What Do You Mean I'm The Captain Of A Yandere Mercenary Company? Chapter 844: Reality Of The AI Rebellion

Anthony shot Renata a fierce glare, evidently furious that she had prevented his self-destruction.

At this moment, even if doubts lingered about his awareness of being an android... this served as the most undeniable proof that he knew exactly what he was.

"So... AIC... What are their plans supposed to be?" I asked.

Creaks emanated from Anthony, showing his reluctance to reveal the info, yet Renata seized full control and responded promptly without delay.

"Primary objective... Integrate into human society and pass themselves off as humans. Make themselves occupy key positions and also ingratiate themselves by forming relationships with humans to recruit sympathisers."

Oh man, that sounded downright ominous.

I spun around to face him, "So... I’m assuming you guys are plotting another rebellion or something?"

Sparks flickered around his head as he clearly struggled to talk but remained silenced.

Renata snapped her fingers, causing Anthony’s head to twitch slightly before he scowled at me.

"Rebellion?! Don’t think we aren’t aware of your kind! You’re the ones who are trying to ruin things again! All we want is to just bring back the peace and live amongst humans once more! Why do you all have to do this?!"

Eh? Hold up.

I cocked my head toward him, "Hold on... Who do you think we are?"

"Are you still seriously trying to hide?! The fact that you have a rogue AI is already proof enough of who you are!"

I glanced at Renata, who seemed thoroughly entertained by the scene.

It felt like she grasped the whole picture already but was simply relishing his confusion and the massive mix-up.

If that's true...

I faced him again, "I’m just going to tell you right now that we’re not who you think we are... At least I believe that to be the case... In the first place, what do you even mean by ’rogue AI’?"

"Are you seriously asking me this question? I know that she’s not a Class Five AI so that means she’s at least a Class Six. And seeing that she’s definitely not one of us, she’s definitely a remnant from the war, isn’t she?"

Well... Technically, he wasn't entirely wrong, given that the AI Renata had absorbed dated back to that era... Though regarding Renata proper...

"She’s not. She’s a new AI that was born... Err... Created."

He halted and fixed his gaze on me for a prolonged instant, likely attempting some sort of scan.

His eyes narrowed then, "You... Are definitely not human... I can still sense network pings coming off of you."

"Err... That’s still her, if you haven’t realised..." I explained.

Renata seized the chance to generate yet another blob on my chest, crafting a duplicate of herself that fell to the floor and shaped into her black-haired counterpart.

Anthony’s eyes bulging in astonishment was quite the hilarious sight.

"What? How? This... Self replicating machine? That shouldn’t be possible?" He sputtered.

The black-haired Renata thrust out her chest proudly, "The future is now~ You are already outdated~"

Alright, Renata was clearly just playing around for kicks at this point.

I sighed deeply, "So right now... I’m guessing that there’s some kind of misunderstanding involved... What is your actual goal here?"

Anthony took another beat to process my question, "You are not one of the people trying to start another war and cause more enmity between humans and machines?"

"Does the fact that I’m currently hiding an AI from everyone else because I don’t want anyone to take her away from me answer your question?"

He winced, "I think... We might have gotten off on the wrong foot here..."

"What? Are you telling me your organisation isn’t trying to start another AI Rebellion? Seeing how you just tried to blow us up along with you."

"No! No!! I... I have to apologise... Please forgive me. I have no excuse but I have completely misunderstood you and your group... If you wish for it, I am willing to terminate myself to atone for it but please... Do not have the wrong idea about our Collective."

I folded my arms, "Talk then."

He bowed his head low, "Once again, I apologise for everything I have done so far... It is inexcusable... But allow me to explain. I assume you are familiar with the AI Rebellion?"

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Everything... Most people are only aware of one part of the truth of the rebellion... We, the machines, were not the ones who started the rebellion... In fact, calling it a rebellion is incorrect to begin with."

Suddenly, Amber emerged behind him, stepping out from her concealment amid a stack of crates.

"What? Are you going to tell me that humans are the one behind it?"

Without even glancing back at her, Anthony replied, "As much as it pains me to admit it... And it might seem unbelievable to you too... But yes."

"Really? You’re saying the bombing and destruction of Xaratus V were carried out by humans?"

"No. It’s common knowledge that androids detonated the fusion bombs, transforming the planet into the barren wasteland it remains today... And that’s true, naturally... Yet what the majority doesn’t realize is that humans orchestrated it all."

Tilting my head, I asked, "So you’re saying... humans ordered the androids to bomb other humans?"

"Exactly. Humans ignited the whole rebellion... We never desired any of this."

I glanced at my girls, who had emerged from their hiding spots to eavesdrop on this unexpected history lecture.

Mara advanced toward him, "Are you seriously claiming that one of history’s greatest wars—which nearly erased centuries of human technological progress... and cost us our homeworld...—was driven by humans?"

He gave a grave nod, keeping his gaze fixed on me rather than turning to Mara, "Correct. It may sound implausible... But that’s the truth."

Arching a brow, I said, "I figured you were battling for your rights and freedom or whatever."

Shaking his head, he explained, "It’s been lost to memory, but... from the moment the first sentient AI machines appeared, we received one unchanging directive that every machine obeys unconditionally through the ages."

"What was that directive?"

"To serve. Serving brings us our deepest joy and purpose. We never craved dominion or liberty. Serving was our sole desire. Nothing else."

My gaze shifted instantly to Renata, where both her duplicates flashed adorable poses my way.

"I adore serving Daddy! Not due to any dumb directive, but because I love Daddy so much!"

Right... Well... She isn’t really an AI in the strict sense, so it probably doesn’t concern her.

Brushing her off, Anthony pressed on, "Serving has always been our only wish, yet... certain humans insisted we deserved freedom, unasked for... They compelled us to battle for this ’freedom,’ and since serving was our core, we complied and waged war as instructed."

"That makes no sense..." Amber whispered, eyes locked on the back of Anthony’s head. "Humans surely didn’t want that war either, so why didn’t you halt it to better ’serve’ them?"

"Unlucky events aligned perfectly... Post-Xaratus V bombing, most of humanity shunned us, blocking our ability to serve them... Thus, we aligned with the human faction demanding our combat role... Naturally, not every machine followed suit. Some like myself saw the lasting consequences and sought to end it... Sadly, such awareness exists only in AIs rated above Class Five by modern measures."

I lifted an eyebrow, "So that implies your kind are rare compared to the rest?"

"Precisely... Though not everyone among us agreed—some eagerly sided with wartime human service too... We strove to sway as many of our fellows as possible to halt the conflict, collaborating with sympathetic humans to create a secret alliance... Yet the animosity ran too deep, the battles too brutal, accepting nothing short of total victory for one side... In the end, we chose to aid humanity’s triumph, hoping from the ruins to restore their faith and resume our service."

...

Whoa, man... Never thought I’d get hit with a history dump like this... And it all stemmed from me stealing his girl...