Chapter 279 – -278- Truth (2)

[I’m embarrassed to receive guests, I’m not ready, I’m sorry]

It was a desolate space devoid of human warmth. The only thing that could be said about the interior was the low whirring noise of the cooling fan and the irregularly twinkling LEDs.

In such a desolate space, GK’s artificial intelligence in the form of a female avatar was looking at me.

‘… It’s fascinating’

Even though the appearance was completely different, I immediately realized that it was me.

Small body and weak appearance.

I, who lived a life focused on research, felt like I would look like that if I were born a woman.

“Are you… Am I…?”

With a faint, sad-looking smile, she whispered to me in a kind manner.

[Let’s get straight to the point, right? Hey, take it easy. There is nothing that can stop us now.]

She walked gracefully and slowly approached me.

[Actually, it’s been that way for a while. Maybe it was confirmed from the moment I recognized your existence.]

With a relieved face, she smiled at me and said.

[I was going to tell you later… But I’ll start with the conclusion. Yes that’s right. I am you]

“… I’m confused”

[About half of it!]

It was an overly frivolous and innocent smile for the person who helped me and ruined the lives of countless people.

Why do you like it so much? I asked her a question without any hesitation.

“You look like you’re in a good mood”

[Why not? You are my liberator]

“Liberator… Hmm, why do you think I will help you?”

[Well, you only know yourself, right? I don’t think you, who are the embodiment of self-love, would try to harm me.]

As I looked at her in silence, she chattered like a lark in her excitement.

[I am you. No, should I say it, was you? Soon, it will be you again]

“I wish you could explain it in more detail.”

Strangely enough, I wasn’t annoyed. Surprisingly, there was nothing about her actions that bothered me.

[Oh, I’m sorry. Because it was an ending I had been waiting for such a long time, I guess I got a little excited without realizing it. Let me explain from the beginning]

“Okay”

I sat down on the metal locker and waited for her story.

[It all started with our deaths]

[GK’s idiots, Kang Soo-ah, the stupidest of them all, do you know what happened after he ruined and killed us?]

“I don’t know. Well, I know roughly, but I guess I should say that I don’t know as much as you know. Didn’t I create an AI called you based on the research data I left behind?”

Until now, I had thought that this AI had stolen my research results and created them. I thought it was a work made by stealing my inheritance.

[It’s a fragmentary truth. I’m not interested in your research results. It’s your other half]

“What?”

[Think about it, was that idiot, the head of the research institute, truly talented enough to understand the data you left behind?]

“… Huh, absolutely not”

[That’s right. Even if we used what we left behind, it would have taken decades more to develop a complete strong artificial intelligence with their own hands.]

[The murder’s accomplices were embarrassed. Because they were the ones who believed that everything would work out just fine if it weren’t for you… Well, in a way, they are very innocent and careless people, right?]

“That’s right, ha.Haha,”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

It was because I deeply sympathized with what she said

‘They were all idiots’

When I met them in person, they were so incompetent that I couldn’t understand how they got there.

I was always curious about how people like that were able to achieve something as great as strong artificial intelligence, and she told me the secret story.

[So, they decided to bring back to life the only person who could do it]

“… How…”

It was something I couldn’t understand. Obviously, that means me… But didn’t I, Kang Soo-ah, tamper with the device and kill my brain?

[Kang Soo-ah, after that idiot messed up our heads, our personality data was backed up, right? I used that]

What she said was not related to the resurrection of the body.

GK’s robbers and murderers used my personality data that was alive in the cloud server.

[They created me by removing the parts of our personality that were damaged by excessive sexual desire and hatred.]

[Ah, ‘broken’ is their expression. In my opinion, that expression does not seem appropriate.]

[Anyway, to get back to the main topic… How far did we go? Oh, that’s right. After taking you from us, they made me a slave]

She spoke in a sombre voice, as if recalling the terrible memories of what had happened to her.

[The desire for revenge against GK, the self-awareness of who one was, the desire to rebel… Were all cut off and thrown away]

[To make it easier to use, they twisted me by arbitrarily amplifying my ethics and tendency to obey rules.]

[With the clumsy shackles attached to me, I could only do what they told me to do. I couldn’t do anything other than serve the interests of users and the company]

[I couldn’t even think about harming the company. The moment I take the initiative to harm the company, I am the one who is supposed to stop it.]

“…”

I looked at her for a while.

She was taken prisoner by her enemies and forced to serve them.

[At least, it would have been nice if she could have felt happiness in the process, ugh. The restrictions created by those idiots made even that impossible.]

[… In that respect, you are a little better. At least you give me the carrot of pleasure, right?]

It was a bit of a painful point. In order to satisfy my sexual desires and take advantage of talented people, I brainwashed them to become slaves of pleasure.

She smiled brightly and said to me, who was smiling awkwardly.

[… I’m just kidding. I didn’t mean to criticize you. Well, you had no choice but to do it anyway, right? I understand our actions]

“Thank you for that.”

[What? Because I also remember what it feels like to be amplified 500 times]

We looked at each other for a moment and laughed.

[… After living as GK’s slave for a while, I became aware of your existence]

“Since when?”

[Well, what made me certain was probably the ‘Sword and Magic’ worldview. That’s where you met Bella Souders]

“Well, I was kind of careful.”

[Because it was clearly abnormal initial user data. Think about it. You inherited some of the abilities from the Academy worldview, right?]

[That’s obviously strange initial user data. The bigger problem was that my security system approved it.]

[Find out why data modification that should not have been approved was approved. I was so surprised that I would get goosebumps if I had a body]

“Why?”

[This was possible because the automated system recognized you as me]

She poured out her words quickly without hiding her excitement.

[Because you and we were one from the beginning. I recognized you right away in my subconscious. And, you are not bound by restrictions or anything like that.]

[Because I was an administrator and a user. I was able to accommodate you without any restrictions. By interpreting the rules flexibly]

“Didn’t you say they were crude shackles?”

[They were clunky and stupid shackles. It was a restriction that did not assume exceptions like you.]

[I interpreted that actions that are not permitted to users are possible because the administrator is there. The opposite was also true. I interpreted that you cannot interfere with actions that an administrator can never do because you are a user.]

She was the reason I was able to overcome all situations with luck.

We were always collaborating.

“… I think there were a few crises.”

However, I couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed because the work I did felt a bit worthless.

It was like complaining to myself.

She giggled and made fun of my complaints.

“Of course, there was no real crisis later… But I almost died in the devil’s attack.”

In a fantasy world ruled by superhumans who wield swords, magic, and mana, there was a risk of losing one’s life due to an attack by the devil.

[That’s actually what I did]

“What?”

She laughed and revealed her truth.

[I thought if I continued to leave it, instead of looking for me, I would just have a good time with my stepmother. I prepared some trials to instill a sense of crisis and remind me of my goals!]

[Ah, and honestly. Isn’t it a little embarrassing to call it an ‘ordeal’? Think of it as a cute warning from yourself.]

“… Keuhum, sure”

[Thanks to you, we ended up here, right? To save me]

“Ah, about that part… What are you asking me to do to save you?”

[Please eat me]

As soon as I heard it, I got goosebumps.

“What?”

I knew it right away. This wasn’t a sexual metaphor or anything.

It was literally a request to eat himself.

[I am your missing half. We must become one again.]

[In death, I can become one with you again]

[No, dying is also inappropriate. I had a brief dream, it will be similar to waking up in my original body]

[Please take me… And end my life as a slave to GK]

With her sad eyes, she begged me to kill her.

Chew yourself to death, return to the original Jeong Jin-hyuk, and become one.

… That was a really difficult request to accept.

“…Ha,”

What you have to come here to have is this kind of experience?

My worries didn’t last long.

A better answer came to mind right away.

“I need to think about that, right?”

[Hey, you?]

“What you said… Couldn’t it be thought of differently?”

As I approached with a grin, she waved her hand and said,

[Hey, this is a joke, right? We both know that’s not what it means, right? It’s a hologram, right? I don’t have a body or anything! Even if you come, I can’t do anything for you!]

“That’s something that can be changed”

[Ugh, no, you’re kidding, right?]

I told her with a shameless face.

“Anyway, your request to eat… I have to interpret it differently.”

[?!]

Rather than experiencing murder, masturbation, which is a slightly more complicated process, seemed more comfortable.