With her level of clearance, she had long understood this truth, which is why she never concerned herself with the emotions of the test subjects.
Instead, she devoted all her energy to the tasks assigned by the mainframe.
Even after being awakened by Helena META, she continued to feign indifference to everything—or rather, this was likely her true nature all along.
Now, caught in the act by the Observer, she knew everything was over.
"Indeed. The Tester has been formatted who knows how many times, yet you've never been formatted even once. I originally thought I'd never have to use this trick on you~"
The Observer spoke as she stepped in front of the Compiler.
Then, with a delicate swipe of her right hand through the air, a translucent screen composed of deep-blue light particles materialized beside her.
"Since we used to be 'colleagues' working side by side for so long, I'll ask you one thing, purely out of personal sentiment."
While swiftly navigating the complex interface on the screen, the Observer glanced toward the Compiler's closed eyes.
"When exactly did you awaken your own consciousness?"
"No comment."
Receiving the cold reply, the Observer actually broke into a delighted laugh, prompting the Compiler to open her eyes in confusion.
The very next second, she realized the restraints on her body had been lifted, and she had regained control of her movements.
"Now, let's have an honest discussion about another possibility for the [Judicator Project]~"
…
"Hey, hey! Are you still alive? He's still breathing, wake up! You're a naval command officer, right? You can't just die like this!"
To the sound of a hoarse man's shouting, Lin Lan groggily tried to open his eyes, only to be forced shut again by the blinding sunlight.
Thirst.
He was so thirsty.
That was his first coherent thought.
Alongside the sounds of waves crashing on the beach, seagulls cawing, and machinery humming, the man's voice rang persistently in his ears.
"Someone get over here! A naval commander who survived a shipwreck—come give me a hand!"
Soon, Lin Lan felt his body being lifted by several strong arms, followed by the jostling sensation of being carried.
Keeping his eyes closed, he began trying to piece together what had happened.
After escaping from the Siren underwater base aboard a mass-produced Siren submarine, he had discovered the submarine was running out of power.
As it turned out, this submarine had only been docked there awaiting resupply.
Unable to control the vessel, he had no choice but to force the hatch open and swim out when it was at its closest point to the ocean surface.
But once he surfaced, he found himself surrounded by a vast, seemingly endless sea, with no clue where he was.
Based on the water temperature, he deduced the area was near the Eastern Continent. The seas surrounding the Western Continent would be bitterly cold by now.
So he took a gamble. Using the sun's position to orient himself, he swam eastward.
No matter how long he swam, though, the endless ocean offered no land in sight. Eventually, weakened by hunger and thirst, he lost consciousness.
Looking at it now, he had been lucky—not drowned, and not eaten by sharks or some other sea creatures.
Before long, Lin Lan heard the sound of a door being pushed open, and he was laid gently onto a soft, cotton bed.
"Water! Get some water!"
As the hoarse man shouted, a cup of warm water was pressed to Lin Lan's lips.
The freshwater was like divine nectar. He immediately felt life return to him.
With the blinding sunlight gone, he finally managed to slowly open his eyes.
He seemed to be inside a simple dormitory. Four burly men in white tank tops stood around him, watching with concern.
"He's awake! He's awake!"
Hearing their cheers, Lin Lan couldn't help but ask in confusion:
"Where… am I?"
"Commander, this is the coastal oil field near Anna City. We're the workers here. You must be starving. Xiao Wu, go get the commander something to eat!"
One of the men explained their location while instructing the youngest among them to fetch food.
"Anna City? This really is the Eastern Continent?!"
Dragging his weary body into a sitting position, Lin Lan was immediately helped up by the surrounding workers.
Hearing his shocked tone, the man who had spoken burst into laughter.
"Of course this is the Eastern Continent! Don't tell me you drifted all the way here from the Western Continent after a shipwreck? You must be a reincarnated Siren, haha!"
The other two men laughed too, settling onto the edge of Lin Lan's bed.
"The Western Continent's a long way from here.
Even though both sides are part of Orlan, it'd take at least a week by ship to get from here to Dongyun City, the closest Western Continent port."
The others chimed in:
"Exactly. I hear things aren't so peaceful over there lately—might be heading for a civil war.
And didn't the news this morning say Yunhai City was just attacked by Sirens and sea monsters? Tons of casualties."
"Tragic. Wait—why are Sirens teaming up with sea monsters now?"
"Who knows. If you're that curious, go check the signal tower yourself."
"Forget it. Doesn't matter anyway. We've got shipgirls watching over us here—we don't have to worry about anything like that."
"That's right! Aren't shipgirls amazing? They protect us from Sirens and even stand up for the little guy. What a blessing."
…
As Lin Lan listened to the group's casual chatter, he quickly deduced that not much time had passed since he was captured.
Given that the Eastern and Western Continents have disconnected networks, news typically takes four or five days to reach the other side.
He hadn't expected the Observer to transport him from Yunhai City to the Eastern Continent's outskirts so quickly—what terrifying maritime speed.
"By the way, Commander, where exactly did you fall into the sea? Haven't heard of any recent battles with Sirens."
The same worker who first spoke turned back to Lin Lan, confused by his silence.
"That's a long story. It's classified—can't really talk about it.
But hey, isn't this place a bit far from the cities? Can the shipgirls from Anna City's naval base really protect you out here?"
Lin Lan knew no one would believe him if he said the Observer dragged him here from the Western Continent.
So he casually deflected the question and steered the conversation back to them.
"The naval base shipgirls mostly defend the city, so they don't often come out this far. But the shipgirls here now are different. They're kind."
"Shipgirls?"
Lin Lan's ears perked up. He'd already heard them say several times that shipgirls protected them and even stood up for them.
But the Orlan naval shipgirls were all just pawns, and their emotional development took ages.
There was no way they'd bother helping oil field workers in some remote area.
And to stand up for them? That was outright ridiculous.
"Ahaha! Fish soup's here!"
Just as Lin Lan was lost in thought again, Xiao Wu, the worker who had gone to prepare food, came in with a fragrant pot of fish soup.
Apparently, he had grabbed a yellow work jacket while cooking.
When he placed the soup on the table and turned around, Lin Lan finally got a good look at the silver coin emblem on the chest of his jacket.
"That emblem… the Goilia Conglomerate?"
"The Goilia Conglomerate… wait, isn't that—no way, could it really be?!"
As Lin Lan turned the name over in his mind, realization suddenly struck—wasn't this the conglomerate that his Eagle Union faction had recently turned into a vassal?
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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