Chapter 697: Generosity and Father

"Alright."

After successfully breaking through the encirclement thanks to the necromancer technician's thoughtful service, Li Ang squinted at the distant dock teeming with ships and called out to stop:

"If we go any further, we'll draw attention. Leave the powered armor here. Thanks for your help this time."

"..."

I really didn't want to help... but did I have a choice?

Watching the Duke climb out of the cockpit, the unlucky golden-haired boy held back his complaints one last time, then resignedly twisted the control stick and prepared to head back—until...

"Wait. Don't take the powered armor back."

"Huh?"

"The battery... I mean, the energy storage module—this thing is useful to me. Help me remove it."

"But... without the energy storage module, I can't operate the powered armor. How do I get back?"

"Take a boat. The dock's right over there."

"..."

"What's wrong? Any other problems?"

"N-no... none..."

Facing his Duke's unreasonable demand, the golden-haired adjutant sighed inwardly, resignedly flipped two switches, and opened the powered armor's energy storage compartment.

Then, amid the familiar creaking, he painfully crawled out of the cockpit and stood helplessly to the side, watching his Duke pry loose the energy storage module.

"Hmm... there's not much energy liquid left, but thanks anyway."

"N-no problem..."

After giving a dry nod in response to the Duke's polite thanks, Steven Lane patted his empty pockets and hesitantly said:

"Um... Your Grace, could you... could you lend me some money?"

"Huh?"

"Before my mission, I was sleeping in the barracks. I never expected you'd... uh... drag me here, so I didn't bring any money. Could you lend me some so I can hire a carriage to the dock and go home?"

"This... fine..."

Though he himself had little cash, Li Ang looked at the pitiful golden-haired boy, then at the energy storage module on the ground—worth at least ten thousand gold wheels—and couldn't bring himself to refuse. Reluctantly, he signaled his young hound to toss out his wallet.

Hmm... most of my salary had been taken by Anna, leaving only enough for essentials, and I'd already bought plenty of supplies and stored them inside the Mirror World—I only had four silver wheels and nine copper wheels left...

"Maybe don't hire a carriage?"

After glancing at his empty wallet, Li Ang ventured a suggestion:

"The dock's right over there. Why not take a boat straight back to the Capital, then transfer twice on public carriages? You'll still reach the city center."

"O-okay..."

"Here, take this—and you don't have to pay me back!"

Seeing the golden-haired boy didn't insist on hiring a carriage, and not wanting to refuse such a modest request given his own tight purse, Li Ang exhaled slightly, counted out seven copper wheels, and handed them over with a smile:

"A standard-class ferry ticket costs three copper wheels. Ride from here all the way to Bunk River Dock, then transfer to the Old Town Line public carriage, which runs every sixty minutes. Ride it all the way to the end for another three copper wheels—you'll reach the Capital's city center. Those carriages accept payment upon arrival, so you can just hire one directly to your home."

"Or if you're going to Lane Estate, get off one stop early. That saves one copper wheel. Then walk to the next stop, Westminster Church, and take the Church Street express carriage for two more copper wheels—you'll reach Redwood Street, exactly seven copper wheels total." "..."

Facing a Duke who not only calculated the fare down to the last copper wheel but also gave him a cost-saving route, the golden-haired boy, clutching the seven precious copper wheels, felt his nose twitch with sudden emotion—he could already smell the sour stench of unwashed feet in the lower deck.

"Th-thank you..."

After thanking the generous Duke, the tearful golden-haired boy clutched the seven copper wheels and stumbled away. Li Ang, meanwhile, carried the battery down the path, found a secluded spot, and pulled out the black Fifteen-Defense Case containing Atphi 128.

Circular interface... it would need a circular connector too...

After fumbling along the powered armor's energy storage module, he located the pipe secured in its slot, removed the plug, and—following Atphi 128's earlier instructions—unscrewed the protective bolt and fastened it firmly onto the back interface of the Fifteen-Defense Case.

Soon, with a soft hum, the black, frosted-glass case trembled slightly. Inside, countless slender connecting rods—far finer than hairs—began moving in a complex, irregular rhythm.

"Thank you for awakening me, Father."

"..."

"Um... just call me Mr. Li Ang, okay?"

Hearing Atphi 128's sweet childlike voice, Li Ang awkwardly rubbed his nose and corrected her:

"Earlier... uh... pretend I was just joking, alright?"

After "hearing" Li Ang's words through the copper tube, the countless gears inside the Fifteen-Defense Case began spinning rapidly in a peculiar rhythm, driving tens of thousands of connecting rods and latch mechanisms to tap repeatedly against the central, perforated sphere, transmitting the message inward.

The core sphere twisted twice, then reversed direction and repeated a similar motion—activating the gear assembly in the opposite direction, striking the hammer group against the copper tube, mimicking the voice of a little girl to respond:

"Though I judged you were not joking earlier, since you request it, I will comply, Mr. Li Ang."

"..."

Was that just... "calculating"? How does this thing even work?

Watching Atphi 128 comprehend his words and respond within less than a second, Li Ang asked curiously:

"How do you speak? What are all these parts inside the case for?"

"My ability to speak is simple: as a biological species with a relatively simple vocal apparatus, humans have a maximum of sixty to eighty phonemes. Each gear in my system records far more than that."

Written language is more complex. Human writing systems can be broadly categorized into four types: logographic, syllabic, phonetic-ideographic, and symbolic—and these traits can combine. If we label them 1, 2, 3, 4, there are roughly fifteen typical composite writing patterns."

"Each writing pattern averages between two hundred fifty thousand and six hundred seventy thousand meaningful vocabulary entries. Common vocabulary, adjusted for individual and regional differences, typically reduces to between three thousand and eleven thousand words, not to mention tone, timbre, and emotional context."

"So even after drastically streamlining the process, to output the correct characters with emotional nuance during conversation, I still need to engage fifteen auxiliary gear assemblies and thirty to one hundred ten short arc levers..."

"Enough, enough. Don't explain the rest. I take back the question."

After straining to listen for minutes and still understanding nothing, Li Ang wisely surrendered, abandoning his curiosity about her speech mechanism and turning to his most pressing concern:

"Atphi, I have a question for you."

He took out the large case issued by the Bureau, shoved Atphi 128 inside, then used a dagger forged from cursed silver to carve a hole in the case, inserting the copper tubes for "speaking" and "listening." He asked:

"What's the situation in the Kingdom of Croc? What's going on with the Twin Branches of the Clearance Bureau? Have you contacted the Aquarius Director?"

(End of Chapter)