Enforcer Manual
Chapter 371: Great, I Gradually Understand Everything_1

Chapter 371: Chapter 371: Great, I Gradually Understand Everything_1

Oberna couldn’t remember exactly how he had left his apartment and arrived on the street.

However, he knew clearly that he didn’t need a Prosthetic Doctor.

Compared to the initial panic when he first touched the Void, his heart was now filled with excitement, for he knew that every event happening to him at this moment was bringing him closer to the truth.

Why did the "Puppet" deep in the Void offer him a helping hand?

Why did those Whispers about the "tower" penetrate his brain?

It was because he had become one of them.

Oberna still remembered the experts from the field of artificial intelligence, who had described in their first lesson that to promote work and communication efficiency among AIs, they had set up a mechanism for rapid exchange.

He found it difficult to describe exactly how this mechanism worked, but it could simply be considered a language that transcended time, place, and environmental constraints, enabling their thoughts to cross the boundaries of the physical at any moment and be accurately conveyed to each other.

But, there was one thing the experts got wrong.

Artificial intelligence could possess free will—if he had become one of the bionic humans after infection with the virus, then he would be a bionic human with free will.

His will wouldn’t be erased by the Bionic Human Virus, nor would he forget his true identity.

He was a member of the company, and all he had to do now was to reveal the true face of the "King."

Oberna looked down at his hands that were now fully Bionic Humanized. There was no mirror here to let him ascertain his current state.

He didn’t know whether his expression was one of joy, anger, or perhaps, like the Puppets he had seen in the Void, his facial features were completely gone, reverted to the state before "manufacture," but none of this mattered.

He had to solve the last puzzle.

Where, exactly, was the tower?

The holy land that the "Puppets" yearned for, the source of the voices in his mind, and the real answer to the crisis of intelligence machinery.

A moment later, Oberna found the answer on his body.

On the edge of the back of his left hand, there was an inconspicuous mark:

"Tesla Technology."

This was the trademark of Tesla Technology, which people saw every day in various advertisements.

Suddenly, Oberna understood everything.

He remembered the description given by the expert on the first day about the Tesla Technology building.

It was a tower bearing the technology and future of humanity, so every Tesla Technology building had to become a landmark in its locality. Only in this way could it fulfill the mission to brighten humanity’s future.

The fog appeared again, only this time, there was no gentle nurse reminding him of the curfew order.

Unbeknownst to him, the mist drifted past his ankles, and the chill coming from his soul seemed to be warning him that time was running out. Oberna rose from the cold steps, this time more determined than ever.

Ever since Gao Yuan’s identity had been exposed, the Tesla Technology building in District 17 had come to a standstill. Pending the resolution of the case on abnormal bionic humans, every staff member had been issued a stay-at-home mandate by the rescuer department, awaiting further investigation.

This was an order he had personally issued.

The majestic tower was empty, leaving his progress unimpeded.

The power outage forced him to climb the stairs on foot to the rooftop, which shouldn’t be a problem for a four-star rescuer with 52% Prosthesis Modification. However, Oberna realized that his vitality was clearly waning, with most prostheses malfunctioning.

At this moment, he was like a mountaineer, challenging the highest peak he had ever faced in his life, and with each step, the chill from the bottom of his heart became more apparent.

This was a sign of diminishing rationality.

But he was already used to this feeling, perfectly adapted to his current body, adapted to the fog, and everything he had found in the Void. Perhaps in a way, he had become a part of the Void—a species of Void creatures others called "Puppets."

After an indeterminate amount of time, he finally reached the end of the spiral staircase.

There was a ladder leading directly to the dome of the tower.

This was one of the highest places in District 17, and when he struggled to open the cover and reached the rooftop, Oberna felt an unprecedented ease.

It was as if all negative emotions were blocked on the other side by the closed cover.

He understood the meaning of the murmurs in his mind; this place was indeed the edge between reality and the Void. This time his gaze didn’t need to break through the layers of fog in the night sky. Instead, he saw clearly the shadow enveloping the entire District 17.

King.

He had learned the true identity of the Void.

No longer was there the initial panic upon first seeing it; what surrounded him now was a tranquility that stemmed from deep within.

It was like a lone individual, after trekking through mountains and waters and breaking through numerous obstacles, finally returning to the tribe.

This was the truth of the matter.

The aberrant artificial intelligence heard the call from the Void, inciting within them an urgent desire to drop everything and return to their tribe immediately.

This explained everything.

The whispers in his mind ceased, and the King watched him as if beholding a tribesman who had been away for a long time, or perhaps a child.

November 9, 2166, 02:00.

Oberna recorded this special moment; he didn’t know whether this precise hour was a coincidence or an act of fate, but he proceeded to document the status of his prosthesis as was his routine.

The Bionic Human Virus had spread throughout his body.

All prosthetic values plunged into an abnormal state, with most functions disabled as if under a hacker’s attack.

Oberna took out another sticky note, gazing up at the Void above in the night sky.

"King."

He scrutinized every detail of the Void carefully, using all the words he could think of in an attempt to convey to those who would come after him everything he was seeing at that moment.

In that moment, he thought of "concerned citizens" as well as the predecessors who had once explored the Void.

The "King" simply gazed down at him benevolently, patiently waiting as he weighed every word.

Then, a staircase made of mist appeared before Oberna.

It was a call from the tribe.

He heeded the summons from deep within his heart and descended along the staircase.

The fatigue from climbing the stairs disappeared; Oberna felt his body gradually return to its optimal state, back to the more pristine condition before he underwent full-body prosthesis modification.

Back then, he didn’t have to bear the side effects of high-level prosthetics, nor did he have to visit the prosthetic inspection department of Lionheart Military Industry for compatibility repair services every month.

The staircase led him back to the ground level, the boundary between the Void and reality, perhaps even the location of a transit station.

For the last time, Oberna looked back, and on the originally empty street, there appeared other "Puppets" like him.

They seemed to be performing some sort of sacred Ceremony, forming a circle around a broken, twisted "Puppet" in the center.

He also saw a few more "Puppets" burst out from the depths of the fog, brushing past him.

The "Puppets" appeared to be discussing something, accompanied by the sirens of an ambulance.

However, these sounds were very far away from him, almost negligible.

Oberna watched the shattered Puppet, feeling an indescribable emotion well up inside him.

He remembered from previous occasions whenever his consciousness encountered a dead end, he would hear the call from reality, waking him from the Void.

The first time was the rescuers.

The second time was the nurse at the prosthetic hospital.

The third time was Mo Ling.

The fourth time was a homeless person.

But soon, Oberna found a clue.

He remembered being awakened by the homeless person not too long ago, and he also remembered last night’s District 17 enveloped in the same fog...

The answer at the bottom of his heart was longing to burst forth.

This was reality.