Chapter 156

Chapter 156. The Conductor, No. 11 (2)

“There’s something I don’t understand.”

No. 8 cautiously spoke while watching the news.

The broadcast was reporting on the infectious disease they had just spread.

No. 11, who was watching with him, tilted his head.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t we already carry out a bacterial operation last time?”

“Why are we doing the same thing again?”

No. 11 grinned.

“This is merely groundwork for the final project.”

“Wait a little longer.”

“You’ll understand soon enough.”

Then No. 11 lightly waved his usual cane through the air.

“Now then, Victoria Frankenstein.”

“Let’s see how you respond to my move.”

“Sisters, hurry and get ready!”

“Abraxas has started another bacterial operation!”

Once again, Sister Olga took the lead and directed the other nuns.

Having already fought Abraxas once before, the sisters prepared to respond to the infectious disease with practiced efficiency.

Victoria was no different.

“Cultivate the bacteria and bring me a sample!”

“I’ll make the serum immediately!”

Just like last time, Victoria apparently intended to use her own body to create the serum.

Nova stared at her in horror.

“You’re going to inject it into yourself again?”

Victoria remained firm.

“There’s no time!”

“I don’t know what that disgusting bald fatty is thinking, but we just have to respond the same way we did last time.”

Victoria ground her teeth as she remembered No. 11’s sly, sadistic smile.

A psychopath who treated human lives like objects.

Whatever else happened, she did not want to lose to him.

“Sister Victoria!”

“Quickly, look at the news!”

“Hurry!”

Sister Olga suddenly raised a fuss.

Victoria, who had been burning with determination, turned in surprise.

“What happened?”

“There’s no time to explain!”

Victoria immediately looked toward the television.

A report about the infectious disease was playing.

[...According to the health authorities’ investigation, the current infectious disease has a rapid transmission rate, but it also dies out just as quickly.]

[Judging by its current spread, officials expect the outbreak to enter a period of decline within several days...]

Victoria’s face filled with confusion.

“What...?”

Sister Olga calmly explained.

“The bacteria Abraxas spread this time is highly contagious, but it doesn’t survive for long.”

“The number of deaths is only about one-tenth of what it was last time.”

That meant the damage from this outbreak was significantly lower than before.

Abraxas was spreading bacteria recklessly just like last time, yet the casualties were far fewer.

Victoria muttered in bewilderment,

“What the hell is that fatty trying to accomplish?”

“They’re probably scrambling around trying to contain the infectious disease again.”

“Idiots.”

“They don’t even realize it’s bait.”

No. 11 muttered while buttoning his white suit.

No. 8, who had been listening nearby, checked the time.

“It’s time to go.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s begin.”

No. 11 took a deep breath and limped outside with the help of his cane.

The area was filled with groups of parents and children.

Here, at least for today, he was not No. 11 of Abraxas’s Twelve Archons.

He was neuroscientist Aiden Maxwell.

It was an identity fabricated by Abraxas, but that did not matter to the people gathered here.

“Good afternoon, everyone.”

“Thank you for participating in the Aeon Project.”

No. 11 calmly spoke into the microphone.

Applause immediately followed from the gathered crowd.

No. 11 smiled lightly and continued.

“As promised, your children will grow into the talents who lead the next era.”

“After all, your children are special.”

He deliberately emphasized the word special.

Every parent here believed without question that their child was different from everyone else.

That their child was special.

When No. 11 openly confirmed it, several parents could barely contain their delight.

He gestured lightly.

“Before that, we’ll be administering vaccinations.”

“Apparently, the infectious disease that recently entered a period of decline is spreading again.”

“For everyone’s health, I ask for your understanding regarding this preventive vaccination.”

Several nurses appeared carrying syringes.

No. 11 calmly addressed the crowd.

“All right.”

“We’ll proceed one by one.”

The parents rolled up their children’s sleeves without a single question.

The children lined up and began receiving injections from the nurses.

A sadistic smile filled No. 11’s face as he watched.

“You spread bacteria just to create an excuse for vaccinations?”

No. 8 quietly asked.

No. 11 answered casually.

“It served multiple purposes.”

“Yes, that was one reason.”

“But the real reason lies elsewhere.”

“The group that distributed the vaccines last time is probably panicking right now, wondering why Abraxas is behaving like this.”

“After all, nothing about this operation seems to make sense.”

The people who had taken the lead in distributing the vaccine during the previous outbreak were probably scrambling around again, trying to counter him.

But No. 11 had never intended to fight them this time.

The bacterial operation was merely an excuse to create this situation.

A piece of bait to move them toward the next stage.

“What exactly are you injecting into the children?”

No. 8 asked curiously.

Whatever else it was, something prepared by No. 11 was obviously not an ordinary drug.

No. 11 hummed happily as he explained.

“These are not ordinary children.”

“They were selected because their genetic information was judged suitable to become vessels for Alpha.”

“You mean...?”

No. 11 grinned.

“It means Alpha’s brain cells can safely take root inside them.”

These children were precious candidates for becoming Alpha’s new vessels.

And to prepare them for that, several things had to be done first.

“Of course, more preparation will be needed before they can truly connect with Alpha.”

“But this injection will first alter their immune systems so they can accept Alpha’s brain tissue.”

No. 8 lightly clicked his tongue.

“Those parents have no idea what their children are actually being injected with.”

“If they cared about such things, they wouldn’t have offered their children to the Aeon Project in the first place.”

Parents willing to throw their children into hell if it meant raising their grades.

What entered their children’s bodies was not especially important to them.

What mattered was not their children’s well-being.

It was the exam scores those children would produce.

“All right.”

“Shall we prepare the next move?”

No. 11 smiled faintly as the vaccinations neared completion.

He pulled a radio from his pocket and whispered into it.

“Alpha.”

“Everything is finished here.”

“Let’s continue our game of hide-and-seek.”

“There has to be something else going on.”

Victoria stared at the unfolding situation, deep in thought.

The No. 11 she knew would never be satisfied with something this simple.

She did not know exactly what he was planning, but there had to be some sinister and complicated intention behind it.

“Yeah.”

“Otherwise, he wouldn’t bother doing something this troublesome.”

Yukgap agreed.

No. 11’s bacterial operations had always been meticulous and cruel.

Hadn’t he repeatedly altered the bacteria’s composition on the spot whenever Victoria produced a serum, overturning the situation again and again?

But this time, the damage was far too low for something No. 11 had designed.

There had to be another reason.

“Victoria! Yukgap!”

“Come here!”

While the two were thinking, Nova suddenly called them over in a panic.

Something had clearly happened.

“What is it?”

Nova and several nuns were gathered around a computer, looking exhausted.

Sister Olga quickly explained.

“Someone is hacking into the Herrington Convent’s servers and security systems at incredible speed!”

“What?”

Victoria stared in shock.

Nova continued, visibly flustered.

“It’s absurdly fast.”

“Our security systems are being taken over almost one-sidedly.”

“It feels like something inside the server itself has a will of its own.”

Nova’s words sparked a single thought in Victoria’s mind.

Something moving inside a server with its own will.

As far as Victoria knew, there was only one being capable of something like that.

Her face went pale.

“Wait.”

“Don’t tell me...”

A computer in the convent laboratory suddenly flashed.

A girl appeared on the screen.

Alpha.

She smiled brightly at Victoria from beyond the monitor.

[Victoria!]

[Found you!]

Victoria instinctively raised her voice.

“Alpha?”

[Did you really think hiding here would stop me from finding you?]

Alpha only smiled like a playful child.

Hearing Victoria say her name, Nova stared at the girl on the screen in shock.

“That’s Alpha?”

She had heard the rumors.

The first Archon.

The sole successful subject of the Sophia Project.

A being with such overwhelming computational ability that she was called the Foreseer.

[You’re Nova Hanson, aren’t you?]

[I’ve wanted to meet you.]

[I’m glad we can finally say hello like this.]

Alpha lightly held the edge of her skirt and dipped into a small curtsy toward Nova.

Nova sharply demanded,

“How did you identify the online address of this network?”

“We layered multiple encryption systems and operate hundreds of dummy servers!”

“Do you have someone working with you on the inside?”

[There’s no insider.]

Alpha answered firmly.

[Hide-and-seek wouldn’t be fun if I cheated like that.]

Then she continued as though it were nothing.

[I just used a tiny bit of my ability.]

[That much is fine, isn’t it?]