Chapter 208: Working!

Inside the server room of the Kawalirielki branch.

"...Cardinal worked very hard."

Shiro's fingers didn't stop typing on the holographic keyboard. Thanks to the technology in it, the latency is zero, making it more efficient to use than mechanical keyboards.

Scanning through the lines of codes, he discovered that the mainframe AI that was working is none other than Cardinal herself who had switched into her virtual state. by acting as the main AI, she could possess higher processing speeds and finish tasks more efficiently as compared to a Terran or another AI working in it.

Once she's out of her virtual state, she then replaces it with a secondary AI whose processing speed is only second to hers. With that and the sturdy firewall made with the help of Kouzuki, Nexus successfully fended off every single opportunist who tried to steal their secrets.

"Twelve <Officials>, alright." He thought of the ones who served as the pillars of this company. "They're trustworthy."

Aside from Cardinal's work, there are also the twelve <Top-Down AI> that Cardinal and Kouzuki created. Each one of them has the body of a homunculus mixed with mechanical technology, hence their capabilities are top-notch. Not only could they use magecraft freely, but their thinking also isn't rigid as that of a robot's—with them having full similarities like living beings.

As the heads who assisted Cardinal and Strea, their locations weren't static, save for the three <Officials> present in their main branch in Columbia.

Each of them is armed and has the combat power of a semi-Ascendant God. They are still missing the key steps to finish their <Ascension>, thus their basic fighting power is limited to that. However, the trump cards that the five of them has allows them to burst out a power that can potentially threaten a <Chief God> in Shiro's power system.

Still, it is only a one-use item. The said items also spent all of Cardinal's points, showing how expensive they can be.

[Two-way Foil]

Details: The crystallization of peak civilizations in a certain universe. Made to bend the rules of the world, it converts the surrounding space into an n-1 dimension temporarily. Once its influence ends, the converted space will revert to normal.

Note: Living beings can be freely excluded, but the included ones will have extremely high chances of death.

Shiro heard that its appearance is a thin silver card. It has the effect of confusing the perception of others once seen due to the physics-bending capabilities within it.

As to what it does, it's very simple. Since the normal texture of a world is 3-Dimensional, its n-1 would be the 2D. It would mean that the ones within the scope of its usage would turn into 2D.

However, living beings are not like non-living matter that can be flattened and still exist. Once they are flattened, they would feel as if they are inside a compressor. Then, they would die.

By the time the inanimate objects turn goes back to being 3-Dimensional, the living beings will only have their clothes and other non-living matter left.

Of course, this "dimensionality reduction" attack can be resisted by someone as long as they are strong enough to break the 'distortion' caused by the two-way foil.

"I should fix the mainframe problem first."

Having decided on it, Shiro focused on his <Mind>. Since he has the <Permanence> attribute as a god, something only an <Ancient> would have, he could leave a part of his mind and let it take charge of everything. Though, he would add some extra steps.

Cut-!

Using his armament concepts, he sliced off his right pinky finger before it turned into a ball of white light. In an instant, the cut-off pinky finger regenerated due to his materialized soul.

"I didn't think I'll take this out again."

Shiro took out a [Fluctlight Cube] from his [Dimensional Storage (SSR)].

[Structural Analysis].

Golden lines appeared starting from his hand up to the cube before it disappeared. Casting [Alteration] in it, he modified the lightcube to be far more superior than its former state. He also took out several chunks of metal from his treasuries before combining them with it.

Soon, the size of the palm-sized lightcube became half a person's. It has a dark sheen to it and the usual blue outlines. Inside it, there are tiny supercomputers the size of a hundred atoms. Thanks to its materials, the cube has far more processing power than most galactic ships.

Compared to the main server in Columbia, it is a hundred times better in terms of quality.

"I'll just connect it later. For now..." Shiro mumbled. "It's time to wake up."

"Mn..?"

After he said that, a voice can be heard from the ball of white light. It is completely identical to Shiro's, but it has a calmer tone than his current easygoing one. After all, he is Shiro; Shiro is him.

"I see. I'm now a slave to capitalism."

"No, no. You're mistaken." Shiro replied. "We're both slaves to capitalism. Always has been."

Recalling their memories, the white light could only agree. Back when they were the Commandant, he inevitably got caught in the interests of the entire world. Many zeroes are something that they have as a fund every month, with all of them given by the countries who have a KANSEN present in the dock of the global alliance, Azur Lane.

The thing is, expectations were placed on him by the countries. From managing the KANSENs up to the improvements of their equipment by researching, he's the head of it.

"Now, now... Let's stop with the jokes."

"Um." The white light, Shiro #2, affirmed. "I know what I need to do. I'll keep myself safe for our last resort."

"Thanks."

Upon hearing Shiro, the white light moved into the black lightcube and merged with it. Then, Shiro connected it to Kawalirielki's server, allowing it to connect to the internet of Nexus Corporation.

Suddenly, Shiro "saw" someone special arriving in their branch with his [Six Eyes].

"Looks like I'm just in time."

Thinking of Cardinal who's peacefully sleeping, he decided to settle this cooperation himself. Moreover, he could also feel some kind of "specialty" within the guest that had arrived just now.

"A Sarkaz, huh... I wonder why they are always the center of the peculiarity in this world."

Shiro waited until the guest was led by the staff and entered the branch manager's office. Using his [Space Displacement], he instantly appeared in the seat of the branch manager.

"Greetings."

Surprisingly, the guest wasn't shocked much by his actions. Instead, all he got was curiosity.

"Greetings, o' mysterious one." The guest, Logos, lightly bowed his head toward Shiro. "I was com...asked by Madame Kal'tsit to reach a cooperative status with you."

Instead of starting the talks, Shiro pointed out something else:

"Madame Kal'tsit..? It does sound much better."

Logos didn't say any words, but he nodded slightly.

"I do wonder." Shiro paused for a moment before continuing, "Does she show any expression other than her usual straight face?"

For the first time, Logos encountered someone who directly asked something like this.

"No. We all consider it as the absolute normal, something that won't change unless the world is at stake."

"Hm."

Unexpectedly, a thin smile was drawn on Shiro's face as he recalled her 'other' expressions that he had personally witnessed. Her flustered expression, her surprised expression, her embarrassed expression...

'Looks like I found a new way to tease her.'

*****

Fact #87: Did you know that I misspelled Mon3tr's name in the earlier chapters? In fact, the "3" in its name pertains to the Slavic alphabet Э, which sounds a lot like "e" and "s". If you read its name, it would be mon/s/t(e)r/. Though, the numbers also stands for its previous versions. So, the mon3tr that we have is the 3rd version!