"Greetings, Officer!"
The moment the video call connected, the captain on the other end saluted and reported everything they had witnessed.
After finishing the report, he finally stated the real purpose of the call.
"Sir, according to our intelligence... you may know who did all of this?"
"I already told you," Morin said casually. "I did it."
"..."
The captain fell silent.
He didn't have the authority to question Morin, and his common sense refused to accept the answer.
"Alright," Morin said, waving his hand. "Just write it like that in the report. You don't need to worry about anything else."
"If anyone wants to investigate, tell them to come ask me personally."
"That warship is military property now. Just transfer the reward directly."
Morin had no intention of explaining or demonstrating anything.
He wasn't from this world. He was only borrowing a title, so it was best to act the part.
And coincidentally, that identity worked very well.
"Yes, sir!" the captain replied without hesitation.
"Also," the captain continued, "we've received orders to escort you to the Interstellar Federation. Do you plan to depart now... or later?"
"Hm," Morin thought for a moment. "I still have some things to handle. A couple of days."
Although the aliens and zombies had mostly been dealt with, variables still existed before the nuclear bomb detonated.
And even after the explosion, no one could guarantee that a few vials of T-virus or stray facehuggers hadn't slipped through somewhere.
Of course, that was no longer Morin's responsibility.
Cleansing an entire planet was a massive, tedious task.
He only intended to deal with the core problems-specifically the Umbrella bases.
Anything that slipped through would be monitored and handled by the Red Queen and Xiao Yi.
By then, Alice would likely be trained enough to take on those tasks herself.
Two birds with one stone.
"Yes, sir!"
The call ended.
"...Did he actually say anything?" a soldier asked quietly.
"Captain, how do we write the report?"
"Do I really have to tell you?" the captain sighed. "Just write the truth. Exactly what happened."
"Are we supposed to make something up?"
"This is beyond us," he added helplessly. "Let the bigwigs sort it out."
Not long after, the warship dispatched technical teams to board the Predator vessel.
After a lengthy process of cracking its control systems, they piloted it toward the Interstellar Federation for a space jump.
Even though the Federation already possessed jump technology, a different civilization's methods had their own strengths.
That single warship was extremely valuable.
More importantly, the capture was completely justified.
No disputes.
A huge gain.
Because Morin was involved-and because of his status in the "Honor Legion"-the military confirmed the incident and transferred the reward directly to his account.
They still didn't know who had truly orchestrated everything.
Their efficiency was frightening.
Morin was caught off guard.
He didn't know the exact value of Federation currency.
He only knew that once the massive sum entered his account, his [Ten-Year Veteran] profession jumped straight to Master level.
Morin: "..."
That was it?
It felt absurdly fast.
So... could he just take a vacation now?
He'd only wanted to test a few things.
Who knew it would all end in one go?
Even so, he still had to go to the Interstellar Federation.
He had never visited an interstellar civilization before.
He was interested.
"Sir," Xiao Yi reported, "I've completed a full inspection of the White Queen program. No anomalies detected."
"I see," Morin nodded.
The result wasn't surprising.
The kind of situation where a true AI casually emerged like in movies was extremely unlikely.
Otherwise, the universe would already be overrun by intelligent machines.
Morin had considered the possibility that the White Queen was hiding something undetectable.
But if that were true, all he could do was admire it.
A self-aware AI hiding itself using a tablet as a base and deceiving top-tier AIs would be a miracle.
He didn't plan to dig deeper.
First, he wasn't even sure there was anything to find.
Second, even if there was-
What did it have to do with him?
If the Interstellar Federation couldn't handle a single AI, even a real one, that would mean they had severely overestimated themselves.
Either way, it wasn't his problem.
He never mixed electronics between worlds.
It was a bit like saying, after I'm gone, who cares about the flood?
And realistically, the chance of the White Queen being a true AI was extremely small.
If he were certain, he would have handled it.
"Is there anything you need to pack?" Morin asked Alice, who stood beside him.
"If everything goes smoothly, I plan to take you to the Interstellar Federation and arrange a position for you."
"...No," Alice replied after a moment.
"Everyone I knew probably died in the Hive."
"And I'm not even sure whether the people I 'knew' were real, or just implanted memories."
"Let the past stay in the past," Morin said. "The source of the evil is about to be completely destroyed."
"Looking forward is the best option."
As a boss, he felt obligated to comfort his future employee.
"Think about it," he continued. "Even though you're a clone with no memories, and your childhood memories came from the original..."
"You woke up completely naked-"
"Boss," Alice interrupted.
She'd been feeling better, but the longer he talked, the worse it sounded.
Why did she suddenly feel miserable?
And waking up naked?
Didn't you pretend to be an old acquaintance and openly watch me change clothes back then?!
Alice's expression darkened.
She cut him off immediately.
If he kept going, she'd get angry for real.
"What's wrong?" Morin asked.
"I wasn't dwelling on it," Alice said, forcing a smile. "I was just speaking casually."
"Let's talk about what's next."
"Alright," Morin nodded, very satisfied with her attitude.
So he decided to cancel his planned relaxation.
Work came first.
Alice: "???"
She suddenly felt that agreeing so quickly might have been a mistake.
"Let's start with the areas where your body can be strengthened," Morin said.
He knew exactly what effect his words would have.
That was intentional.
The best way out of a negative mood was staying busy-too busy to think.
Trying to persuade someone to 'let go' was the weakest kind of advice.
"I told you before," Morin continued, "you can't use mana. That's a talent issue. It can't be changed."
"But you can use mental power."
"And from what I've seen, the T-virus in your body actually enhances it."
"Mental power?" Alice asked.
She remembered him mentioning it before, but the timing had never been right.
"What is it?"
"Academically speaking," Morin said, "it's an invisible force released by a living organism's brain tissue."
"I only mastered it recently."
"But now, I have almost perfect control."
After [Ten-Year Veteran] advanced to Master level, all three sub-professions reached Master as well.
Along with increased power and range came complete theoretical understanding.
It was all implanted directly into Morin's mind.
Before, it was like using an old Nokia-functional, but ignorant of how it worked.
Now, it was like holding a top-tier smartphone.
He understood every component.
This changed his plan slightly.
He had originally intended to learn alongside Alice.
Now, it became one-sided teaching.
And experimentation.
The task itself hadn't changed.
"Alright," Alice said. "So how do I start?"
"Meditation? Like in movies?"
"For ordinary people, meditation helps," Morin replied. "It calms the mind and improves perception."
"But it's inefficient."
"With me here, you don't need it."
"I'll let you experience it directly."
"...What do I do?"
"Like this."
Morin activated his mental power and gently made contact with Alice's brain.
A power never used was hard to perceive.
Morin understood this well.
His [Intellect] had always given him enormous reserves, but he'd never noticed it.
Because it was rarely used-or replenished instantly by his [Body].
The human body was a system.
[Body], [Intellect], and [Mana] were distinct, yet interconnected.
"Mental power comes from the brain," Morin said slowly, guiding a thin thread of his power. "But it's affected by your physical condition and mood."
"I won't go into examples."
"It also affects the body. In combat, if you overuse it, even if you control your enemy..."
"Your body may force you into a coma as a self-preservation response."
"I... feel something," Alice said softly.
"Yes," Morin replied. "I've wrapped my mental power around your brain."
"Focus on that sensation."
"I'll pull your mental power out next."
He moved carefully.
This was his first time doing this.
Stable-but dangerous.
Mental power directly affected the brain.
One mistake, and Alice's brain could crash completely.
There would be no restart.
So caution came first.
"That's..."
To Alice, it felt like a massive presence.
It tried to be gentle.
But the pressure was overwhelming.
It wrapped around her head, seeped into her mind, and grabbed something-
Something like wispy threads.
It pulled them out.
Compressed them.
Shaped them.
Then extended them toward a nearby cup.
That wispy mass hardened.
The cup lifted.
In her vision, the cup floated on its own.
But in her perception, she could feel it being held.
The mismatch between sight and sensation made her dizzy.
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