Chapter 550: The Fastest ZB Legend
I... am human?
After listening to Leon's words, Feiliya was stunned and incredulously asked:
"Are you sure?"
"I'm very sure."
After conveying the information obtained from Atifie-00 in the briefest possible terms, Leon looked at the somewhat bewildered emerald-eyed girl in front of him and spoke sincerely:
"Princess Feiliya, you should now understand why you must cooperate with me, right?"
"Huh?"
"Simply put, choosing to cooperate with me appears to be betraying Prince Andre on the surface, but in actuality, you're helping him correct his mistakes."
Under the bewildered gaze of the emerald-eyed girl, Leon spoke persuasively:
"You are not an AI but a human. To prevent you and your brother from dying of illness together, with neither child surviving, your parents had no choice but to make you the core of an AI, a painful decision made out of necessity.
Your brother, however, due to misunderstanding, resented your parents and, under the manipulation of an evil organization, ultimately went astray, raising the knife against your family in the name of avenging you, leading the entire kingdom into chaos.
So I ask you, as a princess of the Crolock Kingdom, as your parents' daughter, and as your brother's sister, what should you do at this moment?"
"I... what should I do?"
"Of course, you should cooperate with me, find a way to defeat the misguided Prince Andre, and rescue him from the evil organization's control, correcting the mistakes he's made!"
Pulling the confused emerald-eyed girl to sit in the greenery, Leon patted her shoulder, looking serious, and asked sincerely:
"Prince Andre treats you so well, don't you want to save him?"
"I... I want to..."
With her mind a bit muddled by Leon's words, the emerald-eyed girl opened her mouth, feeling faint before her eyes, and said:
"But you just told me he was planning to kill me twice and asked if I wanted to join you against him..."
"Didn't you say he had his reasons?"
"I did say that... but..."
"Then there's no problem."
Forcefully patting Feiliya's shoulder, interrupting her thoughts, Leon confidently concluded:
"His disregard for familial ties in wanting to kill you is proof that he's controlled by the evil organization, and you choose to forgive him because of those ties, even preparing to save him from the evil clutches. Such a touching sibling bond! Isn't it wonderful?"
"..."
It seems wonderful... but why does something seem off?
After losing the support of Atifei-01's massive computational power, the 12-year-old Feiliya, with a brain like a blank slate, couldn't withstand Leon's excessive scribbling, continuously sending warnings to her.
However, the core feature of Soul Encoding Technology is a logic so precise it's like machinery, with different priority levels of strict "instructions" suppressing and organizing the complex and vague human soul's thoughts.
And Leon's proposed logic... no matter how insane it seems upon careful thought, it appears correct and fits perfectly with the soul encoding logic, so theoretically, it can "run."
Seeing Feiliya holding her head in confusion, unable to figure out the problem, Leon patted her back gently and said:
"If you can't figure it out, don't think about it. In any case, helping your brother correct his mistakes is undoubtedly the right thing to do, so why not focus on that first and discuss the rest later?"
"Then... how do I help him correct his mistakes?"
"It's simple. I'm also working on this. By helping me, you're effectively helping him correct his mistakes."
After moving around the long Yan Country map past the equator once, Leon finally pulled out the dagger hidden inside, speaking earnestly:
"In these past few days, I've already laid the groundwork for you. Now you just need to step out and make an impassioned speech at tonight's celebration. Those citizens unwilling to have their thoughts controlled by Andre will enthusiastically support you ascending to power.
The commanders of six royal guard legions, whom I've already rescued from Prince Andre's control, are furious about being controlled and have expressed their willingness to support you, the last royal family member, in correcting Prince Andre's mad governance as initially intended.
So as long as they finish reorganizing the legions, relying on the citizens' support and those six royal guard legions, with Crolock Kingdom's transportation, around six hours should be enough for you to take control of the entire kingdom, seize all armed forces, and become the new Crolock Queen."
"Huh?!!!"
"Oh, and also."
Ignoring Feiliya's shock, Leon seemed to remember something and reminded:
"According to the public narrative, you were severely injured in unveiling Andre's conspiracy. When giving the speech at the celebration tonight, remember to powder your face paler and bandage your chest with some bloodstained bandages. If someone asks, just say you were shot by Andre's personal guards. Got it?"
No... what is this all about? I was only held captive for a few days, so how did things escalate like this?
"Explaining the details would be complicated. You can let this sheep explain it to you then."
Picking up the grumbling black sheep from the greenery and putting it back in the arms of the emerald-eyed girl, Leon stood up, patted her shoulder, and encouraged expectantly:
"Come on, Your Highness. Whether or not we can save the Crolock Kingdom and the misguided Prince Andre depends on your speech tonight."
"Wait a minute! Hold on!"
Seeing Leon about to leave, the completely bewildered Feiliya quickly stood up and grabbed his sleeve, speaking incoherently:
"But there's still Atifie-00! She controls more than half of the kingdom's automated weapons, even if I..."
"Don't worry about that issue."
Patting the back of the emerald-eyed girl's hand, Leon explained:
"I'll go attack Research Area One now. I'll go down from Cooling Lake next to Area One and completely destroy the AI body soaking in the lake, so it won't be a problem for you."
"Huh?"
One thunderous piece of news after another poured into her mind, and the emerald-eyed girl hesitantly reminded:
"Didn't you just say you'd made a deal with Atifie-00 to fight against Andre together? Why are you going to destroy her body?"
"Who said that's her body?"
Leon responded puzzled:
"Isn't that your body? I'm going to destroy Atifie-01's AI body. What does that have to do with Atifie-00? These are separate matters."
"It seems... maybe that's right?"
"Right!"
When the emerald-eyed girl was once again thoroughly confused and nodding aimlessly under the sheep's pitying gaze, Leon slightly crouched down, looking directly into her eyes kindly, and said:
"Actually, from the first moment I saw you, I felt a connection with you. Look at how I'm helping you and your brother; even your dad wouldn't do this much. Could you fulfill a wish for me and call me dad?"
"..."
"Of course, if you truly can't say it, signing this will do."
In Feiliya's bewildered expression, Leon pulled a sloppily written document from the mirror world and placed her hand on it, while the emerald-eyed girl, in a daze, lowered her head and started reading subconsciously.
"Considering the significant efforts by international friend Leon Laine to save the Crolock Kingdom, I, in the name of the sixth princess of the Crolock Kingdom, hereby confer upon him an honorary membership in the Crolock royal family?"