Chapter 1147: Sealing Command (1/2)
The teleportation from the dark side of the moon all the way back to the living room on Winter Islands had taken a huge toll on Ariel. The distance from Earth to the moon was not something that Ariel could do on a daily basis. Even for a Level 5 Metahuman, it was certainly taxing, much more for Ariel, a pseudo Level 5 Metahuman. Despite saying she was fine, Ariel was practically running on fumes now.
One hour later, after sitting down and not doing anything but concentrating on recovering, Ariel looked relatively more vibrant than before. Even though she had only recovered a limited amount of energy, far from sufficient to be combat-ready, she still could not walk on her own.
“Darling… I have something to talk to you about,” said Ariel, prompting Jiang Fei to sit down. After sitting down and having deep thoughts about it, Ariel had decided to bring forward the issue with 0542 to Jiang Fei.
Ariel might looked like a frail little girl with a passive behavior, but she was still once the daughter of the Master of the Seven Seas. Even though her position of authority was not as strong and influential as Isabella’s, she was raised to be a ruler, having mental processes that could rival even the best politician. Even though it was not necessary, she had learned to see the worst in the hearts of the living.
Ariel had been keeping the incident of 0542 colluding with the Unknowns to herself, not because she feared that Jiang Fei would not trust her, but feared what 0542 might do. Corner a beast and it might bite back. She was afraid 0542 would harm Jiang Fei. Ariel, having been weakened after teleporting from the moon to Earth, could not do anything to stop it. Now, having rested enough, she could still render 0542 useless with her powers.
This was the one thing that only Ariel could do for Jiang Fei. No matter how powerful Isabella could be, her powers were all but delicate. Ariel might not be able to handle a million Androids but she could surgically destroy them. Ariel was the bane of 0542’s existence. If 0542 was a threat, it would attack not physically but from the inside. The ring itself had been with Jiang Fei since the start. Ariel was the only person that could stop 0542 via electromagnetic manipulation, killing it instantly without even touching Jiang Fei.
Ariel had thought things through. 0542 might have done something that was not in violation to its protocols. At the end of it all, its main task was to protect Jiang Fei. The protocol was not something that 0542 could violate so easily. It would be sealed off the instant it even get a notion to harm Jiang Fei.
“I see…”
Jiang Fei was surprised for a bit there. He had almost never seen Ariel speak to him in such a serious manner. From his vantage point, he kind of saw Ariel as a next door neighbor’s young girl, the kind that would nod at everything he said and seldom find the need to express her own views.
“The little man in the ring is compromised. I have reasons to believe that he had been colluding with the Unknowns. I do not have evidence but I believe that it is against what we do!” Ariel exclaimed whilst maintaining her full attention to the ring. She was ready to unleash her fury if 0542 did anything.
“0542? That’s… impossible,” Jiang Fei shrugged. Even though he was sure that Ariel would never lie to him, he was also sure that 0542 would not do what Ariel had claimed.
As 0541 had worked with him for a very long time, Jiang Fei had been conditioned to fully trust the A.I support system. The ring might not do everything he asked but never in a million years would the ring be a threat to himself. Hence, the first thing Jiang Fei had thought when Ariel had made such proclamation was that it was a misunderstanding.
“I had caught him red-handed trying to send information to the Unknowns! You have to believe me… even though I cannot produce any evidence,” said Ariel, insisting profusely that she was telling the truth.
“I believe you. Truly, I do,” said Jiang Fei, reassuringly. Jiang Fei had no reason to doubt Ariel, and the fact that 0542 had been performing extra poorly had solidified Jiang Fei’s doubt for 0542. Even though he was not entirely certain that 0542 was guilty, the mild irritation that he felt toward 0542 grew larger.
“0542, do you have anything to say for yourself?” Jiang Fei asked, giving 0542 a chance to defend itself. Even though 0541 had told the history of the A.I uprising in planet Namek, he was still not convinced that A.I could truly be stopped via lines of coding in their protocol. Since that was the case, Jiang Fei had no idea what to do next.
“Captain, everything I did, I did in accordance to the guidelines and protocol that had been hardwired into me. You can check my deep protocol programming at any time,” said 0542 confidently.
“That’s… true.”