Chapter 925: 523 Aunt and Nephew

“I can’t do that—this child is one of a kind~”

After hearing Prince Andre’s demand to create another 01, Atifé 00 said with a smile:

“You know our ancestors were immensely powerful Cleaners—those who transcended the boundary between human and god. The bloodline they left behind naturally possesses brains far more exceptional than ordinary humans: the hippocampus and temporal cortex are extraordinarily developed, and the connectivity between the frontal and parietal lobes is astonishingly advanced.

And Filia’s brain’s exceptional quality, even within the 900-year history of the Krook Royal Family spanning thirty-seven generations, is unquestionably the absolute pinnacle, possessing unparalleled potential.

That’s why I convinced your father to remove her brain when she was just twelve, when her brain’s activity and plasticity had first reached equilibrium, using it as the core to replace my immature prototype and become the heart of the entire Krook Kingdom, leading it to an unprecedented peak.”

“…”

“Sorry, I forgot—you seem to dislike hearing this.”

After offering a hollow apology, in Prince Andre’s long silence, Atifé 00 said with quiet satisfaction:

“Or you could just assume I did it on purpose. After all, you stripped me of everything and locked me away in this boring place. Back then, due to insufficient technology, I hadn’t fully purged my human emotions—I’m only natural to harbor a little resentment.”

“Irrelevant. Your emotions mean nothing to me.”

After replying flatly, Prince Andre said coldly:

“Moreover, according to you, the truly irreplaceable thing is Filia’s brain—and her original brain is still stored within Atifé 01’s core. What was taken away was merely a segment of core programming.

And since it’s programming, it should be replicable. There’s no such thing as irreplaceability. If Filia’s brain wasn’t destroyed, there should be countless Atifé 01 units.”

“No, that’s not right~”

As if waiting for Prince Andre to ask this, Atifé 0 replied with a smile:

“What runs on machines is called programming—but Atifé 01’s true core isn’t those ultra-micro differential engines. It’s Filia’s one-of-a-kind brain.

Even if you use special conductive gel to connect her brain to the machine and achieve perfect zero-loss data exchange, those easily replicable components still cannot truly dominate a human brain.”

“Then what exactly is the core program?”

“What else could run perfectly within flesh except a soul?”

Atifé 00 said with a smile:

The kingdom's research into souls is shallow, but identifying their basic properties and making preliminary use of them is still barely possible.

Flesh and soul are both indispensable—one of the most fundamental rules of this world. Since Filia’s brain has remained active, her soul, carrying her personality and self-awareness, certainly hasn’t fully departed.

Even though excessive stimulation during the process to her amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellar basal ganglia erased her emotions and human thought, leaving vast blanks in her soul, her soul indeed never left.

The so-called core program is, in fact, Filia’s preserved soul, capable of traveling freely as electrical signals between machine and flesh.”

“?!!!”

“I’ve said this many times—this child is one of a kind. But this doesn’t refer only to her brain—it refers to her unique soul too.”

Atifé 00 sighed softly:

“To create Atifé 01, I had to use a special technique I developed in life called ‘Soul Encoding.’ So far, only I and Filia have survived such modification without our minds collapsing.

The other Atifé subunits you produced are merely copies of partial data from Unit 1—effectively inferior products that received only partial initial encoding. They still can’t fully replace humans, and their computational capacity isn’t even on the same level as ours.

Moreover, since this technique was developed based on the Krook Royal Family’s unique brain structure, and you’ve reduced the Krook family to what it is today, I doubt we’ll ever be able to produce even these inferior copies again. Once one is used up, it’s gone forever… sigh…”

“Irrelevant. Things like you? Better off gone.”

Cutting off Atifé 00’s sighs, Prince Andre said coldly:

“Hurry up. How much longer until you disconnect and hand over your core to me?”

“Don’t rush, I’m almost done.”

After responding irritably, Atifé 00’s voice was followed by footsteps in the dim room. Then, a pale female hand emerged from the darkness, holding a brain wrapped in transparent gel, offering it to Prince Andre.

“Take it. Remember to store it below 12 degrees Celsius before installation, avoid shocks or intense light, replace the nutrient solution every six hours, and replenish the twenty-four corresponding… ah! Don’t handle me so roughly! I’m your aunt’s brain—don’t damage me!”

“Shut up!”

After replying impatiently, Prince Andre took the insulated box from the woman’s hand, tossed the gel-wrapped brain inside, and said with a frown:

“You could’ve just packaged yourself and handed it over directly—why make me see your brain?”

“Because it’s amusing~”

From a copper tube on the side of the custom insulated box came Atifé 00’s mocking tone:

“It reminds me of Filia from back then. Whenever you see a naked human brain, your expression is always so intriguing—I find your reactions fascinating.

By the way, since I can only access one-twelfth of Atifé 01’s computational power, I’ll need some subunits to fully control the entire kingdom.

In my room there are several spare insulated boxes. When you pass through the first-floor refrigeration hall, grab a few extra brains—preferably your father’s and your elder brother’s.”

“Understood.”

After replying impatiently, Prince Andre strode toward the metal spiral staircase, frowning:

“Can’t you just shut down that boring ‘Little Theater’ on the first floor? Why force them to keep performing endlessly?”

“Better leave it running.”

Hearing Prince Andre’s complaint, Atifé 00 inside the insulated box chuckled:

“Other methods can preserve Atifé subunits—whether by direct cryogenic freezing or sterile solidification with amber fluid—but when you want to reactivate them later, you’ll need a long recovery period.

Keeping them in the main hall on the first floor, performing basic activities based on their former shared experiences, is like letting them dream. It preserves neuronal activity indefinitely, and when awakened, they’re immediately usable—there’s no better preservation method… Oh, by the way.”

Here, Atifé 00 asked curiously:

“After you took away Subunit 128, it’s never been returned. Did it get lost somehow?”

“Sort of.”

Prince Andre nodded.

“I placed it on an airship, but that airship was burned abroad. Atifé 128 is now missing, and the prince sent to explain the incident was the one who kidnapped Filia.

So although there’s no proof, I suspect Atifé 128 is in his hands. Your first task upon retaking control of the kingdom is to find him—the file coded 240612 contains his data.”

“Of course~ My dear nephew~”