Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 158
“Oh my, isn’t this Camilla?” The Archon brushed some dust off his robe. “I didn’t expect you to be acquainted with the Galactic Diva. You really do have a wide circle of connections.”
Alois awkwardly tried to shake off Camilla, who was clinging to him like a monkey. “Uh, could you let go first? My neck is about to break!”
Reluctantly, Camilla released her grip. Tears welled up in her eyes as she said, “Alois, you must have a way to save Leonard, right?”
“He… He was sunk.”
“I know! I saw it in the news! But he left a backup on my ship. Can we use that to save him? Aren’t AIs supposed to be able to revive as long as they have a backup?”
Alois turned to look at Nolin Titian, who nonchalantly cleared his throat. “Oh, what a coincidence. It seems our Leonard was quite foresighted, wasn’t he?”
“Come on, Archon, what are you waiting for? Let’s go check out Camilla’s ship,” Alois urged.
Reluctantly, Nolin Titian moved his feet. “I’m standing here, waiting for you to greet me with proper respect, but you don’t even offer a single word of courtesy, as if we’re old friends who don’t need formalities. Now you’re ordering me around…”
Alois remarked to Joshua, “The language of Neo Athens is really hard to understand! Do all people from Old Earth talk like this?”
“He’s an exception,” Joshua replied. “And by the way, you over there, the one with the fondness for crossdressing, could you let go of his arm?”
Camilla, who had been dragging Alois by the arm, immediately let go as if shocked. “Hmph!” He made a face at Joshua and ran over to Nolin Titian. Alois thought their strange formation was actually not bad—at least he wouldn’t have to constantly worry about Joshua suddenly deciding to strangle Camilla to death halfway through their journey.
Camilla’s ship, The Muse, was docked at the innermost berth of the spaceport, with yellow caution tape around it to keep overly curious onlookers from getting too close to the ship named after the goddess of music. In reality, few people were in the mood to visit the Galactic Diva at the spaceport, given that a sword named the “Yasha” was hanging over their heads.
Manager Miss Rita’s expression when she saw Camilla was like that of a dying man in the desert finding an oasis. “Oh my goodness, my dear, you’re finally back! How many times have I told you not to sneak out without a word, and you never listen… Ah, isn’t that Mr. Lagrange and Mr. Planck? And who might this gentleman be?”
“…Nolin Titian,” the Archon said with a grim expression.
“Oh! Could it be Archon Titian of Neo Athens? I heard a Neo Athens ship landed on Sword Bow yesterday. Was that you…?”
“…What a coincidence. Yes, it was me.”
“Your visit truly graces our humble ship!” Rita said excitedly. “Shall I prepare some refreshments? I can notify the ship’s chef…”
“Enough, Rita,” Camilla interrupted impatiently. “We have important things to do. Could you go take care of your own business?” He then grabbed Titian’s arm. “Come on, the main control room is this way! As soon as I heard about the Lady of the Night sinking, I wanted to activate the backup in the ship’s computer, but I don’t understand AI programs at all, and the engineers on board were helpless…”
“Leo probably used a special Neo Athens encryption method that only he or someone from Neo Athens could crack,” Titian explained.
They walked into the main control room under the reverent gazes of the crew. The walls, which could change color, were now a stark white, contrasting sharply with the pitch-black screen at the center of the control room. A computer chair was placed in front of the screen, and on the chair lay a small robot that looked battered and worn. It seemed as if it had been through some serious abuse, with exposed circuits and wiring, dents and scratches all over its shell, and a cracked, unlit light on its head. However, Alois could tell that it must have looked even worse before and that it had undergone careful repairs—though it was too damaged to be fully restored.
Camilla ran over and picked up the small robot, hugging it like a child would cling to a beloved teddy bear. Alois had never known that the Galactic Diva had such a fondness for old, broken robots.
“Archon, it’s all up to you!” Camilla’s eyes sparkled as he gestured for the Archon to sit in the computer chair.
“Is this all I’m good for now?” Titian complained as he dragged the chair to the screen. He straightened his robe before sitting down. He typed a series of commands into the computer, and The Muse’s system immediately began processing them rapidly. “As expected, it’s Neo Athens encryption. That Leo… always making things difficult for others.”
Camilla stared at the scrolling data on the screen with his mouth wide open. “Will Leo be able to come back…?”
The Archon’s fingers paused on the keyboard. “I can’t fully activate his backup right now. I can only wake up a part of him. His capabilities will probably be similar to those of David, Mona Lisa, and Beatrice.”
“Why!” Camilla shouted. “Why can’t you fully revive Leo?”
“If he were fully revived here, this ship would immediately become the Yasha’s primary target. Leo could be sunk by the Yasha again the moment he wakes up. I didn’t even dare load David’s full backup onto The Prometheus, only allowing him to handle remote control and navigation. By activating only a part of Leo’s functions, the Yasha won’t detect him, and Leo will still be able to locate the Yasha. If everything goes well, I’ll then fully revive him, and maybe he’ll be able to control the Yasha.”
Camilla pouted and clutched the small robot in his arms. “Fine, do it your way…” he said timidly.
Titian continued typing on the keyboard, ignoring him, seemingly thinking that taking the time to explain such a simple matter was a waste. The data on the screen scrolled rapidly as a slew of unfamiliar commands were entered into the computer, gradually unlocking the seals on the backup data, awakening the AI slumbering within.
Camilla stared intently at the screen, completely absorbed by it, until the small robot in his arms let out a strange cry. “Gaaah—” The light on its head flickered on.
“Leo… is that you?” Camilla lifted the small robot, his hands trembling, his eyes brimming with tears of joy.
At first, the small robot didn’t respond. Its headlight kept flashing between red and green, and its mechanical camera lens swiveled in all directions before finally settling on Camilla, who was holding it up.
“Could you stop holding me like this? You’re shaking so much, it’s making me dizzy.”
Camilla’s ecstatic expression froze on his face.
“And next time, don’t hug me to your chest. It’s so flat, it’s really uncomfortable… Gwah!”
Camilla, with the speed of a professional pitcher, threw the small robot. It crashed into the white wall of the control room, bounced off, and rolled several times on the floor. Alois, unable to bear witnessing the scene, turned his head away. He finally understood why this little robot was so battered.
“Get lost! Get out of here! I never want to see you again!” the crossdressing diva shouted, completely abandoning his usual image.
The robot’s headlight flickered, and its voice came out distorted (clearly, its voice module, which had been repaired once, had broken again). “That really hurt, Camilla…”
“You’re an AI! How can you feel pain! Asshole Leo!”
Despite his words, Camilla rushed over to pick up the small robot, cradling it like a precious treasure he had just retrieved.
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