Chapter 233

Two hands gently clasped together over the chest. A tuxedo that covered the entire body without gaps, except for the neck and hands.

Despite the central nervous system being completely extracted, the body was almost unchanged from the last time he looked in the mirror, as if the effects of periodic gravity and prolonged compression were being properly managed.

Slightly reddish brown hair and beard. Even the faint wrinkles starting to appear around his eyes only heightened the nostalgia for Leonar, who had just arrived at the window to see the capsule.

However, Gibson’s behavior, completely engrossed in fiddling with the control panel that displayed the storage status of the frozen capsule and adjusted its condition, was simply intolerable.

“…!!”

Words were unnecessary. They had been at each other’s throats this entire time, and there was no way Leonar was optimistic enough to think that this bastard was rushing to return something out of kindness.

His arm stretched out. If he had nails, he would have been poised to drive them into the guy’s skull.

Yet, his rough hand fell short of its intended destination, barely stopping just before grabbing Gibson by the hair.

“Fuck, if you take one more step over there! I’ll turn that damn capsule into a coffin so that your pretty little ashes can be all that’s left of you!!”

From entering the password to accessing the maintenance menu, he navigated through hundreds of items to find the special function tab and pulled up the incineration function for destroying the body in case of emergency.

Having completed the series of tasks with a skill that could unofficially register him as the fastest capsule operator in human history, he screamed.

His crazily trembling fingers vibrated as if they would soon slip out of control and touch the screen.

It was a state-of-the-art capsule model.

Surely, the incineration power would be as high as the storage efficiency, and if he pressed the button… would it take 4 seconds to smash Gibson’s skull and clear away the corpse before stopping the operation? If blood splattered on the manipulated area, would it take 5 seconds?

Adding to that the time required for the evolution process, the threat of returning with a coffin felt far from an exaggeration.

“……”

“Alright, fuck! Step back. Slowly. Don’t get any silly ideas! Whatever that strange wave attack was… and whatever you did to Electra, don’t even think about using it on me!! Even if my brain turns to mush, I’ll still have enough strength to move my fingers!”

Crunch!

From a distance where even the unique friction and grip of human hands could be seen, Gibson witnessed the pale gray alloy fingers gradually curling into a fist before retreating. He swallowed his dry saliva.

It was a close call; had he been even slightly delayed, not only would the negotiation table have flown away but his head could have ended up on it. At least for now, he was alive. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Damn, even with a few of Leonar’s weaknesses in hand — the guy who ignored his friend’s goodwill and thought he was the best and coolest in the world!

Finally finding some composure, he straightened his body while adjusting his legs that had carelessly sprawled out like a girl’s. His gaze was directed straight ahead, while both hands remained locked on the control panel.

“You stupid, moronic bastard!! What the hell are we supposed to do about this messed-up situation now!? If you’d just said you liked me and couldn’t live without me, we could have gone back to being happy!”

He had maintained a friendship as the only common acquaintance who resolved the conflict between them, while the lab director and her genius engineer boyfriend owed him a debt of gratitude.

What was supposed to be the perfect conclusion for Gibson, with a future that would satisfy both Electra and Leonar, was ruined by his stubbornness.

“……Is a one-sided relationship where someone just puts up with everything even worth it? If I spit, then I’ll spit; I have no intention of deceiving a former lover like that. Do you think I’m like you?”

“Exactly!! That’s been the problem since the beginning! You have no idea how fortunate you are, you brat!!”

What if I had held the decision-making power over all this mess?

What if I had a mature appearance or personality that would attract Electra?

What if I had the talent or brilliant ideas to produce results without getting blamed or talked about behind my back?

While they both felt dizzy that their connection, established from the very start based solely on economic factors, was not something they could brush aside, it was already too late.

Both sides felt the same way, having their boundaries trampled upon.

“Some people have been waiting over seven years for this messed-up substitute clinical trial and aren’t getting any of the damn side effects, but you, who think you’re so great, just dismiss it with ‘I never wanted this’!? Do you even know what the atmosphere was like when that bastard who made it to the pinnacle of success broke down the back door and disappeared?!”

“Hmph! Other employees might not know the details and have made wild guesses, but you? You’re different! Stop acting like a brat and don’t just push your old nagging problems onto me…!”

“Shut your mouth, Agari!! I’ve been saying for ages that your kind of behavior has been annoying from the start! That “theory” rubbish is bullshit. Oh, it fits you to be the subject of the Pure Project while being notoriously inhumane and only leaving a mask floating around!”

Various hypotheses, meaningless possibilities, endless irritation, and long-standing low self-esteem.

Overwhelmed both mentally and physically, Gibson exploded from the swirling emotions that he could no longer control, squawking.

Where had the original goal of negotiating for a favorable outcome gone?

Whether he spoke persuasively or hurled insults close to outright slander, the affection that was draining away… or rather, just the fact that Leonar had recently shown it had disappeared, prompted him to respond in an even lower voice.

“…I appreciate your effort to point out my social shortcomings. But how about you stop tearing down my past behaviors and instead say what you want?”

“Damn you…!”

It wasn’t an incorrect statement. He had a significant weakness, but what was on the other side of the scale was Leonar’s true life—his brain.

There was no way he would die just because he was ordered to, and obviously, stalling directly would likely lead to a worse outcome for both sides.

Even in this situation, speaking the truth only irritated Gibson a hundred times more, but there was genuine urgency.

What do I do? How much longer will it take for the security team idiots to come up here?

No, there’s a more effective card than anything uncertain… Ah!

His eyes, which had been rolling around noisily, paused for a moment, fixed in mid-air, before turning back to the front.

Leonar didn’t care much. To be precise, he had decided to refrain from assigning excessive meaning to it. The over-excited Gibson’s focus had been wildly shaking since earlier.

And… the words that followed were so absurd that it left him speechless.

“Get down on your knees and face this way.”

“Excuse me, what…?”

“Put both hands behind your back and lie down!! Hah! I’ll give you a slap as a release of frustration and let you take this damn thing with you. Anyway, now that Electra’s dead, what good is it to leave something like this lying around?”

Gibson’s Opera mask avatar made an overtly gloomy expression as if a bug had been crushed at the unexpectedly gracious offer.

Did the idea of killing him painlessly sound like a joke? Or was this really a parting gesture, returning to the days they could say they’d catch a meal together?

Honestly… the possibility of him experiencing delirium from excessive stress in such a short time was quickly pieced together in his mind, but he made a conscious effort to ignore it.

Thud!

He complied with the demands instead of feeling refreshed from the vengeance, suppressing his pride.

First one knee, then the other touched the floor of the storage room. Gradually, his monitor tipped down to a parallel angle with the ground.

In satisfaction from having bowed his stiff neck, Gibson let out a smirk of contempt.

Separate from that addictive, filthy pleasure, he also added, not forgetting the “release” he had promised.

“Don’t hold a grudge. It’s your fault for escalating things so badly!”

Before Leonar could even respond, a kick came flying in from below, visible enough at the speed to appear blurry.

Did he have enough awareness that swinging his bare fist at that body would only hurt himself?

To be precise, Gibson calculated that he had to knock Leonar out for at least a moment, but… he still wouldn’t know yet. Not yet.

Crack—!!

“Entering war-time protocol… no! Activate Emergency ES Series Security Droid!! That bastard’s usual habit has spread!”

“!!”

Ultimately, unable to withstand the impact far beyond a typical strike, the shattered fragments of the monitor were scattered like stardust in the chaos. Amidst the struggle, Gibson’s voice echoed throughout the room.

As his neck sharply turned sideways and fell, Leonar’s mind was spinning wildly.

Security droid… yes. Separately from the facility’s defense forces, there was a dedicated device assigned to the director, a dignified presence.

Even more so, if it were to be deployed in practical combat, the ultimate logic dictated that it would only occur in the case of extreme emergencies or unexpected situations, maximizing combat power.

What was labeled a security droid in the product catalog was, in reality, a high-priced slashers model suitable for unique destruction and special killings, dressed under the guise of wholesomeness.

– Output stabilization complete, emergency boot procedure normal. Civilians other than Exatech employees are requested to immediately step out of the scanning range. –

– Output stabilization completed, system all green. Civilians other than Exatech-employees are requested to immediately step out of the scanning range. –