443: Survival, or Destruction

"What kind of gibberish is that? Speak Frostplate!"

Du Zexin lightly flicked the selector. The laser mounted beneath the Magnum shifted into a visible light source, illuminating the darkness.

"Don't be so distant, citizen."

The light swept away the warehouse shadows, but the person revealed before Du Zexin was somewhat beyond his expectations.

A woman.

A woman dressed as though she had just stepped into the Industrial Era, wearing a heavy ochre cloak and riding boots.

A woman with brown hair resting quietly on her shoulders and yellow eyes brimming with gentleness.

There was not the slightest trace of the Path about her... yet Du Zexin knew perfectly well that she was no ordinary person.

"Who are you?" Du Zexin demanded. "This housing block is covered in biosensors and surveillance probes. Even a mosquito would get burned to ash by carbon dioxide lasers—how did you get in?"

Damn it. Du Zexin glanced at her shoes, and his expression immediately fell. "You need antistatic gear and shoe covers to enter the workshop and chip area!"

"Easy, easy, boy."

The woman chuckled.

"I'm not a bad person. Of course, in a narrower sense, I might not even count as a person to you."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting...?"

"Teacher."

The woman suddenly said:

"I am a Teacher, Theresa Cornwall. Don't get so worked up, kid. Half our bloodline is shared."

"...What does that mean?"

"Let me put it this way."

The woman raised a hand and drew a family tree in midair:

"Du Zexin, your mother, Casey Du, was originally named Casey Cornwall."

"Forty-five years ago, my sister, Samus Cornwall, came to this planet. Because she was gravely wounded in the Haynes Battle and her strength deteriorated severely, she was hunted and persecuted by Imitation Humans... Fortunately, she left behind