However, although I managed to escape unscathed by intuition and avoid being abducted by that Leon, Atifei-01’s core consciousness was captured, which is indeed troublesome...
After pondering for a while in the recliner, Prince Andre stood up again, walked to the bookshelf on his left, and retrieved a metal piece connected with a copper wire from a secret compartment, attaching it to the back of his head.
At the moment the metal piece was close to the back of the head, an urgent voice sounded beside Prince Andre’s ear.
"How’s your investigation? Have you figured out the reason for Atifei-01’s abnormal computation? Has the anomaly been eliminated?"
"Don’t call her Atifei-01, she has a name. You should address her as Princess Feiliya."
After correcting the man’s way of addressing, Prince Andre replied leisurely:
"The reason for the abnormal computation is still unclear, but the anomaly has been eliminated. You at the No. 1 Scientific Department can lift the lockdown now; there’s no need to worry about Feiliya remotely calling Atifei-01 for excess computation."
"That’s good to hear..."
Upon hearing Prince Andre’s notification, the voice coming through the metal piece breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately asked:
"Prince Andre, ah... Princess Feiliya has been separated from Atifei-01 for nearly two months. When do you plan to extract her from that human body and let her return to Atifei-01?"
"Let’s discuss it later~"
Prince Andre blinked upon hearing this and said somewhat helplessly:
"I would love to send her back right away, but unfortunately, Feiliya was abducted today, and even the information piece in the back of her head was somehow removed. I can’t locate her now."
What?! The body storing Atifei-01’s core program was actually kidnapped?
After hearing Prince Andre’s words, a heavy gasp sounded from the other end of the metal piece.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, the person in charge of the No. 1 Scientific Department spoke up, clearly irritated:
"Prince Andre! Do you know what you’re saying? This isn’t something to joke about!"
"Do I seem like someone who jokes around?"
Dragging his recliner beside the bookshelf and lying down again, Prince Andre narrowed his eyes contently, explaining lazily:
"A few delegations visited these two days, and my mother arranged for me to receive them. Feiliya became interested in one of the delegation members, and after persisting for quite a while, she took over my hosting duties.
However, the members of that delegation were actually two cleaners. When they saw Feiliya, they suddenly decided to kidnap her without any apparent reason... What can I do in such rare instances?"
"But this could have been prevented!"
Seemingly angered by Prince Andre’s dismissive attitude, the person in charge of the No. 1 Scientific Department breathed heavily before speaking in an accusatory tone:
"Ever since that body was created, I have repeatedly suggested to you that the core program of Atifei-01 is too important and should remain in the No. 1 Scientific Department. Giving it a body to move around is sufficient, but don’t casually take it out!
Regarding this matter, you pledged that!
You said that with an information piece in the back of her head, carefully selected guards, and cleaners from the Clean-up Bureau, even if Atifei-01 leaves the No. 1 Scientific Department, there would be no issues. Now..."
"Aren’t you annoying?"
Removing the metal piece used for private communication slightly to lessen the noise, Prince Andre irritably said:
"I said it was ’unlikely’ to have issues. Do you understand the meaning of ’unlikely’? Unlikely means generally, there won’t be issues, except for special circumstances, got it?
A prince who traveled a long way suddenly deciding to kidnap Feiliya — such a crazy act can’t be computed by Atifei-01, so how could I predict it?
Also, stop calling her Atifei-01; it confuses me. The real Atifei-01 is the machine soaking in the lake at your No. 1 Scientific Department. The one with a body now is my nominal sister, Feiliya; you should address her as Princess."
"Alright, Prince Andre, I understand your request."
After being thoroughly scolded by Prince Andre, the voice from the metal piece cooled slightly, and the person in charge quietly said:
"But if possible, may I ask you a question? Why are you so concerned about how I address Atifei-01?"
With his legs crossed, Prince Andre replied impatiently:
"People are people, machines are machines; it’s easier to differentiate this way!"
"You really should learn to distinguish them well!"
The person in charge of the No. 1 Scientific Department responded with a sneer, then added sarcastically:
"I must remind you once more that the real Princess Feiliya died over a decade ago. The so-called Princess Feiliya now is just a fleshly creation temporarily used to carry Atifei-01’s core program.
Those actions resembling a living person and those human-like responses aren’t real. They’re models we’ve calculated over the years.
It is not your deceased sister, just a soul-less puppet we created!"
"I understand this better than you."
After a brief silence, Prince Andre sat up straight from the recliner and clutched the metal piece with no expression as he said:
"To be precise, I killed Feiliya with my own hands and buried her myself. I’m very aware of these matters, and you don’t need to remind me!"
"Well, I can only hope you truly understand."
Seemingly unwilling to argue further with Prince Andre, the head of the No. 1 Scientific Department sneered before continuing:
"You should know better than I what the Kingdom plans to do next, and the loss of Atifei-01’s core program is absolutely intolerable!
Therefore, regarding your loss of Atifei-01 and those speculations you vehemently deny, I will report them truthfully to His Majesty the King. I hope your explanations will satisfy His Majesty when the time comes!"
Facing the head of the No. 1 Scientific Department’s threat, Prince Andre’s eyelids drooped slightly, and he replied lazily:
"Go ahead, make your complaints as you wish!"
After snorting angrily, the head of the No. 1 Scientific Department directly "ended" the communication. Prince Andre sighed, unwillingly got up from the recliner, rummaged through the secret compartment on the bookshelf, and retrieved another metal piece with a lever, attaching it to the back of his head.
Shortly, a familiar voice, clearly suppressing anger, sounded again beside Prince Andre’s ear.
The head of the No. 1 Scientific Department, holding back anger, reported via "internal communication piece":
"Atifei-01’s core program has been abducted, and Prince Andre’s attitude is ambiguous. I even suspect that this abduction might be related to him!"
After adjusting the lever on the metal piece, Prince Andre tugged at the copper line, retraced a few steps, lay back in his comfortable recliner, and adopted a tone that was slightly aged, responding with authority:
"You focus on your responsibilities, while I will have a proper discussion with Andre regarding other issues!"