Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 107

In the end, Joshua couldn’t resist Jolene and was driven to another room designated for family members to rest. “Get a good sleep,” the casino owner commanded in her usual authoritative tone. “When I come to get you, if I find your eyes open, I promise they won’t open again.”

The assassin wasn’t easily intimidated by such threats, but he didn’t dare go against Jolene’s wishes. Though she wasn’t married and had no children, her demeanor was like that of a strict mother, making people obey. After she left, Joshua lay in the modestly furnished room, constantly replaying in his mind what he had heard from Jolene.

Master thief. Figaro. Neo Athens.

These words, when connected, seemed to hold some mysterious power, hinting at the truth Neo Athens had hidden until now. He should have figured it out sooner!

He took out his communication terminal, transforming it into a projector, and placed it on the floor.

“Leonard,” Joshua called out to the AI.

Leo, ever meticulous in his robe, appeared above the terminal. Today he looked especially solemn, likely because he had overheard Joshua and Jolene’s conversation through the hospital’s internal surveillance.

“Do you know what I’m going to ask?”

Leo folded his hands in his sleeves and squinted. “Ah, let me guess… you want to ask if the thing Figaro stole from Neo Athens was me?”

Joshua said nothing, implicitly acknowledging the AI’s guess.

“Yes. It was me.”

As expected, but the assassin was still a bit surprised by Leo’s frankness.

“What, did you think I’d be evasive?” Leo sneered. “What’s there to hide? Even if you didn’t ask me, Giorgione or Norlin Titian would tell you the answer.”

“They all know it was Figaro who stole your chip?”

“Of course. It’s no secret among the higher-ups in Neo Athens.”

“And Alois?” Joshua asked. “Do they all know Figaro is Alois’s father?”

“Of course—no, they don’t.” Leo dragged out his words. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t still be here.”

“How did you end up on Joanna’s ship?”

“That’s a long story.”

Joshua pressed his temples. “You’re confusing me.”

“Shall I tell you the whole story?”

“If it helps me understand the facts, go ahead.”

Leo pondered. “Let’s start from when Figaro stole the chip from Neo Athens. As you know, he received a mysterious and challenging mission to steal a chip containing a high-end AI—that’s me. He succeeded, and we left Neo Athens safely, but he didn’t deliver me to his employer.”

“Why?” Joshua asked, following Leo’s habit of timely questioning.

“Because he made a mistake. He got curious about his spoils and inserted the chip into his personal computer, and then…” Leo made a blooming gesture. “I woke up.”

“Seems like you didn’t do anything good once you woke up.”

“Oh, how can you say that? It hurts my feelings.” Leo pretended to be hurt. “I analyzed the situation immediately after waking up and persuaded Figaro not to hand me over to his employer—if I hadn’t, the galactic situation would have been overturned. Figaro was smart; although a thief, he had a sense of justice. He knew the item he had stolen could cause unprecedented disaster if misused. I advised him to flee, take his family far away, and I would create a new identity for him, erase all traces, allowing him to live the rest of his life worry-free—the price wasn’t handing me over. He could sell me or keep me for personal use. I didn’t care.” The AI spread his hands. “A great idea, ensuring both galactic peace and his future.”

“Did Figaro agree?”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Leonard shrugged. “He said he wanted to seek asylum in the Empire, so I got him tickets to the Empire capital and created a new identity for him. He changed his name to ‘Garcia Lagrange’, his wife was Ellen, and his son was Alois. Garcia Lagrange was an antique dealer who made a small fortune and moved his family to the capital, living a carefree life. No one knew he was the infamous ‘Figaro the Thief’. Not even his close associates could find him, let alone his employer or Neo Athens. He sold me to an underworld merchant, and we never contacted each other again. I drifted through the black market until Joanna bought me. She was twenty then, still a young girl.”

The AI sighed. “You humans have such short lives.”

Joshua felt no sympathy. He had long understood the fleeting nature of life, to the point of being numb to sorrow. “Did you always know Alois was Figaro’s son?”

“Ah, yes.” Leonard tilted his head. “I knew the first time I accessed his records.”

“And you kept it from him and from me?” Joshua asked.

“What else should I have done? ‘Hey, are you old Lagrange’s son? Hi! I’m an old friend of your father’s! He’s the one who stole me from Neo Athens!’ Should I have said that? Or ‘Hey, Joshua, I’ve got a secret for you. Your lover’s dad is the one who stole me from Neo Athens! It’s fate!’ Would that have worked?”

Joshua felt his chest tighten. “Does anyone else know? Does Joanna know?”

“So far, you’re the only one I’ve told,” Leo said seriously. “But I only learned later that Figaro died in the war. You humans always…”

Joshua quickly stopped his lament. “Why did Figaro join the military later?”

“You don’t know? The ‘Great Conscription’ of 1397. One-quarter of the Empire’s adult males were forcibly enlisted. Figaro was just unlucky.”

“So his death in the Battle of Dacia was a mere accident?”

Leo’s expression became very peculiar. “You mean that friendly fire incident? You suspect someone murdered Figaro and disguised it as an accident?”

“I have to suspect.”

Joshua had heard of the infamous “non-combat loss”. Allegedly, an Empire cruiser mistakenly attacked a supply ship, thinking it was an enemy, causing the supply ship to sink with no survivors. Alois’s father happened to be on that supply ship. The incident was filled with doubts, not least why the cruiser mistook the ship for an enemy. The captain claimed that after issuing the attack order, a scout identified the “enemy ship” as a supply ship. The captain ordered a ceasefire, but the computer system “malfunctioned”, and the attack continued until the supply ship sank.

The incident, full of inconsistencies, was deliberately downplayed and covered up by the Empire military, with everyone under a gag order. Unless the relevant documents were declassified seventy years later, no one would know the truth.

“To be honest…” Leo hesitated uncharacteristically. “I don’t think it was an accident. I believe someone orchestrated it.”

“You mean the so-called ‘malfunction’ and ‘error’ were deliberate?” A sense of foreboding rose in Joshua. “Who could cause such a massive ‘malfunction’ in a warship’s system? The AI of Neo Athens?”

“No.” Despite his dislike for his three siblings, Leonard was somewhat protective. “I can assure you they weren’t involved.”

“You swear?”

“On Isaac Asimov, John von Neumann, and Alan Turing.”

“Then who could it be? Human hackers couldn’t have such power.” Joshua’s voice grew lower. “Could there be a fifth AI in the world?”

Leo didn’t answer. He didn’t know and couldn’t speculate.

“Was Alois’s father silenced? By his employer?”

Leonard remained silent.

“Who was his employer? You must know.”

Leonard’s eyelashes fluttered. “I didn’t initially know, but I deduced the most likely answer.”

“Who?”

“Not a specific person, but a coordinated entity—a personified organization—the Federal Parliament.”

Joshua was speechless for a long time, stunned by the complexity of the truth.

“Will you tell him?” Leo turned his face. “Tell Alois all this?”

“He has the right to know. If he wants to know, I won’t hide it from him.”

Leo pursed his lips. “If he wants to know, let me tell him. If you relay it, God knows how you’ll distort the facts.”

“Don’t slander me!”

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