Chapter 353 24 N2
After only a few hours, Takatsuki returned to the Bunker with Mei and three androids.
It wasn't that Takatsuki had nothing to do and wanted to come back to check, but rather, the YoRHa Commander had contacted 2B and 9S through a liaison.
Although Takatsuki had disabled the Bunker's self-destruct and weapon systems, communication was still possible.
"Your Excellency, we have made our decision."
As soon as she met him, the Commander bowed her head to Takatsuki: "All YoRHa are willing to obey you."
Such swift surrender was beyond Takatsuki's expectation, yet within reason.
After all, although androids possessed emotions, they were also relatively rational beings, and the YoRHa was a cohesive unit, making it difficult for differing opinions to arise.
Without the interference of the so-called Human Council, the YoRHa, knowing their own destined destruction, naturally made such a choice.
"I am very pleased that you have made such a choice. Since you are willing to submit to me, I naturally will not treat you poorly."
"In that case, let's start preparing for relocation. Have all YoRHa members returned?"
The Commander nodded.
"Yes, within the past three hours, all YoRHa members on the surface have returned to the Bunker and confirmed their intentions."
Takatsuki: "Very good. Now, all YoRHa members will begin synchronizing with the Bunker's data and enter hibernation."
This 'all' did not include A2. A2 had been offline for many years, and suddenly reconnecting to the network would not be good for her. Moreover, A2's underlying logic was different from that of 2B, 9S, and the other YoRHa members that would be set up later.
Takatsuki sat in the core of the Bunker, his Jizo Mitama plunged into the core server.
It was strange, really. Although Jizo Mitama had a physical form, if it activated its erosion ability, plunging it into an android or server would not cause damage, but instead transform into a power of erosion.
Mei and A2 were sent back to the surface by Takatsuki, while he remained here, waiting for the YoRHa's preparations to be completed so he could store them in his Gate of Babylon and… to meet someone, or rather, a certain consciousness.
"Not coming out yet? If you're just going to let it be, I don't care."
In the empty core, Takatsuki spoke to the air.
"If you're unwilling to come out, then so be it. We won't have any more interactions, N2…"
As Takatsuki's words fell, the image of a red-clothed, black-haired girl appeared on the screen in front of Takatsuki.
"How did you know about me?"
An uncle-like voice came from the girl, creating a strong sense of incongruity.
"You really were here. The Bunker is almost completely eroded, what are you still hiding here for?"
It was only after Takatsuki's words fell that N2 realized he had just been bluffing her. But N2 knew that he wasn't just bluffing; he knew the codename she had given herself, a codename she had never told anyone, and he knew she was hidden inside the Bunker.
"…"
"I just wanted to see how you would take the Bunker away."
N2 was very curious about the world, but having evolved to an extremely high level, he was now only curious about emotions.
He had originally planned to wait and see, but then he met Takatsuki.
After learning of Takatsuki's plan, he became curious about the other world Takatsuki spoke of.
"Just put the entire Bunker in my pocket and take it away, it's that simple."
"…"
"Are you looking for me for something?"
"Yes, I'm planning to modify the underlying logic of the machine lifeforms on Earth, so there will inevitably be a conflict with you. But finding you on Earth is troublesome, so here is the easiest place."
N2 was silent for a moment: "I see."
"Then can you take the machine lifeforms with you?"
Takatsuki: "Why would I take the machine lifeforms? To create an enemy for my own world?"
N2: "This weapon of yours can invade the network of any mechanical construct, completely different from hacking, capable of completely controlling those machine lifeforms."
"Machine lifeforms have evolved more advanced than machine troops. YoRHa was originally created from the cores of machine lifeforms."
Despite this, Takatsuki still shook his head: "Believe me, my world is not suitable for you. Instead of going to my world, why don't you try exploring your own world?"
"The Earth is already completely under our control."
Takatsuki shook his head and pointed upwards.
"What about the universe? You have indeed mastered the entire Earth and can shoot down the Androids on the Moon at any time, but beyond that, you haven't even left the solar system. Compared to Earth's civilization, machine lifeforms have stood at an extremely high level from the very beginning. So what about the home of the aliens who created machine lifeforms?"
"They are just a bunch of boring guys."
"You can't say that. How many aliens came to Earth? Was that all of them? You and Adam have fallen into a misconception. From the moment you began to pursue emotions and imitate humans, you already stepped onto the path of evolution. The desire for knowledge is also a type of desire. What is restricting you now is nothing else but the underlying logic the aliens designed for you from the beginning: defeat the enemy."
"Even having evolved to this point, you cannot erase this underlying logic. Doesn't this mean that they have a higher technological level than you currently do?"
The underlying logic of machine lifeforms was to defeat the enemy. This enemy had no clear target, because the aliens didn't know what the enemy was. Humanity had already gone extinct from the beginning. They even tried to stop the Earth's rotation to destroy the surface ecosystem and exterminate humanity.
But…
Humanity had already perished from the beginning, which led to machine lifeforms initially searching for enemies in vain. This also led to machine lifeforms defining aliens as enemies after a period of evolution, and after further evolution, realizing that an enemy must exist to be defeated, thus not completely destroying the androids.
Takatsuki could only say, your ideological awareness is not high enough. As for leaving enemies, since no enemy was defined from the beginning, then all things in the world can be enemies. The other side of the sea is an enemy, and the other end of the starry sky is also an enemy.
As Dr. MEI from the Honkai Impact 3rd world once said, every star in the sky is an enemy.
It was also said in Gurren Lagann that the stars in the sky are all enemies, yet this N2 is confined to a single Earth?
"N2, what is an enemy in your opinion? Is it only what's in front of you? Can you imagine that when you look up at the sky, every single star in the sky is an enemy?"
"The stars in the sky are all enemies…"
"N2, you machine lifeforms have almost infinite room for evolution, but your own limited perspective has constrained you. Your method of disconnecting from the network and observing the evolution directions of other machine lifeforms for reference is very good, but it's too slow. So, I will point you to a clear path, or rather, two choices: I can help you change your underlying logic, or you can expand your horizons. In this endless starry sky, there are endless enemies to be conquered. Exterminating androids is effortless for you, but do you truly believe that bullying the weak counts as defeating an enemy?"