Chapter 20: Successor

"David, do you know who attacked your residence?" After chatting with him about some personal matters, Officer Bob turned on the identity bracelet and proceeded with some routine questioning.

"I don't know, I was practicing Bodywork in the basement and hid after I realized that my identity bracelet couldn't connect to Skynet," David replied.

"I remember that there are security systems in your residence. Were they activated at the time?" Officer Bob asked again.

"Officer Bob, I turned on all the security systems," David answered.

"If there's anything else, I'll question you again," Officer Bob said while turning off the identity bracelet. Continuing, he stated, "The security system didn't work, so I believe all of your losses will be compensated by the security system provider. I will do my best to help you get more compensation."

Due to the special environment of Planet Rocky, the insurance industry was not well-developed, and most insurance companies would not insure the residences there. The companies that were allowed to insure homes charged an extremely staggering price for their insurance premiums. 

Hence, whenever something happened to a residence in the city, repair or reconstruction costs would be paid partially by the owners themselves and partially by the city. 

The method of handling that Officer Bob was referring to was the use of power, authority, and Hans' influence as a statesman.

He believed that the fact that the security systems failed to protect the family member of a statesman would be enough to put the security systems company in a passive position, causing them to be unable to take many big orders in the future.

"Officer Bob, thank you!" David thanked Bob. Even though he didn't know the reason, he knew that Bob was helping him. 

"Officer Bob, here are the preliminary investigation results!" a young policeman informed Officer Bob, scurrying up to him. 

Officer Bob nodded at the young policeman, then opened the results in David's presence.

"David, it has been established that one of your assailants is an armorer, and Amos, the head of security at the Strat Hotel, died at the scene." 

At that moment, Officer Bob looked at David. He was the one who had provided the information about Amos spying on David. To his surprise, an armorer like Amos had actually died there.

If there had not been signs of armorers fighting at the scene, Bob would have thought that David had killed him. There was also the fact that David couldn't hire any armorers to serve him.

"From the results of the preliminary investigation, I have deduced that the other party should have deployed a mercenary of the Electronic Warfare Division, as well as numerous armorers. Based on the way they acted, there are traces of mercenaries. David, think about anything you possibly could have done to attract those armorers here," Officer Bob requested. 

"I can't think of anything that would attract them," David said, shaking his head after considering it carefully.

In fact, the moment he had considered it, he had thought of the T3 Sniper Assist Device, which was the only item he had recently obtained by chance. If that item was not the reason, his predecessor was the only possibility.

However, his predecessor rarely got along with others. The only special thing he had was the sacrificial manual, but after he thought about it, he felt that it was unlikely that Trainer Jeremy would expose that matter, for it would only bring him trouble.

"I'll submit an application for Skynet to pay special attention to the security of your residence. I'll also let you know if there is any new progress in the ensuing investigations," Officer Bob told him, ending the conversation when he saw that the investigation around him was being wrapped up.

During that period, the four armorers did not go near the scene, simply standing to the side with an extraordinary attitude.

Amos's body was taken away, along with his car. Any traces of battle on the ground were documented and the damage made to the ground was repaired, while blood samples and weapon fragments were collected from various areas. 

By the time the police left, the place was almost the same as it was before, the thing different was the damaged steel alloy gate.

David looked around, and seeing that no one was nearby, quickly went to the spot where the Shadow Servant was. He picked up the item that the Shadow Servant had hidden and returned home.

David didn't worry about his safety after the police left. The special attention he was receiving from Skynet was countless times safer than any other means of security.

If anyone else came looking for trouble, the ones sent to attack them would not be the police but multiple defensive drones that could launch a lockdown attack. Without any armorers to launch long-range attacks, they would not be able to face it all.

Besides, after being locked onto by the drones, their identities would be recorded in the list of fugitives. 

David closed the damaged door. The lock had already become faulty, but he could only repair the door tomorrow, just like the other damaged items in his home. The mercenaries were not kind at all, the method they had used to search his place rather brutal. 

The most important thing was that the robot butler, Emma, had been unresponsive, which made David feel extremely uneasy. Although Emma was only a robot butler, it was considered a member of the family, both to him and his predecessor.

He looked at the body of the robot butler but was not sure how to operate it. 

There was a video call request displayed on his identity bracelet and with a single glance, he saw that it was from his father, Hans. 

"Father, sorry to have alarmed you," David said helplessly to Hans, who was driving. 

"I'll reach your place in a bit. Pack up and move in with me immediately!" Hans ordered, his haggard expression at odds with his low voice. 

"Father, I won't leave my home!" David exclaimed without even thinking. That was a stubborn obsession left behind from the memories of his predecessor. 

The relationship between David and Hans had improved recently, and as a result, the obsession was not triggered. However, after the idea of being made to leave his home and move in with his father and stepmother, the obsession was triggered once again. 

Hearing the determination in David's words, Hans remained quiet.

However, after a few moments of silence, he said, "I'm here!" and disconnected the video call.

David opened the door and saw Hans, who was getting out of the hovercar.

"David, you can stay if you want, but I've contacted the maintenance team and they're on their way. They'll fix your home!" Hans immediately told David upon seeing him.

Hans respected his son, especially after he had accepted him again, and used his connections to tighten the security in the area. There would be no more infiltrations like today unless there was a brutal attack.

David did not have to worry about much for the rest of the day, Hans directing the maintenance team to repair each and every part of the residence that had been damaged.

Emma the robot butler, who had been forcibly switched off, was also switched back on. However, the residence's security system had to be fixed by the company.

"David, get some rest. Don't worry about the security system, I'll send them a letter tomorrow in the name of the Law Department, and they will replace the security system in your home with the best one yet," Hans instructed him on his way out, still feeling a little worried.

David returned to the hall. At this moment, he was the only one left in the entire residence. However, he had a warm smile on his face. It felt good to have someone who cared about him.

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In the basement of a residence, the four members of the Sky Wolf Mercenary Corps were sitting around in a circle.

"Clark, Ed, Fessier, did you guys really not find anything?" Captain Feroman asked apprehensively after looking at the location of the T3 Sniper Assist Device displayed on his identity bracelet.

"Captain, I'm certain!" Clark nodded and replied solemnly.

"Now do we stay, or leave Planet Rocky and abandon the operation?" Captain Feroman asked. He believed Clark, who was like a machine and one of his most trusted subordinates among the mercenary corps. 

"Captain, regardless of whether or not we're going to continue with the operation, we can't do it anytime soon!" Ed reminded him.

After losing Edna, the master of Electronic Warfare, her job, which was gathering intelligence, had been given to Ed. He was not nearly as good as her, but simple tasks were not a problem for him. 

He purchased the latest information from intelligence peddlers, finding out that the entirety of Pelan City, and even Planet Rocky, was alarmed by their actions.

Even the incident of Abbott's personal aircraft crashing and killing nearly a hundred people wasn't as sensational and influential as this one event. What had happened to Abbott could be considered an accident, but their actions were considered a targeted attack.

Most importantly, their target was the child of the statesman, which caused a chain reaction.

There were as many as ten defensive drones circling the skies above Pelan City alone. Those who dared to fly without permission during this period would only face the destruction of their aircraft as a consequence of their actions.