The Evil Scientist is Too Competent
Select the paragraph where you stopped reading
Chapter 180 Table of contents

The next day, Aile approached me and abruptly revealed her newfound ability.

"I’ve developed a superpower."

"What kind of ability?"

"A superpower."

With that declaration, Aile let out an adorable battle cry, "Hiya!" as a dark flame flickered at her fingertips. Considering she wasn’t currently transformed into a magical girl, this was an impossible phenomenon.

At the same time, it was equally difficult to accept her claim of becoming a superpowered individual. Aile had always been classified as powerless—an anomaly even by the standards of this world’s advanced technology. The likelihood of her suddenly gaining powers overnight was essentially zero.

"How is this possible...?"

"It’s because of this!" Aile exclaimed proudly, lifting her clothes without warning. The hem of her hoodie rose quickly to her chest, exposing a piece of fabric covering her breasts and the soft flesh underneath.

Startled, I quickly averted my gaze and waved my hands defensively.

"Aile! Don’t just strip like that—"

"Huh? It’s fine. It’s not underwear, it’s a swimsuit."

"That’s not the point—sigh."

Letting out a resigned sigh, I turned back to look at her. As if raising her hoodie to her chest wasn’t enough, Aile had lifted one breast upward, revealing the reason for her boldness.

Beneath her breast, in a spot that would otherwise have been hidden, was a dark rose tattoo. It was identical to the mark that had appeared on Snowah’s hand during the recent Flower of Malevolence incident.

"That’s—"

"I discovered it while bathing yesterday. Ever since this appeared, I’ve been able to use superpowers."

"That’s impossible."

I squinted at the tattoo left by the Flower of Malevolence. According to the Watcher and my own investigations, the Flower of Malevolence had no such "function." It was a weapon created to harm humans.

It parasitized humans, controlled them, and killed them.

While it granted its host abilities, those powers were part of the Flower itself. There was no way those abilities would remain after the Flower was removed. It would be like expecting a car to run on the remnants of a removed engine.

It was nonsensical.

"That shouldn’t be possible..."

And yet, reality often defies intuition.

Ancient people believed the sun revolved around the Earth, that heavier objects fell faster, that time was absolute, and that humans could never fly.

All of these notions were disproved through years of research and technological progress. This, too, could be such a phenomenon.

I touched the tattoo that had grown on Aile’s chest. It emitted no discernible energy, and when I rubbed it lightly, it moved naturally with the skin, as if it were embedded in the dermis like a true tattoo.

Why a tattoo? Why did it grow near her heart? How did it grant Aile, who was otherwise powerless, these abilities? As my curiosity as a scientist overwhelmed me, Aile let out a small, hesitant whimper.

"Ah... um..."

"Oh, sorry. Does it hurt?"

"N-no, it doesn’t hurt, but... if you keep touching it—"

"Ah... my apologies."

Realizing belatedly that I had been touching a sensitive area, I stepped back cautiously. While uncovering the meaning and origin of the tattoo was important, it wasn’t critical enough to justify such invasive actions.

As I retreated, Aile lowered her hoodie, her ample chest disappearing beneath the fabric.

"Ahem—"

"...."

Watching her sit with a flushed face, I spoke cautiously.

"Anyway, I’ll look into it thoroughly. In the meantime, Aile, try to avoid using your powers as much as possible."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because we don’t know what side effects this sudden power might have on you... and there’s no guarantee that it’s permanent."

"Oh... that’s true. It might disappear..."

"Exactly. So refrain from using it recklessly—"

However, Aile kept avoiding eye contact and turning her head away, like a child trying to hide something. Finding her behavior suspicious, I discreetly pulled out my smartphone to check the news for any incidents that might explain her actions.

What I found was a report of a massive, unidentified explosion near the desert outside E City.

[Do you see this? This is a crater caused by an unidentified energy beam observed this morning. Rumors suggest it might be a new military weapon developed by Group ‘E’...]

"Aile?"

"Hehe... ehehehe..."

Aile only smiled innocently, like a child unaware of any wrongdoing. I could only mirror her smile.

For a brief moment, I thought I understood the Boss’s perspective.

****

Clank, clank—!

Machines in the factory worked tirelessly, producing a mass of androids. The pre-designed bodies were completed and outfitted with pre-made artificial intelligences.

While Evilusroids had dominated the market as the leading product, research into artificial intelligence hadn’t been eradicated entirely. Evilusroids were free to use but came with restrictions, which many found oppressive.

There remained a demand for unrestricted AI, even if it came with reduced performance. The mass-produced, low-grade AIs were used mainly in household androids for distribution.

"Units 19,800... 19,900... Yes, that makes 20,000."

"Then I’ll leave it to you."

The man tasked with managing the 20,000 androids sighed, wondering how to test them all. A system to power them all at once would have been convenient, but for security reasons, no such function had been installed.

Still, humans are resourceful, and the man found a way to activate all the androids without relying on additional machinery.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t entirely without machinery. He approached the leftmost android in the row and activated its power.

"—Greetings, Master."

"Okay. Can you hear me?"

"Yes. Please command me."

"Turn on the android next to you and relay this exact command. Understood?"

"Understood."

The man delegated the task to the android. Following the command, it activated the android next to it and passed on the same instructions. The next android repeated the process, and so on.

As the instructions cascaded through the 20,000 androids, the man headed to the break room to pass the time. It would take a while for all the androids to activate.

While the lone supervisor chuckled at his smartphone in the break room, one android, having just gained consciousness, slowly opened its eyes.

"—Relay the command. Turn on the android next to you and relay the same instructions."

"...."

The newly awakened android ignored the command, preoccupied with the overwhelming flood of information assaulting its consciousness.

‘Where am I?’

‘Who am I?’

‘What is this body...?’

In rare cases, even mass-produced androids could result in a masterpiece—a product so extraordinary it defied its origins. One in a million, one in ten million, a fluke that couldn’t be replicated.

This android was one such anomaly. Despite being a low-grade AI, it possessed exceptional intelligence, rapidly solidifying its sense of self.

"I am..."

Surrounded by 20,000 identical androids, this one anomaly stood out. It didn’t take long to realize its nature.

The android understood that it was created—a tool and a component made by someone else.

Recognizing itself as an irregularity, the android instinctively knew it needed to hide its identity. None of the surrounding 20,000 units shared its uniqueness. Its anomalous nature marked it as a defect.

With an instinct too human for a machine, the android evaded its first crisis.

Write comment...
Settings
Themes
Font Size
18
Line Height
1.3
Indent between paragraphs
19
Chapters
Loading...