Chapter 59 Join us and you will be free

In the already dim room, two people, one big and one small, were still chatting back and forth.

"So you are really only seven years old?" The masked man stretched his head.

"……real."

Hiroki Sawada felt helpless.

Although he was happy that someone was there to chat with him, the other party's intentions were unclear... and he was also concerned about his age.

"Seven years old, a graduate student at MIT." The masked man exclaimed, finally letting go of his hesitation. "Believe me, you will definitely become a living fossil of the modern era."

Compared with Hiroki Sawada, Conan doesn't seem so outrageous.

Sawada Hiroki showed his small eyes: "Ah? Yes, is that so?"

In order to avoid being discovered by surveillance cameras while communicating with others, Hiroki Sawada deliberately lay on the table and pretended to be tired and taking a rest.

The masked man nodded and said, "Yes. You will graduate next year, right? I know a little girl, 14 years old, who also graduated with a PhD from MIT. You are better than her."

"Really?" It was the first time Hiroki Sawada heard that someone his age had graduated from MIT. "Where is that girl?"

"Japan, but she's sixteen now."

The masked man played with the TV's antenna.

When Hiroki Sawada heard that the other party was in Japan, his eyebrows drooped a little.

For him, those years in Japan were the most depressing times of his life... not much better than now.

So he asked with some concern: "So... is she doing well?"

"…What's wrong with that?" The corners of his mouth twitched under the mask, and he didn't mind eating anything for Hiroki Sawada, a precocious child. "She left early on her first day of work, and she likes to argue with me whenever she gets the chance. She won't listen to anything I say…If she were my daughter, I would definitely beat her up."

Hiroki Sawada: ???
Why did he feel something was wrong with these words?

Thinking about the mature voice of the masked man, Sawada Hiroki had a bad feeling: "Um, how old are you?"

The masked man said, "Just call me uncle... He will be 40 at the end of the year, and a little younger than your adoptive father."

"...Okay, uncle."

Hiroki Sawada smiled awkwardly.

He thought that elders were all serious...but this uncle refreshed his perception.

However, there is still a big problem at the moment.

Just as Hiroki Sawada was about to say something, there was a knock on the door.

"Master Hiroki, your dinner."

The person outside the door spoke in somewhat stiff Japanese.

Hiroki Sawada stood up, glanced at the masked man, and walked to the door calmly under the surveillance of the camera. He opened the door, took the food cart and pushed it in.

The security guard outside the door took a look inside the room and saw nothing unusual, so he closed the door and left without saying a word.

Hiroki Sawada was also a little surprised when he turned around: Where are the people?
"here."

The sound actually came from above his head.

Hiroki Sawada almost wanted to raise his head and make a stunned expression, but he forced himself to hold it back and waited silently for the masked man to climb over the wall and come to the side of the TV.

"What did you want to ask?"

The masked man sat cross-legged in front of the TV, with a strand of silver hair sticking out from his hood.

However, Sawada Hiroki did not think about the "disrespectful thing", and he stammered while eating:

"Um... Uncle, what did you come to see me for?" "Oh, this." The masked man propped up his chin leisurely, "I originally came to see how the artificial intelligence system was doing. I knew that the creator was only 7 years old, so I couldn't help but climb up to take a look."

Of course, he had other purposes...

Hiroki Sawada paused chewing and smiled sadly: "Sorry, uncle, this is not yet fully developed."

If he hadn't studied this thing, this special uncle wouldn't have come to him, right?
Well, so he should be happy?
Unexpectedly, the masked man's next words directly destroyed his sad mood: "I know... Fortunately you didn't finish it, otherwise I would have to think about how to destroy Schindler's company."

Sawada Hiroki: “……?”

Who is this uncle? He is so arrogant.

Then, the masked man's voice suddenly became deep: "Young man, I see that you have amazing bones and are a martial arts genius... Would you like to consider joining our organization?"

Sawada Hiroki: “???”

Uncle, he is just a stay-at-home guy and his bones are not in good shape at all!

Hiroki Sawada took a deep breath and said, "You...organization?"

"That's right." The masked man's words were full of bewitching. "According to our investigation, Thomas Schindler treated you almost as if you were under house arrest for some reason... You stayed in your room all day long, and when you rested, you could only walk on the windowsill. There were also bodyguards watching you when you went to and from school, right?"

Seeing Hiroki Sawada silent, the masked man continued: "If you are willing to join our organization, I can find a way to help you get out of this place. I can also choose to take your research results away or destroy them..."

"Oh, by the way, our organization provides five social insurances and one housing fund, reimbursement for work-related injuries, career freedom, flexible overtime, and when you don't have any tasks, you can live like a normal person. We are fair to everyone."

"..."

Hiroki Sawada swallowed a broccoli with difficulty, his eyes had turned into mosquito coils, "Wait, uncle, let me slow down for a moment... Uncle, don't you want that artificial intelligence program?"

"...It doesn't matter if you have that kind of outrageous stuff or not, as long as it doesn't get into the hands of others."

The masked man touched his chin and said, "So if you are unwilling to join us and are unwilling to destroy your research results, we will have to destroy them for you."

The principle is to not let this artificial intelligence fall into the hands of others. It doesn’t matter whether he has it or not. Anyway... in his mind, it is not as fun as a smart phone.

"How about it? Think about it..."

"I'll join."

Without waiting for the masked man to ask again, Sawada Hiroki decisively swallowed a large piece of steak with a firm look in his eyes: "But, can you wait until I finish developing 'Noah'?"

The masked man seemed a little confused and tilted his head.

But then he clapped his hands in sudden realization: "Oh, that AI is called 'Noah'? You can stay here to finish developing it. If you are almost done, you can leave a signal on the rooftop, but Schindler must not get the finished product."

Hiroki Sawada nodded gently: "I won't let anyone take advantage of Noah..."

If the masked uncle hadn't said so decisively that he wanted to destroy his 'Noah', he wouldn't have agreed so straightforwardly...

I hope the masked man is really not interested in 'Noah' as he said...

"Oh, by the way, I have a suggestion for your name." The masked man suddenly became interested, "How about changing 'Noah' to 'Nokia'?"

Sawada Hiroki: “……?”

Isn't Nokia the name of a telecommunications company?
"Uncle, it's Noah from 'Noah's Ark'..."

“…Oh, I thought it was a cell phone.”

Sawada Hiroki: "..."

So why is the mobile phone called Nokia?

He didn't quite understand the uncle's train of thought.

Ahem…about the fact that Noah almost changed its name to Nokia. (ω)
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(End of this chapter)

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