Chapter 91. When You’re Feeling Weak, Eel Rice Bowl (1)
“Ugh. No matter how many times I see that, it’s disgusting.”
No. 7 grimaced at the sight.
She had seen it more than once, but she still could not get used to it.
“Don’t say that. No. 10 was simply carrying out his role faithfully.”
No. 11 ignored her reaction and carefully examined the crushed remains of the woman’s corpse.
No. 7, who had already heard the rough details, spoke up.
“So this is the result of the parthenogenesis project Abraxas carried out fifty years ago?”
“That’s right. This sample is already four generations removed from the original.”
No. 11 studied the body closely.
“The original plan was to expose the descendants to a variety of environments and observe the physical changes that occurred.”
“Unfortunately, that part of the experiment failed.”
No. 7 frowned.
“Is something like this even useful?”
“It’s important research material for the Sophia Project we’re about to conduct in Korea.”
“More precisely, we intend to redesign the Sophia Project based on this experimental sample.”
No. 7 looked confused.
“Didn’t that project already fail?”
The Sophia Project.
An experiment intended to construct the Wisdom of God by creating artificial geniuses.
As far as No. 7 knew, most of the children born from the experiment had gone insane before even reaching adulthood.
That was why it had been considered a failure.
“We approached it incorrectly.”
No. 11 smiled.
“Of course problems would occur if we tried to pour the Wisdom of God into different vessels.”
“This time, in the new Sophia Project, we will pour the Wisdom of God into identical vessels.”
No. 7 could only stare at him.
“What are you even talking about?”
“Hahaha. You don’t need to understand.”
No. 11 chuckled.
“More importantly, I hope No. 6 noticed at least a little from what happened this time.”
The mention of their former comrade’s code name made No. 7 sit up.
“What? You met No. 6?”
“Yes.”
No. 11 nodded.
“He still seems very curious about where he came from and what his past really was.”
No. 7 clicked her tongue.
“Tch. What is he planning to do once he finds out?”
The Twelve Archons, including herself, were weapons.
What meaning did a weapon’s past possibly have?
No. 7 had never once wondered about hers.
Even now, she found No. 6’s obsession with the past frustrating and difficult to understand.
“That’s why I invited No. 6 to the village where the test subjects were located.”
No. 11 remembered the desperate look in his old comrade’s eyes.
“I wanted to give our friend a little hint.”
For only a brief moment, No. 6 had clearly wavered.
Imagining what kind of face he would make once he learned the truth naturally brought a mocking smile to No. 11’s lips.
“To think he genuinely believes he escaped through his own free will.”
“How innocent.”
“Everything exists within Alpha’s prophecy.”
No. 11 hummed cheerfully as he continued examining the corpse.
His face was full of curiosity and delight.
He looked like a child playing with an entertaining new toy.
For No. 7, who had been bored out of her mind, the sight was irritating.
She complained loudly enough for him to hear.
“Whatever. I just wish this project would hurry up and start.”
“I’m bored to death.”
“It already has.”
No. 7 blinked.
“Really? Since when?”
No. 11 chuckled.
“I scattered plenty of it around before coming here.”
“We should start seeing reactions soon.”
Yukgap stood in front of the laboratory door with a plate of food in his hands.
He hesitated for a moment.
Then he gathered his courage and lightly knocked.
“Victoria, eat something.”
He waited anxiously for Victoria to open the door.
But the answer from the other side was the same as always.
“I’m not hungry.”
Again.
Yukgap frowned in frustration and raised his voice toward the closed door.
“How many times do I have to tell you?”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“What are you going to do if you collapse too?”
Several days had passed since the battle with the Archons in Gangwon Province.
Victoria blamed herself for the people she had failed to save.
After returning to the restaurant, she had shut herself inside the laboratory.
She barely ate.
She spent every day locked away like a recluse.
Yukgap had tried getting angry.
He had tried speaking gently.
Nothing worked.
“I know.”
Victoria’s weak voice came from the other side.
“But I just don’t feel like eating.”
No matter how many times he asked, the answer was always the same.
Yukgap sighed.
“At this rate, you’re going to collapse too.”
“I’m fine.”
She sounded like she was trying to reassure him.
But her voice was so weak it seemed ready to break apart.
“I’ll leave the food here.”
“Eat it if you feel like it.”
In the end, Yukgap had no choice but to give up again.
He placed the meal in front of the door.
He wished she would at least eat it later.
But several other dishes he had brought earlier were still sitting untouched beside the door.
“Ugh.”
A sigh escaped him.
Robert approached with a series of mechanical beeps.
[How is the Doctor?]
“No good.”
Yukgap shook his head.
“She still refuses to eat anything.”
Robert answered thoughtfully.
[She probably believes everything happened because she was not capable enough.]
“But she was the reason we managed to save anyone at all.”
Yukgap’s expression darkened.
He himself had barely remained conscious after No. 11’s attack.
If Victoria had not pulled herself together and taken control of the situation, even the few survivors might have died.
But to Victoria, the lives she had failed to save seemed to weigh far more heavily than the ones she had.
[Then why not prepare some restorative food?]
Robert cautiously offered an idea.
