Mr. Pantalone has no crazy plans today.

Accompanied by his guards, Pantalone arrived at one of the "Puppet's" experimental sites to check on the progress of the development of the 'intelligent autonomous puppet' he had submitted.

"It's rare that you would actually come out in person. In someone's words, this is probably unimaginable for a businessman and capitalist like you who hides in the depths of winter."

"Then you've misunderstood me. I think it's necessary to go out for a stroll occasionally. The weather in the northern winter capital is too cold for a Liyue native like me. Staying there for too long without moving around will give me rheumatism."

Pantalone chattered with the elegant puppet girl in the coat as they walked together through the snowy northern border exposed to the cold weather, observing the numerous experimental sites guarded by guards all around.

Above the high walls forged from ice and snow are countless soldiers of the Fools, braving the wind and snow, steadfastly holding their posts.

No wonder they're called a fighting nation!

I just don't know how the security level here compares to that of the Land of Light.

Pantalone, who was thinking about strange things, shook his head to put the strange idea out of his mind and looked at the huge test site in front of him.

"By the way, the security level here is surprisingly high."

"With such a large investment, this level of security is naturally expected. After all, what's being developed here are weapons of mass destruction. If someone were to break in, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Sandoni glanced at Pantalone and said indifferently, his face seemingly saying, "You're the investor, why are you asking such a stupid question?"

This left Pantalone somewhat embarrassed.

Ultimately, he wasn't an original product and didn't really understand these things; he just had his subordinates make the arrangements.

To cover her embarrassment, Pantalone cleared her throat and changed the subject.

"Ahem, by the way, could I take a look at the finished product of that doll?"

"Everything you asked for is ready."

As Sandone spoke, he gestured for Pantalone to look in another direction.

As Pantalone's gaze fell upon that spot, a tremor came from the ground.

Pantalone saw an enormous mechanical construct appear before his eyes, its massive size and weight testifying to its power, its technological style identical to that of the ancient lost kingdoms.

"This is the initial prototype. Based on your suggestions, I added a way of acting that mimics the basic logic of life. In the original concept, I wanted to create a versatile doll that could use most environments."

"Unfortunately, the precision of the prototype is far from what was initially envisioned, and it can only perform some repetitive tasks. However, the good thing is that this logical action method has improved combat effectiveness to a certain extent."

Just as Pantalone's attention was focused on the enormous mechanical construct before him, Sandone's voice came from behind him.

The girl sighed softly as she looked at the finished product. It was clear that she was not very satisfied with it.

But Pantalone did not show any disappointment when he saw the finished product. Instead, he reached out and gently stroked the enormous mechanical creation in front of him with delight.

"Don't worry about it, it's more than enough."

With this, they can easily fool the Queen when she demands KPIs from them.

If this plan goes through, he can fish in troubled waters for a long time to come.

Is that enough...?

Upon receiving Pantalone's reply, Sandonne's eyes gleamed.

This reminded her of the answer Pantalone gave when he first came to her, and it was no wonder that he made no attempt to hide anything from her.

After trying many times without achieving the effect Pantalone described, she realized why he didn't care to reveal his plans to her.

It seems that he was certain from the beginning that he could not complete the most important part on his own, and that was the part she was missing.

In other words, he didn't tell himself the whole story, but that's quite normal, since an ambitious person who is good at using chips naturally needs to make the most of every card in his hand.

However, she wasn't too angry, since their relationship had been one of mutual exploitation from the very beginning.

Pantalone is responsible for providing financial and material support, while she is responsible for providing the technology and infrastructure to make it happen. In exchange, he will tell her the rest of the story that he doesn't know.

Once she knows the other half of the story, she will surely understand why she failed.

Chapter 6 The puppet is a girl who loves to listen to stories

"So, can you tell me what the second half of the story is about?"

Sándorne, having gathered his many thoughts, asked Pantalone for the remaining piece of the puzzle.

As Sandone spoke, Pantalone's consciousness returned to reality, and he smiled as he looked at Sandone.

"Of course, no problem. This is an agreement we made from the beginning."

To be honest, he didn't quite understand why Sandoni was so insistent on hearing his story.

He could only assume that she was just the kind of girl who liked to hear stories, which made him sincerely sigh that Sandone was such a satisfying girl.

However, upon closer reflection, it's not impossible. After all, in his mind, Sandone was the kind of person who liked to bury himself in research, so it was perfectly normal for him to enjoy listening to this kind of whimsical stuff.

"As I understand it, this alone is certainly not enough to create the ideal creation. Even if the carrier of life is no different from other inanimate objects in terms of self-nature and psychic awareness, it is impossible to create such an existence. There must be more important conditions."

Sandonne, based on his own reasoning, questioned Pantalone about the logical flaws in his argument.

Logically speaking, such a creation does not exist, but since Pantalone dares to say so, he must be confident enough to confirm its existence.

That's why he must know the part that she doesn't.

"As you said, it is impossible to simply mechanically imitate such a creation, but it is not impossible that such a perfect and ingenious structure exists naturally in this world."