PS: I just signed a new contract with ciweimao, the company that holds the copyrights of this novel. I get permission to translate three new novels and sell them. Actually, it's a little early than I expected, for the website's overall architecture is still not done yet, but something happened and I have to sign the contract now or I will lose a lot of money. Sigh, I will try to find new translators to translate the novels, or I have to translate them myself.
PS2: The three novels are all masterpieces, judged by me as an old bookworm with more than ten years of web novel reading experience.
Chapter 127: I Have a Dream
In the secret room of the Britannia palace, Emperor Charles was talking to a young man in his early twenties through a special encrypted line. If Dr. Lingus was here, he would have been astonished because the young man who was talking to the emperor was too similar to Amuro Ray in appearance, except for the different hair color.
"Ribbons," the emperor asked, "Has the box been found?"
"Watch your tone, human." The young man called Ribbons looked at Emperor Charles with a stern gaze, "Don't forget that you and I have a cooperative relationship and not a superior-subordinate relationship, you are not qualified to speak to me with a commanding tone."
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have found out where Aeolia's true body is. What qualification does a betrayer who betrayed the Creator have to call me a human being?" Charles sneered, "Do you really think of yourself as a god?"
"This is the one hundred and twenty-fourth time I tell you that I have not betrayed Aeolia's ideals." Ribbons did not seem to have the least bit of shame, "It was Aeolia himself who betrayed his own ideals, I just inherited his ideas to continue creating his planned ideal world, that's all."
"You don't deny that you think of yourself as a god?" Charles raised his eyebrows contemptuously.
"It's because you keep dwelling on such minutiae that you've become such a small-minded man." Ribbons returned the same contemptuous look, "The Human Instrumentality Project, only a small-minded man like you would choose this false relief, while I will lead the rest of humanity to cut through the thorns and complete the true evolution."
"A man-made thing like you, a born traitor, simply cannot understand the beauty of a world without lies, and it's just a waste of time to talk to you any further." Charles impatiently cut the topic back, "Hasn't the box been found yet?"
"There's a clue." Ribbons also had no intention of continuing to dwell on the last topic, "Because of the all-out war, many families of Europe have started to move their assets and some other things. I found a few unusual movements among them that are worth investigating, one of which is likely to be the Box of Laplace."
"Once we have the box, we can start the real plan." Charles looked a little cheered up at the good news, "You should also be careful, don't draw too much attention."
"Are you questioning my abilities? What a funny joke." Ribbons moved his cheeks with a leathery smile, "Alejandro calls himself an excellent clown, whether in providing resources or in covering my identity. I'm looking forward to his next performance, and I will definitely give him an ending befitting his clown status."
Charles grunted immovably, refusing to comment on such pretentious remarks.
"By the way, I have good news for you. If the war continues, maybe you will really win." Ribbons showed a teasing smile, "From Alejandro, Scirocco has depleted his savings, and now TITANS's finances are on the verge of collapse."
"TITANS collapse will be followed by civil unrest, a major purge, a reorganization of the Federation army, and then Britannia wins without a fight." Charles was slightly saddened, "Scirocco has done well, but in the end, he still can not escape the end of a defeat. The reality is always so cruel."
"I heard that we are instead losing badly on the Japanese side?" Ribbons' tone is ironic, "Indeed my offspring! He inherited my good genes! How does it feel to lose to him?"
"He's E. A. Ray's offspring, you inferior replica doesn't even have reproductive functions." Charles looked at him disdainfully, "Setsuna·F·Seiei has returned early, and the recovery of C.C.'s Code failed. Lilith is no longer valuable, I plan to transfer Cornelia back as well, and send all of them to the main battlefield to put pressure on TITANS. The more chaotic the Federation is, the easier it is for you to find the Box of Laplace."
"Good idea." Ribbons looked out of the screen, it seems that something happened, "I'll hang up first, there is an urgent need for me to deal with."
Charles nodded, and finally said solemnly, "All for a world without lies."
"Small-minded man." Ribbons grunted disdainfully, "All for the last conversation."
Charles cut off the long-distance conversation with a grimace. He silently gathered his thoughts alone, then stood up and left the secret room.
After a long road trip, Emperor Charles arrived at a secret Research Institute located deep underground on the outskirts of the palace.
In one of the laboratories, the GN-Drive was completely disassembled into its parts, which were either fixed in the air or placed on a stand, with only the base lying flat on the ground. Inside the base was a transparent container at the core, filled with an unidentified orange liquid.
"Aeolia." Emperor Charles said to a bald old man who was busy in the laboratory, "Did you find the cause of the GN-Drive's malfunction?"
"It seems that the GN-Drive is not malfunctioning at the moment." Aeolia said with great certainty, "Whether it's the external amplification circuit, the internal excitation circuit, or the core Murayu Zero, there's no problem at all."
"Then the one with the problem is the enemy." Charles quickly switched his thoughts, "It could be a special type of NT, or a Geass that can interfere with the work of the NT… the latter is more likely."
"Anyway, this device has no problem, I'll return it to you when I install it." Aeolia seems to be full of energy, not at all like an old man, "If I say there is no problem, there must be no problem, because I am… I am…"
Aeolia's face suddenly tangled together in pain, Charles looked straight into his eyes. The two bird-symbolizing Geass in his eyes suddenly lit up, and he slowly said in a deep voice, "You are Aeolia, a mad scientist who is satisfied as long as there is something new and exciting to study."
"Yes, I'm a mad scientist!" Aeolia solved the confusion and nodded happily, "No time to talk bullshit with you, I'm going to study that strange substance!"
"That thing that was brought out when digging up the Neutron Jammer?" Charles asked casually, "Any progress?"
"It's supposed to be the same kind of stuff as the residue brought back from Jupiter." Aeolia looked excited talking about the expertise, "It contains great energy, and can even cause a weak interference with the space-time phase. Maybe we can use it to build an engine that can leap, or even miniaturize it to fit on the Gundam. But first, we have to give it a name."
"Dug out of the ground." Charles thought about it, "Then let's call it G Element."
"No, it's too random. Its energy fluctuations are very similar to the energy fluctuations emitted when C.C.'s body healed herself, it should be called CC Crystal." Aeolia showed a regretful expression, "If only C.C. were here, I could immediately compare it. I clearly have respect for this precious experimental material and have never done any excessive experiments on her, so why did she betray?"
"Because she is in love with a man." Charles gritted his teeth.
"How can a love with a man be as interesting as scientific research?" Aeolia shook his head, "I'm afraid only top scholars like Dr. Minovsky and Dr. Lingus can understand me."
Charles did not tell him the cruel truth. There is no need for Aeolia to know too much, "You recall again, what clues about the Box of Laplace?"
"I have told you many times! No! Ray hid him, and I don't know where!" Aeolia waved his hand impatiently, "I told you not to talk bullshit with you, wasting my time again. I'm a mad scientist, time is precious, you know?"
After saying that, Aeolia turned around and left the room with quick steps. Charles looked at his back with a slight trace of pity, but the next moment, his eyes became resolute again, "All for a world without lies."
…
"So these villains are always saying some god-awful lines, in fact, they are silly." Ade complained to Nunnally, "Scirocco is much better. He doesn't have other ideas. He just wants to rule the world."
"Like Charles." Nunnally nodded knowingly, "An archetypal self-righteous, silly man. You've never seen that tone of voice, that look on his face when he talks to me, I want to give him a punch every time I remember it."
C.C. was bored playing with her new phone on the sidelines, having given up intervening in these two's conversations after many fruitless attempts in the past.
"Would playing this recording for Nunnally ruin Ade's towering image in her mind?" C.C. thought silently. Her fingers wandered on the phone desktop for a while, and finally put it down again helplessly, "Forget it. I guess Ade would not have had much of a shining image in her mind."
"Well, Dr. Lingus." Lelouch tried very hard to join his sister's conversation, "I'm really sorry for letting go of Gundam00. It was my miscalculation."
"This kind of accident is impossible to calculate," Ade responded indifferently, "Don't take it to heart, you guys have plenty of opportunities after you go back to Britannia with Cornelia."
After that, Ade put his attention back on Nunnally, and Nunnally continued the topic just now, "If Charles has no Geass, I would have killed him a hundred times. How did I need to pretend to be lame and blind for so many years?"
"That's so true." Ade agreed, "Although he is so disgusting, I still have to praise Scirocco. He has no messy ability, but only his political level is high, his NT level is high, his scientific research ability is high, his driving technology is high, and—"
"Well, Dr. Lingus." Lelouch was still working hard, trying to show his excellent side in front of his sister, "You are also one of the few wise men I recognize, why don't we play a chess game for relaxing?"
"Brother, Mr. Lingus is a guest and our benefactor, how can you do that?" Nunnally looked at Lelouch with a disgruntled expression, "We're discussing business."
"Then let's get down to business." Lelouch persevered, "I have thought of a very perfect plan that can achieve world peace. As long as you, Dr. Lingus, are willing to cooperate, together we can create a world where Nunnally can be happy and all people can be happy."
"Oh?" Ade and Nunnally made an interested look, and C.C. perked up her ears, "What's the plan?"
"First, we take out Charles, then I use Geass to control Schneizel to ascend the throne and continue the foreign war. Dr. Lingus, you support me with the latest Gundams, and then we take out Scirocco to unify the world." Lelouch showed a confident smile, "Then let Schneizel implement a high-handed policy to become a tyrant and attract the hatred of the world. Finally, we kill him and achieve an ideal world where all people can live happily. I call this plan—"
"Let's just play chess." Ade interrupted him nonchalantly.
"You'd better play chess with my brother," Nunnally said to Ade in his consciousness at almost the same moment.
Lelouch was about to retort, but seeing that his sister didn't seem to be happy, he could only reluctantly let it go. He said proudly as he took out his chess and set it up, "Objectively speaking, I have only lost to two people so far, I hope you won't let me down, Dr. Lingus."
"I guess one is Schneizel." Ade saw the answer from Lelouch's face, "And the other one?"
"It's a nameless master on the internet." Lelouch seemed very reluctant to talk about this part and muttered in a low voice, "It's called Woundwort."
"So you were the one who challenged me that day?" Ade looked surprised, "Woundwort is my username on the Anaheim matchmaking platform."
Lelouch froze in place for a moment, then calmly put the chess away and took out another set, "A simple game like chess is not enough to show your wisdom and mine, so let's play this. This is an ancient chess game called Weiqi, I wonder if Dr. Lingus knows how to play it?"
C.C. looked at Ade derisively, and Ade awkwardly coughed, "Slightly, slightly."
He wrote an algorithm similar to Alpha Go when he trained Alice in early years, and then played chess with the AI for a year. C.C. is aware of this.
Lelouch set up the board, and Ade sheepishly took away the white pieces.
"Excessive arrogance invites destruction." Lelouch lapsed into silence after only one sentence, picking up a black piece and dropping it gently.
Ade picked up a white piece and casually placed it in the opposite corner at 3-3. Lelouch frowned, looked up at him suspiciously, and then looked down again with a solemn thought.
C.C. was not interested in the unsuspecting game of chess and continued to play on her phone. Nunnally watched the game and found that Ade looked relaxed and comfortable but her brother sweated profusely, so she used her NT ability to continue to chat with Ade, "Mr. Lingus, there is a question I have been quite interested in, which one do you like the most after making so many Gundams?"
"The favorite one hasn't been made yet."
"The favorite is always the next one?" Nunnally said disappointedly, "Such an old-fashioned answer? It's too disappointing for you, isn't it?"
"Not the next one." Ade corrected, "It's some version of V2 Gundam."
"Wasn't V2 Gundam made a long time ago?" Nunnally followed up curiously, "An upgraded version? The full version?"
"Neither, it's a discarded setting." Ade said enthusiastically, "You know V2 has light wings, right? What do you think if that pair of light wings can be extended to 13,000 kilometers long?"
"Thirteen thousand kilometers …" Nunnally pondered for a moment, a look of shock appeared on her face, "The diameter of the Earth? Cut the earth from right in the middle?!"
C.C. noticed Nunnally's change in expression out of the corner of her eye and quickly put down her phone and turned her head to look at Ade. Her eyes drifted suspiciously between the two of them.
Ade glared righteously at C.C., not the least bit intimidated. He felt that he was just chatting with Nunnally and had done nothing wrong.
C.C. stared at him for a while and found that he looked not at all guilty, so finally, she could only put aside her suspicions and lowered her head to continue playing with her phone.
"The biggest dream in my life is this." Ade ignored C.C., who was playing with her phone, and lamented to Nunnally in his consciousness, "If you and I are still alive in a number of years, there is that one in ten thousand chance, no, one in a hundred thousand chance, that maybe you might probably be able to see it?"
"… The scariest thing is that you meant it when you said it." Nunnally looked at him incredulously, "If you can really make this kind of thing, you are no different from a god, then I really don't mind to—"
"Don't swear blindly. According to my experience, the oaths made in this world will basically become true." Ade cautiously interrupted her, "By the way, aren't you afraid that Lelouch will be jealous?"
"It is to make him jealous, otherwise, when could he learn to take the initiative?" Nunnally rightfully replied, and her look also followed some excitement, "And is it bad if it comes true? I really want to see it, a Gundam that can cut open the Earth… Charles and Scirocco's ambitions are really boring, this is what makes people tremble all over the body!"
