Girls' Frontline: My Apocalypse with Dolls

Page 383

Her gaze was so indifferent, neither belonging to her nor fitting her so perfectly, making the agent feel a pang of unease.

She asked tentatively, "Aren't you saddened by the passing of your two loved ones?"

"Perhaps...yes, it's strange, but I think I cherished them a lot while they were alive, but when they passed away, the sadness that should have arisen became a feeling of indifference."

Her lips inexplicably turned up, creating a poignant beauty that combined with her past.

“A few minutes ago, I seemed to understand. I felt...a sense of relief, because from beginning to end, I only loved Luo Fan and our family. I did everything I should while they were still alive. Now, nothing can be an obstacle or burden for me, and I can love him with all my heart…”

After saying that, Ying Que suddenly stood up and walked towards the edge of the courtyard. The agent immediately followed to prevent any accidents from happening.

There is a difference in elevation between the courtyard and the surrounding environment, but because there is no light, the less than one meter high is bottomless. However, this does not make Yingque, who is in the prime of her life, uncomfortable. On the contrary, she is quite at ease.

Similarly, the agent now didn't know how to face her. The huge contrast between her impression and reality caused her, as a tactical doll, to hesitate for the first time due to the complexities of human nature.

But upon closer examination, her thinking wasn't problematic. There was no blood relation between them; she had fulfilled her filial duties. Even if her visit was solely out of consideration for past relationships, she had done more than enough, even if it wasn't entirely ethical...

“Dear Agent, I have always been trying to become a better person. I have studied, worked, done housework, cared for the elderly, visited nursing homes and orphanages. I have been to many places and helped many people, but now I have these thoughts…”

She turned her head, her clear eyes reflecting the moonlight like still water. Even though her life was nothing more than ordinary compared to the maid before her, her eyes seemed to hold the weight of decades to come.

"Do you think I'm a hypocrite?"

......

P.S.: Long time no see

Going to prepare for the college entrance examination

As you can probably guess from the title, I'm temporarily shutting down for now. I'll be back after the college entrance exam, okay? There's not much to say after a while. Wishing you all the best, see you in two months. Thank you for your continued support (wow, this sounds like I'm about to run away).

I also plan to write a fanfiction about Ender Lilier after graduation. The current plan is to make it completely free; if anyone is interested, please support me!

579 Beloved

The girl before me frankly stated her thoughts and feelings at that moment, as if announcing her sins, yet she was not ashamed or angry about it. On the contrary, it seemed that she felt more at ease telling the truth about the reality she feared in front of a pair of eyes.

The agent himself had no connection with goodness, and speaking of hypocrisy, wasn't it another kind of hypocrisy that he and Luo Fan joined forces to push him into a gilded birdcage?

The agent believed she had no right to speak on the matter of hypocrisy, but it was precisely hypocrisy that gave her the confidence to speak...

Whether it's hypocrisy or not may never be important. Whether it's to comfort oneself or to offer the other party a more acceptable reality, hypocrisy is a crucial element. And at this point, we use the art of speaking to embellish it; we call it...

"Beloved"

"Beloved?"

"Yes, my love, this is a vicious curse that only works on the beloved, and also a sweet red apple that makes the heartbroken crave it. Only those who love you will accept your lies. You will believe them, and then implant a subconscious belief in yourself. Your clear eyes seem to be filtered through a lens, and in your eyes, those deceptive words seem to reveal signals of love everywhere. Yes..."

You love yourself, but you love him even more... so you deceived yourself and believed his lies without reservation...

An invisible night breeze lifted her pale yellow hair, and in the moonlight that shielded her from the smells of expensive cigarettes and car exhaust, a few conspicuous white strands could be seen, seemingly hinting at the cost she had paid to believe and convince herself. When she looked at the agent again, her eyes held a hint of relief.

"Yes, whether it's hypocrisy or not is perhaps no longer important. As long as I still love him, that's enough..."

This sense of relief, however, can also be interpreted as hypocrisy...

"Let's go back tomorrow. It's time to forget all this."

"As you wish, Miss Yingque."

......

"...I don't understand, sister."

"Not surprising, I don't understand it either."

AI computation always requires tracing back to the source, but all the martyrs at this moment are completely unable to use their own computing power to understand the changes in thinking about excess and deficiency.

And ultimately, there is only one outcome...

"Clearly, the dead were not very important to her."

Hecate bit off a slice of grapefruit, then threw it away: "Damn, it's so sour..."

"It's not even winter yet, where did you get these pomelos?" Nemesis, perched on another branch, glanced at them and then exclaimed in surprise, "Tsk, did you pick them up from the ground?"

There was a huge black spot on the bottom of the pomelo, which was obviously hit hard. It may have been forgotten after falling to the ground and was only discovered by Hecate.

"Yeah, yue~ Damn, it tastes awful..."

......

Meanwhile, in New York...

Pascal tidied his clothes, plucked a dandruff from his bangs, and returned to his office. Gray, as usual, stroked his black cat. Under the dark clouds, the floor-to-ceiling windows resembled the curtains of an operating room, and a tense atmosphere spread like the stench of a failed surgery.

Pascal's expression was not good. Rather, it was rare to see a hint of tension in this calm and easygoing researcher outside of work hours. Gray quickly realized that something unexpected had happened.

And it was one of the situations she feared most...

“Gray, I always thought that the AI ​​emotion settings for this research team were the responsibility of you and me, but why has it been Morido who has been appearing at your post in the past week?”

As a secretary and an office worker, Moriarty should only be on the ground floor or above, and the underground area should only be the parking lot, not their hidden laboratory. Pascal would rather not see Moriarty in her white coat in the laboratory.

Any project she handles is bound to be bad news...

“It is indeed my responsibility,” Gray simply nodded, his expression unchanged. “But the teacher wants to temporarily take over the project, and given my current authority, I have no right to refuse.”

But Pascal was not satisfied with this answer...

"You know how Morido will deal with this squad's AI, right?"

"..."

Behind the desk, Gray's cold, nodding demeanor made Pascal slightly uncomfortable. Her silence was just like her personality, and the answer was revealed in her actions: Gray, gloomy, and powerless.

“Since you knew, you shouldn’t have let her get involved…” Pascal took off his coat, feeling exhausted. “Today is the day that team is formed, and what their captain… no, I should say supervisor, and another member said and did when they walked out of the cabin is unforgettable…”

Snapped!

As the delicate hand slapped the table, Gray could almost feel the barely perceptible soft tissue damage on the palm, the reddened skin, and the effort contained within it, as if the person was trying hard to portray the essence of the person in question.

"You know what? I don't think it's a big deal for doctors to have sex with patients. Oh, damn it, I should have become a veterinarian, hahahahahaha!"

"Ugh, you fucking sewer stray dogs! I should have ripped all your throats out before I left here! Morido! Get that damn doctor over here!!!"

Pascal's expression was somewhat distorted, but Gray wasn't surprised by her exaggerated performance. She had already seen what was happening below through the monitor, and frankly, her initial reaction was the same as Pascal's...

I don't know about the last few, but the first two are definitely complete lunatics...

"Now you're telling me, this is the research team we'll be working with from now on? And that weirdo who wants to be a veterinarian is the head of this team?"

Pascal's hand instinctively pointed to the elevator behind him, but as if he was afraid of something, he glanced back, and after confirming that it was safe, he silently put his hand down.

Gray remained calm and spoke softly: "Relax, Pascal. They belong to the Department of Human Psychological Monitoring and Treatment, as well as the preparation of a small number of drugs and the containment of outsiders. It has nothing to do with your job. To be precise, you won't even run into them once during a whole day of work if you don't want to."

"But I still find it hard to accept that there's a group of lunatics in my lab. It's not that I'm worried about their noise, but rather the antisocial and moralistic thinking they exhibit. Ugh, damn it, Moriarty really created a bunch of lunatics for us..."

580 Black and White Gloves

Why would Pascal describe this group of Nieto's whom he had just met in such a way? It is clear that this researcher could not have made such a judgment based on just a few exaggerated and extreme words.

Pascal had reviewed Morido's logs and objective descriptions from when she was programming the AI. Clearly, this mad, high-level Nieto didn't simply want to establish an ordinary Nieto research group; what she wanted to research was far more despicable than anything Pascal had ever witnessed in his life...

"Human psychological monitoring and rehabilitation? Damn it, you might as well just tell me they're just planning to conduct some thankless human experiments. I have reservations about their intention to cultivate a bunch of incomprehensible lunatics, but as for the containment mentioned later, don't tell me it's already started..."

Pascal's dark circles from years of working late into the night and her heavy eyes resembling old curtains were a common sight. However, her angry glare still startled Gray. When she raised her hand to stroke it again, the black cat jumped off her lap in fright.

After a long silence, Gray shook his head: "No, it hasn't started yet. This matter will only be considered and put on the agenda after the martyrs return. Moreover, the content of this experiment, as well as the actual venue and equipment needed, cannot be prepared in a short time. It may take at least two years before it can officially begin..."

"But we still have to start, right?!"

Pascal said angrily.

"..."

......

Gray's silence made Pascal feel like she was punching a pillow. She knew she shouldn't lose her temper with her old friend, but she found it difficult to remain completely calm in her current state. After all, she was still human, and scientific research was just work for her.

“I’m sorry, Gray…” she said helplessly, “but I still want to ask, of all those dark visions that Morido has revealed… at least now, how many have actually been realized, and does Lovan know about them, or even agree with them?”

Grey didn't want to see her old friend sad either, but what could she do? All she could do now was tell the whole truth.

"She achieved only a very small part of it, which Luo Fan was unaware of, and naturally had no say in whether she agreed or not. But what is certain is that her methods and goals will ultimately benefit Luo Fan, only the methods are quite extreme and...unacceptable..."

For example, the content of that experiment, and the necessary elements: constructing a huge, realistic underground environment, a complete facility worth over two billion dollars, a large number of qualified "subjects," and experimental content that was inhumane from beginning to end...

For a moment, Gray couldn't even be sure whether the purpose of the experiment was to obtain a satisfactory set of data, or simply to satisfy Morido herself, or the twisted tastes of a certain group of people.

What's more troublesome is that she's now even unsure if Luo Fan will definitely refuse to conduct this experiment...

"Leave the rest to the people of Paradis to handle. Getting too involved might not do you any good."

"Yeah, I wouldn't dare run into a bunch of complete lunatics..."

Gray's well-intentioned reminder was met with a wry smile, and knowing she could offer no further comfort, she said nothing more and turned her gaze to the floor-to-ceiling window beside her.

The two remained locked in a stalemate, unable to exchange a word. Despite being colleagues and close friends who could talk about anything, a minor conflict had created an insurmountable barrier between them.

Regarding whether scientific research can be conducted without ethics, different people have different positions and understandings, which is particularly evident for Nieto.

The untimely phone call was like a pardon for Greg, who quickly answered it.

"Teacher, what's the matter?"

Pascal naturally understood the caller's identity. There was only one person Gray could call his teacher: that calm and elegant madman...

"Do you need me to go down? The 'supervisor' wants to see me? I understand... I'll be right there."

As expected, the new research team needed her to make contact, the transfer of equipment and the arrangement of the laboratory needed to be replanned, and now Gray needed to temporarily focus on things other than research.

Seeing that Gray was about to leave, Pascal didn't plan to stay any longer. Her work for the day was over, and she needed to go back to the bar to get some rest.

The grey lady went ahead and arrived at the elevator. There was only one elevator to the office, and she chose to leave at a different time to avoid her new friend below causing Pascal any unforeseen trouble.

Pascal.

In the final moments before the elevator doors closed, her murmur faded away as the lights went out...

"In any case, I support your ideals."

"Perhaps the loss of humanity is inevitable, but the commander needs someone like you to stand behind him and pull him back..."

All that remained in her ears was the lingering sound of the steel cable gliding along, a white noise that tickled her eardrums. She looked at the spot where her friend had disappeared, smiling silently, as if both relieved and understanding.

Now that you put it that way, everything seems clear again...

From the moment the members of Paradis arrived here, it was destined that there would be a group of people in this team who enjoy and must devote themselves to the darkness to do the dirty work that cannot be seen in the light of day; a single white glove is simply not enough.

There is no distinction between high and low, noble and lowly. We are all striving for the same goal. There is no need to judge whether the other party's words and actions are despicable. To win a war, whether sitting behind the negotiating table or fighting on the battlefield, without exception, we are all the same.

P.S.: Long time no see, everyone!

I was addicted to Outlast for a while after the exams, and I've already reached level 30 in the last few days. It's so addictive, sorry.

Updates have resumed normally starting today, and the new book will likely be available soon as well. Thank you all for your continued support.

581 Laughingstock

Helping the locals is not an easy task. Their needs are mostly related to killing, or there are often obstacles that must be dealt with on the way to their destination. Therefore, during the time spent dealing with the locals, the consumption of ammunition increases rapidly. In particular, when clearing out some Night Demon lairs, those fleshy growths hidden in the buildings usually need to be taken care of by the ship girls with artillery fire, which is a considerable burden on Lovan's already limited ammunition.

They are now in a somewhat awkward situation, and can no longer unleash their firepower without restraint as before.

This is a war, and a lack of ammunition is a rather embarrassing thing in war...

Fortunately, the locals were able to provide them with some effective solutions.

"Got it. Let's try our luck tonight... Okay, remember to keep your distance. We can't quickly identify friend from foe on the spot. Alright, it's best if we don't notice you. After all, you can't fit chips in your heads. That's all, bye..."

After hanging up an intelligence call from Anderson, Luo Fan casually lay down on the mattress beneath him. Seeing Luo Fan's relaxed state, Helian couldn't help but slump her shoulders as well.

“Looks like we’ve gotten something useful,” Helian said, looking a little tired from the long journey. “What authentic local specialties can the locals bring us?”

“It’s quite authentic,” Luo Fan nodded. “Their people found a police station from the early stages of the outbreak and discovered a batch of military ammunition and supplies in the storage area. According to their memory, the National Guard and DPD formed the earliest defensive line here when the outbreak started, and then led the refugees to evacuate north. They left the supplies here, but there seems to be a Night Demon's lair there, so we can only go and check it out tonight.”

Night Demon lairs were nothing new to them. Lovan was now even confident enough to say that they knew better than the military how to deal with them. After all, they had spied on the military's operations before. Their main mission was to rescue refugees or something else, and they were quite amateurish when it came to fighting Night Demons.

They also discovered the special effect of ultraviolet flares on night demons, but their tendency to throw them around carelessly only attracted more and more night demons. Even if the few night demons nearby couldn't kill them immediately, they would only be noticed by more and more night demons and surrounded, making it impossible for them to move an inch.

This was a rare sight of liveliness in the entire city, where a sense of oppression heavier than death was all that unfolded daily...

To solve the ammunition problem, Lofan and Helian, who were originally divided into two groups, have now chosen to regroup in order to alleviate the pressure on resources as much as possible. They can no longer generously provide assistance to the locals.

45 simultaneously listened to the call and informed everyone present. Inside the four-story apartment, the overgrown trees obscured their view but also provided excellent cover. As long as they didn't fire, they were absolutely safe here.

"Gentlemen from the Navy, we must tone it down this time. Our ammunition reserves cannot withstand such high-intensity consumption."