Chapter 946: 544 The Reason for the Annihilation

Is this what Felicia meant—by simulating scenes from her life when not in use, keeping all Atphi sub-bodies engaged in minimal thought to “preserve” the brain?

After scanning the preservation hall and seeing six or seven “preservation vessels” with their upper skulls open like the middle-aged man’s, Li Ang couldn’t help but hiss, his scalp tingling faintly.

This is truly… incredibly twisted…

After silently shaking his head, Li Ang hesitated slightly, then did not interfere with the Atphi sub-bodies’ “little dramas,” instead activating [Secretive Tail] and sitting down in a rear seat.

“Fain, what are you saying?!”

Before the royal members below could respond, the queen beside the middle-aged man demanded in shock:

“Didn’t we already agree this insane idea was absolutely out of the question? How could you…”

“I… I’m sorry…”

It seemed that having his brain removed had impaired this body’s ability to express “emotion”; facing his wife’s furious accusation, King Fain first mechanically sighed, then recited flatly:

“You know the kingdom’s current situation: non-renewable resources like lightning ore and consumable materials like floating crystals have all become insufficient in recent years—nearly 20% of factories have shut down, over sixty thousand people have lost their jobs.

Our contract with the Vandaston Kingdom expires in six months, and they’re preparing to raise energy prices; twenty-plus mining regions like Cheshire and Black Mountain have been unresting since last year, demanding to break free from their mining status—the kingdom’s situation is dire.

If a stronger ‘Atphi’ could emerge now to take full control and centrally coordinate, these losses could be reduced by at least 15%, possibly up to 35%, greatly easing the kingdom’s crisis, so…”

“This isn’t about how much it reduces!”

Interrupting the middle-aged man’s explanation, the queen snapped angrily:

“Felicia is our daughter! She’s still a teenager! How can you, as a father, say such monstrous things?”

“I am not only Felicia’s father—I am also the King of Korok. And though Felicia is just a child, she is also the Princess of Korok.”

Lowering his open skull slightly, King Fain lowered his voice, as if deeply pained, and recited flatly:

“One receives what one’s identity grants, and must bear its corresponding cost. I enjoy the power of kingship, so I must bear the duty of maintaining the kingdom. Felicia enjoys the privileges of princesshood, so she must bear the burden this identity brings…”

“She’s still a child! What burden should she bear?”

The queen snapped:

“Fain! You make me sick! Do you even understand what you’re saying? If Andre finds out…”

“If I don’t do this, neither Andre nor Felicia will live to see their fifteenth birthdays!”

“What?!!”

Hearing King Fain’s outburst, not only the queen froze, but even Li Ang below the stage couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

Amidst the silence, King Fain, his skull wide open, sighed and spoke softly in a low tone:

“You know that due to our bloodline, our family’s bodies are generally frail, yet our brains are naturally far more developed than ordinary people’s.

But Felicia and Andre… the gap between their brains and ours is far greater than the gap between ours and ordinary people’s. Yet this extraordinary talent is less a divine gift than a curse.”

Here, King Fain paused slightly, then spoke in an even more suppressed tone:

These children’s brains differ from everyone else’s—parts that should have completed growth in infancy continue developing endlessly, wildly squeezing space from other brain tissues.

They’re still young and show few abnormalities now, but as their brains continue developing, they’ll gradually impair motor function, and eventually lose vision, taste, and touch.

In their final years, they’ll lose all control over their bodies and all perception of the outside world, lying motionless in bed, trapped in an empty cage by their own wildly overworking genius brains until death.”

“This… this…”

After hearing King Fain’s truth, the queen stared in shock:

“So Andre’s recent falls, and how he keeps saying his vision is blurry when he wakes up—could it be…”

“Yes.”

King Fain nodded.

“Andre’s brain is already becoming overwhelmed. Atphi’s current computational power can’t process his brain, which is a hundred times more complex than an ordinary one. But… but if we switch to Felicia, it can.”

“So now the choice is either do nothing and watch both children slowly… ah… or sacrifice Felicia to give Andre a chance to grow up healthy.”

“Oh God…”

Upon learning the truth, the queen’s eyes instantly reddened, and she whispered through sobs:

“Why… why must we make such a cruel choice? And… and Andre and Felicia are so close—if he ever finds out he survived only because Felicia was sacrificed, that child… that child might…”

“He won’t find out.”

King Fain shook his head, reciting flatly:

“As originally stated, Felicia’s fate was my decision as a father, swayed by Atphi, made to save the kingdom’s decline—Andre has nothing to do with it… My lords!”

Here, King Fain made a motion of removing his crown, then bowed deeply to the silent crowd below.

“While I carry out this act, do not stop me. And please keep this secret—never let Andre know what happened today.”

“….”

After a long silence, one of the motionless Atphi sub-bodies below—a white-haired elder—sighed, then gave a slight nod.

“Fain… you’ve suffered enough.”

After the elder’s approval, four other elderly royal members slowly nodded in succession.

“There’s no other way.”

“Ah… at least one child can be saved.”

“But Andre will hate you for the rest of his life.”

“What if we say we forced you? That you yielded under pressure from us elders… would that help a little?”

“….”

Damn… you’ve handled this beautifully…

Hearing this, Li Ang stood up and glanced at the old man who had made the final suggestion.

No wonder Andre held such deep resentment—he wiped out every single royal member. If I’m right, the entire Korok royal family was annihilated by that one sentence.

At that moment, the weeping queen before him suddenly sat upright and smiled at Li Ang with a familiar expression.

“Mr. Li Ang.”

With her hands folded neatly over her abdomen, restored to her original dignified posture, the Queen of Korok—or rather, Atphi 00—smiled as she spoke through the queen’s body:

“Was this account of past events satisfactory to you?”