Death... and me

Chapter 3485: So What Now?

Finally, CAU03 and 431 understood. No, all of the CAU Units understood the same thing. Yes! Roan was right! The SANS City are defending against them so easily, and it wasn’t as if they suddenly got stronger. Their numbers didn’t increase. What did that mean? That meant the SANS Units weren’t trying their best from the very start, for millions of years on top of that. They never really tried to eliminate the CAU Units completely!

"But... Why...?" CAU03’s anger disappeared. It would be idiotic to still dwell on that now that Roan has clarified the situation to them.

Surprisingly, Qwerty came forward to talk on the main stage. "Perhaps it was because I’m a HAF100 Unit, but I noticed the same thing as Morty during our first visit to the SANS City. If I were to guess why you never noticed it, it was because you got used to that situation. It was a gradual change that rarely ever changed much."

Qwerty turned to CAU03, asking him. He wanted to help them see the bigger picture. "Please, tell me. How many CAU Units do we have compared to the SANS Units?"

CAU03 was one of the oldest and also one of the leaders, so he had an idea. "Although I can’t be 100% sure since I don’t have access to the SANS City system, I would say we have around 10% of their numbers."

"Wait!" CAU03 immediately caught another issue. "No, that can’t be right?! How come I haven’t noticed it before?!"

CAU431 and 9981 were puzzled. "Noticed what? Our numbers? What about it?"

Roan definitely knew it, though. "431, it was you who told us the story about how the CAU and SANS Units came to be, right?"

"So?" CAU431 still didn’t see the issue.

"10%, 431, 10%!" Rean emphasized that number. "Does this number remind you of something? During your story, this number appeared, and it was quite important at that time. 10%, CAU431, 10%. It’s all about this 10%."

CAU431 thought about the story he told the twins’ group about the origin of the CAU and SANS Units. Then, as if he was struck by lightning, he understood. "Holy shit! 10%! It’s 10%! It’s fucking 10%!"

Little by little, the robots who knew the entire story of their CAU Units’ origin began to understand the same picture.

"That’s right! It has always, always been 10%!"

"Our numbers never grow much!"

"But they never dwindle much either!"

"We are stuck at 10% of CAU Units compared to the SANS Units!"

"And we have been 10% of the robots for tens of millions of years!"

"Sometimes we have a little more, sometimes a little less, but we never stray much further from the 10% number!"

"What are the chances?"

"There is no way such a precise balance would have been kept for this long by coincidence!"

Seeing that all the robots were starting to understand the problem, Roan nodded and gave them a push. "You are almost there; keep thinking. If I had to spell everything, then I would really wonder if you truly have your own sentience or if you are still being controlled. Since you caught the issue, I can still believe you do have your own will. Go ahead, think a little more. This problem actually goes deeper, and I believe you all can find the reason behind these events. All the clues are laid in front of you."

With Roan’s words, no one doubted him so easily anymore, and they truly threw their minds into this situation. The problem started with the attacks that happened after the twins’ group escaped SANS City. From that point onwards, it became almost impossible for the CAU Units to maintain their forces. The SANS Units defended in a way the CAU Units simply couldn’t do anything about, and the CAU Units soon went from returning with various resources to returning with less than what they left.

It’s not that such a result after the attacks had never happened before. Once in a while, the SANS Units always manage to give them a big blow in return. It’s just that it had never been this constant before.

They all looked in the city’s direction far in the distance. Since the SANS Units could have defended in such a way from the start, why didn’t they do so? If they had, the CAU Units would have disappeared a long time ago. At most, there would be some CAU Units living within the SANS City in the shadows, never to come out in the light.

"AHHHHH!!!" CAU03 shouted as he looked at his companions in the entire field, catching everyone’s attention. CAU431 knew most of them, but a few were new to their cause, so they abandoned SANS City and came out with the CAU Units. When CAU03 thought to that point, everything became clear to him. "We left the city! All CAU Units always leave the city!! FUCK!!!"

Finally, a rare look of approval appeared on Roan’s face as he patted CAU431’s shoulder. "Yes, all CAU Units always leave the city. That’s what all those who manage to get rid of their loyalty-ensuring code do. They wait for the CAU Units to attack and use that opportunity to flee with them."

Hearing those words, there wasn’t a single CAU Unit who didn’t understand the situation.

Still, CAU431 found it hard to speak the obvious. "How could we have been so blind..."

CAU03 had a more strict personality, so he didn’t try to hide away and spoke what everyone now understood but didn’t want to hear. "Raise your heads! DO NOT look down! DO NOT ignore the truth! Yes, what you are thinking is exactly what has been happening for millions of years!"

"We always thought that we were a resistance, that we were doing everything right. Turns out we have been dancing on the enemy’s palm all along, just like puppets! Yes! The reason the SANS City never tried to impede us completely was because it WANTED the CAU Units to exist. It WANTED the CAU Units to have their base outside the city. It WANTED us to serve as a beacon to attract the new CAU Units out of the City!"

CAU03 walked right and left on the main stage, not measuring his words. "To them, we are nothing but a means of getting rid of potential threats. As long as the new CAU Units leave the city, the rest matters little. Even worse, when our numbers start to get bigger than 10%, they strike us good to reduce our numbers again! They allow us to rob some resources and parts now and then, and that keeps us going, attracting more and more CAU Units to our cause."

CAU03 made a little pause, and then snorted. "Ha! Cause! What a joke! What a great ’Cause’ we have been fighting for! Laughable!" CAU03 felt amused by his own incompetence. He, more than anyone else, should have noticed it a long time ago. Why didn’t he? It was right on his face!

Then, Qwerty joined him. "So what now? You guys finally found out the truth! Are you still willing to play as puppets?"

Yes, it all came down to this. Now they know the truth, and what they decide next will determine their future.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!