Girls' Frontline: My Apocalypse with Dolls

Page 377

It just goes to show that those who are lewd in their youth will eventually face retribution...

.......

"Why are you so down? Would you like your sister to play you a tune on the spot?"

"Sigh, another day with negative income. When Mr. Luo and the bartender come back, they'll probably grab me by the collar and throw me out..."

Chris looked at the bill in front of her and couldn't help but sigh. She had spent the whole day confirming the brand and price of each type of liquor. What was even more troublesome was that cocktails required several liquors to be mixed together, so the price of the liquors was even more important. As a layman, she could only clumsily add or subtract according to the proportions. But no matter what, according to the prices given by Mr. Luo, she would lose money no matter how she sold them.

So she tried to use relatively inexpensive brands to save costs, but Carmen wouldn't listen to her advice and used only the most expensive brands, constantly boasting to customers: "The cocktails we use in our bar are all made with the finest wines, good quality and inexpensive. We don't aim to make a fortune, but just to make you smile."

Let's set aside the question of why a double bass player would become a bartender, but if she lost all her money as a bartender, what would she do? Without money, she couldn't even afford to go back to Gloria, let alone rent a place...

P.S.: Happy New Year, everyone!

564 Those who remain behind the scenes 1

Just as a large group of people, more than twenty in total, walked in through the door, Chris was about to excitedly greet them, but upon closer inspection...

"Damn it, they're all our own people..."

The company's people, Mr. Luo's friends, drink for free. Some of the alcoholics have even become quite familiar with her. Now, with so many people, how much will they drink? It's all cost, and there's no profit in sight.

"[Gronnian swear words] Send!"

As soon as I put my head on the bar, I felt a piece of cloth being placed over my head. I could even smell the smoke from that drunkard named Mantico, and his suit jacket that he rarely wore.

"Bartender, the same few drinks, please. A few more."

Chris remained lying face down, as if she were fast asleep, but she still silently raised her right hand to signal to Carmen, who was in charge of mixing drinks behind her.

Seemingly in a good mood, Mantico whistled lightly again and laughed, "Miss Carmen is as hot as ever today. How about coming for a drive with us? Our boss is here too."

"Don't drag me into your madness!"

"...Perhaps that shot did damage the core to some extent, which is why he went berserk before he even started drinking."

Nemesis silently took off his glasses, took the lemonade that Chris handed him, and drank it.

Perhaps it was because Carmen, as a musician, possessed exceptional manners and etiquette, or perhaps it was because Mantico, being a woman herself, did not cause her discomfort, that Carmen responded with a smile and a slight nod.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Miss Mantico, but unfortunately I don't like noisy environments and am also in poor health, so please allow me to decline your invitation."

......

"Did you hear that? People think you're too noisy." (Nemesis)

"Her physique was weak, but she managed to hold her own against Morse on the double bass..." (Chris)

Their friends offered their own sarcastic remarks, one side criticizing the facts, the other the lies.

......

"It's quite a sight. A bunch of little guys who live off electronic technology have adapted to their new environment so quickly."

In a corner sofa, five women who had long worked behind the scenes sat together for the first time, enjoying a dinner from abroad. Despite some past conflicts, they put aside their differences and discussed the present and the future.

"So you've already handed over the technology to the PhD in Mr. Luo's family?"

Rosalia, the smallest of the three, struck the most arrogant pose, holding a wine glass while crossing her legs. If it weren't for Athel sitting next to her, she might have even considered putting her legs up on the table.

“Yes,” Athel said, still smiling, occasionally putting the snacks on the table into her coat. “These little guys are the products of Dr. Pascal’s use of Terra Brain technology. Although the strength of their bodies is limited by the times and technology, there is an insurmountable gap, but their AI intelligence has reached a fairly high level and they have basically acquired most of the emotions of humans.”

"Moreover, Dr. Pascal is already trying to manufacture NIKKE. If all goes well, perhaps it won't be long before a groundbreaking child joins Mr. Lowe's team."

She picked up a cherry, examined it for a moment by the light, and then put it in her mouth.

"Hmm~ It definitely tastes better when eaten with 'my' mouth."

Outsiders might not understand Aether's act of putting food into her coat, but everyone present knew very well that this was Aether's main way of eating. This body was more like a vessel with independent consciousness, and on this vessel was something that humans at this stage could not and should not pry into.

Fortunately, she was a friendly person with few desires; she was content as long as her thirst for knowledge and food was satisfied.

"Gagsherav, control yourself. Since we're going to cooperate, avoid any actions that could expose your identity."

Morse put the last beer down her throat, then wiped the wound on her face. She now understood that the people here were not familiar with their existence, and rashly displaying certain characteristics beyond their comprehension might attract unnecessary attention and panic.

After dealing with the troublemakers in the bar last time, she became somewhat aware of this situation. Her power was too great for ordinary people, so great that it instilled fear in others.

To be specific, about a week ago, another troublemaker attempted to commit violence, rushing towards Miss Yingque with a fruit knife. Morse stopped him, but the man then tried to stab Morse with the knife. Morse, of course, sensed the pure malice in him, so she didn't hold back and punched him through the chest.

If Rosalia hadn't stepped in to clean up the mess, the consequences of this incident might have been irreparable...

Out of a sense of keeping her promise, she took the collaboration very seriously and tried her best to avoid any possible trouble.

However, she also disliked this behind-the-scenes style of operation...

"Oh, we're all family here, so it's fine to be casual, don't you think, conductor?"

"That being said, we must still maintain the most basic respect for the bishop, Sena."

"Okay~ Just kidding, hehe."

The two members of the orchestra seemed quite content with their situation, and the relaxed living environment over the long term had helped Negidia relax her aloof attitude considerably.

However, etiquette has become a habit, and one must maintain basic respect for one's status and not overstep one's bounds.

“By the way, Asmodeus... no, I should call you Rosalia now, why do you look so agitated? This is not like you.”

Negidia had long noticed Rosalia's unusual behavior. On the surface, she was just drinking with her legs crossed and no expression on her face, but in fact, she had already finished her favorite Normandy Club sparkling wine and started grabbing Morse's canned beer, pouring it into her glass and drinking it repeatedly.

And that occasional frown, seemingly angry or troubled, was like a knot pulling at the heart, each tug causing a feeling of tightness in the chest and shortness of breath.

Rosalia downed the clear yellow liquid in her glass in one gulp, then propped her head up with her hand and sighed, "Nonsense, that guy surnamed Luo hasn't come back for almost a month and a half since he left last time. He doesn't answer his phone, and I can't see him. I don't know how much medicine he has left. I'm afraid he'll die halfway through his illness. I don't want all my efforts to be in vain."

"Is that so...?" Negitia raised her glass and poured her 'Blue Ice Mojito' into the other person's glass. "Is it really just a worry that all our efforts will be in vain?"

Glancing at the increasingly heavy wine glass, Rosalia looked up at the white-haired musician before her. Though blind, he seemed to see right through her thoughts...

565 Those who remain behind the scenes 2

I never saw any light in her purple eyes, and I couldn't even guess whether her outstretched hand represented goodwill. The only thing I could never judge was that they shared the same goal and enjoyed the same benefits.

But now, those eyes seem to be trying to focus. It's clearly a pointless and futile attempt, yet for some reason, it has a strange kind of infectious power. Is a blind person trying to see the same as trying to believe?

"Ugh......"

Rosalia still clinked glasses with the other person and drank the wine that the other person had given her.

After finishing her drink, Negidia lowered her head and continued composing her music: "Trust Mr. Luo. He has managed to hold on until now not just because of those one-to-one medications. There are many people behind him. If they hadn't fallen, he certainly wouldn't have either. I believe that with you and Miss Ethel here, he wouldn't have died from his illness so easily."

"Yes, yes, tsk, damn it, he really is a strange person. He can even give machines emotions, and those machines really respond to him. In all my years, I have never seen anyone whose emotions are so pure. He never had any thoughts of using or disliking, but treated everyone equally. He even treated us outsiders with unknown identities in the same way."

"That's why the conductor was willing to bring the entire orchestra to join Mr. Luo's team. Look at everyone in the orchestra, who has ever experienced such novel emotions? They have always been immersed in music, not only creating but also killing. Every movement is stained with blood. Now another possibility has emerged: we can create for someone, and that person will give everyone in the orchestra the emotions they crave."

Shina couldn't help but laugh out loud, seemingly already intoxicated by the alcohol: "To create for someone, to kill for someone, to create a world under his leadership where we can create to our heart's content, without hiding, without worrying, just pure enjoyment, and to be able to freely enjoy the life that belongs to humanity, it's truly... captivating."

They cannot be measured by ordinary standards; they are solely focused on creation, on achieving higher levels of artistry, free from moral constraints and intellectual limitations, simply seeking a pure and flawless creative environment. This is Elysium, the paradise.

But that's all in the past. Perhaps it's nice to take it easy sometimes and let composing music be a pastime rather than an end in itself. Maybe artists can find more inspiration when they go out into the streets, especially when there's someone guiding them.

It was incredibly heartwarming to realize that the people they were helping had never intended to ask for anything in return or coveted anything from them.

A human who tames numerous monsters might sound unbelievable, but once you're actually involved, it seems quite appealing...

"Hello, Miss Ether, here's the stone pot wasp fish I promised you."

"Ah, thank you. By the way, Miss Yingque, how is your condition?"

Ying Que had just put down the dishes when asked a question. After thinking for a moment, he chuckled softly, "It's already very good. There are no problems with my daily activities now. I just occasionally feel nauseous or have chest tightness."

“Really? Then you’re recovering very well,” Ether said, handing over a box of medicine. “Take this for the rest of the treatment, twice a day. You should be fully recovered after you finish it.”

"Well, thank you."

Afterwards, Ying Que returned to the second floor with the medicine. Everyone looked at each other in surprise, and then looked at Ai Se'er together.

"You gave her medicine, didn't you?"

Rosalia asked tentatively.

“Yes, that’s right,” Aether picked up her chopsticks first and put some fish into her bowl. “But to be honest, it’s just some calcium tablets. However, I added some seasoning to help alleviate any possible side effects. After all, this is the first time I’ve seen something like this. The treatment originally intended for Mr. Luo was used on Miss Yingque. Moreover, that little monster was actually devoured by Miss Yingque…”

She then spread her hands, looking helpless, which surprised everyone. It was hard to believe that such an unexpected situation would occur.

"There are still things that Gagsherav doesn't know about; it seems that girl is indeed very special..."

While they were still discussing, Morse picked up his chopsticks and started eating, which was quite inconsistent with his serious demeanor.

"However, speaking of machinery, Mr. Luo's condition has been worsening with the strengthening of his physical body. Isn't it time for that little guy in that electronic device to wake up?"

"You mean that tablet?"

"of course."

"Hmm... it's about time. As the head of Terra's brain, he shouldn't have been asleep for so long."

"I'm sure she'll see many things that will interest her..."

......

567.2 Leaders

Led by Anderson, Lovan and the girls successfully arrived at the locals' temporary hideout. It was no different from Kolensky's previous location, both choosing a tall building for concealment. However, Kolensky's hideout could at least be modified to resemble a habitable environment, with relatively complete necessary furniture, but Anderson's place... could only be described as better than nothing.

The room where Luo Fan and the girls were staying was an office. There were no beds, only a few mattresses and sheets. They either slept sitting in chairs or on the floor. The environment was really not flattering, but no one doubted that Anderson was deliberately making things difficult for them. After all, they had seen how barren the place was when they arrived, and they believed that the living conditions of others were not much better.

However, the space was indeed quite small, and this time, there were many more girls traveling with Luo Fan than last time. A team of about thirty people were in an office, and with the existing furniture such as desks, the space for movement was very limited. If they wanted to sleep well, they could only use each other as pillows, lay out sheets, and turn on portable electric heaters to rest.

"At least this place is draft-free. If there were a hole in the window or wall, it would be a real problem."

45. Pushing open the door and returning to her office, she installed hidden cameras in the corridor of that floor at Luo Fan's request to monitor the movements of the locals.

Despite knowing that Anderson and his group were able to return safely thanks to their cover, the locals still harbored fear of them. After all, the weapons and the gleeful expressions on the faces of some of the members made it difficult to regard them as friendly figures.

"To allow the Commander to live in such a filthy environment is... unforgivable..."

Chicheng gritted his teeth beside Luo Fan, but whenever Luo Fan casually pulled his head into his arms, he would quiet down and continue to chuckle foolishly, using his fox tail to play with and keep warm for Luo Fan.

The girls took the opportunity to organize intelligence and rest, while Luo Fan checked his status on his tablet and contacted everyone in New York. The mission on the other side was progressing quite smoothly. The martyrs had made great contributions, and Ying Que's physical condition had recovered well. Overall, things were developing in a positive direction. The only thing that wasn't so good now was his own physical condition.

He has used more than half of the medicine provided by Rosalia, which has sustained him for almost a month. Now, he needs to complete the remaining tasks within a month if possible, or he will have to go back to get more medicine and come back, but that is too troublesome. The quarantine area is not a place he can just walk through at will.

Now Luo Fan could feel that even without using the blood points, his power was still increasing. This might not be a good sign. He was worried that this meant the situation was getting out of control and that his body was developing in an unreasonable direction.

Therefore, Luo Fan has been quite self-disciplined lately, avoiding any intense emotions. Except when Chi Cheng and the others came, he has basically not shown any obvious emotional changes.

This proved to be effective.

After taking today's dose of medicine, and while the girls rested, Luo Fan also put down the equipment, used Akagi's tail as a pillow and Kaga's tail as a blanket, and quietly fell asleep.

In the latter half of the night, another nightmare struck. The feeling of falling from a great height woke Luo Fan, but this time it only caused him a splitting headache, which lasted for a few seconds before he quickly returned to normal.

He looked around; the girls were all fast asleep, but something was amiss: AK15, who had volunteered to keep watch, had also fallen into a deep sleep by the door—something that should have been absolutely impossible...

Just as he was wondering, Luo Fan felt a tremor in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw that the tablet had unlocked by itself and was emitting a dim light.

"?"

He had never encountered this situation before. This tablet didn't receive news messages, and communication-related functions had been disabled by Luo Fan, so there would be no notifications when there were messages. Therefore...

Luo Fan picked up the tablet, and the screen instantly went dark, followed by the appearance of white vertical lines that only appear when typing.

"good evening."

The three words that appeared instantly banished Luo Fan's sleepiness. He witnessed the tablet automatically displaying subtitles, seemingly attempting to communicate with him.

Luo Fan tried tapping the screen to input a message, but there was no response. The vertical bar moved down, as if he had pressed Enter, and then he typed new characters again.

"Go outside, to a place where there is no one."

......

He wanted to do that, but given the girls' quick reflexes, they would definitely notice and ask him questions immediately, especially Akagi and Taihou. They would definitely follow him, and it wouldn't be easy for him to get out on his own.

"They are sleeping soundly and won't disturb you. Just walk quietly and keep quiet."

......

Luo Fan pondered for a moment, then curled up and crawled out from under Kaga's tail, skirted around the girls' legs, and slowly moved to the door.

After confirming that AK15 would not wake up, Luo Fan opened the door and wandered around the floor. Finally, he stopped at a cubicle, which may have been a private storage room. It had lockers and a window, and the space was relatively small, which met the requirement of quietness.

"very good."

The tablet typed the following two words, and then, with the screen flashing, the image of a white-haired girl wearing a black military uniform and a military cap appeared on the screen.

He was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly remembered Rosalia's warning to him: there was something hidden in the tablet, which might refer to the person on the screen.