Chapter 563 (2/2)

Thaddeus grinned. Curious.

He arrived at the bar and ordered a drink. The bartender took a step back when he spotted Thaddeus, but Thaddeus just put a finger against his lips. Very quickly, the man got the idea. Good, Thaddeus wasn’t above sneaking away and breaking the man’s jaw for ruining his fun.

Intrigued by the strange standoff on the balcony Thaddeus turned back to the group of people and focused on his Enhanced Awareness Skill. Immediately, the discussions became more understandable and distinct.

“Honestly, I think the bartender was hitting on-”

“Taxes! It’s about taxes! The refugees don’t have money, so-”

“What is this charity event for, anyway?”

“-but the performance! Gentlemen, these drones will revolutionize-”

“That’s her, over there in the shimmery dress. The fool doesn’t know when to take a hint-”

“-I’ll see you later tonight-”

“Your drink, sir.”

With a smile, Thaddeus took the drink from the bartender and turned back to the people. Most of the conversations were trash, but there was one that had an edge of excitement that intrigued him. It was the one about the drones, and when Thaddeus focused, he recognized the speaker: a man named Henrik, who was an important researcher in the drone initiative. Based on some of the people standing around him too, he was the one who started the seating. All were arrayed around him. Curiouser and curious-er.

Thaddeus would not have expected that man to make such a bold act. But perhaps the desperate straits of the drone initiative prompted him to do so. Sales were not good, because the products were subpar. Until they could give a drone worth a damn, people would continue to lose support for it, for all that it brought jobs into regions that were struggling economically. And where the drone initiative was doubted, so too was Ghost himself.

It was politically awkward for the Citizenship hardliners because their arguments were based upon Ghost’s value, but they would dearly love the drone initiative to fail. But Thaddeus supposed it was a bland, if understandable, explanation that Henrik was here and started the seating in order to spread the word of whatever small success they had experienced.

Feeling disappointed, but curious, Thaddeus focused his senses in Henrik’s direction.

“The vanity of the rich, mostly. But I believe the charity associated with-” Thaddeus cut out the people speaking behind Henrik, and focused in on him.

“I don’t want to overstate its success… it needs to be tested in the field.” Henrik said, but his eyes were bright and the man was sweating from excitement. “But our projections have it as an extremely efficient bit of machinery. Against monsters below Level 40, I have no doubts it will perform splendidly.”

“Bah, so what,” Another man said. He was a military man by his look, but not one that Thaddeus had worked with. Someone low ranked, then. “The problem was never making a powerful robot, it was making something that was dependable. With high Vitality scores, people are even cheaper to rely on than machines. Plus, they can grow. Why switch to drones now? A misguided effort.”

There were mutters of agreement from others, but Henrik just chuckled.

“Bah, these are more than a replacement for soldiers. Even our strongest soldiers, the three that you military men worship, have their limits. Sure, those three are strong enough to defeat one of the drones, but how about 10? 20? 100? These are able to be produced at a scale and speed that people can’t match. And they are expendable. I dare say the blueprints for these drones are far more valuable than even the Spartan Shock Trooper-”

There was a sound of tinkling glass. Still grinning like a madman, Thaddeus looked down, almost surprised to discover that he had squeezed until the glass shattered. His hands were unharmed, obviously.

He looked back up at the silent crowd, who all turned to face him. Mildy, he said. “Oh? Tell me more, Dr. Henrik.”