Chapter 559 - 360: Daughter Mo Tong
There’s no doubt that Future’s intuition is sharp; her concern is justified.
Because in the original plot of the game "Dawn," there are completely different directions regarding the nurturing of the construct progeny.
If nurtured positively, with care and teachings about the world, she would stand with humanity when the moment to decide the world’s fate arrives and become humanity’s most solid ally.
If nurtured negatively, treating her merely as a subject for research, constantly bullying and exploiting her, she would develop a twisted personality, regressing to a traditional construct, cold-blooded and evil, becoming a public enemy of humanity.
The game’s universally acknowledged most tragic "Apocalypse Ending" requires the construct progeny’s downfall as one of its necessary conditions.
Reflecting on the original plot, Su Mo gathered his thoughts and said deeply, "Future, I know you have concerns, but on this point, you can trust me."
"Whether disaster occurs is not decided by the construct progeny; it’s decided by us. Our kindness or malice will have consequences."
"So, in the future, you can research the construct progeny however you like, but remember one thing: The past is the past. Don’t treat the construct progeny unrelated to war a century later as an alien just because humanity and constructs once fought an apocalyptic war in history."
Future shrugged and said, "Don’t worry. I’m a researcher seeking objective truth, and I won’t look at her through colored glasses. I believe others won’t be so narrow-minded either."
"Have you ever thought about how we should get along with her in the future? Even if the construct progeny can perfectly mimic humans, she’s still a different species."
Su Mo replied without hesitation, "It’s actually simple; just treat her as a human. Whatever a normal human child’s childhood should be like, that’s what she’ll have."
Su Mo said this because, in the original plot, taking the path of the construct progeny’s downfall meant the protagonist didn’t treat her as a person but as a research sample locked away in a lab.
In that dark and sunless life, the construct progeny daily faced researchers trying to uncover her secrets and cold instruments in near-torturous experiments.
Over time, the construct progeny began to hate everyone around her, hate humans, ultimately leading to undesirable conclusions.
After listening, Future pondered for a moment, then smiled, "In short, just treat her like a real child as if you’ve truly had a kid."
Su Mo smiled, "If you must put it that way, okay. Of course, I’m not saying we can’t study her; researching the construct progeny is crucial for our future, but we just have to handle it properly."
Future clapped her hands together, "Got it! When we need her to cooperate in experiments, I’ll arrange it in a way that makes her feel like she’s playing games with us."
Su Mo raised his thumb, "That’s why you’re the one who truly gets it."
At this moment, Future remembered something: "Oh right, she hasn’t got a name yet. We can’t just keep calling her ’she’ or ’the construct progeny."
Su Mo nodded; this was indeed a matter to consider.
In the original plot, the construct progeny had her own name, given by the original protagonist Ou Chenyu—it had the surname Ou.
Regardless of whether it was vanity or a kind of possessiveness, this construct progeny called herself "Daddy." Using the original surname Ou would feel quite awkward.
No matter what the original plot was, the construct progeny is now Su Mo’s; she must bear the surname Su.
Thinking it over, Su Mo recalled the construct progeny had a pair of black eyes, and suddenly a thought flashed in his mind: "Black eyes... black... Mo... eyes... Tong... Mo Tong... Su Motong, how about this name?"
Future smiled and said, "Nice, fits her appearance well, and sounds pleasant."
Su Mo and Future high-fived, "Then it’s happily decided! Su, Mo, Tong~"
Following up on Future’s earlier advice, Su Mo took on the role of a doting father, needing to take good care of Su Motong, ensuring she doesn’t turn into the big boss of the Apocalypse Ending.
Regarding Su Motong’s true identity, only the core members in the group knew. Of course, with such a big child, hiding would be impossible; there must be an explanation for outsiders.
Originally, Su Mo thought of using the excuse that he found her outside, but then realized that might not work.
He remembered that when he was little, his parents joked that he wasn’t their biological son and was picked up from a trash can, which terrified him and left him in fear for years.
Though Su Motong was indeed "picked up," in her consciousness, she regards Su Mo as her father; bluntly saying "picked up" might impact her young mind.
After much consideration, Su Mo had to fabricate a story of "father-daughter reunion following early years of separation."
As for who the mother is, don’t ask. If asked, the answer is an unknown deceased wife who died in childbirth.
Su Motong’s identity was tentatively sorted out, everything starting to get on track, but Su Mo quickly realized one problem...
He has no idea how to care for a child.
...
88th floor of Edge Mansion, in the small living room of Su Mo’s room.
It had been newly decorated in a cute pink style, with plush toys and dolls scattered everywhere.
Su Mo and Su Motong sat at a small table, staring at each other.
Su Mo scratched his face and awkwardly asked, "Hey, you hungry?"
Su Motong shook her head.
Su Mo: "Okay... we’ll eat when you get hungry."
The two continued to stare at each other.
After a while, Su Mo asked abruptly, "Hey, are you thirsty?"