novelraw Chapter 198: War Between Corporations
Chapter 198: War Between Corporations
Patricia swallowed.
"Isn’t that a bit... much, Director Lyra? This feels like a random deduction," she asked hopefully.
"No," Lyra said, shaking her head.
The faint madness in her eyes grew sharper.
"Rune Sage is intelligent, Assistant Jasmine. He would’ve known that today the machine would be completed. There’s no chance he would be late today of all days."
She turned fully toward Patricia.
"Moreover, he’s been acting strange for weeks."
Patricia stiffened.
Strange?
Her thoughts raced backward.
Doc going silent mid-conversation.
Doc staring off into space.
Doc walking a few steps, then stopping as if he’d forgotten why he moved in the first place.
Patricia had always brushed it off.
’Isn’t that just how he avoids talking when he doesn’t feel like it?’
’Isn’t that just his personality?’
Her heart began to hammer.
She remembered something else.
Just yesterday.
A note.
A short, oddly worded note that Doc had sent to Lyra.
[If something happens to me, rescue me within six hours.]
Patricia’s hands trembled slightly.
’He knew,’ she realized.
’He knew this was going to happen.’
"Assistant Jasmine, prepare all personnel. We are going to war with whoever kidnapped Rune Sage," Lyra said, her voice colder now.
"W–war? Director, wars between Corporations are strictly prohibited by the Head Corporations. If we do this—"
"And?"
Lyra didn’t even look at her.
The madness in her eyes was no longer subtle.
"If the Head Corps intervene, so be it. I don’t care. Rune Sage belongs to L Corp."
Her tone was full of possessiveness.
"I will undergo the procedure. While that is happening, locate Rune Sage and prepare our forces," Lyra said, turning toward the exit.
She didn’t wait for confirmation.
She walked out.
Patricia stood there, stunned, watching her go.
...
P Corp, Sector P
Director Jayce of P Corp stood in front of a large containment pod, his lips curled into a satisfied grin.
He was hunched slightly, his back bent with age. His white hair was thin and unkempt, but his eyes were sharp, filled with amusement.
The lab around him was in controlled chaos.
Researchers moved quickly from station to station, voices overlapping as machines hummed and data scrolled across screens.
Saint Dexter stood beside him, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the pod.
"He took quite a while to bring here," Saint Dexter muttered.
Jayce chuckled.
"Yes. He has impressive resistance to mental interference. Still, he could hold out against our Parasite only because we had to limit ourselves to a Rank 3 Soul Parasite. Anything stronger would’ve destroyed his mind outright. It would’ve also been easier to detect," he said.
Inside the pod floated Caelum Nocthera.
Green liquid surrounded his body, holding him upright. Tubes were connected to his limbs, spine, and head, feeding data and stabilizing his condition.
His eyes were blank.
"We’re ready, sir," one of the researchers said.
Jayce nodded.
"Begin the copying process. "We will copy Rune Sage’s brain, including his memories. After that—"
He paused, his grin widening.
"Well. We’ll see what kind of genius he really is."
Jayce remembered everything clearly.
The boy looking down on every mechanic in the City.
Calling them trash.
Insulting their knowledge.
Mocking their achievements.
Of course, Jayce didn’t take the ramblings of a child seriously.
But crushing arrogance was still satisfying.
The machines activated.
Lights pulsed.
Data streamed.
As the copying process continued, the lab doors slammed open.
The head of security rushed in, breathing heavily.
"It’s an emergency! L Corp has found out we have Rune Sage! They’ve declared war on us!" he shouted.
Jayce raised an eyebrow.
"That was quick. I suppose even the lowest-ranked Corporation can still be called a Corporation," he said.
"Sir, what should we do?" the security head said urgently.
Jayce waved his hand dismissively.
"Hold them off for some time. L Corp isn’t strong enough to threaten us. And once they’ve declared war, the Head Corps will move to punish them."
He spoke as if the outcome was already decided.
Saint Dexter nodded slightly, sharing the same thought.
L Corp was nothing more than a nuisance.
A mosquito buzzing too close to the ear.
The security head hesitated, then nodded and left.
The machines continued their work.
After some time, one of the researchers straightened abruptly.
"Sir!" he shouted. "The copying process is complete. We’ve extracted everything."
Jayce’s grin widened.
"Good. Then begin opening his memories," he said.
The researcher nodded and began inputting the necessary commands.
Seconds passed.
Then a minute.
The researcher frowned.
"...Sir, there’s a problem."
Jayce’s expression darkened slightly.
"What is it?"
"All of his memories are stored in memory packets."
Jayce frowned, but not in surprise. More like mild irritation.
"Memory packets? Then we’ll need his brain frequency to decode them. Still, I expected something like this."
Saint Dexter glanced at the screens, then at Jayce. "What exactly are memory packets?"
"They’re compressed information clusters. As you know, the brain has a limited storage capacity. The higher your rank and intelligence stat, the more information you can store naturally," Jayce explained.
He gestured toward the pod.
"Rune Sage is low-rank. Rank 1 or Rank 2 at most. And yet he claims to have learned everything passed down by Emperor Legion."
Saint Dexter’s eyes narrowed.
"That means his brain shouldn’t have enough capacity to store the full knowledge of a Rank 6 Exorcist. So he compressed the knowledge instead?" Saint Dexter muttered.
"Exactly. That compressed knowledge is what we call memory packets," Jayce said with a nod.
He added, "But memory packets can only be decoded using the owner’s brain pattern. Even copying the brain shouldn’t be enough. Normally, that is."
Jayce’s lips curled upward.
"But we’re not doing this normally."
He turned to one of the machines on the side of the lab.
"Activate the [Awakening AI] device. Awaken the copied mind of Rune Sage. Awakened Mind is exactly the same as original mind, it even has the same brain frequency. It can decode the Memory Packets for us."
The researcher hesitated. "Sir, that device—"
"Just do it," Jayce said.
Saint Dexter frowned. "Won’t the awakened mind refuse to cooperate? If it’s identical to Rune Sage, it should have the same will."
Jayce laughed quietly.
"I keep forgetting, you weren’t operated on by us. It was your daughter, Saintess Cosette," he said, glancing at Saint Dexter.
Saint Dexter’s expression darkened.
Jayce ignored it.
"The [Awakening AI] is a device excavated from one of Emperor Legion’s factories. It awakens a copied mind and makes it function identically to the original. Same thoughts. Same brain frequency."
He paused.
"The difference is that the awakened mind is enslaved. It will obey any order we give."
Saint Dexter didn’t like that explanation. The technology was grotesque, even by Corp standards.
Then again, it was Emperor Legion’s creation.
While the researchers prepared the device, the room suddenly shook..
The floor rattled beneath their feet. Equipment clattered. The pod swayed slightly before stabilizers kicked in.
"What the hell was that?" someone shouted.
Red lights flashed across the lab.
"Warning! Enemy attack!"
"Warning! Enemy attack!"
"Warning! Enemy attack!"
Jayce frowned deeply now.
At that moment, the lab doors burst open. The head of security stumbled inside, blood running down his forehead and staining his uniform.
"The L Corp has broken through our troops and reached the Corporation!" he shouted.
Jayce stared at him.
"...What?"
For a moment, the words didn’t register. It sounded absurd. Like hearing the sun had risen in the west.
Saint Dexter moved immediately.
"I’ll contact the Head Corporations and inform them of the war declaration. They’ll intervene faster if a Saint send the message. At the same time, I’ll take command of the troops here," he said quickly.
He turned to Jayce.
"You focus on extracting Rune Sage’s memories."
Jayce wanted to scoff. A Rank 4 commanding his Corp? What could that achieve? It was no different from putting pearls before a swine.
But before he could say anything, the building shook again, even harder this time.
"O–Okay!" Jayce shouted. "Go! Now!"
Saint Dexter didn’t waste another second. He left the lab at a run.
Outside, the situation was chaos.
Saint Dexter grabbed the nearest terminal and demanded a status report from the head of security.
What he heard made his blood run cold.
"...Is this true?" he asked.
"Yes. They’re using the cyborgs on the streets. The ones we usually ignore," the security head said, nodding grimly.
Saint Dexter stiffened. "Using them how?"
"They’ve regained sapience. They’re coordinating, and fighting for L Corp," the man replied.
Saint Dexter felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Most street cyborgs were Rank 1 or Rank 2. Occasionally, a Rank 3 would appear. Individually, they were worthless in combat terms.
They were insane, didn’t know how to fight, and would rarely work together with other cyborgs to use their numbers as might.
But...
What if they gained sanity, someone was commanding them, and they were working together?
Berserk cyborgs made up more than eighty percent of the City’s population.
If even a fraction of them had regained sapience—
If even one percent joined L Corp—
It would create a tsunami of bodies, machines, and numbers that no single Corporation could hold back.
"There’s no way..." Saint Dexter muttered.
"How is this possible!?" he shouted, slamming his fist against the console. "Damn it!"
He straightened and began issuing orders.
"Form a triangular defense formation! Prioritize choke points! Deploy suppressive fire—no, wait, don’t waste heavy weapons on the lower ranks!"