"How did you do that just now! That was so cool! I couldn't even see clearly, and you already saved the people!"
"..."
After dealing with the traffic accident, Lin called the hospital. Although the old man and the driver were not injured, their mental states were definitely not stable, so it was better to have them checked at the hospital.
He saw off the slowly moving ambulance, only praying that it wouldn't run into another accident on the road.
The high incidence of accidents in this weather surpassed the highest recorded since Trant was built. And what truly caused the frequent accidents was not the weather but people's habitual thinking.
Most people had no concept of the current weather, simply believing it was just a rare, once-in-a-century spell of harsh weather. Even though the news reported not to go out, people still ignored the warning.
After all, such things had never happened before. Every 'first time' is the most chaotic.
Then Lin attracted another problem. Anna, who was already feeling a bit fatigued, started chattering non-stop behind Lin after witnessing the thrilling scene. The somewhat unbelievable moment had left her extremely excited.
The backdrop was a car accident scene amidst ice rain. Next to the damaged vehicle, the helmeted man nonchalantly saved two people. His sharp and dashing demeanor felt like something straight out of a painting.
"You don't talk much, but you're a really nice person. I didn't even react, and you already rushed out." Anna circled Lin, her pretty face, flushed red by the cold wind, smiling brightly.
She was lying. She had also intended to save the person at that moment. Even though she knew she wouldn't make it in time, she didn't hesitate for a second. If Lin hadn't pulled her back, she would have already rushed forward, and the outcome would likely have been both her and the old man getting hit.
But Anna made no mention of her actions just now, only constantly praised Lin and followed him everywhere.
The hail became smaller. Lin walked towards the area he intended to investigate, while Anna, who had originally planned to go home, seemed to have forgotten the cold, only concerned with following Lin.
Thus began the strange pairing: one walking indifferently ahead, and the other speaking excitedly behind.
...
"Clang!"
A cold flash, and the leaf in the air was sliced in half.
"Gulp..."
The woman clutched her profusely bleeding neck, looking at the person slowly sheathing the sword in disbelief. Then she collapsed to the ground, dead.
The pink-haired girl took out a small blue flower from her pocket, placed it on the corpse, and then closed the corpse's eyes.
After doing all of this, she pulled out the stack of documents. Compared to the thick pile Mei had handed her, the Pupa documents were now reduced by more than half. Those disappeared Pupa documents had naturally been "cleaned up" by her.
It was only while cleaning up her former employers that Sakura realized how sordid an organization Pupa truly was, an organization she had been fooled into joining by the Speaker's sweet talk.
Sakura had originally thought that she, as an assassin, was despicable enough, but she hadn't expected Pupa to target comrades who were contributing to humanity for the Speaker's private agenda. They would stop at nothing to achieve their ultimate goal, indifferent to how many people were affected.
Sure enough, the man's words "for humanity" were nothing but a lie.
"Who's there!" Sakura suddenly turned her head, her sharp gaze piercing into the darkness behind her.
Someone was there, watching.
A dangerous presence, harboring terrifying killing intent.
No answer?
Sakura cautiously placed her hand on her sword hilt.
Reinforcements?
Before she could think of the next possibility, a blade tip that made her hair stand on end struck from the darkness. She instinctively raised her sword to block, but the immense force sent her stumbling back several steps before she stabilized.
Heavy weapon...
Sakura instantly determined the type of weapon the opponent was using. The ability to wield such a heavy weapon meant the enemy's wrist strength was considerable, and it was best not to confront them head-on.
So, as her back foot landed, she immediately counter-impulsed into a dash, ducked under the swing of the massive weapon, and flicked the sword hilt with her thumb—
"Clang—"
The strike was blocked. Sakura retreated as soon as she struck, vanishing into the shadows.
"..."
She waited cautiously for the opponent's attack, but after the two brief exchanges just now, the enemy's presence vanished.
Sakura did not let down her guard. Lin had taught her enough lessons last time. She waited patiently for ten minutes before confirming that the enemy had left, then quickly departed as well.
...
After inputting the last line of code, Mei set the entire system to auto-start, then waited intently for the zeros and ones to flicker on the screen.
"Are you finally done?"
Vil-V stood at the doorway at some point. She had changed out of her usual attire into a thicker set of clothes, but the overall design was still imbued with her unique personal aesthetic.
Vil-V stood beside Mei, watching the screen change.
"Mhm... Based on Prometheus I's original code, I removed the emotional module and concentrated all computing power on operation. It should be sufficient for Fire Moth's management." Mei indifferently picked up the mountainous stack of calculation texts. After a final glance, she discarded them to the side for destruction.
Vil-V heard a different meaning in this sentence: "Management, huh... Have you already made plans for that?"
"I have no such intention."
"But many times, we don't get to decide ourselves."
"Let's witness the birth of Prometheus II first."
"Fine." Vil-V shrugged indifferently. "I still prefer Prometheus I. Can an AI without emotion or self be described as 'born'?"
"Then what are you here to discuss?" Mei knew Vil-V wouldn't come looking for her for no reason. It was highly likely she had a new matter to discuss with Mei.
The people above still didn't know that Mei and Vil-V had already had a private discussion. While "colluding" wasn't quite the right word, their views on certain matters and plans had become highly consistent.
Vil-V's next sentence made Mei turn to look at her: "I've found the materials for manufacturing the Divine Keys."
"...What materials?"
"You'll have to go see for yourself."
Vil-V took out a blueprint and handed it to Mei. "This is the weapon design blueprint of your predecessor. I modified and improved the miniature funnels within it. The Research Department will be responsible for manufacturing them."
Mei understood her meaning: "Was this commissioned by Lin?"
"No, this was Prometheus... well, it should be called Prometheus I now. She hacked into the restricted files, found this blueprint, and commissioned me to modify the design."
Vil-V smiled. "The right things should be handed to the right person."
"Zzz—"
At that moment, the screen flickered, and all the code simultaneously ceased operation.