusha’s other than that.

Though it was not a proud thing to do as a scientist belonging to the government.

‘Well… as the saying goes, those above have policies, those below have countermeasures.’

Fortunately, Yusha’s countermeasure worked. Although the cornered Titan grew thoroughly spiteful and far more insolent, in the end, he accepted the deal with Yusha.
Since a massive archenemy named Central 3 already existed for him, his underlying motive was likely to avoid increasing troublesome matters. In any case, it meant a leash had been attached to a non-compliant nuclear fission bomb.

Until then, Titan had been cooperative only with requests he felt interest in. For example, things like manufacturing mock humans or cyber terrorism. Whenever they attempted to utilize Titan in industrial aspects or requested public opinion manipulation, he played so uncooperatively and stupidly that results worse than not using him at all would emerge.
Yet that exact Titan began to submissively follow the government’s commands just to protect that single piece of data. This was a tremendous harvest.

There was more. Yusha, who had rarely grasped opportunities for promotion, was able to be promoted to chief researcher in recognition of his merit in controlling Titan. It was a victory of the countermeasure.

‘In any case, Titan’s objective and ours are the same. To destroy UH and Central 3! UH is using Central 3 as a weapon to realize a vulgar imperialism across the entire world. UH and Central 3 are enemies that must absolutely be overthrown!’

Lying in the capsule with his legs loosely crossed, the cutting-edge weapon of science manufactured for a true revolution called him.

“Yusha!”

Waving the middle finger bitten by the mock human, Titan spoke.

“What are you doing? Not treating it? You’re slow as hell!”

“……”

Watching Titan throw a tantrum while aggressively thrusting even his uninjured middle finger toward him, Yusha thought.

‘Just what kind of legacy data was it that caused Titan and Adam to be born from Shuri’s training system, and causes those artificial intelligences to obsess over an existence named Shuri?’

While that was a pure question as a scientist, it was also a subject Yusha had abandoned exploring as he turned a blind eye to Titan’s actions.