The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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The rebellion of the Violet Animals was intense, and in the end, we had to find a new name.

Especially, the reaction from the monkeys was so fierce that I could feel the other animals getting anxious.

If we suggested names like “Bakkagi” or “Bajjigi,” they looked ready to revolt at any moment.

“Okay, monkey. I’ll give you a proper name!”

“Woo woo!”

“Boss! No jokes, please!”

Naming was like exploring an unknown world.

In our minds, countless words erupted like fireworks and vanished.

“How about ‘Sungsungi’? Or ‘King Kong’?”

“No way! That’s weird!”

“I think it’s a bit childish. Boss, can’t we come up with something cooler?”

“Then…”

With every suggestion, the monkey shook its head resolutely.

Its expression seemed to say, “Please take this seriously.”

Eventually, we sighed and looked at each other.

Who knew naming could be this difficult?

“Wait, Uncle, what were their genders? I totally forgot what you said last time about the monkeys?”

“I told you last time, they are all females.”

“Eh? Really?”

Yeah, I feel like we talked about that last time, but why did we say they were females?

“It was because the compatibility with female mammals’ neural waves was a bit higher. That’s why we only implanted biochips in the females.”

“Oh, I see…”

I asked the monkeys and other V-animals what names they wanted.

“Wukik! Wuki!”

“We want a cool and nice name!!”

“Kaak!”

“We want a sparkling name!”

“Chirp chirp!”

“Name! Name! We want it!”

Gathering their opinions, I downed the mug of cocoa that I was holding absentmindedly.

3212, looking at the mug, noticed the brown cocoa sloshing inside.

I glanced back at the monkeys.

Their shiny, shimmering brown fur.

At that moment, something clicked in my head.

“I’ve got a good idea!”

I told the monkey.

“Cocoa!”

The monkey looked at me with curious eyes.

“From now on, your name is Cocoa! How’s that?”

“Woo…?”

It seemed to question why Cocoa.

Seeing it not outright reject the name, it didn’t sound too bad after all.

I quickly devised a way to persuade it using collective intelligence.

“Cocoa is a delicious food, right? And it sounds cute! Plus, you’re female!”

So, a somewhat cute name should suit it well.

“I’m your boss, and since I’m a beautiful girl, you all should have names that reflect that!”

I nodded, casting a sly glance at Uncle Yurik, who seemed bewildered.

Understanding my signal, Uncle Yurik awkwardly clapped his hands.

“Oh, that’s nice! It’s a cute and… dignified name. Don’t you think so, monkey?”

The monkey… no, I should probably call it Cocoa now.

Cocoa pondered for a moment and then let out a cheerful sound.

“Wukki! Wuki!”

“Yay! Thank you, Boss!”

Now we just had to name the other animals.

Once I named one, there would be no turning back.

With my creativity flowing like a river, there was no stopping now.

“You’re Almond!”

“Kaak!”

“And you guys are Lemon, Raspberry… Orange! Done! I named all ten of you. How’s that?”

The crow seemed delighted, flapping its wings, while the mice chirped joyfully, cheering and bouncing around.

As we were leaving the office, Uncle Yurik whispered.

“…Wasn’t that a bit rushed?”

“It’s fine! The kids like it, right?”

Anyway, the V-animals couldn’t read our thoughts. Since they were happy, that resolved the issue.

“Regardless, the problem is temporarily sorted, isn’t it?”

“That’s right!”

After sorting out the name issue, I felt the urge to introduce these new animal friends to my friends.

Of course, the very first protagonist when we succeeded in the Violet Network animal access experiment was someone special.

That would be Enrique, who lived next door.

“Wow, a monkey! I’ve never seen one before!”

“Woo?”

For Trinity, who only saw monsters growing up, the presence of a monkey was like stepping into a new world.

But the joy didn’t last long.

“Here, a banana! Eat!”

“Wukik!…Wukik…Cough! Cough…”

As excited Enrique pet Cocoa, the little monkey started shaking as if it felt cold suddenly.

I panicked and quickly pulled Cocoa away from Enrique.

“What’s going on! You’ve got protective gear and gloves on, right? Why is it acting like this?”

It was strange. In this situation, it should have been fine to dance around Uncle Yurik, so why was it behaving like this?

Enrique’s face turned pale as he hurriedly checked the wrist monitor.

The elevated radiation levels were flashing bright red.

“Uh-oh! I haven’t taken my meds yet. The radiation levels have gone up!”

“Cough… cough…”

“Ahhh! Cocoa’s gonna die!”

After quickly giving Cocoa an antidote, it finally came to its senses.

It was a mistake not considering that the animals might be more sensitive to radiation.

“I’m so sorry, monkey…”

“Yik…”

“This isn’t good. If I see the other animals, I might faint. I’ll just watch from afar…”

Enrique, who didn’t want to send the other V-Animals over the river Styx, had to be satisfied just watching from a distance.

The lesson learned from this incident was to ensure dangerous people don’t enter the animal lab for a while.

Fortunately, the second person to see a V-animal was harmless and kind.

“Long time no see!”

Around the weekend, Kalia came to visit our house in the Central District to check on the Brotherhood and the state of the area after a long time.

“Long time? You were sitting next to me on the high-speed train just a few hours ago!… So you trained the animals? What does that even mean?”

“You’ll see! Here! Say hi!”

As soon as we walked into the factory building, Kalia was greeted by a squad of mice lined up in two rows on the table.

Following orders, the mice waved one of their front paws in welcome.

Kalia’s eyes widened as she saw this.

“Chirp!”

“Huh? Hey! What is this? It’s a rat! Not just any rat, right? Why are you keeping these?”

“They’re lab mice! They’re clean and smart, so don’t complain! And they understand human language quite well.”

“Chirp…”

Crumpled at the word “dirty,” the mice lowered their heads.

After explaining, Kalia made a puzzled expression.

Watching the deflated V-Mice, she seemed unsure of how to proceed.

“They can take a bath and even use the tools of civilization. See? Doesn’t it smell like soap?”

“…It does smell nice. So you guys really understand what I’m saying?”

As soon as Kalia finished her words, the mouse squad’s leader stepped forward and gazed at her with sad eyes.

“Chirp…”

“Kalia, Lemon is mad! They say they’re smart mice, and being compared to filthy street rats makes them feel bad. You should apologize!”

“Uh, um, sorry. There were just a lot of ratlings in this neighborhood… aw, no! I didn’t mean you guys! You’re clean mice. You know that, right? Okay? Sorry!”

Finally, after handing some biscuits to the grumpy mice, the uproar subsided.

This experience seemed to serve as a vaccine, preventing any slip-ups when seeing the monkeys and crows.

“Wow… I can’t believe the beasts can understand language. That scientist and that professor are amazing, but it’s also scary. What kind of trick did they pull to connect to your head?”

As Kalia stepped outside to survey the neighborhood, she still shook her head in disbelief.

Then, she looked up at the cawing sound above her.

“Is that the crow from earlier?”

“Yeah, its name is Almond.”

Almond was patrolling above us as a Violet Drone.

Being a bird, it had excellent eyesight, making it much easier than sharing vision with a mouse.

Plus, the wide field of view was an advantage.

“Good job, Almond! Now patrol that housing complex and check over there, the red shopping building!”

“Got it! Boss!”

The outline of how to structure the Violet Brigade was becoming clear.

The V-Crows would play the role of drones, while powered hang gliders would serve as attack drones.

Since they are birds, they are harder to spot, reducing enemy alertness.

Our special animal squad was gradually taking shape.

Excluding Cocoa, we could say we lacked direct combat power, so it might be a waste to use her for self-destruction.

“But she’s still usable for surveillance, right?”

“That’s true!”

The vision of the Violets was now extending beyond the narrow underground to the vast sky.

The saying “A bird hears what is said in the day, and a mouse hears what is said at night” was now something we could realize firsthand.

“Everyone seems to be doing well…”

While surveying a housing complex, Kalia murmured without realizing it.

It hasn’t been a year since our Violets cleaned up the nearby gang.

The peaceful view of this Central District suburb still felt somewhat unfamiliar.

“Yeah, Uncle Kalia has become healthier and is beating up the bad guys well.”

After our Violets wiped out the initial wave of bad elements, the Ospri Brotherhood became quite an armed force with the weapons and funds we seized from the gang.

Thanks to Uncle Kalia, who used to be a hunter, this area has become peaceful since then.

“Yeah, but there are still some things to be careful about. There are still issues related to real estate redevelopment. You heard about that from my uncle, right?”

“Yeah, the clan came in and caused a ruckus. Then they disappeared into thin air.”

“That last part is crucial. The ones who decomposed the clan members were the Lumineks. According to my uncle, the development issues in this area have only paused temporarily. They could happen again at any moment.”

Ah, so that was an important issue.

I paused for a moment. It was as if the collective intelligence of the Violets was about to kick into gear at an unexpected timing.

Noticing that I had grown serious, Kalia quickly added.

“Don’t worry! The Lumineks don’t care about this place. And that scholarship officer who came to catch you last time? I met them a little while ago. They also met with our uncle.”

“What? Really?”

“I don’t know the details, but they helped clear up some related issues. So don’t worry too much.”

Hmm, that’s a relief. While we would eventually clash, it would be troublesome if problems arose this early.

With that, Kalia and I patrolled this part of the neighborhood.

Most were decent citizens, and while there were a couple of suspicious-looking individuals on the outskirts, there was no major issue.

Just ordinary people engrossed in their own lives.

The bad guys had all become fish food.

“Thanks to the Violets. Now those filthy bastards and the Resolvers can’t even show their faces in this neighborhood.”

“What? We just tossed the gang members into the sea.”

I humbly responded to Kalia’s gratitude, but for some reason, her expression turned sour.

“Sea? Ah… did that happen…? Well, I guess it could have happened…”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t toss too many in, so you can relax! Just don’t eat fish caught near Rust Room, okay?”

When I tried to reassure her, Kalia’s face twisted.

“Hey… I had fish for lunch today…”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”