Chapter 489 Blood-stained Memories, Part 6
MINUTES LATER
"Yo, Doctor Anatta. It"s time for you to wake up. The rescue team is already nearby."
"Hngrh ung ghr?"
"You lost consciousness when you saw my face. I"m not sure why you reacted like that, but fortunately you managed to hold on."
"Grh!"
"Yeah, yeah, I will explain everything to you once you"re healed. But for now, we should get you treated. You already look like a corpse, and I don"t want you to end up as one."
"Urgh!"
"No more grunting, Doctor Anatta. The rescuers might think we"re doing something naughty… You don"t want them to think of that, right?"
"Urgh!"
"…Okay, so you won"t stay quiet. Good luck grunting then, Doctor Anatta."
"Urgh!"
These two "conversing" people were no other than Alexis and Anatta, who were both lying on the ground.
Both of them had injuries in their bodies, with Alexis sporting numerous lacerations on his skin, and Anatta still bleeding profusely from her wounds and crushed limbs.
Alexis was visibly in a much better condition, but even he appeared to be in pain with his wounds. He was occasionally smirking and grimacing while he moved his body. The act of him carrying Anatta earlier seemed to have taken a toll on him, as he could not muster the strength to even prop himself up.
As for Anatta, she was still shocked by the change in Alexis, so much so that she had forgotten the immense pain in her body.
Her eyes could only stare at Alex with an accusing look, as if she was saying "Who the f**k are you, and why are you acting like a normal person?"
Alexis seemed to have read Anatta"s thougths, which led to him giving her a tight-lipped smile.
"As I told you Doctor Anatta, I do not know why I suddenly gained this kind of awareness. Before you did your "upgrade" to me, I have no idea on who I am or on why I even live. It was only after you did your thing that I managed to become like this…"
"Urgh!"
"I know, I know, Doctor Anatta. What happened to me is impossible, since it has never happened before. But look at me now. I am thinking, therefore I am existing! You can"t deny that I am functioning like a normal person now, Doctor Anatta. So just… accept it. You succeeded on where the others failed. You managed to breathe life on a clone! Shouldn"t you be happier?"
"Urgh!"
"Okay, okay, you seem to be angrier compared to before. Fine, I will stop talking to you. Maybe if I get quiet you will be calmer…"
"Urgh urgh urgh!"
"Hahaha! What"s with that glare, Doctor Anatta? Are you-"
"HANDS UP WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM, CLONE! THIS IS THE IMPERIAL ARMY, AND YOU TWO ARE UNDER ARREST FOR SUSPICION OF BOMBING THIS PLACE! RESIST US, AND YOU WILL BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY!"
Instead of a rescue team, what arrived to the research center was a fleet of armored soldiers. These people, who called themselves as the Imperial Army, surrounded Alexis and Anatta with their guns pointed at the two.
The one leading this fleet was a silver-armored old man, who judging by the medals attached on his chest, was a high-ranking General of the Imperial Army. This person was also the one who just uttered the arrest warrant to Alex and Anatta, with his voice amplified by the loudspeaker he held on his hands.
This General"s face was filled with derision and contempt as he observed Alexis" and Anatta"s injured bodies, with the soldiers around him looking at the two with hostility.
There was no doubt that if this General orders his soldiers to shoot the Alexis and Anatta, they will surely do it. Fortunately for the two, this General seemed to have no interest on killing them. Yet.
"I DON"T SEE ANY SIGNS OF SURRENDERING FROM YOU TWO! ARE YOU TRYING TO RESIST MY COMMAND?"
"…"
"I SAID, HANDS UP WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!"
"Pardon, General, but we are too injured to raise our hand-"
"!!! HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK TO ME, CLONE? DO YOU KNO- WAIT, HOW COULD YOU TALK TO ME? Y-YOU"RE JUST A CLONE! YOU SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO THAT!"
"Well, I just did it, duh. You heard it perfectly, right?"
"Y-Y-YOU…."
"So how about it, General? You can see that I am wounded, and Doctor Anatta is at the brink of death. There"s no way that we can just raise our hands. But don"t worry. We are accepting your arrest. After all, there"s no way that we can escape with your current condition. But we"re innocent, so I hope you treat us wel…""
"WH-WHAT? ARE YOU REALLY A CLONE?"
"Why yes I am, General. Look at my face, I look just as handsome as Emperor Litch, right?"
"…."
"Don"t give me that look General. I may be a pretty boy, but I don"t swing that way. Thicc girls are all I want, and sadly, you don"t fit that criteria."
"…"
"Is there any problem, General? You seem to be turning red. Wait, don"t tell me… you"re having an allergic reaction here? Tsk, tsk, you should have brought your Ipipen here…"
"SOLDIERS! CHANGE OF PLANS! L-LOCK THIS CLONE AND THAT RESEARCHER ON THE DUNGEON! WE SHOULD NOT LET ANYONE ELSE KNOW ABOUT THEIR EXISTENCE!" The General, who was now sporting a look of horror on his face, suddenly said as he pulled out a crystal card on his pocket.
He looked at the crystal card for a second, before he looked back at Anatta and Alexis with a wary glare. Once he had ascertained that the two were still alive, the General gave a grim look to his soldiers, who just looked as confused as him.
"MAKE SURE THAT NO INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TWO WILL LEAK TO OTHERS. IF I DISCOVER THAT ONE OF YOU LEAKED THIS INFO, I WILL JUDGE YOU WITH A DEATH PENATLY! DO YOU ALL UNDERSTAND THAT, SOLDIERS?"
"Ye-yes, General!" The soldiers replied as they began swarming all over Alexis and Anatta with a variety of objects and apparatus.
These objects, which looked vaguely similar to some of the equipment used in the research inst.i.tute, were quickly used by the soldiers to secure and contain Anatta and Alexis.
"Oi, don"t touch me in my legs. My junk is still there, and it"s sensitive. You don"t want me getting a stiffy, right?"
"Urgh urgh!"
The two initially struggled from the rough handling by the soldiers, but their current injuries and the sheer amount of soldiers arresting them had led to the two being easily taken by the Imperial Army.
"…."
The General, whose red face had begun to cool down, discreetly wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead as he observed Anatta and Alexis being loaded on to the deposit section of their s.h.i.+p.
He appeared to be both nervous and excited from the arrest that he just made, with his trembling fingers showcasing how emotional he is right now.
"THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED…. SOMEONE HAS ACTUALLY MANAGED TO MAKE A CLONE FULLY CONSCOIUS? IF THIS IS TRUE, THEN THIS WILL BE A GOOD THING FOR THE IMPERIAL ARMY!" The General thought to himself as he absent-mindedly rode his s.h.i.+p. "IF THIS IS REAL, THEN WE CAN USE IT TO CREATE EXPENDABLE SOLDIERS! HEHEHE, THERE"S NO NEED FOR THE IMPERIAL ARMY TO WORRY ABOUT THEIR SOLDIERS ANYMORE. WE CAN JUST CREATE FULLY CONSCIOUS SOLDIERS ON THE FLY! ONCE WE REACH THAT STAGE, THEN WE CAN CONQUER MORE TERRITORIES FOR EMPEROR LITCH WITHOUT ANY WORRIES! HAHAHA! GLORY TO THE EMPEROR!"
"Sir, should we tell the other Generals about your discovery?" One of the soldiers standing close to the General said, which forced the General to stop his happy thoughts. "Even if you told us to not leak the info, the other Generals will still have their ways to know what happened here. I-if they knew that you discovered a special clone without even consulting them, they might all get angry…"
"SOLDIER, DO YOU THINK I AM AN IDIOT?"
"No General! I do not!"
"IF YOU DON"T THINK THAT I AM AN IDIOT, THEN DON"T YOU DARE QUESTION MY DECISIONS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?"
"Y-yes General!"
"3,000 ONE-FINGERED PUSH-UPS, RIGHT NOW!"
"Hai!"
As the poor solider began to perform his 3,000 one-fingered push-ups, the General retreated to his mind once more as he considered what the solider just said.
"THIS SOLIDER IS RIGHT… EVEN WITH MY SECURITY, THE OTHER GENERALS WILL STILL DISCOVER THIS CLONE. " The General grimaced as he reached this conclusion, with his gnarly face turning more hideous. "IT WILL AT LEAST TAKE THEM A FEW HOURS TO FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT, WHICH IS NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR ME TO BENEFIT FROM THIS CLONE. HMM, SINCE THINGS WILL GO LIKE THIS, THEN WHAT SHOULD I DO TO MAXIMIZE MY BENEFITS?"
"Tap tap tap."
The General then tapped his chin impatiently , as he began to think of a possible solution to his problem.
It took him around a minute to sort all of his possible actions, which just coincided with the poor solider making 300 one-fingered push-ups.
As the poor soldier began to sweat from the workout, the General suddenly began laughing, with his face turning red again.
"AHA! IF I CAN"T BENEFIT FROM THIS ALONE, THEN I WILL JUST PRESENT THIS CLONE TO EMPEROR LITCH HIMSELF! HEHEHEHE, I"M NOT REALLY SURE ON HOW EMPEROR LITCH WILL REACT, BUT HE WILL SURELY BE HAPPY!" The General exclaimed as his face turned redder and redder. He appeared to be extremely pleased with what he just said, that he even ignored the odd looks give to him by the other soldiers.
"WITH THIS CLONE, I"M SURE THAT EMPEROR LITCH WILL BEGIN FAVORING ME! HAHAHA, JUST YOU WAIT, XETO! I, GENERAL ARTHUR, WILL BE THE ONE WHO WILL BE EMPEROR LITCH"S RIGHT HAND MAN!"