()||9<黑屏1>0,10BGM_Empty:... NPC-Bodyguard2(0)Black-Clad Man||18<黑屏2>:Get in, Miss Persica. NPC-Bodyguard2(0)||<黑屏1>:Under the black-clad men's watchful gaze, Persica grudgingly climbs into Havier's limousine. ()||166<黑屏2>BGM_Room:The limo drives steadily along the road. NPC-Persica(3)Persica||:Ugh... My stomach... NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(3)||:You still get stomach spasms when you're nervous? Is this car not to your liking? +Relax, it is completely bulletproof, even the chassis is specially reinforced to be explosion-proof. You are absolutely safe. NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(3)Persica||:I haven't left the lab in ages... +And I think you're more dangerous than any kind of attack. NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(3)||:Me? You wound me, Persica. I've been going over and beyond to ensure your personal safety. +Even if I hadn't visited, Statesec agents would soon come knocking on your door. +Compared to me, you will find their friendliness eye-opening. NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(1)Persica||:Hm... NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(1)||:Now that we're on the road, we have time for a nice chat. +Let's talk about what happened back in the research institute. +I'm sure this change of scenery must've prompted a lot of happy memories that you'd like to share? NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(0)Persica||:What do you want to know? NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(0)||:As I recall, there was quite a large age gap between you and Lyco. How did you end up doing research together? NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(0)Persica||:Lyco was an extraordinary genius... His studies on neural control and data reduction were far more extensive than mine. +Developing a Doll's neural cloud requires knowledge in different fields. He's been helping me a great deal even before we joined 90wish. NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(0)||:Indeed, the neural clouds of his Sangvis Dolls are not at all inferior to our IOP products. What a formidable competitor. +So, what was the relation between you and Lunasia? NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(3)Persica||:She was the director's daughter. +Sometimes the director was too busy to take care of her, so she would hang out with us at our lab. She told us about her family. NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(3)||:Her family? NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(3)Persica||:She complained that the director never had much time for her and her younger brother. She also said they would soon be moving away from the city. NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(3)||:Oberstein was under a lot of fire back in those days, and he had a pretty bad reputation at the Relics Department. +He was probably planning to relocate his family to lie low for a bit. NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(0)Persica||:I didn't know what was going on with the director, but I could tell things were bad. +He was always in a bad mood; I thought the research program was going to be shut down. +Lunasia stopped coming to the institute soon after that. Before she left, she took this picture with us, and I haven't seen her ever since... NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(0)||BGM_Empty:I see... And what is the relation between Lunasia and the Doll of your creation? NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(3)Persica||:... NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(3)||BGM_Sneak:Persica clenches her fists. She stares at the rapidly receding buildings outside the car window, then she slowly redirects her gaze toward the rug inside the limo. NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(3)Persica||:Actually, before I joined IOP, there was a man that went by "William" who got in touch with us. NPC-Havel(1)Havier;NPC-Persica(3)||:Hm? NPC-Havel(1);NPC-Persica(3)Persica||:By then, we already knew that Lunasia had passed away because of an illness. Lyco and I were both very sad to hear that. +But then one day, this "William" contacted us out of the blue. +We knew of this man from 90wish, but neither of us had met him before. Apparently his manners were very off-putting, so nobody liked him in the research team. +But his reports were always astounding. I'd always thought Lyco was a genius, but "William" was even MORE of a genius. NPC-Havel(1)Havier;NPC-Persica(3)||<黑屏1>:He must've shown you something truly impressive to deserve such praise from you. ()Persica||252<黑屏2>:He mailed us a package that contained a data block with digital sequence information based on a brain. The data block was so unbelievably massive, it had both Lyco and I utterly shocked. +That was data compiled during the process of digitizing a human brain – we couldn't even begin to imagine how he did it. +In his message, he asked us to create a neural cloud using those data and reformat them into segments of the brain's structure. +Lyco and I took a closer look, and we discovered some of Lunasia's memories of the time she'd spent with us. That's when we realized what "William" was trying to achieve. ()Havier||:Digitization of the human brain? +Then these T-Dolls of yours... ()Persica||<黑屏1>:Yes... I did not attempt it back then, but in the end, I went ahead and did it. NPC-Havel(1)Havier||166<黑屏2>:So that's what makes the AR Team so special... +But isn't that a way of reviving Lunasia, even if only in the form of a Doll? In that case, it became a lot more likely that "William" was actually Rudolf von Oberstein. NPC-Havel(1);NPC-Persica(2)Persica||:That was our initial suspicion, but the director has always been firmly against this field of research, and there didn't seem to be a shift in his stance. +Besides, if it really were him, surely you'd have found out long ago? NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(2)||:It is just as you said. We did a very thorough investigation on the director. +There was nothing suspicious at all about him – he wouldn't have been promoted to his current position as Minister of Science and Technology otherwise. NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(0)Persica||:I know why he is so averse to this kind of research. It is an infringement of human ethics. +When I expressed my interest in continuing the research, Lyco was staunchly opposed to the idea. NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(0)||:Really...? I would've thought the creator of Sangvis Ferri would be the most enthusiastic about it. NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(0)Persica||:Lyco was actually very conservative. Once he rejected an idea, it's impossible to change his mind. +I knew him all too well. Even though I wanted to try, he wouldn't agree to help. And back then, I didn't have the means to develop an adequate neural module on my own. +So I had no choice but to turn down William's request. He was furious and very disappointed in us. He even threatened that he'd make us pay for our rejection. +I don't really know why, but I wasn't upset by that. +I thought, this person must really love Lunasia. Maybe he had placed all his hopes on us, that's why he was so angry when we wouldn't help him. NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(0)||:Did he get in touch again after that? NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(0)Persica||BGM_Empty<黑屏1>:No... At least not directly. +Until Griffin got attacked in 57. ()Havier||102<回忆><黑屏2>BGM_Room:You mean the incident where children assaulted Griffin employees? +All relevant records should've been purged to control the damage. ()Persica||<黑屏1>:But you must've seen those original records. ()Havier||103<黑屏2><黑屏1>:I found the files that Ange sent you. ()Persica||104<黑屏2><黑屏1>:I knew it... +Then you should also know that those children's brain scans were practically identical to the data block that William had given us, right? ()Havier||105<黑屏2><黑屏1>:This is new information to me. ()Persica||247<黑屏2>:Lyco had already left by then. I wanted to prove myself better than him, so I used those data and developed the distinct Dolls of the AR Team. +I did consider the possibility that it was William coercing me to revive Lunasia again, but I didn't care... +I didn't expect they would actually target Lyco... ()Havier||:You believe Lyco was murdered? ()Persica||<黑屏1>:I've also been trying to uncover the truth, but William has always resented us, it's only natural that he'd want revenge on Lyco. +I think Lyco's Elisa must have something to do with William, and probably with Lunasia as well. NPC-Havel(0)Havier||<关闭蒙版>166<黑屏2>:In other words, even though you and Lyco had rejected William, you still ended up doing his bidding without realizing it years later. +He has you like a puppet on a string, surely you must have some guesses as to who this man really is? NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(0)Persica||:I did some digging discreetly and found that one of the researchers at the institute had his name struck off the records. It was a man called "William". +But other than that, I haven't been able to find any more information about him. NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(0)||:So you think that's your puppeteer? NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(0)Persica||:It's very likely. You must have ways of verifying that and capturing him, right? NPC-Havel(0)Havier;NPC-Persica(0)||BGM_Empty:We've also investigated this man. +Unfortunately, he died years ago – even before Lunasia passed away. NPC-Havel(0);NPC-Persica(1)Persica||<震屏>:What...? NPC-Havel(1)Havier;NPC-Persica(1)||:Your puppeteer has stolen William's identity and is acting under his name. +All information on the original William was purged, as if he had never existed. +An ordinary researcher wouldn't have this kind of ability to manipulate intelligence. NPC-Havel(1);NPC-Persica(3)Persica||BGM_Brain:Then...then who on earth is this "William"? NPC-Havel(0)Havier||<黑屏1>:We will find out one day, and I believe this day will soon be upon us. ()||97<黑屏2>:The limousine drives into a building. Havier disembarks from the vehicle and gestures to the black-clad men all around. +A few burly bodyguards get in and drive the limo further into the building with Persica still onboard. +Havier lets out a sigh as he takes in the view outside the massive glass walls. NPC-Havel(1)Havier||:About time. NPC-Havel(1)||:Right on cue, his cellphone starts ringing. NPC-Havel(0)Havier||:... +Yes, speaking. +The target is secured. She is under the highest level of protection. +She told me pretty much all there was to be told, and her account largely verified our speculations. +Yes, I'm aware. Statesec has already given the order to strike. +Things are going to get ugly in Moscow, but I'm sure that's what the old man would've wanted. +Your partner really does have an eye for such things. I certainly didn't expect the Dolls to actually hold their own against the vets. +Makes it a worthy investment after all, though you'll have to cough up half of the total sum. +Oh right, I suppose it's time we let our old friend breathe some fresh air. +Yes, everything is still going according to plan, but I have an additional request. +Don't submit all the research findings to Statesec. +Yes, that's right, the folks at the Relics Department won't be pleased about that. We must plan ahead for future developments. +Capital has been flowing from the declining nation to Europe, I believe they will soon begin to act. +We don't have time to deal with those cults right now, but I'll keep an eye on the money flow, so no need to worry. +Yes, it all comes down to how they're going to form the alliance. NPC-Havel(0)||<黑屏1>:Listening to the other end of the conversation, Havier lets out a low chuckle. 哈维尔()Havier||9<黑屏2><黑屏1>:I can hardly wait.