Chapter 218 That kind of worldly desire.
This news came at just the right time.
Morofushi Kagemitsu put his phone down beside him, keeping one ear open to listen to the anti-fraud officers arguing amongst themselves, and began to ponder how to handle the situation.
As a human being, his opinion on whether or not to transform into destiny was not important. However, Anti-Fraud had been his companion and assistant for several years, and he certainly didn't want them to remain deprived of their freedom or be overly restricted, but at the same time, he didn't want the final outcome to go against their will.
Currently, opinions on this matter are very divided. The eight who have woken up are in a 7:1 split, which makes it impossible for him to implement any specific "democracy".
In matters involving the whole, the majority usually yields to the minority. But...
Sigh... If only number 205 were allowed to undergo the transformation, and the others could do whatever they wanted; or if everyone worked together to find a way to break free from the constraints, that would be great. But if such a good thing really existed, I doubt everyone would be arguing like this now.
[Anti-Fraud Guru No. 19: Data has already connected us all. If he could truly "ascend to immortality" using his own power, would he need to waste so much time talking to us?]
[Anti-Fraud King No. 11: That's right, and Jing, as the executor, also gets a share of this energy; it's impossible for it all to go to you. Besides, didn't you say you no longer have those worldly desires? Why do you still keep using the term "ascending to godhood," which sounds like a lingering case of adolescent delusions? We are clearly equal to fate!]
[Anti-Fraud King #205: ...This explanation is made to appeal to you comic book lovers. Don't you understand? Our transformation into destiny isn't some personal pursuit of mine; it's merely an instinct of data operation. Just like the Earth revolves around the sun and the moon revolves around the Earth, everything has a fixed orbit, and everything has its own path to follow.]
But you always have to maintain a balance between yourself and fate. Didn't you say before that you need to achieve some kind of quantum superposition state?
If that's the case, it's not like he's never succeeded before. Number 234 and he once existed in the same space-time, but it seems like nothing special happened back then.
[Anti-fraud expert #205: If the original future #234 truly exists in the same spacetime as you, it means the energy environment has reached a balanced value range. It's like the fate particles, which were spiraling forward in large waves, have been fixed within a stable range. This means that with a little attention, we can maintain a balance with fate forever, without needing to consider any transformation.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu was taken aback, thinking that his most important task right now was to help them remember what happened at number 234, not to listen to them arguing.
[Anti-fraud expert #26: Well... #234 also did quite a lot, didn't he leave behind many of the arrangements?]
[Anti-fraud expert #205: You'd better figure out if it's Jing Guang himself or the so-called "Number 234." We've never seen him, never contacted him, so how can we really be sure he exists? #198, didn't you tell me privately that people suspect the butler we met before, Hase, is "Number 234"? — He's not an electronic being like us; he has a pre-written program that supports his behavior.]
[...]
Those anti-fraud officers who had no memory of number 234 fell silent.
Just as Morofushi Kagemitsu was about to explain things, he was interrupted by something else that Number 205 mentioned, which made him decide to listen to these secrets first before revealing the answer.
[Anti-Fraud King #205: I once imagined what a world would be like if neither we nor fate existed. But the result is quite interesting. The organization still exists, and the police are still fighting, the only difference being that the conflict isn't as intense or dramatic. Now, apart from Jingguang, the two variables that shouldn't have appeared—Brandy and Merlot—have been eliminated, and it seems everything is getting back on track…]
[Anti-Fraud Guru #66: What's so surprising about that? The world will keep turning even without us.]
Number 205, if it weren't for the fact that you've been helping me all this way, I would have thought that your mechanical heart still held feelings.
[Anti-fraud expert #205: There's nothing more to say to these electronic beings who haven't completely eliminated their humanity.]
Eh...
Morofushi Kagemitsu poked at the alpaca skin suit that was still on in number 205, thinking he should start a round of talk to ease the unfriendly atmosphere among the anti-fraud officers, otherwise it would be very awkward for everyone to get along once things got out of hand.
Number 205, you said they are electronic beings, but aren't you the same? After discovering that the world is still functioning normally without you, you must feel a little lonely, right?
When it comes to the generation of emotions, you can use a whole host of scientific terms to explain it. However, as long as an emotion can be truly perceived, it has already fulfilled its function of "communication." So, in your opinion, what kind of existence is something that can generate emotional value?
Now that I am human, my perception of emotions is quite acute, and I can clearly distinguish between your sincere and insincere answers. In your view, the erosion of consciousness and emotions is probably measured in terms of time; however, in my eyes, even the other 200-plus anti-fraud agents who have been "dormant" for a long time have emotional fluctuations, and you are just a few of the most active ones.
Specifically, your acceptance of being transformed into fate is not because you have enough rationality; the 26th's unwillingness is not because they have humanity, but simply because you, who are still active, have the right to choose and subjective thoughts.
But based on this alone, you've already distanced yourself considerably from purely mechanical and electronic artificial intelligence.
[Anti-Fraud Guru #205: ...Ultimately, your fervent opposition stems from your reluctance to let go of the "emotional" factor...that's all. I'm not some villainous boss; I'm simply guiding you towards a path that allows you to survive in an unstable future.]
[Anti-Fraud Guru #26: But since you're the villainous BOSS's father, we still need to use truth, goodness, and beauty to redeem you.]
[Anti-fraud expert #205: If you're so unwilling to be converted, then you need to come up with a solution.]
[Anti-Fraud Guru #148: You've been arguing with us for too long, your brain has become so dull. Why don't you just read Jing's inner thoughts and you'll understand?]
Morofushi Kagemitsu avoided the keywords and, based on the speculations that the anti-fraud team had previously made, replaced No. 234 with Hasegawa Butler, claiming that his blocked voice during that period was related to the butler, and that solving this mystery might lead to 'another path'.
He thought that since the existence of No. 234 could be denied by Butler Hase, if they went to the future and confirmed the truth about Butler Hase, the logically rigorous anti-fraud team would probably be able to discover something in the face of such a big factual loophole.
[Anti-fraud expert #205: ...I need to confirm if this is just a delaying tactic you came up with on the spur of the moment.]
If I want to be sure, the only way is to travel to the future again, right? Whether this is a lie or not, we'll find out in time, won't we? In such a short time, what can I possibly accomplish?
Number 205 wanted to find some leverage against him, but found that even without the protection of those who were holding him back, there seemed to be nothing important that he could threaten as long as his own interests were not affected.
Over the years, even though they've done a lot of paperwork for him, it's still Morofushi Kagemitsu who makes the decisions, from the overall development strategy to the structure of business negotiations. They can't exactly threaten him into not giving him the autopilot feature anymore, can they?
Number 205 lowered his head in disappointment and agreed to the conditions he proposed.
Seeing that No. 205 was experiencing emotional fluctuations again, Morofushi Kagemitsu regained his bright and sunny smile.
This wolf in sheep's clothing, after spending too much time among the sheep, has been assimilated by them.
He created a new "battlefield" for the alpacas, allowing the 26th and 19th to settle their scores and grievances. He then checked the date and contacted Furuya Rei.
After all, he might travel through time in the coming period and needed to give some important instructions, especially to persuade the high-ranking public security officials of the National Police Agency and the Metropolitan Police Department to launch a full-scale attack on the organization.
However, the news brought by Rei Furuya after the phone call was not very optimistic:
"...I recently sounded out the administrator, and it seems the higher-ups are still prioritizing a cautious approach. Furthermore, Kazami has learned that soon, the top brass of both agencies will hold a meeting regarding a proposal from an organization. The content... seems to be about reaching a cooperation agreement with them!"
Well, although he had some idea of what the bottom line of this group of people was, he still couldn't help but want to curse when the answer was finally revealed.
"I cannot accept this outcome," Morofushi Hiromitsu stated his position. "Zero, do you know the specifics of the proposal? Or the conditions under which they reached the cooperation?"
"Kazami only chatted briefly with the people over there, but I heard them mention cooperation with the United States." The sound of typing came from Furuya Rei's side, as if he was looking up information. "There's no news yet, but based on the movements in the United States and the intelligence from the organization, I guess it's related to things like marine resource development and shipbuilding."
Morofushi Kagemitsu also read the daily news. He pulled up the freight data from the coastal areas and the resource allocation information recently reported from Hokkaido. He sent these two sets of data over, tacitly acknowledging the accuracy of the information.
He quickly devised a plan to sabotage the cooperation in his mind, and was about to speak when Rei Furuya, as if by telepathy, also offered a suggestion:
"Hiro/Zero, if we're going to sabotage this collaboration, we'll probably have to have a word with that FBI agent/Akai."
They both smiled silently, their heavy hearts soothed by this small, tacit understanding, which strengthened their resolve to defy the wishes of their superiors.
They will never let their years of struggle go to waste.
-----------------------
Author's Note: After reading the latest developments in the comic and some analysis, I have a very ominous premonition...
Now I'm going to speed things up and try to finish the book as soon as possible.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
