Clockwork Bride

Page 52

"However, it's hard to say what Alastor's current situation is..."

He picked up the dragon ball hanging around his neck, frowned,

"Alive?"

The Dragon Ball hanging around Hayden's neck now is not just an ornament. Otherwise, Alastor wouldn't have tried to give it to him before he died.

The so-called Dragon Balls, simply put, are the cores formed from the condensation of dragon veins in the water, a treasure that exists between energy and physical form. The essence of the dragon veins contained within them, if used as a consumable material for casting spells, could probably unleash the greatest arcane arts, flatten mountains, turn deserts into forests, or purify hundreds of kilometers of barren land.

However, Hayden couldn't possibly use the Dragon Ball as a spellcasting material. It also contained the soul of Alastor.

"Dragon Balls can be used for more than just being consumables."

Professor Albion said calmly,

"Alastor's self-awareness is currently frozen, but his memories, as well as his knowledge and technology, should be accessible to you from the Dragon Balls. I don't recommend that you pry into his privacy, but Alastor shouldn't mind if you use his information technology to save more lives."

Wow

That's... pretty impressive.

Hayden was completely stunned.

While this method certainly can't compare to Alastor's actual operation, it's still a very powerful hacking technique for Hayden, a third-rate hacker.

"As for how to treat Alastor, even I have no clue right now. But I think this lady standing behind you..."

Then the professor finally turned the topic to Angela.

"Is this Hayden, the main source of your confidence?"

The old wizard's gaze sharpened.

Hayden couldn't help but turn his head and exchange a glance with Angela.

Then he nodded: "Yes. Is there a problem?"

Now that things have come to this, what's the point of hiding it?

But these words clearly startled the professor for a moment.

A few seconds later, a smile finally appeared on his aged face, the first one of the day.

"No problem. This is just good news."

Professor Albion said casually,

"I haven't had classes these past few days. So I've been studying the aura you gave me. I can tell that it must be this young lady's breath."

Hayden and Angela both nodded.

He then gave a general account of how he had created Angela three months prior. It might sound unwise, but Hayden felt there was no point in hiding it now, and besides, it probably wouldn't do any good to Professor Albion.

"So, do you already have any clues about the source of these auras and Angela's AI?"

After he finished speaking, he simply asked the question directly.

"I'm sorry, I don't have much time to do more detailed research right now."

"Professor Albion answered. His smile faded, and he stared intently at Angela as if she were a precious jewel that had fallen from the sky. It was difficult to know what he was thinking."

"I cannot be certain; all I can offer at this time are speculations and conjectures."

The silence in the office lasted for a moment.

After a while, the old wizard spoke again, suddenly asking as if he were giving a lecture: "Hayden, do you know how the modern devil came about?"

Hayden blinked.

"Modern demons were originally ancient gods."

Then he answered,

"The word 'devil,' like the word 'divinity,' originates from the ancient Indo-European word 'deva.' The same meaning was pronounced 'daeva' in Old Persian, and in ancient Rome it meant 'divus.'"

"In that ancient era, before the birth of modern arcane arts and capitalism, the world was ruled by ancient gods through feudalism and even slavery. It was only with the development of modern arcane arts and the significant increase in productivity that the new capitalist gods were able to rise and overthrow the rule of the ancient gods."

"Most of the old gods were defeated in the war. A small number joined capitalist society and became part of the new era. Some are still hiding and fleeing, persisting in resisting the new gods, and thus have become the so-called devils..."

Hayden finally realized what was going on at this point.

"Do you believe that Angela is one of those former gods who have now been reduced to demons by large corporations, one of the old rulers of the ancient world?"

He turned to look at his wind-up wife. Angela was tilting her head, looking completely dazed.

“To be honest, Professor, I don’t think she looks like any of those ancient god-kings, feudal or slave society rulers.”

Hayden and Angela have been together for over three months, and Hayden really doesn't see her as someone from the ruling class of an ancient feudal society. Modern capitalist new gods may not be good, but weren't the old gods of ancient societies also bad?

Where does Angela look like an ancient ruler?

Professor Albion did not answer Hayden's question directly. He stared at Hayden for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“I have conducted a preliminary examination of the aura exhaled by this Clockwork Lady and found that her aura does not possess the duality of spirit and matter. In other words, the aura she exhales, like special materials such as Dragon Balls, is an existence where spirit and matter are one. Such a phenomenon generally only exists among the old gods and a small number of new gods.”

"Even so, I don't think she's really an Old God. Although my reasons for thinking this are a little different from yours."

A strange look appeared in the old wizard's aged eyes.

"The new gods of modern times were not as powerful as they are today from the beginning. They rose to prominence because capitalists gradually gained control of greater productive forces. The old feudal gods could not draw upon and control the energy of the new gods, and were ultimately destined to be defeated."

"However, if the old gods had this ability from the beginning, to revive depleted ley lines with a single breath, how could they have lost to the fledgling new gods in terms of energy?"

These words left Hayden speechless for a moment.

If Angela were truly an ancient deity, and if the ancient deities truly possessed Angela's abilities, the world today would be entirely different. Perhaps hundreds of years ago, when capitalism was just beginning to emerge, the old gods would have wiped out all the new gods.

The new capitalist gods have access to and utilize far more power than the old feudal gods. However, Angela's power seems to originate from nowhere. The old gods shouldn't be able to do such a thing.

"But if the lady inside this doll shell isn't an ancient god, then where did she come from?"

If no one thinks Angela is an Old God, then what exactly is she?

Today, this question remains unanswered.

057: License Plate No. 17

anyway,

Regardless of how many mysteries remain surrounding Angela...

Regardless of what kind of struggle continues between the Mitra Group and the Smoke Mirror Company,

At least for now, Hayden and Angela have dragged their exhausted bodies home.

Hayden wasn't injured, but his magic was completely depleted, and he felt as tired as if he hadn't slept all night. And since he actually hadn't slept all night, the pain was naturally doubled.

Angela experiences neither pain nor fatigue, yet she lost an arm in her battle with Vajrapani. Even with ten times the composure of an ordinary person, there are still some inconveniences.

So once they got home, Angela immediately asked, "Master, do you have any spare parts for my left hand?"

Hayden covered his face.

Nearly half of Angela's parts were either custom-made or made from materials Hayden bought himself. How could there possibly be a spare part for an entire hand?

"I'll go buy the materials and make you a better new arm."

Therefore Hayden said,

"This time we're going to make a new arm that even a damn vajra can't break."

However, Angela did not laugh when she heard him say that. Instead, she nodded seriously: "Judging from the situation of this battle, perhaps it is indeed necessary."

Even Hayden was now in an awkward position.

He could actually see that in last night's battle with the [Vajra God], Angela was actually held back by the strength of her mecha. If Angela's mechanical body was at least as strong as a normal combat god, then she could have easily killed all five Vajra Warriors with a single punch each.

But where could Hayden get a War God-level mechanical body? Ordinary people can't buy those things, and even if they had connections, they wouldn't have the money. Otherwise, Hayden would naturally want to get Angela a War God from Wotan Mystic Technology Company, a mechanical body of the Valkyrie's caliber. The problem is, he can't get one!

Now Hayden was getting a little annoyed. He couldn't help but be angry with himself. It felt like his wife was sick, but he couldn't earn enough money to buy her medicine—though that analogy might not be quite right. After all, if he just wanted to fix Angela, cheaper parts would suffice.

But Hayden couldn't help but think about the future.

If he needs to fight against large companies in the future, Hayden will have to prepare strong enough tools, equipment, and weapons... But where should he go, and how should he get enough powerful equipment?

"Do not worry about tomorrow, master, and do not be concerned about material lack."

However, Angela immediately saw through Hayden's inner turmoil.

"Because you have already earned a lot this time. If you are still not satisfied, it would seem a bit greedy."

Hayden couldn't help but glare at her: "My actual gain this time was only the 500,000 gold coins Abigail gave me, and the two aren't even the same thing. [Bo Xun] didn't make me much money from this. Alastor gave me tens of thousands, which might not even be enough for your repair costs."

"But you have taken many lives."

Angela's voice became unusually stern.

“You saved the lives of thirty-two students, which is a good thing, and that’s just the number I can count. You’ve put two evil forces to fight, exacerbating the internal conflicts within the ruling class of this dark world. In this way, ordinary people can have more opportunities in the meantime. Don’t forget, you also revived the spiritual veins of that abandoned city.”

Hayden corrected, "You're the one who saved the venomous veins."

But Angela shook her head: "Everything I do is out of your wish, Master. If you don't have that expectation, if you won't be happy because of it, I won't do anything for anyone else."

Ah this

For some reason, Hayden felt a chill run down his spine after hearing this.

"I don't fully understand this world yet, but there are some things I'm gradually learning."

Angela continued speaking,

"The spiritual veins of that abandoned city have been revived, so large corporations should be rebuilding there. Since the industrial zone is being rebuilt, it should create more job opportunities for ordinary people. Now that the Mitra Group is opening up the New Yatu market to other large corporations to compete, the workers' treatment should improve slightly after the industrial zone is rebuilt."

She tilted her head as she said this: "That might be too definitive, but this world... or at least this city, will be a little better than yesterday because of your decision, Master."

"You have made a small difference to the world with your efforts in just six days. This is already a heroic achievement."

Angela smiled slightly at this moment.

“I will love you no matter what, but right now you are truly my proud master.”

Hayden was speechless upon hearing this.

Angela used her only remaining right hand to turn on the projector screen in the living room, which happened to display a news channel. The presenter was announcing on screen that, in order to improve the economic situation following the changes in New Yatu's market structure, the Mitra Group would be restarting a previously abandoned industrial area.

In addition, the news once again discussed the upcoming entry of Wotan Corporation and Smoke Mirror Corporation's respective immortality technologies into the New Yatu market. Of course, this news channel belonged to the Mitra Group, so their anchors naturally expressed distrust of these immortality technologies. But it's easy to imagine that the market for post-mortem services would change as a result.

"This land has been revived, but the company will plunder most of its output, just as the company will continue to plunder most of the value created by people."

Angela sounded somewhat sad, yet her voice remained full of hope.

"But some ordinary people will also gain a small amount of value and a greater chance to survive because of this. Some people may not have been able to find work before, but now they can make a living. This is all thanks to your hard work. No matter how small the amount, they have gained hope."

"These companies sell people a false sense of immortality. But people don't actually need that kind of immortality. As long as there is hope, life will continue. One person's life will continue in another person."

Upon hearing this, Hayden frowned: "This hope and continuation are merely the result of compromise. If possible, who wouldn't want to live on? I don't like this argument of 'one life continuing on another'."

Angela tilted her head: "But the immortality of these companies is just something else, isn't it? They don't have true immortality. Even the so-called immortal New Gods can be killed."

Hayden paused, touched his chin, and realized that he really couldn't refute this.

Ok.

If life based on thought and bloodline is illusory, then the immortality offered by large corporations is indeed unreliable. After all, even the gods can be killed—Hayden must admit that Angela's logic has some merit.

What he's been doing these past few days is indeed just a stopgap measure, at least for now.

However, it is obviously unrealistic to say that these things are completely without benefit to the people.

Is there any way in this world to achieve something overnight, easily defeat the gods, destroy the old order, establish a new order, create a perfect and ideal world, and make everyone no longer have to worry about birth, aging, sickness, and death?

Moreover, Hayden was not exactly someone who was good at establishing a new order.

But in the end, he couldn't help but complain: "...After all that rambling, you still have no clue about how to renew your arm?"

"That's why there's no need to rush. You can take your time to figure out a solution."

Angela answered with a smile.

Then she reached out and, without a second thought, opened the tarot deck Hayden had placed on the living room table, turning to the top card. The image on the card depicted a verdant meadow and a clear lake, with a bright, star-studded night sky overhead. A woman knelt on the meadow with her left knee, her right foot in the lake, holding a water jug ​​in each hand, pouring the endless flow of water from the jugs onto the lake and the earth respectively.

"The star, upright."

Hayden stared at the card and muttered to himself.

This card is the seventeenth of the twenty-two Major Arcana cards, representing calmness, peace, faith, and—hope.