NOVEL WEB Chapter 86: Guess
The brightly-colored candy wrapper was discarded, revealing a round, hard candy within. The candy was made by high-temperature cooking, with a very high content, normally 97% or more.
The candy was hard and firm, dissolving slowly in the mouth. If not swallowed, simply holding it in the mouth would be quite satisfying—
Normally speaking, giving a humanoid beast a hard candy could keep it calm for a long time, far more effective than soft candy.
An orange candy was presented by the AI to the short-haired, yellow-eyed woman with black hair. With a slight touch, stroking her smooth, soft chin, the candy was popped into her mouth. This was likely done to keep her, strapped to the chair, from making trouble and keep her quiet.
The black-haired woman struggled violently. If not for the strong and sturdy metal chains, she would likely have escaped... These were the kind of restraints used on violent patients, those with various mental illnesses.
This might be somewhat impolite, considering she's a manager, not a mental patient.
However, after the candy was placed in her mouth, the previously noisy black-haired woman instantly quieted down. She seemed to be seriously savoring the citrus flavor, unwilling to let go of the candy in her mouth.
Quiet...
Apparently, the candy was quite delicious. She held it, cheeks puffed, her previously fierce eyes softening, once again resembling a large, tame quail.
Seeing this, the AI presented two more packages of white, milk-sugar candies with small rabbit designs on the Manager's desk, as if compensating for its recent "impolite" behavior—a form of compensation.
Touching X's head, the AI Secretary spoke in a gentle tone.
[Manager, I need to temporarily excuse myself for a moment to handle some other matters. Please remain quietly at your post monitoring fuel production after the restraints are removed. I will periodically check on your work progress. If you perform well, you will receive a bonus exceeding expectations.]
"Uh...what's the gift?"
X tried to turn her head, but the restraints were too secure. It was almost like a crab-binding technique, allowing no movement whatsoever.
The short-haired woman with black hair looked like a crab about to be steamed in a steamer. After steaming, the crab would change from dark green to red, emitting an alluring aroma.
The crab looks fierce, yet it is a delicacy. Whether it's the crab meat or the roe, it's incredibly fresh and sweet. The first person to try it needs fortitude, but the crab's taste is probably unforgettable.
The AI, as usual, pressed down on the back of the chair, adding a little more force, then repositioned the restraints on X, making her face it.
With delicate, slender fingers, it delicately picked up the candy wrapper, then, amidst X's muffled protests, snatched the candy away, leaning down to greedily collect the sugar that had just been pressed from the black-haired woman's lips.
The sweet, orange candy scent lingered in the mouth. Even though she could no longer taste the sweetness or any other flavors, the AI Secretary still tried its best to collect the remaining sugar, meticulously scraping it away, not allowing X to retain a single bit of the candy, being extremely 'ruthless'.
With the sweet orange candy snatched from her mouth, the AI Secretary ignored X's pitiful expression. Before leaving the Manager's office, it unceremoniously popped the candy into its own mouth, as if it had never intended for X to eat it in the first place.
Leaving the black-haired woman with only a sticky aftertaste, like a mere sauce…
It was like eating those cup-shaped cookies; those small cup-shaped snacks have a layer of chocolate sauce or fruit jam, and the cookie itself is meant to be eaten with the sweet jam.
Only after the AI left the Manager's office and the door closed automatically and tightly, leaving no gap, were the metal restraints removed from X.
Feeling wronged, but realizing resistance was futile, she could only angrily pick up the milk candies on the desk, open the thin wrapper, carefully tear off the outer layer of glutinous rice paper, and delicately savor the candy in her mouth.
She enjoyed the feeling of the glutinous rice paper adhering tightly to the surface of the candy after being moistened, and the soft texture as it melted in her mouth. The rich milky aroma filled her mouth; it was a soft candy, and X preferred soft candies to hard ones.
Sweet and soft, slightly sticky to the teeth, yet chewing it brought a sense of joy.
Eating sweets when feeling down could improve one's mood. Usually, such low moods were caused by insufficient sugar intake. Replenishing sugar could adjust one's state and make it easier to work.
The two soft candies were quickly eaten, but X still spread out the wrappers, neatly arranging them. The AI might secretly mutter 'childish', but X ignored it.
X still felt that the AI's understanding of adults was too superficial. Only a seemingly mature little devil would repeatedly emphasize that coffee should be bitter—
Sometimes, adult happiness is that simple: lying in bed enjoying a cozy blanket, or finding a good spot, setting up a fishing rod under the bright sunshine on a beautiful day, and then lying down on the grass to sleep.
The sun would be warm and comfortable...
Come to think of it, it seemed like a long time since she last saw the sun? It's only been a few days since she took on her responsibilities, but it feels like a lifetime.
X unconsciously looked at her wrist. The scar was still there, a hideous, crooked scar like a centipede, showing no signs of healing even after a week.
The scab had fallen off, but the mark remained. Due to her extremely pale skin, the dark scar stood out strikingly.
It was probably caused by a sharp object that cut very deep and severely. Even after such a wound heals, when the blood clots and the scab falls off, the skin will still leave an unhealable mark, forming what is called a scar.
In terms of urban medical treatment, removing scars from the skin is quite easy, but it seems unnecessary... Sometimes, they can be considered a record of important events, a testament to certain lingering emotions—and for soldiers, it's even a kind of glory.
X looked at the scar on her wrist without any particular thoughts; she didn't feel the need to remove it—
If she were to tell Angela, such a scar could be easily healed, not even requiring [Regenerator], just light treatment would suffice.
But it wasn't necessary… There was no particular reason; she simply didn't feel the need.
She wondered if there was something she shouldn't forget, but she had forgotten… X always felt she'd forgotten something, but couldn't recall it in the short term.
If it's something that can be forgotten, it probably wasn't that important, like dropping your keys at home when you leave.
X idly pondered what she did before joining the Corporation. She remembered…
She lived with a senior colleague, sharing an apartment—but the memory was vague; X couldn't recall who it was, only that it was a female colleague.
Naturally, if it were a male and female sharing an apartment, that would be inappropriate… X is a relatively conservative person, with relatively conservative views on relationships.
Oh, it seems she hasn't written to her senior to tell her she found a job yet?
Is she alright on her own?
X remembered her senior colleague was a bit clumsy, even clumsier than herself, a bit haphazard. Her initially clean room would end up messy, like a tangled ball of cotton… But despite that, waking up together and working together was enjoyable.
It was a time that was both enjoyable and pleasant.
Perhaps she shouldn't have joined Lobotomy Corporation, but should have stayed with her senior colleague. But not finding a job would make her seem useless.
—She'll ask Angela at the end of the week if she can write a letter home…
X felt that the Corporation should allow it if it was just a letter, right? Even if the 'Wings of the World' secrecy policy was strict, it wouldn't completely cut off contact with the outside world.
A simple friendly inquiry, telling a friend about her recent situation and reassuring them, shouldn't be a problem…?
Thinking this, X felt motivated to continue working. Doing a good job should allow her to take a vacation and go home. If she took leave, she could take her senior colleague on a vacation trip, spend quality time with her.
She felt she had been too negligent towards her senior colleague previously; now, even her memories were vague.
Counting the time, half a month wasn't long… Only fifty days of work until she could take a break.
The newly acquired Abnormality [T-06-27] was managed by the Training Department. It was an Abnormality without a specific form, at least X hadn't seen its specific form. [T-06-27]'s containment unit was empty.
But this doesn't mean nothing exists inside. On the contrary, X was certain that [T-06-27] was there—
Because on the monitoring screen of that containment unit, there was a snowflake-like static effect, similar to the effect of an old, bulky antenna TV with poor reception.
This was a clear anomaly, indicating that [T-06-27] had no fixed form, possibly being intense emotions and profound events solidified into an Abnormality after reaching a certain emotional extreme.
Subject Numbers weren't random; the Corporation allocated Abnormalities based on a specific list… Singularity technology was incredibly miraculous, but it also left traceable marks.
Just like employees have their own Subject Numbers for easier management, Abnormalities also have their own Subject Numbers.
Although Angela didn't explicitly explain this, X had been recording the data of each Abnormality and reading past Corporation records on Abnormalities.
As a Manager, X would meticulously review every piece of information provided by the Information Department, analyzing and considering it… The Information Department only provided Abnormality information; the rest was up to her interpretation.
Having reviewed so much information, she had a general idea and could confirm that there was a pattern to the Abnormalities' allocation.
Based on certain experimental samples, X suspected this:
The Abnormality Subject Number was composed of three parts: a large category, a sub-category, and a serial number. The first part is the general classification, the second is the sub-classification, and the third is the serial number.
Like mammals, carnivores, then the Felidae family, subdivided into Felinae and Pantherinae, etc. There are major categories and related sub-species, possibly originating from or belonging to the same place.
They roughly correspond to Fairy Tale, Trauma, and Original, further subdivided into Humanoid (1), Beast (2), Religious (3), Inanimate (4), Artificial (5), Abstract (6), and Tool (9).
With this reference, looking at the Abnormality [T-06-27], it can be predicted to belong to the large category of [Trauma], and then the [Abstract] concept Abnormalities.
The former cannot be judged from its outward appearance, but for the latter, if its Subject Number is [Abstract], it is accurate because [T-06-27] has no physical form within the containment unit.
Whether this hypothesis is true or not, X planned to continue verification. Using existing Abnormalities as examples, Subject Number [T-01-68] [Funeral of the Dead Butterflies] belongs to the [Trauma], [Humanoid] categories—
In terms of appearance, Funeral of the Dead Butterflies fits the characteristics of a Humanoid Abnormality and also fits the characteristics of the 'Trauma' type.
Trauma can be understood as 'intense personal experiences, frightening fears, and emotions'. [Funeral of the Dead Butterflies] is a mourner who mourns the dead in an empty space. According to the records, it aims to bring peaceful death to employees.
This fits the characteristics of [Trauma]; it is essentially several extremely intense emotions related to 'death'.
Another example is [T-02-43] [Spider Bud], which has the characteristics of [Trauma] and [Beast]. X suspects that the source of intense emotion is 'human fear of spiders', which also matches the spider-like appearance of the Abnormality.
In other words, X's hypothesis was based on existing data and careful analysis. Her method of inferring the causes of Abnormalities stemmed from one point… a lack of simulation machine use.
Each time she simulated to a certain number of times, it would cause her discomfort, such as dizziness, nausea, and emotional extremes. However, for simple Abnormality management, she didn't need to simulate the results every time.
Could she, with her abilities, not even manage simple tasks without relying on external devices?
No matter where she looked, the Lobotomy Corporation logo would always appear in her sight; she couldn't escape it, but she had the right to refuse to use it when she could choose.
The simulation machine had two modes: active and passive. The latter activated automatically at certain points.
In the current work situation, the simulation machine wouldn't be involved unless X actively used it. Today, X only chose the [Favorability query] button to check the current situation of the Corporation's Deans.
Netzach had injected so much Enkephalin. Even if Angela said Netzach was fine, X couldn't truly rest assured. Although the simulation machine might not be effective, it could at least confirm the Deans' psychological state, right?
X had never hoped for any boring romance; she just wanted to do her job as Manager well, securely hold her position, and avoid being fired.