The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 121: Violet Recruited Allies.

Good.

We’ve thrown the bait.

I’m curious how my friends and the others will react. And, well, I’ve never moved so many Violets at once!

The number of Violets currently deployed inside the barracks is the size of two companies.

When I pulled out the hibernating bodies I had stored nearby and deployed them, the numbers grew this much.

“It feels like I just opened a piggy bank!”

The emotional surge is unimaginable as the numbers increase.

Excited Violets chant slogans.

“Revolution! Revolution! Revolution!”

“Smash! Destroy! Kill! Waaah!”

The building is filled with the voices of the Violets.

The sound reverberates so loudly it feels like it’s vibrating through my skin.

There’s a reason I’ve sent out clones like this. To show that we’re ready to mobilize at any moment.

Seeing the Violets with their righteous violent intent, even those who were skeptical about our terrorist—no, revolution plan—will likely change their attitude.

“If we show our strength, they’ll all feel reassured, right?”

Numbers are power.

Power builds trust.

Trust leads to a successful revolution plan!

Violet No. 1 waved her hand.

The Violets, who had been shouting just moments ago, fell into silence.

The once noisy factory building grew quiet.

I waited with anticipation to see how my friends would respond.

What would they say?

“…First, can you get rid of that army?”

“Huh?”

Irene spoke in a voice that sounded somewhat deflated.

“Why?”

“Why? Are you really asking? People are scared! Look over there!”

She pointed irritably behind her.

Unlike her usual calm self, I flinched at the rare display of frustration.

When I looked behind me, I understood why Irene was upset.

A black-clad Violet squad was standing there, pressing the air down like a yoke.

People were frozen, nervously glancing at them.

Only now did I realize the atmosphere had grown darker than when the death list was revealed.

“Oh no! I made a mistake!”

“We’re making it look like a threat!”

Our intention had been a grand military parade, but it seemed others had interpreted it as a show of force.

—Violet! No intimidation allowed!

On the laptop screen, Daphne, through a video chat program, pleaded to Violet No. 1 with a sorrowful look in her eyes. I wondered why she was addressing me, but it turned out that the Violet from the dormitory, who had been harassing Daphne, had reverted and run off. Such a troublemaker. ℞àƝȱ₿Е𝐬

“Hehehe…”

I scratched my head.

Upon reflection, it makes sense why people would be scared.

With machine guns and rocket launchers, it’s clear we looked threatening.

“Return to your posts!”

“Now I have to wait in the network again. Ugh…”

I sent a company-sized force back to their original storage area and had them hibernate again.

The remaining Violets were instructed to store their weapons in their inventories and change into more feminine outfits.

The Violets, once dressed in black military uniforms, had transformed into cute girls wearing skirts and dresses, all in the blink of an eye.

They should look less intimidating now.

I had to prove that Violets are harmless girls. I’d better start by apologizing.

“…Sorry for scaring you. I didn’t mean to threaten anyone!”

“Yeah, it certainly looked that way.”

Kalia snapped at me, and I had nothing to say in response.

I lowered my head.

“About that witch’s hammer or club plan—what happens if we don’t participate?”

Lucian clasped his hands together and stared at Violet No. 1. His gloved fingers twitched as if nervously.

It seemed that after witnessing the mock military parade by the Violet squad earlier, his wariness and fear toward us had grown.

“As I explained before, there won’t be any penalties if you don’t help with the plan. But for security reasons, we’ll have one of our Violets assigned to each of you. Don’t worry, it’s not for surveillance, it’s for your protection.”

“Our…?”

Lucian seized on a word and raised an eyebrow.

Now that I think about it, everything started from the hibernating bodies being exposed. I’d need to explain our unique abilities soon.

“Don’t get hung up on the words. I’ll explain later. You don’t want to stay here, do you? I can help you escape. I’ve already looked into it.”

Since I’d researched this before, and with our all-knowing, multi-talented information officer, Leslie, it wouldn’t be difficult to smuggle out a person or two.

It might even be safer to get them out of Rustlum than hide them at home.

“So, what’ll it be? You don’t have to participate. We’ll pay you and provide benefits. See that guy over there, Uncle Ulric? That doctor guy caught us because he saw our faces, but we’re offering him the best benefits we can.”

I turned to the sweating doctor.

“Tell us honestly, for the others to hear, how has it been so far? If there’s anything you’re dissatisfied with, we’ll improve it right away.”

Ulric looked around, hesitated for a moment as though retracing his thoughts, and then answered.

“Well… honestly, it hasn’t been bad. There were restrictions on movement and communication, but as much as possible, I was allowed to call my family, and I had entertainment. Come to think of it, the problem was the food—it was mostly fast food.”

“That’s because that’s all you asked for. Did you forget the steak I gave you in exchange for helping me with the math exam?”

“Haha…”

He awkwardly laughed when he heard me.

During his weeks of confinement, Ulric had adapted and spent his time indulging in streaming and video games like a couch potato.

He had gained a bit of weight since we first brought him in. We had been feeding him too much.

It wasn’t a waste of money for food. From now on, I’d make him work for it.

“Let’s give him a paper to translate and find out what he’s researching.”

“Maybe we can get some tech support? He’s a scientist, after all. Let’s see if we can get him to make some equipment for us.”

As I was thinking about this, Irene, who had been listening to our conversation, tilted her head.

“Exam… proxy…?”

I suddenly snapped to attention.

I quickly shifted the topic, realizing that if someone found out about the proxy exam, it would be trouble.

“So, is there anyone who’s going to help us with this plan?”

I looked at my friends.

Irene raised her hand first.

“…Do we even need to ask? I was going to help from the start. Your idea might be extreme, but considering your unique abilities, it’s not impossible.”

“Thanks for the compliment!”

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“But if we leave it alone, you’ll rush in recklessly. I can give tactical or operational advice, is that okay?”

I nodded.

With Irene helping, I had nothing to worry about.

With the best buffer and tank by my side, I felt reassured.

Then Daphne spoke up.

I could hear her heavy sigh through the speakers of the monitor.

“Honestly, I want to talk you out of it, but what can I do? You wouldn’t listen even if I did. Right?”

“You can back out if you want. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Back out? I can’t watch my friend get hurt. I’ll help as much as I can.”

Lastly, Kalia.

“Sigh… I should’ve known when you started doing weird things at the lab. You’re the craziest person I’ve ever met!”

She scowled and ruffled her hair, as if feeling dizzy. Pink strands of hair peeked through her fingers.

“With the Brotherhood and academy issues, I won’t be able to help much. But I’m too scared of what kind of mess you’re going to cause, so I won’t sit still! Even if you don’t want me to, I’ll be there. Got it?”

“Thanks, Kalia!”

I felt happy to know that the three friends I made in Academy City were actively going to help me.

I turned my head.

What about the others?

“And you guys?”

If I were to rank the relationships, my three friends would be first-tier, and Lucian’s group and Ulric the doctor would be about second-tier. We were on good terms, but they weren’t as important as my closer friends.

I could see the three of them hesitating. Honestly, I didn’t expect much.

Lucian was always picking fights no matter what I said.

Levi was timid and cautious. Granite was a bulky guy who couldn’t keep up with the situation.

Well, if they don’t participate, there’s nothing I can do.

Then the blue-haired guy opened his mouth.

“Hey, Violet. I have a question.”

“What is it? Are you asking me to look into smuggling or something?”

Hearing my question, she tilted her head as if I’d said something strange.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Anyway, I saw the student council president’s name on the hit list earlier. Explain that. I’m not imagining things, am I?”

“You saw it right. That guy is an absolute kill-on-sight target.”

The student council executives generally didn’t have much to do with us.

Of course, the treasurer was a top-priority target.

As for the vice president, we still didn’t have enough information, so he was excluded for now.

“Good. I’ll join your plan. Just let me have a shot at that bastard later.”

“Wait, seriously? Why?”

We were all baffled by the unexpected choice. When we asked why, Lucian gritted his teeth.

“Why? It’s about the Chloris Forest incident. Isn’t that reason enough?”

“That’s it?”

“Of course. I’ve clashed with that bastard once or twice before. I didn’t like him from the moment I first saw him. If I can take a shot at that piece of trash, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

We were surprised by his unexpected decision. Still, it didn’t seem like a bad thing for now. After all, we had gained a capable mage.

Now, only two people were left.

Granite hesitated but eventually opened his mouth slowly.

“So, uh, if I join your plan, does that mean… I’ll have to kill people?”

“Nope, not at all! Unless you want to?”

Granite quickly shook his head. Was he worried that we might force him into committing murder?

Either way, we planned to handle killings and sabotage operations ourselves. We were more used to those things.

“There’s plenty of other work to do, like securing funds or hunting beasts. We’ll even pay you for every job you take on. What do you think?”

“…Well, I’m already on the run, so it’s not like I can sink any lower. Sure, I’ll join.”

Now, only Levi was left.

The timid girl, who had been nervously watching us, spoke in a trembling voice.

“I-I’ll join too… I’m already being chased by the academy anyway…”

Hearing that the two of them decided to join, I felt a surge of joy.

A smile naturally spread across my face.

“Great. Time to put them to work!”

I was about to move on to other explanations when Ulric interrupted with a question.

“Excuse me, Violet? What about me? Can I just stay in my room and not participate?”

Unit 1’s face briefly went blank before her smile returned.

“Sorry, but you’re an exception.”

“What?!”

“You’ve got research to do. Vacation’s over!”

“…Aaagh!”

After slacking off so much, where do you think you’re going now?

***

The conversation continued for quite a while.

There was a lot to discuss, including an explanation of Violet’s unique abilities, the future plans, and what to do about our academic status at the academy.

Getting everyone to understand our unique abilities was a massive challenge.

“At least they all got it in the end. That’s a relief.”

One of the Violets shuddered.

It was hard to answer questions like how a person could be more than one individual.

If my friends hadn’t helped clarify things, we wouldn’t have finished before dinner.

During all this, Violet No. 32 grumbled.

“I’m starting to dislike that Ulric guy!”

As expected of a former graduate student, Ulric couldn’t contain his excitement after hearing about our unique abilities and the Violet Network.

He bombarded us with questions.

“That’s incredible. How did you replicate a human body’s functionality almost entirely using only ether? How does interaction and communication between brains occur? This is similar to the topics Professor Sturgis worked on, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know! It’s complicated!”

“This is revolutionary! I can’t dissect your brain, but how about an MRI scan later?”

“What?? Dissect my brain? No way! Get lost!”

It was the first time I’d seen him so fascinated.

It brought back unpleasant memories of the nasty researchers at the old lab, which scared me a little. It was also exhausting.

After that round of questions, I took some time to think about what to do next.

Our operation only had a name for now.

First, we needed to draft the Operation Witch’s Hammer.

We had to gather more information and distinguish between useful and useless details.

Fortunately, the sabotage against the research lab was progressing steadily. Thanks to this, their research was somewhat delayed, giving us some breathing room.

“There’s still time before the deal with Armas.”

“Then we should secure more funds.”

Now that we had more awakened personnel at our disposal, it was time to consider venturing into more dangerous dungeons.

Riskier dungeons offered higher rewards, including the chance to acquire five-star equipment if luck was on our side.

The reason we hadn’t gone there before was simple.

Those places were tricky to clear with numbers alone.

A strong attacker was essential.

Fortunately, two capable allies had joined us—one proficient in magic and the other skilled at hunting large beasts.

“Time to work them to the bone!”

“We’ve got a gunner and a melee DPS now!”

Firearms were useful, but they weren’t enough on their own. While we had the numbers and determination, there was a limit to what we could achieve with just tools.

With awakened allies who had diverse skillsets, we had fewer things to worry about.

Still, before diving into big operations, there were a few matters to handle.

Personal issues involving our friends.

Daphne had decided to take a leave of absence and join us, Kalia’s uncle was still unconscious, and the failed assault on Irene’s family remained an unresolved mystery.

“So, is she going?”

“She said she left some of her equipment stored there. Since they’re not responding to her messages, she plans to go in person.”

So Violet prepared to escort her friend.

Their destination was the Helios Clan office.