NIKKE, when the stars bloom

Therefore, they could only delay time. Once they encountered a bad guy, they would remind their companions in the carport to quickly take the gentleman to another location.

"Where's Watson?"

With Nikki's help, Phoenix slowly sat up, holding his head, and asked weakly:

"And that woman, tsk..."

The lymph fluid in the ear changed and moved due to the change in center of gravity, once again tormenting Phoenix's senses.

"...I'll have to get some stun grenades for self-defense in the future."

Regarding this illegal topic, the two mass-produced Nikkis really want to remind the enthusiastic citizens in front of them that if they are caught privately collecting such items, they will definitely be detained in a rehabilitation center.

But before they could speak, Phoenix repeated the question he had just asked.

"You haven't told me what happened to Watson and that woman."

"We don't know Mr. Watson's condition, but we can guarantee that when we leave the factory, Mr. Watson's life is not in danger," said Nikki on the left.

Nikki on the right continued to add, "The lady left, and she has something she wants us to pass on to you."

"Well, just say it directly."

"Yes."

The Nikki naturally straightened up and reported the "deal" they had reached with the woman fifteen minutes ago.

……

……

"Wow~? You came back pretty quickly tonight, Viper."

In a hidden abandoned house in the Outer Rim, a woman with a cigarette in her mouth squinted at her military advisor with her listless eyes.

—The woman who took off her robe after entering the room.

"I'm very lucky today, Krau." Viper smiled sweetly and pulled the cloth that was a little tight on his chest with both hands.

"I met a very interesting man. Although our final destinations are different, there is a section of the road in between that we can stop by~"

"Oh~"

Krau responded lacking interest, flipped open his lighter, and aimed the orange flame at the cigarette that actually couldn't be lit.

Seeing that this stinky woman didn't respond to his words, Viper pouted his lips in annoyance and continued to talk:

“It’s really interesting~”

"In order to track down Nikki's combat record, the man chased all the way to Watson's territory, taught everyone a lesson, and released Nikki, who was taken in by Watson.

As a result, I happened to be nearby at that time, and he might have arranged spies to keep watch outside the factory, so he knew that I was about to enter the west gate of the factory.

Then, he hid by the door frame of the west door, waiting for me to push the door open and then sneak attack me from behind.

The result...Puchi~~

Ahem——

I ended up throwing a stun grenade in there.”

Seeing Viper laughing so naively, Krau moved two steps to the side, intending to pour himself a glass of cheap whiskey to pass this boring night.

"Hey~ Krau, I guess that person is a commander~" Viper didn't care whether the boring woman was listening to him or not, and continued to speak willfully:

"There must be no one else who cares so much about Nikki's combat record except for a few commanders, right?

So, I revealed the information of Watson's boss, the old man Patvin, to him, and also attached a clue to track down Nikki's combat record.

Do you think he will bring us a surprise?"

"I don't want to bother with your impromptu tricks." Krau drank half a glass of whiskey in one gulp and responded expressionlessly:

"As long as it doesn't affect the plan, it's up to you how you want to play. You don't need to report the details to me."

"Got it~"

The sweet military advisor rolled her eyes cutely and walked towards her room.

"Then I'll go find a man tomorrow~"

Click!

The door with the pink stuffed toy hanging on it closed.

Chapter 33: Bachelor

The night in the suburbs of Ark is quiet, boring, and full of dangers.

If the humans in the outer zone are likened to ferocious jackals, then the residents of the suburbs of the Ark are wild dogs.

He is obviously very timid, but always wants to take advantage of others that he shouldn't.

For example: Arnold was pressed against the lid of a trash can by Phoenix because of a thousand dollars.

He didn't understand how he was discovered by the other party, he only knew that he was deceived badly.

"The woman told me that I only needed to keep an eye on you for 22 hours and send her your location every half an hour, and she would pay me a thousand dollars."

The next second after coming into close contact with the trash can cover, Arnold told Phoenix all the information he knew without Phoenix asking.

"Brother, she only gave me one thousand, so I thought it was just an ordinary surveillance job. I didn't know you were so fierce. I was wrong, brother, please be magnanimous and let me go."

As for Phoenix, he was also polite. Seeing that the young man looked skinny and did not look like a high-paid professional, he let go of his hand, took two steps back, and asked:

"How did she ask you to contact her?"

"How else can we contact each other? It must be through the phone."

Arnold made a bitter face and took out the black cell phone from his pocket.

"This phone is not mine. The password is 520521. Just click on 'balabala' for contact information. There is only one contact in it."

As he spoke, he tried to hand the phone to Phoenix, but unexpectedly the phone suddenly emitted a small spark, followed by an unpleasant smell of burnt chips.

"Here……"

Seeing this, Arnold's face turned pale. He was afraid that the other party would misunderstand that he was playing a trick on him, so he hurriedly said:

"I know a skilled repairman who can help me..."

"Okay, I know it wasn't you who set it off."

Seeing the smoking phone, Phoenix waved his hand in a headache, "This phone is probably monitoring in real time. When the other party heard that you wanted to give me the phone, they activated the destruction device. It is probably impossible to repair it. You can leave now."

"Thank you, brother. Thank you."

When Arnold heard that the man was going to let him go, there was no reason for him not to run. He put his phone on the lid of the trash can, thanked him several times, and trotted out of the alley.

Phoenix was left standing there alone, pondering.

[Anik, how is your search going? Is there any information about Patvin and Cole on the public Internet? ]

[We are still investigating. There are too many duplicates of Cole, but fewer of Patwen. However, they are all ordinary people's account names. We have not found any reliable news or comments yet.]

After reporting on her work progress, Anik began to talk about her views on the matter.

[Since you have already seen through that woman's plan to use you to get rid of Patvin and Cole, why do you still do what she wants?

You can report it to the relevant departments and let them handle it. If you think they will protect each other, you can also choose to hand it over to the newspaper.

Although things like selling Nikki and leaking combat records happen from time to time in secret, once they are exposed, Ark Central will definitely conduct a thorough investigation for the sake of face and credibility. 】

The artificial idiot's plan is simple, she just wants to run away, and any behavior that cannot increase the chances of success in running away is meaningless to her.

Not to mention Phoenix's dealings with the dangerous Outer Zone elements. In Alnick's eyes, this was not even a simple waste of time, but a choice to play a dangerous arrest game.

[Where do you think it would be best to place the five Nikkis?]

However, Phoenix ignored Alnick's questioning and continued to think about the future lives of the five mass-produced Nikkis.

【…】

But such behavior undoubtedly annoyed Anik, who was determined to leave the Ark. In order to express his anger and resistance, the artificial intelligence in the sea of ​​consciousness closed countless page frames that were searching for information on the public Internet in front of someone.

It’s a pity that the person she met was Phoenix.

A nasty "villain" who can judge the situation and doesn't like to indulge other people's temper.

"It's actually okay for you five to live in the suburbs of the Ark, right?" Seeing that Anik didn't list any plans, Phoenix turned around indifferently and looked at the five mass-produced Nikkis waiting for him not far away.

"The biggest problem is that humans will make demands that you can't refuse."

After hearing what he said, the five Nikkis looked at each other for a few seconds, and finally nodded to acknowledge Phoenix's guess.

This is a very ironic fact. For Nikki who protects humans, it is not only Letcher who often puts their lives in danger...

And humans.

"How about this, you guys hide in the outskirts of the Ark for no more than a week, and I'll come find you." The man said calmly, "Now I'll go buy you enough food and clothes... Is there anything else you need?"

The Nikkis looked at each other again, then shook their heads.

"Mr. Phoenix, you don't have to treat us like this." The youngest Nikki couldn't help but say, "We... are all Nikkis who are about to be destroyed."

"Shouldn't we just spend the rest of our days comfortably?"

Phoenix narrowed his eyes in amusement and said, "Come on, just follow me from a distance. I have to go to the supermarket."

……

……

After more than ten or twenty minutes of one-sided cold war, Anike finally understood that this man really regarded her as an unnecessary voice assistant.

With her, he made his plan more simple and crude.

Without her, the worst that could happen would be that the plan would become more troublesome and dangerous.

Therefore, Anik, who had not yet been tainted by the human habit of "saving face", resolutely put down his posture and chose to take the initiative to reconcile, saying:

[Why do you do this? I can't understand your behavior. Is this behavior with almost zero benefit what humans call "goodwill"?

If it is goodwill, why would you be kind to Nikki? And they are a group of mass-produced Nikki that need to be destroyed regularly. They are unlikely to repay you in the future.

Besides, when I was in the terminal room, I used server-level computing power to deduce you. According to the Ark Society's concept of good and evil, you are not a good person. This is one of the reasons why I decided to cooperate with you. 】

【I don’t like such heavy topics. 】

Phoenix, who was shopping in a department store, answered this way.

[But if you insist on me explaining it clearly, I can give you a simple explanation, but the premise is that you have to tell me one thing: was it you who led the process of implanting the virus into Anis, or was it the chips that led the process?]

[Before performing the prosthetic surgery on you, I never interfered with any decision of that imposter. Every time I interfered with her, there would be a risk of exposing me.]

【Um. 】

The man stopped and looked at the cheap women's clothing sold in the supermarket.

[So, from this perspective, you’re the only one between us who makes me unhappy about gambling with my life. ]

Anik: [……]

[Since it’s on hold, I can answer your question in a different way. ]

Anik: [……]

[If we can become friends in the future, and one day you tell me that you will be destroyed by someone through the Internet in ten minutes, no matter that person is Ingrid, Anderson or anyone else, I will help you kill him.

Assuming that he cannot be killed at this stage, then we can plan for another ten or twenty years, and we will always find a chance to shoot him in the head. 】

Anik: […Actually.]

【Um? 】

Anik: […In fact, the survival rate of that operation was 5.309%, and the disability rate was 51.625%. The number % was the perfect fit rate of the prosthesis, and % was the lowest fit rate.]

Phoenix: [……]