S2 Vol. 19: Host (chapters 65-68)
/!\ Warnings > I committed some serious translation crimes (and Gavin will probably arrest me soon, help)
I only watched the videos properly after I had finished editing them, and that's when I noticed some mistakes... but by then it was too late to fix everything. Probably the silliest mistake is the title of Kiro's episode, since there weren't any books involved at all lol. I think the title should have been something like "Photograph," or perhaps something related to programming languages—but it could also mean something completely different, so I'm still not entirely sure what the original title was getting at. 😅 But since I'd already put the title on the video graphics, I didn't bother changing it afterward. So... let's just pretend it's intentional..
I also learned some of the very essential Gavin vocabulary only after his birthday event, so there are still some mistakes here and there. For example, "a little black car" actually refers to Sparky. How was I supposed to know that?! I assumed it was something more obvious, like "starry bike" or something lol. ...And "white team" isn't just some random STF team, either—it's actually an official way of referring to Captain Gavin. XD
Sorry Gavin, I swear I didn't do it on purpose! Gav..? Gavin, put the gun down! NOOOO
Also, the videos are pretty long because, at the beginning, I wasn't sure what kind of pacing would work best. Many lines are longer in English than in Chinese, and I was probably way too careful at first, which is why Victor's video moves at a downright glacial pace. Sorry about that. If you don't mind listening to Victor/Shaw speak in a helium voice, you can always increase the playback speed in the video settings. xD Kiro's and Gavin's videos also ended up being quite long, mostly because those two sometimes speak sooooo slowly. + I know many players prefer the same dub used on the CN server, but I decided to stick with the default voice track used in the game.
Anyway, I hope this is better than nothing, and that someone else besides me can get some enjoyment out of it too. Enjoy!
Episodes
The Plot Summary
Victor decides to acquire Infinite under LFG and assigns MC to the acquisition team. She travels to France to meet Roman, the man in charge of the negotiations, but his news comes as an unpleasant surprise: Infinite has suddenly accumulated a huge amount of debt, meaning that if LFG wants to complete the acquisition, it must not only pay the purchase price but also cover all of the company's debts.
While updating Victor over the phone about the negotiations, MC discovers that hidden cameras have been installed in her hotel room. Without making a big deal out of it, Victor casually arranges a new place for her to stay—his late mother's apartment.
The following day, Victor arrives in France as well, boosting the team's morale. After carefully examining Infinite's financial records, they uncover evidence of illegal accounting practices, leaving Roman with little choice but to accept LFG's offer. Once the deal is finalized, Victor transfers Odyssey, the popular VR game owned by Infinite, to MC's company. Just like that, she suddenly finds herself running a major company.
MC asks 24 for a Lighthouse dictionary, believing it could help Shaw with his archaeological research. Shaw also possesses information that MC is interested in, but he refuses to share it for free. As usual, this leads MC into yet another undercover operation, eventually drawing the two of them into an archaeological expedition.
As MC settles into her new role, she decides that before Odyssey's servers reopen, the game's many problems need to be fixed. While working together with the game's developers and the Cyber Security Bureau, she discovers that the game's code contains fragments of the players' consciousness data. MC and Gavin venture deep into Odyssey's virtual world, where MC begins experiencing strange symptoms. Fortunately, she manages to suppress them by using her Evol.
During the investigation, Gavin also introduces MC to a new term: parasitic consciousness. It refers to the vacant, almost robotic state seen in the mysterious people MC has encountered on several occasions.
After telling Lucien about her symptoms, MC learns that traces of parasitic consciousness have appeared in her own brain as well. Lucien arranges treatment for her at a rehabilitation facility, where the people whose consciousness data had previously been rescued from Odyssey are also recovering. However, the longer MC stays there, the more she begins to suspect that Lucien is hiding something—and she's right. Not only is he capable of removing parasitic consciousness from people, but he can also implant it into healthy individuals. MC is disappointed, but above all, deeply worried about Lucien.
Meanwhile, Kiro is contacted by his long-missing mentor, KEY. Together with MC, he once again begins following the clues KEY has left behind. However, the further their investigation progresses, the more Kiro senses that something is wrong and starts questioning whether they should continue. One by one, the codes and puzzles reveal their secrets, and Kiro eventually masters the Lighthouse code. But just as he feared, there is no reward waiting for him at the end. Instead, KEY tells him that he has already learned everything his mentor could teach him. Kiro no longer needs a mentor, and the time has come to say goodbye.
My commentary
Victor's chapter
I'm usually not the biggest fan of Victor's business-related paperwork and corporate negotiations. It's all a bit too civilized for my taste—I tend to stay much more engaged when the story is full of action and people are trying to kill each other. That said, this chapter was an exception. It was genuinely interesting to see MC taking part in the acquisition process alongside Victor, not to mention that, in the end, he transferred ownership of Odyssey to her company. I do think the negotiations dragged on a little longer than necessary, though. Personally, I think two meetings with Roman would have been enough instead of three. I also found it rather amusing that Victor and MC could seemingly teleport between cities without any trouble, yet somehow ended up getting stuck in a crowd when their destination was only a few steps away.
Without a doubt, the highlights of this chapter were the moments when Victor talked about his late mother. Every single scene involving Esme was beautifully written, and you could tell how much thought had gone into them, especially with all the subtle callbacks to earlier parts of the story. I particularly loved the metaphor of taking in and caring for abandoned puppies and kittens. It's been clear for a long time now that Victor comforts others in much the same way his mother once comforted him.
MC handled the situation with remarkable sensitivity. She let Victor open up at his own pace, treated his memories with genuine respect, and showed sincere interest in everything he shared. I especially liked her observation that it almost felt as if Esme herself had taken her under her wing by offering her a place to stay. As if that weren't enough, their team is later joined by one of Esme's former piano students, who becomes an unexpected source of support.
I was honestly surprised that Victor agreed to visit Esme's grave with MC. Considering he had only recently begun opening up about his mother, it felt like quite a significant step forward in their relationship. That scene was the perfect conclusion to the chapter. What both of them said to the woman who was no longer there was heartfelt without becoming overly sentimental, and the story quietly suggested that, somehow, their words had reached her.
And the cherry on top was Victor saying that his mother would have liked MC. In other words, she would have wholeheartedly approved of the woman her son had chosen. What made it even sweeter was that Victor couldn't give any logical explanation for why he believed it so strongly—he simply knew. After all, who wouldn't adore the girl whose sadness can be chased away with a cup of pudding?
Shaw's "chapter"
Shaw's section felt a little disconnected from the rest of the story, and it didn't seem to have much impact on the main plot. I guess its main purpose was to introduce the Lighthouse dictionary, which later became an important part of Kiro's storyline in this volume.
Why do we always end up on weird undercover missions with Shaw? xD That said, I couldn't help thinking that MC made things unnecessarily difficult for herself. She could have simply traded the information for the Lighthouse dictionary and saved herself a lot of trouble. But then again, the bar scene was such a classic Shaw moment. He sends MC on a mission without giving her the full picture, then sits back and laughs when everything inevitably goes wrong. And of course, he couldn't resist causing a bit of chaos during the underground exploration either. As impulsive as his actions can be, and even if they don't always make much sense, one thing never changes: he always makes sure MC comes back safe and sound.
Gavin's chapter
I think we all know by now that Gavin has a habit of taking on dangerous missions alone and keeping important things to himself so the people he cares about won't worry. But the moment MC arrived at his secret investigation base revealed just how much this man had been carrying on his own shoulders. Of course, Gavin knows what he's doing, but his growing distrust of his own STF teammates, along with the paranoia and anger that came with it, was clearly pushing him to the breaking point. Fortunately, MC's presence had a calming effect on him. For the first time in a long while, he was finally able to open up about everything he had been keeping inside and let go of some of the weight he had been carrying.
One of my favorite moments was when they ended up sharing comfort cuddles in the hospital bed, somehow drifting into a conversation about plants and visiting a flower market. I'm still not entirely sure whether translating the name of Gavin's plant as "Greenie" was the right choice—it was just a random nickname I remembered him using once. I'm definitely not an expert on Gavin's storyline or the collection of plants he's raised over the years. xD The flower shop was mentioned so many times that I was really looking forward to seeing their date there... but unfortunately, it happened off-screen. Such a shame!
Lucien's chapter
Oh, Lucien... This sly gentleman always manages to make you feel like you're the one doing him a favor, even when he's the one offering help. Using the CORE to treat parasitic consciousness sounded a little risky, but surprisingly, everything worked out in the end. You can clearly pinpoint the exact moment when Lucien subtly gives MC a "hint" and calls her back, steering her away from danger. <3
Once again, Lucien's actions appeared completely well-intentioned on the surface... but before you knew it, the situation had escalated into yet another one of his questionable research projects. Fortunately, MC has learned to stay on her guard. Instead of blindly believing everything Lucien tells her, she now questions his actions and motives. Their final conversation was a great way to end the chapter. MC finally got the chance to speak her mind, while also coming to understand Lucien's point of view. In the end, she realized she wasn't angry with him—she was worried about him.
Since when has Lucien had X-ray vision? I can understand him spotting MC in a crowd at a glance, but this time she was literally hiding inside a cabinet, and he still found her immediately. How?? I mean, he was clearly setting himself up, so I guess he expected her to be there... but still. Can we please get one scene where MC actually catches him red-handed instead of Lucien orchestrating everything several steps ahead?
...On second thought, Lucien's ability to stay in complete control of every situation is actually one of the reasons why I find him so charismatic. Ironically, though, MC is one of the few people who can make him lose his composure. I especially love those moments when a sudden gasp slips out because he's genuinely worried about her safety. Every time that happens I'm just like, "Sorry for making you worry... and please remember to breathe." xD
Lucien was absolutely everywhere in this volume. In Victor's chapter, he chatted with MC over the phone. Gavin called him to deliver the rescued consciousness data, and even the moment when the cyber team realized they needed a neuroscience expert was basically just another way of saying Lucien. xD Then came his own chapter, and the aftermath of that story even continued into Kiro's chapter. The man simply refuses to stay in his own lane.
Kiro's chapter
While playing, I kept wondering why someone as skilled at hacking as Kiro wasn't involved in solving the whole Odyssey code and consciousness mystery. But as Kiro himself put it, anyone could deal with parasitic consciousness—only he could solve the "KEY case." I also felt oddly proud of myself for recognizing some of the programming languages Kiro mentioned. Not that I'd actually know what to do with the code itself, though.
Aww... why was Kiro so unbelievably adorable throughout this entire chapter? His excitement whenever they uncovered a new clue was almost contagious. I loved how eager he was to introduce MC to KEY, and the way he got all embarrassed when he didn't want her to read their old chat history. And of course, I absolutely loved his little bear costume. I certainly don't mind being called his muse either.
This volume really dove deep into the boys' family histories and childhood memories. Besides learning more about Victor's mother, we also got to hear much more about Kiro's mentor, KEY. Is it just me, or do some of KEY's teaching methods sound a little... brutal? He would throw Kiro into dangerous situations with barely any warning because "it's just a game," use reverse psychology as part of his lessons, and it even sounds like young Kiro had to do quite a few household chores for him. I know MC was only joking when she mentioned child labor, but it still felt like a lot of responsibility for such a young child caring for the person who had raised him. Of course, every parent or guardian has their strengths and weaknesses, and nobody is perfect. I highly doubt KEY ever intended to neglect or mistreat Kiro. More importantly, Kiro himself doesn't seem to see those memories negatively at all. Quite the opposite, actually. The way he talks about his mentor shows just how deeply he admires and respects him.
That final scene absolutely broke my heart. 😠I feel like I'm constantly judging Kiro, but... was his reaction at the end just a tiny bit over the top? It's completely understandable that he was devastated after coming so close to reuniting with his mentor, only to have that hope taken away. But even though he kept repeating, "He's gone," and, "He said goodbye to me," I never got the impression that KEY had actually died. To me, it felt more like a farewell than a permanent ending, meaning there was still hope that they might meet again someday..? Then again... who am I to judge Kiro when I can ugly cry over fictional characters myself? x')
I'd also like to give MC some well-deserved credit in this volume. She has become remarkably good at reading the boys' emotions, understanding what they need, and offering exactly the right kind of support and encouragement. With Kiro, she genuinely shared his excitement whenever they found a new clue, while quietly preparing herself for the possibility that the investigation might not end the way they hoped. When Kiro started doubting whether they should continue, she was the one who gave him the courage to keep moving forward. And in the end... when all they could do was cry together... 💔
Comments
Post a Comment