[Master K] The bad one next door

The live broadcast following Yazawa Maya and Hirobe Shinichi was interrupted.

The accident started two hours ago.Since the two fell into the revolving door on the wall, the live broadcast exclusive to this route has been in a black screen state, making it impossible to know whether they have encountered any accidents.The same situation only happened when Harataro's mother, Asakamikiori, was killed.With the heavy precedent and the worsening situation on other routes, the mood of the rescuers gradually became anxious.

After leaving Secpter4's intelligence vehicle, Kusanagi Izumo found a milk tea shop nearby and sat down, turned on the terminal, and began to receive the document file named "Fujiwara Kota" sent by Chitose.

This round of cross-examination was as he expected, and he did not find any valuable information.Fortunately, he didn't expect to be able to come to a conclusion so quickly. After collecting information routinely, he calmed down and began to sort out the clues accumulated these days.

——First of all, the Kota Fujiwara incident.

Kusanagi Izumo is half of the parties involved in the pursuit of the murderer Kota Fujiwara.Although Fujiwara was finally arrested and brought to justice, he always felt that there was a subtle sense of incongruity in this person.

Like the timing of his appearance.There's also the odd ability on display and the haphazardness of the action.

Appearing in front of Yazawa Maya at the right time, after creating a huge farce but no one died, he was taken down as expected.

... Such a coincidence, it was almost as if Yazawa-san and the others deliberately caught him.

The same thing happened with the Qiuban Building incident.Such a big fanfare to attract the attention of various forces, and put herself in the center of the whirlpool... What exactly does Qi Mulisa want to do?

Kusanagi pursed his lips.

From the beginning to the end, whether it is the murderer incident or the Qiuben Building incident, it is very suspicious.

The terminal in his hand vibrated slightly, and then there was a "download successful" notification sound.Kusanagi clicked on the file and quickly browsed through the information.

There is nothing very important in Kota Fujiwara's personal life.Judging from the many awards and praises he has received, apart from the gray experience of the death of his parents when he was young, his life in the first half was particularly chic.Excellent mind, courteous demeanor, gentle personality, pleasing appearance...these have all become the inevitable factors for his success.

...It is hard to imagine that this teacher who was once trusted by the students will end up in the current situation.

After skipping the long nonsense, an inconspicuous detail quickly caught Kusanagi Izumo's eyes.

——"Two years ago, I was in a car accident with my girlfriend while traveling in Hokkaido. My girlfriend died unexpectedly. Although Fujiwara survived by luck, he insisted that his girlfriend's death was not an accident. After he was discharged from the hospital, he even asked Butei to help investigate. But in the end The results were not satisfactory. Butei's conclusion is still accidental death."

——"In June of the same year, Fujiwara resigned from his post as a physics teacher at Zhenmu Junior High School, and has never been seen since."

——"Two years later, a serial murder case was committed. Most of the dead were Butei and his relatives. After that, he fled in fear of crime. He was arrested by students of Tokyo Butei High School in October."

The last sentence was obviously added recently, and besides that, regarding the two years after Fujiwara's resignation, his resume was actually blank.

A two-year blank period is almost impossible in today's information age.If there must be a reasonable explanation, it can only be that he was hidden, or his joy was artificially erased.

But what is the purpose of doing this...?

Kusanagi felt a sharp pain in his temple.He sighed, stretched out his index finger to rub the center of his eyebrows, habitually stretched his hand to the jacket pocket where the cigarette case was placed, and paused when he inadvertently saw the "No Smoking" sign on the store door, and reluctantly withdrew his hand.

He tapped on the table with a wry smile, focusing on the documents in front of him.

It can be seen from the document that the accidental car accident brought a huge change to Kota Fujiwara's life.Both of his parents died since he was a child, and his girlfriend must not be just a lover to him, but a deeper, "family" existence.It must be difficult for him to accept the death of his girlfriend who was regarded as emotionally dependent.

——It’s just that no matter how sad you are, there’s no need to define the accident as murder, right?Did twisting the truth do Fujiwara any good?

Kusanagi frowned slightly.Just then, a prompt "You have a new message" popped up on the top of the screen.Before he could react, he quickly added to the second and third.

Amidst the continuous, crisp sound of "ding ding", the avatar belonging to Chitose Yang flickered persistently.Kusanagi was taken aback for a moment, and opened the chat interface in doubt.

"Chitose Hiroshi: By the way, Brother Kusanagi, there is one thing I almost forgot to tell you."

"Chitose Hiroshi: About that Fujiwara's girlfriend, because there are no very important clues about her information, I didn't send it to you."

"Chitose Hiroshi: But there is one thing about her resume that makes people very concerned."

Kusanagi sighed softly, and his slender fingers flew up on the virtual keyboard.

"Kusanagi Izumo: What's the matter?"

"Chitose Hiroshi: His girlfriend, Sakura Namiko, is an employee of the Qiuben Group, and seems to be a hidden beta-level outsider."

Kusanagi's finger that was about to type was fixed.

His gaze was firmly fixed on the name "Sakura Namiko".After the brief moment of stupefaction at the beginning, an inexplicable sense of familiarity mixed with shock surged, making him unable to hold his breath.

At this time, the words that Mayumi had seen in the secpter4 intelligence vehicle suddenly sounded in his mind.

——[Recently... since three or four months ago, the chairman has become a little strange. 】

——[It feels different from the previous chairman.The previous chairman always wore high heels to work, but since then she wears flat heels and always mutters 'Namiko' 'Namiko' or something. 】

……

——Namiko.

——Namiko.

——Sakura Namiko.

...yes, that's it.

Kusanagi Izumo understood.

Kota Fujiwara did not want to admit that his girlfriend's death was an accident, not because he wanted to distort the facts, but he believed from the bottom of his heart that "this is a murder".

Kusanagi tightly clenched the hand holding the terminal.The next second, he pulled the chair away with a "creak", stood up, and quickly walked out the door under the surprised eyes of the clerk and customers, nodding to apologize, while typing quickly on the terminal screen.

"Kusanagi Izumo: Chitose, do you know where Kota Fujiwara is being held?"

"Chitose Hiroshi: ... Ah? It should be at Tokyo Butei High School. Kusanagi-san, what are you doing?"

"Kusanagi Izumo: I'll leave for a while, you come to the Qiuben Building to guard, and if you have any new information, let me know immediately. As for the computer contact, I will leave it to Bando for the time being."

"Chitose Hiroshi: Eh——?!!∑(っ°Д°;)っ"

"Kusanagi Izumo: Do ​​as I tell you first, and I will explain to you when I come back."

Kusanagi put away the terminal, his usually gentle eyes sharpened suddenly.He stopped, stood on the side of the road, raised his hand and hailed a taxi, then opened the door and got in.

After closing the car door, he said to the uncle driver who turned his head and asked about the destination: "Tokyo Butei High School. Thank you."

Outside the car window, the clear blue sky in autumn, the bustling high-rise buildings, and the crowd watching the excitement outside the cordon all moved slowly as the driver stepped on the accelerator.Kusanagi raised his eyes slightly, and finally glanced at the building that was isolated like the stars and the moon.It stands on top of countless buildings with a huge screen, overlooking the city of Zhenmu with the same proud attitude as always, and the transparent glass reflects the dazzling light in the afternoon sun.

"NO.B1—that blond-haired humanoid robot is my top research achievement."

When he said this, the little old man was leading the two on the way to the studio.

The walls of the passageway are blindingly white, and it is unknown what kind of material they are made of, and they are faintly emitting fluorescence.From time to time, there are small robots flying around in the air, accompanied by the sound of moving tracks and the sound of "cracking" friction of gears, which makes people feel as if they have strayed into the set of a science fiction film.

"...Of course, what I mean by 'top' is not its attack system, but its degree of simulation."

"Simulation degree?"

Maki tilted her head in confusion.

Indeed, considering the appearance of the blond-haired robot, which was no different from a human being at first glance, the little old man has already done quite well in terms of "simulation".But if it's a battle robot, the exquisite appearance should not be important.

The little old man tilted his head slightly, glanced at her calmly from behind the lens, and then said casually: "Ya... little girl, let me ask you a question: why are robots called 'robots'?"

"Huh?" Maki was taken aback, "Isn't it because it is in human form?"

"Then why do you want to be in human form? Why not a robot dog or a robot cat?" Looking at the black-haired girl who was stunned by a series of questions, the little old man sighed helplessly, "In fact, the idea of ​​using robots as consumables for war This idea itself is wrong. No matter how powerful a robot is, can it destroy an entire planet in an instant? There has never been such a precedent in a world war—but nuclear weapons can. Do you know? All the nuclear weapons can be assembled and can destroy the earth dozens of times. This is the real weapon of war.”

"Compared to combat, robots are actually more widely used in life. Serving tea and water in restaurants, cleaning the streets, scanning contraband at security checkpoints...why do you say this is?"

Mami was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood.

"That's..." she murmured, "imitating humans."

"Ruzi can be taught."

The little old man snapped his fingers and put on a smiling expression.

"And that's the fundamental reason why robots are made."

"—In this vast universe, human beings are too small, and while being intelligent creatures, they are also too lonely. So, they quickly came up with a solution: why not find a companion for themselves?"

In the steady voice of the little old man, the white wall was dazzlingly bright.

"We can serve tea and water, so they can serve tea and water; we can clean, so they can clean; we can check prohibited objects, so they should also be able to inspect prohibited objects. Of course, if they can It would be even better to do what we can't do—calculate faster than us, go to war instead of us...so the robot was born."

"In this way, since it is produced based on human beings, the standard to measure its quality naturally becomes its similarity to human beings. That's why I say that NO.B1 is my top work."

There was silence in the passage.

The childish little old man who had been running the train with his mouth full of mouth, got up serious, and actually showed a bit of the solemn temperament that a researcher should have, which made people feel inexplicably cold.

Hirobe Shinichi, who was in a daze the whole time, finally came back to his senses, and couldn't help interjecting with a confused face: "Hey, hey...wait a minute! Then why did you make that B1 so powerful? It's because of its appearance. High value? Charming an ignorant girl with your face and then knocking her out by surprise? It’s too cheap! Besides, Hatta and the others are not ignorant girls in any way, they are just a group of virgin straight men!"

Maki: "...Hello!"

The little old man who had a serious face just now showed contempt for an instant: "What rubbish thoughts, you, my works will not be used for such things! And are they not a group of virgins? At best, Hatta and Sawada is just two, and Hatta still doesn't know if he is straight or not."

Maki: "..." This is even more extreme!

In Maya's embarrassing face, the little old man coughed dryly, turned his gaze back to Maya, and put on a serious face that said, "I'm very reliable, and quickly hold the small bench to listen to me." However, Maya will never believe it again: "It's getting too far... Then, the next step is the key point."

"I will teach you the tricks to defeat NO.B1."

Hearing this, Shinya and Hirobe cheered up.

The little old man cleared his throat and continued talking.

"NO.B1 is a robot based on a capable person. It is a specially designed 'anti-capable person model'. It cannot terminate the program by destroying the core like other robots. It is understandable that Hatta will be restrained. .But it is not without weaknesses, on the contrary, if a weakness is found, it can be easily resolved."

Before they knew it, the three of them had come to a white alloy door at the end of the passage.The little old man took out the magnetic card from the pocket of the white coat with his left hand, raised his right hand, pointed his index finger at his temple, and made a gesture of sex.

"Just use the gun here and lightly—" he imitated the "bang" mischievously, and then said in a light voice, "you can kill it."

"Kill...?"

While listening intently, Maya noticed his words keenly.In her puzzled eyes, the little old man touched the magnetic card to the sensor, turned his head back with a smile, and there seemed to be some deeper emotions in the corners of his raised mouth.

"Ah, that's because—"

The door opened slowly at the prompt of a mechanical female voice.

"—The one placed in that robot's head is the 'brain' of a real capable user."

Akagi was in shock when Tsunayoshi Sawada was shot in the forehead by the baby's bullet.

When he saw Tsunayoshi Sawada's shirt exploded in an instant, his forehead was on fire, and he jumped up and shouted "Do your best to defeat Mr. Robot!!", Akagi was stunned.

And when he saw Tsunayoshi Sawada smashing the blond robot to the ground with a punch, Akagi already had a stiff face and didn't know how to react.

... Hatta-san, there are too many strange people in this world, come back soon and I can't stand alone.

Only then did he think of Hatta who had been smashed into the wall, and while Tsunaki was entangled with the blond robot, he kicked away a robot that was about to throw itself on the wall, and pushed aside the rubble towards the direction where Hatta fell Looking at it: "Hey, Hatta, you're okay..."

And when he saw the situation in front of him clearly, his voice stuck in his throat for an instant.

What came into view was a dark, bottomless hole.

...Where is Misaki Hatta?