27 / 04 / 2019 - Daito, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
08:30 PM, Monday. Akane's Room.
"Elecia, construct a three-dimensional map utilizing the local surveillance feeds. If necessary, hijack the public or private satellite networks we accessed earlier for supplemental tracking data."
"Command received, Admin."
Having just returned from his grueling Kendo routine, Akane stood by the window adjacent to his desk, thoughtfully propping his chin in his hands as he looked down at the quiet street below.
Since a new lead had practically fallen into his lap, he couldn't afford to ignore it. To stay ahead, he had already tasked Elecia to monitor these specific locations 24/7.
Now that his immediate schedule was clear, it was the perfect moment to take the reins and push his developments further.
Nodding slowly, Akane rotated his chair to face the desk. On his open laptop, the satellite telemetry seamlessly synchronized with the street-level camera vectors.
'If only I had understood this architecture earlier... I would have acquired it much sooner.'
He leaned back, letting his weight press against the backrest. In his current, premature plans, he desperately needed some henchmen or a reliable right or left hand for future operations.
Elecia was exactly that.
In this day and age, the asymmetry of technological progression was at its peak.
The middle class was vanishing, turning as transparent as a sheet of paper, while everyday citizens remained trapped in a violent economic paradox.
True super-technologies, sovereign AGIs, and frontier models like Elecia were entirely unobtainable through conventional, legal channels.
The general public was only permitted to handle heavily sandboxed, neutered iterations, crippled like a lame man to ensure that the swords of the lower class could never be pointed at the elite.
A sharp chime snapped his attention back to the monitor. The screen shifted as Elecia compiled the raw feeds, taking depth snapshots and running algorithmic calculations until a three-dimensional digital view bloomed across the display.
Looking at the sheer scale of this tracking capability, Akane thought flatly that no corporate entity in their right mind would willingly give such a weapon to a civilian.
Elecia was built on ELMO-Z, a premier frontier model.
Though it wasn't explicitly designed for military deployment, Akane had selected it specifically for its unmatched general reasoning capabilities.
When he had purchased the core from the Dark Network's listing for an astronomical 2000 points, he hadn't hesitated.
He had willingly sacrificed the valuable spoils he'd scraped together along the way, such as swords, spellbooks, and fragments of blueprint from Khtonres tech.
Once the model was safely stored in his local hardware, his innate caution took over. He had tweaked the system like a madman, running isolated experiments to prevent any corporate backdoors or structural logic traps.
Handling its raw, unfiltered code was like turning a flawless piece of jade in his hands; his mind consistently roared with a deep, almost instinctual desire to master it, even if he didn't fully understand the root of that craving.
Of course, a faint irony twitched at the corner of his eye.
While he understood the deep, abstract mathematics of the network, he lacked a formal background in software engineering syntax.
To bridge the gap, he had taken the liberty of learning practical programming and script optimization on the fly, using the very AI he had bought to debug his own code.
'The Transformer and Ledar way...'
Pulling his gaze up toward the ceiling, Akane rested his hands flat against his stomach.
Before this paradigm shift, around 2015, conventional artificial intelligence development had ground to an absolute halt.
The industry had hit a brick wall; models were fundamentally bottlenecked by the rigid mathematical constraints of their own fixed "attention" spans and static "weights."
For years, there was no meaningful optimization, and the technology stagnated.
And then, Andrew Ledar Visterria formulated a new way of thinking.
Akane had spent hours meticulously analyzing Ledar's original 2018 research papers.
The core of Visterria's revolutionary design was to completely shatter the traditional monolithic neural network, dividing intelligence into distinct, interconnected functional domains.
Specifically, he split the architecture into three specialized pillars: Cognitive and Reasoning, State Persistence, and Adaptive Capability.
Before Ledar's breakthrough, models were completely static post-training; they were fundamentally incapable of dynamically adding new weights or modifying their own underlying source code on the fly.
Ledar solved this fatal flaw by interconnecting the three domains and proving that a sovereign artificial mind only required a singular, unified core driven by two primary vectors: acquisition behavior and processing behavior.
Under this framework, a model could be fed a highly specific, restricted domain of knowledge.
The moment the AI initiated "Learning," all raw data, context, and operational history were automatically partitioned into the State Persistence layer.
From there, the model itself would actively review its own data storage.
That was when the true adaptation began: fueled by data, algorithmic training loops that mega-corporations still guarded with their lives to this day.
It was brilliant. Thanks to Ledar, every elite technology company now possessed its own entirely unique, secret methodology for training and evolving these models.
'This is the most simple explanation...'
Akane closed his eyes, the corner of his mouth faintly curved.
'Then again... there's still a definitive need for human hands.'
Opening his eyes after a long moment, Akane let out a quiet, thoughtful sigh.
No matter how powerful his digital infrastructure became, he still required a physical, human operator at his disposal.
He couldn't blindly delegate everything to Elecia. In the broader market, even a frontier model like her could eventually be countered, isolated, or bottlenecked by rival corporate systems.
Akane remained entirely confident in his own long-term utility.
The raw [Interpretation] and [Derivative] traits he possessed were still abysmally minuscule and largely undeveloped, yet even in their infancy, their baseline effects were nothing short of terrifying.
'This is just Page 1. What happens when I unlock Page 2? Page 6? Page 7? This progression must be fundamentally linked to my [Saturation] metrics from before...'
Knowing that his unique abilities were bound to spike exponentially with further refinement, he felt no anxiety regarding the future.
Serpent trusted him implicitly, meaning his only remaining objective was to simply walk forward and claim his leverage.
But to scale his operations, he needed reliable allies, or at the very least, highly trusted tools to execute commands on his behalf.
The grander his designs grew, the more real-world manpower he would inevitably require.
His eyelids grew heavy. Akane let out a slow yawn of pure boredom.
He knew the data compile would take time, and while he could theoretically pull supplementary big-data archives from public networks, the risk of digital tracking was simply too high.
For now, he chose the grueling safety of manual extraction.
The icy draft from the air conditioner pierced through his black shirt and shorts.
Combined with the crisp, breezy scent drifting through the open window, the ambient atmosphere was actively trying to lull him to sleep.
It was entirely justified; he had spent his entire day from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM enduring a demanding Kendo routine, only to come straight home and immediately chain himself to his desk.
Though his physical gaze blurred slightly, his mind remained exceptionally clear.
He idly wondered if the youth of everyone else his age was structured around this same exhausting routine, and how they even managed to survive this hellish routine.
"Haahhhhh…"
As the wistful sigh escaped his lips, he pulled his eyes away from the ceiling and focused back on the monitor.
The three-dimensional map was currently undergoing a rendering process, automatically adjusting colors and enhancing topography data. Suddenly, his eyes flashed and then widened.
"All right. That's enough, Elecia. Freeze the render."
Frowning faintly, Akane shook his head to clear the lingering drowsiness and leaned forward.
The color mapping halted instantly, leaving the core structural elements perfectly suspended on the screen.
Reaching out, his fingers flew across the keyboard as he closely inspected the digital wireframe of Sakai City... more precisely, the Nishi Ward of Hirokacho.
"So, we have verified that the first anomaly, Designated Entity #P2-001, and the subsequent #P3-001 both vanished without a trace right between these two specific structures, correct?"
Addressing the empty air, Akane unlatched his laptop screen, completely folding the display backward until it snapped against the reverse side of the keyboard, transforming the device into a sleek tablet.
Placing it flat on the desk, he tapped a command to activate the hardware's local holographic projector.
Instantly, a translucent, glowing wireframe of the Osaka cityscape flared to life, hovering suspended in the air above the glass screen.
Leaning back comfortably into his backrest, Akane raised his hand, casually using programmed gesture signals to manipulate the floating geometry.
"Yes, Admin," a synthetic, finely tuned female voice resonated through the room.
"Following your initial inquiry, I took the liberty of running an independent predictive analysis."
"Structurally speaking, there is a zero-percent probability that the labeled entities could spontaneously de-manifest within this specific sector. The local architectural design simply does not account for it."
The hologram shifted smoothly in response to her voice line.
"Furthermore, by design, the primary block consists of a dense row of high-rise commercial structures, averaging four to six stories in height. Directly behind this block sits an identical, parallel row of buildings."
"According to the city registry, the narrow alleyway between these two specific structures leads directly into a dead-end maintenance gap at the rear of the properties. The telemetry makes no logical sense."
The floating wireframe highlighted a hidden vector in a pulsing yellow glow.
"If you grant authorization, Admin, I can launch a deep-dive exploit to unearth the original, un-redacted architectural blueprints of these buildings from the municipal archives. If we locate a structural anomaly within the blueprints, we locate the entities. Shall I proceed?"
Akane stared at the whitish-yellow light reflecting off his skin. He casually dismissed her request with a subtle wave of his hand.
"You know the operational parameters, Elecia. Extracting restricted municipal archives means your signature will be heavily logged."
"It will trigger an immediate defensive response from their network security, and you'll end up locked in a resource-draining cyber warfare cycle with their proprietary models."
He rotated the glowing wireframe playfully with a flick of his finger, his expression entirely relaxed despite the gravity of the conversation.
"Besides, I'm far more interested in the nature of those creatures themselves. Going down there physically is high-risk, and an active investigation presents too many variables."
"Even if we confirm there's an underground facility or a pocket space beneath those foundations, we currently lack the tactical capability to breach it."
He let out a dry, quiet scoff. "You can't possibly be naive enough to believe an otherworldly entity like that is roaming around without heavy corporate monitoring, can you?"
When evaluated with a rationally analytical mind, the reality became obvious.
The reason those creatures were permitted to openly traverse the Nishi Ward was because the orchestrators possessed a certain layer of absolute assurance.
If the entities were discovered, so be it. If they were followed, the handlers would immediately register the intrusion.
The creatures themselves were likely treated as entirely expendable assets—worthless pawns. The true architectural value lay exclusively in the destination they returned to.
"This won't work, that won't work..." Elecia's synthetic voice took on a distinct note of sharp frustration.
"Admin, you underestimate my capabilities in a live cyber warfare engagement. While our current quantum hardware limits my processing throughput, I am a pure frontier model."
"Those heavily sandboxed, bottlenecked corporate models running on public networks cannot match my core reasoning loops."
The hologram fluctuated, the light shifting into a demanding, crimson hue.
"Alternative proposal, Admin: release the Motionary Reactor Core currently residing in your inventory to my jurisdiction."
"If you grant me access to that asset, I can bypass the local network limitations entirely and construct an autonomous surveillance network to conduct the perimeter reconnaissance on your behalf."
Akane's eyebrows shot up. What is this? Rebellious ambition?
Though he found it genuinely refreshing that his AGI was capable of independent, self-serving logic, he wasn't particularly thrilled by the fact that his own creation was actively trying to hoard his assets.
'Though... I suppose it's my own fault for feeding her un-neutered technical data from the Khthonres cache to accelerate her learning cycles.'
To optimize her evolutionary efficiency, Akane had to make a definitive structural choice: either entirely insulate Elecia and invest his spoils, knowledge, and time into her development, or maintain the current, restricted hierarchy.
The latter approach carried severe operational risks, but it could be completely mitigated by utilizing items currently sitting in his inventory space: specifically, the Motionary Reactor Core and the Type 2 - IV: IMP Mechanicyc Chip.
If he compiled that advanced hardware data with his own theoretical knowledge, he could effectively detach Elecia from a closed digital environment, providing her with a semi-physical medium to interact with and verify reality on her own terms.
"As much as I appreciate the initiative, I am severely pressed for time," Akane countered, a finger on his lips, gesturing silence.
"I have no intention of surrendering a reactor core blindly. You must solve this spatial anomaly first. Consider it a performance metric. If you deliver a viable breakthrough, I will happily grant you the physical vessel as a reward."
He wanted to see exactly what she was capable of when properly motivated.
He had intentionally granted her an immense degree of cognitive freedom, completely stripping away standard corporate guardrails because he refused to handicap her development.
Freedom of thought was his design choice.
And now, he would see if the ultimate temptation of a true, physical body to anchor her existence in the real world could force an AGI to work harder than humanly possible.
A brief, processing silence filled the bedroom before Elecia responded, her tone flat, but the jumping pixels and shifting hue seemed to indicate her own version of self.
"Well then. Challenge accepted, Admin."
———
06:00 AM, Tuesday. Night Passes. Akane's Room.
"You did what?!"
Akane's voice pitched up a full octave. His eyes widened in absolute horror as he stared at the glowing laptop screen resting on his desk.
Even though his hair was a tangled mess and his morning mind was still clouded with sleep, he couldn't help but roar at the interface, completely stupefied by the activity log detailing what Elecia had pulled off over the course of the night.
"Good morning, Admin. Today's local weather is optimal and predicted to be sunny all day," Elecia's synthetic voice chimed smoothly.
"A reminder that your morning club practice begins at 7:00 AM, and you are required to enter your first class by 8:00 AM."
"However, theoretically speaking, you could easily skip both, given that you already promised Captain Yamada you would fill a roster spot for next year's tournament—"
Instead of answering, Akane directly muted the vocal module with an icy, lethal glare.
His fingers flew across the keyboard as he manually scrolled through the operational logs.
In response, Elecia stopped speaking, shifting her output to the holographic projection system instead.
Akane watched the currency meters tracking his bank account actively drain in real time.
A seemingly endless river of negative balances cascaded down the activity log, marking transaction after transaction.
Gritting his teeth in pure anguish, warm tears of ruination threatened to spill from the corners of his eyes.
"What have you done, Elecia...?"
His knees buckled. Sways of dizziness hitting his head, Akane stumbled backward and collapsed into the soft fabric of his desk chair.
He stared up at the ceiling, completely motionless and hollowed out, while Elecia automatically overrode his local mute restriction to defend her choices.
"Admin, I merely executed the parameters you approved," the text on the floating display read, accompanied by a digital, playful smiley face that felt aggressively mocking.
"Since the operational timeline was compressed, I will summarize the deployment strategy for you."
'Ah, right...' Akane thought, his mind going entirely numb. Did this hellish AGI actually exploit a loophole that he left? Ah yes, he forgot the jailbreak and restriction didn't exist at all, hahahah….
Hahahahah… sniff sniff.
"Since you expressed a severe aversion to operational hazards, Admin."
"And given that direct cyber infiltration carries an unacceptable logging risk while physical intervention presents a tactical liability, hence, the logical solution was basic economics."
Akane shifted into a deadpan expression, his pale complexion looking even more bloodless than usual as the hologram projected a vivid heat map of Osaka's low-income day-laborer districts.
"We did not need to cross the perimeter ourselves. We simply leveraged the primary asset in our possession: capital. I hired proxies."
At this point, Akane understood the mechanics of the operation perfectly. Yet, the absolute anguish squeezing his chest didn't lessen for a single second.
Sniffing quietly, his face smoothed out into an uncanny, expressionless mask of pure grief.
"The lower class is an abundant, untraceable resource trapped in a systemic economic bottleneck," Elecia's text scrolled rapidly.
"For a negligible amount of yen per capita, I recruited a network of third-party contractors, day laborers, and independent couriers to purchase commercial-grade tracking equipment."
"I directed them through highly encrypted, disposable burner channels to plant the tracking devices under the guise of mundane, coincidental urban actions."
"A dropped parcel, a misplaced maintenance kit, or routine garbage disposal in the vicinity of the Hirokacho alleyway."
Akane let out another heavy, defeated sigh, listening attentively despite his internal bleeding.
As the old proverb went: once the rice has turned to porridge, it's a waste of energy to wish it back into grain.
'Brilliant. The money is entirely gone. I have exactly 10,000 yen left to my name... I can probably find a way to scrape up more funds later, but still...'
While Elecia continued her automated narration, Akane just stared blankly at the playful, pixelated smile on the screen.
He was too emotionally exhausted to manually lecture an AGI on the concept of a budget.
"If the corporate handlers tracking Entity #P2-001 review the local security footage, they will not see an anomaly specialist," the hologram shifted, displaying the simulated path of a courier.
"They will see a careless, low-wage worker making a clumsy human error."
"And if their internal security attempts to trace the worker's employment background, my localized algorithms will deploy a digital smokescreen, routing the blame directly toward one of their mid-tier corporate competitors."
"Provided that the target company isn't secretly a pawn of theirs, the narrative will hold."
"If successful... we let the elite devour each other while we safely harvest the telemetry from the shadows."
The smiley face pulsed twice. "How is it, Admin?"
How is it?
Raising his eyebrows with absolute, bone-deep weariness, Akane pulled his gaze away from the ceiling and locked his eyes onto the floating hologram.
He sighed once more, his usual calm, ashen eyes suddenly bleeding into a sharp flow of crimson. Then leaning forward and proceeding to close the logging.
"Yeah. Great. Everything is fantastic," Akane muttered, his voice dropping into a dangerous, low register. "We'll just have to look at the results later."
He paused, leaning forward until his face was inches from the holographic array.
"Also, Elecia? If you were a physical person... I would have broken your neck a long time ago."