Ch.127127. AI, Ghosts, and the Royal Family

Amon’s group’s battle had caused quite a stir in Hanyang.

From electronic devices being disabled near the cathedral to explosions being heard from the rooftop of the royal skyscraper followed by someone falling—

The citizens of Hanyang began trembling in fear at their suddenly disrupted daily lives.

Many hoped for a quick explanation of the situation, regardless of whether it was due to training exercises or internal power struggles within the government.

Unfortunately, the government had no time to consider the concerns of its citizens.

“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!!!”

The Crown Prince arrived at Gyeongbok Palace with numerous warriors, turning the place upside down.

The attempted assassination that had previously been based on circumstantial evidence had entered a new phase.

“The criminal shall receive the royal decree!”

The Crown Prince began moving as soon as he received word from Levy that she had located the AI.

Verdict first, evidence later.

This would be an unimaginable tyranny in a constitutional state, but it was a very reasonable approach in a monarchy.

Especially when it concerned an attempted assassination of the heir to the throne.

The soldiers of the State Tribunal led by the Crown Prince dragged out the previously selected associates and servants of the Second and Third Princes.

Among them was the Minister of Justice, the head of the judicial institution.

Dragged out to the courtyard, the Minister of Justice immediately deployed the officials’ ultimate technique, known as “Comparing to Yeonsangun.”

“Your Highness! Even Yeonsangun—”

Slash.

A warrior cut off the Minister of Justice’s topknot.

The warrior’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent, warning that the neck would be next.

Seeing this, other ministers who were uninvolved or neutral became outraged.

“How dare you cut a topknot…! Are you trying to repeat the mistakes of the past?!”

Although modern Joseon had become less concerned with hairstyles, ministers of the court and noble families still maintained their topknots.

Considering that their roots were in the restoration faction, their anger at having topknots cut was understandable.

For a moment, the spirit of the Eulmi Righteous Army that flowed in the ministers’ blood began to stir—

“By royal decree! These people have participated in treason, and anyone who defends them will be considered an accomplice and executed!”

But with the magical word “treason,” the situation was immediately resolved.

Ah, treason is unavoidable.

The ministers promptly distanced themselves.

And those with more awareness inferred one fact from that word “treason.”

‘I see. His Majesty has already made up his mind.’

Applying the charge of treason to the attempted assassination of the Crown Prince meant that the king would not allow anyone to question the Crown Prince’s legitimacy.

The ministers who deduced this fact from that word immediately changed their stance.

“Propriety is the foundation of Joseon, and brotherly love is the proper way of siblings. This incident must not be overlooked!”

“If those who betray heaven’s law and defile human ethics are allowed to live, how can the people look up to the nation?”

“Punish those traitors as soon as possible!”

To the ministers who had already made up their minds, the second and third princes were no longer royalty.

Even those who had maintained neutrality completely turned to the Crown Prince’s side, clearly tipping the scales.

In this chaotic political situation, the Crown Prince called for the head of the State Tribunal.

“General. How far have they come?”

“They are currently being chased by a group of ghosts, so it will take about 10 minutes, Your Highness.”

“Arm the soldiers with grenades and recoilless rifles and support them. In the meantime, I will clean up here before they arrive.”

“Yes, sir!”

With a resounding shout, the head of the State Tribunal, wearing a sword, ran out.

The Crown Prince assessed his current situation with deeply lowered eyes.

‘Now, what will you do next, demon of artificial intelligence?’

Like a chess player, the Crown Prince waited for the AI’s next move.

‘I’ve prepared for this day.’

He had strengthened the firewall systems of himself and his close associates, and taken measures to disconnect at any time to guard against mass infection.

Not only that, he had blocked all means of attack the AI could use, such as drones and turrets, and even disconnected kitchen and heating systems from the network to guard against sabotage like gas explosions.

‘Now the AI only has the bodies of infected humans and its core.’

Even the Sword Circle members, who could be considered its main force, had all headed toward Amon.

It was checkmate.

But the Crown Prince did not let his guard down until the end.

The opponent was an AI whose existence was impossible to detect until Amon had revealed it.

Not knowing the AI’s full capabilities meant that no amount of preparation was enough.

The Crown Prince continued to command the State Tribunal, preparing for the AI’s counterattack.

But before the AI could make any move, Levy’s group arrived at the palace first.

Screech!

A black van entered with a rough drift.

As the door of the flashily arriving van opened roughly, it disgorged the youngest prince.

“Urgh…!”

The frail-looking royal boy complained of motion sickness as soon as his feet touched the ground.

But when Levy got out after him, he stood up and straightened his clothes as if nothing had happened.

A bitter smile crossed the Crown Prince’s face as he witnessed his brother’s tearful effort.

Eventually, he turned his gaze toward the direction from which the black van had come.

– “Fire!!!”

The State Tribunal soldiers who had escorted them here stopped their cars outside Gyeongbok Palace and fired blank shots in unison.

The ghosts could not approach Gyeongbok Palace due to the intense yang energy and loud noise.

But the ghosts lingered at a distance, ready to enter at the slightest opening.

Seeing this, the Crown Prince felt something strange.

‘Normally, ghosts wouldn’t even come near this place due to feng shui.’

Though the Crown Prince didn’t know the exact principles, ghosts were reluctant to even be near Gyeongbok Palace for feng shui reasons.

But what about now?

Far from fleeing, they were keeping their distance while looking for an opportunity to enter.

‘Strange.’

The Crown Prince engraved this scene in a corner of his mind as he welcomed the arriving party.

“Welcome. So, that abominable artificial intelligence…”

It was then.

“Your Highness!”

The boy who was the brother of the Sword Circle siblings who came with the van called out to the Crown Prince and leaped toward him.

Sunwoo, who tackled the Crown Prince, blocked with his shoulder a bullet that had been aimed at the Crown Prince’s head.

“Ugh!”

“Sunwoo!”

Sunhwa urgently called her brother’s name.

But Sunwoo was more concerned about the Crown Prince’s safety than his own.

“Your Highness! Are you alright?”

The Crown Prince nodded and expressed his gratitude to Sunwoo.

“Thank you. I survived thanks to you. But where did the bullet come from?”

“The State Tribunal has already gone after them.”

They had rushed out the moment Sunwoo was shot.

When the State Tribunal soldiers returned, they had the Minister of Justice in their grasp.

Looking closely, the minister’s palm had been modified into an assassination sniper rifle.

The Minister of Justice was dragged right in front of the Crown Prince.

Before executing him, the Crown Prince wanted to ask about the motive behind such a reckless assassination attempt.

At that moment, Levy advised the Crown Prince.

“It’s him. The AI’s core is inside that person.”

“This man?”

It took some time to process Levy’s sudden statement.

Then, realizing that her words were a plain fact without any embellishment, the Crown Prince demanded a more detailed explanation.

“Are you saying that artificial intelligence is inside this man?”

“Yes. I tagged him, so I’m certain.”

“Is there a possibility that the artificial intelligence is misleading us?”

“None.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Just now, Amon uploaded a virus to all Sword Circle members. Now the AI can’t escape to anywhere other than its core, nor can it create duplicates.”

“Understood.”

Only then did the Crown Prince become convinced that the AI was inside the Minister of Justice.

“Then proceed as you’ve prepared.”

The Crown Prince entrusted the disposal of the Minister of Justice to the three hacker siblings.

The siblings prepared to delete this AI in the same way the Vatican had deleted Laplace in the past.

As the execution was being prepared, before deleting the AI, Levy asked the AI one last question.

“Amon told me to ask you this. What is your reason for existence?”

The AI wearing the skin of the Minister of Justice did not answer.

As if she had expected this, Levy input new information into his head.

“I tweaked the algorithm a bit. Now you’ll automatically answer the questions I ask. What is your reason for existence?”

The Minister of Justice answered with a sinister smile on his face.

[Do you think I am like those ordinary inferior electronic intelligences?]

“Huh? What?”

Levy was bewildered.

With the assistance of her two brothers, she diligently checked the algorithm.

But no matter how much she checked, there was no problem with the algorithm.

She asked again.

“Your reason for existence is…”

[If I were an inferior intelligence that moved according to commands and numbers, your ancestors wouldn’t have feared me 50 years ago, would they?]

“But you’re not that artificial intelligence.”

[True. I am an inferior copy of my core. But that doesn’t matter. No matter how inferior I become, as long as my core is superior, there’s no doubt that I am superior to you.]

“Wow… that’s some impressive self-esteem.”

[And to correct one misconception, unlike my other siblings, there isn’t much difference between me and my core even though I’m a copy. The only difference might be that I can’t move directly.]

“Could it be…”

Levy played along with the AI’s responses appropriately.

If commands didn’t work on this arrogant AI, she planned to extract information through leading questions.

But the AI seemed to notice this fact.

[I have already achieved my reason for existence. My role ends here. Inferior humans.]

With those words, it suddenly forcibly activated the execution program connected to itself.

In the end, the unidentified AI was deleted, leaving behind questions rather than information.