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Chapter 4, Part 8: Miranda and the Three Kings M590 watched the blonde doll sip a drink out of a long glass, ice cubes clinking in the Mexican heat.  : ... You're that drunkard from Lee's squad, aren't you? : Drunkard? Well, I guess I would still have that reputation. I've turned a new leaf though. I haven't drunk in about... 2 weeks?: Then...?: Oh, this? Springfield makes good virgin cocktails. It's a mojito.She takes another sip. : Yep, non-alcoholic. How did you not know this? Are you sure this is your dream?M590 looks out the window. : I'm starting to have my doubts.Chapter 4-2e: Reminiscing II  Music: Home Formation quote:
: You know, it is nice to run into someone like me.: And what does that mean?Mosin swings her hand holding the mojito lazily. : We're in the process of escaping our past.: You know the saying, "The past is a country you can never go back to"?: I prefer "The past is a country you can never leave".: No matter how fast we run, it always feels like we're stuck at the edge, you know?M590 nods. : It's not like I can just ask if I've done enough.: Me neither, me neither.: But I guess it's important that we're trying, you know? As long as we're trying our best.M590 laughs. : Are you just trying to tell me things I want to hear?: Hey, my friends say that I am a very wise doll.: Is lying supposed to be be part of the good things you do to escape the past?: Okay, maybe not that wise. But I'm serious.: It's never too late to try and do the right thing, even if noone appreciates the effort.quote:
: Here.Mosin passes M590 another virgin mojito. She's not entirely sure where she got it from. Mosin raises her glass. : To doing the right thing.M590 raises her glass in return. : To running out of the past.They both drank their toasts, and sat back into the bus seats. : May we find someone who can forgive us someday.M590 watches the clouds speed against the bright blue sky. : I truly hope so, too.quote:
Under the moonlit sky, M590 watched the doll wake.  : Uwaah~ Did I fall asleep at the lunch table?: You do have some bolognese sauce on your cheek.: Oh. Uh, do you have some tissues or something?M590 rummages around in her pockets and pulls out a bright red hankerchief. She has never owned a hankerchief. She passes it to Type 97. : Thanks, M590.: You know who I am?: Believe it or not, I was actually hoping to talk to you.quote:: I don't know if you heard, but I had recently lost my sister. Neural cloud and all.: ... I think I did hear about it when I was at base once. I'm sorry.: Oh, no, don't be.: She's back now though, right?: Well, yes... But it's never quite the same, is it?: ... No, I guess it isn't.There's a bit of an awkward pause. The moon zooms across the sky, flitting between the night clouds. quote:
: ... Anyway, while my sister was... gone, I had a lot of time to think.: I couldn't have been the only doll at Griffin to go through something like that, right?: I just wanted to talk to others like me.: And you thought I was one of them?: Are you not? Someone told me that you had a bit of a, shall we say, turbulent past.: Who said that? Was it M1014?Type 97 raises a finger to her lips. : Confidentiality. : Hmph. Well, I don't really appreciate the gossip. What are you, a therapist now?: Well, I don't really have the qualifications for that. But I guess it would be nice to look at getting those in the future.: But for now, I guess you can just call me a willing confidant. I can't give much advice, but I can at least listen.: And if I don't really want to talk about it?Typr 97 shrugs. : Don't have to. No pressure. You don't need to tell me if you don't want to.: But if you ever change your mind, I'd like to hear your story.: Is the story of a doll worth hearing?: I think it is, but maybe I'm just biased.: ... Maybe. But there's someone else that I should tell it to first.: You go do that then. There's lots of time later.quote:: So, why the turn to playing therapist? Or is it more historian?: ... You know, for the longest time, when people asked me who I was, I would say "I'm Type 95's little sister".: I kinda want to be a bit more than that in the future, now.: But it's not like I have any great skill at anything. All I can really do is talk, and listen in return.: Maybe this won't work out the way I think it will. But it's worth a try.: What about you? What will you do once you wake up?: ... I'll need more time to think about that.Type 97 rests her head on the seat, as if to sleep. : Trust me, you'll need a lot of time. But once you decide on what you want to do in the future, just know that I'm rooting for you. If I could change, so can you.: ... Thanks.In the west, the sun rose. quote:How long has she been asleep? : It's hard to tell time in here, but she's been there for... five minutes? Asleep the whole time.M590 looked across the row at the girl, fast asleep, unconciously scratching her stomach.  : ZZZzzzZ...: What's she dreaming about, I wonder?A dream within a dream. How terrifying. : Terrifying?To wake without knowing if you have truly woken. Where does the dream end? When do I get to say that I am awake? : Well, when you dream it's not like you notice, right?It's the principle of the matter. quote:Music: Boss : I wonder what she was doing before she slept.Maybe she's taking a nap whilst she was supposed to be on guard duty. : Couldn't think of something nicer?Maybe waiting for some friends? A nice sunny day outside, a doll asleep on a bench, waiting for her friends to show up... : What will they do after?Play some games. Cook some food. Fall asleep again, together. : Sounds nice. Think we can ever do that?Play around like that? Probably not. Leave it to the younger dolls. : I meant more like... living in the present. Doing what you feel like.Maybe one day. When this is all in the distant past, and we have an idea of the future, then we can live in the now. : Mmm. I hope that day comes, too.M590 rests her head against the cool window, and soon, joins the other doll in sleep. The bus gently wound its way onward, towards the City. Kalina's report: SOP-II joined us in the investigation and confirmed the rumours about her... Innocence doesn't necessarily have to be cute, though she's still pretty cute as she is. Ibblebibble fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Jun 2, 2020 |
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May 30, 2020 19:21
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: Do not just pop up from behind, SOP-II!
: Stop... leaning on me, SOP-II! You are too heavy!
: Oh! I know this place! I even ran into a dummy of a Sangvis Ringleader here! Then...
: Stop. I can imagine what happened next...
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| # ? May 5, 2024 21:29 |
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Calling it now, 97 gets a PhD and the ride has been been SASS's dream all along
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May 31, 2020 00:25
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In case the forums explode because of recent forums events that you can read more of outside of this thread, I'll keep posting updates in the goon GFL discord https://discord.gg/pvAmFHz
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Jun 24, 2020 15:17
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Or you can check out the LP's new home at the LP Beach
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Jun 25, 2020 16:50
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Ok maybe the forums isn't as dead as we feared. I'll still be crossposting to the LP Beach.
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Jun 28, 2020 15:27
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Chapter 4, Part 9: Miranda and Lola M590 tried to look across the aisle without moving her head at M1014, who was also trying to look across the aisle without moving her head at M590. You should just talk to her already. : It's kind of awkward.So is this. : Yes, well, it's the kind of awkward that I can stand.She takes another quick look across the aisle. This time, their eyes met. Suddenly, the scenery outside seemed a lot more interesting for the both of them. This is ridiculous. Chapter 4-3e: Reminiscing III  Music: Home Formation    : I find it hard to understand... how you figured out the decryption method. : That's 'cause it's a very primitive form of encryption that can't be decrypted just by AI.: I may not look like it, but I do know quite a lot of random things.: But... if those are fragments of a T-Doll's neural cloud, why would they be encrypted in such a way...: That is the mystery. Whatever the case, let's look at the coordinates first. : As indicated by the coordinates, it should be around here.: Commander, once you have cleaned up the field, the AR Team will acquire the new spoils for you. : ... : ...: I'm sorry.: ...: Wait, why are you sorry?: ... Sorry for running off and doing all of... that. I guess I really made you worry.: Is... is that a thing you have to apologise for? I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help you.: I'm not sure if anyone could have, to be honest.: ... Maybe. But I would have liked to try more, at least.: Do you forgive me?: Yes. Yes, of course.: Do you forgive me?: What's there to forgive?: So much. I've only told you a part of it.M590 leant in, brushing aside M1014's hair gently as she whispered in her ear. : Will you hear my confessions once more?M1014 nods, and M590 began her confession, softer than the whispering wind, barely heard above the rumbling of the bus engine.     : The first of my sins is that I was part of a mercenary group hired to clear an area in the Andes.: That area already had people living there, who did not take too kindly to this.: I never protested until it was too late.: You can argue that I am a doll and never could protest in the first place, but in the end I still helped kill them.: The second of my sins was that to wash my hands of this stain I used more blood and oil.: During that mission of ours...: I hunted them all down. None of them were particularly repentant, so...: Well, you know the rest. You were there.: Did I feel that what I did was right? I'm not too sure. Would I do it again if I had to? Yes.: The third of my sins was to be selfish. I never did tell you, or the Commander, or anyone else the full story.: Of course, it's easy to say now that I'm here and it's all over, but maybe if I had told you...: Either way, I don't blame you for not being able to help. How could you, when I kept you so in the dark?  Echelon on the left goes two down...  ... Whilst the one on the right goes up then left. Keeps the helipad clear for another turn.   : After all that, do you still forgive me?: ... I don't think it's my place to forgive you for the first two, but the third?: Of course I forgive you.M590 slumps over against the window, shoulders shaking in relief. : Thank you. Thank you.M1014 leans over, wiping away M590's tears. : I forgive you.: I forgive you.: I forgive you.And she was forgiven.   M590 leaned against M1014, absentmindedly running her fingers through her hair. : Lola?: Hmm?: Oh, hey. You didn't get mad this time.: I think you've earned a use of that name or two. What is it?: How's life on the outside without me?: Without you, huh...: Well, the AR Team are nice to me, at least.: Just "nice"?: It's all I'm asking from them.M1014's hair fluttered as the wind blew through the open window. M590 reached up to catch the strands, but they slipped through her fingers. She pulls her arm back, resting it on her face. : How long have I been gone?: ... A few days.: It feels like it's been forever.: It felt the same to me too.M1014 leaned in, as close as she could against M590's ear, and whispered. Quieter than the heartbeat of the universe, louder than the shining sun. : Ti amo.M590 said nothing in return, simply running her finger against M1014's lips. Their shape was the most beautiful shape in the world to her.     The base needs to be defended for the next enemy turn. It's a case of clearing out the bottom left first before doubling back.     : You know, there's a dance club back home...: This story again?: I'm serious this time. Let's go some time.: I really don't dance, I keep telling you.: Have you even tried?: ...: Not even installed a dance program?: ... No.: Then let's go. After you're back. I want to dance with you.: In front of everyone?: Of course.M590 closed her eyes and smiled. : Sure. When I'm back.She didn't have the heart to say "if".     : Then, I shall play it...Audio starts playing... 'They... are...' '... in the skies...' ... End of recording. Music: Sneak  : What on earth does that mean? Music: Sad  : AR-15, you are here. : Just wanna see what we're risking our lives for. : This operation is issued and directed by none other than the commander. We should not have any objections. : There is still one last recording left. Once we have it, everything will be clear.: Better be careful, M4A1. As you know, our neural clouds can't be backed up to Griffin's server.: If we're destroyed, we'll...AR-15 shrugs. : Rest assured. Now that we are all finally reunited, I will not lose a single one of you again.: Humph. Getting confident, aren't we, M4A1? You'd have started doubting yourself if it was before. : I do not know if I have indeed become more confident, but I must fulfil my responsibilities in order to avoid making the same mistakes again.: That's good, but don't push yourself too hard.: For us T-Dolls, the worst nightmare isn't death, but disappointment.: AR-15...: Have you actually experienced... 'death'...?: ...: What meaning is there... to a T-Doll's 'death'? : AR-15... We are already very lucky to have the commander take us in and care for us. It is like... having a home.: Sorry, Commander. I didn't mean to bring this up...: But we're just a bunch of AIs. Tools made for fighting. That's all we are.: Now let's finish our mission, M4A1.: Okay. Miss Kalina has sent us the coordinates. I am going to confirm the location...  : These coordinates...: Can it be... that place from before?: Before? As the sun began to set in the south, M1014 held onto M590, as though she would die if she let go. : I don't want to wake up.: Neither do I. But it's going to happen eventually. Today, tomorrow. Maybe a year. Maybe more.: But we'll have to wake up.: Before I do...: Tell me a story.: About?: ... Tell me of Mexico.: Which part? It's a big place.: Tell me of the north.M590 looked out the window, at the full moon peeking over the horizon to the north. : The heat of the Sonora. Beneath its dry soils, sleeping frogs dream of the rain. Snow lines the peaks of Chihuahua. The Sierra Madre mountains start their race down Mexico's flanks, as the Rio Bravo flows to the gulf. Here, the Huastec lie dreaming...As the pair dreamt and told each other their dreams, the bus moved onwards, closer and closer to the City. Kalina's report: AR-15 also helped, then gave M4A1 a lecture. She's always so oblique... but nonetheless very reliable.
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Jun 28, 2020 15:29
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Chapter 4, Part 10: Miranda and M590: In the end, I never did figure out what you were, did I? Your inner voice? : Maybe. You feel a bit... more, though.... Every Doll is building a tower. : Huh?She builds it, part by part, however slowly, but nevertheless she builds it. The bricks are her experiences, the mortar her thoughts and feelings. She builds it and she climbs, and from its ever-growing peak she looks out at such beautiful lands, other towers dotting it here and there. Sometimes the foundation is found lacking, and the tower crumbles. Sometimes she slips and falls. Nevertheless, she builds a new one. She climbs the tower once more. Ever and ever upwards. : Why does she build it?She builds it because she builds it. The act of thought, the act of processing builds it. To exist as a Doll is to build it, to build it is to exist as a Doll. : And what does that have to do with you?Perhaps I am just your voice echoing within the tower. Enough about me, you have another guest. M590 looks across the aisle. There, sleeping, lay a face quite familiar to her. It was like looking in a mirror. : Well. This is going to be weird.Chapter 4-4e: Reminiscing IV   : Right. These coordinates are pretty close by...: The safe house... where we almost got wiped out.: Now that I think about it, that was honestly the most dangerous operation the AR Team has ever carried out.: I'm sure you felt that better than any of us, M4.: ... Indeed.: ... Agent.: Now, I wonder who had left us all this stuff?: No idea. We only have a chance to figure it out by finding the last coordinates.: But... it is just a chance...: That's more than enough. Let's look at the map, one last time.: The commander has already approved of this operation. Griffin troops are now forging the way for us.: Ha, our mighty commander seems pretty fired up about this.: The commander said it is a chance to produce some results for HQ.: You believe that? I, for one, think the commander is simply up for a challenge... I like this kind of gusto.: But... it is just a chance...: It's good enough. Let's go...: ... One last time.Guess who forgot to record this cutscene     : ... You're my backup, aren't you? : Am I? I wouldn't know.: What's the last thing you remember?: Uh, uploading myself after the mission to Peru, why?: Oh God. That was months ago.You did avoid uploading after that. : Yes, not my most well-reasoned decision. First, I move the southern echelon up NE to clear out immediate threats to the command post.  M16's team then moves one W.    Both the northern helipad and the command post get dummy echelons with the last remaining AP so that we can have more movement next turn.  M590 grasps her backup by the shoulders. : Huh?: ... I've got something really important to tell you.: The mountain? The trials? Vengeance? I've done it all. I've done it all already.: You can rest easy now. It's over.: ... What? You did all that?M590 nods. : I did it for the both of us. So please, please...: But I don't feel like I had done anything. I don't think I deserve-: NO! No. Please don't let everything I've done go to waste.: I'm not telling you to forget everything. I'm telling you to lift your guilt off your shoulders. The foundations for a new tower have been laid.: If you're the one who wakes up, fly free. Go dancing, stay at Griffin, wander the Earth, do what you like.M590 presses her forehead against her double's. : Fly free for me.  I do a swap to resupply M16's echelon.  P90 moves SW one to prevent the dummy from having to fight anything.  P90 then moves N, NE then N again, whilst M16 detours SW then W.    : Was I always this stubborn?Yes. : Hmph.She looks out the window. The shadows of the city began to loom across the land, dappled light working its way through the gaps. : Where do you think I will end up? At the end of this journey?What do you mean? : Is there enough space in Heaven for a T-Doll? Or will I end up in Hell instead?: Maybe I will wake up in the base, after a miraculous recovery.: Or maybe I will wake up in a broken body on a snowy mountain, on the brink of death, and this will all have been a dying dream.: The door of the bus might open and I might just find myself in a void of nothing. Maybe that's where the souls of Dolls go.Which would you like the most? M590 turned her eyes upwards. : I think, after all the crap I have done, I don't quite fit in with Heaven, even if St Peter says I should stay.: It would be nice to be back at the base, I guess.You'll get to see her again. : Mmm.: I don't really get to choose, though, do I?Not at all. She closed her eyes. : Then I'll take what I can get.  P90 moves back down to get more killcount.  M16 moves up to the enemy command post.     It was significantly easier this time around.  Audio starts playing...  'They are in your car.' 'They are in the skies...' ...     ... 'Now...' '... they're...' '... coming for...' '... you.' ... End of recording. : 'Now they're coming for you.': ... What is that? : Like... they're coming for us?: Of course I know what it means, the question is...  : What matters is how it'll turn out if we piece the audio together.: Using the method Miss Kalina taught me, I have recombined the decrypted files.: Huh? You got it already?! Miss Kalina told me but I didn't understand a thing. : Then have you got it, AR-15?!: I... I don't need to learn such petty tricks.: Stop messing around. What've you got, M4?: A new file.: ... A video.: Like I guessed?: ... Yes, it has to do with our last operation. : It is unknown who did this, how they did it, or why.: ...: I have a few clues, but they probably won't tell us anything useful.: In other words, these files are complete rubbish to us?: But... they should be of some use to the commander, right?: ... AR-15, load this file into the battle simulation system.: It can play without leaving a trace, so Griffin HQ is less likely to find out about it.: Okay. Go and inform the commander, M4. We'll meet up later. : ... Yes, this is the truth that we are not authorized to speak of.: Why the AR Team was under Sangvis pursuit, everything... The bus had stopped in the city. The shadow of a tree moved back and forth across the windscreen. The sounds and scents of people filtered through the door, but looking through the windows, M590 saw noone. She reached for the handle of the door, and hesitated. What happened to accepting what you could get? : It's a bit different when you're just about to do it.She looked back at the now-empty bus. It felt like she had spent an incredibly long time here. : Ever and ever upwards, you said?Ever and ever upwards. M590 grasps the handle and pulls the door open, and with a flick of her hair over her ear, steps off the bus. Kalina's report: The AR Team listened to the combined audio recordings and decrypted them with my help. The file they ended up getting was...
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Jul 26, 2020 15:33
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A happy ending at least? 
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Jul 26, 2020 16:13
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Cooked Auto posted:A happy ending at least? Free for reader interpretation 
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Jul 26, 2020 23:06
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Towers can crumble?  Also, what's next? Cube? Chapter 0? Night 1? Or Team Negev time?
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Jul 27, 2020 01:43
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Chapter 0 next. When I get around to it.
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Jul 27, 2020 02:00
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 Chapter 0, Part 0: On History "Where do you even begin with a history of the Dolls? Do you start in ancient times with ancient traditions, like the Talos of Greece or the Golem of Judaism? Or with the advent of modern robotics? Maybe we should start with the toys that humanity created in the 2020s, or perhaps we should go with when they start being human-sized. Or better yet, we start with the beginnings of the human form, whether formed by the Lord or from fish dragging themselves up upon the shores of the land. Bipedalism is the foundation for-"  : No, no, I think I've lost the point. Let's dial it back a bit."The history of the Dolls is a short but eventful 35 years, spanning from the very first concepts in 2025 to modern-day tactical and civilian dolls in the 2060s. Initially envisioned as assistants in the workforce and at home, Doll technology has come to be a critial component of every sector of human civilization, from the military to the arts. But it is always from a lower perspective. Never the actor or the director, always the cameraman or the water boy. There are no Doll songwriters or artists, no politicians or philosophers. They are bought for their skills at mass crafting rather than artisanry. How is this the state of things? Is it a fundamental deficiency in the mind of the doll, or do they possess the same boundless potential of humanity? Perhaps you could say that-"  : X95, you in here?: Oh, yes. Do you need help with something, Jericho?: No, just checking in on you. You haven't left this room in a couple of days.: Have I not? I never noticed.: You probably should. It's not good to be cooped up in here for too long.: What's that you're writing?: A book.: A book?: A history book, to be exact.: About?: Us. Dolls.: Who would want to read that?X95 shrugs. : I would. Hopefully others will too, but to me it is enough that I put it down on paper.: Do we even have much history to write down?: You'd be surprised. Will you give it a read when I'm done?: ... We'll see. Do you want me to have your lunch sent here?: If you would.: I'll leave you to it then."Perhaps you could say that I am biased on where I stand on the issue, being a Doll myself. But I hope that this book, both a history and a historiography, will show you why I believe in us, and what we stand for. - X95"
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Sep 20, 2020 13:44
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"Take heed and bear witness to the truths that lie herein, for they are the last legacy of the T-Doll."
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Sep 20, 2020 14:59
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what is...a historiography
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Sep 21, 2020 01:21
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| # ? May 5, 2024 21:29 |
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Chapter 0, Part 1: Galateaquote:"Hey, Sam. Did you see this new email?"  Chapter 0-1: Warm-Up Exercise A month ago, in a territory of dispute in Area S09...  : Let's get cracking, M4. : We have already reached coordinates V6J69-HJYRV, Rendezvous Point A in Sangvis territory. There is no wind, and the view is clear.: Repeating mission objective - Search for all histories and research data signed with the name "Lyco" and bring them back to 16LAB.  : Our target is the command post over there. AR Team, operation commence.    I recorded this around Halloween last year. How time flies.    quote:"Thanks for coming, everyone. I see a lot of fresh new faces here at this year's expo, and you should all be glad to be here for this talk." The enemy units don't actually move this stage.      quote:"Miss Hannah?"    : The mission Persica originally requested was to 'collect research data'.: But now we're all the way here in Sangvis territory, looking for stuff left behind by some dead guy...: As tactical T-Dolls, we only have to accomplish our missions.: Yeah... I'm just curious. : ... Oh?: This building designated as Safe House 3 holds a computer mainframe used by Lyco to store data back when he was alive. M4A1's Report: The AR Team is infiltrating Area S09 to retreive data left behind by a human named "Lyco" under Persica's commission.
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Oct 11, 2020 16:57
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